The Year of the Lumin (27 page)

              “Enough playing around.  I need to save some chakra for the main show.”

              Kit held out his hand toward Grandel and he felt his skin slowly tingle. Then, the skin started to move.  All over his body, flesh moved and soon excruciating pain enveloped him all over as bones and muscles changed shape.  Noir had described the process that Kit had gone through to change his appearance to that of Noir's, but they had not experienced it themselves to know the unforgettable pain that came with it.

              For minutes, Grandel felt his body slowly change and morph.  The controlled air in his lungs allowed for only slight breathing.  Finally, Kit stopped and studied what he had done.  “Perfect.  An exact likeness of Illaus.  Just one final touch so you can't tell anyone about this in your cell.”  Kit raised his boot and stomped on Grandel's jaw as hard as he could.  His jaw snapped and fell to the side.  The pain was overwhelming.  Grandel screamed internally.  Tears and blood fell to the dirt floor making it clump in dark circles.

              “Unfortunately, I need to dispose of the real Illaus now.  He attacked me in a fit of rage after I, the great Captain Grandel, found out he was the cause for the previous Talik's location being discovered.  Thus, I had to have him thrown in jail.  The whole town will not be able to contain their anger toward him, I mean you.”  He laughed deep in his throat.

              Kit walked to the door of the clay room and called for Illaus.  Within a few moments, he appeared in the door and bowed.  When he stood back up, he looked over to where Grandel lay and saw himself with a broken jaw.  When he looked back at who he thought was Grandel, he was suddenly frozen with hardened air.  Kit spoke without attempting to disguise his voice as he drew out his flail.  “Do not be sad.  One life lost for the cause is not a life lost at all.”  Kit brought his flail to the side of Illaus's head.

Chapter 37

False Simplicity

              The three knights who had been released of their titles and armor stayed with the Syeters for the next day.  They were scanned and questioned relentlessly.  Mende and Keel, the two remaining Azurite Knights, had been stationed just inside the main hall doors.  The servants of the tower had reported that all of the other former knights had left with their belongings.  Many of the servants had agreed to have their minds connected to the sye circle until things were safer.  That way, if anything happened in the rest of the tower, the Syeters would immediately know.

              Godo summoned Ratt, Noir, Steven, and Asiada that very next day.  Apparently the tower’s social upheaval had not distracted Godo from his work.  Ratt led the other three through the tower toward the enchanter’s workshop but did not speak.

              Steven was going on about how historic these events were when Noir interrupted him with something that had been on his mind.  “Sorry to interrupt, Uncle, but I’ve been thinking.  With all that has been happening, you never have told me what happened to you when we first arrived.”

              Steven brushed his blue hood back and looked at his nephew.  “What do you mean?”

              “Grandel said you and Aimee were captured by bandits.  What actually happened?”

              “Well, it doesn’t make for much of a story, really.  I don’t remember most of it.”

              As Ratt led them down a curved marble staircase, Noir asked, “How could you not remember?”

              “Because I was blindfolded for the first couple days.  I didn't fight because I didn't know what was going on.  They walked, talked about things that I didn’t understand, and eventually led me to Aldine, a southern Chiron town.  A merchant bought me and quickly put one of those slave collars on me.  After that, I can remember tiny bits and pieces, but it’s mostly foggy.”

              Noir was astonished.  “You had one of those
things
on?”

              Steven replied plainly, “For a while, yeah.  Like I said, it was foggy and I don't remember it.”

              Noir looked at his uncle with surprise  “How could you be so...
whatever
about it?  Those things are awful.”

              Steven replied hurriedly, as if he was uncomfortable about the topic, “Well, it's just how things are here.  I don't like it either.”  He quickly continued on so Noir let it go.  “Anyway, after all that, I ended up here.  One of the Syeters apparently found out about me being strong with sye and purchased me from a slave trader in the capitol.  After that, I studied and trained here with Jotunar and the others.”

              Noir gave a sad laugh, “Compared to what I went through, that’s a walk in the park.”

              Ratt stopped in front of one of the doors in the hall and turned to the others.  “Man, he isn’t lying.  But he’ll have to tell you about it some other time.  We’re here.”

