Hail to the Queen (Sage Trilogy, Book 3) (12 page)

“Ah, that’s not fair. I asked you first.”

“I’m not in the mood for manners, and I won’t play your games. Let’s get this over with.”

“Don’t be so eager,” Jester said, throwing his hands up in surrender. “Don’t you want to know more about Zen-echelon?”

“Not really,” James replied, crouching low and placing his right hand on his left rib. “You’re trying to stall. I won’t let you.”

“And what is a novice like –“

Jester’s speech stopped short as his outstretched hands suddenly disappeared. He looked down to see them plop gently onto the ground.

“How did you –“ he began to say, but then he toppled forward
as his legs were suddenly taken away. He fell face down into the dirt and began mumbling into it as James stood up and walked forward until he was beside the Jester.

“We do need to talk about Zen-echelon, but not yet.” James
said, turning his attention to Catherine and concentrating on his legs. He crouched as low as he could, feeling the surge of energy rippling through them, and then he leapt.

But something jumped on his back.

“SURPRISE!” Jester cackled as he stabbed James in the left rib with a small dagger repeatedly. “IS THIS WHERE YOUR EIDOLON IS? HOW ABOUT HERE?”

James growled and fell back towards the ground, having lost the energy he needed to reach Catherine. They both slammed into the topsoil hard with James receiving the brunt of it
face first. Jester rolled off of him and began hopping from one foot to the other, throwing his dagger from one hand to the next.

“GOT YOU!” Jester guffawed. “BET YOU’RE WONDERING HOW I DID THAT! HA-HA! LOOK! NO HANDS!”

Jester stretched out his hands, intact and well as he threw his head back and laughed. James climbed to his feet and brushed himself off. How did he get his limbs back? Could he regenerate like a Quietus?

James winced and grabbed his left rib. Eight stabs in about two seconds, and Jester was having the time of his life. He should have known better than to take a warrior from Zen-echelon lightly.

“What a pretty green sky!” Jester cackled as he stared up. “Want me to get you closer to it? It will just require a couple stabby-stab-stabs! It’s my most favoritest of games!”

“Sure,” James chuckled in spite of the pain. “Let’s play.”

James stretched out his right hand as if it was a baseball mitt, and in a brilliant flash of light that blanketed the entire mountain top for two seconds, an eidolon appeared. A white-hot sword that rippled with energy. Jester smiled manically and then looked down at his dagger.

“Oh no! You have a bigger stabby thing! That’s not fair! I made this game! I did! I did! NOT YOU!” Jester huffed and threw the dagger off the mountaintop. He smiled wide again and then mimicked James
’ action of when he called his eidolon forth.

“I forgot!” he said cheerfully. “I have my own!”

A flash of light, greater than James’ blinded him, and in the next moment, a silver blade that was shaped just like James was sticking into the young Sage’s shoulder, Jester smiling at the end of the hilt. James winced and grabbed the blade, trying to pull it out but Jester refused to budge as he craned his neck so that his face was nose to nose with James’.

“Don’t feel so special now, do you, Sage?”

Then Jester pulled the eidolon straight down.

*              *              *              *              *

“Kyran,” she whispered out of concern but he held up his hand to silence her.

“No words,” he said as he examined her from head to toe, inspecting every hair follicle, each fingernail and pore of her skin. Her lips were loo
se and relaxed as they’ve always been. Her stance was the same, with most of her weight leaning onto her right leg. Even the imperfections were intact. Physically, this was his wife, but that evidence still wasn’t good enough. It was apparent Thorn had been watching them, and he may just be quite good at…whatever it is he did. Whether it was his wife or not, he couldn’t deny that the similarities were alarming in every way. If this was just a copy, could Thorn do the same for others?

“
Can I speak now?” Chloe snickered, her eyes laughing as they tended to do. Kyran felt a pang in his stomach that made him nauseous. If this was Chloe, what would he do to get her back?

“Go ahead,” Kyran said as stoic as possible. She maintained her stance and gazed into his eyes.

“I’m not a copy. I know that won’t convince you. But, I figured I might as well say it just in case. I don’t want to waste your time. You have a mission to complete, remember?”

“You want me to finish my course?” Kyran asked curiously. If this was a copy, surely she would convince him to join Thorn, or perhaps that was already thought of and this was mere
ly a counter measure.

“I didn’t leave you so everything we’ve worked for could fall apart. If I knew ahead of time that you or Scarlet would even debate abandoning the others, I would never have sacrificed myself. I could still be here with you
– helping you.”

“According to Thorn, nothing has to change.”

“If you join Thorn, I’ll just leave you again.”

“How can you say that?” Kyran’s eyes flared up. “Do you have any idea what I’ve be
en through since you died? When we left Allay, I started to develop emotions, and then you kill yourself when I need you most.”

“I didn’t commit suicide, Kyran. I sacrificed myself to save Catherine and the young ones. There’s a difference. The King of Quietus was too strong and he was known to be a man of his word. If I saw any other way, I would’ve taken it, but I had to do what
I thought was best.”

“So w
hat am I supposed to do with these feelings? I’m trying to suppress them, but all I can think about is what happened to you. I’m torn between killing everyone I see and just becoming a hermit.”

