Bacorium Legacy (25 page)

Luca nodded, now understanding Tranom's urgency. Emila had drawn away from him, her eyes distant, lost in her thoughts.

“This tether...” he whispered to her. “Did you know this would happen?”

She shook her head. “It is - hard to explain.”

“We'll find another place to talk,” Tranom said. “Later, once this battle is done with. For now, Dori has need of us.”

In the distance, Dori had climbed down from the dragon and was beckoning for them. Luca rose to his feet with Emila's help. Once he was standing, he felt more stable, and he was able to walk on his own. They slowly made their way through the crowded temple grounds, to where Dori and the dragon were. The dragon did not take its eyes off the broken gate, on the other side of which the Acarian forces could be seen, watching warily just out of reach of the flame breath.

Dori's cane hung from his belt. He was standing on his feet without any need for it.

“We have a stalemate for now, it would seem,” Dori said to Tranom, once they had reached him. “The Acarians are neither retreating nor advancing. It seems they are waiting.”

“Likely trying to come up with a plan,” Tranom muttered, scratching his bearded chin. “They think they can still take the temple.”

“These men have no life in their eyes,” said Austille the dragon, not moving a hair. “They would rush heedless into their deaths if their leader commanded it. You must be wary of them. It is unnatural.”

The students of the temple seemed in awe of the dragon before them. They spoke amongst themselves, and occasional a hand would cautiously reach out to touch the grey scales. Austille paid them no mind, keeping his attention focused on the army outside.

“There is magick in this,” Dori said. “Have you seen their armour? It is smooth and polished. There is not a single scratch or speck of dirt on any of them. Nobody stays that clean after weeks of travel.”

“I have noticed this,” Tranom muttered.

“Excuse me for a bit.” Dori took his cane from his belt, and walked away, leaning with each step.

Austille turned his large head just slightly, looking at Luca with his yellow eyes. “Young human. You were the one in the caves yesterday, with your brother.”

“Yes, I was.”

“Your brother comes to the caves often. He meditates there, and his presence does not disturb me, so I have no quarrel with him. But you - you fell into the water, and thrashed about. Your disruption brought out a creature from deeper waters.”

“Y-yes, I did,” Luca replied, feeling a bit intimidated by the creature before him.

But, the dragon did not get angry. Instead, the corner of his mouth curled into a toothy grin. “I quite enjoyed that eel. It is not often that I can enjoy such a feast. Often I must spend hours by the side of the lake, waiting for a large fish to come close to the surface.”

Austille shifted his weight, moving his front leg to where Luca was, and some of the students backed away, startled by the unexpected movement. The dragon placed his closed hand near Luca, and as he opened his claws up, Luca caught sight of a steel blade in his palm.

Siora
.
 

“You have done me a favour, whether intentionally or not,” the dragon said. “So I am repaying you. I believe you lost this in the water.”

“Yes, I did...” Luca said. He carefully took the sword from within the dragon's palm. There was no doubt about it, it was definitely
Siora
. “This sword was my father's. Thank you.”
 

The dragon nodded, and then moved back to his position as guardian of the gate.

Emila turned to Brand, the surprise of wonder and amazement in her eyes. “This is incredible. How long has he been waiting underground?”

“Since the Acarian war, when he and Dori returned from Sono,” Tranom said.

“And nobody knew that he was here?” Luca asked him. “The Acarians were caught completely off-guard by this. How could something like this be kept secret?”

“But they were always just rumours, of course,” Tranom explained. “The masters knew for certain, and some of the students. Every now and then the story would leak out of the temple, but it was always quiet.”

“I heard the rumours, myself,” Brand said. “I never could have imagined they were true...”

“So that is the secret of Allma Temple,” Luca said. “You have a secret dragon you let out when things get bad.”

“He and Dori are partners,” Tranom said. “They fought together in the Acarian war. It was the first time a human and a dragon have ever worked together. It helped tip the scales in favour of the Alliance.”

“Wow,” Emila said quietly. “I never knew that.”