              The three spent the rest of the day crafting Ratt's armor.  The process was complicated and frustrating.  If one of the three made one tiny mistake in the weaving of their vigor, the delicate process would come crashing to a halt.  Oddly, Asiada made almost no mistakes.  She seemed to grasp the process quicker than Noir and even Steven.  However, she seemed the most exhausted by the extended use of her chakra.

              During the procedure, Ratt was surprisingly not needed.  Supposedly he was vital for the physical crafting of the armor.  His choices of how it would look and function were made in the days before the other three arrived. 

Noir noticed that while they worked on the armor, Ratt was not his normal, enthusiastic self.  He seemed distant and irritable.  It concerned Noir, but he could not spare much thought away from the work.

              By the end of the day, all were tired and hungry.  They had completed the breastplate and one of the gauntlets when Asiada's complaining convinced them to retire to their quarters for the night.

              On their way back, Noir’s pace was slow.  Noir longed to relax in his room, but dreaded the multiple flights of stairs between him and his floor.  Thus, he tiredly drug his feet.  Asiada was obviously impatient and grumpy.  She wanted food and her bed, and Steven longed to be back with the sye circle.  Therefore, she and Steven went on ahead. 

              Ratt and Noir leisurely walked together through the tower.  After a lull in their conversation, Noir brought up what had been bothering him for a large part of the day.  “Is everything alright with you, Ratt?”

              He responded, “What do you mean?  Why?”

              “You've just seemed distant and upset or something.”

              “Have I?  I don't know why.”  He smiled unconvincingly.  “I'm fine.  Nothing wrong here.”

              “Come on, what's going on?  You're usually not like this.”

              Ratt sighed and looked at the ground for a moment.  “Why are you all making this armor for me?”

              Noir was confused.  “What do you mean?  Remember what Jotunar said?  He wants you to be prepared so we can go search for Aimee.”

              Ratt looked up at a blue-robed Syeter walking past and waited silently until he was gone before saying, “Yeah, I know.  But what I mean is...” he paused as if searching for the correct words.  “Why me?  Why should
I
go with you to Tier?”

              Noir interrupted, “Who said Tier?  We're not sure where she is.”

              Ratt continued as if he did not hear.  “All of you are making this powerful armor for me... and I'm just me.  Just some guy.  You know?”

              “No.  Not really,” Noir answered honestly.

              Ratt sighed and put one foot on the bottom step of a spiraling set of stairs.  Noir stopped and listened from a couple steps above him.  “This is coming out wrong.  I'm not sure how to say what I'm thinking.”  He looked up at the tall ceiling above him.  “What if I change after I get this armor?  I
like
being powerless little me.  If I'm powerless, I can ignore stuff.  Who am I to challenge it?  You know?”  He took a few steps up the stairs and stopped next to Noir.  “But if I do have that power and I don't...”  He trailed off, shook his head, then turned and leaned against the marble handrail of the stairs.

              Noir understood and empathized, but the thought had never occurred to him.  He also did not know what to say to help his friend, though he knew he should say something.  They stood on the stairs awkwardly for a few moments while Noir struggled with what to say to comfort or help.

              Before Noir could think of anything appropriate, Ratt said, “And you all don’t even
really
know me.  Why should you trust me with something so powerful?”

              Noir had not expected that.  “We don’t know you?  That’s not true at all.  We’ve been….”

              “What’s my last name?” Ratt quickly interrupted.

              Suddenly Noir’s face felt red.  He
didn’t
know Ratt’s last name, though he remembered Ratt telling him when they first met.  “You’re right, I don’t remember.”  Noir felt cornered but then thought to say, “But there’s more to a person than just facts.”

              “That’s exactly my point.  If you all don’t even know the facts about me, then how can you know the deeper me?”

              A long pause passed until Noir said as convincingly as he could, “I
know
you, Ratt.”

              Another long pause, then Ratt eventually said, “I think I want to walk around for a while by myself.”

              Noir knew that sometimes being alone could be very good for sorting out emotions.  “Yeah, okay, I guess.  I'm going to head back.”

              Without knowing what else to say, Noir walked up the stairs, leaving Ratt behind.  He made his way through the halls, trying to recall what he knew about Ratt's past.  His parents disappeared and he was forced to be a carpenter, right?  Wasn't that what he had told him?

