[Aftermath Interlude]

Chapter 20 / 06

The Next Move

It was the morning of a new day. Lamet had slept so deeply she was surprised Beatrice was able to wake her. She could feel that her body was not yet done digesting the excessive amounts of honey-glazed ham, mashed potatoes and some vegetables she’d only eaten to avoid seeming too greedy for meat.

As she dragged herself from the bed, Beatrice left and shut the door.

Today they would finally hear what Sparlyset had to say, and their President as well. Lamet dressed quickly and made her way down the stairs.

Richard was speaking with Beatrice in the sitting room while Sparlyset wheeled herself around seemingly for the fun of it.

“We’re going to be late, Bea.” Richard said.

“Then you wake him up!” she waved a finger at him.

Lamet sighed at the bottom of the stairs. “I will wake him.” Her tail flicked with annoyance.

She climbed back up the stairs and found Geoff in the middle room, stretched out across the whole bed. By the magic of the Rite of Sharing, she impressed the supernatural comprehension of Tongues into his mind with a touch to his head.

He jerked awake, stuttering and flailing his arms. He looked around the room, disoriented.

Lamet turned to leave while he sat blinking at her. “You’re welcome,” she said.

“Sorry everyone,” Geoff said as he descended the stairs, buttoning his shirt. “I asked for fifteen minutes, but didn't know how late it was.”

Richard was grinning excitedly. “Chrisk arranged a ride for us. Well, it’s a Martyrsmith ride but he called them.”

“Nice,” Geoff replied. “Have you ever flown before?” he asked Lamet and Sparlyset.

“If I recall, it is you who cannot fly,” Lamet said. “And Sparlyset.”

He chuckled nervously, no doubt recalling their rooftop venture. “Well this vehicle doesn’t use magic.”

“Good,” Sparlyset said, “I would prefer to conserve my spells lest some diabolical threat emerge from crevasses unseen.”

Geoff noticed his wife’s frown and whispered a translation to her.

“You cannot fly anyway,” Lamet repeated. Sadly the Flight spell was incredibly difficult to learn and tedious to teach, but she refused to teach Sparlyset because she could not land safely without her legs.

Sparlyset glared at her.

After saying their goodbyes to Beatrice and Marinda, they entered the hall and found the stairs to the roof. Richard took Sparlyset on his back and made Geoff carry her chair. It folded!

Lamet’s ears perked up as they reached the top. The heavy door carried a gentle rumbling through it. More machines.

Geoff threw the door open.

The roof was actually a platform hidden in the slope of the roof. A circle punched out, unseen from the streets. A long machine perched atop a yellow pattern painted on the stone. Blades on the top spun so rapidly she could not count them. The blades beat the air to a veritable whirlwind and it was so loud she struggled to hear anything else.

A man sat in the round end of the machine. He wore a helmet with shaded glass over his eyes and nodded down to them through the window. Geoff slid open the door and they helped Sparlyset in first, tucking her wheeled chair between the wall and the far seat.

Lamet climbed in last, keeping her head low even though she knew she was nowhere near the blades. Although she was intrigued by the machine, and curious about the way those spinning blades must generate lift, she did not like them. Not after the Leviathan Train. She felt her stomach twisting.

“You guys are just in time!” the operator said. Lamet had to strain to hear him over the machine’s racket. His voice sounded like it came from a radio somewhere. “Didn’t even have time to turn the engine off to wait.” There was a pause before the voice returned. “I’m taking you to the government building in West so it won’t be a long flight.”

Richard pulled the door shut.

The noise was still incredible inside. Geoff reached under his seat and withdrew a case that revealed a… curved thing when he opened it. He placed it over his head, the two enormous pads covering his ears. A black stick-like thing stuck out near his mouth. Richard put one on as well, then fastened a belt around Sparlyset’s waist.

The girl folded her ears to make them fit inside the thing that had clearly not been designed with puren ears as a consideration. Lamet copied her, folding her ears and tucking them in. It was not comfortable having her ears squashed, but the noise was dulled considerably.

Geoff then demonstrated where a cable could be found within their seats. These connected to the things on their heads, and a switch on the side did… something.

“Ready.” Richard said. Lamet flinched as his voice came through the device on her head.

The blades beat faster. The machine tilted slightly and rose into the air. Lamet panicked. She could fly, but she was trapped inside. If she Bound out she may be struck by the blades. She was trapped inside until they arrived. She scrambled for the belt at her sides and fasted it quickly.

“Scared, Lamet?” Geoff laughed. “I thought you were used to flying.”

“I have not figured out this machine,” she said. “I do not trust it.”

Sparlyset stared forward with wide-eyed terror, and even Richard tightly gripped his seat with both hands.

