Izikiel (27 page)

Silence descended over the small room. The
Matriarch stared at her hands as she entwined her bony fingers together. She continued to do so for a while and Izikiel began to wonder if he had revealed too much. There was always the risk that she could simply have them executed. Given the impending battle with the Void Lords, this was probably a greater risk than he had foreseen. Yet there was something about the Matriarch, something wise and caring. He realised that she reminded him of his mother. That gave him hope that she would ultimately accept what he had told her and that she would help them.

‘What you have told me sounds absolutely incredible and I am having great difficulty in believing it. Your knowledge of our enemy, of the future and of this
Eternal Flame
all suggest that there may be some truth to what you have told me.’

Izikiel bowed his head.

‘Thank you, Matriarch, for believing me. I assure you that what I have told you is the truth. The Void Lords will destroy the expeditionary fleet and your Juggernauts just as surely as you and I sit at this table.’

‘Is there no way that we can defeat them?’

‘No,’ Izikiel said, shaking his head. ‘What has happened must happen again otherwise the Universe may unravel around us. You alone will carry the burden of knowing how events will unfold. But I assure you that there will be one who will bring with them the light of the Eternal Flame.’

The
Matriarch seemed to consider what he had said. Letting out a slow breath, she coughed slightly.

‘How will I know this bringer of light?’ she asked.

‘Her name is...
will
be Lady Serafine. Treat her with respect and offer her any and all assistance that she may require for she is the first and mightiest of all the disciples. It is she who will bring with her humanity’s salvation.’

‘
And I cannot speak of this to anyone?’

‘No’

‘Then I shall bear this burden alone. It is a small price to pay for the life that I have lived. Yet to have to watch so many die...’ the Matriarch’s voice trailed off as she stared through the window. Several small, red liveried birds had alighted on one of the statues just outside. They titled their heads back and chirped in happiness. Somehow, it made Izikiel think that everything would turn out alright in the end.

Then he felt it. The power of the Eternal
Flame building all around him.

(
‘Cassandra?’) he cast the thought out.

(
‘I know, I felt it too. Are you ready?’)

(
‘Yes. Push through the time warp. We need to get to the present.’)

(
‘I’ll try.’)

‘Farewell, Matriarch,’
he said as the heat expanded within his body. He could now clearly sense Cassandra in the main audience chamber. He could also feel the power of the Eternal Flame modulating around him as it prepared for the time shift. He knew that they had only one chance at this even as the now familiar word resonated in his mind.

(
‘
Porro
’)
The
power around him solidified into a single stream of energy pulling him forward. Somehow, he instinctively knew how to shield himself from it. The world became a blur as everything accelerated forward. Individual events, moments, flashed past so quickly as to be indiscernible. Daylight turned to darkness and then to light. Izikiel focused on a single point within the time stream. He took a step forward, a step that spanned decades. Then another.
Tellus
shifted and changed all around him. Its mighty spires crumbled to dust under the Void Lord onslaught. Then they were rebuilt again over the following centuries. Izikiel moved forward, across space and time. The world spiralled around him at an increasing rate. He began to feel disorientated and confused. Panic gripped his insides. His mind reeled from the temporal shift that he was experiencing.

(‘
Izikiel,’) a voice called out to him.

Everything stopped.

He stood on a patch of neatly trimmed grass, with several paved pathways around him. Dark green and yellow trees grew at regular intervals and a number of people moved between them. It was a park. Half a dozen skyscrapers were visible above the trees. They looked the same as the ones on ancient
Tellus
.

‘
Are you alright?’ Cassandra asked.

Turning around
, Izikiel saw the human-form Elemental standing a few paces away from him. There was no sign of the others. He had to trust in the Eternal Flame to keep them safe now.

‘Yes. Did we make it?’

‘Hang on,’ Cassandra said. She ran over to a man walking down a park pathway. Waving him over, Cassandra spoke to him briefly. Returning to Izikiel, she said, ‘We’re here. Now how do we find the one responsible for the time shifts?’

‘The Interstellar Library. That’s where they
’ll be.’

‘Ok, follow me.’

They set off through the park. Walking past the gnarled old trees, Izikiel marvelled at the smell of fresh grass and leaves in the middle of such an incredible city. He remembered how cities had smelled back in his time. Watching the flying vessels above them, he realised that not having fossil fuel powered vehicles certainly helped.

They reached the edge of the park and Cassandra stepped inside what appeared to be a monorail system. Only that instead of gliding along a track, this one hovered in mid-air. Following her inside, Izikiel sat down next to a window. Within moments the futuristic monorail took off. It travelled at considerable speed as it moved between the skyscrapers and parks of the city core. Hundreds of vehicles of various sizes moved
throughout the city. Izikiel marvelled once more at what humanity had achieved.

