The End of the Fantasy (Book #6 of the Sage Saga) (12 page)

“This is interesting,” Daisy said as she stopped in her tracks. Catherine, Marie and Talia stepped through the door and into a spiraling dirt tunnel, lit up with rows of torches that hung along the wall. Surprisingly, the ground was covered in a bed of soft flower petals—lilacs, daisies and roses, all in a myriad of colors. Talia reached down to pick a rose and she rubbed the petal between her fingers.

“It’s real as far as I can tell,” she said. “But what’s the point of this?”

“It’s beautiful,” Daisy said, stooping down to rub her hand across the petal floor. Catherine looked over at her and nodded.

“Yes, I think that is the point. It’s to be beautiful. And nothing more.”

“What do you mean?” Marie asked and Catherine let a petal fall to the floor.

“The Yama…we have this image of them as killers. These ruthless beings that have no regard for life or beauty. We see them as locusts, when they feel just as well as we do. Maybe I’ve been going about this all wrong. I keep thinking that this will end in violence when diplomacy really may be the best way. Instead of looking for weaknesses, perhaps we should focus on our commonalities.”

“Be careful, Princess,” Marie replied. “While that would be best for all, it all hinges on coming to an understanding that makes sense to them, and if they think you’re desperate for catharsis, they may manipulate you. It’s no secret that your soft heart is not just one of your greatest strengths, but also your weakness. The Yama know you’re still out here unaccounted for. They might use your heart against you.”

“So we just walk up there?” Talia asked, changing the subject and pointing further up the tunnel. “Or do we turn around?”

“Let’s go,” Catherine said, glancing at Marie for a second. “We’ve already wasted enough time. And who knows what could be happening at home.”

Daisy took point once again, leading the charge with long confident strides to cover up the anxiety that reverberated throughout her body. The path stayed the same as it was at the beginning, composing of dirt walls and lush petal flooring. Until they reached the end at the top of the mountain.

As they turned a corner, a blinding flash of light greeted them, and at first they considered being cautious, but Daisy was ready to face the unknown and get it over with. They followed her reluctantly, walking under the curtain of light and into the outdoors.

It certainly was a city.

And one unlike anything they had ever seen.

There were houses that were five stories high and covered in stained wood of deep red and light brown. Dark blue roofs and silk banners hung overhead, connecting one house to the other as if a festival was about to be underway. The streets were bustling with happy faces and frilly dresses. Elegant armor and elaborate gowns and robes, crafted so finely that Catherine, who was not one beholden to fashion, was instantly jealous of what she saw. Their boots were of the finest leather. Their stride was confident and loose, as if to say that they were excited about what the day would bring, but if trouble should arise, they were more than equipped to face it.

And as they traversed the marble streets and weaved back and forth between gardens and fountains and statues of warriors past, Catherine suddenly came to a startling realization. None of them looked like Yama at all. Not a single one.

Even if the Yama they had faced were simply wearing armor, none of the inhabitants of this quaint city were lanky enough to fit inside, nor did they have the sharp teeth that defined them. None of them had large eyes or that strange slow walk that their enemy possessed.

Had they reached the Yama at all?

“I want to live here,” Marie whispered under her breath, and Talia found herself nodding.

“It’s beautiful,” Daisy said, looking around her. It was hard to explain, but the city had a vibe to it that professed culture, arts and harmony. It was in the air. And the buildings seemed to declare the same. Though the structures were tall and wide, they still maintained a Victorian coziness and a warm, homey aura about them.

“This wasn’t what I was expecting,” Catherine laughed. “I expected an army.”

“Maybe this is part of their trickery,” Marie replied. “In any case, what do we do now?”

“Hello there,” a middle-aged man said, coming up from behind him. He tapped Catherine on the shoulder but she felt no danger emanating from him. They all turned without feeling the need to be on guard.

“I take it you are new to town?” he asked. He had a top hat on his head that looked like it came from a magician’s closet, and he wore a long and thin black cloak that covered him from his popped collar down to his buckled shoes. “My name is Wilheim,” he said, giving them a short bow. “Welcome to Delahcourt.”

“What is this place? What do you do here?” Catherine asked quickly and Wilheim raised an eyebrow.

“So quick to gather information. Hmm. Here because of the Yama I take it?”

“Perhaps,” Catherine said cautiously. “It depends on what the answer will bring us.”

“No need to play coy,” he said with a chuckle. “Everyone comes here initially because of the Yama. So no worries. You are in the same boat as the rest of us.” He stopped to adjust his hat. “Besides, you can’t hide your battle worn cloaks and faded colors. They stand quite out of place here. I would recommend visiting one of the weavers so that they can craft you something more delectable to the eyes.”

“Why does everyone come here because of the Yama?” Catherine asked, without giving too much information on their specific situation.