“My husband,” Chloe said tenderly as she brought him to her bosom and held him close. Kyran shuddered as he noticed
that even her skin smelled the same. Again, anger welled up within him. If this was a copy…

“Don’t turn into Scarlet,” she said quietly. “Don’t let rage and anger consume you. It will only end badly. If you really want to see me again, complete the mission. Thorn has our souls. Each and every one that has died under the ether. There is no Paradise or Oblivion for us. We are simply ornaments
and trophies on his wall. For us to be together, you have to stop him. Break the ether’s hold over us, and then someday, I can see you in Paradise.”

“We’ve discussed this,” Kyran
said, pushing her away gently. “There is no Paradise for me. In the end, we are still torn apart. At least…if I join Thorn, I can see you whenever I like, even if you refuse to talk.”

“So you’re going to do what’s best for you,” Chloe scoffed. “That’s not the man I married.”

“You married a monster. That’s who’s standing before you now.”

“But that monster had the
heart
of a man, and that’s what drew me to you. You’ve done questionable things, yes. But for me it was all about the intentions. I know I’ve tried to stop you in the past, but that was only when I saw you spending too much time in the dark. None of your actions proved that you’re a bad man. You simply did what others could not. You took our burdens and sleepless nights and replaced them with peace and a clear conscience. No matter how cold you may think you are, you’ve always acted out of love. A monster can’t do such things. It destroys without purpose. It kills without remorse. You are not that monster.”

“
You truly don’t want me to stay by your side?”

“Not like this. You know that. If y
ou truly love me so much, then get back out there, stick your eidolon in Thorn’s chest and take that stone from him.”

“Well, that’s a rather violent thing for you to say,” Kyran’s eyes smiled.

“Let’s just say that I’ve had a lot of time to think about the past since I died, and I see your way a little more clearly.”

“Now
who’s the monster?” Kyran snickered. “I think our enemies would be more scared of you than I. Imagine a woman in a green sundress giggling uncontrollably while she stabbed them. Very disconcerting.”

“Then perhaps I passed at the right time,” Chloe laughed. “But Kyran, before we part –“

“- why do we have to part so soon?”

“Kyran, time is running out. Thorn’s plan is close to completion and then the world will be thrown into chaos. You have to go. But what I have to tell you
really quick is that Thorn is far too powerful for you to face alone, even in stealth. You need our friends and the other four Kingdoms if you have any chance to succeed. Remember that.”

“I will.”

“Then I guess this is good-bye,” she said, lowering her eyes at his coat.

“That’s it…” Kyran said in disbelief
. “I just leave now?”

“Yes,” Chloe replied. “And not to sound
harsh, but…I really don’t want to see you again until the mission is done, okay?”

“Okay,” Kyran said emotionless, his head dropping behind the collar of his closed trench coat. “Then I guess this is good-bye for now.”

Kyran turned to leave but Chloe grabbed his arm and spun him around until their noses were touching.

“I know you’re not leaving me here all alone without a kiss!”

“Of course not,” Kyran said as he zipped his collar down just enough for his small lips to show. Chloe grabbed his head and slammed her lips into his, tears streaming down her eyes and trying to break through their good-bye. Kyran clenched his jaw and fought the urge to demand more. He let her end the embrace, and then he turned away once again, refusing to look back at the woman he loved. If he was to complete this impossible mission, he had to dismiss all thoughts of her and focus. There could be no emotions now. There was only strategy and careful, meticulous planning…

“I knew that
wouldn’t kill you,” Jester sang as he waited a few yards away from James. James winced as he held the slowly healing wound. He had nearly been cut in half from Jester’s attack, and if the clown had been serious, he could have killed him instantly. Thankfully, he chose to let the game continue, allowing him to use his Quietus regenerative ability.

James was sure it was all a ploy
as soon as he realized it wasn’t a fatal blow. Even as he willingly healed the wound, he could hear the whispers from deep within his soul, scratching at its walls, asking him to be released completely. Jester had no mind to kill him, just wound him over and over until he was forced to unleash the Quietus and lose control. Now that Zen-echelon was beginning to make a move, they needed the Sages gone. And what was better than getting one on your side?

James sighed as the last of the wound closed and he could feel the tendons
and veins reattach. He grit his teeth and glared at Jester, whistling and running a finger down the face of his silver eidolon.

How could he have an eidolon? It didn’t make any sense. Yet somehow he had gotten power from the Allayan stone
…did it happen during the siege?

“Are you done?” Jester yawned. “I don’t have all day.”

“Then why didn’t you just end it?” James shouted.

“You know why,” Jester chuckled. “I want to bring home a new pet for the master. Al
l I need is for you to give in to your Quietus side.”

“This won’t work in your favor,” James said. “I have more self-control than you think.”

“History has said otherwise. I haven’t seen much potential in a little scab like you.”

“You’re right. I’m not much to look at. But one thing I possess that the other Sages don’t is that I’ve been trained by the strong
est of them all. She’s taught powerful techniques and strategies that have fallen for a long time on deaf ears. But not me. I embraced them, and trained vigorously for moments just like this. I can’t lose here. And I won’t allow you to take Catherine.”