Regius (18 page)

* * * *

For prison cells, those of
the Coliseum could be considered luxurious. Each barred section
that held a person had a bed, a comfortable chair and a proper
table. Although the coloring of the place was a bit dreary as the
entire Coliseum was made out of grey stones, and thus, it was quite
depressing. Unfortunately, since these cells were built beneath the
training ground, there were no windows.

Galax had tested the bars,
but realized the Altors had kept the Regius strength in mind while
building these cages. He could bend them or break the lock, but it
would take time and a great amount of his strength. It's the kind
of time he didn't have, because if he so much as managed to make a
dent in the bars, the Altors would already be down and restraining
him.

They were lucky he was
cooperative. He could have broken free from Ilex and Aram when
they'd guided him down here. It would have been hard, but it
wouldn't have been impossible. They had Cali to thank for that. Had
the boy not talked to him, calmed and managed to make him see the
light again, he might have been riled up still and harmed the
Trainer and Elder.

Of course Calycanthus'
words were losing their effect as he was starting to feel more and
more suffocated. The fact that they were purposely not interacting
with him or Datura angered him all the more as this was the kind of
time he couldn't waste. Solenum was out there and needed him. But
because of the damned law, Aram felt it necessary for his adoptive
father to be the one to let him out.

As for the
Keeper...

While he had tried to
harbor a fugitive and keep him hidden from the other Altors, his
punishment was a bit excessive in Galax's eyes. But as Cali had
said, Aram was a bully and Datura had defied him. The Keeper
wouldn't be released from his cell until the Elder had a conference
with the other Elders. And who knew where Pieris and Rose were at
this moment with all that was going on in Zinc right
now.

Soon all those that had
gone to look for him would return once Aram or Flux had contacted
them to give the news of his location. Iso might be spared a
conversation with his twin and Galaxi and Ivy would be able to
return to the sides of their husbands. Hopefully, Vervaine hadn't
even made it to District Leader Reed. Galax hated the man and knew
that Vervaine wasn't particularly fond of him either. Although the
uproar of his disappearance annoyed him, he was glad that Iris had
made the decision to bring Anemone to Iron Island, leaving her
under the care of District Leader Angi. It was the safest place to
be in Zinc at the moment, and the child deserved to be kept away
from the mess that was trying to break free.

Detaching his gaze from
the monotone wall before him, he turned his head to look at the
neighboring cell with the Keeper laying in his bed, fast asleep. Of
course,
his
slumber wasn't disturbed. Although he wasn't beside Cali, he
knew the boy was safely upstairs. Galax didn't get that
luxury.

Had he not momentarily
forgotten that Flux knew him inside and out, he might not have
ended up in this trap. Had Galax known Galaxi was at the Coliseum
before he'd arrived, he might have guessed. But no such luck.
Instead, his sister had tampered with the Coliseum's security
system, making it so that when
he
tampered with it, a signal would be sent to their
father instantly. Aram was the closest figure of power in the
neighborhood and because of that silly mistake, he now found
himself locked up in the cells of the Coliseum.

"
We I et zat yer!
" Galax frowned
deeply as Datura spoke the death tongue, growling at the empty air
as he sat up in the bed, clearly unhappy to have been forced to
wake. "
Ij moi noi.
"

"They can contact you from
outside the Valley?" The Keeper seemed surprised at hearing Galax's
voice and the look on his face told the Prince that Datura had
momentarily forgotten he'd been locked away. When the realization
hit him though, he fell back on the bed, groaning.

"Not exactly. The souls
within the Valley have the power to do harm if they were to break
free from their realm."

"Then who are you talking
to?" Galax stood, deciding it might be time to stretch his legs a
bit and started pacing the small cell.

"Ghosts. They are slightly
different from the souls." Datura explained. "They refused my call
and guidance to peace and have forsaken their souls. It is where
they let go of their revenge, but instead of following the path to
peace, they deny themselves that and return to our realm where they
roam the lands in search of answers."

"You are speaking with dead
Altors still trying to play their part as soldiers in this
war?"

The Keeper grunted,
sitting up. "I have more conversations with dead Altors, be they
souls or ghosts, than those that are alive. These have the
privilege of being present outside of the Valley." Galax raised an
eyebrow when Datura whacked the air. "Unfortunately for me, I can
see and communicate with them, so they are
always
breathing down my neck." His
red gaze landed on Galax. "I had hoped they would stay clear since
you are here."

"Ah, so they hate me even
after death." Galax wasn't impressed. "I'm not even
surprised."

"Not hate." The Keeper
murmured, standing so he could pace as the Prince was.
"Afraid."

"Then why are they not
keeping away?"

"They wish to inform me of
something important." Datura explained. "But I won't listen until
they understand that they need to talk one by one, not all hundred
at once!" He growled at the air.

That held Galax's
curiosity. "You cannot control them?" Apparently, the ghosts were
being particularly persistent, as the Prince had never seen Datura
quite this agitated.

"Of course I cannot. I am a
Medium; I can see and speak with them and because I am alive, when
I use my voice to suggest they follow the path to peace, it is
clearer than any other voice they can hear. They feel compelled to
listen to it, but if they end up not wanting to, they either remain
stuck in the Valley forever, or manage to reach the second
alternative of peace and forsake their souls to roam Zinc as ghosts
forever." Galax sat down as the Keeper was doing the pacing for the
both of them at this point, his fingers rubbing his temples, most
likely trying to keep a headache at bay. "There is no grey area in
the powers of a Keeper, sire."

