The Sorcerer's Ring (Book 1) (16 page)

“Whatever you want to believe,” Dominic said, casting his eyes to the ground. “I don’t understand why you’re putting so much faith into an eidolon anyways. If you can’t even trust yourself at times, how can you trust that thing?”

“Don’t listen to him,” Kace said, putting his hand on Remi’s shoulder. “He’s trying to mess with our head.”

“I know,” Remi said. “I’m not naïve enough to consider anyone from Cimmerian a brute. If they’re making any big moves, it’s calculated.”

“It doesn’t sound like you’re going to join us,” Dominic commented.

“That’s safe to say,” she replied, sheathing her eidolon. “I don’t need my eidolon anymore to know that you’re a liar. And that you’re not worth my time.”

“That wasn’t nice.”

“We just close the door?” Kace asked her as Dominic sucked his teeth.

“Okay, okay,” Dominic spoke up. “I’ll be honest. Don’t leave just yet. I have something important to say.”

“What is it?” Remi asked. He lifted his eyes to look into hers.

“When I am freed from these chains, I will make you scream. I will make you feel a pain that you never thought possible in your lifetime. But no, baby, I won’t let you die. Because you’re mine now. I’m going to take you back to Cimmerian and make you one of my wives. I’m going to break you until you call me master and worship me. And I’ll use my eidolon to know if you’re being genuine. And every time I find out you’re not, I’ll break you again and again. Until you either become mine, kill yourself, or beg me to put you out of your misery.”

“You’re sick,” Kace said, clenching his jaw. “And you’ll never get close to her again. You won’t even be able to break out of those chains. You’ll rot here where you belong.”

“Don’t think so,” Dominic laughed. “Because the party’s just getting started, and I’m the host!”

“What are you talking about?” Kace spat, but then the ceiling above them shook. A rumble vibrated the room, and then it stopped as quickly as it came. Dominic began laughing manically.

“Oh, this is going to be good.”

Remi would never forget what she saw that day.

Unable to go through the secret passage of the dungeon, they instead backtracked through Tyuin’s conference room and ran through the castle itself. There was no time to take in the sights. From what she could gather, there were plenty of bright lights, more marble floors and statues that looked strange from a distance. The last obstacle to the outside was the Throne room in which Tyuin must address the people privately. It was a grand foyer with pillars so high she wondered how they could have possibly been built.

But all of her inquiries were cast aside once they made it outside to the setting sun and the evening air.

There was a giant head above the trees.

It hadn’t noticed her, but it was spinning from left to right, scanning the land. From the tufts of red hair on the crown of its head, she figured that it had to be a Langoran. They had mentioned they could increase their mass, but this big? How was that possible?

“What are we supposed to do with that?” Kace whispered, but Remi refused to speak. There was no plan that could take down that thing. Nothing within her repertoire. But before she could even begin to collaborate with Kace on what to do, the giant head turned around and headed back toward the western wall.

“It’s leaving,” Kace commented, but Remi wasn’t convinced it had just changed its mind.

“Let’s not celebrate yet. There had to be a reason it was here.”

“There is,” Tyuin replied, coming down the steps from behind them. Several guards followed in succession. “Four giant Langorans each took a side of Allay and made a breach in their respective walls, allowing Cimmerian’s forces to come in. This is where it gets difficult.”

“Is there anything we can do?”

“I’ve already sent orders around the Kingdom. I trust that they’ll be able to handle things where they are. If they can’t…we’ll just have to deal with conflicts as they arise.”

“Anything we can do to help?” Kace asked. Tyuin sighed heavily as his eyes remained stationed on the land in front of him, trying to spot any intruders.

“Whatever you can to do,” he replied, lifting his finger to point out in the distance. “That would be a start.”

Remi stared off in the direction he was pointing, wondering what horrors were before them. Cimmerian did not disappoint. Before them walked an eight armed opponent, rippling with muscles and possessing a countenance full of confidence and bloodlust. His hair was cropped short and his body was both wide and tall, in order to accommodate the extra limbs. There were no weapons in his meaty leathery hands, but the cold glare in his eyes told them all they needed to know: he didn’t need them.

