The Vitalis Chronicles: Steps of Krakador (36 page)

“
Hey guys,” his guide waved, eliciting little more than an acknowledging grunt from his companions.

From here Phelts could see Merodach's bunker on his left, and the rest of the southern side of the defenses clearly. His coat still sat on the ledge, lifting gently against the breeze intermittently.
Why haven't they struck?
His stomach was churning in electric knots.
Can't they see it?

“
So here's the gun we put together yester–“ the engineer stopped ten feet farther on. “What the... Tom! What the hell did you do to my gun?”

“
What are you talking about?” The engineer called Tom didn't even look up from the task at hand as they slid the spring into place with a click.

“
My gun! It's missing its parts!”

“
You sure you did that one?” Tom obviously didn't care.

“
You helped me do it, you asshole!”

“
Swab your eyes and check again, I'm busy.”

“
Boys,” Phelts interrupted as he rubbed his own eyes.

“
Damnit, Tom. If you need parts, carry them in yourself!”

“
Boys!” Phelts yelled. They all turned to him at the urgency in his voice. “Who's out on the central guns?”

“
Central guns?”

“
That thing!” Phelts pointed out to the center of the harbor.

“
Oh,” his guide said dumbly. “The pillar? No one's on the pillar right now; no one's even touched it yet.”

“
Well it's moving!” Phelts turned back to the pillar as his heart suddenly grew blessedly light. “It's moving.”

The guns were difficult to see in the round bunker on top of the pillar, recessed into the darkness as they were, but the end of the innermost was certainly moving. It was subtle, but it was there, and it was taking aim.
Good God,
Phelts urged.
Do it already!

A light clanking noise could be heard as the angle of the barrel was altered slightly. The silence that followed lasted only a split second before a concussion split the air and bounced off the cliffs around them.

T
WENTY-
F
OUR

A
RDIN AND
S
HILL RODE AT A GOOD PACE FOR TWO MORE DAYS BEFORE HIS FRUSTRATIONS FINALLY GOT THE BETTER OF HIM
. The words of the Brethren rang in his mind with every passing clop of the hoof, and his need to see Alisia again grew in kind.

They said I was safe,
he continued to tell himself.
They said that he wouldn't touch me... not if I didn't let him.
But he remained uncertain, his confidence still shaken.

Shill was getting weaker, too. They were having to stop more frequently to let him stretch his legs than Ardin was truly happy with, and he hung lower in the saddle by the end of each day.

“
I'd tell you to go on without me,” Shill said once as he cracked his neck during a rest. “I just don't know that I'd make it without you.”

Ardin had a mind to leave him behind, but in the end he too was afraid that Shill really wouldn't make it without him. However, every day they traveled together they got a little slower and stopped a few more times. Ardin grew worried about the consequences of their decreasing speed.

Shill passed the time telling nonsensical stories, and soon Ardin was almost as concerned for his mental health as he was for the time they were making. Shill seemed to be losing his mind the farther into enemy territory they went.
Soon he'll be a rambling lunatic, and I'll be stuck with him somewhere in this wasteland.

The terrain had long turned a brownish-gray from the blight of the Relequim, and their need for water began to dictate their path as Ardin tried to sense it out as best as he could. Eventually he grew so tired of trying to feel his way through the Atmosphere alone that his fears were overcome, long enough to have a look around in his mind. It only took him a few minutes to find the water, and no sign of intrusion made itself apparent.

The success only emboldened him, Hevetican's words about his power and the Brethren's reassurance of his strength resounding with a newfound confidence in his mind.
Alisia.
The desire to see her was so strong he convinced himself he could overcome anything to be with her, so one night he decided to give it a try.

He allowed himself back onto the Plain, his half-finished fortress rotating slowly around him as he stood in place apart from it. Once he solidified, committed to this state, he closed his eyes and called out to her. Nothing came back in response. He called out again, willing himself to be heard, but she didn't come. Nothing happened at all.

He wandered to the door he had created to his mind, hesitating for a moment, uncertain if he should open it. He brushed the fear aside aside and slid the false wall down, opening a pathway to the Plain.
I have to see her.

He called for her as he closed the door and made his way out of his maze and onto the Plain at large. He had never explored it before, not really. He didn't know where it went, if it bridged directly into the minds of others or required that they call to him first. He swept through the jungle, his sense of caution being overwhelmed by an urgency to find Alisia, to discover the reason for the silence.

Was she ok? Could she not hear him? Was he being silenced?
Silenced...
the thought came to him as he entered the mountains of his making and moved the entrance to the jungle to a new location with a thought.
What if I'm being silenced?

“
I wondered when you would come.”

Ardin whipped around with a start, his heart instantly racing. “Relequim.”

“
More, I'd been wondering where that entrance was. You move it subconsciously, I've noticed. It makes it very tricky to find.”

Ardin set his stance. Before him stood a tall dark figure, hooded in the most ratty, soiled cloak he had ever seen. Aside from the tattered nature of the cloak, there was little else of note about the Relequim's appearance, but his very presence pressed upon Ardin from where he stood among the trees. Still, his voice remained soothing.

“
Don't be foolish, boy. You can't hurt me here, this is the Plain, not my mind.”

