Incandescence - 21. Uncertainty

Dropping myself into the nearest chair knocked a sigh out of my body. We were here for official business. Serious things were going on. The country was at war. Tyren and Hanja sat across from me and Eon was to my left. For once, he wasn’t my problem. No, the deceptively cherub-faced former monster was. There was no reason he needed this much time to fawn over my child.

“A-and see! I can make it a whip!” Wyn practically yelled as a dark green vine shot out, the end snapping hard enough to score the wall. That explained why my lower back hurt. Brat.

Wren had an amused expression on his face and his fingers slid under the boy’s chin, “Well done, angel.”

“There’s more though uncle! I can make them wrap around things and get so tight that they explode!” Wyn was getting more worked up by the moment and I was beginning to wonder if this meeting would ever get started.

“You’ll surely be a force to be reckoned with when you realize your full power.” Wren grinned and he let out a sigh as the boy latched onto him, arms around his waist. Wyn was growing so fast that he’d finally surpassed the monster.

“My darling, must you touch me?” Wren said as he twirled Wyn’s loose, dark curls around light nails.

“Oh, stop it! You love me! You used to snuggle with me in bed when I had nightmares!” Wyn giggled and wrapped his arms around Wren’s neck.

“I’m sorry, you did what now?” I asked, staring at my former mentor.

“The boy had nightmares. I don’t sleep. It was a natural solution. You and Kalian don’t have the best hearing.” Wren sighed, untangling himself from the boy to walk over and stand next to Hanja. Not Eon, I noticed.

Wyn shook his head and made his rounds. Tyren caressed his cheek gently and Eon clapped a hand on his shoulder with so much force, the kid staggered. Hanja narrowed his eyes when Wyn’s gaze drifted to him, “Don’t think you’re off the hook. The school isn’t operating, but that doesn’t mean you can’t continue learning. I still have access to you, troublemaker.”

“Yes, teacher.” Wyn muttered, escaping by hurriedly lowering himself to sit at my feet.

“I am, of course, always happy to see my nephew, but care to explain why you’ve brought him Talon?” Eon asked, his happy expression falling to indifferent when he looked at me.

“I deserve to know what’s going on!” Wyn announced as I opened my mouth to respond. I sighed as I tried to speak over him, only to be interrupted again, “My da is out there! Plus! What if my life is threatened? I will have no idea what’s going on! I can better protect myself if I know what I’m up against!”

Hanja’s fingers pinched the bridge of his nose brutally and the sigh he let out held the full weight of every educator who’d ever been frustrated with a student. Tyren’s smile became a bit strained as he looked from Wyn to me.

Eon groaned, “Talon, you idiot.”

“I agree with the boy’s reasoning.” The room went so quiet it was almost eerie. Wren’s arms were crossed, his blond hair falling into his face. He met Eon’s gaze and smiled slowly, “The boy is right. It’s similar to Kalian’s situation when he first came here. Inexperienced, naïve, far too confident for his years, and absolutely out of his depth.”

Wyn’s excitement had been visible even though I was sitting behind him. His shoulders rose and his attention snapped to Wren. After Wren’s words, though, his shoulders dropped and I could almost see hundreds of questions buzzing around over his head. Hanja had evolved to rubbing his eyelids, while still using his thumbs to push at the sides of his nose. Tyren looked confused and Eon was glaring at a space on the floor.

“Everything happening would support us protecting Wyn from what’s going on, not throwing him into it.” Tyren said softly, a frown slowly appearing.

“No. Did we force Kalian into the dark?” Wren asked, dark eyes shifting between every adult in the room, “Again, no. We trained him. We taught him. We shaped him into a man who could weather the storm that was to come. Keeping secrets from the child that may endanger him is doing him a disservice.”

“Wyn’s training has already begun. You know that. Between Amaris, Suman, Talon, and myself, we’ll get him there by the time he needs to be. He’s a child.” Eon said, glaring at Wren. Who in turn played with his curls and smirked at Eon.

“The vast majority of Verseckt recruits were children. You yourself just said his training has been spread out all over and let’s be honest, it’s been sporadic at best. He is making progress because he is strong and intelligent. Training his body only gets us so far though. Wyn, again, is very smart. It’s time for us to stop treating him as though he isn’t.” Wren said, head tilting to the side as Eon rolled his eyes.

“Why wouldn’t we let a child in on a literal war and complex politics?” Hanja said, incredulous and sarcastic.

“We wouldn’t have to tell him every single thing, my love. It would be…vetted for a 12 year old.” Tyren said softly, fingers stroking gently over Hanja’s cheek as he tried to keep the peace.