“This is serious,” one of the guards replied from behind them.

Tyuin nodded. “Yes. He is obviously one of Cimmerian’s more elite warriors. They wouldn’t send someone like him without purpose. I suspect there will be others like him dispatched throughout the Kingdom as well.”

“Orders, sir?”

“Engage,” Tyuin said, and his entire guard ran at the eight-armed man. Remi shuddered as she heard the first blow. The eight-armed man had reared back three of his arms and hit one of the guards in the head. Though flesh met steel, it was the guard that lost the exchange and he slumped to the ground in a lifeless ball, remaining where he fell.

The other guards swung their swords but to no avail. The eight armed man was like a martial artist, blocking and parrying their arms before they could even complete a full swing. Their blades didn’t hit his hide once, and one by one he knocked each guard unconscious.

When he was finished, he ensured they stayed that way.

He began stepping on their necks one at a time, crushing them under this massive weight.

Tyuin had enough.

“I’m going,” he declared, thrusting his kingly robes off of him. Unsheathing the standard sword at his belt, he rushed forward, yelling at the eight-armed man to stop what he was doing and instead face him. The enemy ignored him, and he didn’t stop his work until Tyuin was upon him.

He grabbed the King’s blade with his open hand and then closed over it tight. A trickle of blood seeped from a superficial wound, but otherwise, he was unharmed. The eight-armed man smiled as he punched Tyuin in the abdomen with three of his free hands, throwing the King onto his back. Tyuin scurried to his feet and sucked his teeth. This foe would not fall easily.

“We should help him,” Kace said as Remi squinted her eyes.

“And do what?” she asked. “Trust me, I’m trying to figure out a way. But I don’t see it.”

“I know…but we can’t let Tyuin die.”

“No,” she whispered. “We can’t.”

“I’ll go first,” he said as Remi reached out to grab him. She grasped nothing but air.

“KACE, WAIT!” she shouted, but he was already in full sprint, transforming his body as quickly as he could. Eventually he hit all fours and he began running like a wolf on the hunt. Remi grit her teeth and ran after him, knowing that whatever they did, it wouldn’t amount to much. The eight-armed man was not just strong, but his hide was tough.

“More power into the eidolon,” she muttered to herself as she unleashed it from her body. She kept it to her side as she ran, infusing it with as much energy as she could.

She didn’t have much to give. And transformation for her was basically out of the question at this point, but at least she had a chance. One chance for a single, crippling blow.

The eight-armed man swung at Tyuin and the King continued backing away, narrowly missing a fist each time. The King knew his enemy would connect soon but he needed time to think. A way to turn the tables so that he was no longer on the defensive.

An opportunity came when Kace tackled the eight armed man from the side. They crashed into the grass and immediately the eight armed man began punching Kace’s body with everything he had. Kace went limp almost instantly and the brute kicked the Quietus off with little effort.

Tyuin noticed his sword lying on the grass in the distance and so he began running toward it. The eight armed man leapt to his feet and began heading towards the King to cut him off when Remi intervened.

She ran at full speed and then slid on her knees in the grass, extending her eidolon high above her. The brute barely saw what happened, but he sure felt it. Three of his arms—every limb on his entire right side—went flying into the air. He howled and stopped his assault.

Remi’s slide came to a halt and she struggled to climb to her feet. She used her eidolon as a crutch but it suddenly vanished, having no energy left to maintain its form. She fell onto her side and bruised her shoulder. Wincing, she tried to slow her breathing and climb to her feet quickly but she had overdone it. So much energy had been put into cutting through the enemy’s hide that she had nothing left. Literally.

Remi’s eyes got heavy as she laid on her side, barely able to lift her head. She saw that Tyuin had gotten his sword, and now he was engaged in battle with the eight armed man again. They stepped in front of her view as Tyuin barely kept the brute at bay. Even with three less arms, the enemy was too much for him.

The enemy knocked the sword from Tyuin’s hands with a slap, and then he grabbed the King by the throat, squeezing with all his might as he also punched him in the stomach with his other two hands. Remi coughed and tried one more time to rise, but her body only shivered in response.

