Chapter XXXVII

Still reeling from the sudden turn of events, Eric followed Iris down an array of different alleyways and streets, unsure of where she was leading him but knowing that as long as his sense didn’t warn him, she was safe to trust. Yet he still couldn’t wrap his head around her actions. She had not only intervened to save him, but she had attacked a fellow Master. Ryokumo had never informed him that Iris was an ally and he was certain that his master wouldn’t have hidden such an important detail from him, so he could only assume that Iris was acting independently of Ryokumo.

But then how much does she know? Does she realize what we plan to do? Did she follow us down into the city or did she just come here with Sinna and Nakoma and decide to go rogue? And why would she do such a thing in the first place? Why would she betray Ijiria? What are her motives?

There were so many questions that he knew would have to wait for another time. For the moment, he would follow her and deal with everything else later. The problem was that he knew how important it was to get back into the Citadel before either Sinna or Nakoma alerted Reigious to his betrayal. If that happened, it would be nearly impossible to get back into the tower, and if he couldn’t get inside then their plan wouldn’t work. So he decided he needed to ask at least one question, for if she gave an answer that didn’t align with his plan then he would have to break off from her.

“Master Mackia, please, where are we going?” he whispered.

She glanced sidelong at him, the mask and hood still covering her feline features. “To your mother’s old orphanage. That’s where Caeli was going so that’s where I’m guessing he’ll be now. However we must be quick. Cartus will know to look there so we can’t remain for long.”

“How do you—?”

“Caeli and I have spoken,” she quickly interrupted. “Now quiet. We’ll talk momentarily.”

So she does know what Ryokumo and I are up to? But how? I didn’t think he trusted Iris very much, so why would he confide in her now? What in the living hell happened while I was with the Children?

Abiding by her command, the two of them continued on until they finally arrived at their destination—the ruined and abandoned remains of what was once the home of the Children of Reiner and it was there that they found the others. Ardan, Lyla, and Tylo were all gathered around Malt and Arisa, who were laying on the ground as the three chanted various healing spells, and in the back of the room, Irin was sitting quietly against the wall while Hannah and Ryokumo spoke in hushed tones. However, everybody went silent at their arrival, first showing relief upon seeing Eric before noticing the cloaked individual beside him.

“Eric, who is that?” Ardan immediately demanded, jumping to his feet.

“She’s an ally, I promise,” he swiftly assured them. “She’s the one who bought enough time to get away from Master Cartus. She can be trusted.”

Yet, his assurance wasn’t enough for everybody, and he could see Lyla rising to full height as well, her eyes trained on Iris. “But who is she? I’m sorry, but after tonight, I’m not trusting some random woman in a mask.”

“No, that’s fair,” Iris chimed in before he could respond. She then reached up and removed the mask, allowing the Children to see her face. “I am Master Iris Mackia, at your service. If you’d like, I can heal those two for you?”

“Master—!?” Ardan exclaimed, and instantly all three Children had wind magic surging around their wrists, so Eric jumped in between them, not wanting this to escalate any further than it already had.

“Guys, please!” he begged. “She’s on our side! She wouldn’t have saved me otherwise!”

But Tylo was furiously shaking his head. “You expect us to trust her after Cartus and Taurus already almost killed us tonight?! No more Masters! Trusting Caeli is hard enough so I refuse to add Mackia to that mix! Get her out of here right now, Eric!”

“I’m not asking you to trust her, Tylo!” Eric protested. “I’m asking you to trust me! I’m telling you that she’s on our side and she’s Master of Nature so if you let her heal Malt and Arisa, then she can do far more than any of us could! Come on! We don’t have time to argue again!”

He didn’t mean to raise his voice the way he did, but he knew that time was running short, and since he didn’t even know how to explain his sense to them, he just needed to be firm in his assurance that she was trustworthy.

“Now, Master,” he went on, glancing back at Iris. “Please heal Malt and Arisa. Don’t let them die.”

And despite the tense atmosphere and the looks of hatred being directed her way from the Children, Iris still smiled and did as he asked. “Of course.”