“We can decide the ins and outs of my child being included in everything later. Wren! I am just fucking… tickled that you brought up secrets. Especially ones that may endanger others!” I said, locking eyes with the monster.

Wren chuckled softly, nail running gently down his own cheek, “Oh? Where are you leading this my darling Talon?”

“Don’t play stupid. You’ve been keeping secrets from all of us again.” I said as I sat up.

“Oh my. You must forgive me. I thought it was apparent that I have secrets. That I keep secrets and will continue to do so. Secrets are my favorite. It’s the business I am in, Talon, and I am good at what I do.” Wren shrugged, focus on a lock of his hair, seemingly indifferent to my annoyance.

“Why am I not surprised?” Eon said, shoving his fingers through his hair.

“The sheer amount of ridiculous that occurs within this group. We are supposed to be allies. There is an expectation of trust between all of us. That includes you, Wren.” Hanja said, gaze sharp.

“An expectation. Not a requirement.” Wren said, lifting his hands up as he shrugged, “And should it become a requirement, I must say, I’d be far less cooperative.”

“Uncle Wren, why would you lie? You’re not a liar.” Wyn said quietly.

Wren’s demeanor shifted the slightest bit. His expression shifted from aloof to troubled, “My darling, I am not a liar.”

“It’s not lying if you aren’t asked directly, huh? Omission is just as bad as deception.” I said, resting my hand on Wyn’s shoulder.

Wren’s nose scrunched and then he relaxed again, “Talon, get on with it. You brought us here to jump all over me. That’s clear now. You chose to do it in front of everyone for a point, I’m assuming.”

“You have hidden Verseckt members. At least in Dimian, who knows where else?” I spat. Our eyes met again and one of his eyebrows lifted as I glared at him. Part of me whispered that I needed to keep myself in check. Especially in front of my child. I didn’t need to show Wyn that being hotheaded and lashing out was the way to operate in a situation like this. The more I thought about it, Wyn would more than likely be in a similar position as he grew into a man. He was our child. It was inevitable.

“You have what?” I expected anger, frustration. Eon’s cold, empty voice was not what I planned for. His face was blank, arms crossed over his chest. It was rare to see Eon like this now. He’d opened up quite a bit as the bonds between us all had grown stronger over the years. I was witnessing his walls slamming up again. Kalian was going to be devastated.

“I have various agents sprinkled about in case of emergency.” Wren said, ignoring the obvious growing tension.

“Agents that none of us know anything about.” Tyren said softly, his hands drifting to hold onto Hanja.

“Well, why would he tell us that he was building a unit of spies and assassins when he wants to be the only one in charge of them? No one can hold you accountable when they’re unaware they need to.” Hanja said, shaking off Tyren’s hands.

“Talon, I don’t think Wyn needs to be here right now.” Tyren said as his eyes found mine.

“He’s fine.” I said, irritated as my attention snapped back to Wren, “Were you ever going to tell us?”

“If it was relevant.” Wren answered with another shrug.

“How is it not ‘relevant’, Wren? Are you joking?” Eon shouted. The room descended into chaos and my ears rang as Eon yelled at his partner, I demanded answers, Tyren tried desperately to keep the peace, and Hanja threw out snarky comments.

During a lull, a small voice broke through the silence, “Does yelling help you figure things out?”

I glanced down at Wyn, who was looking around the room and had the audacity to look disappointed in us. Anger flashed through me and then I took a breath as I thought. Wyn was right. How embarrassing that a child had to call us out on our poor behavior. I dragged my fingers through my hair and let out a breath.

“Uncle Wren?”

“Yes, darling child?”

“Why are you keeping secrets?” Wyn asked as he stood.

Wren frowned and tilted his head to the side, “Wyn, child, keep out of this. The grownups are arguing.”

“Don’t want him making you feel guilty?” Eon asked. His voice was sharp and the glare he’d levelled on his partner was downright poisonous.

“Stop it Uncle Eon.” Wyn crossed the room to stand in front of Wren, who looked at him suspiciously. Wyn wrapped his arms around Wren’s neck and the blond stiffened. Slowly, arms came around Wyn and I rubbed my hands down my face.

“The point is, it’s happened. It’s done. Wren kept it from us, but it’s out in the open now. Wren, the members who disappeared when you and Loren were on your mission, where are they?” I asked.

Wyn kept the man in his embrace and dark red eyes met mine over his shoulder, “They are in Illiath.”

“For what reason?” Hanja asked.

