* * *
“I’m going after her,” Kace said, preparing to run. “You know we can’t leave her.”
Olivia gave off a frustrated sigh. “If you must. But me and Eckard are going on ahead.”
“That’s fine. We’ll catch up to you.” Kace took off running and Olivia rolled her eyes.
“Let’s keep moving,” she said, pulling at Eckard’s arm. He obeyed reluctantly as Olivia veered off to the right, away from where Kace and Remi were headed.
“What are we going to do while they’re gone?” Eckard asked.
“What do you mean? We’re moving on.”
“We could forage for some food while we wait. We haven’t eaten since the prison.”
“No, we’re going to keep moving. If they can’t catch up, then too bad.”
“That’s kind of harsh.”
“No, it’s reality. Keep up.” Olivia began sprinting past the trees, trying to put as much distance between her and Remi as possible. It wasn’t that she didn’t care for her. She was just ready for someone to notice her for a change. Now that she and Eckard were alone, she could talk to him without his eyes being glazed over, either thinking of Remi’s potential or worrying about her condition. She could finally have a conversation with another human being that didn’t revolve around her friend.
“So, what do you do for fun in Paragon?” Olivia huffed, coming to a sudden stop. Eckard glanced around them.
“Did you leave any markers for them?” he asked. “In case they need to find us?”
“What do you do for fun in Paragon?” she practically shouted.
Eckard winced and rubbed his right ear. “Since I work with the Sages, there’s not too much time for fun. We’re mainly preparing for the war.”
“But it’s been twenty years already and there’s still preparation going on. What if the war never starts? Have you ever thought about what you would do if that happens?”
“Not much,” he admitted. “But sometimes. Before I fall asleep at night.”
“And what do you think about?” Olivia asked, folding her arms.
“Same things I’m sure everyone thinks about. A place they can call their own. Perhaps a wife. I know children are out of the picture since the atmospheric conditions no longer allow it, and I have no desire to live on Terra just to have children so…it’s all wishful thinking.”
“No one amongst the Sages that you’re interested in?”
“They’re mostly a lot older than I am, or they already have a significant other. I’ve met a few girls in the past, but most of them are Originals. And I’m a Deja so…”
“So what?”
He burst out laughing. “I’m so confused.”
“About what?” she asked, taking a step closer to him.
He cleared his throat. “I thought you didn’t like Dejas.”
“I don’t like Dejas that already lived a full life before the Collision. You’re different. From what I gather, you died pretty young. Who told you about me not liking Dejas?”
“I overheard a bit of your conversation with the others. Also, me and Kace talked about it a bit.”
“You and Kace talked about me?”
“A little. Nothing serious. Just while the rest of you were sleeping in the prison.”
“And what was said?”
“I was just being honest. I was saying how Remi wasn’t as strong as I originally thought and that you had a lot more potential.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Your stability,” he said, his eyes darting to the left. “Remi is more powerful in bursts, but you have stamina. You could surpass her with the proper training. I feel like Remi’s declining with all the stress.”
“But to bring up my preferences in people, you must have talked about more than how I fare in a fight. You were wondering if I would be interested in someone like you, weren’t you?”
“I’m not saying I’m in love with you,” he said, his eyes coming back to the forefront. “But I did ask. Like I said, there’s not a lot of time devoted to leisure, but I still wonder what’s waiting for me when I do get those breaks.”
“You don’t have to worry about how I feel,” she said, taking his hands into hers. “Not anymore.” Before he could reply, she stepped up onto her toes and kissed him hard. At first his head reeled back in surprise, but she kept her lips pressed against his, and when he didn’t pull away, she removed her hands from his and threw her arms around him.
She felt his hands travel down to her waist and she let him explore.
It was a small price to pay to get what she wanted.
And what she wanted was a follower. Not Remi.
Someone whose thoughts would dwell only on her. Not Remi.
Someone who could watch her back. And not that damn Remi.
“Ahem,” someone interrupted them and they pulled away from each other quickly. Olivia’s face burned as she thought about Remi and Kace catching them, but once they turned around, the source of the interruption was a lot more unsettling.
There were three of them. All had patches of red hair draped over their faces and hulking muscles that made their heads looked like a pea in comparison. Their muscles were rippling to the point that they looked like they were going to burst, and their faces were all scarred and worn out like leather. One of them took one step forward and scowled at them.
“Do not worry, little ones. We are not here for you. Olivia, correct? And…Eckard?”
“Who are you?” Eckard demanded, trying to be brave. Olivia could hear the trembling in his words.