The woman then moved past him and approached the two battle-damaged Children, much to the clear dismay of the other three, but as they glanced between Iris and Eric, they slowly backed away, though the wind around their wrists remained at the ready. Iris then kelt down between the two sleeping individuals and placed her hands on their chests, beginning to whisper incantations that made her hands glow green with mana. Believing that situation to be dealt with for the moment, Eric turned and addressed Ryokumo.

“What’s going on? What happened to Arisa? And since when has Master Mackia been a part of this plan? What are we supposed to be doing now?”

Ryokumo grimaced, as if even he wasn’t sure what to do anymore. “Honestly, Eric, I don’t know. I didn’t know Taurus was back in the city, and now that Hannah’s told me you were seen, I realize what a dire situation this is. I doubt you succeeded in killing Sinna and now I wish I had finished Taurus off when I had the chance. Kirisan was my priority, but if I’d known—”

“Yes, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway,” Hannah quickly assured him. “I saw how powerful Cartus was. They wouldn’t have been able to take her down. Just the fact that we all got away alive is a miracle. However…” She clenched her fists as she looked around the rundown main room of the orphanage. “This has become the only chance. If you still plan to kill Noctis and Luz then you have to get back to the Citadel right away. If the Masters beat you back…”

“She’s right, you know,” Iris chimed in. “The minute Reigious hears about this, the Citadel and the rest of Erika will become far more dangerous than they already are. Eric’s betrayed them and that’s not something they’ll be able to look past. They will kill him…which is why I think it would be best to put this whole thing aside. If he escapes with the Children and gets to Trovia, he’ll be safe.”

“No,” Eric immediately said. “I’m sorry, Master, but I will not leave this city. Album still has my friends locked in the erased realm. If I leave, they’ll be stuck in there for good and I will not accept that. If tonight is the only chance then so be it. We were already prepared to begin tonight so we’ll just have to do it.”

Iris glanced back up at him, a sad look in her eyes that told him she knew he wouldn’t budge on his decision. “You’re so stubborn, you know that? Though I guess I’m not surprised. I just suggested it so the idea would be out there. But in that case, we must leave now, so…” She trailed off, her brow furrowing in confusion as she glanced down at Malt. “Ah, so that’s how it is.”

“What?” Tylo demanded. “That’s how what is?”

Iris didn’t reply to him, instead whispering another incantation under her breath as a small ball of light began to rise from Malt’s chest before stopping to rest in her hand. The Master stared down at it for a moment before crushing it in her fist, extinguishing its glow.

“So it was a trap,” Ryokumo muttered.

Iris nodded in agreement. “It would seem so. If I had to guess, Taurus allowed this man to get into the city so he could lead him to the others.”

“Hold on a second,” Lyla interrupted. “What the hell are you talking about? What was that thing? What did you just pull out of him?”

The Master of Nature silently returned to her job of healing the two as she indicated for Ryokumo to explain it to them.

“It was a tracker charm,” he said. “Taurus must have intercepted Territh at some point before he reached Erika and put that spell inside him. It essentially tells the caster what direction their target is and how far away they are. That has to be how they found you tonight. They waited for Territh to locate you guys for them and made their move once everything was put in place. And it seems Taurus didn’t feel the need to wait as I didn’t even know he’d returned to the capital.”

Tylo, Ardan, and Lyla all stared at Ryokumo with horrified expressions as they took in what they were being told. Even Eric felt a twinge of dread, knowing that if Malt was followed then whatever associate helped him enter Erika would almost certainly be imprisoned or dead. That method of escape had already been blocked off, meaning they would once again be forced to go along with Ryokumo’s deal with Nuvo Tannath, something he knew they wanted to avoid. He could see in their expressions that they were already trying to reason out another way of escape, so Eric was about to try and convince them to hear them out when a weak voice broke the silence.

“Go with Tannath,” Arisa said softly, her eyes partially open, though they never moved from the ceiling. The burns on her arms were beginning to heal, but even Iris’s magic seemed unable to finish the job quickly.

“Ari!” Lyla exclaimed, dropping down to her side.

Arisa smiled as she continued on. “Malt’s friend…has been…compromised. Taurus…told me so… We have to…trust Caeli… Trust…him…”

Her consciousness was already beginning to fade, but she seemed satisfied to have said her piece. Those few words would hold more weight with the Children than anything Eric might have said, and for that, he was grateful to her.

