The Last of the Sages (Sage Trilogy, Book 1) (23 page)

“I don’t know how an Allayan becomes a Sage. What I do know is that every Allayan has the potential, even if few reach it. I figure I might as well see what I can do with you. If you manage to release your eidolon, you won’t know how to use it for a while, and I will study you in the meantime. Once I discern you’re becoming too strong, I will kill you. How does that sound? Not so useless after all!”

“And how are you going to make me a Sage?”

“I have a few ideas in mind. My favorite being the one we’ll start right now. It’s called, ‘pushing you to the edge.’”

Alexander wasted no time in hitting James in the stomach, laughing as James realized what his ominous saying entailed. Alexander motioned for his lackeys to work on James, making sure they didn’t kill him in the process.

James tried to separate his mind from the pain, but it was all too real. His body refused to go numb this time, each consecutive hit making an area more and more sensitive. His wounds burned and his eyes became heavy. Whenever he was about to go unconscious, Alexander would cease the torture for a moment, and let him rest long enough to regain consciousness. He could hardly think anymore. Not clearly. A jumble of thoughts tore through his mind, but as soon as he tried to focus specifically on something, it was taken away.

He tried in particular to remember Catherine. It couldn’t have been more than a few days yet he felt like he had been away from Allay for years, from Catherine even longer.

He forgot how she smiled.

And he grew angrier at how he couldn’t remember how her freckles were placed, the way her laugh soothed his soul. And in no time at all, his mind joined his body in the suffering…

And then he suddenly gave up, dispelling all thoughts of Catherine…he tried to bring her back, but all that came was the negative. He figured…she had probably forgotten about him already. Too busy concentrating on the Kingdom and the tasks at hand. How much time did he actually take up her daily thoughts? How important was a simple recruit that failed at everything he attempted? What did it matter?

He tried to bring her smiling face back to the forefront but it was just so difficult. There was only the pain being inflicted on him, verbally and physically, nipping at him like an annoying dog, irritating him like someone was chipping away at the ice that was his resolve. His blood boiled, his vision blurred, and all he felt was rage well up within him. The blows were getting worse, but the verbal abuse was far more damaging. The jeers and the taunts brought him back to his school days, when he was made fun of for the little things, for just being who he was.

He didn’t see Alexander anymore, but his own inadequacy, his own failures. He saw how he needed more, how if he could only have a little more power, how he could save not only himself but his new friend, how he could stop Alexander and his gang of thugs from attacking Allay.

It wasn’t the people he was worried about. They had their protectors. Arimus and the others were sure to make short work of Alexander and the Langorans. Sure, they weren’t Sages, but they had the determination and the will to achieve their goals…while he always fell short. He was never good enough. He could never aspire to be Achan or even Dominic, as much as he loathed him. He was just worthless…nothing, and he was angry at it all. He was sick of being the punching bag, and the butt of the jokes.

Whether he got out alive or not didn’t matter anymore. He was tired of fighting to survive, he wanted to survive to fight, to cause pain to all those that took advantage of others. To cause fear in the hearts of those who vehemently did harm to the innocent. He wanted to kill Alexander, simply because he was arrogant, because he was confident James couldn’t do a thing. It would be his downfall, and whether he sacrificed his life doing it, Alexander had to die, by his hands…in his hands.

“What, are you getting tired?” Alexander yelled at one of the Langorans who had just dropped James to the ground.

The Langoran grunted.

“Heavy? Are you kidding me? He’s like 170 tops. Pick him up again. We’re not done until he becomes a Sage.”

Alexander reached toward James’ left shoulder, but before he could touch it, his ring and pinky fingers were gone. It took only a second for him to process. When he realized what happened, he stared at his dismembered hand, cut clean, and stepped back as fast as he could. Clutching his hand in horror, he fought back the urge to scream and could only glare at James in rage. His left eye twitched at the thoughts of what he would do to him; how he would make James suffer when he took a deep breath and smiled the best he could, seeing his captive for the first time since he lost his appendages.

“So,” he tried to say as calmly as he could. “You are different.”

James didn’t hear a word he said. He had wanted Alexander’s throat, but the fingers would suffice for now. His consciousness gone, there was only rage. His eyes widened at the sides, eyelashes forming at the bottom of his eyes and coiling with the ones at top to defend his eyes from harm. The hair on his skin seemed to disappear, his skin turning a silver-black, smooth as marble and just as hard. Yet it appeared as slick as oil, and occasionally it rippled as such. His neck extended forward, giving him nearly 360 degree motion. His hands grew extra opposable thumbs on the sides of his hands as his fingernails grew and sharpened slightly. His teeth lost its dullness, turning almost into fangs. The hair on his head remained but slicked back, spiking in the rear. His muscles grew, still toned, but rippled. Bones, the shape of scythe blades, came out in pairs on his forearms.