“This is a Delilah town,” he said, waving his hands to the sky. “Filled with Delilah people. All from different walks of life. Where do you come from?”

“That’s irrelevant,” Catherine said. “What matters is that we’re here to maintain peace in our land and we’ll do everything in our power to accomplish our goal.”

“You’ve come to the right place then,” he said. “All come here to get the Yama off their backs. All stay and accomplish exactly that. Now, listen closely.” He pointed down the road. “If you continue on down the main road, you will reach an intersection of three paths. Take the left path and keep going straight. Straight and straight until you can’t go straight anymore. You’ll come across the Yama headquarters there. Make your case known and I’m sure that everything will work itself out.”

“From what we’ve seen of the Yama, that hardly seems true,” Marie replied, but Wilheim shook his head.

“You’re mistaken, I’m afraid. If you only knew what the Yama were, then you would be singing a different tune. Whatever troubles you have faced at their hands, it is for a reason. A specific purpose that you have yet to understand.”

“You’re saying that the Yama are actually doing good by slaughtering our people?” Catherine asked. Wilheim stifled a gasp and then gave her a look of pity.

“I can’t say too much at the moment. But let me entertain you with a tale. I was once like you. Angry and afraid. Displaced among my people. We had suffered many wars. At the hands of our own countrymen and that of cities to our north and south. We fought and fought until we forgot what we were fighting about. It just didn’t matter. Fighting was just what we did. As easy as breathing. We could have stopped the fighting at any time, but we had lost the knowledge as to how. We deemed it out of our control when we could have simply said, ‘that’s it!’ and halted the bloodshed altogether. We were lost. But then the Yama found us. They found our true selves.”

“He’s a lunatic,” Marie muttered under her breath. Daisy heard it and tried not to laugh.

“They gave us a common enemy to fight. We forgot about how much we hated one another. And then, when it seemed like even our newfound union wasn’t enough, we were given another chance. Some of us were chosen. Others were left to their own vices. But what surprised us how was how the Yama didn’t destroy us as we originally thought they were going to do. They gave us a lesson. A lesson that has benefited many a people for decades now. A lesson that still is taught to this day. The results are manifest before you.” He waved his hand to the people, walking along the streets. “We are Delilah. The keepers of the world. And your land…is being tested. Learn the lesson, or perish under the might of the Delilah and their Yama.”

“This is the village?” Lily asked, but Bastion wasn’t sure how to respond.
Not really
, would have probably been the proper answer. After all, they weren’t in the heart of the castle yet. They were still on the outskirts. An area of the kingdom that was considered a part of the village, but only for informational and legal purposes. For the majority of the villagers, the Sages, and the court—the outskirts was a blight. A place filled with stubborn and outdated minds that tried to make a living off the ancient way of farming rather than opting for the fast paced world of merchandise, trading and bartering.

Few considered the fact that without those on the outskirts, the Kingdom would be forced to receive most of their produce and goods from their neighbors instead of providing for themselves. But all those not living in their world could think of was how dirty, hostile, and socially challenged those on the outskirts were.

They were unwanted, but necessary.

A notion that Bastion felt through and through. With each step he and Lily took upon the untilled ground and withered crops, he realized just how many had repented of their ways and decided to go further inside the castle walls—to become something they knew deep down they were not. Just to be accepted.

“There’s no one around,” Lily whispered and Bastion nodded.

“I doubted there would be. Few live in these parts as it is. Considering Seeker’s King now, and the Yama have been here, no one would want to be out here all alone.”

“Why would anyone live like this?” Lily shuddered, wiping the dirt off her lacey dress. “It’s cold and dark and lonely.”

“Because it’s home,” Bastion replied. “It’s not always what you want, but it’s what you need. Seeing it like this…after so much has happened. I think I realize that now. After leaving Quietus, this seclusion…it’s what I needed most. I didn’t know how to talk to people back then. I think that if I was forced to live in the village when I returned, I would have snapped. I might have killed someone in a rage, and then…I would’ve been locked back up again. I needed time to detox. Sure, it wasn’t the best…but it was what I needed at the time.”

“You don’t have to be alone again,” she said. “As long as we stick together.”

“Right,” he said, taking in the view. Why hadn’t anyone stayed behind? It was strange. After all that Allay had experienced, he thought that surely there would be one. One sole farmer that decided to kick against the incoming force. Or maybe…they were just dead. Those that had a mind of their own were deemed liabilities. He could see Seeker calling for their execution.

But whether the inhabitants of the outskirts were dead or not, the fact remained that the outskirts shouldn’t have been such a desolate place from the start. Even Catherine, in all her talk of unity and love, had shied away, either through absence of mind or all-out negligence. The outskirts should have been embraced and integrated into the Kingdom. They should have been made a part of society. But no. They continued to be a reminder of dead things. Of old ideas. Of division. Even Allay still had some growing up to do.