Galax flinched at the title
as it reminded him of why Datura was one of those people he wanted
to dislike so much. He acknowledged the royal mark, and reminded
the Prince of it whenever he could. What made it worse was that
Datura's tone always carried respect. Never was it an insult in the
Keeper's mind.

"There is only black and
white." Galax was glad the Keeper kept on explaining, allowing him
to think of Datura's issues rather than his own. "Medium is white.
To control the souls and ghosts I'd have to fall over the edge and
enter the black art called Necromancy."

"I thought no type of magic
was either good or evil. That it depends on how you manipulate the
arts and the user decides for themselves how to manipulate it."
Galax quoted the Keeper's very own words, something he'd told the
Prince many years ago.

Datura stopped pacing and
sighed in relief and Galax could only assume the ghosts had finally
stopped pestering him.

"While what you say is
true, not every person is capable of handling such great power
without succumbing to the black part in the black and
white."

"But you are the most
controlled person I know." Galax murmured.

"I would accept the
compliment, majesty, but unfortunately not even I am controlled
enough to be able to handle Necromancy." Datura smiled. "And even
if I was, I'd be considered a traitor were the Altors to find out.
An Altor cannot manipulate another." The smile slipped. "Alive or
dead."

Galax groaned. "You have
far too many laws and ridiculous ones at that." When Datura didn't
respond immediately, the Prince stared patiently when the Keeper
seemed to be listening to someone other than himself.

"Who was the person that
enhanced the car that was recently delivered to us by your sister?"
The Keeper's eyes were fixed to the air, his hand held up to most
likely mute the ghost while he waited for the Prince to think it
over and respond.

Galax didn't need to think
much at all. "Solenum." He gulped, trying to understand why the
ghosts would be talking about car enhancements. "Why?"

"Does it contain the same
tracking system mine has?" Datura asked, his gaze finally landing
on that of Galax's.

"Naturally." Galax replied.
"The tracking system was programmed into the dashboard computer by
Galaxi herself since Solenum wasn't quite that advanced yet in the
job."

"It's to be Cali's
car."

"Speak faster, Keeper." The
Prince growled out.

"The Ghosts claim Solenum
never placed the home base locator within the car." Galax wanted to
scream at the Keeper and his ghosts for the ridiculousness of this
topic. Why would
he
care if Cali had the complete set of necessary items to make
the tracking system work when there were much more urgent matters
to worry about. But when it hit him, he nearly wanted to hate
himself for the momentarily lack of intelligence.

"They believe Solenum has
it on her." He breathed, sitting down on the floor when the idea of
it overwhelmed him.

"
Utna ye.
" Although the Prince didn't
understand, he could guess the Keeper thanked them. "We have to
tell Cali." Datura whispered as he crouched down so his eyes were
level with that of Galax, his fingers wrapped around the bars that
separated their cells.

"You realize we won't get
out of here for a while to come, don’t you?" The Prince whispered
back. "Giving this information to Cali means that he will go after
her without our aid." An untrained soldier with unstable Seer
powers out on his own, entering Regius territory and in charge of
saving his girlfriend? Galax suddenly wasn't so sure knowing about
the possible location of the homing beacon thrilled him
anymore.

"You don't think I know
that I am basically telling you we need to find a way to inform my
boyfriend and send him off to his possible death?" The Keeper
gritted out. "I am very much aware, sire. But I am also aware that
if we keep this from him and take away his chance at saving her, he
will hate us both until the day we die."

"You don't know if any of
the others would be willing to ignore protocol and go with
him?"

"Vervaine, possibly. She
broke the rules for him before. But, who knows when she'll return?
Solenum doesn't have the time protocol demands."

Galax thought it over and
the idea of sending the boy out on such a dangerous mission did not
sit well with him. But, the need to find Solenum battled it hard.
"He is stronger than he looks." Datura murmured. "I believe that he
can do this."

"What if he
dies?"

"He was kept clueless for
years, Galax. I will not allow him to be kept out of the loop
again. It hurts him." The Keeper sighed deeply, clearly not happy
about having to persuade the Prince into allowing Cali to do this.
"What if we don't take this chance? What if she dies?" Datura's
teeth gritted. "I made a vow to never put your life at risk, Galax.
And if she dies, it will be in danger. So will Cali's."

"Her death would damage him
forever." Galax understood now.

"He would never
recover."

The Prince nodded. "I know
how to tell him without alerting the others."

* * * *

Robinia woke me by turning
the loud speaker back on, asking me if I was feeling better. I was,
physically at least. The bath had helped me feel less dirty and
although not as fresh as straight out of a washing machine, my
clothes didn't stink of sewer anymore, which I was grateful for.
And then of course my belly was soothed by the warm meal they'd
given me the night prior. I still didn't know the time or anything,
but Robinia had said 'good morning'. So at least I knew it was
morning.

He'd informed me that
breakfast was served on the same table I'd found dinner. I'm not
sure how I felt about someone coming inside this place without me
being aware and it made my mind scream for attention, telling me
that there was an exit out of this dungeon in this very room. I was
under surveillance though.

Sitting on one of the
armchairs, I nibbled on a piece of toast, putting the other two in
the plastic bag that once carried the locator. It had fried. I kept
it in my pocket all the same, just because I didn't want to leave
it behind, but it was definitely no longer working.

They'd given me another
bottle of water this morning. By now I'd emptied the one Maya had
handed me and half of the bottle I'd gotten yesterday. Today,
during part three, I'd have a bottle and a half. They weren't very
big which was handy for me to carry around.