‘This will take us
to the Interstellar Library. We should be there in about five minutes.’

Izikiel nodded as he continued to stare out of the window. Their route took them over a river
which wound its way through the city. The water below sparkled as it reflected the sunlight high above. Several water craft moved along its length, their multi-coloured hulls in sharp contrast to the dark glass buildings along the banks of the river. Izikiel felt a sudden chill. Despite the climate control of the monorail system and the clear day outside, he shivered. Looking at Cassandra, he suddenly realised what it was.

‘I can feel it too,’ she said.

‘Where is it coming from?’ he asked.

‘I don’t know.
But it’s getting stronger by the second.’

As they rounded a particularly dense patch of buildings, Izikiel’s eyes
opened wide in awe. A large multi-level structure dominated this part of the city. Its complex geometric design, while angular, appeared almost organic in nature.

‘That has to be the
Interstellar Library,’ he said.

‘Yes,
it is but look at the central spire.’

Izikiel felt that chill he had experienced before expand throughout his entire body as he stared at the central spire of the Interstellar Library. It was pitch black, with vaulted archways and several spires jutting out at oblique angles. Even at this distance, there was no mistaking the Void Lord citadel.

‘How in the name of the Flame is that possible?’ he asked.

The monorail dropped them off in front of the Interstellar Library. Walking through a series of revolving doors, Izikiel found himself inside the incredible structure.
Warm air blew across his face while gigantic silver beams intersected continuously throughout the interior. The effect was mesmerizing. It was effectively impossible to determine where any single beam began or ended. Amethyst coloured glass covered the ceiling, while a variety of green, blue and yellow plants grew inside evenly spaced planters. Dozens of people moved throughout the entrance lobby. Some carried strange looking cases, while others stood in small groups conversing. Everything appeared completely normal.
Or as normal as this futuristic building could ever be
, Izikiel thought.

‘
So, what do we do now?’ Cassandra asked. Her blue eyes flashed slightly as she scanned the crowd.

‘We need to find the true believer
. They’ll be able to tell us what’s going on here,’ Izikiel replied. ‘Do you know your way around the Library?’

Cassandra nodded.

‘Yes. I was here about a decade ago when I first arrived on
Tellus
. I can’t imagine it’s changed much in that time. Follow me.’

‘What about the Void Lord citadel?’

‘I honestly don’t know. It shouldn’t be here. The fact that no one seems to notice its presence is very concerning.’

‘We should be careful.’

‘That goes with saying. Come on.’

Izikiel followed her inside the Interstellar Library.
Passing through a series of narrow metallic laneways, they entered the Library proper. Here, row upon row of transparent tablets and metallic discs were stacked along intersecting walkways. Izikiel’s eyes struggled to take it all in.

‘It’s incredible,’ he
said.

‘Yes. You humans are truly gifted at hoarding artefacts from your past. It’s amazing that you don’t run out of space.’

Laughing, Izikiel walked across the green slate floor towards a central glass elevator core. Here, over a dozen small glass lifts moved up, down and across at considerable speed. Following Cassandra inside one, he was totally unprepared for the acceleration as the lift shot upwards and then to the left. The air rushed out of his lungs as his face was pressed against the cold glass. Five seconds later, the lift stopped and its doors slid open with the faintest hiss of air being released. Izikiel staggered out.

‘Thanks for the warning,’ he said drily.

Cassandra smiled at him as she motioned with her hand.

‘The inner vaults are this way. If I’m not mistaken
then that’s where we’ll find the Void Lord citadel and this mysterious true believer.’

The moment Cassandra mentioned the
Void Lords, Izikiel was reminded of their chill presence. It was like a persistent cold wind which was blowing directly onto his exposed skin. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as they moved deeper into the centre of the Interstellar Library. He found it very unsettling that their enemy was here within a structure created to fulfil part of the second disciple’s grand design for him. It was beginning to feel more and more like a trap with every step.

Walking down a series of narrow corridors, they reached an intricate vestibule. Gigantic support beams stood in each corner, black marble covered the floor while the ceiling was made of a strange crystalline glass. The light filtering down through the ceiling was refracted in a million directions at once
, creating an incredible visual effect.

‘There,’ Cassandra said. ‘Through that door lie the inner vaults. If this true believer is anywhere then that is where they will be.’

‘How do we get through?’

‘We walk. I will disable the security measures in this corridor.
’

‘Lead the way.’

