The Last War (Book #9 of the Sage Saga) (6 page)

Scarlet was getting angrier by the second. She was wasting a lot of energy, and they were still fighting against her flames. They would be hit by the fire and knocked back, but they didn’t burn. Perhaps they were used to the heat, but if so, what could she accomplish? What could any of them?

“Screw it,” Scarlet said. She spun her halberd above her head in a circle and started putting the whole forest on fire—the flames beginning to even lap at the canopy of the forest above. Talia yelled for her to stop, but Scarlet didn’t hear her. She was ready to consume everything.

“STOP!” the leader of the Delilah screamed in the distance. A few branches cracked and one fell, carrying one of the four watchful Delilah to the ground with him. He reached out to grab Scarlet’s halberd but his hand was eaten by the fire. He screamed and rolled on the ground, trying to put it out.

“I won’t be caged again,” Scarlet growled as the flames grew hotter, creating a crater around her. The leader of the Delilah approached the cone of fire surrounding Scarlet slowly.

“You’ll be destroyed,” he yelled at her, but she just glared at him in hate.

“There are worst things,” she said in a hollow, distant voice. She closed her eyes and a flash of heat burst out from the cone, sending a shockwave of blinding, searing heat across the forest. Anyone that didn’t duck and hide behind a barrier of some kind were instantly obliterated. Scarlet began running the second the shockwave was sent out, and she ran as fast as she could, using the wave as her guide.

Talia and Daisy yelled for her to come back, but she didn’t listen. She continued running, knowing that the Delilah wouldn’t have the energy to follow. Unlike the other Sages, she had no allegiance to them, and nor they to her.

The concept of family was as dead to her as the Sages, Cimmerians or Delilah she had just sent to their graves without remorse. She didn’t look back to see who had survived.

All that mattered was that she did.

James rushed to Rupert’s side, sitting at his bedside as the boy began hyperventilating. James patted his back as he looked around the room. No one else had sat up, but that didn’t mean they weren’t awake. The shrill cry had been so sudden and sharp, he hadn’t realized he had fallen asleep until it happened. He perked his ears up and listened for signs of approaching intruders.

Nothing.

He let the tip of his white eidolon stick out of the palm of his hand and it confirmed what he sensed. Nothing.

He turned back to Rupert and noticed that the young boy was staring down at the tip of the eidolon. James sheathed it and gave him a warm smile. “Had a bad dream?”

“No,” Rupert replied. “A memory.”

“What was it about? If…if you want to talk about it.”

“It was about my friends.”

“Are they lost too?”

“No, I know they’re dead. I saw it myself.”

James paused for a second. “What happened?”

“We went outside of Paragon, because we wanted to eat something new. We knew it wouldn’t taste so good, but it was kind of like a challenge. We were going to dare each other to eat the grossest thing we could find. We didn’t get that far. We saw these monsters. They came and ate my friends before I could do anything. It was so fast, and I was so scared. I couldn’t move and I peed my pants. The only reason the creature didn’t eat me was because it was full. That’s what it told me, but he said he would be back someday and gobble me up.”

“What did it look like,” James said with a scowl.

“It walked on all four of its limbs, and there were these bones coming out of its arms. It had black skin that looked like it was moving and its neck was crazy long. I thought I was dreaming until I woke up the next day and saw my friends’ parents crying. I knew that what I saw was real.”

“It’s called a Quietus,” James said matter-of-factly.

“You’ve seen them before?” Rupert said, his eyes widening. It was as if he still hadn’t believed in the creature’s existence until he now heard someone else acknowledge it.

“I have. Fought them too,” James sighed. “The Kingdom I came from…it was attacked by a whole group of them once. They ate and killed many people, and it was terrible. It still remains a part of that Kingdom’s history, and there are even still elderly people that remember that horrible day.”

“Did you drive them away?”

“No, they left, and…well, we encountered them again in the future, but things were different. We went to their homeland, and we found out that there was a difference amongst the people. There were the monsters that we’re talking about, but some of them were good too. They were civil and talked to each other like we’re doing now. Just like how there are good and bad people in every city and land.”