The last thing she wanted to do was sleep. But what else could she do? What else did she have to give? Now she was at the mercy of Cimmerian. Now she was—

Someone in a dark hooded robe jumped onto the brute’s shoulders and jammed their multi-colored blade through the base of his skull, a burst of light momentarily splashing away from the point of impact. Remi’s eyes widened in surprise as the mysterious stranger back-flipped off the enemy and then began hacking away at the torso, as if he was a tree that had overstayed its welcome.

The brute was cut in two.

Tyuin fell to his knees in a coughing fit, clutching his throat as the stranger rubbed his back. She removed the hood from her head and sighed as her curly locks fell from the crown. Tyuin growled at the sight of her.

“What are you doing here?!” he spat, awkwardly climbing to his feet. The dark robed stranger remained silent. But Tyuin wasn’t done.

“You came too soon!” he screamed in her face. “Now everything’s going to fail!”

“Settle down,” the stranger replied. “We’ve taken care of the army around the Kingdom.”

“Catherine, you’re a fool!” Tyuin snapped, turning his head away so as not to face her. Remi tried to get a closer look at the stranger, but she still couldn’t move. Catherine? The Catherine Tyuin had talked about? She was here in the flesh?

“It was a small army,” Catherine said to him, remaining still. “Daisy and Talia are more than equipped.”

“That’s not the point,” he exclaimed, turning around to point in her face. “You were supposed to wait until Allay was in serious danger. This hardly qualifies.”

“You were going to die,” she said matter-of-factly. “So were your guards and countless villagers. What were the survivors supposed to do without their King?”

“You could have easily taken  my place at the throne. You are more than qualified for the position.”

“Those days are over,” she said, still not moving her body. “The wilderness is my home now. You know that. When I agreed to help Allay, it was with the understanding that you would never ask me to take the throne.”

“These are desperate times,” he said, clenching his jaw. “You should have waited, Catherine. Saving me doesn’t help us. Do you know what will happen now? Cimmerian will take note. They will know that you’re here and then they’ll send the real heavy-hitters to take you out. All you’ve done is start the next wave!”

“We’ll handle it. We always have.”

“The beauty of the worlds being separate is that once an enemy was killed, you didn’t have to deal with them again. But since the Great Collision, we have Dejas now. People who have experience in life, as well as death and beyond. Not to mention that you have enemies that know you. You specifically. As a matter of fact, I have one in my dungeon at this very moment.”

“What?” she asked, taking a step forward. “Who?”

“Dominic,” he said, starting to finally calm down. “He let himself be captured. But I imagine it won’t stay that way for long.”

“May I speak to him?” she asked and Tyuin muttered something Remi couldn’t hear. He stormed off as Catherine remained where she stood for a moment. Then she turned to Remi and walked over to her. With a low grunt, she crouched down so that they were face to face.

“Hey there,” Catherine said and Remi’s laugh came out as a cough. “Hey, no need to talk. You did a great job back there. I almost thought you had him…can you stand?”

Remi stared back at her, and she moved her lips a little, but no words came out.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to talk,” Catherine said as she stood back up. She reached down, picked Remi up almost effortlessly and threw her over her shoulder. Catherine turned her attention to a wounded Kace, who was just waking up from a forced nap.

“Are you okay to walk?” she asked him and he nodded weakly. “Then come on, we don’t have much time.”

“I can carry her,” Kace muttered as he climbed to his feet. Catherine examined him for a moment and then let out a chuckle.

“It’s fine,” she said. “I’m a lot stronger than I look.”

“You’re Catherine,” he said as they headed towards the castle.

“You’ve heard of me?”

“A little,” he whispered, clutching his side. “You’re a Sage.”

“I am.”

“And a Deja.”

“Nope,” she declared proudly. “Haven’t died yet.”

“The way Tyuin talked about you, I thought you would be older.”

“I’m definitely older than I look,” she said. “But thankfully the atmosphere changes have slowed down my aging. I don’t have the luxury of completely halted aging like the Dejas do. How old do I look?”

“I don’t know…like you’re in your mid-thirties, I guess.”

