Looming Shadow: Journey to Chaos book 2 (55 page)

“I told you the
mattress would come in handy,” Kallen remarked to an older person.

“Ah...uh...” Eric
looked around in helpless confusion.

A hand reached down to
Eric. He stared at it, then at the gentle smile on the body that the hand was
attached to. It was a man big and broad enough to be a linebacker. He was
covered in tiger fur from head to toe, a red lion mane covered his neck and
upper chest, two panther ears on his head, and a tail trailed out of his coat. Hesitantly,
Eric took the hand and it pulled him up.

“Eric Watley right?” the
man asked. “I'm Percy Tota. Pleased to meet you.”

“Yeah...” Eric said,
not grasping the last part.

“I'm a researcher here
at the ICDMM, or International Community Dedicated to Mana Mutation. This
building is our Ataidar branch, located outside Roalt. You follow?”

“Do you mean follow you
somewhere or understand what you just said?”

Percy grinned. “The
second one.”

“Yeah, Kallen said
something about the ICDMM when we meet in Mambi, and a presentation in Roalt
was the only reason she gave me a ride home.”

Percy gave Kallen a
disappointed look.

“I had work to do. You
should know because you assigned it to me.”

“Seven days ago?!”

Kallen jotted down “delayed
reaction” while Percy explained.

“Yes, seven days. I'm
thrilled beyond words with your quick turnaround.”

“You don't sound
thrilled. You sound bored.”

“He sounds like this
all the time,” Kallen said. “He's a wild thing after he drinks too much.”

She ducked a head smack
and giggled when he tickled her with the other hand.
Inside joke?

“This section here is
the Containment Wing where victims of mana mutation, such as yourself, are kept
for treatment,” Percy continued. “Some of our patients have been here for years
and yet they're as feral as the day they arrived, so your quick turnaround is
inspiring.”

“Um...you’re…happy that
I turn quickly?” Eric said.

Kallen jotted that
down, both upset and hopeful. Percy’s reaction was impossible to determine.

“Since then, you been
observed and treated by us. Do you have any questions?”

“Where's my mentor,
Basilard Bladi?”

“Basilard Bladi?” Percy
pulled a crystal from his pocket and an ethereal screen appeared above it. He
touched a keypad and moved several objects on the screen. “He's currently
visiting Tiza Sprial Aranid in room 53. I can –”

Eric was already
running.

The hallways were an
extension of his holding room: blank tile, runed support beams, white ceiling
lights, and cameras. The cameras tracked his every move and they puzzled him.
It took him a minute or so to remember that they were machines instead of
creatures. He wondered how they tasted and then if they were a threat. After
another minute of consideration, he decided they weren’t either one and
continued on his way to room 53.

It was a safe vault
with “53” emblazoned on its center in big black letters. He knocked, as he
remembered to do, then he looked over the bulky door for a science gizmo. He
found a square pad housing a button and a speaker. After a little thought, he
recognized it as an intercom. He pressed the button and hesitantly spoke into
it.

The door could not open
fast enough. Eric was crushed in a bear hug by a big figure wearing light plate
mail; not unlike what he himself wore in his vision.
Threat?
Sniff.
No.
Family.
Seconds later, he was grabbed from the other side by someone
shorter and lacking plate mail. Then a third person hugged him; this one lacked
masculine features and possessed longer hair. Soon his new tunic and the top of
his head were wet with tears. He pulled away to breathe and looked up.

“Day...Daylra?”

Basilard tried to say
something, but couldn't, and just held Eric tighter. The four of them remained
in their embrace until Basilard was ready to speak.

“I'm so proud of you,”
he said at last.

Eric smiled as a warm
feeling filled his chest and belly. He set his head back against Basilard's
tunic and it was soon as wet as his own. However, something felt off. He looked
at the third person hugging him and saw long red hair and red eyes.

“You’re not Tiza.
You’re….um….”

“Mana gate lecture,”
the girl said.

“Zettai! I’m glad to
see you survived, but where’s Tiza? Is she here? Oh, I bet she left as soon as
I woke up so she could say she wasn’t worried about me. Am I right? No! I’m
not! This is her room!

Eric's warm feeling was
replaced by something cold, twisting, and sticky.