James felt none of it, but he could smell the fear in Alexander the moment he took two of his fingers. Although it had subsided significantly since the beginning of his transformation, he was dying to smell it again.

“I’ve never seen one in person…” Alexander mused, while taking steps behind the Langorans, Keel following him closely. “A quietus...how can you be a quietus?”

James could feel the slight tremble in Alexander’s voice. He concentrated on that, assessing just how powerful the Langorans were by comparison. He felt the power ripple through his veins. His hands told him they could crush their skulls. His legs revealed they could outrun their chase… if he wanted to have fun, not because he was outnumbered. He could almost taste the salty sweat dripping from their brow, each drop counting the seconds until their demise. James didn’t move, but reveled in what he smelled, what he saw through his slit eyes. He could see every major artery, a sort of heat vision imprinted on an x-ray. He could see the blood coursing through their veins, and they told him everything.

He saw when their nerves sent signals to the right hemisphere, signifying they were thinking of how to beat him. How the blood rushed to their hand, getting ready to throw a right hook. He saw it all, and before he realized it, he made quick work of his enemies. One Langoran happened to survive the onslaught and being quicker than the others, attempted to retaliate for the loss of his brothers while defending his leader.

Alexander ran to the entrance as the last Langoran stood in James’ way. James was shorter than the Langoran but as he glared at him, his neck stretched upward so that he was eye level with him. James turned his head side to side slightly, getting to know his prey. Before the Langoran could react, his scythe blades shifted so that they pointed face forward. James smiled slyly, his teeth glistening in the dull light and then he plunged his arm well into his enemy’s stomach. The Langoran tried to grab James, but James was already unsheathing his blades and moving behind him, toward his true prey, Alexander.

Alexander had already covered his escape though as Keel swung his massive fist toward one of the pillars holding up the underground ceiling. The foundation crumbled under the pressure as debris began to fall from overhead. Alexander laughed as he continued to make his way above ground, leaving James behind to be crushed.

Alexander was gone, yet James stood still. All he could think about was the fact he was missing something. James turned his neck backward to see the unconscious Langorans and then instinctively noticed his friend in the back, standing in shock over what the Allayan recruit with the broken leg had just become.

James eyed him suspiciously, but sensing no threat, examined him more to find out exactly why. The Langoran stood there, staring at him as the walls fell down around them .The Langoran was pointing toward the ceiling, but James already knew it was falling, already knew there was a boulder headed right for his crown, but he didn’t care. He wanted to test his abilities, test his speed, and dodge it at the last second, but his Langoran friend wasn’t aware of that. He ran toward James to save him.

James growled, but the Langoran had already jumped through the air, toward the boulder falling on James’ head.

James swung an arm at his cellmate, and then everything went black…

Chapter 10 - Pain

James woke up feeling as if his head had split in two but his leg sure wasn’t bothering him. In fact, it felt like it had miraculously fixed itself. Besides some minor soreness, he could somehow walk, maybe even run if he needed to. But what was causing the headache? It was hard to recall what happened in the last few minutes.

He remembered being beaten by Alexander and his thugs in the underground hallway. What he didn’t remember was the hallway somehow collapsing in on itself.  James sat where he was, trying not to breathe in the dirt air as he searched for some evidence of what occurred. It took only a moment to see his cellmate sitting at the opposite end of him, leaning awkwardly on a fallen rock. He laughed shallowly at their predicament and shook his head.

“You never cease to amaze me,” the Langoran said.

“Why do you say that?” James groaned, shifting his weight to a more comfortable position. He wasn’t crushed by any rubble, but he was sure surrounded by it.

“You have no clue what you did, do you?”

“Can’t say that I do. I was about to ask you if you did all this.”

“It was all you, James. Scared Alexander and everything.”

“What did I do?”

“Alexander and the others are gone. That’s the important thing. As far as what happened, I couldn’t hear Alexander on what he called you, but I know he was afraid. You turned into some kind of a monster.”

“A monster?” James said skeptically.

“I’m serious. Alexander was so terrified that he knocked down a pillar on his way out. Started a chain reaction.”

“That makes no sense. What really happened?”

“If you make it back to Allay, ask your teachers. I’m sure they’ll know more about it than I do.”

James didn’t know what to think. It made no sense. What did he mean he turned into a monster? Did he really get that angry? Did he blackout in rage and actually managed to hurt Alexander? Even if he had, how did he escape the wrath of the Langorans? He obviously didn’t release his eidolon. His cellmate would’ve said so. Did he go unconscious from the torture, and really his cellmate was the one who did all of the damage? And if so, why hide it?

