Renegade Rising (The Renegade Series) (50 page)

It was a feeling of awe-inspiring hope as Gisbo saw himself stand up and watched the Black Wolf Pack's stupid faces as they stared on in shock. Suddenly all the horrid guilt was washed away, as Gisbo felt gooseflesh rip across his skin. Rolce’s feelings were being transferred to him once again. Glancing over, he saw a smile stretch across Rolce’s face momentarily. Then the Wolf Pack turned to walk away and the injured Gisbo slumped to the ground in misery. The feeling of painful guilt was washing over him when the blackness returned and he heard Rolce’s voice. It sounded like a loud echo all around him; Gisbo seemed to be floating in the midst of it.

“Gisbo, I don’t know if you’ve figured it out yet, but I have just established a mind-link to you. We are on a different plane of existence, so time is irrelevant right now. I have been holding this back from you, Gisbo, for so long. I told you the day I met you I was inspired when I heard that some kids saw you stand up to the entire Wolf Pack. It wasn’t true - I was the only kid that saw you that day. You may not have remembered why you did it, but you changed me that day. This entire time the guilt has been so painful, mixed with everything else I have been dealing with.

“I’ve been wanting to share this with you, but couldn’t think of a way to do so until now. The time has come for me to stop cowering and running. I have just been so afraid; afraid to fight. I’ve never been afraid of my strength, just afraid to fail. It is time that I face my fear head on and destroy this guilt that's eating away at me. I would rather die fighting than allow my inner demons to win the battle, torturing my soul like this throughout my life. It’s going to kill me from the inside! You’re my best friend, Gisbo, and always will be, 'til the end. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for you. Now the time for talking is over. It’s about damn time that you sit back for a change, about damn time that you stop protecting me, and it’s about damn time that I protect you! Open your eyes, Gisbo!
” Rolce's voice commanded and Gisbo obeyed.

The moment he lifted his eyelids, the numbing pain returned. Gisbo saw his own blood on the cave floor. With all his might he struggled to look up and see why Malik had stopped hammering his head into the ground. There, standing tall and proud in Nazarite attire, Rolce stood, pole-arm held ready. Rolce let out with a battle cry for the ages as he ignited his weapon and with it the entire cave shook and glowed green from Rolce’s raw power.

Chapter Twenty Three:
Rolce Reborn

Rolce charged forward as his deep battle cry reverberated off the walls. Malik sprang up, rushing to meet this new adversary, followed by the rest of the small army. Gisbo was able to sit up and watch, through one eye, the magnificence that was Rolce. The Renegade-to-be thrust his pole-arm forward, slamming it into the first boy’s stomach as he pushed backward into three more, forcing them to the ground. Rolce jumped over the three fallen boys and let out a fierce kick to another boy's mid-section, following it up with a thrust upward from his pole-arm that struck the boy in the chin. Rolce then spun his pole-arm rapidly in a tight defensive circle. Anybody who tried to take a swipe at him was met with a strike from his spinning pole-arm.

Gisbo saw firsthand the power of a Nazarite in close quarter combat. With his pole-arm, Rolce made the enemy’s advantage in numbers turn to nothing. Rolce’s pole-arm began to glow even brighter as he held it above his head, spinning it like a green whirlwind.

Boys were thrown left and right from the force of Rolce's weapon, slamming against the cave walls. Like before, the boys were back on their feet in no time and, in a swarm, all of them leapt in the air, seeking to crush Rolce with their weight. Rolce actually smiled! He raised his pole-arm into the air and, with another battle cry, slammed the hilt of it into the cave floor, twisting it as he unleashed a combination of Nazarite abilities Gisbo had never seen.

Hundreds of stalactites and stalagmites broke from the ceiling and floor of the cavern. With another wave of Rolce’s pole-arm, they whizzed through the air, about five at a time, making contact with each charging boy in mid-air. All twenty or so of them flew backward, slamming back into the cave wall. This time they weren’t coming back. Rolce stretched out his hand, hovering his palm in the direction of each boy, one at a time. The stones and spikes melded together, pinning each boy to the wall with their arms by their sides. Shax’s slaves all hung by their mid-sections a few feet off the ground, pinned and struggling to break free of the stone restraints encircling their torsos. Rolce planted his pole-arm straight up in the ground and stood idle, his eyes locked on his father. Gisbo watched as father and son gazed at one another.

