The End of the Fantasy (Book #6 of the Sage Saga) (8 page)

“Do we need him anymore?” Daisy asked, staring back at the Yama. He bared his teeth at her and Catherine shook her head. She turned away as Daisy killed their prisoner. Though she didn’t have a problem taking a life in the midst of battle, executing someone outright was a task she could not carry out. Some may think that she was childish for it, but it was the only way she could stomach who she was at night, when there was nothing but her thoughts to keep her warm.

The nights had gotten colder since James’ passing.

“We can take turns with manifestations,” Talia said, returning from her scouting endeavor. “That way, neither of us get too exhausted. I imagine that once we hit the borders of the Yama homeland, wherever that may be, we’ll have to be very cautious.”

“We’re headed north,” Catherine replied. “Do you mind going first, Talia?”

“I would have accepted nothing less,” she replied with a curt nod. She turned around and faced the open expanse, raising the palms of her hands in the air and closing her eyes. As if it rose from the pebbles of sand beneath their feet, a large winged creature began to appear into view, bird-like, with wings as tall and wide as a human. Its beak was short and nearly smashed into its face, and its beady eyes darted back and forth as if they were little black insects. There was wooly fur covering its body all over and it was as tall as wild grass, grey and brown in color. Talia looked back at them.

“I figured the fur could conceal us a bit.”

“Good thinking,” Marie replied, grabbing a tuft so that she could climb onto the bird’s back. Catherine, Daisy and Talia all leapt onto the bird and plopped down onto their butt once they landed. Marie muttered something under her breath as Catherine and the rest laughed. As the bird began to take flight, gaining momentum with each passing second, Catherine wished for it to slow down. After all, it could be the last glimpse she ever got of the wasteland. Though it was barren and seemed hopeless, there was a bright future underneath the surface. The top had been scorched, but not to the core. She figured it was an accurate metaphor to what Allay and the other Kingdoms were going through now, and she was uncertain if there would be anything left should they ever return. She was not abandoning them. She could never do that.

She hoped they understood.

Catherine bit her lip as they reached the bottom of the clouds, and the white mist took over her vision. The land was gone, and so they were off. Heading north into the unknown. She tried to keep a brave face, but Marie could see through it instantly. Catherine looked away in shame but the Prattlian reached out and placed a delicate hand on her shoulder. Catherine turned back and saw Marie smiling warmly. Catherine placed her hand over Marie’s. No matter what was coming next, they were in it together.

Someone to fight with…

At least she still had that.

“Check, check, checking all vital signs,” Lily said as she tapped Bastion’s chest. Bastion laughed and pushed her away playfully.

“What are you doing?” he laughed. “That tickles.”

“Just playing around,” she said, giving him a wide smile with nearly all of her teeth showing.

“Now I don’t know if I want to do this.”

“If we’re going to fight the Yama, you don’t have much of a choice.”

“Uh-huh,” he muttered, eyeing her suspiciously. “You know, I was thinking…why would you be so eager to do this? You might fuse with me and then I start going on a rampage, using you left and right.”

“Joke’s on you. You’re the one that would be wasting years of your life, remember? You might use me, but you’re only hurting yourself.”

“Right, right. I forgot.”

“Are you sure you’re ready? Did you get enough to eat?”

“Meh,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders. The milac was as small as a mouse and it hardly had any muscles on it. Eating it was like biting into the fattest of sausage, but Bastion knew that beggars couldn’t be choosers.

“I think that describes that creature adequately,” she laughed. Bastion cleared his throat and extended his arms out, as if he was going to give Lily a hug.

“I’m ready,” he said, waiting for her to do…whatever she did to enter him. She bit her lip and hesitated for a moment, but then a flash of light came from the center of her abdomen, nearly blinding Bastion. He squint his eyes as he continued watching, wanting to see what she was doing, but he was unable. The light was far too bright.

It only lasted a few seconds. And then it seemed like there was more darkness than ever before. It was then that he realized that he felt alone. He looked around him and felt the cold scratch at his skin. The dark was suffocating and closed in on him, hoping to consume, and the ground beneath his feet was hard and sharp, making his feet ache and his calf muscles tremble. He suddenly felt weary. He hadn’t realized how much he had pushed himself until now. Lily had been there to distract him. To make him laugh and smile through the training. Now it felt like she had never been there.

He looked at the ground and saw her there. A very large stone that would take both of his hands to pick up. It was grey and cracked, with lightning blue glowing from underneath the crevices. This was her…five stones combined into one.

