Obsidian Sky (28 page)

“So what was Duncan doing here? Passing by?”

“I think he got information from one of us. We call ourselves the Dull Edges. A bunch of slobbering, stupid people with the most important and powerful knowledge in the whole world. Anyways, either by accident or intention, he must have said the word Choate or something around one of them and activated their clarity. Got information about me and came out here to investigate. A word of warning though. Don’t go around just saying Choate to every person you meet. You’ll attract the attention of the Judge after a while and he’ll make sure you’re chewing on old hair brushes like the rest of us in no time. You know what? Let’s not talk about it.”

“What did you tell Duncan?”

“That the most important piece of the artifact is in the Sentinel Stronghold, over the ocean if you keep going south, on another continent.”

“What is the Sentinel Stronghold? And I notice you keep saying ‘piece’ as if there are multiple parts to the Choate.”

“The Sentinel Stronghold is the one of the most heavily guarded fortresses in Obsidian, comprised of military men and women who have fought more battles than any humin should ever have to. And you would be correct in that there are multiple pieces to the Choate. 4 parts to be exact. Each piece is required to make the whole Choate, and the whole Choate is needed for maximum efficiency.”

“And the Choate grants whomever uses it a wish without limitation?”

“Oh it does far more than that.” Sylvester smiled through the pipe. “It summons a second Advent.

Chapter 17 – Together

“But only half of us survived the first one!” Grain exclaimed. Based on her reaction to his words, there was no doubt that what Sylvester said was true. He wasn’t lying. Grain would know.

“The four pieces are all over the place, but this is what they do. The first piece removes the Judge’s control over your Yen. The second, controls the trajectory of the new comet so it doesn’t just hit a planet you’re not aiming for. The third, and arguably the most important, controls the size of the comet and Advent, so theoretically, you could localize the blast. No need to wipe out half the planet. That’s the piece that’s in the Sentinel Stronghold. And lastly, the fourth piece controls the shockwave from the comet. The shockwave that follows the destruction is what gives anyone under it the Yen. If you had a complete Choate, you could not only get wishes without limits, you could grant them to multiple people.”

“Duncan really wanted to use Lowsunn as an army,” Aidan said. “He wanted them to fight the men and women at the Sentinel Stronghold.”

“Yeah,” Leah said. “And probably to get us to collect the other three pieces in the meantime.”

“So you know the locations of all the pieces?” Jin asked.

“Oh no, that would be crazy. Even the Sentinel Stronghold I only know about because I heard about it a few years ago. I don’t really know for sure if it’s there, but I wasn’t about to send a guy like that anywhere. I mean, I told the truth, which I’m obligated to do, but not the whole truth, you know?”

“I’m sure Duncan would have come back for you if he had survived,” Aidan said. Sylvester raised an eyebrow.

“He died, huh? Not surprised. I hear Lowsunn’s pretty solid on defenses.”

“So he didn’t have anyone else with him when he was here?”

“Not that I saw.”

“Interesting,” Aidan said, and Jin sat up more.

“Do you know for a fact the location of any of the other pieces?” Jin asked. Sylvester gave him a weary look.

“What do you intend to do with it?”

“To be honest, keep it away from others. I don’t want a weapon like that in the hands of anyone I don’t trust.”

“And who’s to say you’re to be trusted?”

“I don’t plan on using it for one thing. That alone should tell you my intentions are honorable.”

“True. Well, I know the exact location of only one piece, and it happens to be in Onyx Major. An old friend of mine is holding on to it. You’ll have to convince her to relinquish it to you. Her name is Mace.”

“Do you think she would give it to us?” Jin asked.

“I don’t know. You’ll have to pass her test, whatever that is. I’m just the messenger. But again, a word of warning. The Judge may leave you alone if you only have one piece of the Choate. Maybe two. But three or more and you officially become targets. He may not be able to harm you himself, but he has followers. Followers with abilities that will make you wish for a quick death. I hope you remember my words.”

“We will,” Aidan said. “But while we still have some time, I must ask you – what do you know about Lowsunn? Or what have you heard? What kind of a place is it?”

“Hmmm,” he said, puffing away. “Well, they keep to themselves mostly. Especially since there’s not much around them. But people don’t like them. I know that. They act like a fortress when many of the places in Obsidian have opened their doors to others. People understand the need for caution, but to cut themselves off from the world? People start thinking they have something to hide.”