“Langorans,” the apparent leader replied. “You’ve never seen one before?”
“I can’t say that I have. Though I’ve heard of your kind.”
“You must live a sheltered life. What have you heard about us?”
“That your homeland was destroyed. And now your kind has resorted to mercenary work.”
“That would be the truth. Which is why, Eckard, we are here.”
“How do you know my name?”
“It’s our business to know,” he said, looking back for a moment at his companions. “But you can feel safe in knowing that you are not our business. If you were, we wouldn’t be making these introductions. If you would but take a moment to breathe, and think, then you’ll realize why we’re here.”
“Remi,” Olivia said, and the leader gave her a curt nod.
“What do you want with her?” Eckard asked. The leader tapped the side of his head.
“Now I’m sure a bright fella like you can come up with a probable reason.”
“You’re to take her to Cimmerian…or worse.”
“That would be correct, sir.”
“And you expect us to just hand her over,” Olivia said. “It makes me sick.”
“Now, now,” the leader said, scratching the side of his face. “We all know that’s not entirely true. We’ve been watching you for days now. Even Scarlet didn’t sense us during your travels. That says a lot about our skill set. So please don’t insult us by saying you care about the girl when that couldn’t be farther from the truth. You’ve been looking for ways to ditch her since you began your journey. Listen, this doesn’t need to be an unpleasant conversation. My name is Leslie, and my companions here are Burt and Kettle. Not that they’ll say much. They’re the muscle of our little group. As you can tell, I’m a lot smaller than they are as I find myself wasting my energy talking.”
“So you think I would just betray her?” Olivia scoffed. “After all we’ve been through together?”
“I will break it down to you. We approached you so that you could live. If you separate yourselves from her willingly, then that tells us that you’re not a threat. You won’t entertain ideas of revenge. If you decide to defend her, that is up to you. I would understand, but you would lose. All of you. We’ve been doing this for a long time and we’ve even killed Sages. There’s a reason why Cimmerian contracts us out. We never fail to deliver. So by refusing to as
sist Remi in the upcoming battle, you’re not betraying her. You’re preserving yourselves. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“And I’m just supposed to live with the fact that you killed her?”
“Or you can watch her die as you choke in your own pool of blood. The result is the same for her either way. All that changes is how you’re involved. By staying out of our way, our job goes from four to two.”
“Kace will be killed too?”
“He likes the girl. He has to go. Plus Quietus are too stubborn. He won’t listen to us.”
“And what about me?” Eckard asked. “I work with Sages directly. What makes you think I’ll give in to your demands?”
“You’re easy,” Leslie snickered. “You’re weak of spirit. So it’s really up to Olivia. If she abstains from battle, so will you. That’s all that can be said on the matter.”
“I’m not weak,” he said, balling up his fists.
“You barely know what it’s like to be nicked by a blade,” Leslie scoffed. “Don’t you realize that the Sages sent you out to find potential recruits because you’re expendable? If you manage to make it back to Paragon in one piece, then they send out real evaluators, but they never take you at your word because they don’t trust you. I respect you both for trying to make your individual situations work, but in the end, you’re still at the bottom of the hierarchy. Tell you what…if you let me take Remi, not only will I leave you alone, but I’ll put in a good word for you in Cimmerian to my superiors. Our word means a lot to them.”
“But we’re going to Paragon,” Eckard seethed. His fists were clenched even tighter.
“I know, but plans change. You might get to Paragon and realize I’m right. There is no place for you there. And then where will you go? Cimmerian might not be all holding hands and singing, but at least we all respect each other there. You don’t have to make any decisions on that right now though. Just know that Cimmerian will gladly take you in when Paragon inevitably casts you aside.”
“Fine,” Olivia said suddenly, causing Leslie to raise an eyebrow.
“Fine what, little lady?”
“We’ll let you have Remi.” Leslie noticed that Eckard had no objections.
“Thank you. I respect you decision. It was very wise of you. I will also tell my superiors about this day. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, could you please direct me to where your friend is now?”
Olivia pointed in the right direction.
“Thank you,” Leslie said, bowing his head. “I will also let you know that if you continue along your current path, you will eventually come to the ruins of the former Langoran Kingdom. While there isn’t much there, some mercenaries do still use it as a base of operations. You might want to consider avoiding it, in case you encounter Langorans that aren’t as nice as I am.”
“Thank you,” Eckard said sheepishly. Olivia reached out and squeezed his arm.