“Bravo! Bravo, my boy! Wonderful job! Never have I seen anyone combine such a variety of Naforian techniques like that at your age! Thrusting the stones at the kids without harming a single one, then melding them together to trap them. Wonderful work, my boy, you make a father so proud!” Shax exclaimed, flashing his blackened smile. Even Lokin looked impressed as he surveyed the area in awe.

“Shut up!” Rolce said. Gisbo had never seen his eyes angry like this, even more than when he crushed the snake’s head. Shax looked hurt at his remark.

“Get 'em, Rolce! Kick his ass! Fao, to Rolce! Help him!” Gisbo yelled. Fao jumped to Rolce’s side as they both broke into a run, headed for Shax. Rolce recoiled his pole-arm and thrust it toward the invisible wall which had stopped Gisbo. Glowing green cracks seemed to appear out of thin air. Rolce recoiled again and held his pole-arm like a bat as he gave a mighty swing, shattering the barrier in a mist of green sparkles. Shax looked alarmed, but Rolce didn't wait as he stormed ahead with Fao by his side, unblinking.

As Rolce suspected, Lokin dove from Shax’s right side, but with a quick swipe of his pole-arm, Rolce deflected his daggers and followed it up with a quick a blow to his stomach, literally lifting the man from the ground with freakish strength. Fao leapt behind Shax with great agility and skillfully bit his lower leg, causing him to look back for just a moment as Rolce continued to charge, swinging his steel pole-arm downward upon Shax’s head.

With surprising agility for a man of Shax’s size, he managed to lean backward, narrowly missing a blow that would have knocked him out - but not quickly enough. The tip of the metallic pole-arm graced his nose, breaking it in a fierce crack. Blood poured down his face. In a yell, Shax swirled about with his own staff, unleashing a burst of darkness that sent Rolce and Fao skidding across the stone floor away from him. Rolce and Fao were on their feet in a hurry as Shax stood, clutching his bleeding nose in disbelief, amazed that Rolce had managed to draw blood from him.

“Such aggression. You definitely didn’t inheret this mindlessness from me!”

“ENOUGH! Come out! Whoever you are! Let's see the real puppet master!” Rolce interrupted.

“Rolce, what are you talking about?” Gisbo asked, rising to his feet and stumbling to his friend.

“Exactly what I said, Gisbo. Look at his eyes! Look at all these kid’s eyes! They're white orbs! The telltale sign mind-link is being performed. Now watch my eyes as I connect with the boy over there. Look at my eyes, Gisbo,” Rolce said as he raised his hand to the boy trapped against the wall nearest to him and closed his eyes. Slowly, Rolce lowered his hand and opened his eyes.

“Don’t you see, Gisbo! I’m just a beginner Sybil and can only use the mind-link when I close my eyes. A master, however, is a totally different story! A master won’t need to raise their hand over people and can leave their eyes open, even carry on conversations while connecting to someone from miles away. It is a powerful ability! Now look, look at my father’s eyes, Gisbo! They're white! White as all the kids here! Somebody’s controlling him too,” Rolce said, pointing at his father. Gisbo finally understood.

“Yeah, but wouldn’t Moordin have noticed that? You mean to tell me that your dad has been controlled this entire time?” Gisbo asked aloud.

“Moordin isn’t a Sybil, Gisbo. Only someone like Sybil Honj would have noticed such a minor detail and Moordin was the only one who saw him the day he went crazy. It makes perfect sense! Somebody else is here, I know it! Come out!” Rolce yelled.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Lokin said, laughing hysterically, rising to his shaky feet.

“Yes, in fact, we would!” said a voice behind them. Gisbo turned to see Harpie land on Rolce’s shoulder, followed by Falcon, Moordin, Foxblade and Narroway himself leading the charge. Seeing them all burst forth like the warriors of old caused gooseflesh to erupt over Gisbo’s body.

“Now you’rr gonna get it, you freak!” Gisbo yelled, pointing at Lokin. Everyone stood beside them, weapons raised and fully ignited.

“We got your message from Harpie just in time, Rolce. I rushed here with everyone at my dinner table and made it through the portal before it closed. It seems you both have done quite well for yourselves, Gisbo a little worse for the wear…let us take it from here, if you don’t mind, boys,” Narroway explained as he patted both boys on the shoulder.

