His Final Secret Page 23

  Thrummm...

  He moved into the other timeline, finding himself in the midst of a secondary army of Shifters. Behind them, he caught a glimpse of the wizard. It shared the same physical characteristics as the General, tall and lean with an elongated head. What set it apart was the glowing veins that coursed along its body, the magic pooling and growing there.

  It saw him and reached out. More lightning stretched towards him.

  Thrummm...

  He dropped out of the timeline before the magic could strike. He heard a rumble behind him, and he fell to the ground just in time to avoid the goreling.

  "We have to get to the subroute," Spyne said. "We have to shut it down."

  Talon rolled to his feet. How were they going to get through this? He could see the doorway to the subroute a hundred yards distant, but there was a Shifter wizard in their path.

  The goreling rumbled again. Talon turned to face it. It was an ugly thing, with thick, spiky, mottled skin and small eyes. It wasn't moving, so it was as clearly visible as it would ever get.

  It didn't stay that way for long. It leaped at Talon, visually stretching and blurring as it came towards him. It was impossible for him to time his escape, so he rolled forward, holding his sword against his chest and hoping he had gotten beneath. He felt a claw hit the side of the sword and scrape off, digging into his chest and cutting him open. He growled and bounced up, facing its rear as it landed and began to turn.

  Then Spyne was on top of it, wrapping a massive arm around its head and somehow staying on. He had lost his sword somewhere, and blood was running from a large wound on his leg. He was holding something in his other hand, and as he shook on top of the goreling, he tossed it at Talon.

  Talon caught it. The control stone. He held it tight while he swung away from an orc and stabbed it, kicked a goblin in the head, and moved towards Spyne.

  "No," Spyne said. "Get the wizard to the subroute." He roared as he punched the goreling in the head. They both vanished into the distortion.

  Talon found Wilem with Jeremiah and the remaining Carrier, the one with the cure. He looked back towards the doorway, still so far away. They would never make it. Not with a Shifter wizard blocking the path. Not with so many between them.

  Jeremiah's remaining eye landed on his. The juggernaut stared at him a moment as if reading the desperate hopelessness on his face. His eye glowed brighter, and it dropped its sword, grabbing the box of cures from the remaining Carrier, and then kicking out with his feet to bash an orc against the wall. He placed the box on his back and then grabbed the Carrier's head, bracing it against his body while he twisted it off.

  "What are you doing?" Talon heard Wilem say. The boy was as white as he had ever seen, his clothes drenched in sweat, his entire arm a scaly gray. Somehow he was managing to stay upright, to keep throwing magic at the Shifters, to hold them back and allow them to move forward.

  "It fixes it," Jeremiah said. He reached into the Carrier, tearing out the ebocite heart. He held it up to Wilem. "It resonates. It powers it. It destroys it."

  Wilem's eyes widened in understanding, though Talon wasn't sure what Jeremiah meant. He batted another Shifter aside and watched as Jeremiah's arm tilted back.

  "Talon," Wilem shouted. "Get behind the Carrier."

  Talon understood what was happening then. He took three quick steps and dove towards them, towards the shell of the Carrier, which had collapsed when Jeremiah took its heart. At the same time, Jeremiah's arm shot forward, throwing the ebocite heart into the midst of the enemy ahead of them.

  "Delendis," Wilem said, stretching his hand out towards the heart. There was no visible magic, but Talon could see the heart begin to shiver in mid-air, much like the goreling did.

  Wilem continued to hold his hand out. The heart vibrated faster and faster, creating a buzz in the space that echoed off the walls. The Shifters began to scream, putting their hands to their heads as blood began to pour from their mouths and ears. The goreling reappeared in the space with Spyne still on top of it, both of them bloody from their battle.

  Talon saw the Shifter wizard then. It rushed towards the heart, holding out its hand, trying to stop it with its magic.

  It was too late.

  The heart exploded, shards of ebocite launching out and a wave of energy following. It shook the entire structure, bending through both timelines and tearing into the Shifters. Their screams fell silent as their bodies turned to dust. General Spyne, Second of Nine, had just enough time to look up at them before he too was reduced to nothing.

  Wilem hid behind Jeremiah while the blast pummeled him. Sparks and steam rose from his body as the explosion found gaps in the magical protection, but he managed to stay upright. Talon covered himself with the Carrier's body, feeling the power of the blast wash over him and cause his own ebocite heart to pump at double-time. He saw the distortion, the sudden emptiness of it caused by a blast that reached into both worlds. Worlds he was phasing in and out of in response to the energy.

  Then it was over.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

  Talon

  The entire world fell still, save for Jeremiah's suddenly labored breathing. Talon pushed the Carrier away from him and stumbled to his feet.

  "It must hurry," Jeremiah said. His voice was a strained, mechanical whisper. "It will return."

  The Shifters would continue to come through the subroute. "Wilem," Talon said.

  The wizard moved out from behind Jeremiah.

  "It hurrtttsss," he said, head lolling to one side.

  "There's no time to give you the cure. We have to go."

  "It carries it," Jeremiah said, lifting Wilem in his arm. The juggernaut followed behind Talon, every part of it whining and clashing as it moved.

  They hurried down the hallway and into the room with the subroute. Already, a few orcs were entering, and Talon killed them quickly.

  "It stops it," Jeremiah said, lowering Wilem and approaching the golden ring. He pulled one of the stones, and the milky portal vanished. "It fixes it."

  Talon knelt next to Wilem while Jeremiah set about rearranging the stones and turning the ring.

  "Hurttttsss," Wilem said.