“I don’t feel like it,” she admitted. “To be honest, I feel like I’ve yet to reach my prime.”

“You’ve found ways to keep your eidolon strong?”

“How do you know about—that’s right,” she said amusingly. “The Quietus must have stories about the Sages, and Remi here…I’m sure you’ve seen her eidolon plenty.”

Remi wanted to say something, but she opted to conserve her energy instead.

“You know about her?”

“I keep track of all of Cimmerian’s marks. Just in case we want to intervene.”

“We?”

“There’s four of us. Myself, Talia, Daisy and Marie. Three Sages and a Prattlian. We live in the wilderness and intervene in affairs as we see fit. You could say we align with Paragon, but we don’t answer to anyone. Long story.”

“So why didn’t you try to contact us earlier? If you knew that Remi had Sage potential?”

“Because she won’t get stronger if we coddle her,” she said, turning her head so that she whispered it into Remi’s ear. Remi smiled. She appreciated the thought.

“So now that you’re here, and you’re supposed to be some Legendary Sage, that means we’re going to be okay, right?”

“I wish,” she said solemnly as they climbed the castle steps and headed into the foyer. “But the truth is, we have no idea what Cimmerian will throw at us next. As sad it is to say, they are far more organized than we are.”

“So we just keep facing the hordes and hope we come out on top?”

“Until a leader emerges that can organize us efficiently, it looks that way.”

“Weren’t you a Queen?” he asked as they navigated the halls. The way Catherine took the lead, it was apparent that she had been there many times before.

“I was once,” she said. “But that’s old history. Why?”

“Couldn’t you be that leader?”

“It wouldn’t work. Paragon already has leaders. Whether they can get the job done or not remains to be seen, but they are there. Not to mention that many Dejas would rather have someone that’s also a Deja leading them.”

“Hence why we’re the ones who wait for Paragon’s lead,” Tyuin said, coming from behind them, “and not the other way around. Catherine’s right on that account.”

“Come to join us in interrogating the prisoner?” Catherine asked him and he sighed heavily.

“It would appear that way. I’m unsure of what to do next. I still have 2/3 of my guard intact but I lost a dozen of my best, and all to one man. That doesn’t put me at ease.”

“I don’t want to get your hopes up. More than  likely, we won’t a learn a thing from Dominic.”

“I realize that.”

“Okay,” she said, ending the conversation awkwardly. Once they reached the dungeon, Catherine lifted Remi from off her shoulder. “If you don’t mind,” she said to Kace. He took Remi and held her in his arms. She was immediately embarrassed, feeling like a little kid for being passed around so frequently and easily. But she kept silent. Whatever was coming, she wanted to be involved.

“Oh my,” Dominic said once he got used to the light. “I didn’t expect this.”

“Hello, Dominic,” Catherine said, stepping into the dungeon. Her dark robe kept most of her from being visible, but the light in the background highlighted her curls. That alone was more than enough to reveal her identity to him.

“Why are you here?” he demanded, as if he didn’t already know.

“I want to ask you what Cimmerian intends to do next.”

“I assume you already took out the army outside.”

“If you can call it that.”

“Then you already know what to expect.”

“You know what I mean,” she said, folding her arms. “What are they going to send specifically? There was an eight armed man outside for example. He wasn’t an ordinary citizen of Cimmerian.”

“I don’t decide what they throw or do not throw at you.”

“But you let yourself be captured. There has to be a reason. You’re too proud to let it actually happen. You would rather die.”

“If it wasn’t for the fact I would cease to exist, perhaps that’s true…and yes, I did allow myself to be captured. But only to learn more...about her.” All eyes in the room fell upon Remi as she fidgeted in Kace’s arms.

Her?

“What about her?” Catherine asked, not having a clue to what he was talking about.

“I wanted to see what all the fuss was about so that’s why I’m here. I thought that I would have to get the information on her out of Tyuin alone, but then I got to meet her. That certainly changed things. And I don’t get it.”

“What is she to Cimmerian? Other than a mark?”

