Of Heroes And Villains (Book 4) (26 page)

“I don’t need them,” James said. Orchid took a step back. James smiled and turned his attention back to Lakrymos. “I’ll have to do my best to stop you here. Even if you’ve been wandering around, watching me and the other Sages spar, you have no clue what I can do when everything’s on the line.”

“Well,” Lakrymos said, crossing his arms. “You will survive this. So make this learning session count. And when you wake back up, consider our proposal. If you can’t beat us, what hope do you have against the Yama?”

“If they even exist,” James smiled, instilling energy into his eidolons. “We’ll see.”

“Hmph,” Lakrymos said, stretching his right palm out toward the ground. The brick pavement cracked and split, and then a hilt emerged from the tiny pile of rubble. But before he could grab it, James took the initiative. Orchid covered her ears and ran as James swung at Lakrymos’ head. The Sage dodged the swing easily with a tilt of his neck and then he jumped back, far off into the distance. He left his eidolon still in the ground.

James sprinted forward as fast as he could and swung at the Sage, but Lakrymos was able to dodge every blow as if he had seen it coming long ago. When there was a break in the swings, Lakrymos stepped in toward James and kicked him square in the stomach. James halted his attack as the blow paralyzed him in place. Lakrymos sped behind James and leaned into his ear.

“Why do you just transform your clothes and course energy through your veins? You would be much faster if you transformed your body completely. Manifest yourself into a new creation.” James swung his black eidolon behind him and Lakrymos ducked under it. He jabbed James in the rib once, sending the Master Sage to his knees, clutching his side. He dropped his black eidolon to the ground and it disappeared.

“Why use your power to speed up when you can just put it into enhanced sight? It becomes easy after that. You just use bursts of speed when it matters at that point.” James turned to face his opponent. Lakrymos jumped up and kneed him in the chin, and then followed it up by punching him across the face. James went flying face first into the brick pavement.

“Your body is just a shell for your soul. If you can transform into a Quietus, you can alter your body to be more efficient.” James disappeared from Lakrymos’ sight, but the legendary Sage was not shaken. He waited for the attack patiently, folding his arms behind his back while he paced along the courtyard’s edge. “When you become a Sage, you cannot limit your wisdom of all things, even the things that may seem…immoral. I’m not saying that you have to completely embrace everything you come across, but at least be willing to consider all matters.”

James appeared behind Lakrymos and swung at the back of his head with his right fist. Lakrymos spun around, blocked it with his left forearm, and then slammed the palm of his right hand into James’ chest. As James staggered backwards, Lakrymos unleashed a flurry of punches to the Sage’s midsection, and then he ended it with another swift punch across the face. James fell on his side and clutched his stomach.

“This is pathetic,” Lakrymos said, pacing around James’ fallen body. “You are the best Allay has to offer, and I’ve barely done anything. This is like teaching a child. Your Kingdom is doomed if this is all you have to defend them with.”

“Not yet,” James groaned, as his neck began stretching out. A scythe appeared on his right forearm. Lakrymos stopped pacing and watched the transformation.

“If I was a Yama, I would just kill you right now. Without hesitation.” James didn’t respond audibly. He leapt at Lakrymos, who grabbed his forepaws with his bare hands, claws and all. “You ever see the strength of a
Delilah
? I have. Let me show you a portion.” With a simple squeeze, he crushed both of James’ wrists in an instant. James howled and tried to kick at Lakrymos, but the legendary Sage just threw him into one of the ruined houses. Shanelle, who was sitting nearby, winced as debris came flying past the side of her face. She started getting up to help, but Orchid appeared by her side and chopped the back of her neck lightly, knocking the girl unconscious all over again.

“You don’t want to be a part of this,” Orchid said, turning her attention to the rubble. James emerged, out of his Quietus form. His wounds were all healed, but it was obvious he had lost massive quantities of energy.

“You should just transform what you need,” Lakrymos said to the approaching James. “You spend too much time focusing on the aesthetics, when the power is all you require. I didn’t transform into a Delilah. I merely used their power.”

“You’re making stuff up,” James muttered, manifesting his white eidolon into his right hand. “That was probably just some Langoran strength.”