“It’s called a helicopter.” Geoff said.

“I find it difficult to care at the moment,” Lamet replied shakily.

The ‘helicopter’ tilted downwards at the nose and it soared across the city. Lamet was so occupied trying to settle her nerves that she barely spared a look at the sprawling city below until the bowl of glass came into view. It was a smooth, ribbed basin in marbled greys and yellows. She noticed for the first time that Central had been bordered entirely by a river that formed a nearly perfect circle around it. The pale silhouette of Oval hung above.

Water pooled at the bottom. Eventually it would be a mere lake, separated from the river by a bank of glass. Such unrivalled devastation. But having survived, they would recover.

When the vehicle approached its landing it gave a quick jerk that startled her into clutching her armrests like Richard. Sparlyset stared at her, wide-eyed and unblinking as the helicopter bumped the ground and came to a rest. The spinning blades slowed and stopped and Geoff chuckled teasingly at Richard. He removed the sound blocker from his head before pulling open the door and stepping out.

“Fun ride, eh?” Geoff said, stretching his back.

Richard carried Sparlyset out and helped her with her chair while Lamet sat an extra moment to catch her breath.

“It does not look like Sparlyset would agree with you, Geoff,” Lamet breathed.

“I harbour no fear of this machine!” she crossed her arms defensively and held both her palms down for emphasis.

As the last one to climb out, Lamet was the last to the elevation chamber. This one was small, and Sparlyset’s wheeled chair took up all the extra space.

She met Sparlyset’s eyes. “Perhaps not, but you do fear flight. So go ahead and descend with the humans. I shall make my own way.”

She turned her back and fingers spread apart she cast Scour downwards. It revealed to her the locations of everything within the building. She recognized the muscular form of the President and chose her location to bind to her mind, while all other details faded like a dream half-remembered. As the dull metal doors slid closed behind her, she cast Bound, which lifted her gently into the air and deposited her at her intended location.

President Jasmine was seated at a simple desk. She cocked her head. Red flashed in Lamet’s peripherals and her arm shot up to catch the wrist of the hand clutching a red-bladed dagger. Her eyes followed the arm, seeking the body and face of her attacker, but they twisted their wrist free and ducked out of sight before she saw more than their elbow.

She felt the air shift behind her and planted her foot to pivot.

“Krimson, lay off.” Jasmine shouted. “We’re lucky she’s almost as quick as you; you nearly stabbed our guest.”

Lamet finished turning. The man called Krimson was lounging against the far wall with a wide-brimmed hat tilted over his eyes. He stood with both his arms and legs crossed casually. She had seen him at Little Parliament. He unsettled her just as much now, but he did not look like he had moved in some time. He could have been asleep. Even more unusual, there were no signs of weapons on his person.

Everyone else in the room stood or sat on the opposite side. Jaded Friar leaned on the desk beside Gunhilda, who sat next to Jasmine, Toy Guy was seated with Longhorn. The sniper was the only one who displayed anything at seeing her, giving her a tiny nod and a slight smile.

“Sorry about Krimson,” Jasmine said. “Defending me is his job. Try to knock next time if you don’t want to dance with him.”

Lamet gave a palm-up and a nod. “You both look well for having attempted the Rite of Tongues last night.”

“Succeeded,” the President corrected. “I’m glad to finally verify that it worked. It’s a good thing we did it late though, I haven’t been knocked out like that since my youthful drinking days.”

“Not to mention how fortunate it was that your friends had enough seeds with them.” Gunhilda added.

“It is customary to always carry a riteseed,” Lamet said. For the others in the room she touched them to Share the Rite of Tongues, and they all reeled in turn. She did not approach Krimson. “More fortunate was having the right colours of people here on Earth for you to perform it. It requires one each of the four primary elements at a minimum.”

“The four elements?” Gunhilda leaned forward.

“Water, Fire, Air, Earth. Which correlates to Blue, Red, Yellow, Brown. As a blue puren I have an affinity for water; I was born blessed with the Rite of Water and its spells are easier for me to cast.”

Gunhilda looked ravenous for information. She nearly expected her to leap from her seat and begin prodding her. “What if you bore a child with a red puren?”

“They would be purple, and while they would not be born with either Rite, they would gain the spellcasting benefit for both if they performed them.”

“Why is that Sparlyset girl pink, then?”

A knock came at the door, then it opened. Geoff stepped in and Richard pushed Sparlyset in on her chair after him. Lamet met Sparlyset’s eyes before answering Gunhilda’s question.

“Lightweavers are white, but her grandfather was red.”

“As I suspected,” Gunhilda replied. She looked at the others. “I was just bothering Lamet with questions while we waited for you. Now that you’re here we can get to business.”

