Regius (19 page)

"Are you allowed to tell me
what this place is?" I asked curiously, appreciating the comfort
the armchair and fire offered me for the time being.

"It's old."

Robinia was munching on his
own breakfast; I could hear the occasional crunching of food
through the loud speaker. Knowing I wasn't eating alone made me
feel better. He'd confided in me that he always ate alone as well,
not by choice but because apparently a certain someone always
refused his invitation to dinner. He'd then dropped that subject
before I could ask who this certain someone was, informing me
instead that the Steward switched between Maya and the other harem
girls to have as company whilst eating. Mallow ate by herself as
her mother, Sage, kept her separated from everything. He'd then
explained that there was a large cafeteria somewhere above the
place I was in, but that he'd stopped eating there as the soldiers
and trackers used that place and apparently teased him all the
time. The way he described it sounded like the place was packed
with a bunch of Brass Farrow's, carrying sharp pointed weaponry.
I'd avoid them too if I were him. From what I could gather, Rhamnus
Dyson and his fellow trackers were Robinia's main bullies. If it
was even a possibility to have bullies in an evil society such as
the Regius. Of course to themselves they weren’t evil, instead, the
Altors were. Then of course there was Brean. Soldier Brean Crespo
who'd given me a bunch of grief in Cobalt City. That felt like ages
ago.

"Nobody told me I couldn't
explain to you." Robinia interrupted my thoughts, finally answering
my question. "As it is unlikely you'll get out, I suppose I can
tell you."

I paused in my eating.
"Thank you for the burst of confidence."

He ignored that. "All this,
the dungeon you have to get through and then the place I find
myself in which would be on the same level as the ballroom and
medical area you've seen, it's underground." That much I had known
thanks to the lack of windows. "It's part of an old castle. Legend
has it that back in time it had been guarded by a monstrous beast,
protecting the territory that was his." He cleared his throat. "The
amusing factor about that is they believed the beast to have been
one of the Creators. Those who gifted the Regius with the blue
blood cell. They, like the Creatures of Origin, harbor so much
power and are so unlike a human, Civilians perceived them as
deities. The small group gifted with the blue blood cell accepted
them as their Gods, believing there to be a connection as there is
with the Palliums and the Creatures."

"Do you know where the
Creators or beasts are now?" He seemed to know everything. Maybe he
held the answer to the question many Altor and Palliums had
asked.

"I know what happened to
them."

"How is it you know all of
this?" I couldn't help but ask.

"This very castle held the
answers. What Altors and Palliums believe to have been
undocumented, wasn't. The Creators wrote history on the walls. When
Xen was still King, he had two Palliums brought to him. They
specialized in deciphering ancient artifacts. The Palliums know of
a few, such as the medallion of invisibility. But many remain
hidden and it was the two Palliums job to find and understand
them." I heard him sigh. "The few symbols on the walls they did
manage to translate told them that the Creators, later titled as
'beasts' due to being even more cruel than the Regius, tried to
control the Blue Bloods."

My eyebrows rose. "They
revolted?"

"Yes. The Regius, although
not as powerful as the beasts, believed they were as much entitled
to power as the Creators. When the Creators tried to suppress them
and have them bow down, to be used as an army to overthrow Zinc,
the Regius rebelled and enlarged their numbers to create an army so
powerful not even the beasts could hold them back."

"They killed their makers."
I murmured, toast forgotten at this point. "How did they enlarge
their numbers?" When silence followed, I frowned deeply. "Robinia,
tell me."

"The Altors weren't a
mistake, Solenum." My blood ran cold and goosebumps broke out over
my skin. "The blue blood cell was a gift meant to remain in the
bloodlines chosen by the Creators. While some remain pure, many of
those families mixed their blood with the Civilians. It is no
wonder that the blue blood cell poisons the Altors unless they
trigger."

My mouth stood agape. "The
Altors were never meant to
be,
in the eyes of the Creators."

"Yet became a blessing to
the Palliums and Creatures of Origin since they helped remove the
beasts from Zinc. And now they fight the Regius."

"What more did those two
Palliums uncover in the wall symbols?"

"They..." I blinked in
surprise at the hesitation in his tone. "They died before they
could uncover more. I'm in charge now, but what they uncovered were
all the known symbol-filled walls Xen had found."

"So you
are
Pallium." I
murmured. "Were the two Palliums your parents?" It had been an easy
guess. The way Robinia spoke of them told me he'd had a close
connection.

"
Sic.
Xen kidnapped them and made
sure they would do what he asked by threatening my life. They died
when the Altors and Palliums raided the Regius castle in Iodin City
to retrieve Ivy Neumann." The girl Xen had taken a strange liking
to; the one who was said to have 'enchanted' the King.

"Does Xania know what Xen
wanted out of you and your parents?"

"He believes his brother
had Moira and Vanya Kowalski taken so they could create a tech room
with a security system that matched up to that of the Palliums.
Only a Pallium knows how to stop another." He paused. "I was really
young when we were taken and when my parents died I had to learn
through books and notes my parents had left me. It is all written
in Pallium, so nobody but I can understand." He cleared his throat.
"I never told Xania about the symbols and their meaning. My life is
in his hands, I need some kind of leverage in case he ever believes
me to be useless."

I pursed my lips, nodding
in understanding at that, and actually really glad he'd kept it to
himself. The idea of Xania being more knowledgeable than the Altors
and Palliums was a scary thought.

"Were all the beasts, or
Creators, destroyed?"