“Not just a mark. She’s one of Cimmerian’s most coveted weapons. That’s the whole reason we’re even here in the first place. Or why the waves of armies won’t stop. It’s all for her. Yes, we planned on making a move against Allay, but she was the catalyst we needed to get started.”

“Why?” Tyuin asked. “Why is she so important? I know you’re stalling, but know that if you take too long, I’ll have to resort to torture.”

“Please, I’m not afraid of you.”

“Tell me, Dominic,” Catherine said. “So that we know what we’re dealing with.”

“What do I care what happens to you?”

“You may not…but if you don’t, we will be forced to kill you. And I know you don’t want that. I know you want your revenge against all those who hurt you, including me.”

Dominic mulled over her words.

“She’s one of the weapons. One of the seven sorcerers created her.”

“What?” Remi shouted, her voice echoing off the walls. Her sudden outburst caused a tremor to reverberate down her spine, and she leaned her head back down into Kace’s arms. “Please tell me what that means,” she said. “How could I be a weapon?”

“You really think the Seven Sorcerers would create these all-powerful weapons and just hand them over to simpletons like us? No, they are more resourceful than we think. I don’t know the reason behind it all…but I do know that the weapons Paragon and Cimmerian gained from them aren’t as game changing as we may think. A weapon is a lot like a tool. It’s only as deadly as its wielder.”

“How do you know she’s a weapon?” Catherine scowled. “That couldn’t have been easy to figure out.”

“We knew that the Sorcerers were playing games the moment we inspected the weapons decades ago. Paragon probably didn’t even check theirs as they have always been cautious and reverent when it comes to power, but in Cimmerian, they were immediately field tested. While they were impressive, in essence, they were no different than a Sage and its eidolon. The weapons were useful in the hands of some, and pointless in the presence of others. And so, we began an investigation. Not to find the Sorcerers because we didn’t want them to wipe us out, but to definitely see what else they were up to.”

“And you learned that Remi was a weapon?”

“We eventually destroyed the weapons given to us. We experimented on them, dissected them and tried to figure out how they worked down to the very last molecule. We soon found a signature of sorts within each of them. An energy signature that tied to each of the seven sorcerers respectively. It was thought that they still have a hold over the weapons because of this, and that they are able to cause them to destruct at a moment’s notice.”

“Why would the Sorcerers do that?” Kace asked and Dominic scoffed at them.

“Because it ensures that they’re still in control. No matter who is winning in the war, they can alter the outcome to their liking. We’re not certain how this might come into play, but I’m sure we wouldn’t find all of that out until the war is well underway.”

“So you’re playing into their hands then,” Tyuin said. “By starting and continuing this war.”

“No, it’s a fog to hide our true intentions,” Dominic said. “We’re secretly looking for the other weapons…just like her.”

“They could know your plan from the beginning,” Catherine said. “They could know your true intentions just from saying it out loud at this very moment.”

“It’s possible, but Cimmerian doesn’t think so. If they don’t know our plans, then we have an advantage. If they do know, they probably won’t intervene until a certain point. The key in that scenario is to find enough weapons to have leverage and remain unimportant, and then strike.”

“There are others like me?” Remi asked aloud, still reeling from one of his earlier comments.

“Seven of you. All different I’m sure, but you’re the first one we’ve found. Maybe the others discovered what they are somehow and are staying hidden. I don’t know. We’ve only started the search in the past year.”

“How…how do you know I’m a weapon though?”

“The signature,” he said, looking straight into her eyes. “Your eidolon…it has the exact same signature as one of the weapons given to us. You might have been born into this world, but your parents didn’t make you. We were created and then sent out. You are one of the Sorcerers’ secret weapons, and one of our greatest assets in not only winning the war, but maybe beating them at their own game.”

“But what if I had been killed? Wouldn’t I be useless then? Why would they give me a body that’s—”

“—that’s the point,” he interjected. “They gave you the weakest, most unintimidating body I’ve ever seen. I mean, look at you, you can’t even stand up on your own. You’re so insignificant that no one would even take the time to kill you. People pity you. You’re pathetic. Who would think that you actually matter? It wasn’t until you left your camp that we even knew that you existed.”