“Is she a monster too?
Is she still in the white mist void fighting aspects of her personality?”

“Eric.”

“GDL might be in there
and taking over!” 

“
Eric!
”

“Yes, Daylra?”

“Tiza is fine. Come and
see for yourself.”

This room was different
from Eric's, but only slightly. The concrete and steel was the same and many
machines lined the walls, but this room had a bed instead of a water tank.
Sathel and Retina sat next to it. When the door opened, they briefly glanced in
its direction and then returned to their vigil. Tiza was tucked under the
sheets, eyes closed. Eric looked to his mentor and asked a silent question.

“She's all right. The
healers say she's all right; exhausted. She's sleeping, that's all.”

Tiza looked gentle
lying there. The wires connected to her arms and forehead, the place she was in;
they reminded him that she
wasn't
a ball of endless energy. He reached
out and she rolled away.

“Don't bother,” said a
voice in the doorway. “She only lets Nolien do that.”

“Kallen!” Nolien
hissed.

“What?” Kallen asked
innocently. “You don't want anyone else touching her, right?”

“Right! I-I mean, I
don't want anyone to take advantage of her, given her condition.”

“That's not love?”

“You can ask a thousand
times, but I'm not going to admit romantic feelings.”

A wicked smirk formed
on Eric's face. “On Threa, we have a certain traditional means of awakening
sleeping maidens.”

“We have a similar
tradition.” Kallen stood at Eric's side and matched his expression. “However,
our prince was too afraid of the blind dragon to attempt it.”

“As well he should be,”
Retina muttered.

“Dear…”

“Yes, I know, honor of
Heleti and all that.”

Nolien didn’t like
where this conversation was headed, so he shook Tiza's shoulder and said,
“Tiza, wake up. Eric’s back.”

“Dimwit?” Tiza said
sleepily. “He's sapient?”

“Yes, Tiza. I'm here.”

Tiza threw off her
covers, ripped off wires, and leaped out of bed. Instead of her rugged clothes,
she was in a white medical gown. The strange attire distracted Eric long enough
for Tiza to slug him. He fell like a rock.
Threat? No. Family.

“That was for the
stupid suggestion!” She kicked his side. “That was for making me worry!
And...hey! Put me down!”

Retina carried her back
to the bed and tucked her in. Sathel reattached the wires and, once finished,
she moved a strand of hair behind Tiza's ear. The girl herself crossed her arms
and glowered.

“This is stupid! I’ve
been in bed
for seven freakin’ days
. At this rate, I’ll be as weak and
delicate as a tent. You might as well give me a needle so I can
knit
.”

Tasio appeared out of
nowhere and said, “You already do that.”

Tiza smacked him just
as he disappeared. “He’s lying!”

 Kallen nudged Eric. “She’s
recovering from monsanity, spiritual fatigue, and mana poisoning. For a while,
she was just as feral as you were, but Nolien snapped her out of it. While not
unheard of we wanted to monitor her just in case. She's been here ever since.”

“I... I...think her
heard voice...” Eric said. “It helped me remember who I am.”

“Really!?” Kallen
pulled out a listening crystal. “You didn't say that earlier.”

Eric told her, as best
as he could remember, what he saw after he obliterated Mr.15. A smile bloomed
across her face with every word he said. Not the mad-scientist grin he saw so
often or the trickster-like smirk, but a true smile. She looked beautiful.

“We all took turns
reminiscing,” Basilard said. “The Emotional Memory hypothesis states that
sapients lose their memories but retain the emotions connected to those
memories. By reminding a monster of their memories, they could work backwards
and rediscover their life.”

“Monsters can't retain
memories,” Kallen continued, “so once you remembered, you would be capable of
holding memories again and thus no longer be a monster.”

“I was hoping that time
as a monster would make you less of a wuss,” Tiza said. “But not even a Grendel
can save a hopeless case like you.”

“I love you too, Tiza.
Seriously, why was I submerged in water?”

“Classical philosophy
associates water with identity formation,” Kallen explained. “You know – liquid,
gas, solid? Salicrates stated that each represented segments of the human mind
such as transitory feelings, perspective of what is 'day-to-day life' and core
values/cardinal traits. Since monsanity is a case of lost identity, it's a
standard treatment. Most Grendels are found in frigid swamps, so they're good
at maintaining body heat.”

