Chapter 4.
"I can't believe we managed to get out of that one." Molly muttered as they walked along the tunnels. "I mean, it clearly wasn't what we said it was." She was keeping her voice down as there were a lot of other people walking through the tunnels with them. Elijah laughed. He wasn't quite sure how it had worked either, but he loved that it had, against all expectations.
Upon arriving at the Cloud they had been greeted by several very confused, and then very angry cable carriage workers who had taken the two of them into a meeting room off to one side of the station proper and demanded to know what exactly they had done to the carriage. Elijah had spun the most magnificent tale of their lives being in mortal danger due to the section of the carriage simply collapsing, and had expressed complete horror at the fact that the maintenance on the carriages was so dreadful, that whole section and parts were just dropping off in midair. His acting had been spot on, and with Molly backing him up the entire time, the station workers anger soon dissipated, and they apologized profusely for the incident and assured both of them that nothing of the sort would ever happen again. The two of them had left the office a little dumbfounded that it had been so easy, but grateful that it was. They set off then through the series of gently curving tunnels that led to the surface of the Cloud.
The tunnels were a crisscrossed honeycomb, almost mazelike if you didn't know where you were going. They intersected each other at multiple points as well, each one coming out at a different spot at the top, depending on where you needed to be. With multiple tunnels starting from each cable carriage station, and many different pathways and locations, it could be a bit daunting. Luckily, the tunnels were well manned with helpful guides in case someone were to get lost, and brightly lit, with beautiful sconces set into the walls the entire way along each route. Of course, with the influence of the ether below, and the ether that was brought up to be studied on the Cloud, the flames on each sconce burned a slightly different colour, so there was almost a rainbow effect as you walked the tunnels. It wasn't called Spectrum for nothing.
"Alright, so...we managed to talk our way out of that little scrape, so I'm thinking that at the very least we can talk our way out of whatever happens when we get topside, what do you think?"
"I think we still need to be careful Elijah. This is clearly not a game. I mean, who even was that on the carriage? How did he know who we were, and why did he even warn about…whatever it was he was warning about?"
Elijah considered this. They were all good questions. He had taken a little comfort in the fact that the man had warned them, so clearly someone else knew about the earthquake problem, and was as far as he could tell, on their side, if a little on the twitchy side. Well, hopefully. He almost certainly wasn't against them, at any rate. Elijah mentioned this to Molly, who nodded. It seemed to calm her down a little, and they continued talking about who the man could have been, and why it could possibly be such a terrible thing to let the academics know about what she had found out. They had already both agreed it was odd that no one else had said anything about it, but couldn't figure out why. They were so busy debating the various different things they knew so far that they barely even noticed they were coming to the exit of the tunnels.
They had many vivid and varied sets of sconces on their way, but a pair of beautiful pink flames were the last to guide their way up to the gorgeous sunlight that shone down on the top of the Cloud. It was wonderfully warm, but at this height a refreshingly crisp breeze cooled them down perfectly. They smiled at each other for a moment, it was impossible not to enjoy the view and weather, before setting off for the Cumulous, one of the meeting halls a little way from them. There were various other buildings, all cleverly named after something meteorological, but Elijah couldn't remember their names right now. The one he did know, was the Nimbus, a big building to the East of the cloud specializing in studying magic. He longed to get in there, but that time was long gone. He thought back to what might have been, if only things had played out a little differently…
Among the various cloud named buildings there was only one exception, and that was the Grand Hall. This was at the northernmost point of the cloud, and was not only where their friend the dean resided day to day, but was also home to frequent debates in the hall of its namesake. From the Grand Hall the other buildings were set out in a rough circle around the top of the Cloud, with a large, sprawling park in the middle, home to many gazebos, the odd pond, and some truly wonderful fauna.
"I know exactly what you're doing, you know." Molly spoke up, disturbing him from his thoughts. "You're thinking about Nimbus, aren't you? You do this every time we're up here."
Elijah looked embarrassed, and realized he had been staring over at it in silence as they walked. "Sorry," he mumbled, "I just can't help but think about the chance I could have had. I don't regret the decision I made, but can't help think of what might have been, you know?"
Molly did know. She had also desperately wanted to get up here, to study, and invent. But it was clearly never meant to be. In a way she and Elijah's failures regarding the Cloud had been one of the first and strongest things that had brought them and bound them together. All things were meant to be she supposed, and she was glad for the life she was living. Elijah and she were like family now.