“I am trying to solve one of our problems, should Sunshine fail to carry out his mission.”

“You realize if Kalian fails, it will mean he’s dead?” Eon growled.

“As well as Loren and Suman.” Tyren added, face clearly troubled.

“And Meryck.” I said, “Who is one of your own men.”

“Welcome to reality. We are at war. Did you think everything was going to be daisies and rainbows? Furthermore, Talon, you know better than anyone that I am willing to make the sacrifices necessary to ensure things get done.”

Wyn stepped back and stared at Wren with wide eyes, “That’s my dad and more of my uncles and I don’t know Meryck but he has pretty eyes!”

“Wyn, when you get older you’ll learn tha-“

“No. You’re wrong. What you’re doing is wrong.” Wyn said stubbornly, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.

Wren let out a breath after a moment of everyone staring at him, “Fine. I’ve been scolded by a child, are you all happy now?”

“Over the moon.” Eon said, baring his teeth more than smiling.

“Thrilled.” Hanja said at the same time.

“Let’s all take a moment to calm down.” Tyren tried, stepping forward, “While I don’t agree with your choices, Wren, this opens doors for us. We aren’t in as dire straits as we thought.”

“Oh no, we are. With or without secret Verseckt members, we’re in trouble.’ Eon argued.

“Instead of starting another argument, maybe we should try to figure out solutions.” I blinked away shock as Tyren’s voice dropped into a register I’d never heard before.

His face was serious as he looked between Hanja, Eon, and me. It was almost as if he was daring us to start up again. I swallowed and averted my gaze. I felt like a child being disciplined by a parent. Tyren very rarely lost his bright and sunny disposition, but I suppose everyone had their limits.

“Wyn, dear, Kalian is not going to die. None of them are. We trusted one of our most valuable cities to them and I am sure they will not disappoint.” Tyren said, drawing himself up before looking to Wren, “You say you have men in Illiath. Have they infiltrated their court?”

“They are close. The royal family is still in disarray. Even whilst their naval force bares down on Krinn.” Wren answered, guiding a curl off Wyn’s forehead.

“Fighting amongst themselves could be our ticket to toppling them from the inside.” I said quietly, still more than angry at Wren but decidedly cowed by Tyren.

“One of the princes is very close to taking control, permanently.” Wren said.

“It doesn’t matter which one of them takes charge, we have to make them see what a mistake it was to attack us.” Eon said.

“Wren, please update us with their findings and progress.” Tyren said, eyes flicking to the blond who didn’t acknowledge him in favor of fussing over my child again. He was avoiding Wyn’s eyes as well as the child searched his face, expression still a little hurt.

“I suppose.” He said with a sigh, turning from Wyn to face the teacher.

“Oh, are we having a secret meeting?” All of us jumped at the new voice and I frowned as Nyx came into view.

“Do you need something?” Hanja asked, eyebrow raised.

“Just thought you might want to know that your ‘friends’ in The Council seem to be upset.” Nyx staggered forward and grimaced, hand on his lower abdomen. Upon further inspection, there weren’t many places the man wasn’t bleeding.

Tyren rushed forward, dragging Hanja with him just as Nyx stumbled and went to his knees. I winced as they made contact with the ground hard. Then we watched him sway before falling to the side. My head jerked in Eon’s direction. His eyes were wide and I’m sure our expressions matched.

“Nyx, stay conscious.” Tyren pleaded as he pulled the man’s upper body into his lap, supporting his head as Hanja slid to the ground and ripped his gloves off.

“They didn’t get to the antidote. I’m too misanthropic for that. No one can get into where it’s kept without me.” Nyx said, wincing.

“There are…lacerations all over you.” Hanja mumbled.

“They had a friend. His Magik sucked.” Nyx rasped, closing his eyes as Tyren murmured softly to keep him calm.

“Is he going to be okay?” Wyn’s small, scared voice ripped me out of my internal panic.

“Wren, watch Wyn. Eon, with me.” The general was already halfway to the door and Wren’s hand clamped down on my boy’s shoulder.

“Darling. Come with me. We’re going to have the most high stakes game of hide and seek you will hopefully ever play.” Eon and I went towards where Nyx had been holed up working and Wyn and Wren went the opposite way.

I glanced over my shoulder and caught Wyn’s scared eyes as he looked back for me. Wren gripped his upper arm and dragged him around the corner and I closed my eyes. If anyone could keep him safe and hidden, it’d be Wren. Even if he wasn’t a monster anymore. My stomach turned and I opened my eyes when I realized Eon was leaving me behind.