“Tannath should be here to get you guys soon,” Ryokumo told them. “I truly do believe that he’ll do as I’ve asked him to. Now, Eric and I will have to go, so we won’t have any way of knowing whether you choose to trust us or not. But I beg of you… Get out of this city before things get worse. Taurus and Cartus won’t stay down for long. They’ll come searching for you any chance they get and this will be one of the first places they look. Find cover and wait for Tannath. Please…”

They didn’t interrupt him as he spoke and when he finished, they only continued to look down at Arisa and Malt. Even Irin, who was still sitting quietly in the back of the room, had her features tensed in consideration. It wouldn’t be an easy decision for them to make, but Eric had faith that they would take Arisa’s words to heart.

“Well, I’ve done what I can,” Iris announced as she rose to her feet. “With more time, I could have gotten them back to full strength, but I can promise that they will not die. You’re Abigail’s Children so I trust you can finish the healing.”

“Yeah, we’ve got it,” Ardan whispered. “Thanks.”

Iris smiled as she regarded them all before turning and making her way toward the orphanage’s front door without speaking another word. Ryokumo was hugging Hannah, and whispering a goodbye that Eric couldn’t hear, but the girl’s eyes were wet with barely restrained tears. For Eric, that was his signal to leave so he took one last look at each Child before finally settling on the sleeping Arisa.

“Thank you all,” he said. “I wish I could have gotten to know you guys better, but I’m grateful to have known you at all. It’s comforting to know that there are others in this multiverse that will carry on my Mom’s legacy. Take good care of yourselves.”

As he finished his goodbye, Ryokumo released Hannah and strode over to where he stood and together, the two began to depart the building, but just as they reached the door, one of the Children called out to him, though it wasn’t Ardan, Tylo, or Lyla. Rather, it was Irin, whose voice was still hoarse from the wounds she’d received that night.

“Eric. Thank you, too. For not abandoning us, I mean. You put a lot at risk by taking on Master Cartus and I just…figured somebody needed to say it. I don’t think we all would have survived if not for you.”

The boy glanced back at her to see her smiling at him and as she did, the others all echoed her sentiments. It made him feel happy to know that he made a difference for them and he knew that no matter how much time passed, he would never forget the Children of Reiner that fought by his side.

“Goodbye, my friends.”

With those final words, he followed Ryokumo through the door and out into the night air of the city where Iris was patiently waiting, her mask once again concealing her rather distinct features. The street was quiet, but he knew that wouldn’t last for much longer. Nakoma and Sinna made it clear just how far they would go to catch them, and after allowing them all to slip through their fingers, as well as losing a handful of Korrei-Tarr in the process, they would almost certainly be scouring the slums with everything they had.

“Come. Let us be off.”

Abiding by Ryokumo’s command, Eric and Iris followed on either side of him as they began making their way toward the main city. The Master of Wind had his own cowl pulled up over his head and Eric knew he should do the same, but he hadn’t brought a cloak with him when they went into the city. It was just as he was thinking this that Iris made a suggestion to fix that problem.

“Caeli. Would it not be best to put up a distortion around Eric,” she inquired. “There will be guards all over the main streets of the city and if Taurus or Cartus have informed them of his betrayal, then it would be smart to prevent him from being seen.”

Ryokumo glanced back at her with narrowed eyes, and Eric immediately got the feeling that he didn’t trust or like her, which only made him all the more curious to know what circumstances brought her onto their side.

“Yes, I guess you’re right,” he grunted. “Fine.”

Eric frowned. “Wait, I can distort myself well enough. Shouldn’t you save your focus just in case we need to fight?”

But Iris was already shaking her head. “No, yours would be fine against the average person, but in the Citadel, you need a far more powerful distortion. Very few can sense past Caeli’s magic, so it’s safer to have him do it.”

“Oh, right,” Eric murmured. “Okay then, yeah. Go ahead.”

Ryokumo was swift in casting the distortion and soon enough, Eric was invisible to anybody who would pass them by. They moved as quickly as they could without drawing attention and after nearly ten minutes of walking down dark and abandoned roads, they emerged onto the far busier Market Street. The place was as lively and energetic as always, making it seem as if the battles in the slums never happened. However, upon closer look, Eric noticed the number of guards patrolling was far higher than usual, and he felt his stomach clenching up with nervousness.