“Say we live,” Bastion said, beginning to walk forward again. Lily, startled by his sudden movement tried to keep up. “We keep thinking we’re going to die but what if we live? What then? Do we try to become leaders of some kind? Or are we just hired help? Do we make allegiances to someone?”

“You know you couldn’t belong to any particular Kingdom.”

“You’re right about that,” Bastion chuckled. “But I just want to know how you feel about it.”

“I don’t think I’m in a place to be making decisions for people. I’m not even sure about myself at times. So I would say no to the leadership bit.”

“Then what do we do? Stay in seclusion?”

“Solitude is never fun.”

“So we’re going to be around people…but not really involved.”

“What’s all this ‘we’?” she giggled. “I might find a sexy man over in Prattle and live the rest of my life with him.”

“Mm-hmm,” Bastion replied, playing along, but still a little hurt. Lily reached out and rustled his hair.

“Hey, I was just playing around.”

“But I’m serious about what we should do afterwards though. I’m really not sure.”

“Let’s put it this way…” Lily said, casting her eyes to the ground. “You spend a lot of time alone thinking about how life should be and how the world could improve, right?”

“Yeah, all the time,” Bastion said, stopping to face her.

“And you see reasonable solutions to those problems?”

“Yeah. They seem pretty clear.”

“To the point that you don’t know why others can’t see the solutions, right?”

“Yep.”

“The thing is…you think about problems we all face. You see the solutions…and in your case, you actually have the power to solve them. If you have the capability, you can’t let fear stop you. Face your problems, for both your growth and the well-being of us all. Once the fear is defeated, you’ll realize that that was the only thing really standing in your way…and fear isn’t even real. It’s all in your head. I wish…I wish I had the freedom that you do. But I don’t. I’m limited in my abilities. But you’re not. And that also gives me hope. Whoever made me…even if they summon me back or turn me into a stone, never to express who I am again…I know that you’re still out there, untethered…and fully able to get me back.”

“And I will,” he said, kissing her on the cheek. She rustled her hand through his hair again, but softer this time. Bastion reached out to caress her arm when suddenly…

He realized that his left arm was nowhere to be found.

A pool of blood splashed onto Lily’s dress, and she screamed, her eyes widening in horror as Bastion felt the vertigo hit him. He stumbled forward but his eidolon shot out from the palm of his right hand, catching his fall as the tip slammed into the dirt. He propelled himself back up and searched the area. He couldn’t see anything, even under the dim moonlight, but his eidolon was shrieking, begging him to run. A familiar scent reached his nostrils. A slick, oily smell mixed with the rusty taint of dried blood.

“Quietus,” Bastion shouted, letting them all know that he had identified them. Lily clenched her fists as a faint blue aura began radiating around her knuckles.

“Let me take care of them,” she said. “You just heal.”

“Do you see where my arm went?” Bastion winced, his exposed nerves causing the rest of his body to twitch uncontrollably.

“No, it’s gone,” she replied, and Bastion concentrated on the healing. The Quietus were still nearby, but none were attacking. “Do we want to fight them?” she asked. “I know that you wanted to avoid them if possible.”

“It’s not because we can’t take them,” Bastion said through grit teeth, mad that he had to use up a lot of energy into healing. “It’s because there are so few of them left that I don’t want to accidentally kill any.”

“Even after what their people did to you?”

“I’m in the position of power this time. So I’m going to do the right thing. Let’s get out of here.” Bastion began sprinting to the left, and toward the heart of the village, past the small forest and streams under the cover of darkness, caused by the blanket of trees. He could hear the Quietus giving chase, but at least he was giving them the chance to turn away. This was not their fight.

“Is your arm ready?” Lily asked, running right next to him.

“It will do for now,” Bastion said, waving it at his side. “But thankfully my right is the dominant one. I’ll be fine.”

“And what’s the plan now? Are we heading straight to Seeker?”

“That’s right,” he said. “No point in drawing this out. We need to finish this.”

They cleared the forest within a few minutes and Bastion could no longer hear or sense the Quietus behind him. Good. They would be able to report to Seeker about how they attacked Bastion and took his arm, and that would be an adequate enough involvement to keep their place in the forest. There was no point in fighting beyond what was necessary. Though they were a warrior race, even they knew that they had to be conservative in the battles they undertook.

The main village was as dreary and silent as the outskirts, even with all the buildings in place. No one walked the streets and no torches were lit. From what Bastion could sense, it seemed that they were all staying low, either sleeping the conflict away or trying to stay as silent as possible. Though they weren’t under invasion per se, Bastion couldn’t help but think of the Siege of 88. Once again, the villagers were sticking their heads in the proverbial sand. When would they grow tired of their oppression and fight back? Seeker, their King, had to be making decisions that they were against. Why couldn’t they vote him out of power? Could nothing truly be done?