“There’s no way they’d still be here.” I said as we moved fast and quiet through the halls.

“They were brazen enough to attack Nyx in the middle of the day.” Eon said.

My steps slowed, “Yes, but they let Nyx escape.”

Eon looked back at me, “You think it’s suspicious?”

“Everything involving the lords carried over from the king’s time is suspicious.”

We started moving again and Eon shook his head, “We should’ve killed them. They were complicit in the queen’s death and didn’t truly seemed bothered by the fact that the government almost collapsed.”

“They’ve only ever cared about their titles and money.” I agreed.

We exchanged a look before entering Nyx’ lab. Once inside, we froze. It was in fact, the council members. What was left of them. It looked like they’d been torn apart and I wasn’t positive how many complete men had been in the room.

“Oh, good morning.”

In the corner of the room, there was a man with choppy, brown, shoulder length hair and hazel eyes. His bone structure spoke of Loren-there were similarities-but his features were more angular. He wore a loose, dark green tunic with leaf green leggings tucked into brown boots. An earing hung from his left ear with a star shaped, green jewel. After I’d registered the man, that half of the room was quickly eaten up by fire. Eon closed his fist and the flames slowly began to die down.

Somehow, the man still stood there, unbothered. He seemed to flicker and he rolled his eyes, “Of course I’m not still there. Surely you aren’t that stupid?”

“Who are you?” Eon demanded, moving forward.

“Ah, yes. The flame wielding general. Eon Alauis. A pleasure. I am Rydian. Officially the ninth prince of Illiath and presently, one of four that remain alive.” The man gave a flourish and bowed low at the waist.

“Nine? I thought there were only seven.”

Rydian smiled, “As far as Loren knew. You think our father shared all of our secrets with him? I’m the youngest. He endeavored to keep me safe.”

“Why do the worst people procreate the most. What do you want?” I asked.

“Obviously your antidote.” He said, grinning and running his fingers over his hair, “Your nonconditional surrender would also make my day. It’d save you from your inevitable fall and slaughter. Temporarily anyway.”

“How do you plan on carrying that out when we’re going to decimate your navy? You won’t have much of one left.” Eon said, tense beside me.

“Oh yes, your husband has gone to save the coast, correct?” Rydian’s expression became darker, his smile growing as he looked at me, “What if there’s nothing left to save?”

“We would kno-“

“You seem to think that simply because you have scouts and the Verseckt, that all your information is current and accurate. Krinn burns. Your little friends will just be more food for the flame.”

“You’re very confident. I would be as well if I could be somewhere without being there. Eliminates a lot of the fear. Makes you cocky.”

I glanced around the room. I hadn’t been in here for some time. There was a large vault and I’d recognize Tyren’s metal work anytime. There were also tubes stretched over the door that held some strange liquid, “You killed the council members, but it doesn’t look like you achieved your goal.”

“Did you know, I grew up listening to stories of you? The shadow walker. You were a bedtime story used to scare children and a hero at the same time. Now seeing you, I must say I’m disappointed. You’re just a man. Like anyone else. Any other boring person.” Rydian sighed and waved his hand in front of his face. “No matter. I’m here in an official compacity to negotiate.”

“For what?” Eon said, face blank now as his mask slid into place.

Rydian rolled his eyes, “Do try to keep up old men. Your antidote. Your surrender. In exchange for Kalian. Obviously.”

“I would know if you had Kalian.” My whole body had tensed so much, my muscles were starting to ache. Rydian was young, but I’d learned a long time ago how to sense when someone was dangerous. Even if they looked like a snotty teenager with far too much ego.

“It’s only a matter of time Master Verloren. Dimian will be a ruin when we are finished. All you will have to show for the effort you’ve made is failure. The country will cease to exist and you will fade into obscurity as your peoples’ blood soaks into scorched earth.” Rydian smile brightly and bowed again, lifting his head while still bent over to give us an evil smile before he vanished.

I tugged at the ends of my hair with both hands, staring up at the ceiling, “Well, he’s far more eloquent than Loren.”

“Kalian needs to know.”

“Do you think I’m stupid? I know that.”

+Kalian+

We stood in a circle, staring at the smoke in the distance. Loren was next to me and he secured his hair up and away from his face, “Not the way I wanted to find out that I had another brother.”

Talon had caught me just as we were making plans to travel closer. Now, we were rethinking our approach. This Rydian was so sure that we would be useless in Krinn. He’d claimed the city was already burned. Which, it was a loss, but I was more concerned about those who had remained. Subconsciously, I also worried for my family. What else didn’t we know?