President Jasmine focused on Geoff and Richard. “There are three important things to discuss today. Your promotions, what the hell happened, and what happens next.” She tapped a case on the desk.

Geoff and Richard approached it apprehensively. After exchanging glances, Geoff clicked it open. Lamet had to move around the desk to get a look at what was inside. Two shining emblems, perfectly circular, with smaller circles inside bearing a Unity Building insignia and a number. 4444 on one, and 2154 on the other.

Geoff picked up the one that read 4444 and spun the centre before stopping it with his fingers and putting it back. Neither of them seemed happy to receive them.

“Smile, boys,” Jasmine said with a chuckle. “We’re celebrating today.”

“Pillars don’t have partners.” Geoff said sadly.

Having spent some time with these men, Lamet could understand why a moment that should be filled with elation and honour would instead sadden them, if it meant they could not work together.

Jasmine shrugged. “Every one of the Pillars is specialised in something. Explosives, heavy weapons, turrets… So as Pillars, what are your specialties?”

“Rick was a medic,” Geoff said.

“Geoff reads every instruction manual,” Richard added.

Jasmine’s rich laughter filled the room. “Richard is not a trained medical professional. He was a sixteen year-old kid with a medical backpack he… we’ll say found. He patched up damn near everyone he could, and saved a lot of people from pain or death, but I can’t in good conscience call that a specialty.

“And Geoff… you do like your instructions, but that was obviously a joke from Richard. The truth is, your specialty is teamwork. The Pillars are always working together, they are a team, but you two are something else. And I don’t mean just with each other. When Earth was at the brink, somehow you two made friends with Lamet and Sparlyset and worked with them to save us.

“So I need you to be a team. Everyone needs you two working together. That’s your specialty.” She pushed the case shut. “The physical emblems will be kept in your lockers, as usual.”

With both his hands on the desk, Geoff hung his head and let out a sigh. “Thank you,” he mumbled. “Thank goodness.”

Richard took a deep breath and looked over his shoulder at Sparlyset, who grinned at him.

“That leads me to the next issue. What the hell actually happened, and what we do going forward.” She looked at Sparlyset expectantly.

Sparlyset looked nervously around the room. As Lamet expected she was shy about speaking.

She began quietly. “Although some held doubt as to my qualifications, stemming from previous missteps and a relative shortness of experience, when the moment came, an opportunity to succeed without fail presented itself.” She gulped as everyone stared at her, no doubt self-conscious about her speech patterns.

“An incredible cross of light and fire appeared, burning Warbinger to nothing in a righteous conflagration that engulfed all of the Central city. Not only did this weaken him sufficiently for me to seize him, but my affinity for light and fire permitted me to borrow the gleaming flames and turn them to our advantage. Trapped within, I easily seized the entire inferno, compressed it, and shot it deep within the depths of darkness from whence his horrible form was originally imprisoned.”

“I think I need to clean my ears,” Jaded Friar said.

Jasmine wore a stern expression as she addressed Sparlyset. “So you used the Final Cross to help you banish Warbinger. Now we know where the thing went, and why the explosion suddenly curled up and vanished instead of expanding to the edges of the other districts. There are no words to express how indebted to you we are.”

“I was only doing my duty,” Sparlyset whispered.

“I’ll look forward to seeing you visit, if you ever choose to bless Hometoll with your presence in the future. That said, what happens next is an urgent topic. Do you know how long Warbinger will be gone for?”

The Lightweaver sat in thought for a moment. “I… Warbinger’s seal was originally substantial enough only to contain one of his eighths. I believe he brought our worlds together that his combined power might breach what alone an eighth could not. By the power of the Final Cross, his new seal must be significantly stronger, but… only upon Earth, and for how long either will last no one may know.”

“Then when he does return, it will be on Oval.”

Sparlyset nodded. “He came to Earth in fear of the Lightweavers, but Oval may now be his only egress.”

It was all as Lamet had suspected. Sparlyset was not powerful enough to face Warbinger, even in the weaker form that he appeared in. It was by luck that she was able to do the job, and by Lamet’s own spells that they survived the aftermath of that luck. Still, she would give the girl credit for seizing the opportunity when it was ripe and using it well. At least taking the fight to Oval meant every Lightweaver would be available the next time.

“Then it’s a good thing I have a way back.” Gunhilda said. “Well, half a way back. I suspect you have the other half.”

“What do you mean?” Lamet asked.

“While I was monitoring the Leviathan Train and the…” She frowned. “This is a secret, so don’t go blabbing about it.” She pointed at Geoff and Toy Guy. “And you two are still under non-disclosure.”