“Paragon’s all good,” the boy said. “There’s no bad guys there, or else, why would they be there.”

“People change,” James said. “Just because someone started out good, it doesn’t mean they will stay that way, even with the best of intentions. People change. Take you, for example. You look a lot different now than you did when you were a baby. You’ve changed, and so has your views on some things. Don’t you agree?”

“Yes,” he said, thinking carefully. “But I’ve never thought about killing someone. That’s evil.”

“Not even when your friends died, or your parents were taken?” James asked the question so suddenly, he didn’t realize how poor in taste it was until it was too late.

“Not even then,” Rupert said, hanging his head low.  “I don’t want the creature to die, just to be punished. If he died, his family and friends would miss him. I don’t want to put someone through that.”

A pang shot through James’ heart as he thought of Atianna, and how she fought so hard to see her loved ones again—all consumed by him…the Quietus.

“Even so, people do change,” James reiterated. “No one is completely evil or completely good.”

“Then why are we fighting?” he asked.

James thought over his words carefully, but he wasn’t sure what to say. “What do you mean?”

“Isn’t the whole point of fighting is to stop the bad guys? Because if they win, they’ll kill us or enslave us?”

“Is that what the adults in Paragon tell you?”

“No, it’s what they know,” Rupert said adamantly. He was no longer anxious. He was speaking out of absolute truth now. “The people in Cimmerian chose their fate, and now they want all of us to suffer. I don’t know why they can’t just leave us alone. We’re defending ourselves and they just keep coming because they want what we have. They’re confused and unhappy and they can’t understand that we’ve worked for what we got. Why can’t they do the same?”

“It’s not that simple,” James said. “Not everyone is born living a life of luxury. Some have to fight for it.”

“We would help them if they accepted it.”

“And if Cimmerian had views of things that you didn’t? If they had something you needed, would you accept their help or their advice?”

“No,” he huffed. “Plus, they wouldn’t want to help us, they’re just trying to be pushy and be right all the time.”

“That’s where they both error. They won’t listen to each other and so they fight. And each world believes that leaving the other alone will only cause more suffering, so they push their ways on the other.”

“Then who is right?” Rupert asked. “If Cimmerian isn’t bad, then who is?”

“That’s for each of us to decide,” James sighed, looking over at Catherine’s sleeping body for a moment. “We all have to determine who we are. I’ve been thinking about that for a long time.”

“And did you find out who you are?”

“No,” James said, turning back to Rupert. “I feel incomplete a lot actually. I think…I think that I was starting to learn who I was a long time ago, back when I was in the Sage Academy on Terra. But things escalated, war occurred, the Great Collision changed everything, and here we are. I now know what it means to be a Sage according to Allay’s history. I’m not a person anymore. I’m a soldier, moving on from one battle to the next so others can live their lives and become who they were meant to be. I fight the wars so that they can think in peace. I stopped thinking about who I want to be a long time ago. Now it’s all about the end game, the means to the end. Only saving the most people and preserving their innocence is what matters.”

“But you won’t be happy,” Rupert said. “Are you happy?”

“I’m happy when I’m with her,” James whispered, pointing to Catherine. “But even our relationship isn’t what it could be. We just keep on fighting.”

“Maybe someone else should fight instead.”

“That’s what I’ve been thinking recently, and it’s the reason why we’ve stopped here. We want to try something different. Stop the fighting for a change. Maybe it’s the wrong time to do it, but we’ll never get the chance if we don’t take it. The fighting never ends.”

“So you’re going to stay here with us forever?” Benny asked, appearing at James’ side. James rubbed a hand through the little boy’s head.

“I hope so,” he said, and Benny gave him a big toothy smile.

“Can you be my papa now?” Benny asked with watery eyes. James gulped and looked at Rupert who was expressionless.

He turned back to Benny. “We’ll see what happens,” he said. “But I will never truly replace your parents. What I can promise is to be a friend though. How’s that sound?”

“O-okay,” Benny said wrapping his little pudgy arms around James’ waist and hugging him tight. James sighed heavily and looked over at Catherine. She was sitting up in her bed and giving him a smirk. He smiled back and they stared at each other so long that Benny started becoming concerned that they had turned into statues.

