Regius (23 page)

"Are you very tired, Sol?"
He asked carefully. Puffing out some air because nothing good could
come out of that tone of voice, I tucked the handkerchief back into
my pocket. Standing up onto my feet, I glared at the camera as I
took a few steps towards it. "Don't look at me like that, I'm just
your guide, remember?"

"Robinia..." I
warned.

"Alright, alright." He said
quickly. "I don't think you'll be sleeping tonight."

"No nasty dungeon alley or
fancy room?"

"Uh huh."

I shrugged. "I'll just
sleep here then."

"Well, I wouldn't do that
if I were you." For the love of all that is sacred, could they not
give me one tiny little break?! "You see that square shape in the
wall beside the double doors?" Sighing, I looked in that direction
and nodded my head dutifully. "I'm relatively certain that if you
stay where you are, they'll set the dogs loose on you again." I
hung my head, groaning. "You see, as I'm viewing the map before me,
that square in the wall can shift aside, creating a passage that
leads into a very small and narrow tunnel. So small in fact, you'd
have to crawl your way through it, which isn't
practical."

"And?"

"And that tunnel leads back
to the part of the dungeon you found yourself in when you got
dumped into this place." I hung my head a second time. "I don't
know how long it will take for the passage to open. I suggest you
get moving now and we don't find out." Grimacing, I followed his
order and walked in the direction of the double doors.

Pulling one of them open
with some difficulty, I slipped inside and then shut it firmly
behind me, barring it with the piece of wood standing against the
wall. Nodding in satisfaction at the fact that it was now securely
blocked and the crazy hounds couldn't get in if they were set
loose, which they most likely would be, I turned and checked out
the room I now found myself in.

There was one lantern, like
the one I'd brought down with me and been forced to leave behind.
It was hanging in the center down from the ceiling. It didn't light
up the room a lot, but at least it wasn't dark. Scanning the walls,
I tried locating the camera.

"I'm on your right."
Tilting my head in that direction, I waved lamely at the camera in
the far right top corner of the room.

"I'm waving back." He
informed. "You're not sleeping tonight because this room is going
to lose its footing in a couple of minutes. Which is part four."
I'd be surprised and react in a scared fashion, but at this point I
was constantly scared anyway and the reaction called surprise had
been overused.

Instead I asked, "How do
you know all this?"

"It's written on the map.
The door you just came through locked shut the moment you closed
it, so it wasn't actually necessary for you to bar it. Do you see
the cross engraved in the middle of the room's floor?" Nodding, I
made my way over to it. "The ground surrounding that will soon
split into four pieces and disappear into the surrounding walls,
creating another pit of darkness. That piece of stone with the
cross on it is the only part that won't give way."

"How long will I have to
stay here?" I rubbed the side of my face and sighed as the cross
was not very big.

"Until Xania decides to pay
you another visit."

"This isn't large enough,
Robinia. I can't lean my back against anything, I won't even be
able to lie down." They were going to force me to sit. The idea
wanted to make me scream, but there was nothing I could
do.

"The point of part four is
for you to stay awake and aware. If you fall, you die." Letting
myself drop down to the ground, I pulled my knees up quickly,
hugging them against my chest as I checked the cross, making sure I
wasn't sticking out of it.

"You won't leave me, will
you?" I cringed and squeezed my eyes shut when the floor started to
tremble. When loud cracking noises resonated through the room, I
did scream.

"Palms flat on the floor!"
Robinia shouted.

My body trembled along with
the room, the sounds terrifyingly loud as the floor around me split
into four pieces like he'd foretold. They were shaped like large
triangles, the tips of them unlocking from the circular small stone
area I was now planted on. Each triangle slowly disappeared,
revealing the black nothingness. The small island that was now my
sanctuary had four large hooks on each rounded corner and large
metal cables connected them back into the four corners of the
room.

The loud noises subsided
after a couple of minutes, but I remained frozen in place for a
while longer before looking back up at the camera. Although the
cables were clearly stable, if I moved too much, they would sway up
and down and that worried me.

"Robinia?" I
whispered.