“Stay close,” Iris uttered, subtly inserting her hand into his distortion bubble to gently grab his arm.

The two Masters walked as if they belonged there and were never stopped by any of the guards, which was a very welcome relief to Eric after all the stress that night had brought him, as well as the knowledge that the fighting was far from over. Once they were out of Market Street and into the higher-end neighborhoods, they increased their pace even further until they finally arrived at the southern gates of the Citadel where they found nearly forty guards and a group of Korrei-Tarr standing before the closed them. Eric felt a chill go down his spine at the realization that there were nearly three times as many soldiers as when they’d left a few hours prior. Their approach was soon noticed, with one rather large Korrei-Tarr stepping forward to face them. Unlike the other Korrei-Tarr Eric had encountered, this one wasn’t wearing a helmet, so his clean-shaven features and stern eyes were visible, and Eric guessed that he was somewhere in his early forties.

“Stop,” he called out gruffly. “Who are you? What business do you have here?”

Ryokumo and Iris were quick to remove their cowls, with the latter also taking off her horned mask, and before they’d even spoken, there was a mildly surprised look on the man’s face.

“I’m Ryokumo Caeli, the Master of Wind, and this is Iris Mackia, the Master of Nature,” he said firmly. “Please open the gates. We have important business to attend to with the Masters as well as Prince Reigious.”

“Oh, er, of course, Masters,” he said with a bow. “Right away.”

Eric had been worried that the distortion would be seen through, but nobody even appeared to recognize that anything was amiss as they quickly motioned for the southern gates to be opened. Then they all bowed as the Masters passed through and entered the gardens, closing the doors behind them and granting them access to the Citadel without issue.

“That was oddly easy,” Eric breathed.

“Well, there are few who would question Masters,” Iris replied with a wink. “As long as we’re on your side, guards are not a problem.”

From there, they crossed the gardens and entered through the front doors of the tower proper to make their way into the ground floor of the Citadel. Just like they did in the market, Ryokumo and Iris walked like there was nothing of importance going on, and not a single individual they passed, whether it be guards or other officials, bothered to stop them before they arrived on the lift with ease.

“Ortumo,” Ryokumo chanted, causing the platform they stood on to begin its accent.

Feeling his heart beginning to beat faster at the knowledge that they had safely made it back into the tower, Eric glanced between the two and whispered, “So what now? I still don’t know what’s going on. When did Master Mackia join us?”

“It’s a complicated story,” Ryokumo replied under his breath, looking sideways at Iris with obvious distaste. “And I can’t even say she has joined us. What are your motives here, Mackia? I’ve allowed you to come with us because you’ve left me with no choice, but we’ve run out of time now and I can’t afford to be babysitting you.”

Iris giggled, as if taking pleasure in Ryokumo’s unrestrained irritation. “I told you back in that alley, did I not? I want Eric to be happy. If you say that you can bring his friends back then that’s what I want to do. Despite our rather shaky relationship, I do have faith in your cleverness, Caeli, and I can see how confident you are. Whatever this mystery plan of yours is, you believe it can work. So I will help, for Eric’s sake more than anything else.”

The boy couldn’t help but smile as he listened to her speak. He didn’t sense any deceit or mischief in her voice. Instead, she sounded just like she did when she told him about his mother and because of sense’s pure faith in her, he had the feeling that she wasn’t lying. She was acting for his sake.

But why? She hardly knows me? Is she like Reigious? Is she simply repaying a debt she owed to my mother?

“See, that’s what I don’t trust,” Ryokumo growled, as if reading Eric’s thoughts. “Why would you put so much at risk for the sake of a boy you hardly know. You’re a Master, and if you’re caught working with us, they will kill you. Why betray Ijiria?”

The woman shrugged. “Well, I could ask the same thing of you, you know. While you’ve implied that there are other reasons for your actions, you’ve also expressed a desire to save Eric. In the end, I think we act for the same reasons. We don’t feel any loyalty to Ijiria, and we do feel loyalty to Abigail Reiner and her son.” Iris laughed. “After all, Caeli, you know there isn’t a single Master who would miss me if I suddenly vanished. So why should I stick my neck out for them, when I know this boy behind me would care far more for my well being.”