“Fine. I’ll do it again. This time, you tell me it’s merely Langoran. Again, when you wake up, please make sure you give that message to the Queen, or you can watch, as I slowly cut off her head. The choice is yours.” James swung his eidolon at the Sage with all his might, and Lakrymos blocked it with his forearm, shattering it to pieces on impact. Lakrymos then reached forward and shoved a hand into the middle of James’ torso. James cried out in agony as Lakrymos slowly took his hand out.

In Lakrymos’ hand was James’ black eidolon. Lakrymos examined the blade as James tried to reach for it haphazardly. Lakrymos kicked him backwards to the ground, then he took the black eidolon, and smashed it over his knee. He walked over to James, picked him up by his collar, and began punching him in the face. Over, and over, and over again.

James’ Sage robes slowly disintegrated with each blow, tearing off into pieces, and becoming one with the atmosphere. It didn’t take long before James was back in his normal clothes. Lakrymos shook his head and then threw James to the ground.

“And that,” he said to Orchid, “was the cornerstone of their resistance.”

Chapter 19 – Deliberation

“And that is why I called you here,” Catherine sighed, leaning back into her chair.

“I thought we were finished with all of this,” Zain, King of Languor replied, leaning onto his elbows. “When we agreed to destroy the stones, I thought it was the end. How did more stones appear?”

“I don’t know,” Catherine said, holding up the stone in the palm of her hand. “But this is definitely real.”

“So what are they, magical?” Zain asked, turning to the King of Prattle, Tyuin. Tyuin was deep in thought, his head fallen into his chest.

“If they are alive, it still doesn’t make sense how more appear. Would you say they are alive, Catherine? You had one inside of you for quite some time.”

“I would say to a degree,” she said. “There is definitely something there, but I never thought of it as sentient. More like we would view the grass.”

“It makes more sense that someone is replacing the stones, but who? If someone truly has that power, it’s quite unnerving.”

“We should probably just destroy every set,” Zain said, crossing his arms. “Every single set that appears.”

“I’m not so sure,” Catherine said. “Think about it. If there can be rogue Sages, then there could certainly be other factions that arise in the future. If these stones keep reappearing, and these factions get a hold on them, they will be the ones in power. All they have to do is wait us out while the generations after us lose their abilities. Then they can take us easily and do what they will.”

“So you’re actually considering using these things?” Zain said in shock.

“She makes a good case,” Tyuin lamented. “We should.”

“Then who carries it?” Zain asked, throwing his hands up in the air.

“Tyuin should,” Catherine said to Zain. “With the rogue Sages out there, I can’t afford to, and your Kingdom is quite strong on its own right now. Tyuin is the only one that still needs help in getting his people back on their feet. They are still few in number compared to us. That’s my vote.”

“Fine,” Zain said, shrugging his shoulders. “It makes sense.”

“Thank you,” Tyuin said with a nod, taking the stone and keeping it between his hands beneath the table. “I’ll make sure to consult both of you if I ever make a decision concerning its use, and of course, your people are free to glean from it whenever they like.”

“So,” Zain said. “These rogue Sages. What do we do about them?”

“I need you and your guards to keep an eye out for them,” Catherine said. “We’re not even entirely sure if they exist. The Quietus could have made them up.”

“When are you going to free the Quietus?” Zain asked.

“Soon,” she said, clearing her throat. “I know it was a terrible decision, but I had to act quickly.”

“We understand,” Tyuin chipped in. “We would have done the same, or worse,” he said, turning to Zain. Zain laughed heartily and reached over to pat his friend on the shoulder.

“Ah, you know me too well,” he laughed again.

“When the Quietus are freed though,” Catherine said, leaning forward on the table. “We have to give them a fair chance. We shouldn’t intimidate them.”

“You mean more than you have already?” Zain winked at her.

“Yes,” Catherine sighed, leaning back into her chair. “Exactly that.”

“MY QUEEN!” Talia yelled, bursting into the room. “We have a problem!” Zhou came into the room with James in his arms, as if the Master Sage was a sleeping baby. He was barely conscious, his clothes were stained with blood, and his body was bruised. His face—was nearly unrecognizable. Catherine covered his mouth in horror as James’ listless eyes met hers. He could barely move his lips to speak.