*              *              *

Bastion threw the man behind him over his shoulder and immediately ran forward to meet him before he landed on his feet. He punched the man in the spine while he was in mid-somersault and he cried out in agony, slumping off of Bastion’s fist. The attacker who had been punching him in the stomach earlier barely made it a couple feet away before Bastion grabbed the back of his collar and slammed it into the cobblestone. He slammed his foot into his opponent’s chest and silenced him.

Bastion surveyed the area although he wasn’t aware of self anymore. His eyes were as black as night and his teeth were starting to grind. His animalistic nature was antsy, and it needed something to hit. A voice behind him sought to reward him.

“Hey there,” someone said as Bastion slowly turned around. It was a stocky man with a spiked mace in his left hand. “Name’s…Deaf with an F,” he laughed. “Care to play?”

Bastion summoned his Gladius and approached him slowly.

“Oooo, you look dangerous,” Deaf chuckled. He reached over and rolled up one of his long sleeves with two fingers, revealing the tattoo of a crow with spiked wings. “But it looks like you’re about to tangle with the wrong man. Hope you’ve said your goodbye to your loved ones.”

Bastion leapt at him and Deaf saw it coming before Bastion even knew what he was doing. Deaf smacked him across the face with his mace, sending Bastion crashing into one of the little carts on the side of the street. There had been so much force put into the blow that it took Bastion a moment to rise.

“Take your time,” Deaf replied. “We’ve got all day, and I want to make this last. You’re Bastion, aren’t you? The great Bastion? The one that ruined our lives? Yes, I’m ready to savor this. Give me the opportunity to kill you, and I will take it. I don’t care what the little ones say.”

“What little ones?” Lily asked from behind him.

“Don’t you have a city to save?” Deaf asked, unconcerned with her arrival.

“It’s all taken care of,” she said. “You’re all that’s left.”

“Then you must not be paying attention. What about the second wave? The Sages should be here any moment.”

“Sages?” she scowled. “But you’re Cimmerian. Sages wouldn’t even dare to side with filth like you.”

“The times are changing,” he laughed. “Allegiances are breaking. Names are losing their meaning. I’m part of something greater now. Paragon and Cimmerian as one, it’s a brand new outfit.”

“Paragon’s sanctioning this?”

“No, they’re off fighting the lost cause,” Deaf said, yawning. “But while they’re busy dying, we can take care of the real threats like shorty here.”

“The Delilah have nothing to do with this.”

“Oh, they have everything,” Deaf said with bright eyes. “I heard they heard something. Something sweet. Something that will change everything. I’m looking to find out who knows what was heard.”

“Ugh, you’re confusing,” Lily said in disgust. “Just listening to you makes me want to take a bath.”

“I tend to make people feel that way,” he said. “But all this talk is pointless. You going to fight me or what? I was sent her specifically to take care of you and lover boy here.”

“Sure, you were,” Lily said. “Just like how the Sages have sided with Cimmerians.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Believe what you like. It’s the truth.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Break me enough and they’ll step in. Call it a consolation prize.”

“Fine,” Lily said, moving toward him one step at a time, gauging him for weaknesses. He smiled and turned his back completely to Bastion who was still lost. For some reason though, the young Sage wasn’t moving.

“We got this, Bastion,” she called out to him. “Like we always do.”

“You don’t get it yet,” Deaf laughed. “Your era is over. All of you that have caused our suffering will get it a hundred times more and then some. The Sages will either join our cause or die trying.”

“I can’t say the philosophy doesn’t sound familiar,” Lily said. “Tell me, do you know a man named Gideon?”

“Nope,” Deaf said, shrugging his shoulders.

“He said something similar,” Lily said as Deaf’s muscles tensed. “He spoke of making us suffer for causing all of this.”

“I don’t know him,” Deaf said adamantly, “but I like the sound of the guy. Maybe he’s the one that brought us altogether, who knows? It doesn’t matter. Our cause is more than a name. More than one person. This is a force that you can’t stop. This is nature. This is the hand of a god. This is the way of a Solon.”

“Damn it,” Lily muttered.