Eric smiled, noticing the brief look she gave him before she faced forward once again. He then glanced at Ryokumo, and he could see the frustration in his eyes, and that was enough to tell him that the Master of Wind still didn’t trust Iris. However, for the sake of the plan, he needed to be without worry, so Eric decided to speak.

“Ryokumo,” he said firmly. “We can trust her. I promise.”

The man's lips tightened and he softly shook his head. “With all due respect, Eric, you don’t know Mackia like I do. You’ve only been here for a few months so I—”

“Despite that, I think I might know her better than you do,” he interrupted firmly. “I trust her. I know it's going to sound strange, but just call it a sixth sense of mine. I know without doubt that Mackia isn’t going to betray us.”

Ryokumo’s eyes went wide and he suddenly turned back to gaze at him. “What did you say? A sixth sense?”

Thrown off by the strange reaction, Eric managed a quick nod before realizing that the Master couldn’t see him. “Er, yes. Something like that.”

The man slowly raised a hand to his face and put it over his mouth, appearing almost lost in thought for that brief moment before a begrudging sigh escaped his lips. “Damn it. Very well. We trust Mackia then.” The sudden change in opinion was surprising to Eric, and it seemed even Iris wasn’t sure what to make of it, but Ryokumo was already moving on without missing a beat. “Eric, we go along with the same plan but we’re altering it slightly. We can no longer trust our quarters so I want Mackia to take you to hers and wait there while I go to the Vault to—”

Ryokumo stopped mid sentence as the lift suddenly came to a stop and Eric could only stare in horror at the two individuals that were standing there. Nigreos and Album also seemed a little surprised to see the two Masters, but while Album was already glaring at Ryokumo, Nigreos merely smiled pleasantly.

“Ah, Ryokumo,” he greeted. “Mackia. I suppose you two are already heading up then?”

The two Masters stepped onto the lift and both Ryokumo and Eric shuffled backwards, the boy’s back almost against the wall. He was terrified that the distortion would either drop or that one of the two would be able to see through it, and while neither had made any indication that they did, he was holding his breath to prevent even the slightest sound from escaping his lips.

“Heading up?” Iris parroted, her features impressively calm despite the situation. “Heading up where?”

Album snorted in disgust. “So the two of you didn’t know? Reigious has summoned the Masters to an emergency meeting. Apparently Taurus has returned from his hunt and tracked Territh to the city. He and Cartus have already begun their assault on the slums and with any luck, this meeting will simply be to inform us that Kirisan is taken care of.”

There was a very slight bit of relief when Album didn’t mention anything about him. It would seem that his betrayal had yet to reach the Citadel, but he realized the likelihood of it being revealed at that meeting.

Damn it! What am I supposed to do if Iris and Ryokumo get stuck in this meeting! I can’t act without him and it’s not like I can hide anywhere!

“Oh, does it have to be right now?” Iris complained. “I wanted to stop by my classroom for a bit to make sure everything’s in order for Eric’s test tomorrow. And for that matter, I don’t even think I locked the door, so I should probably go deal with that, too.”

“Is that really worth skipping a summons from the prince?” Nigreos snapped. “Stop being a fool, Mackia.”

“Aw, alright then.”

It didn’t seem as if Nigreos or Album thought much of what she said, but Eric picked up on it perfectly. He could hide in the classroom until either Iris or Ryokumo made contact with him. If Reigious did know about his betrayal, then they hopefully wouldn’t think he was already back in the Citadel, and if even they did know he was in the tower, they probably wouldn’t look for him there.

“Well, in that case, let’s see if this Children issue is finally dealt with,” Ryokumo said softly just as the lift came to a halt on the floor of the Chambers. “It would be for the better that we put all this behind us.”

“Yes, agreed,” Nigreos added as he, Album, and Ryokumo all stepped off and into the hall.

Iris, however, stopped short and glanced back at him with a wink then mouthed, “good luck” before following after the others. Eric could feel Ryokumo’s distortion getting weaker the further down the hall he went, so Eric quickly reinforced it with his own and used magic to lower the lift away from that floor.

Alright, here we go. Let’s do this.