Luca thought of his father. Lodin must have known about it - he trained under Dori, after all. They had fought separately in the war, but they must have seen each other again, because Luca had met Dori once when he was very little. Yet Lodin had never said anything to Luca about it - or about Dori at all. What else did he not know about his father's past, or the people he had known?

“Austille is only middle-aged by dragon standards,” Tranom said to them. “His scales are still tough enough to block arrows, so the Acarians' archers are worthless against him. They have no way of getting back in, so long as he is keeping watch.”

“So now we must decide our next move,” Dori said suddenly, joining them from the crowd. “Where has Allma gone?”

Tranom began to speak. “He's-”

“Run away,” Luca interrupted. “Like a coward. He used Rael as a shield, letting the boy take the Acarians' arrows. I saw everything.”

Everyone grew quiet. Emila had a look of shock on her face, as though she was surprised that anyone could do such a thing. Brand's eyes were cast down. Tranom and Dori stared at Luca for a moment, then exchanged glances.

“We knew that Rael did not survive,” Tranom said to him. “There was a lot of confusion after you were stabbed. Rael and Allma ran out of our field of vision before the Acarian archers stepped forth. Are you - absolutely certain this is what you saw?”

“I have no doubt,” Luca said. “I was there in the dirt, unable to move. But I could see everything in the garden. I saw Allma shove Rael forward as he fled. He did not hesitate to sacrifice the boy.”

Tranom bit his lip. “It may be best if you keep this to yourself for now.”

“You're asking me to keep a lot of secrets today,” Luca said.

“He is our leader,” Dori explained. “He has the support of the people. And we are in the middle of a battle. Your brother is believed to be a mole. What do you think will happen if you go around telling everyone this?”

“Think about what just happened with the Acarian leader,” Tranom said. “Your survival motivated the students. But if you should tell them this? Suddenly your survival will look staged to them. It would be easy for them to accuse you of treachery, so soon after your brother. And you only just arrived here. Doubtless, the thought has already crossed a few of their minds.”

Luca's fists were clenched, but he could not say anything, because they were right.

“We saw the hole in your chest,” Brand offered. “We know the truth. But Dori and my master are right - now is not the time for this.”

“So - where is he, then?” Emila asked.

Brand looked over to where the behemoth corpses were. “If he is anywhere, he has gone back to the centre sanctum. I will go and check, with your leave of course, Master.”

Tranom nodded. “Yes, yes. Go ahead.”

Brand gave him only the briefest of glances before he took off at a run towards the sanctum. Luca watched him go, considering. The princess was still in that sanctum. And so was Ash - locked up and in chains.

The little voice in his head was telling him to go after Brand. He needed to confront Allma, and he needed to help his brother. And yet, if he should harm Allma, what would happen? If the entire temple were to turn against him...

He touched the spot where his shirt were ripped - where Dreevius' sword had gone through him. A wound he should not have survived - and yet, he had.

Luca looked over to Emila. She was standing alone now, watching Austille like so many others. So many students had gathered around the dragon. Others were still on the rooftops, with their bows. Nobody was at the sanctum.

A plan was beginning to form in his head.

Allma, Selphie, her men, Ash, and the two guards assigned to watch him. And Brand.

Eleven people.

He looked over to Dori and Tranom. They were talking to one another, making plans for when Brand returned with Allma's orders. They were paying no attention to them.

Luca went to Emila and grabbed her arm. She turned to him, surprised. He placed a finger over his lips, telling her to be quiet.

“Follow me.”

She nodded, and did.

<> <> <>

Only when they were on the other side of the behemoths, and out of sight of the students, did Emila speak.

“What is it, Luca? What's happening?”

“It's our chance,” he told her as they ran. “Everyone is paying attention to the dragon, and making plans to fight the Acarians. I was coming to get you before, but you weren't in the bedroom. I got sidetracked, because I wanted to help them, but they have the dragon now, so they don't need me...”

“Luca, what are you saying?”