"I'm here."

I managed to breathe in
steadily as he reassured me of his presence.

"Don't go."

"I'm not leaving. I'm right
here."

"Sol?" Robinia questioned
softly, making sure I wasn't nodding off. It had been a couple of
hours since the floor had gone. My knees were plastered against my
chest, my arms wrapped around my legs with my eyes
closed.

"I'm awake."

"What is it like to be in
love?" Opening my eyes slowly, I looked in the camera's
direction.

"Why are you asking
me?"

"Well," He began carefully,
clearly a bit uncomfortable. "If you talk to me, it'll keep you
awake. And you're in love, are you not?" He asked and then added,
"I believe I'm in love with Mallow."

I smiled just a tad,
grimacing shortly after as I unlocked myself from the position I'd
been sitting in for the last couple of hours. I slid my feet off
the small stone island, letting them dangle on either side while I
steadied myself by placing my palms flat onto the edge before
me.

"I know you are." I
murmured. Every time he spoke her name he said it in this
particular tone. He hadn't needed to tell me he was in love with
her. As for whom I was in love with... "I can't talk about him in
Regius territory. I'm afraid whatever I say may be used to the
Regius' advantage." I know I sounded a bit stern, but I couldn't
help it. Galax, although he wouldn't like hearing this, needed
protection. Whatever I let slip could be used to get to
him.

"You mean to say..." He
trailed off, sounding surprised as he probably knew who I was
talking about.

Did he not know? "It's
Galax."

"Galax as in?!"

I laughed softly. "Yes,
Galax
as in
."

I heard him 'huh' in
understanding. "It makes more sense now as to why you are here." I
could practically hear the frown in his voice, which led me to
grin. Funny boy. "I remember him from before he was taken. Not very
clearly since I was even smaller than him."

"How old are
you?"

"I turned seventeen
yesterday."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I
shook my head at him with a huff. "Happy belated birthday then,
Robinia Kowalski."

"Not exactly a place where
we celebrate birthdays, Solenum, especially not mine." He paused.
"Thank you, though."

We remained silent for a
while after that. I'm not sure how long as I still didn't know the
date or the time and that very thought is what had me start up
another conversation.

"Are you allowed to tell me
what time it is?"

"It's four in the morning.
You've been in the castle for nearly two days now. Three days of
travel." No wonder I was exhausted. This was a little more exercise
than I was used to. I was glad I'd been triggered before all of
this. Having access to my Altor strength certainly helped on this
adventure. My Altor vision hadn't come on much at all, which made
sense since I was constantly alert and knew I was always in danger
anyway. Not like I needed a visual reminder.

I wondered what Cali was
doing right now. Would Galax have gone to see him and tell him I'd
gotten kidnapped? Did the Palliums even believe I was still alive?
Probably. Xania intended to use me as black mail. I certainly hoped
Galax wouldn't cave.

"What's the deal with that
'light' business the Blue Bloods have going on?" I asked curiously.
So far, Robinia had been like a freaking dictionary. He even had
information on countries outside of Zinc.

"You could compare it to
the soul mate legend." Robinia started. "It's a phenomenon that can
happen to a Regius. As you know, the Blue Bloods lack a conscience
and have a particular affinity for cruelty." I nodded. "It is said
that the mean streak can be tamed by the unexplained reaction which
they call 'light'. It's called that because the bond created with
those who are light to the Regius quite literally make them look
away from the darkness that is festering inside them."

"Like a wakeup
call?"

"Eh..." Robinia muttered.
"More like an antidote to the cruelty. It doesn't take it away in
all Blue Bloods, but it does tamper with their
personality."

My lips parted. "Is that
why Xen was so different all of a sudden when seeing
Ivy?"

"Exactly." The kid said
cheerfully, glad I was getting it. "Had the light system not hit
him, he'd have taken Ivy without so much as caring about what she
had to say in all of it. He'd have made her his without asking. He
wouldn't have even come near the idea of creating peace among the
races in Zinc via matrimony."