"I do understand, you know I feel the same sometimes. Now isn't the time though, we're nearly there, so focus, come on!"
They were indeed nearly there. Their path had lead them out of the tunnels and across a perfectly maintained park set in the middle of the floating chunk of rock, which it was sometimes hard to remember that that was what it was. Gorgeous roses, tulips and daffodils grew and flourished everywhere in a myriad of colours, and not a blade of grass seemed to be out of place. Academics rushed to and fro everywhere, dozens of them at all times, while others sat in the various gazebos and benches and discussed all manner of things. It was fascinating to watch, because although it looked completely out of control from an outsider’s viewpoint, no two academics ever crashed into one another. It was very organized chaos. The walk across the park had taken them to the top of the Cumulous, a fairly large hall carved into the Cloud itself, so that the steps actually led down into it. About half the hall stuck up above ground level though, and this had been wonderfully carved to look like the giant puffy clouds it was named after. The carvings were so good they looked almost real.
They reached the steps down to the hall and began to descend. Every few steps was a large pillar reaching up to the ceiling, and alternating with these, statues of famous academics throughout the Cloud's existence. There had been many advances and these were all showcased with the statues, as the carving not only displayed the scholar, but what his invention was as well. There were plaques at the bottom of every statue also, detailing its story. As Elijah and Molly went lower, their path was lit not only by wall sconces again filled with beautiful flames, but also strategically and artistically carved holes in the ceiling that let shards of sunlight through to help create a lovely dappled effect on the floor. They reached the bottom of the steps, and a skinny looking man that they assumed must be an apprentice stalked over to them to introduce himself.
"Good morning there. My name is Reginald. You must be here to see the dean, is that correct?"
They both nodded, and the annoyed sounding apprentice carried on, his voice remaining almost perfectly level as he spoke.
"Very good, very good. Well. If you'll just follow me we can proceed to the audience chamber, yes. Come along then, it's not too far."
The two of them knew exactly where it was, but decided to let the apprentice show them the way anyway. Besides he already sounded so fed up and aggravated that if they interfered with his plans he might have turn round and kill them on the spot. They followed him down a couple of tightly curving corridors, until they reach a small junction that split three ways. The apprentice stopped for a second, and Elijah was just about to continue walking forwards towards the main meeting hall, w
here they had been told their appointment would take place, when the apprentice piped up.
"Follow me, almost there now, mmm yes it's just to the left here..." And with that he took off again, heading left instead of straight forwards. Elijah and Molly shot a look at each other, but said nothing. They knew where the hall was, and this wasn't it. Their guards instantly up, they followed the small man as he led them down a couple more corridors, and towards what Elijah remembered to be a much smaller meeting room. He noted as well, that while they navigated the last few corridors there were far fewer light sources, and he and Molly had not had to squeeze past anyone for quite some time. It was unnervingly quiet.
They arrived at a large set of open stone doors, and stepped inside. It was indeed exactly as Elijah had remembered, and he was sure Molly would too. A small sized, circular room, with deep recesses set into the walls all around it. From a top down perspective it would look like a large cog. The man they had been following ushered them into the middle of the room, where a small bench, also made of stone had been set out for them, and then practically ran out of the room, slowly pulling closed the big stone doors behind him as he exited. There were two torches at the front of the room that flickered and waved, casting dancing shadows all around the room. It appeared they were alone in here, until Molly made a small noise, nudged Elijah and nodded to where the torches were.
A slim, elderly looking man had walked in from a small door set into the opposite side of the room to where they had entered, and was making himself comfortable. He had thin, greasy looking hair combed over to one side, very dark eyes, and a thin, angular face. He wore very slim, very well made clothes that accentuated just how small a man he was. They looked to be incredibly good quality though, even in the dim light. He also carried with him a very nice looking cane The cane looked to be made out of some kind of rare stone by the looks of things, although neither of them could make out what exactly it was, and there were carvings along the length of it, but again it was too dark to make out what. The main thing that struck both Elijah and Molly though, was that this was not the dean. This was not Percy.
They sat in silence for a moment as the stranger made himself comfortable between the two torches, on a small chair that had been set out at the front of the room. The silence seemed to stretch on forever, and Molly was just about to break it, when the man across from them beat her to it.
