The Last of the Sages (Sage Trilogy, Book 1) (28 page)

“Yes, but it’s just one of the reasons I like him so much…”

Chapter 12 - Truth

James woke up aching and bruised but surprised to be alive. The infirmary room was bare and quiet, as still as death, and it scared him at first, as if the walls would change at any moment into the bowels of Oblivion. He didn’t even want to breathe until he confirmed his location. But then he looked to his left, and saw Catherine sleeping by the side of his bed. She was laying her head on her arms, her curly wisps nearly tickling his arm.

Right away, he knew he was fine.

Catherine would no way be in whatever place he ended up. She was an angel through and through. And immediately, her presence comforted him. James patted her hair lightly, waking her up instantly. She coughed a little and straightened up, drool dripping from her lips on the way up. She wiped it quickly onto her white blouse.

“Charming,” he mused as she chuckled at herself.

“Yeah, it’s about as charming as your snoring. You sound like a dragon with a cicada in his throat.”

“Have you ever even seen a dragon?”

“No, but I heard one last night,” she winked at him. James laughed and was about to move forward when he saw the stained bandages around his midsection. He thought against it.

“So I didn’t die.”

“You perception didn’t either, I see.”

“But I pulled out my manumit, I’m supposed to die.”

“Don’t sound so disappointed, James. Actually, it’s one of the few times I was glad you were such a failure. You did reach for it, but you missed. Instead you bore down, and actually released your own eidolon, just long enough to take Kyran down.”

“No way!” James exclaimed sitting up.

Then he screamed, feeling a wound re-open.

“Sit down!” Catherine yelled as she pushed him down. “Yes, you took him down with one blow, but it’s not going to do you any good if you kill yourself now!”

“Sorry. Sorry…” James heaved , trying to slow his breathing. “So…I guess I couldn’t even sacrifice myself right…”

“Don’t beat yourself up. It was the thought that counted. And you gave Arimus and I quite the priceless image. Seeing Kyran get struck like that.”

“That’s me alright,” James coughed. “Bag of tricks…”

“So what made you do it, James? Release you eidolon, I mean?”

“It was seeing you about to die,” James said. “I realized my life was meaningless compared to yours, and I needed you to live. You would make more of a difference than I ever could.”

“Well, just so you know,” Catherine mused. “I don’t want you to start making a habit out of this. Your life matters to me too, okay?”

Catherine closed her eyes and leaned in to kiss his forehead, but James cut her off at the pass, kissing her square on the lips.

Catherine let the kiss go on at first, certain it was his forehead. But when she realized the surface felt different, she opened her eyes and widened in horror. She backed away and slapped him hard across the cheek. James nearly fell out his bed.

She must have been working out
.

“What was that?!”

“Was that your first kiss?”

“YEAH! And it will be your last!” Catherine shrieked as she raised her right hand high over him. James threw up his hands in surrender but she was not in a merciful mood.

The fist connected, and James fell asleep once more…

* * * * *

“That was a stupid thing to do, James,” Arimus said to him as he awoke from his stupor. He rubbed his cheek lazily and turned to his mentor.

“What?” James said slyly, trying to smile.

“It’s not funny. You took advantage of her kindness.”

James looked away from Arimus’ eyes.

“Oh, so now you feel guilty,” Arimus said. “If only you had thought about that before you kissed her.”

“I don’t feel guilty at all. I would do it all over again given the chance.”

“James, let me explain something to you. I realize that you, Achan and Dominic are vying for her affection, but I am most concerned with you. She holds you in high regard because you were friends before you found out about her. But I will have you know that this is not a game that you have to win and I won’t allow her heart be given to someone that won’t take her seriously.”

“Okay, now I feel bad.”

“As you should. From what I see, you don’t even have a valid interest in her, so leave the whole romantic aspect alone. Don’t flirt with her. Don’t lead her on. Understood?”

“I understand, Arimus, but what about Dominic? Would you rather have her end up with someone like him?”

“Again, this isn’t a contest. At least he wants to be by her side. Until you are sure about your feelings, do not pursue her. I admit that she does need you, but as a friend. She will need all the friends she can get for what’s to come.”

“Oh, and what’s that? I was going to ask you…is it true I released my eidolon?”

“Very true. From this moment on, you are a Sage- in- training along with Achan and Dominic.”

“It all happened so fast…I don’t know what to say.”

“There will be plenty of time to talk about it. In the mean time, I have a favor to ask of you. Don’t try to unleash your eidolon again until the classes begin.”

“Why?”

“Just heed my words. I’m sure you’re tempted, but until you get a hang of its mechanics, an eidolon can be very dangerous. Trust me, I know.”

“How would you know that?”

“Because, James…I am a Sage.”

“WHAT?!” James exclaimed, making sure he didn’t rise up this time. “What do you mean you’re a Sage? You mean all this time?”

“Yes.”

“But why didn’t you tell me before?”

“I couldn’t, James. Trust me, I wanted to, but if I disclosed everything, you might not have walked down this path to becoming one, and we couldn’t afford for you and any other potential Sages to lose their way.”

“How long have you been a Sage?”

“I’ll tell you my story soon, but there is something more important to relay first. Something that you will find most disconcerting…James, there is no infantry. None. A long time ago, before the siege of 88, there had been, but since then, there hasn’t even been enough people joining the Academy to form a guerilla troop, let alone an army. The actual training for the infantry in the past was actually a lot less rigorous than what you endured in the forest.”