Bastion sighed as they came upon the meadow. He expected it to be just as dead as the prior two areas, but they had no such luck. There were four Yama and three Sages standing before them, standing in a line side by side, and waiting patiently with their swords and eidolons held respectively at their sides. Seeker and Mason stepped out from the middle of the group with wide grins on their faces. Bastion stopped in his tracks and Lily followed suit, waiting for the tyrant King to say his peace. Bastion thought about making an attempt on Seeker’s life. With his speed, he might be able to, but he could tell that the Yama and Sages before him were not an ordinary bunch. Each one of them were about to burst with energy and they were all swelling with power underneath their stable and stoic faces. He turned his attention to Seeker.

“A deal with the Yama?” he scoffed. “Really?”

“What does it matter to you?” Seeker replied with a sneer. “You don’t belong in Allay anymore. As a matter of fact, your presence here means you are trespassing.”

“I could leave, but something tells me that you don’t want that.”

“Oh no,” Seeker smiled. “I want you to try to stop me. I want to end you here, so that it’s one less liability to account for. Your death would benefit me greatly.”

“As would yours,” Bastion said, gripping the hilt of his eidolon tight. His black Sage robe slowly materialized over his body. “I hope those skinny legs of yours sure can run. I’m not going to let you go this time.”

“I have no need to run,” Seeker said. “You’ll see in a moment.”

“The Sages here…I know them because we were part of the same Academy. Have you forgotten that I was the strongest student?”

“That’s why we have these four Yama here—to increase the odds,” he said. “You’ll see. Mason,” he said, turning to the young Sage, “would you like to join this battle as well?”

“I’m so glad you asked,” he said, unsheathing his yellow eidolon. “I do have a gripe to pick with the outcast here, and this…who is that?” he asked, pointing his eidolon toward Lily.

“Doesn’t matter,” Lily said, crossing her arms.

“Probably another Sage,” Seeker replied in a bored tone. “Another one of those that left with Catherine and her ilk.”

Bastion gave no warning of his approach. He knew he had to catch them by surprise just in case they were stronger collectively.

The move worked.

He was able to slice his Gladius through one of the Sages and cut off the right leg of another before one of the Yama swung at his head with his large jagged sword. The blade just narrowly missed his temple as he spun around and dodged the tip. Mason and Seeker maintained his distance as the rest of the group dove right into the scuffle.

Lily roared and blocked one of the Yama’s blades with her forearm, then she punched him in the face, sending him sliding into the grass face first. The sole unharmed Sage tried slashing at her back, but she roundhouse kicked her eidolon with her foot, chopping it in two large chunks. The Sage crumpled in a heap.

Bastion summoned another Gladius into his weakened left arm and kept the four Yama from landing any critical blows, though he was unable to regain the offensive. He kept backing away as they slashed at him furiously, picking up their speed with each step. He matched their speed and then exceeded it just in time. He wasn’t sure of their limits, but he knew the power clash wouldn’t last forever. At some point, he would hit a wall of how much energy was available to him, and then they would begin cutting through. Bastion grunted as a tip of a blade nicked his left forearm. The nicks were beginning to annoy him, and they were getting deeper with each successful hit. He couldn’t rely on Lily to help. Not yet. She was just beginning to engage Mason.

“I’ve got you,” Mason declared boldly, though Lily could see him quivering.

“Okay,” she laughed, sprinting toward him, but at the last second she saw that his quaking had been a ploy. A feign. She stopped in her tracks just as two gigantic Yama came running from the tree line at the edge of the meadow, bounding right toward her. Seeing them caught her off guard and Mason took the advantage. He sliced his eidolon as hard as he could at her head. She saw the blade at the last second and threw her head back, but the blade was still able to cut into her cheek deep.

She was able to heal it and close the wound quickly, but when she turned to look back at Mason, Seeker’s face behind him was all she could see.

It was one of recognition.

“The colors!” he exclaimed as the huge Yama ran past him and attempted to grab her with their massive hands. “She has the stone! Get her!” Lily dodged the grabs and punched at one of the Yama in the abdomen but it was like he didn’t even feel it. Instead of reeling back, he kept encroaching on her. The second big Yama grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into his arms as the first one motioned with his hand for a weapon in a “gimme” gesture. Mason was happy to throw him a standard sword. The giant Yama stabbed Lily in the chest and began twisting as she tried to wriggle out of the other Yama’s arms. The second Yama stopped twisting the blade after a few seconds, for he realized that all was not as it appeared to be.