He couldn’t help but think of her terribly for a moment—as an object. He felt his superiority and power over her. How he could easily just stomp on the stone and end her completely. Or use her to carry out his will. He could leave her there—just walk off and let her feel the crippling effect of loneliness. There was so much he could do, and he felt terrible about the thoughts even manifesting in his head.

It was only at that moment, that he considered that maybe…he really was destined for greatness. For with all of those thoughts, he gave none of them serious consideration. The moment they were born, they were cast aside like unwanted children. Forgotten and neglected until they starved and faded into the ether from which they were born.

He realized at that moment that many people would not do what he just did.

They would dwell.

They would weigh the pros and the cons of each horrible decision, and the scary part was that these same people entertaining such horrible acts would likely carry them out if they only had the ability or the opportunity.

Bastion had it all. By his actions, the world would live or die. He could let it burn by simply doing nothing. He could decide to take over an entire city if he wanted to, just because the thought entered his mind. When he was in Languor, under the illusions of Orchid, he was angry and scared. He knew that he had to run away from them all, because if he had let the rage kindle, he might have lashed out against them without cause. He might have taken Languor for his own…just so they would no longer look at him as an…an other.

He had the power. He was like a child god, wondering if he should put the puppet strings on the backs of his creations, or let them fend for themselves as he watched in amusement.

All of these thoughts terrified him.

To the point that he quickly picked up Lily in the form of a stone, and then pressed her against his chest, closing his eyes as she melted into him. It felt like water being poured out of millions of microscopic pitchers, directly into each pore of his body. A strange sensation in which he knew he was feeling something, but it wasn’t strong enough to register any kind of reaction but wonder. He felt nothing as Lily latched onto his heart, but once she settled down, again, he couldn’t help but wonder if this would be his end.

After all, she was no ordinary stone. Whoever her masters were, they could have made her with the sole purpose of assassinating him. Could stones commit suicide? It didn’t seem likely, but if she was designed differently, she could take his heart now, and there was nothing he could do about it…

“Hellooooooooo,” Lily practically yelled. Bastion opened his eyes and looked around him but he saw no one. “I’m inside of you, dummy,” she laughed. Bastion pounded a fist over his heart.

“Don’t call me dummy.”

“I was playing around,” she said from within his mind, sounding sorrowful. “Are you okay? Hold on. Let me do something. You want to talk to me face to face, right? I can’t do this without your permission. You’re…kind of in control of me right now.”

“I do want to see you,” Bastion said, with little emotion in his voice. His eyes closed instinctively and when he opened them again, he found himself in a dark vast room that felt like it extended for miles. There was a spotlight coming from an unknown source in the middle of where they stood and that was all that was visible. Everything else was pitch black. Lily was back in her normal attire—lacy white dress and all—while she stood with her hands on her hips, studying him meticulously.

“What’s wrong with you?” she asked him. “And what took so long for you to pick me up?”

“I’m sorry. That was my fault,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You scared me,” she said, her lips trembling. She took a step toward him and reached out for him but then she dropped her quivering fingers and clasped her hands together. “I thought you were going to abandon me. I didn’t know what you were doing. I thought that—”

“—I’m sorry,” he said, practically throwing his arms around her. He hugged her tight as she wept into his shoulder. He didn’t even know it was possible for her to break down like this. She seemed so confident and sure of herself. But like him, no matter what she was and how much strength she possessed, she was still bound by the fear of abandonment and objectivity.

“I won’t do that to you again,” Bastion said, whispering into her ear. He could feel her face scrunching up against his shoulder. She was trying hard not to cry more.

“What happened?” she asked, pulling away suddenly. He had forgotten how strong she was physically.

“I was having doubts,” he told the truth. “I was wondering what the best course of action for me was.”

“And that included what?” she said, waiting patiently. She wiped her face with the palms of her hand and tried to readjust her dress so that it didn’t look so disheveled.

“When I saw you like that…as a stone…it made me think things I didn’t want to. And it made me realize…just how much I could change the world.”

“Way to keep a girl waiting. What are you saying?”

“I think I’m ready,” he said with a heavy sigh. As soon as the words left him, he felt more confident. Of course he would still have to be careful with whatever decisions he made, but he was determined to do all he could to restore the balance. Whether the Yama’s intentions were noble or not, it didn’t matter. They were going about it the wrong way. He saw that clearly.

“You’re ready to fight the Yama?” she asked. He nodded, keeping his jaw clenched tight.

