The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1 (57 page)

“
You
are dying”, the Akari said.

“
I
thought you just said-”

“
There is a great difference between dying
and
being
dead, child.” She smiled. “I do not
expect
you to understand.”

Josephine’s face grew angry. “You
patronise
me,” she said
angrily.

“
I speak only truth,” the creature said, apparently
ignorant of Josephine’s anger. “How can one so young understand the
complexities of life, death and all of creation?” The Akari shook
her head. “But this is irrelevant. As I said, you are dying. It has
altered your state of being. In doing so, it has allowed us to
speak with you at
long
last.” Her form flickered again and a momentary annoyance
registered on her pale face. “Though our link is unstable. I do not
know how long we have.”

“
How
are you speaking to me from beyond the grave?” Josephine
asked.

“
I
am as alive as you, and perhaps a little more”, the Akari
said.

Josephine blinked back her surprise. “You are
alive? Then where
are
you?
Why
did you leave? People barely remember you even
existed!”

“
We
are trapped,” came the response.

“
Where?” Josephine asked.

“
In a reality
beyond
your comprehension. But such questions of how and
why are not as important as that which must be
done
.”

“
They are important to
me!
I have
so
many questions!”

“
Then they will have to remain unanswered. For now
at least. I have
no
more time to give you child. I am sorry.”

“
No!
” Josephine cried. “You
will
talk to me! Tell me
why
you gave me this power? Of all people, why me?
You
made
me kill my
mother!
”

“
We gave you nothing”, the Akari said. “It
was
always
within you.” She smiled. “You are a part of us.” The room
rumbled as if an earthquake shook the ground and the Akari looked
about herself, concern on her face. “We grow weak, speaking to you
in this way. You must stop wasting time! Now, you
must
listen, for there
is much for you to do.”

Josephine shook her head in desperation. “Are you talking
about the dragon? You want me to stop it from being released?” she
asked. “I am trying! But people keep getting in my way!”

“
The
beast is irrelevant,” the Akari said.

“
How
can
it be irrelevant? The prophecy... the
gods
told the wizards
that the dragon must be stopped! By me!”

“
The beast is one part of a
much
larger puzzle, child. It is
insignificant in light of that which is to come.” She flickered
again, her form destabilising dramatically and she looked around
pensively. “Something else is here. It is working
against
us. Against
you
.”

“
Something else? I don’t understand! I-”

“
You have to
free
us!” the Akari said with haste. “Find the gateway
to our prison and open the rift! It is the
only
way that your world can be
truly
saved. We are the
only creatures that can bring peace.”

Josephine swallowed. “How do I
do
that? Where
is
this prison?”

“
The
gateway was hidden and buried. The tainted beings-“ The Akari
closed her pale eyelids as another quake shook the room. Rocks from
the ceiling above plopped into the water.

“
Are
you alright?” Josephine asked.

“
I am afraid our time is at an end,” she said
hurriedly. “You must survive and do what must be done. We
must
stop
Soral!
”

The
Akari gasped as a blade end emerged through her chest. She looked
down, surveying the wound, before regarding Josephine with pained
eyes. “The four tainted ones will bring forth the Alignment!” she
cried. Then she dissolved, shattering into pieces, revealing the
rest of the blade behind her figure and Taico Grimm, holding its
hilt.

The circular amphitheatre that housed the Council
Chamber of Mahalia stretched on for what to the untrained eye
seemed miles. A trick of the earth power made the walls semi -
transparent, so that the room was alive with the real view on the
outside of the room,
which sat at the top of the pyramid - shaped
structure of the city. Clouds moved overhead, overlain across the
ancient, ornamental architecture of the ceiling that seemed almost
pointless given how little it was seen beyond the sky. Under normal
circumstances the room would perhaps be half full at most, with
many wizards abstaining their right to sit and discuss matters both
trivial and mundane. Today, however, the room was packed. Today was
the day that Augustus Pym would be hauled over the coals for
all
to
see.

Pym sat in what in his situation could only be
referred to as the ‘dock’. He was under
no
illusion: he was on trial whether it was
named so or not.
No -
one
went against the consensus. Not for many years at least,
and never in relation to something so important. The chancellor
stood on the central, circular dais, resting his weight on the old,
wooden plinth that had been restored countless times throughout the
centuries and was covered with gold leaf and amber
jewels.