“So how do we get out of here?” James said, changing the subject.

“I’m not sure where the entrance is located with all of this debris around me, but if we keep digging, I’m sure we’ll find it eventually. Like I said, I’m not as strong as those other brutes, but I have some energy within me.”

That only furthered James’ suspicions. Maybe he was the type of Langoran that could hide his true strength, and it didn’t come forth easily like with the others. After all, he had to have been chained for a reason…

“Will you still go back to Prattle? I mean, what will you say about all the prisoners down here when they don’t show up?”

“I’ll have to tell them the truth. After all, it’s not like we’re heading to the same place.”

“True.”

“C’mon, help me with these rocks.”

James reluctantly lifted a small rock and threw it to the side, wishing he had some clue as to how deep the avalanche went. As soon as he began to work, a low crumbling sound was heard from beyond the wall. A fear welled up in his chest, fearing that the Langorans from the scouting trip came back. James prepared to call out, when his cellmate closed his mouth, and grunted some words to the top. James immediately understood. They had been separated for a while. Maybe they were unaware of his Langoran friend’s mutiny. There was no call back though, so James removed the hand from his mouth and screamed out a help. His cellmate scowled at him, but he explained himself.

“If there are Allayans up there, it’s better they hear from me. If they think there’s only Langorans, they won’t even bother coming down.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“It’s me, James! I’m down here! It’s safe!”

After some mumbling from beyond the wall, the rocks began shuffling away. James motioned for his cellmate to stand behind him, just in case. He hurriedly agreed.

“If it is your friends, they will kill me, James.”

“No they won’t. I’ll explain everything, just don’t move.”

“I’m telling you, James. I will die this day, especially if it’s a Sage.”

“Highly doubtful. Just stand there. You will be fine. I promise.”

“I hope you’re right. I didn’t come all this way to be cut down like an animal.”

“You spared my life. It’s only fair that I return the favor.”

He nodded, breathing a little easier now with James’ promise. A cornerstone was rolled away and a large section of the debris fell away, kicking up a cloud of ancient dirt. As the dust cleared, he tried to see through his squinted eyes. There was a figure standing before them, and he could see a hand reaching for the sword at his hip. James coughed from the dust and the hand relaxed as he saw James standing before him.

“Now,” Achan said. “You must tell me your secret. How you managed to survive a group of Langorans and a cave-in is no small feat.”

“I can’t say I didn’t have some help,” James said quickly as his friend stepped from behind him, holding both hands up in surrender. Achan frowned, but remained still.

“What is a Langoran doing behind you, James?”

“Long story, but he’s a good guy. Trust me.”

“I think you need to convince me with more than that.”

“He saved my life.”

“To gain your trust.”

“He was an outcast of the group from the beginning. He’s not part of the brutes we faced. Look at him. He’s not a threat.”

“He could be a spy. Because of his stature, he could manipulate us into a more comfortable position, in order to betray us all.”

“I take full responsibility for him. He’s not even trying to go to Allay. He simply wants to go home where he belongs.”

“Which I’m still not all that comfortable with. Even though we’re not Sages, he’ll know how the test is operated, and tell his people. Valuable information will be given about the Kingdom.”

“Trust me. He and every other Langoran knows about this test. I don’t know for how long but they do. A Prattlian told them of it. Also, there are more Langorans out there, scouting the Kingdom as we speak. The Langoran behind me isn’t the threat. They are.”

Achan winced at the thought of letting a Langoran go.

“Only because there’s a bigger problem at hand, will I let you go…let’s go outside. We can discuss what will happen next.”

The Langoran watched with cautious eyes, unsure of how Achan was behaving. Achan was the type of person that wanted to be liked, but he was also the leader. If he felt he had to, he would kill without hesitation. 

“You’re fortunate we were in the area when the cave collapsed,” Achan said, looking behind his shoulder at the Langoran, more than James. They walked up the stairs slowly, giving Achan plenty of time to consider his options.

“It was so loud, there was no way we couldn’t investigate,” a familiar voice muttered to the side of them.

“Elder!” James exclaimed, “It is good to see you!”

James drew back immediately at his friends’ appearance. He had seen better days. His glasses were gone, and his hair was matted with blood and grime. His clothes were tattered and torn. James glanced around at what was left of the team. Christian and Rahima stood quietly to the side, both of them a little dirty, but neither of them wounded. London was sulking in the corner, sitting on a boulder with his chin in his hands. James almost snickered at the thought of how much ruckus he must’ve made on investigating the cave-in.

“I see you’re admiring my new wardrobe,” Elder tried to joke. “It’s a little dark for my taste, but it gets a powerful message across.”

