Relias: Uprising (7 page)

Ranjak’s smile disappeared while he searched for something to come back with. He looked all around him as though searching for inspiration. After a moment of taught silence, his attention fell to Hendrick, whose face displayed a massive, toothy smirk.

“You got a problem!” Ranjak yelled as he took several struts towards Hendrick. Hendrick shook his head but stared Ranjak in face without flinching.

“I’m sorry, I… it’s just I find myself completely lost in your eyes. You have a girlfriend or something cause… I’d love to take you out and show you a good time.”

 Ranjak shoved Hendrick against the wall and went after him. Hendrick, his grin now gritted into a violent and ecstatic smile, ignited his Blazers and went to punch Ranjak across the face with it.

 “Nathan!” Alighieri yelled, stepping between the two before Hendrick’s Blazer could make contact. Before Hendrick could shove him out of the way, more Dark soldiers burst into the room and threw themselves upon the Ditrinity, bringing half a dozen powerful stabilizers with them. Not wanting to escalate things, the Ditrinity didn’t fight back. Hendrick, though, ripped his arms from the grips of the two soldiers that restrained him and kept after Ranjak.

 The rest of Ranjak’s companions went to break the fight up, though they seemed more keen towards further provoking it. And with the Monolith’s size, none of the others could forcibly restrain him. So, while allowing themselves to be shackled, Sable, Vyvyr stood back while Pontious and Luke shoved the encroaching Darks away, making it perfectly clear that they wouldn’t be going peaceably.

 “Wait…” One of the younger women said, sliding her way into the contention. She was shorter, about five foot four, and looking around eighteen years old. Her straight dark brown hair extended down past her shoulder blades possessed a vivid luster. She was thin but lean. Her arms were more muscular than the average woman as were her shoulders. She had a skinny waist, larger hips and muscular legs. Her face was slender, with high cheek bones, large lips and piercing light blue eyes that could be mistaken for white.

 “Back out of this.” Luke said dangerously. He didn’t want to be forceful with her, but he wouldn’t hesitate in doing so.

 She didn’t blink. Instead, she stepped closer to Luke and got a better look at him. “You’re… you really are…” She said, her eyes lacking the anger that the others had. “You’re Luke Semprys.”

 With all the stabilizers in the room, Luke couldn’t see much more than thin, blackened outlines of people and objects, making it even more difficult to distinguish this woman’s face. But even so, at that distance he could make out her features just fine. Luke knew he should know this woman, but sorting through his memories he found no record of her.

 “I’m sorry…” Luke said, her geniality drawing a less aggressive response. “I’m not sure I know you…”

 Everybody else saw them speaking and the commotion reached an abrupt halt. Hendrick, who had his hand wrapped around the collar on Ranjak’s armor, released it with a warmed smile upon seeing the two converse. Watching Luke and the woman, Hendrick dropped his arm and casually shoved Ranjak over a nearby trash can, clearing a space around the two. Over against the wall, despite the cuffs that restrained her, Sable smiled as well. And though Luke had just flirted with the line between forceful debate and assault, Alighieri seemed deeply moved by the situation as well. “Luke, she’s-“

 “I got it.” The woman said, hushing Alighieri with just a few soft words. “Of course he’s not going to recognize me. He hasn’t seen me since I was twelve.”

 The light in Luke’s head burst on, and whatever anger there was on Luke’s face made an immediate transformation into stark astonishment. And in his shock, Luke almost found himself incapable of even the most simple dictation. After a moment of gathering his thoughts, Luke responded in a deep, calmed voice.

 “Tess…”

 Tess’s eyes lit up and a smile spread across her face. After a short, emotional laugh she ran to Luke, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him. She buried her face into his shoulder and rested there, breathing deep and slow as though taking in a moment she’d never be able to experience again. It was unfamiliar to Luke; he hadn’t felt this kind of emotion in a long time. Without waiting a moment longer, Alighieri raised a hand and motioned towards the door.

 “Everybody outside.”

 Slowly, after giving Luke what harsh looks they could, the Dark soldiers left the room, followed immediately by Thompson, Ranjak, the Monolith, and the other members of the group. Hendrick gave a snappy laugh seeing Sable and Vyvyr in handcuffs and nudged Sable in the side as they went through the door. “You should really get a hand on that aggression issue of yours. It’s out of control.”

