The Last War (Book #9 of the Sage Saga) (17 page)

James jumped out the window and threw a handful of the tar-like substance on the first armored man he came across. He spun around and threw more on another. He leapt up a building and then launched off of it half-way up. He somersaulted in mid-air and landed on top of another. He started the absorption process on him as well.

The armored men didn’t seem to notice. They were more like mindless slaves, blindly carrying out the wishes of their master. The Cimmerian and Paragon soldiers gave him strange glances and some of them trembled when he ran past, but they didn’t engage him. They knew that he was on their side…for now.

As all sides fought, some against the Sorcerers, and others against the armored men, James continued his work for hours, taking as many as he could while staying on the outskirts of the crowds so as not to be noticed by the Sorcerers.

Slowly, one soldier at a time, James’ power began to grow. He was certain that he couldn’t absorb his way to Sorcerer status, but it would level the playing field a little. James took a deep breath as he looked over at Kyran in the distance. It had taken hours to get into position, but he had managed to get right below the elderly Sorcerer. Crouched low, he used the angle of the descending sun and the rooftop edge to hide himself. He stilled his breathing and waited.

But then James saw Donovan scowl and turn toward the elderly man. He sensed something strange, but with all the noise around him, it was hard to zone in on it. Still, it wouldn’t take much longer for him to figure it out.

James ran toward the Sorcerers’ roof while he watched Kyran raise his hand slightly, using his invisible dagger to act as a hook. He carefully wrapped the invisible dagger behind the elderly man’s right foot and prepared for the pull when Donovan felt the clear and present danger.

He fired a blue beam of energy right at where Kyran was located, but thankfully, the roof took most of the damage. Kyran leapt down to the ground and began mingling with the crowd to disappear but Donovan kept on blasting in his direction. The elderly man’s eyes were open now, and he began stepping back toward the red haired Sorcerer for protection. Donovan sucked his teeth and jumped down into the crowd, searching for Kyran. When he couldn’t identify the Sage on sight, he began killing people rapidly, unsheathing the two swords at his side and running around taking off heads.

James ignored Donovan and took a left down a side street. He crawled up the side of the building until he hit the roof and then he started leaping across rooftops until he reached the Sorcerers. Donovan was gone and the elderly man was busy keeping the army intact. Facing one Sorcerer was a lot easier than three.

Taking a chance, he leapt high into the air and threw as much of the Quietus absorption tar at the elderly man as possible. The man was so wrapped up in maintaining the army that he didn’t even see it coming. It hit him in the face and immediately started trying to wrap itself around his arms and hands. The old man clawed at his face, but it was now covered in the black substance.

James hit the rooftop of the Sorcerers and rolled to his feet. The red-haired Sorcerer stared at the old man in horror and then back at James.

“That was a little quick, huh?” James said. “No one you’ve met has my speed yet, do they?”

“Who are you?”

“A Sage with no fear,” he said, pretending like he was more powerful than he actually was. “Why else would I come fight you face to face?”

“Another Sage?” she groaned.

“We’ve met.”

“I’m Ember,” she replied. “Heard of me?”

“Can’t say that I have,” James replied, allowing himself to only take a small peek at the old man. The substance had covered the back of his head, but otherwise, it was still fighting to consume him. It would be a long time before James would be able to get the Sorcerer’s energy, and he didn’t know when Donovan would be back. At least Ember was chatty.
What was her story?
.

“Where is the time machine?” Ember asked boldly.

James was taken aback. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he managed to say.

“Does it look a little like this?” she asked, holding up a giant amulet on a chain, shaped like an hexagon. It was a shiny red and gold with lines that ran through it like veins. Within the veins, a blue energy substance similar to Donovan’s beam was seen. It was as if it was alive, and it reminded James of the five stones of power.

“Where did you get that?” he asked.

“From someone you might know,” she smiled. “But that doesn’t matter. Is this what I’m looking for?”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about?”

“It’s missing part of it,” she said, as she flipped it around. It looked like someone had cut the back half off. “But I wonder…could something so small be so powerful?”

“If it’s what you’re looking for,” James paused to look at the old man again. No progress. “why not leave?”

“Because I’m not sure if it’s the time machine. Maybe it’s just the key. I don’t know.”

James scowled at her and clenched his fists. He wasn’t sure, but he felt like he was being manipulated somehow. He glanced behind him. He couldn’t see Donovan, but it sounded like the battle was continuing far away.

“Where’s the second half?” she asked, glaring at him. “Tell me.”

“I don’t know what you’re…”

“You’re lying,” she said. “We already took this from the Knights underground. They were protecting it as if their lives depended on it. But there’s only half of it.”

“Maybe it’s a decoy they were protecting.”

“Maybe,” she said, putting the necklace around her neck. “I wonder how hard you’ll fight me to get it. This could be a decoy too, you know.”

James was sure he was being tricked, but he didn’t want to walk away either. He took a step back and then someone swept his feet out from under him and pushed him onto his belly. The attacker kept a grip on the back of his neck while digging a knee into his spine. He was so strong that James couldn’t even budge.