"Good afternoon. I understand you were here to see the dean. I am afraid he is quite unwell at the moment, and that will now not be possible. You could say he’s not himself. You have some information for him yes? I will be able to take that from you." His speech was clipped, and short, as if not a single word was wasted. Either that or he couldn't be bothered to speak to them. Perhaps both. Elijah decided to answer him.
"That's correct, we had something important to pass on to him. Forgive us but...we were a little unsure of coming here originally, and now we're dealing with a complete stranger. Who are you, if you don't mind me asking? I don’t recall ever seeing your face, and, well…we’ve both been here a fair few times."
A thin smile appeared on the man's lips, and he spoke on. "Ah, of course. Where are my manners? My name is Azrael. I am Dean Percy's assistant. Our meeting today will be shared in full with him of course. Now, what is it you have to share? We are all very busy men."
This was wrong, this felt wrong. Elijah knew in the pit of his stomach that this man wasn't trustworthy. He had met people like this before. He looked at Molly, his eyebrows knitting together slightly, and the silent question in his eyes of whether to continue or not. She met his eyes and almost imperceptibly shook her head, no. It was all the confirmation that Elijah needed to call this off.
"Look, I apologize for wasting your time, Azrael. Molly and I last came here a few months ago, and Percy seemed completely fine. We'll...come back another time." And with that they both began to stand up to take their leave.
Azrael sat and watched them for a second, unblinking. He then began to speak again, and this time there was venom in his voice.
"You will go nowhere. I know who you are, and what you can do. And I know, what is it is you know. You will never walk out of here with that knowledge." And with that he stood up to his full height, no longer looking like the slightly frail man that had entered the room. His hair thickened, looking even greasier than before. His skin turned darker and darker, until it was almost black. It was as if it was absorbing all the light (what little of it there was) from the room. He flashed them a quick, tight lipped smile. Whatever he was, he wasn’t human. Elijah and Molly looked around as he stood up. Azrael must have been conducting himself, because sconces burst into flame, lighting up the entire circle around them, and in every recess a scholar was revealed, wearing thick black cowls that covered their faces. They were all holding a vicious looking curved dagger. Elijah cursed himself for his stupidity, they had walked right into a trap. Molly's hands instantly went to her bandoleer, and she pulled out two vials filled with dark green liquid. Azrael, completely unfazed, carried on.
“I was so disappointed you ignored my invitation up here yesterday. You and your friend down below. You were the only two, you know. I hate conductors, you know. Abhor them. They were all easy to kill though, so that’s something. Only two left now, that can interfere. You all die so easily, so this won’t take long. And then this city is mine.”
Elijah snarled at him. “Not going to happen, I’m afraid. I don’t know what you are or why you’ve decided you can just kill whoever you want, but it ends here. Molly, you ready?”
"Oh yeah. This has been fun, it has. We really need to call it a day now though. You say you know us, yeah? Then you know what my hobbies are. I love to make stuff you see, and I'm particularly fond of this little mix here. I really like making things explode, you see, I just never get the chance to very much. I think you’ve given me the perfect excuse. If any of your lackeys move the first one I throw is at you. Don't test my resolve." And with that she paused, looking around. The men and women in the recesses hadn't moved an inch so far. There was something not entirely right about them though. They had their cowls pulled up over their heads, but a small part of their faces were visible. They looked sick, they looked just like Azrael.
Azrael smiled. He looked around the room, and then at the two of them in the middle.
"Oh I like you already. I also like playing games. Before we play however, let me reintroduce myself. My name is Azrael." And with that he took a deep bow, and set his cane to one side on the floor. As soon as he did, he started to change once again. The hair on his head turned to become slicked back. He became more muscular, and visibly younger. His eyes turned from the dark, almost black they had been before to a bright amber colour. He stood back up, drawing himself to his full height, now well over seven foot, and smiled at them again. This time he revealed his teeth, which had horrifyingly been filed into spikes.
Elijah started to feel sick. What the hell had they walked into? Molly still held on to her explosives, and Elijah readied himself as well, drawing strength from the ambient ether he could feel in the air around him, and preparing to conduct if necessary.