 Sable gave a small laugh as they exited. Pontious was the last to leave, giving the two one last look before closing the door behind him.

 The room was completely empty now, and the two stood in complete quiet. But Luke had barely noticed the change. Feeling his daughter hugging him drew new life from him. For some reason, everything up until this point, even prison, seemed like an afterthought. Luke gave her a moment longer before pushing her back and looking at her.

 “You’re a woman.” Luke remarked as though it was something he never thought would happen or he’d live to see happen.

 Tess raised her hands and shrugged, averting her eyes and grimacing. “It’s been over six years...”

 Luke smiled while feeling her hair though there was discontentment in his voice. “I can’t see too well, kid. This many stabilizers make it hard.”

 Tess stepped back and her smile disappeared. She put a hand on Luke’s shoulder.

 “So…” She started disappointedly. “So you can’t see me?”

 His smile persisted as he replied. “I can see that you have your mother’s face and my hair. You’ve stayed in shape too. I’ve always been afraid of having a fat kid. I was lucky with you and Lazarus.”

 “Yeah you were…” She said, her agreement being more of a response to create the appearance of paying attention. She got down to her knees and lowered her head. “Dad…”

 “Yeah?” He responded while getting down on the floor beside her. Tess moved her mouth slightly as though to speak but immediately closed her it. She instead put her arms around him and pulled him close.

 “The things that you did at the battle in Olsgrad canyon… is it…”

 She didn’t finish it. It didn’t seem within her ability. She had said enough though and Luke had plenty idea of what it was she was referring to. He returned her affection and replied.

 “I’ll tell you about it someday.” He finished. Tess looked up at him and saw his face still smiling at her. She returned the smile and hugged him again.

 “What about the prison?” She asked him. “Can you tell me about that?”

 Luke shook his head. Tess nodded and went quiet.

 There was a loud thud outside the door that drew both their attention. Tess stepped forward and Luke held an arm out in front of her. “We can go back to my place and talk.” He started towards the door and stretched an arm out to open it, pausing as he looked to his feet and then to Tess, giving her an amused look. “This isn’t how I imagined this to work out at all.”

 Tess laughed and went to join Luke.

 The door opened and everything outside was teetering on the precipice of utter chaos. Not only were there Dark soldiers everywhere, but Dark civilians had joined into the fray, yelling curses, insults, all aimed towards the Ditrinity. Ranjak and Thompson stood at their front, basking in their celebrity and facing the Ditrinity head on. Hendrick, Vyvyr, Pontious and Sable stood in the center of attention. Sable and Vyvyr kept quiet, keeping a simple eye out for anybody who might become physically aggressive while Pontious defended himself and Hendrick actively antagonized them. But seeing Luke emerge from the office changed the focus entirely. No longer were the Darks concentrated on the Ditrinity. Their animosity towards the group was based around the fact that they were direct associates of Luke Semprys, and now here he stood, alive and in the flesh, right in front of them.

 When Luke emerged, standing at the office’s entrance with Tess at his side, the commotion reached a brief intermission. He stood there, in front of the Darks for the first time since the incident as Olsgrad Canyon, and with his physical presence the Ditrinity became an afterthought.

 It all started back up with a single yell, the individual responsible hidden amidst the crowd that filled the spacious hallway. Forming a circle around Luke and the Ditrinity, they drew together for the one, simple purpose of expressing their spiteful sentiments towards Luke.

 “Who gave the order to get this jagoff out of prison!”

 Hendrick and Pontious zoned in on the man and made towards him. The soldiers that surrounded them prevented them from going any further. That resistance prompted another outbreak in violence as the two sides fought back and forth, yelling at Luke and cursing anybody who stood in their way.

 “Enough of this!” Alighieri shouted, stepping out in front of the crowd raising a hand to silence them. “Anybody else who has anything negative to say about Luke Semprys should keep their mouth shut! He’s one of us!”

 “Like hell he is!” Somebody else shouted. Yells of agreement cropped up around the room.