But Ardin didn't believe him. He called up the warmth, his control in this place unprecedented. He brought up his hands in a flash, sending a blistering shock of white fire at the figure in the trees. When the blaze cleared, Ardin could see a hole in the forest where his power had gone, but the Relequim stood untouched.
Oh God...

“
As I said, we're not in my mind. Nor are we truly in yours, though this forest is an extension of it. Feel free to burn it down for me, though; it will certainly ease my search for the entrance.”

Ardin set his jaw as he clenched his fists. “I'll burn everything if I have to.”

“
A lovely sentiment,”
the Relequim laughed.
“
I wish you would; it would save me some time.”

“
What do you want?” Ardin's defenses never wavered; he knew this was some sort of trick, and he wouldn't be caught off guard.

“
To silence you, of course. I can't have you communicating with the outside world. I'm sure the bird-men would love to more easily find you, and of course your precious darling.”
The hiss to the Relequim's voice as he finished his sentence sent Ardin into a rage.

“
You're the root of all of this! You! And you're responsible for so much death and destruction! My family... Alisia!”

“
I've had a hand in many, many things my boy.”
The cloaked figure adjusted its stance, the tattered folds of its cloak wafting gently in an otherwise imperceptible breeze.
“
It's amazing how much can fall apart with just the most gentle of nudges.”

Ardin's anger turned in on himself, ripping at the scars and opening the oldest wounds he carried. Before him stood the mastermind of his pain, of the world's destruction, and all he could do was fight back the tears and ask, “Why?”

“
Why what, Ardin?”

He hated hearing his name come from the monster in front of him. “
WHY EVERYTHING
?! Why Tertian? The Purge? Why the Truans and my family and Veria and the rest? Why?!”

Silence floated through the metaphysical trees with a stillness that revealed just how unworldly their surroundings really were. Ardin didn't know what else to ask, he didn't know how to talk to Alisia, and now he was trapped by this monster.

“
Curiosity, I suppose.”
The figure shrugged lackadaisically.
“
As I said, it's amazing what small nudges can do, Ardin. Put the right knife into the hands of a power hungry Mage or the right hope before the King of the Shades, and they will move mountains to get what they want from you. It's rather amazing to see.”

“
You gave Tertian the knife?” The memory of the black knife covered in runes came to him in a flash.

“
And he the Shadow King. They were both after the same thing, really. One using the other without realizing that he was in turn being used. All because it had been suggested that what they wanted was just within their reach, if only they would be willing to stretch for it.”
Ardin could sense the figure smile as if it caused ripples in the air.
“
Your entire continent has been brought low simply by the power of suggestion before, and it is happening again.”

Ardin bit his lip, willing himself to say nothing, pressing his thoughts and words down deep so as to maintain his own silence. He needed to leave, he realized. He didn't want to hear this.

“
I never offered anything they couldn't have, Ardin. I never withheld anything I promised. And now I'm offering you something. I will leave you alone, I won't hunt you or interfere with your mind, so long as you leave Veria alone.”

That caught Ardin off guard. He wasn't heading to Veria. “What?”

“
You can't make it to them in time, but I want to be sure. Leave Veria alone, and of course stop traveling north. Head to Islenda, or the Southron Isles, or Trauncia for all I care, and I promise to let you live.”

“
You have to be joking.” Ardin couldn't keep the incredulity out of his voice. “Never.”

“
I'll let you be with your precious girl,”
the figure said as if he hadn't finished his thought, catching Ardin off guard again.
“
You know I have the power to separate you, just like I'm doing now, but forever. If you go to Veria, if you continue north, I swear I will rend you from her like meat from the bone.”
Malice returned to the voice now.
“
I will find you and crush you, Ardin Vitalis. I swear to you that the hell I send you to will be more real than anything you have ever experienced, and when death finally finds you, your separation from Alisia will be complete!”

To hear her name ripped at Ardin anew, his fears verging on uncontrollable. “You couldn't...” but even as he said the words, he knew that it was possible. Tristram had said as much, hadn't he?

“
I can, and I will.”
The figure began to recede as into a fog.
“
As a sign of good faith, I will leave you be for now, boy. But mark my words, should you turn to Veria's aid, I will hunt you from this life into the next and separate you from the Magi's destiny.”

And with that he was gone. Ardin felt a physical relief as soon as the figure vanished, gasping for air as he shuddered and dropped to a knee.

Alisia...
He had already decided that being with her was the most important thing. He was willing to give up his family for her, willing to give up everything.
But if I fail...

“
Ardin.”
This voice was familiar too.

Ardin turned to find a glowing field of energy shaped like that of a man. “You...”

“
He lied to you when he said he would leave you, Ardin. He is still close, but he cannot block every avenue of approach.”

The Greater Being of Veria had taken a human form, and it was beyond strange to Ardin to see. He had always assumed the Greater Being was a girl. “What are you doing here?”

“
Ardin, there are many things you should know, and no time in which to communicate them all. But it is important that you follow through on what has been asked of you. Of vital necessity.”
He halted his approach just feet from Ardin, the sensation warm and welcoming. Completely opposite of the presence of the Relequim.
“
You must not doubt this.”

Ardin's fear and anger were still eating at him. “If what's happening is of such vital importance, why don't you do something about it? Why aren't you here fighting with me?”