              Noir looked up at a blue-robed Syeter who was walking toward him.  Was that all that Ratt had said about his past?  Had he said more and Noir had forgotten, or was he afraid to talk about it?  Noir looked at the Syeter again and realized that the man was walking right toward him.  His face was hidden by the blue hood, but a gruff chin moved as the Syeter spoke.  “Please follow me, Noir.”

              The Syeter turned and opened a carved wooden door and walked into the dark room.  Noir felt that something was amiss and hesitated.  “In here, Noir.  There are urgent matters we must speak of.”

              The voice was familiar so Noir dismissed his feeling of uncertainty and followed the Syeter in.  The room lit up as the Syeter quickly touched several glow spheres.  “What is this about?” Noir asked.

              The Syeter turned and said, “Don't be alarmed, Noir.”  He pulled back the hood and Noir recognized Captain Osarik, the leader of the exiled Azurite Knights.

              Noir immediately embraced his lux and put up a strong light barrier around himself in case an attack came.  He also quickly drew out his golden-hilted sword and placed its tip between him and the captain.

              “Put down your guard, Noir,” Osarik said.  “My armor is off for the moment so I could convincingly fit into this robe.”

              As Noir backed toward the door, he quickly tried to think of what the knight's intentions could possibly be.

              “I am little more a fighter without my armor than you are without your lux.  So for the moment, I have more to fear of you than you do of me.”

              Noir quickly responded, “What's the meaning of this?”

              The man sighed and put his hands up, palms out in a placating manner.  “I understand how you feel about me after what happened before.  But your mind has been skewed by those complacent fools upstairs.”

              “What are you talking about?”  Noir thought of the enchant handcuffs that Ratt had stolen.  He wished they were with him and not in his room.

              “You are unaware, Noir.  You do not think past what you see and are told.”

              “And you are going to, what, fix what I think?”  Noir shook his head.  “I'm leaving.”

              “Listen, Noir.  The Syeters of this tower are not as simple as they seem.  They have hidden secrets, intentions, and projects.”

              “You aren't making a very convincing case for yourself, Captain.  Especially with you kidnapping Ratt and trying to get to me like you did.”

              Osarik turned his back to Noir and took a few leisurely steps away.  “You don't understand the situation, Noir.”  He turned and looked back at him.  “You don't
really
know anything.  Only what those manipulative dogs upstairs have told you.”

              “Like what?” Noir asked with skepticism.

              “Well, there is an artifact here that comes from your world.  They did not feel it necessary to tell you or your uncle about it.”

              An artifact?  “What are you talking about?”

              “It is a small device that functions on a different system than chakra and enchanting.  It's like nothing anyone has ever seen before.”

              Noir's mind careened through his memory.  What could the man be talking about?  “Tell me more about it.  What does it do?”

              “It is metal and produces a light when a button is pressed.  It captures what it sees and displays it on a pane of glass on the back, though it stopped working a month ago.  Is this bizarre object familiar to you?”

              Noir took a step back in surprise.  He thought, “Steven's digital camera!”  He had given it to Noir at the cave to take pictures of the drawings on the walls.  “I forgot all about it.”  Noir said, “Where is it?”

              Captain Osarik laughed.  “Do you see what I mean now?  They only tell you what they want you to know.  They are afraid you or your uncle would take the device if you knew about it.”

              Noir finally let down his lux barrier, but did not sheath his sword.  “But what could they want it for?”

              “Probably to reverse engineer it.  Find out how it works and use what they learn for other things.”

              “But who would do that?  And where is it?”

              “Godo is not the only engineer here.  There are many hidden sections of this tower.  Ones that even the knights did not have access to.  The only reason I know about this is because one of my knights stumbled upon it in one of their hidden workshops.  The Syeters discovered this and banished him from the tower, but not until after he told me about it.  And he was a good man who would not lie.”

              Noir was confused.  Why wouldn't the Syeters tell them about this?

              “Now that you understand these Syeters a little better, there is more you need to know.”  Osarik walked slowly toward Noir.  “The only reason the Syeters are docile now is because they are biding their time, waiting for when they have the upper hand.”