"Well, that explains that
at least." I murmured. "How strong is this bond? Does it affect
them so much they have no choice but to care for their light?"
Galax had called me his light several times. While I could only
appreciate certain aspects of the phenomenon, I didn't want him to
be forced into liking me.

"They aren't bound to
being in love with the person they bond with. Their feelings aren't
tied to the reaction. From what I've had the chance to observe, the
light is more a practical shield for the person who is the light
against the Regius who bonded with them. Their light can be a
friend, daughter, son and sometimes even an animal. The phenomenon
is only supposed to make a Blue Blood see
past
their cruelty and give them a
chance to be less reckless. What Xen displayed, while strange to
each and every person in Zinc, was in fact his true personality.
His cruelty was no longer getting in the way of him being who he
was."

"So, if it weren't for the
blue blood cell overpowering his senses, he truly did want peace
for Zinc?"

"Very much so. Of course,
because all Regius are brought up to believe they can have whatever
it is they want and are entitled to believe themselves above all
other creatures in Zinc, Xen went about it the wrong way. While he
cared for Ivy in a gentle manner, he kidnapped her and had every
intention of keeping her comfortably locked away until she saw no
choice but to agree to his marriage proposal."

"He couldn't take no for an
answer." I nodded. "How does the bond happen?"

"It's sort of like a
switch. Their 'light' is the first person a Blue Blood sees and
doesn't wish to harm in any way whatsoever." His words didn't make
me particularly happy. I couldn't believe that Galax had such dark
thoughts before meeting me.

"You look distressed."
Robinia said carefully.

I shook my head. "Galax has
never been cruel. He often claimed something was wrong with
him."

"By harm I didn't
specifically mean cruelty such as Xania or Digitalis. Maybe Galax
was careless before he met you."

Selfish
. He'd told me he'd been selfish before meeting me. He'd said
it so flippantly, I hadn't realized it had been a trait forced upon
him because of his blood.

"Let’s change subject now."
I murmured, feeling a bit fragile as Galax entered my thoughts. I
missed him so.

"What else would you like
to know?"

"Are you allowed to tell me
all of this?"

"Nobody is here to stop
me."

Pursing my lips, I then
shrugged, agreeing. "Tell me what you know about the Keepers of the
Dead." That had been bothering me. I had no idea why Xania would
believe I knew anything on them. I hadn't even known there was such
a thing as a Keeper of the Dead.

"Keeper of the Dead, as in
no more than one." He answered instantly, surprising me yet again
with the amount of knowledge he had stored away. "It was very hard
to find information on this creature." Robinia confessed. "And what
I do know, is not complete. They are connected to Zinc in ways many
don't realize. There is not a single document, historical artifact
or book based solely on the Dead Speakers, yet they appear in
almost all books, documents and artifacts that speak of the other
races."

"What are they?" I
asked.

"They have the ability to
see and speak to the dead. Souls listen to these creatures and
allow themselves to be guided to peace when they cannot find the
path on their own. Sometimes they have the power to control the
dead or even resurrect them." Okay, that was just creepy. "A first
born Altor son is the only one who can receive the gift. The
connection that links the Keeper to the dead begins at age fifteen.
This is where the souls invade the Keeper’s mind and make him aware
of their presence in the world. They speak to him and try to stop
him from finding the voice that will become the Tongue of Death, as
with this song, the Keeper can send the souls to the next plane.
Although they crave peace, they deny themselves this, their need to
righten the unjust nature of their death being stronger." Robinia
said curiously. "The souls suck the Keeper dry, hoping to stop him
from finding the place where his song may be heard best, the Valley
of Death. If the Keeper does not enter the Valley in time, his soul
will be lost forever as will the Tongue of Death since it would die
along with the Keeper. The souls would then be trapped inside the
Valley forever, never able to move on to peace." I shivered at
that. "When the Tongue of Death is first heard by a Keeper, he must
instantly search for the Valley to make it in time. Time in there
doesn't work the same as it does here." Robinia sighed. "The blue
blood cell within speeds up when he's inside the Valley for the
first time at age fifteen. So when he exits it, he must be
triggered instantly otherwise he dies."