He stopped, and turned and looked her right in the eyes. “He has my brother. He blamed the attack on Ash. But it's not true. I'm going to go into that temple and get my brother. I'll fight anyone I have to. But I'm taking you and Ash, and we're leaving this place while we still can. Whatever plans Allma has, he can make them without me.”

“But Brand is in there!” Emila said. “If they try to stop you, are you going to fight them?”

“I can fight anyone,” he said, a smile forming on his lips. “Because I cannot die.”

“W-what...?!”

“I should have died earlier!” he exclaimed. “People die when they're killed, right? And I was definitely killed - he stabbed me right in the heart. But I'm still alive. It's the Soul Tether. As long as you're okay, nothing they do can kill me. I could go out there right now and fight the entire Acarian army all by myself!”

Emila was looking at Luca like he was hysterical. “We don't know that! That technique - I was never supposed to use it! Nobody has ever done it right, not even my father and he was...” She trailed off.

Luca looked back at the centre sanctum. “It doesn't matter if I can die or not. Even before Dreevius stabbed me, I intended to go in there and save Ash.”

“Luca, think about this for a moment - how many people are in there?”

“Eleven. I counted.”

“Brand is in there. The princess of Sono is in there! Are you just going to burst through the door, with your sword drawn, and start making demands? Look at you, you can barely walk!”

“I'm fine, I feel a lot better now.”

“Be reasonable! Now isn't the time for this. We can leave with Ash once the battle is over.”

“That won't work, Emila. He's going to kill Ash in front of everyone in the temple as soon as the fight is done. This is the only chance I have. I can't let anything happen to him, he's the last of my family.”

Emila hesitated. Clearly, she didn't agree with his strategy, but she was starting to realise nothing she said would convince him otherwise. “Fine. What do you need me to do?”

“Just go wait by Dori's room. Once I join you with Ash, we'll all escape through the caves.”

“There could be Acarians down there!”

Luca grinned and placed his hand on her shoulder. “It doesn't matter what's down there, Emila. I cannot die.”

She stared at him for a moment, her eyes wide. She looked like she was staring at a madman. “Luca - please don't be reckless.” She was almost pleading.

“Just go,” he said. “I'll join you soon.”

Reluctantly, she turned and started running in the direction of Dori's small house.

<> <> <>

Luca placed his hand on
Siora
, sheathed at his side, and felt comforted that he had it back. Having his father's blade returned to him, after surviving Dreevius' attack - he felt like there was nothing he couldn't do.
 

Still, he needed to be careful. He might be invulnerable to death, but he could still be knocked unconscious and captured.

Hopefully he would only need to deal with Allma and the two guards he had with Ash. Selphie and her escorts were in another room, but there was the possibility that they might interfere if there was too much commotion.

Luca reached the front door of the sanctum.  He slowly pushed it open, remembering when he had first arrived with Emila.

He felt bad for sending her away yet again, but her safety wasn't only her concern. Now that he was wounded again, she would have to keep safe or his own life would be in danger as well. It was better for the both of them if she stayed somewhere safe. He could fight enough for the both of them.

Inside, there was the chamber where they had met with Allma, and the two side rooms. Selphie and her guards were likely still holed up in one of them. And then there was the ladder that led into the basement, which was where Ash would be.

With his hand still on his sword, Luca approached the ladder.

He stopped.

“Stop!” someone shouted from the room to the right. He recognised the voice as belonging to Brand.

Luca turned away from the ladder, and instead approached the door. It was slightly open, as though the last person to go through it had not closed it all the way. As he drew near, he heard the sound of steel clashing.

Luca drew
Siora
and kicked the door open. Inside he saw a gruesome sight. The armour of four of Selphie's guards was on the floor, stained with the blood of the men who had worn them. One remained standing - the man with the halberd. Behind him stood the princess herself, holding a curved shortsword in each hand.
 

Before them was Allma, his sword drawn and covered in blood. Standing in between them was Brand, facing Allma, his hand on his scimitar, ready to draw it but looking like he wanted to do nothing less.