“Then let’s see what we can do together,” she said as she reached her fingertips toward the ceiling with her eyes closed. Thin lines of lighting blue shot out from each of her fingers and flew up toward the air. They eventually reached the ceiling and began crawling along it, covering the top, the walls in the far distance, and eventually coming back to them, running around their feet and connecting with one another like one big intricate system. Bastion watched in awe as she took long and heavy breaths.

“What are you doing?” he asked, and she smiled but didn’t open her eyes.

“I’m evaluating your body and mind, searching for solutions to our Yama problem.”

“You can make me stronger?”

“No, but I might be able to show you a couple things. When one fuses with their stone, they can do things that no one else can. Think of Catherine for example, and how she was able to form butterfly wings in the Old Prattle battle. Or how she was able to create a powerful suit of armor in the fight against the dragons. With the stone lending you energy, your manifestations become more than illusions and empty shells. They gain substance.”

“Manifestations have substance.”

“They can be given substance at the cost of more energy from the summoner, but that requires a lot of practice. You’ve summoned pillars before like your friend Daisy tends to. You also noticed how exhausted you got from it. Even in the fight against Lakrymos, the swords that you called forth took a big hit on your pool of energy. It shows that even you aren’t invincible.”

Bastion frowned as he looked at the lines on the floor.
She’s literally learning everything about me. My thoughts. My memories. My weaknesses…everything.

“I’m not the bad guy,” she said suddenly, her voice becoming somber. “I’m just assessing you because I need to know what’s best for us.”

“Still…it doesn’t feel right,” he said. “It’s not like I gave you permission.”

“If you could do the same for me…help me…I would allow it.”

“But I can’t. That’s the problem.”

“Fine,” she said. She opened her eyes and the lines of blue vanished in an instant. “I’ll respect your privacy.”

“Now that you’re all done exploring,” Bastion laughed. “Find anything good?”

“I like that you didn’t decide to stomp me into the ground,” she said flatly. Bastion winced.

“I’m sorry those thoughts came to mind…but there was no way that was going to happen. It’s how we humans are. Random thoughts float around in our heads but acting upon them is what determines if we believe in them.”

“That doesn’t speak very highly of human beings in general then.”

“No, I suppose is doesn’t,” he said. “And that’s why I think we might be able to make a difference. Even with all I’ve been through, I’m not going to lose myself and compromise on what I know is right. The Quietus tried unintentionally to turn me into a monster. Lakrymos wanted me to be a King. For Catherine and James—a weapon. And Orchid—a harbinger of death to the Yama and a tool for her daily use. They all tried, and they all failed. It’s time I start doing things on my own terms, and I want you with me while I do it.

“You understand me, and what it’s like to be used. So you’ll be able to tell me if I’m going too far. I’ll listen to you, as long as you are always open and honest with me. All we have is each other.”

“And if I betray you?” Lily asked.

“Whatever happens I’ll get the respite I’ve been searching for. And besides, when I said that you understand me, the reverse is also true. I’m all you’ve got. Betraying me won’t help you at all. We’re in this to the end.”

“I’m certain that end won’t be a good one, no matter what we do.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Bastion said, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s never about the end. It’s about the journey, and where our adventures take us. Enjoy the days we have so that when we reach the end, there are no regrets. Something like that, right?”

“Right,” she said, giving him a half-smile. “Then you’re going to need to know a few things. I’ve taken the liberty of compiling together a few techniques that might be beneficial for us both.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

“Well, the biggest advantage you have over many others is your energy. The thing is, it’s dense, not vast. Let me put it this way. If you could measure energy in inches, many people would think that you have a mile while they only have a half mile. That’s not true at all. As far as the amount of energy available to you, it’s quite average. That’s why you get so exhausted after an extended battle, whether it was in Languor or with Lakrymos.”

“So how am I different then?”

“It’s a lot denser, meaning you hit harder. Instead of thinking in length, you have to look at it in width. When you fought Lakrymos, it wasn’t the amount of swords hitting him that took him out, it was how hard they hit when they connected. If most humans can punch through wood, you’re punching through rock and metal. What this tells us is that it’s best if you get the job done quickly. Short bursts. No extended battles. I think that’s why the Yama are sending an army to this land. I’ve been evaluating them from a distance the best I could. I can’t sense their energy as far as how strong they are, but I did find it interesting that there was so many of them.”

“They want to take me out with numbers,” Bastion replied, crossing his arms.

“You will be a formidable opponent,” Lily said, stretching her arms above her head. “But they’ll win in the end if you just keep attacking.”