“I only ask because I don’t know what to make of them. Lowsunn is a home to me, but I don’t like the way they handle some things.”

“If you’re a family like they say you all are, then they should treat you like it. What do you do when a family member is having problems with another? You have a meeting. You work it out. We all need a knock on the head sometimes. No one is above the knocking.”

“Right,” Aidan said. Sylvester nodded as he took one last look at all his guests, then climbed to his feet.

“I only have a few minutes left so I hope you don’t mind if I spend it doing a little light reading. Used to love that. Don’t eat that crap I concocted in the pot. There’s fresh meat in the cabinet in the back of the house. Check it before you eat it. Don’t remember how long it’s been there exactly. But use the cauldron to cook it and you’re free to sleep on the roof. When I revert back, I might yell at you and stuff, but just ignore me. The whole turning-people-into-paper thing is an auto-defense mechanism. Unless you attack me, it won’t kick in. Have a good night, everyone. It was nice meeting you all.”

Sylvester hummed a tune to himself as he scurried into the house. They heard the noises of a chair being ripped from the wall and placed into the open. The tune continued until his pipe dropped from his mouth and onto the table. The chair was heard scraping against the floor again, and then he emerged into view, hunchbacked and limping as he passed by the open entrance to the house. He grabbed his wooden spoon, stuck it in the cauldron and took a sip.

“Tastes as good as sunshine,” he muttered. And then he kept stirring.

*              *              *

“Can’t sleep?” Leah asked as she came from behind Aidan in the field. The stars were in the midst of their second act, bouncing off one another like they were made of rubber. There was no noise to accompany the clashes, just a light breeze that rustled through his hair.

“It was hard enough with a cabin full of boys,” Aidan replied. “Even worse with six other people lying right next to you.”

“Even if one of those people is me?”

“You’re the only one I want to lie next to,” he smiled, momentarily facing her. “I can come back there now if you like.”

“Oh, no I figured I wouldn’t be getting much sleep the first night out here anyways. And can we talk about how creepy those paper men were? Soooooo creepy!”

“I’m not going to forget those anytime soon,” he laughed. Leah hugged him from behind.

“So what’s the plan?”

“We head to Onyx Major, maybe get a little place of our own until we hear Necrosis is on his way. Then we keep moving.”

“I meant the Choate. Are we going to seek out Mace?”

“Should we? You heard Sylvester. We start collecting pieces, and we start gaining more enemies.”

“It is a dilemma,” she said, nuzzling her cheek into his back. “It’s hard because I almost feel like it’s our obligation though. Imagine if Duncan had gotten a hold of a piece. The damage he could have caused.”

“I don’t know if having it in our possession is any better. It really is hard. Knowing when to intervene and when to just stay back.”

“What do you want to do? What does your gut tell you?”

“That we should retrieve it,” he sighed, looking to the stars. “Jin is right. The fact that we have no desire to use it speaks volumes. I can’t say the same about the Elders or Bailey, and given that Sylvester’s home is so relatively close to Lowsunn, it’s only a matter of time before he tells someone else about it.”

“We’re already in trouble, why not add a little more?” Leah said. A cry of frustration interrupted their conversation and they both glanced over to the right. Isaac was off in the distance, testing out his new-found abilities, making his sword fly up into the air and dance. Isaac used his hands to guide it, but he was having difficulty figuring out the mechanics. The sword would fall randomly and he stomped the ground, unable to figure out what went wrong.

“Should we go help him?” Aidan asked. Leah nodded into his back and they separated.

“I’ll go first,” she said, sprinting forward. Summoning a blade of ice with a hilt that wrapped around her right fist, she charged Isaac silently, keeping her body and head low. But Isaac sensed her approach, picked up his sword from the grass, and parried her blow at the last second. Leah pivoted and struck again, and they clashed again, and again and again, neither one taking the other too seriously. Aidan finally made his way over to them and stepped in between them.

“Now, now, that’s not going to help you improve,” he said, calling forth two magma swords from the palms of his hands. “Both of you taking me on at once will.”

Leah wasted no words and lunged right at Aidan’s head. Aidan blocked the blow and then Isaac’s, activating fire shields whenever he wasn’t fast enough to parry. The shields bounced their swords away and knocked them off balance, and whenever they staggered back, he would kick at them playfully. The three of them weren’t serious at all, but they enjoyed the skirmish all the same. Until they were interrupted.

“What are you kids doing?” Jin laughed as he beat his fists together and came out of the shadows.