 “He’s a murderer!” Another person shouted. The statement enflamed the dispute and, after finding that his yells were falling on closed ears, Alighieri bit his cheek and looked back to Luke.

 “Let’s just get you out of here.” He said, nodding down the hallway towards a maintenance tunnel. “Hendrick, Pontious, Vyvyr, Sable, plow your ways through and get back to the Luke’s place. And Luke…” Alighieri’s face saddened at the sight of his friend, still barely able to stand, who had stormed through the city just for the reassurance that his daughter was safe. He put a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “There’s a routine psychological evaluation that we’ve got scheduled for you in a couple days. I’ll talk with you then.”

 Without speaking or conveying an emotion of any kind, Luke turned towards the maintenance tunnel, ushering Tess at his side while the Ditrinity formed up around him, Hendrick and Pontious in front. “Get out of the way!” Hendrick said, shoving one especially vocal soldier back into the crowd. “And Ranjak, quit starin’ at my ass!”

 There was an enraged reply that drew a chuckle from Hendrick. But with circumstances being what they were, the smile on his face didn’t stay for long.

 Some of the more furious members of the mob tried to pursue them, but Hendrick locked up the maintenance tunnel behind them once everybody had made it through. Now, no longer walking in formation, the group eased up, slowing their pace and giving themselves a chance to cool down. The Ditrinity had faced animosity before, though none of it compared to what they had just experienced. What they had known before was limited to dirty looks or the occasional malicious comment. But seeing the crowd behave the way they were made it clear that the Darks harbored more resentment towards him than he had originally anticipated. He had hoped they would have understood why he did what he did. It was more obvious than ever that his hopes had been too high. But with Tess walking at his side, it didn’t matter to Luke what the rest of the world thought. She still cared for him, he still had the Ditrinity, and to Luke, that’s all that mattered.

Chapter 4

 “I’m just going to ask you a few questions, Luke.” The doctor said, making adjustments to the array of medical machinery that had been set up all around the hospital bed that Luke laid on. “In order for this to work I’m going to need you to answer as truthfully as possible.”

 Hard light shone down on Luke on the bed where he laid. The hospital they were in was of the best quality, a facility comprising only a small portion of the winnings they had claimed from their reclamation of the city of Praemon. The room was dark, save for the halo of light that formed around Luke. On the side of the room in the direction of Luke’s feet was a mirror. On the other side of the it, looking in on everything that happened, was the Ditrinity, standing side by side; Morlo, Sable, Hendrick, Pontious, Trey, and Vyvyr Syvyr standing solemnly at the very end.

 “Does Vyvyr look a little creepier than usual?” Sable whispered over to Hendrick who leaned forward in the line and looked down towards him. Hendrick shook his head and looked back into the room where Luke laid.

 “Vampires always look like they’ve never seen the outside of a closet. No worries.”

 “My gratitude for the colorful observation, Nathan.” Came a deep ominous voice from the end of the line. Hendrick gave Vyvyr a casual salute and looked back to the room.

 “I thought they were just giving him a physical.” Pontious rumbled. “What else do they have to do?”

 “Psych eval.” Hendrick answered. “They want to make sure Luke is psychologically fit to dwell amongst us
normal
people.”

 Pontious gave an amused huff and kept watching, The others remained quiet, listening to the speaker’s in the room that were connected with several microphones placed in the examination room. The doctor held the end of his clipboard firmly against his sternum as he began to ask the questions.

 “We’re going to start off with simple questions in order to condition your mind for the heavier ones and get it used to the fact that-“

 “Just get on with it.” Luke interrupted. The doctor gave a polite nod and spoke.

 “What is your name?” The Doctor asked while standing at Luke’s feet. There was a bit of quiet before Luke lifted his head and looked at the Doctor.

 “Are you serious?”

 “Please, Mr. Semprys. We are doing a test of your sanity. The length and nature of your imprisonment would endanger if not entirely destroy the mental stability of most grown men. Again I will say please answer as truthfully as possible.”

 Luke turned his head towards the mirror, looking into it briefly before laying back and settling in once again. “My name is Luke Semprys.”

 The Doctor checked something off. A few members of the Ditrinity chuckled.