“
My fellow council members,”
he bellowed, his voice
projected by a subtle twisting of the air with the earth power so
that it filled the entirety of the room. "I have called this
meeting to address an issue of
great
importance concerning the actions of a
member of this council, Augustus Pym, which go against the
Consensus of this chamber on the matter of Princess Josephine
Arwell.” The room murmured with delight. It was not often that such
a topic was discussed openly amongst the chamber. “As you will
recall, the decision of this council regarding the fate of the girl
was that, in light of the revelations we have uncovered in the
twelfth seeing stone, Josephine Arwell was to be retrieved from
Aralia, her nature purged and thereafter contained until the
current crisis we face has been resolved.” He turned to Augustus.
“Councillor
Pym
,
however, has seen fit to take matters into his
own
hands. He has sent Matthias
Greenwald, whom many of you will be aware is only a recent graduate
of this realm, to
train
Princess Josephine.” The murmurs became louder and more
excited with each passing sentence. “
Without
consulting the council, this plot to
undermine the unity of this house has placed us in even
greater
danger than we
were
already
in. As we
speak
the princess is on her way to the city of Crystal Ember.
She believes she can stop the dragon from being released!” The
chancellor paused until the commotion ebbed and he could continue.
“Lord Fenzar has engaged in a pursuit of Matthias, however as of
yet he has not been able to locate him or the girl." He took a
breath. "To say that I am disappointed in the actions of Councillor
Pym would be a
grave
understatement.” He turned to Augustus, who watched him
placidly from his box. “This council must then decide on the
actions to be taken to restore this situation to our control and
furthermore, decide the fate of Councillor Pym. I therefore open
the floor for your discussion.” The man stepped back as hundreds of
men rose from their seats and began waving their arms in the air to
gain attention. Inspecting the crowd, the chancellor pointed to a
man in the front row. “Auric, please speak,” he
nodded.

The tall, stick - thin man, with mottled,
wafer-thin skin, rose surprisingly deftly from his seat given his
obvious age and raised a bony hand. “Counsellor Pym,” he began,
“What have you to say of these actions brought against you?
Surely
you are aware of
the delicacy of our predicament?
Why
would you go against the Consensus in this
matter?” 

Augustus rose from his seat, slowly and carefully,
and adjusted his robes. His face was unyielding as he spoke. “It
will perhaps come as
little
surprise to many of you that I originally opposed
the will of the Consensus to capture the princess. My expression of
distaste for the decision was made quite clear in the deliberations
we have had these last few months. In my judgement the seeing stone
made it quite clear the gods’ intentions for Princess Josephine:
she is the one and only chance of stopping the
Return.”

“
That
is a matter of opinion,” Auric replied, but then
motioned to Pym to continue.

“
Perhaps you are right. Perhaps it
is
just my opinion.
The stones can be interpreted in many ways. But I remain
definitively forward - thinking in my approach to matters of this
world as they stand. And I believe Mahalia
must
face the future with an open mind if it is
to remain standing as tall as it does in the politics of this
continent.” He took a pause. “Faced with the strength of my
convictions to revelations of the seeing stone, I took action to
correct what I see as a
fatal
error in judgement by this realm.” The hubbub of
the room grew louder again as he continued. “The world stands on
a
knife
edge! We have not faced such a challenge in
hundreds
of years! The stone
has shown us the solution to our problems: a young girl endowed
with the power of the Akari. Should we let our bias of women using
the power
blind
us to all that she could do for peace in this
world?”

“
With
respect
, Augustus,” another voice boomed out, from a man
who rose from his seat several rows back. “That was not
your
decision to make.
All possibilities
were
discussed and the majority voted to contain the girl and
fight the upcoming storm ourselves. The girl is too
dangerous
to be let
loose!” 

“
Our
strength alone will not be enough.” Pym replied bluntly.

“
You doubt our abilities?”
The man continued.

“
Malik, we may yield the earth power and we may
have survived this long as a great country as a result of our
relationship
to
it. But to think we are superior to
anyone
else, that our realm will last
forever simply because we
believe
it will is to set ourselves up for a mighty fall.
We must adapt and challenge our preconceptions if we are to
continue. We are not powerful enough to stop this alone. I believe
that with my
whole
being. And if we
do
continue down this path, Mahalia
will
fall.”

“
Treasonous talk!”
Another man called out angrily, hammering
his fists on the wooden pew in front of him.

“
You question my loyalty to this realm Fessalin,
simply because I have the courage to speak out against conservative
elements? I work to
protect
this council and the people of Mahalia in
all
things! Even from
itself!” The room continued to echo with the arguments of the men,
until the chancellor stood again on the podium and raised his
hands.

“
My friends, I know you will agree that Councillor
Pym has given a lot to this council over the years. I am convinced
his actions are meant to be for the good of this realm.” He turned
to Pym. “But you are
naive
if you think the girl can be trusted. She is a
woman who can wield! How many women have we had to suppress over
the years because of their behaviour with the
powers?”

“
Too
many,” Pym said through gritted teeth, and then
raised his voice again. “And too many have been dealt with harshly
simply because of their gender and
our
fear!” The room exploded again with voices.
Another man raised his hand. He was a young looking wizard, with an
upturned nose and a rounded face. The chancellor beckoned him to
speak.