“Got him,” Donovan said. “He’ll give us what we need. Is the amulet secure?”

“Yes,” Ember said, tapping it.

“Be careful with that.” He bent down and leaned into James’ ear. “Did you hear that? We’ve got the key? Why else do you think the Paragon and Cimmerian generals are blindly sending their armies here? It’s because they know about the machine, and they know that we have a piece of it. Unless you can get it off of us, your entire species is doomed. The only way to win is if you have the whole thing and actually get it to work.”

“What do you want with me?” James groaned as he lifted his head slightly. The old man had successfully fought off the substance on his face and had disintegrated it somehow. The tar was now a smoldering pile at his feet. James sighed heavily as he watched the old man close his eyes and begin to summon even more of the armored men.

“You’re going to get us the second half, and take a few Knights out of the picture as well. You can use that delicious ability of yours.”

“I won’t.”

“Oh, but you will. You don’t have a say in the matter.”

“Unless you know how to control people’s minds, I don’t think so.”

“I won’t have to control others. Just yours,” he said, lifting James up onto his feet and pushing him back. Donovan nodded toward Ember who leapt into the sky and jumped as far away as possible. She landed on a rooftop in the distance a quarter mile away. She kept on leaping while a few of the soldiers noticed and followed.”

“Come on,” Donovan said with a big grin on his face. “How about we have an exhibition? Just the two of us.”

James rushed him and punched Donovan across the face with his scythe as hard as he could, but no wound or cut emerged. Donovan chuckled and kneed James in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him completely.

“I don’t care how much of the old man’s energy you’ve taken,” he laughed. “It’s nothing. That old man right there? He’s more powerful than I am. So what hope do you have? You’re only going to win if we allow you to.”

“Shut up,” James muttered as he unsheathed his white eidolon and swiped at Donovan’s neck. The Sorcerer leaned his head back, and narrowly missed the blow, then he punched James across the face, sending him into a spiral to the ground. James clutched his face as Donovan paced around him.

“After I’m done with you, I’ll make sure to target Catherine. She’ll be here soon, I’m sure. Where is she, by the way? Checking in on the time machine with those two Knights you’ve joined up with? They’ll be disappointed.”

James tried to slice Donovan’s legs, but the Sorcerer leapt over the attack and landed on the scythe. Donovan stomped it and the bone scythe cracked in half. James winced as he fought against the surge of pain that shot up his arm.

“Let’s talk while we wait for her execution,” he said casually. “Hmmm. You don’t happen to know where the rest of Ancient Knights are, do you?”

James mumbled something under his breath and Donovan leaned down.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you.”

James tried to bite Donovan’s ear, but instead, he received a boot to the face.

“You’re pathetic,” Donovan laughed. “Oh wait! Is that Catherine I see?”

James felt a wave of nausea wash over him at the mention of her being nearby.

“Oh, that is her!” Donovan shouted. “Let me head over there and greet her properly.”

“NO!” James shouted, stretching out his arm. With all his might and energy, he sent a flood of the tar substance upon Donovan, shooting out from his shoulder and hands. The Sorcerer didn’t even fight it. He welcomed it with open arms as he laughed manically.

“He was insane,” James said as Catherine, Kyran and the rest leapt onto the rooftop. He clutched his head as the last of the absorption substance went back into his body. Donovan hadn’t fought a thing. “Wait, where’s the old man?”

“He ran,” Kyran said. “He was so fast, it was as if he had never been here.”

“Are you okay?” Catherine asked, placing a hand on James’ back. He looked up at her, and then around at the Paragon and Cimmerian soldiers. They had also climbed onto the roof, and they were all waiting for a report from the Sage.

“The armored men?” James asked.

“Vanished with the old man.” Kyran said.

“James,” Catherine whispered. “They have half of the key to the time machine.”

“I saw it,” James said. “The Sorcerer named Ember, the one with the red hair took it.”

“You said that someone was insane,” Red said. “Who are you talking about?”

“Donovan,” James said. “The one we saw in the forest before. He…he let me absorb him. My body is still processing the energy, but I could already feel myself getting insanely powerful.”

“Once you’ve processed him,” Violet said. “We would really like to talk with you about his memories. You might have insight into the Sorcerers and their possible weaknesses as well as the location of the key.”

“We’ll still continue the research,” Red said. “I’ll have you meet the other Knights that survived today and they can tell you anything you want to know. I know they would also like to pick your brain since the Sorcerers might have insight into the theories behind time that we don’t. Still, none of this matters if we don’t get that key back.”

“What does the key do exactly? Just open a lock to it?”

“It powers it,” Violet said. “Without it, we can’t even power up the machine to tweak it to the right specifications. We’re dead in the water.”

“You have half of it, right?” James asked.

“Yes.”

“Then use me as the other half. The power I’m about to acquire…it should me more than enough, shouldn’t it?”

“I suppose,” Violet said with bright eyes. “I mean, we would have to come up with a device that would use you in accordance with the key, but it should work, I think. We wouldn’t even need to go after the Sorcerers!”