“We knew that Illiath would be attacking. It simply happened faster than we thought.” Suman said, rubbing his cheek, “This doesn’t change anything.”

“It changes everything. They weren’t supposed to know we were coming. They’ve had time to prepare now!” I argued.

“If they’ve taken the city, we truly have no idea what we’re walking into.” Loren added softly.

“What in gods’ name is he doing?” Suman snapped as he looked behind me.

Meryck had been silent since I’d updated them all with Talon’s message. That wasn’t unusual. I’d noticed that he’d seemed to be deep in thought. That was different. His eyes had been distant and he’d turned slowly in a circle earlier before switching directions and turning the other way. Now, he was crouched on the ground, ear pressed to the dirt. His eyes were closed and his fingers twitched a bit.

“Meryck? Are you okay?” I assumed this must be part of his gift. Whatever it was.

“Not many people in the city. No army.”

“You can…hear them?” Loren guessed, eyes widening as he stepped forward. Suman was even shocked into silence.

“Yes.”

As I moved closer to him, he waved his hand angrily at me and I froze. It hadn’t occurred to me that my steps would interfere with his hearing. Meryck’s face covering was pulled down and a chain with little circles hung from his neck. It was the most of the boy’s face I’d ever seen. There was a jagged scar that stretched from his right ear, down through his lips, all the way to his chin on the other side of his face. His features were round and almost sweet from what I could tell and his lips were painted black, somewhat hiding the scar. For some reason, the color on his mouth surprised me. Other than Tyren’s eye makeup, I hadn’t seen many men wear makeup. It seemed to suit him though and set off his gold eyes. Which were now clouded with a milky white as he concentrated.

“More on the beach.” Meryck said as he slowly stood and fixed his face covering. The small circles I’d seen hanging from his neck he held gently in his hands. I looked away as he pressed them into his ears and his eyes met mine. I couldn’t see half of his face, but he looked almost embarrassed. Meryck dusted off his arms and thighs then his eyes traveled to the smoke still billowing in the distance.

“Trap?” Suman offered.

“Given what this Rydian said to Talon, probably.” I sighed.

“Well, Kal, I hope you’re feeling well rested.” Loren grinned.

I let out another sigh and considered everything we knew and everything Talon had told me. There was a good chance this didn’t end well. In fact, Talon had told me to bring everyone home. They were increasing the guards in Syrin, but I wondered if it mattered. They’d been able to attack us in the middle of the day without any warning. Nyx had almost died and was still struggling after losing most of his blood. The Council was in shambles. As far as we knew, the only remaining members were members of the band of misfits. Whether or not we wanted this much power when Anders had died, it seemed we’d gotten it.

If our information was flawed, did we even know if Serran was going to wait to attack us? If Krinn was taken and we failed, our situation was far more dire. Who knew if Dimian could come out on top? We had thought things were bad before we learned that our information was delayed if not wrong all together. How did we fix this? My gaze was drawn back to the smoke and I adjusted my bag’s strap on my shoulder. It was probably smarter to return home, but I wasn’t willing to give up on this mission.

“What if they’re bluffing?” Loren asked, stretching his arms up to the sky, “They could be trying to call us off because they know they’re at a disadvantage.”

“Well, something’s on fire. That much is certain.” Suman shrugged.

“Screaming.” Meryck said softly, eyes still on the smoke. His ear wasn’t back to the ground. Did that mean he was hearing something far closer?

I bit my lip, “I can’t ask you all to rush in there underprepared. We might all die.”

“Oh shut it. I’ve wanted to die since I was eight years old you whiner.” Suman scoffed, starting to walk.

“According to my family, I’m already dead to them. I’ve got no country and no home. What’s the harm in going out in glory? At least I’ll have done something with my life.”

Suman met Loren’s eyes over his shoulder and the younger prince’s face twisted in pain for a brief moment. Then he got himself under control, “We shouldn’t be rude then. It seems we’re the honored guests at this party and we’re late.”

Following Loren and Suman, part of me was surprised when Meryck followed as well. He noticed my look and nodded once before his eyes returned to the path in front of us. This group may be even more rag tag than the band of misfits, but they were willing to follow me into this battle. We were being foolish-downright stupid-but we never did shy away from risk and danger. Two half-crazed princes, a partially mute assassin, and a disgraced lord. We may not succeed, but damn, the battle was going to be interesting. It definitely wasn’t going to be easy for them. Loren and Suman didn’t even know how to make it easy on their allies.

If we went down, the were at least going to know we’d been there. The evidence would be in the carnage we left in our wake.