“I don’t believe this,” Kace said aloud. Everyone turned to their left to see him coming from behind one of the trees. He was furious.
“You knew he was coming?” Olivia asked Leslie and the Langoran nodded.
“I wanted you to make the decision you wanted to make. Without influence from anyone. I’m sure Kace will try to persuade you now.”
“How could you betray Remi like that?” Kace shouted, baring his sharp teeth.
“You didn’t find her?” Olivia asked.
Kace spat on the ground. “What does it matter to you?! You don’t care about her!”
“How much of the conversation did you hear?”
“Enough to know you both are traitors! And Eckard, I’m really surprised with you! The whole point of this journey is to get her to Paragon so that she could receive Sage training! Now I’m wondering if you Sages are even who you claim to be.”
“I have nothing to say to you,” Eckard replied. Kace’s face softened.
“Are you kidding me?” he whispered in awe. “I can’t believe this.”
“Believe it, my friend,” Leslie said, addressing the young Quietus. “And this as well. You are outnumbered in every conceivable way. Would you consider letting us carry out our mission without interference as well?”
“Not a chance,” Kace growled.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Kace grunted and fell to the forest floor, landing on his knees and both palms of his hands.
Leslie turned to Olivia and Eckard. “I would maintain my distance. Your friend is transforming now.”
“Transforming?” Olivia looked on in horror as she saw Kace’s skin beginning to darken until it was the color of tar. It rippled as if it was dark water and bubbled as if it was manifesting his rage. His hair was slicked back and his teeth grew sharper as his face narrowed and sharpened. Scythes of sharp bone protruded out of his forearms as the fingernails on his hands sharpened and lengthened.
“We all transform. The Sages have boosts in speed and strength. The Quietus turn into creatures like the one you see before you, and the Langorans grow to inhuman proportions, expanding their muscles and mass.”
“How is this possible?” Olivia asked, watching as Kace groaned and began pawing at the ground. “The atmosphere.”
“No, our individual races were able to do this before the great Collision. Now our abilities weaken with each passing year while those who were born afterwards, like yourself, gets stronger. Transformations will soon be a thing of the past."
“Not yet though,” Eckard whispered, grabbing Olivia’s arm. “We should get farther back.”
Kace lunged at Olivia but Leslie stepped in the way. He jabbed Kace in the face quickly and the Quietus fell to the ground on his back. He instantly jumped back to his hands and feet and began darting side to side in front of the Langoran, looking for an opening. He barely saw Burt and Kettle tackle him from behind. With their massive muscles growing with each passing second, they pinned Kace into the dirt and began pounding on his head, back and forth as if they were driving a stake into the ground.
Leslie watched on and supervised, keeping his arms outstretched to protect Olivia and Eckard. When Kace’s transformation finally withered away, and the black skin that once covered him slipped off into and under the soil, he let his arms fall.
Kace, now unconscious, was no longer a threat.
“See how easy that was?” Leslie said, speaking to Olivia and Eckard. “He didn’t even manage to get a single blow in. The result would have been the same for the rest of you.”
“We kill?” Burt asked and Leslie tilted his head to the side to think. He turned to Olivia.
“When he was in your camp, did he mention anything about belonging to a special group of Quietus? Or was it a sect kind of like your own?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Quietus have no allegiance,” Kettle replied.
“This is true,” Leslie muttered to himself. “Well, I don’t see any reason to keep him alive.”
“But I do,” a shout rang through the air.
They all searched frantically for the source of the voice, and finally, Leslie’s eyes settled on a thick branch high above their heads. Remi stood there in the sun’s rays, letting it bask her in its radiant light as she held onto the side of the tree for support.
She was frail, and it was even more apparent now that her poncho was no longer available to her, but that didn’t sway her resolve. She had seen Kace searching for her, but she had kept herself hidden, in order to see what he would do without her there. If he would decide that she wasn’t worth his time.
She was surprised to see him go back to the others—not to give up—but to get more help in the search. And she was glad she did follow him. For Olivia and Eckard’s actions hurt her to no end. It made her nauseous to see her friends betray her. But crying over it wasn’t going to change anything.
Only her might would.
Only the warrior from inside the mirror could.
“Remi,” the Langoran leader called out to her from the gro
und. “Come down and accept your fate. There is no need for violence.”
“I’m done being underestimated,” she roared, shaking several birds out of the trees. “I’m done being seen as weak and helpless. And if it requires pounding your faces in for all of you to see that, then so be it.”
Remi jumped down from the tree.