“Awesome,” Red said with a big smile. “That sounds good to me.”

“Then let’s get to the machine,” one of the Cimmerian generals said. “The Sorcerers will still be looking for the machine.”

“That’s why we’ll need people to still go out there and distract them while we figure all of this out,” Violet said. “But with James’ help, it shouldn’t take too long. We thought long ago of capturing a Sorcerer as a way to power the machine, but we didn’t think the opportunity would ever present itself.”

“Let’s wait until we can disperse the armies properly,” Red said, “and then we’ll head over to the machine. James, I can’t thank you enough. You’ve just ended the war.”

“No problem,” James said. He wasn’t sure what to say. He looked in Catherine’s eyes and studied her carefully. “Did I do okay?” he asked. She didn’t say anything, but then she forced herself to smile a little.

“We’ll see,” she said. James nodded. That answer would have to do for now.

He was about to ask her a question when he felt a pang in his head. It was so sharp that it paralyzed him. His vision went black for a few seconds as he heard a voice echo throughout his skull.

“Hi, there,” Donovan replied.

*              *              *

The underground tunnel leading to the Ancient Knight’s headquarters was impressive. Twelve checkpoints with a number of guns, explosives and armaments designed to cause cave-ins were all along the wall, creating a narrow dirt walkway in which they had to keep their arms close to their sides. For miles, they walked without a word, for otherwise it would be a sign that the guards hidden along the walls were to attack without restraint.

Red and Violet took the lead, and it wasn’t until they came across a steel vault-like door that Red tapped it four times and nodded to the group behind him. The door shuddered and was rolled to the left, allowing them access to the grand hall inside.

James whistled as they entered. The room was gigantic with various rooms cut out of the cave wall in which Knights zipped in and out as if it was one big beehive. They were all adorned in different outfits and styles. Some wore armor, others were in robes similar to that of the Sages. They were all of different sizes, ages and ethnicities. Like the Delilah, they were a myriad of different walks of life, come together for one cause.

“Where’s the machine?” Catherine asked.

Red shook his head. “One step at a time. I’ll have you all meet some of the higher-ups first so you can get a proper debriefing. I trust you all, but I want to make sure none of you are spies or working for the Sorcerers like Thorn is.”

“Makes sense,” Scarlet muttered.

“For now, I want to ask you all to head to the right where the visitor’s lounge is. We’ll call for you when we’re ready and then I’ll give you the grand tour of the place.”

“Lounge?” Chloe chuckled.

“Our leader names the rooms,” Red said. “Anyways, we’ll be back for you. See you soon!”

They waved reluctantly as they filed one by one into the room. Kyran rubbed his hand against the rock cave wall as they stepped inside the lounge. One half-moon couch was in the middle of the room, and there was water in paper cups on a table along the wall. It was almost as small as the chambers they used to deliberate in back at the Sage Academy in Allay.

“Well, we’re all here,” Chloe said happily as they all sat on the couch one by one.

Catherine smiled as she looked at them all.

James, Kyran, Scarlet, Chloe. Four of the people she trusted most in the world.

“I wish Arimus was here,” Catherine said. “I don’t know what he and his group of Sages are doing, but I’m sure it’s fantastic.”

“Or Marie, Talia and Daisy,” James said. “You know they’re still out there trying to help us in some way.”

“Yeah,” Scarlet said.

“I haven’t relaxed like this in so long,” Catherine sighed, leaning in.

“Do you think the Knights will trust us with their secrets?” Scarlet asked. “I know that they took us down here, but that doesn’t mean the machine is actually here.”

“One day at a time,” Kyran said. “After all, we still have to see what absorbing Donovan will do to our friend here.”

James looked up at him and then back to the floor. “As long as we stick together, we’ll be okay, and I would love it if you all keep in check as we move forward. I don’t know what this particular absorption will do to me.”

“Will do,” Kyran said a little too quickly.

“Of course,” Chloe said. “That’s what friends are for.”

“I’ll always be by your side,” Catherine said. “Even if you became another person, I’d still be in your life.”

“I’ll kill you if need be,” Scarlet said, giving him a big smile.

“And I will too,” Donovan said from deep within the recesses of his mind. “I’ll keep you in check as well. Don’t you worry.”

James looked up in surprise, but his face didn’t give anything away. They gave him warm smiles or a sense of encouragement. It wasn’t that he was now undoubtedly the strongest among them, or that he possibly held the secrets to the Sorcerers and the time machine.

It was because he was their friend.

He should have found comfort in that, but whenever they stopped talking. Whenever he was left alone to his thoughts and there was only silence in the room, he could hear the laughing—inaudible at first, but then growing with fervor until it reached a crescendo that James couldn’t even bear. His own thoughts were already beginning to lose to that of the Sorcerer’s, and that scared him more than anything in his entire life.

He had feared losing his friends and his wife, but that was nothing compared to having an imposter inhabiting his body.

James found himself closing his eyes in exhaustion.

He let himself fall asleep because he knew he needed it, but his last thoughts were not of comfort. They were of the realization that the next time his eyes opened, it might not be him looking out from the other side.