Stepping forward, Cassandra paused for a moment. Izikiel could feel the heat around her expanding to fill the room. It was a comforting feeling as it banished the chill of the Void Lord’s presence.

Cassandra moved forward, her steps slow and deliberate. Tiny flashes of light burst into existence around her as the electronic security system was overloaded by the human-form Elemental. The flashes of light became brighter and more frequent. Finally, they exploded in a single burst of white light as Cassandra reached the door. It slowly swung open and Izikiel felt the chill of the Void return.

‘Wait,’ he called out. ‘Let me go first.

Cassandra paused in mid—
stride. Stepping back, she waited. Taking a deep breath, Izikiel passed through into the inner vault.

Inside
, a series of tall metallic cylinders were spaced evenly around the circular chamber. Each one extended up towards the solid marble ceiling. A dozen holographic display units flickered around two central columns. The entire chamber was illuminated in a bluish light radiated by the floor and walls.

‘By the light of the
Flame!’ Cassandra exclaimed.

Izikiel saw it too. Kneeling between the two central columns was a
silver haired woman. Her face obscured by her hair, she was held in place by thick metal chains attached to her arms and legs. She was clearly in pain as her entire body trembled.

‘Izikiel, wait it’s a trap!’

Ignoring the human-form Elemental’s words, Izikiel rushed over to the unknown woman. Kneeling beside her, he lifted her head gently. Her age surprised him. She appeared to be in her late seventies, her face wrinkled like old parchment.

‘Are you alright?’ he asked.

Her green eyes stared blankly at him for a moment. Then she spoke, her voice barely a whisper.

‘
You shouldn’t have come here.’

‘Are you the G
uardian of the Eternal Flame on this world?’ he asked.

Slowly
, the silver haired woman nodded.

‘
Yes. And you are Izikiel, the last disciple of the Eternal Flame. Sofija told me that you would come.’

‘What happened here?’ Cassandra asked.

‘The Void Lords somehow managed to interfere with the flow of time. Creating a temporal flux, they landed one of their citadels directly inside the Interstellar Library. Then they chained me and forced me to maintain the temporal flux. But I can’t anymore. The power is fading within me and I can feel my life draining away.’

‘Don’t worry, we’re here now,’ Izikiel said. Standing up
, he hefted the chains holding the female Guardian in place.

‘
Aduro
’

The chain in his hand melted and dropped to the floor. He repeated the process with the other
three. As the last chain fell away, the true believer collapsed to the ground. Izikiel lifted her up. Her eyes opened wide as she stared at something behind them.

‘
Forgive me,’ the female true believer whispered. Then her eyes closed and she passed out. Lowering her gently to the floor, Izikiel realised that he didn’t even know her name.

‘Izikiel’

The urgency in Cassandra’s voice made him instantly wary. Standing up, he saw a dozen black humanoid shapes moving out from behind the gigantic cylindrical vaults. The void spawn’s eyes glowed with a deep red ambience as they closed in on them. Izikiel stepped in front of the female true believer. The void spawn moved closer.

‘We meet again,
disciple
,’ a chill whisper echoed around the chamber.

The ranks of the void spawn parted and an impossibly
tall and thin spectral figure materialised within the chamber. Izikiel recognised it as the Void Lord who had spoken to him above
Vesta
.

‘
Caligo Dominus,’ Cassandra hissed.

The spectral figure turned
its burning red gaze towards the human-form Elemental.

‘I see
that you have discovered the Elementals,’ the Void Lord said. ‘These creatures of the Eternal Flame will die now as surely as they did before.’

Izikiel felt the heat around Cassandra explode to a new level as her eyes glowed with
pure flame.

‘Wait,’ he said.

Cassandra’s eyes dimmed slightly as she held herself in check.

‘What do you want?’
he asked.

‘What do I want?’ the Void Lord asked with a note of surprise. ‘I want you and all the other light worshipping creatures wiped from the face of this Universe once and for all.’

An overwhelming cold enveloped Izikiel. His breathing slowed as his entire body shivered. Images of a vast darkness filled his mind. Unlike the blackness of space, this darkness had no end, no shining points of light denoting light and warmth. This was an infinite darkness. Struggling against the power of the Void Lord, Izikiel’s heart slowed. He couldn’t breathe. Dropping to his knees, he tried desperately to concentrate, to reach out with his mind. But everywhere he turned a pair of glowing red eyes bore down on him. Oily black mouths opened wide to reveal rows of razor sharp teeth. The Void Lord glided closer.

‘You are mine,
disciple
.’

Izikiel’s
heart constricted. He stopped breathing. Darkness filled his vision and he tumbled into the Void.