“What are you saying? No infantry…”

“It’s all a front, James. The whole academy. From inception to graduation, the only purpose is to push a recruit as far as they could go, all for the hopes that they can break through, and become a Sage. If they are still not a Sage after all the tests we can think of, they are simply placed as ‘guards’ at one of the Kingdom gates. Nothing more. And that is their life until the day they die. Even within the academy, there are still so few of us that have made it. Only myself, Kyran, Scarlet and Chloe are fully seasoned Sages. You, Dominic and Achan are the only ones in training. The only ones to break through in the past three years.”

“Why do you need the Sages so badly, so quickly? Is the Kingdom in that much danger?”

“In short, yes. We are running at about five percent of what we were, and that’s just in the number of bodies here. The number of Sages we have are laughable to the other Kingdoms out there. We have our eidolons, but a surprise attack would hurt us immensely. The other Kingdoms know full well how weak we are, and maybe they will launch an assault someday, but for now, we have time…because they are scared.”

“Of what we could do to them?”

“No, of what would happen if they destroyed Allay. I’m sure you know by now the story of the haze that is slowly creeping over our sky. The haze that now inhabits our forest.”

“I do…all too well.”

“Then you know its purpose, preventing souls from reaching Paradise itself, and as terrible as it is to think of how so many people are being lost in the other Kingdoms, it is slowly reaching us. We have to prepare quickly, and then resolve this situation. .The haze is getting thicker and wider every day. It won’t be many years until all of Allay is covered and all is lost. Do you remember the story of the five stones? How each Kingdom is given one to use? Well this is a result of too much of their power being used. We gained so much, but at a price. I will explain further at a later time but for now, you must understand why we need as many Sages as we can. It’s because we are close to performing our last ditch effort.”

“One mission…is to gather all five of the stones, because only when they are brought together, can they be destroyed. And with their destruction, the haze will, in theory, be lifted. This is beyond just us. This is for everyone. Kyran, Catherine, Scarlet and Chloe, along with you, Dominic, Achan and myself. The eight of us will leave Allay and accomplish this, before it’s too late. Based on the reading from the shrine, we have exactly five years before the haze completely covers Allay and the rest of the world. We will be leaving well before then.”

“All five stones? So where are the others? Do we have just one?”

“Yes. And unfortunately, we will have to visit every one of the Kingdoms: Prattle, Langour, Quietus, and Zen-Echelon, and retrieve them all, by force if we must. It is a suicide mission, I won’t lie to you. We’ll be facing whole armies, whole Kingdoms. Prattle isn’t projected to pose a threat, and Langour may be manageable. But Quietus and Zen-echelon, I am very worried about. One Quietus alone could give an inexperienced Sage great trouble and yet we are supposed to go in the very core of their Kingdom where millions lie in wait for a challenge. And as for Zen-echelon…it said to be the most powerful Kingdom of all, yet no one knows a thing about it but what is said in the story of the stones. People went there once, to uncover its mysteries, but they were never heard from again. The odds of us coming back alive are practically zero, but we cannot stay here and wait for death. We have to go, to give our people and others, a fighting chance. This is why not just anyone can come on our journey.”

James mulled over the words. He had already fought so hard to become a Sage and he had barely survived. This mission…it sounded impossible, but…wasn’t this what he wanted? To make a difference? What purpose could be greater than this?

“It does sound like suicide,” James replied. “But I understand it must be done.”

“And that is why I can only tell you of this now,” Arimus stated. “Now that you are to be a Sage. A recruit would never survive the mission, even in Prattle.”

“Catherine agreed to this?”

“She proposed it.”

“Then if that is what she wants, I’m in.”

“Don’t be so hasty, James.”

“I’m serious. I promised her that I would be by her side no matter what, and I’m not breaking this promise. I know it sounds crazy and I’m scared out of my mind. I’m not even beyond the forest yet. But as far as I’m concerned, I’m just a walking corpse biding his time, trying to make a difference before he decays. My life is no longer my own. It is hers.”

Arimus smiled warmly at James’ words.

“Well, James. Then welcome aboard. We will be leaving in three months. Do whatever you need to do before then.”

Arimus got up and left the room, leaving James to finally sort through what he had just heard. The mission he was to embark on was insane…but who knows, with an eidolon in hand, it could be fun…

* * * * *

James had gotten Achan’s note the moment he got up from his bed. It was short and simple, saying to meet him just before the forest. James walked beyond the courtyard gates unsure of what to expect but he hadn’t seen his friend since he got out of the infirmary. Maybe there was some important information he had to relay. He sure had gotten a lot recently.

Achan was nowhere to be found, but he wasn’t afraid. Now that he had an eidolon, he was sure he could at least keep a squirrel or two at bay. It wasn’t a matter of confidence, rather than surety. He had already seen what the forest had to offer, and he even had some interaction with Langorans and a Prattlians. Even if one of those two appeared, he was sure he could hold them off until the cavalry arrived. Arimus was firm in telling him not to unleash his eidolon, but surely he would be forgiven for stopping an approaching enemy.

James turned around suddenly as he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He made a defensive stance, but then relaxed when he saw Achan step through. He smirked as soon as he came into view. He was carrying his eidolon, beautiful and deadly, in his hand. Holding it like a torch, Achan stepped forward, smiling wide. James placed both hands on his hips and waited for his friend to approach.

“You know James,” Achan said. “They say a Sage can level a tree with one fell swoop…”

James laughed, remembering Achan’s old infantry song.

“Yet nothing can compare to the infantry…” he finished. Achan shrugged his shoulders slowly and chuckled.

“Tell me, what infantry are you referring to, James?”

“Not a one, my friend,” James laughed. “I see you’re taking this well.”

“Why be worried over something that doesn’t exist?”

“True,” James chuckled.

“Still, I can’t seem to shake the words of that song out of my head…one swoop huh? I mean, I guess it’s possible. It feels like I could, but what I’m really not sure about is what would happen if it clashed with another eidolon.”