“Narroway? Good to see you once more. Oh, and Moordin too! Why, with you, this is quite the reunion! Too bad my lovely wife couldn’t be here as well,” Shax said, grinning. Moordin’s face contorted in fury and disgust.

“Reveal yourself, traitor! I want to kill you myself! One who destroys families and the lives of children deserves the fiery plains of hell!” Moordin yelled.

“So poetic for such an intense situation, Moordin. You will know my identity soon enough - I bet it's killing you. Even now you are praying that it is so, praying you will have your good friend back after all these years. This would have been so much easier for us if your father didn’t up and disappear, Narroway – or, as I conclude, run away. Would have saved so much suffering . . . but no matter, Jackobi is here and he will open the portal for us. The new Man-Phoenix! The visions of the Sybil are absolute! We know the portal will open for us tonight and we will provide Drakearon with his Sybil, his key to reenter his home realm,” Shax said, staring at Narroway. Strangely, Narroway laughed.

“You laugh at this?” Shax asked, his face twisted in confusion.

“Yes, I laugh at this ridiculous plot. If you would come out from the doorway, I would explain to you fully just how flawed your plan really is…Purah,” Narroway said. All eyes were on Narroway at the mention of Purah's name.

“Purah? Narroway, are you . . .” Falcon began as footsteps echoed from the dark doorway behind Shax. A man stepped forth into the light. It was indeed Purah. Everyone in the room was shocked, especially Falcon.

“Purah! Is . . . is that really you?” Falcon yelled. Purah emerged shakily from the doorway, clutching his head and squinting in pain.

“Falcon! Falcon, is that you? Oh, oh my head…the Drakeness is everywhere,” Purah mumbled, walking slowly towards them.

“But . . . but how are you alive, my friend? We saw you impaled on Vadid’s statue! What happened?” Falcon exclaimed, but Narroway interrupted.

“No, Falcon, I’m sorry to have hidden the truth from you, but that is not the Purah that we know.” Narroway said as he held Falcon back from rushing to his friend.

“What? What do you mean?” Falcon asked.

“Just as I said, my friend, the Purah you have known has been nothing more than a façade. He is the man behind all of this; his death was an illusion. There is a Shininja ability that Lokin must have known which gives the illusion of death. The sword, we thought, was driven through his heart - but a Shininja can shift vital organs within their bodies to trick the enemy. Lokin must have done this procedure to Purah and put him in a temporary death-like state using various Shininja herbs and formulas, then retrieved him from his grave one of these nights. Purah is a Sybil, perhaps even more powerful then Sybil Honj. The man before you is the mastermind of all you see. The kidnappings, Shax’s supposed injection of Drakeness, all of it. Seventeen years in the making. Seventeen years of deception. Purah, was it worth it?” Narroway asked through gritted teeth. Purah dropped his act of dizzied walking, stood to full height and grinned.

“Oh yes, Narroway. It took the patience of a Shininja, certainly, but all the while it was worth it. Even now, my conscience is clean. I will listen, Narroway. Please, tell me why this plan is so flawed?” Purah said, standing beside Shax, who was now drooling and hunched over like the rest of the kids.

“I would love to, but why don’t we allow Jackobi to explain it for us instead? Moordin, if you would release him?” Narroway said calmly. With a wave of Moordin’s staff, the stone cracked around Jackobi. He landed neatly on his feet, eyes as blue as Foxblade’s, and walked silently over to his father, who gave him a great hug.

“A job well done, son, you have made your father so proud,” Foxblade said as he released him. Jackobi turned and gave Purah the same murderous, vengeful look Rolce had witnessed in his dream.

“What? What do you mean, a job well done?” Gisbo asked, confused.

“How I’ve desired to kill you, Purah, for so long. Insisting you would sacrifice Shax’s son to further his pain and complete the process of killing his family . . . it sickened me. The patience I endured to not kill you! Man-Phoenix? Humph, I’m no Man-Phoenix. Rather, I am the new Man-Phoenix’s sworn protector, for I alone am immune to the effects of the Drakeness. It has been a fine display of acting, allowing you to think you had overcome me while I called the shots for my own body. My mission is done,” Jackobi said, locking stares with Purah.