“On the table!” Catherine ordered, and Zhou placed him gently down onto it. Zain and Tyuin stood to their feet and off to the side. Catherine examined James’ body carefully, ripping his shirt and looking for any fatal wounds. Whatever wound had caused all the blood had been healed, but that still didn’t mean James was okay.

“What happened?” she yelled at Zhou. He didn’t flinch.

“A woman, dressed in all black threw him, and another student, into the Sage Academy courtyard. She just left them there. The students found them and notified me immediately. I didn’t have time to pursue.”

“She was wearing a black Sage robe?”

“Yes, according to the students.”

“And the other student with James?”

“A girl named Shanelle. She wasn’t as badly wounded, but it was apparent that her stomach had been cut open recently. The wound is healed but there’s still a scar. She’s still unconscious. I don’t know who could have done this to James.”

“Agreed,” she said, with a heavy sigh. James tried to reach up and take her hand. She grabbed it for him and leaned in close to his lips.

“Lakrymos,” he whispered. “Take…kingdom. Twenty…four hours.”

“Lakrymos?” she scowled. “The legendary Sage of Old?”

“He’s delirious,” Zain offered, but Catherine shook her head.

“Whether he is or not, something happened to him, and something may be coming here to attack the rest of us. If they were dropped off on Allay’s doorstep, they know where we live.”

“James took a group of eight with him,” Zhou replied. “Only he and the girl returned. The others may be dead.”

“And they were some of our strongest recruits too,” Talia said, biting a fingernail. “What do we do now?”

“James mentioned 24 hours,” Catherine said. “That’s what we’re going to go off of.”

“And what exactly are we preparing for?”

“Anything we can think of.”

*              *              *

The news of James’ defeat spread quickly throughout the Kingdom of Allay. Before Bastion and Arimus could even reach the village square, they had heard several accounts. All of them mentioning a female Sage, wearing a black robe, and of a battered James—being ditched in the Sage Academy’s courtyard. After they heard a few tales in passing, they both assumed that at least some of it had to be true. Arimus unleashed his eidolon for guidance, and then they ran to the castle as fast as they could, neither one talking to the other of what it could all mean.

Bastion’s mind was racing. What kind of power could these Sages possibly possess to defeat James? Then again, he was stronger than James…were they young Sages like he? Did they have knowledge about becoming a Sage that he lacked?

Arimus ran into the castle, and he didn’t stop once he hit the throne room. With Bastion right behind him, he kept up the speed, until his eidolon told him where James was specifically located. Running into the deliberation room, they found James on the table, slowly lifting his head up and looking around. Catherine glanced over at them for a second, and then she turned her attention back to her husband.

“Just take it a step at a time,” she said softly, helping to keep his head up with her hands. “Just keep on healing.”

“Let me down,” he managed to say, and she lowered his head gently. James began breathing heavily as he looked around the room the best he could. “Lakrymos is alive.” He took another breath and scowled. “When Thorn died, the evil souls were released.”

“But Lakrymos was a champion for the people,” Talia said, to which Catherine held up a finger for her to be quiet.

“He’s not,” James said, closing his eyes. “And he’ll prove it. He’s using a man named Ephai to create a manifestation shell for him. I don’t know how he’s constantly maintaining the shell…”

“I don’t think anyone’s ever tried putting a soul into a manifestation,” Arimus said. “Perhaps it is Lakrymos’ soul that is keeping the shell whole, even after Ephai calls it back.”

“No. The shell is still part of this Ephai’s soul,” Talia said. “There’s no way Lakrymos’ will could just keep it whole. They must have Ephai controlled somehow, or, and this is the most likely case, he’s lying, and there’s more to his form than he’s willing to admit.”

“Of course there is,” Catherine sighed. “What else, James?”

“He wants the Kingdom, in order to stop some incoming force called Yama. He claims they will enslave us all, and they’re due to arrive within a year. Only his rule can help us become the warriors we need to be in order to have a chance.”

“Has anyone heard of these Yama?” Catherine asked the room. Everyone shook their heads.

“Supposedly,” James groaned, sitting up. “They live across the sea. But they know about us somehow.”