“What’s that? Wounded animal?”

Elder laughed despite himself.

“Are you faring well, James?” Elder said suddenly, becoming serious. “I see that your face has endured quite a bit of trauma.”

“It was…something. Something I don’t want to think about for a long time,” James admitted.

“At least it’s definitely an ordeal you can add to your infantry resume: torture and suffering in the midst of the enemy.”

“Sounds wordy.”

Achan maintained a watchful eye over the Langoran while listening to the conversation. Seeing that the Langoran was studying his team as well, he cleared his throat loudly, signaling the troop to pay attention.

“That’s enough reunion for now. We have to figure out what to do with the Langoran.”

“Achan,” James began. “Don’t let your prejudices get in the way. I can understand your apprehension. I was skeptical at first too, but his actions spoke louder than words.”

“I think it’s funny that they put you through so much torture, yet he is unharmed. How was he able to save your life, and receive no repercussions?”

James looked toward his cellmate who pleaded with his eyes. There had to be an explanation. Surely it was because Alexander was only interested in the chance to study an Allayan…yet when they were alone in the cell, couldn’t they have grabbed the Langoran at times to question him themselves?

“James, tell them,” the Langoran pleaded. Tell them about how they ignored me for the most part. How they wanted you to show your eidolon.” It was like his cellmate had been reading his mind.

“What were they after, James?” Achan asked.

“They thought they could make me into a Sage through torture. The Prattlian I mentioned, the one named Alexander. He knew about Sages from his Kingdom’s history but he wanted the chance to study one in person. To learn their weakness.”

“Is this Alexander still around?”

“I think so. I’m not sure if he made it out the cave in time, but then again, we would’ve seen his body on the way out.”

“He sounds dangerous. Okay, he’s our target then, since he sounds like the brains of the operation. If we find him before he gets to the scouts, it will greatly weaken their plan.”

“What about the test? We probably failed by now.”

“All the more reason to do what we can while we’re out here. I’d rather do some good before I get my punishment.”

“You could’ve passed. You had the time to make it back.”

“I was unconscious for a long time. When that Langoran smacked me, I didn’t break my jaw or anything, but it was enough to take me out for a day. Elder spent a lot of time nursing the wounded the best he could. After we came to, and realized the Langorans were gone, the test was practically over. Even if we ran back at full speed, we wouldn’t have made the three day mark. London managed to hold onto the stone, thankfully, and we figured that we should try to find the Langorans and assess their plan before we headed back to Allay. That way we wouldn’t be completely useless. That’s when we heard the cave-in.”

“So what do we do now?”

“Do you remember anything on where the Langorans are?”

“Only that they are scouting the Kingdom.”

“At least they aren’t Quietus,” Achan sighed, turning his head toward the Langoran. James couldn’t help feeling strange at the mention of the word. Achan turned to his cellmate. “You wouldn’t happen to know where they are specifically, would you?”

“I wish I had that knowledge. Then I could prove myself more trustworthy.”

“Then that’s a no.”

“So are you going to let him go now?” James inquired.

“Not sure, yet.”

“We can’t take him back to Allay. He’ll be killed for sure. Letting him go is the only option. We can watch him until he crosses the border.”

“Maybe,” Achan trailed off, and then he looked to London. “London, you need some courage in you, why don’t you do me a favor and search him?”

“Why?!” the Langoran gruffed toward Achan. Achan smiled and placed a calm but firm hand on the hilt of his blade.

“Why so defensive? It’s a simple search. If you were their prisoner like you claim, you would’ve already been searched before.”

“Don’t I have rights?”

“Not when I’m in charge.”

“Allayan filth, acting so righteous.”

That struck a nerve with Achan.

“Let me tell you about righteousness. We Allayans are so harsh in our dealings with other Kingdoms and their inhabitants because we’ve gotten the short end of the stick on numerous occasions. Sure, we were strong enough to bounce back, but it’s not like we’ve forgotten what’s happened. We’re more than willing to give more than a second chance, but we’re not foolish. So you shouldn’t get in my face about a simple shakedown. All you’re doing is making me suspicious.”

“Whatever happened to treating others like yourself? Isn’t that part of your code or something?” he spat back.

“You’re not like us. We’re just Allayan filth, remember? Now London, search him before I do it.”

London muttered a word under his breath and shuffled toward the Langoran who stared at him in contempt. London started patting his shoulders half-heartedly and Achan growled at him.

“Do it right!”

“Fine,” London retorted and he went back to the shoulders and patted harder this time. The Langoran glanced over at James who stood idly by. It was apparent he wasn’t going to say a word until the search was over. That was all the answer he needed.