“Then why am I human
instead of a sapient Grendel?”

“You tell us,” Kallen
said. “We were expecting you to wake up as a Grendel, but you turned human
immediately before that.”

“I don’t know. I
was….Where's Staff Soiléir!?” Eric asked in panic.

“I’m sorry, Eric,” Basilard
said. “I looked as thoroughly as I could, but I didn’t find it.”

His insides froze. His
staff was gone; his partner in magecraft was
gone
. Gone, gone! Never
coming back! Lost forever! A pulse resonated within him.
Staff Soiléir is
inside me! Hir was in the Battle Royale, so I guess that makes sense…But how do
I reach hir?

Kallen grabbed Eric's
head and kissed him. His eyes shot open as a warm feeling rapidly replaced the
cold, and knowledge rushed into his mind. More than knowledge, it was
experience.

“Try it now,” she whispered,
so close.

Eric nodded. Clapping
his hands together, he focused on his staff. It was no different from pulling
out mana...the motion was the same. It was all the same! With a spiritual pull,
a crystal emerged from his palm. A grey sphere with a black mix floated in the
center and now it was accompanied by a cerulean blue sphere.

Ecstatic, he continued
pulling and his staff flowed out, knotted end and all. He spun it once and
thudded the butt on the ground. Then he hugged Kallen. A corner of her mouth
quirked up and she hugged back. Warmth, peace, and security filled them both.
Neither wanted to let go.

“Kallen?”

“Mhm?”

“How did you know what
happened to my staff?”

“How do you think?” She
whispered the next part in his ear. “A similar thing happened to me.”

“You mean...at Siduban
–”

“Yep, but we can talk
about that later. For now, let’s talk about what happened in Ceiha.”

Team Four+ sat down
together for the first time in eight days. They discussed the conclusion of the
mission in Ceiha and its results. Kallen suggested that Eric himself choose the
topics to stimulate his mind by seeking information.

“First question: is
there anything in here that I can eat?”

“First answer: No,” Tiza
said. “My meal will come soon and I’ll share it with you.”

“You’re welcome, or
thanks…which one is it?”

“The first one.”

“
Tiza
,” all three
parental figures said.

“Fine. It’s the second
one, but I personally think the first is more appropriate.”

Eric’s first question
that didn’t involve food concerned a threat: Mr.15. The last thing he
remembered was looking at the ashes of his body, and he wanted to confirm that
he was truly dead. Basilard said this was the case.

“We never found his
body, but that’s because you vaporized it. I asked BloodDrinker to sweep the
mountain and it didn’t find anything that matched him personally. All it found
was his clones, who had trace amounts sealed in their brains so he could
control them.”

“Did you kill them all?
It must have been a fantastic feast.”

It baffled Eric that
Basilard clenched his fists at this remark. Surely, a feast is never a reason
for anger. Nolien stepped in and said that they did not kill any of them
because getting Eric treatment was more important. Instead, Neuro and the
Brotherhood of Death hunted them down.

“He also restored as
much
kon
to the people of Deimos as he could find. The town will survive,
but its people will die sooner than they would have otherwise.”

“AND he astral-projected
to the Abyss to testify against Rent-A-Spade in the Court of Life and Death!”
Tiza added. “Surrounded by deities, he threatened one of them! ‘If you ever
come to Ceiha again, I’ll take the rest of your authorities myself.’ He’s
amazing!”

Nolien coughed.

Eric’s second question
involved Zettai. His last sight of her was a disgusting mess in a pretty dress.
Now she was clean and wearing commoner clothing: a red blouse, pink skirt,
black tights, and brown boots. Her hair was now long, vibrant, and covered her
entire crown, instead of the patched and diseased clumps he remembered. The
resemblance between her and Basilard was clear, but then again, it was off
somehow.

“You said I would only
get out of Ceiha on the back of a trickster or a dragon, and you were wrong. It
was inside a griffin.”

“You’re all lucky my
Albatross
IX
is powered by divine lightning. It wasn’t made to carry so many people.”