"There we are, much better. You know, I knew someone would find out what was happening eventually. It's too bad really, I really am going to have to kill you both though." Azrael's voice was much deeper now, much smoother. "I have plans for this city, and I can't have anyone interfering. In a few days it won't matter anyway. This city will sink into a lake of ether. My paradise. I was going to ask you to join me, but I can already see the stubbornness in both of your eyes. We'll see how stubborn you look when I rip them out." He looked directly at Molly, and continued, "So you like to play games? Well so do I. And you know what? I think I will test your resolve."
He began to conduct, remarkably quickly. Elijah could almost feel it, feel the incredible amount of energy he was absorbing into himself. All the two of them could do was stand there, trying to prepare for whatever was to come next. Azrael
had begun to glow an intense deep blue, almost black. It looked like the sheer energy of the ether he was absorbing was going to crush him. When it looked like he could take no more He stopped conducting. Elijah knew what was coming, and grabbed Molly, throwing the two of them to the ground. He was just in time. Azrael roared, exploding up and out of his crouched position. As he did an incredibly powerful shockwave burst out of him, rippling outwards through the room and beyond at lightning speed. After it was gone he fell to one knee, exhausted.
The wave of etheric energy exploded outwards and downwards, racing towards the people below, completely unaware of what was taking place above them. It surged downwards towards the streets. People didn’t even realize what had hit them until it was too late. As the wave washed over them, the ambient ether in the air around them reacted, solidifying and crystalizing, trapping the entire city of Spectrum in rock hard, unbreakable cocoons.
“It’s done…” He panted, “The city is frozen, trapped forever. Kill them.” As he spoke Elijah and Molly picked themselves up, and the scholars started to slowly walk towards them.
Molly looked Azrael straight in the eye. "Thank you." She said, and launched both vials at him. Elijah saw it coming and grabbed her, diving backwards once again just as the vials left her hands. They hit the floor just as the vials hit Azrael, and an almighty explosion rocked the room, showering everyone in rock and dust. Elijah just made out what sounded like a roar from Azrael before he went flying backwards through the wall. The explosion had taken out the scholars nearest to him as well, but the rest hadn't given up. With Azrael taken care of all that was left was to get out of here. There was no time to think. As the two of them were lying behind what was left of the bench, covered in debris Elijah flung his hand upwards and in a spiral, conducting the ether as he did so. A jet of red hot flame shot out of his hands, scattering the remaining men and women, several of them screaming in pain as the flames hit and engulfed them. As the flames burned through their cowls they were revealed for what they really were.
They looked like hideous, imperfect copies of Azrael. Blackened like they were burned, they looked greasy like him as well. They had been transformed somehow, into horrifying monsters.
Elijah jumped back up, pulling Molly with him. "We have to get out of here, right now." He shouted, his ears still ringing from the huge blast earlier. Molly nodded, and they ran to the doors they had entered the room through. They were heavy, but surprisingly unlocked. They began to pull them open when they heard the most ungodly noise behind them. Dreading what they might see, they half turned to where Molly had blown a hole in the wall. There, climbing over the rubble and chaos, was Azrael. He still had the grin on his face, or rather what was left of his face. One side had been completely decimated, revealing his skull underneath. His clothes had melted off with the extreme heat, and he was badly burned. His upper left arm was exposed down to the bone. It was a sickening sight, and one made all the more terrifying by the fact that he should not have been standing.
"Oh god. Go! Get it open!" They pulled with all their might, fear giving them strength, and the door started to swing open.
"Where are you going? I thought you liked games?" Azrael boomed, and began to stride towards them menacingly. As he walked he clicked his fingers, and the assistants, who had been burned and sent running only moments before now came rushing back towards the two of them, again brandishing the evil looking daggers. The door was very nearly open. Elijah quickly moved Molly out of the way, and wedged himself between the closed and partially open door, pushing as hard as he could. It gave a tiny bit more, but it was enough. He squeezed himself through, grabbing Molly's wrist to pull her to safety as well. Just as she was struggling through the first of the men reached her, swinging wildly with his dagger. Molly screamed as she finally made it, although not without a small cut on her forearm. It could wait. That door wasn't going to keep Azrael, whatever he was, away for long.
They took off down the hallways and corridors as fast as they could, the sounds of destruction and carnage fading behind them. They needed to get off of the Cloud, and fast.