"People don't know the
'beasts' are the Creators. So, this castle, said to be haunted, was
a joke to the Regius and Altors alike when enough centuries had
passed so that the fact could turn into legend. To my knowledge all
Creators, or beasts, were destroyed by the Regius and Altors. But
when many years passed and that war became forgotten, this castle
became your run of the mill scary story."

I frowned deeply when that
triggered something in my mind. "Me and the Civilian kids in LV
used to scare one another with stories like that. Delph, an old
friend, he used to speak of the dark creature that lay dormant
under the grounds, waiting to be awoken by the Son and the Medium
so he could rise to power again and continue the destruction of
Zinc and avenge his parents that were brutally taken from him by
the Gods of the earth."

"That is the legend."
Robinia confirmed. "The more accurate version would be; The Creator
beast lies dormant in the dungeons of his ancestor’s castle,
waiting to be awoken by the Heir and the Keeper of the Dead, so he
can rise back to power and avenge his family by destroying
everyone
in Zinc. He
doesn't just blame the Creatures of Origin; he blames them and all
the races." I gulped painfully, shooting off the armchair and the
warmth the fire had given me before suddenly didn't have any effect
anymore.

"You're telling me that the
beast is in these dungeons?"

"I have yet to find him and
confirm that, but even if he is, he'd be dormant, turned to stone.
You don't have to fear it." Robinia offered, trying to sound
reassuring.

"Have you ever entered
these dungeons yourself? You must have, right?" I couldn't settle
anymore. Knowing there may be something out here that was the root
of all evil made it impossible. "How else would the cameras be
here?"

"I only have cameras in
the first dungeon floor because they were already here
before
the Regius even
located this place. My parents believe there are at least fifty
more floors below the one you are in right now, they just never had
a chance to explore them."

I hoped the beast was at
least two hundred more floors down, even if he was asleep and
supposedly harmless in that state. "Did Moira and Vanya put the
cameras on this floor?"

"No. The Rebellion
did."

I chuckled weakly, rubbing
my face in my hands. "How much more do you need to reveal to me
about the races and Zinc? Please tell me not much more, because I'm
afraid all this information may throw me into a state of shock
that'll destroy me." I smacked my lips together a few times,
crossing my arms and offering the camera dull stare. "Fine. Tell
me. Why did the Altors abandon this place after they clearly got
settled in since they put in cameras?"

"It was bombed. The Regius
only inhabit the underground section of the castle that hasn't been
hit by the explosions. The upper part of the castle on the other
hand went to ruble. After the bombing centuries ago, the Regius
drove the Altors out of their base. Tit for tat, really,
considering the Altors got their revenge many years later in Iodin
City. I am quite sure the Elders may know of this place, but they
believe it to be destroyed. Throughout the generations, the
location of the castle was lost to them and they never tried to
return to it. Back then the forest wasn't quite as-"

"Annoying?" I
supplied.

"Sure. As annoying as it is
today." Robinia continued. "Much like the blue blood cell slowly
poisons the Altors, the forest was tainted with something too. It
started small and then spread out over the entire Wastelands of
Xenon, but it needed time to cover it all and become as strong as
it is today."

"So back then they were
able to travel through it without becoming lost." I
guessed.

"It is logical to assume
that when the Altors began to rebel against the Regius, centuries
after having fought alongside one another against the Creator
beasts, the Regius needed the rebellion to move away from the
castle that was said to hold the last Creator. Even if they
believed it to be a haunting story to frighten the children
with-"

"They couldn't take the
risk." I nodded in understanding. "Why didn't they explore the
floors beneath the one I am on?"

"Because the dungeon you
are located in was used as a training ground by the Rebellion." I
did not expect that. "The corridors you found yourself in didn't
have the rabid hounds though, that is Xania's addition. Xen
intended to explore the other levels and I would believe Xania
would want this too, if he knew there were more levels. Right now
it is just a convenient torture chamber for his prisoners he wants
answers out of."
Of course.
"The room with the three keys was pretty much the
same, as was the room with water. The Regius didn't change very
much, just several things in certain areas to make it deadly
instead of intense training material."

"When does part three
start?" I asked instead of replying to what he'd told me. There was
no point in saying that the Regius and Altors were twisted sons
of-

"The Steward shall be here
shortly."

"Can't you just tell him to
get on with part three? I mean, I'm not going to answer his
questions." The moment the words left my mouth, I could hear the
distinct sound of a door opening.

"Good day to you, Miss
Everhart." Xania said, leading me to grimace. "Did you appreciate
the service given to you in this room?"

Stubborn as I was and well,
out of his reach at this point, I crossed my arms and shut my
mouth.

"Are you absolutely certain
you don't wish to answer my questions just yet?" I offered him a
tight smile. "Very well," He didn't sound surprised at all. "I will
come back tomorrow." Robinia spoke when it was apparent Xania was
gone.

"Above the bathtub, hanging
from the ceiling."

Here we go again. Looking
in the direction Robinia had given me, I nodded at the lantern
hanging from a rope.

"Take it."

Doing as he asked, I pushed
one of the armchairs over to the bathtub on the other side of the
room and then stood on top of it so I could undo the knot. My
flashlight had fried in the water room.

"You'll find matches beside
the fireplace to light the candle."

I grabbed the box of
matches, firing one up. Sticking the box into one of my pockets,
figuring fire was always handy in a situation like this; I held
onto the lantern and waited for Robinia's next
instructions.

"Now you need to push the
bed to the right, not the left." Nodding, I did as he
asked.

"Stop." Robinia cut in,
while I was pushing the bed. "We don't want you to fall
again."