Geoff and Toy kept their mouths shut, which seemed to be the response she wanted, so she continued. “… The Martyrstone that enables teleportation… in the Spring street station…” She cleared her throat. “The short version is, the train was not there. Then there was a power spike of unknown origin, and it still was not there, but the stone could reach it.”

“I cast Intertwine, a spell of the Rite of Light, to entangle our worlds.” Sparlyset explained.

“Yes,” Richard added. “We don’t know for sure what happened, but we got the impression there was a continuous but incomplete connection there, based on some things Mr Bonnair said. When he jumped from the train with a team of maintenance crew to seek help, he didn’t land with them. So I was thinking that even though we could see, hear, and feel the train’s presence, something about it wasn’t fully there until she cast Intertwine.”

“Exactly,” Gunhilda agreed. “So Sparlyset stabilised the bridge between our worlds, and Geoff did as instructed and fixed up the train so we could teleport it back. Brilliant teamwork I must say, considering we weren’t in communication with each other.”

Something about the Martyrsmith President’s summary gave Lamet the impression she was deliberately obfuscating the details of Geoff’s mission.

“So again,” Gunhilda said with some excitement, “The short of it is, I don’t know if I can simply teleport you to Oval, but if not, that Intertwine will probably add what’s missing.”

“It may also be possible that casting Intertwine in the station again will allow us to return to Earth,” Lamet said.

“It will take some experimentation.” Gunhilda nodded.

Jasmine crossed her legs. “Then our next move is to get the four of you to Oval. Richard, Geoff, your orders are to aid this and any other Lightweaver necessary in preparing to face Warbinger when he returns. Amass enough power that the next time he appears, you can kill him for good.”

“I have a few ideas as to where we should start.” Lamet said. She was beginning to swell with excitement as well. This would be her grandest adventure yet. She only hoped the others would not slow her down, or she may have to go her own way.

President Jasmine nodded for her to continue.

“There are basic Rites that will need to be performed for Geoff especially. The Rites of Vitality and Tongues. On that note, should anyone fall ill after contact with purens, it may be our foreign bacteria. Our Rite of Vitality is simple and safe, so it may be wise for you to maintain contact with Mount Flange in case anyone should have the need.”

“What does the Rite of Vitality actually do?” Jasmine asked, her brow furrowing with curiosity.

“It bolsters every aspect of your body’s health from its ability to resist disease to your metabolism. It also permits spells like Heal and Barrier, but we have yet to see whether humans can learn them.”

“Incredible.” Jasmine said.

Lamet continued with her ideas. “There is a ruin I would like to explore, we may find enchanted tools abandoned there in ancient times that could be of use. We should also see Sparlyset learn the Regeneration spell, which may allow her use of her legs. It may only restore her atrophied muscles, but it is worth the attempt.

“The Levitation spell may otherwise aid her, allowing her to float through the air as easily as one walks the earth. But the spell is only taught by Fey, so it would be perilous to seek it out.”

Sparlyset perked up at the mention of these spells. The girl was not adventurous, although she was occasionally reckless and foolish. It was important that Lamet dangled some carrots of motivation before her lest she baulk at the last moment.

She had two final things to add. “There is a rare Rite called the Rite of Fusion that Geoff and Richard may be able to perform. Their fused form would wield unimaginable power, but I have only found rumours of the Rite and by all accounts it is nearly impossible to use.”

“What makes you think it would suit Geoff and Richard, more than say, you and Sparlyset, or you and Geoff?” Jasmine asked.

“It requires teamwork to perform the Rite, and flawless coordination in real time to maintain the fusion, if the tales tell true.”

“Ah,” was all Jasmine said.

Sparlyset clapped her hands together and everyone turned to face her. “Finally, you can lead me to the Rite of Sharing!”

“I will,” Lamet said with her palm down instinctively. “Since you continue to insist, but you will fail. It is not possible for you to succeed.”

‘If a woman as selfish as Lamet the VAINweaver can perform the Rite, I will succeed without challenge!”

Lamet sighed. “I will show you where it is performed, but your hubris will only increase your embarrassment when you fail.”

She began to pout, so Richard rubbed her shoulders to reassure her. Lamet could not blame Richard for supporting her, nor could she blame Sparlyset for desiring the Rite, but she did not understand, and no amount of explanation would convince her. It was impossible. Lamet had done it, and she could not even say how.

“Lastly,” she continued, to change the subject, “we purens are not the only dragons who are sometimes possessed of light. I know of a dangerous path even I have not travelled, but at the end of this pilgrimage a mighty white dragon resides. If we can reach her, we may be able to enlist her aid or at least convince her to grant us a wish.”

Geoff’s mouth hung open. “D–dragons?”