“I’ll referee,” Teller said, flying up above them all. Grain sat to the side and watched while Jessica went to Jin’s side.

“Battle royale,” she said with a big grin. “Winner gets to be carried to Onyx Major.”

“Now that’s worth playing for,” Aidan smiled, dismissing his swords by reducing them to ash. “Any rules?”

“Just be the last one standing,” Jin said, lunging at Aidan. Aidan shot a wave of fire from the tips of his fingers, sending Jin right onto his butt. He laughed as he got back to his feet.

“Alright, but remember, I can take that force and use it against you.” Jin lunged forward again, and Aidan unleashed another wave of fire, but his opponent was quicker than before and rolled out of the way, pivoted, and hit Aidan square in the cheek – hard enough to send him reeling back. Aidan kept his balance as Jin danced back and forth in front of him, ready for more. All Aidan could do was smile.

*              *              *

“That was one way to get some rest,” Jin chuckled, kicking Aidan’s ribs lightly. The sun’s rays made him wince as he tried to open an eye. He shielded the light with his right hand and Jin helped him to his feet with the other.

“What happened?” he groaned. His cheeks felt like he had slept on a rock.

“You lost, buddy,” Jin said.

“I don’t remember that.”

“After you hit me with a tsunami of fire, I had no choice but to knock you out. That thing hurt! If it weren’t for the kinetic power I had gotten from you earlier, my skin wouldn’t have been thick enough to handle the heat. Gave me a good tan though.”

“I really have to stop doing that move. It never works.”

“You would have beaten me if you had kept up the pressure. But you go too big too soon. When you use waves and beams and streams…all that stuff. Yeah, it’s a large attack, and it hurts, but then you’re exhausted and you have to cool down before you can do it all over again, giving your enemy too much time to recover. Those waves may work against Teller or Grain, but not the rest of us. What if you made fire gauntlets?”

“Gauntlets?”

“Yeah. Gloves. But make them all spiky like your hair and infused with magma. Nice and hot and hard. You could have whaled on my face for a couple of minutes and I would have been done. No time to channel my energy back at you.”

“Hmmm.” Aidan thought about the idea as he let the liquid fire pour out of his hands. Within seconds, he had a large, spiked gauntlet on each hand. They looked like the hands of a dragon, but black and red in color. The traces of lava pumping along their talon-like edges glowed against the dark surface, and Aidan held them up proudly for all to see, wiggling their horrific fingers.

“Like this?”

“Exactly,” Jin said, poking a spike. “That is quite sharp,” he laughed. “Occasionally at night when you’re not able to sleep, you should develop a few new techniques.”

“So you won against everyone?” Aidan asked.

“No, Jess won, like always,” Jin replied, pointing behind him. Jessica was already riding on Isaac’s back. She waved to them cheerfully as Jin muttered: “It’s easy to win when you can just force everyone to lie down and go night night.”

“Stop your crying, loser!” she shouted from atop Isaac’s back, kicking at his ribs like he was a horse. Leah and Grain giggled from nearby. Teller was as stoic as ever with his arms crossed.

“I take it we’re heading out?” Aidan asked. Jin nodded.

“Even at a quick pace, we won’t reach the city until dark. I tried saying good-bye to Sylvester, but he was sound asleep at the table. Didn’t have the heart to wake him. For all I know, it’s the only time in which he can truly be himself.”

“I know the feeling,” Aidan said. He could hear the rhythmic snore of the elderly young man coming from inside. “Maybe someday we can free him of his burden.”

“One can hope,” Jin said, turning to face the others. “Alright, everyone! Let’s head out!”

*              *              *

It was hard to miss Onyx Major. The valley eventually dropped down into a crater so large that the group had no idea just how far down it went. From the top one couldn’t see the city, only an obscure shadow that was so intimidating, it caused many weary travelers to consider returning from whence they came. But upon heading downwards, the civilization emerged like an ancient beast that had been summoned from a dark pit.

The major structures were made of black onyx, diamond, and ores of obsidian, fashioned into large spikes at awkward angles. At a distance, it was like the back of a sea urchin, and the population down below moved so quickly that it made the city itself seem alive. During the day, Onyx Major was lit up only by what little sun reflected off the diamond structures, but at night, it became pitch black, and the inhabitants mainly retired to their quarters. Once you entered the city itself, you could see that it wasn’t as terrible as it had seemed from a distance, but it still kept its horror vibe.