  "We still have the cures. You need to hang in there, my boy. We can't wait here. It isn't safe."

  Wilem's face was covered in a layer of blood. "Eryn."

  "I'll find her. Wherever she is. I promise."

  Wilem smiled sadly. "Cure."

  "We'll give you the cure. When we reach-"

  "No." Wilem's face twisted in pain. Some of the clarity returned to his expression. "Keep it, Talon."

  "What? No. Wilem, you're coming with us."

  Wilem's lip quivered. "I'm sorry. Someone needs to shut down the reactor. There is no one else."

  Talon knew he was right. Someone had to stay behind to keep the Shifters from escaping into the world. "I'll give you the cure. You can get out of here."

  "It will take too much. Eryn needs it."

  "What about Delia?"

  "She'll be well. She's like Eryn. So strong." He laughed softly. "She doesn't need me either."

  "The Empire needed you, my boy."

  "It fixes it," Jeremiah said.

  "Talon, go," Wilem said.

  Talon reached down, taking a knife from his boot. "Use it before you change."

  Tears flowed from Wilem's eyes. "I will. When you see Eryn, tell her I'm sorry."

  "Of course. I couldn't have done this without you. You won't be forgotten."

  Wilem moaned, his eyes rolling back before he recovered. "Go. I can't stay lucid much longer. Hurrrttsss."

  Talon handed Wilem the knife and then leaned down to embrace him. "Thank you, my boy."

  "Go end this, General," Wilem replied.

  Talon turned towards the subroute. The portal had returned. They needed to get through it before the Shifters could resume their crossing. He walked up the steps, joining Jeremiah in front of it.

  One last glance back at Wilem.
<
br />   He stepped through.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

  Talon

  Area North.

  It wasn't a long journey through the subroute. A few hours in the slow darkness, along a path unobstructed by Shifters. This wasn't the same subroute the creatures had been taking from the reactor. It meant Area North had two of them.

  Normally, that would have been unheard of. The subroutes used so much of the reactor's power. But it was different. The ebocite there was massive, nearly the size of a man, and the power it generated was immeasurable. It was enough to spread a wizard's magic almost anywhere in the world.

  Talon had never thought to look for him there, not that he had even remembered where the reactor was. Not that he even knew where it was now. It was only because Jeremiah knew the way that they were headed there. It was only because Wilem had stayed behind that the subroute had closed off at their backs, ensuring that the Shifters wouldn't be able to return to the Killorn reactor.

  He could only hope that the boy had managed to kill himself. If he changed, and changed into something terrible, all of their efforts might have been for nothing.

  Talon looked over at Jeremiah. The juggernaut was beaten. He imagined the body had to be near to total breakdown. Every movement created grinding and crunching noises, his breathing was ragged, and all of the fluids seemed to have been drained out through damage taken by claws and the magic that had seeped in during the explosion. His old friend seemed to be running purely on will.

  He had saved their lives, though. How had he known to overload the ebocite and cause it to explode? How did he know any of the things he knew? Talon wanted so badly to remember. It was clear to him that there was a period of time after the war that he simply had no memory of. He had long known it, after all the Carriers were made after the war, but there had always been something missing.

  Area North.

  The reactor was still active. He was using it to extend his control, and because of that Wilem was dead, Spyne was dead, and the entire Empire had been days away from being overrun by Shifters escaping from the place.

  How could he be keeping a reactor active, and giving the Shifters an opportunity to enter? Was that why the Nine had been kept alive all of these years? Not truly to put down rebellions, but to destroy the Shifters who made it out into the world?

  The thoughts only drove his anger to new heights. Everything they had gone through, everything they had all lost.

  Murderer.

  He had been complicit in it. For over a thousand years. Whether he remembered or not, there must have been a time when he had made the promise willingly, whatever the promise was. He remembered how he had first made the juggernauts to build and work. Then he had made them for war. Then the war had ended, and he had never stopped.

  It wasn't the war that had changed him. That had been the procedure. The magic that pulsed inside of him. He hated it more than ever. He wanted nothing more than to tear open his chest and rip it out.

  When this was over, once he had rescued Eryn, he promised himself he would.

  The portal was getting nearer. He felt his heart begin to pound harder as it did. They were close. So close. Close to the end of the journey. To the revenge he had sought from the moment he realized the truth of who and what he was. Close to freeing the Empire, to pulling the people out from under his thumb.

  Just one more battle.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

  Eryn

  It was the same routine for three nearly sleepless days and nights. Once Worm had finished unloading the ircidium, he took up a position near the compass, and used hand gestures to guide Eryn while she powered the ship ahead with her magic, changing course at his direction. Of course, the path to the Unknown Lands was not a straight one, and so it took nearly constant watch to keep them in the right direction.

  The amount of magic needed to make the journey was low and steady, but over time it began to wear on Eryn, and halfway through the trip she needed to pause for an injection of the cure. She slept for four hours then while the boat drifted however the currents and the magical fog decided, and when she woke Worm had his arms around her, holding her close and adding to the warmth provided by the garum. She kissed him before they hurried back to the deck and put the ship back on course.

  Eryn was ready to collapse by the time the fog vanished, sinking back into the sea almost as immediately as it had appeared. She let go of her magic, stumbling from the stern towards the bow. Worm joined her a moment later, helping her stay upright while they moved forward together for her first glimpse at the Unknown Lands.

  When she saw it, she realized why the ship was named the Sorrow.

  She wasn't sure what she had expected she would see. She thought perhaps that the land would be rich and verdant, everything that Genesia had once been, all of the light hoarded and enjoyed by him alone while the rest of the Empire suffered. She thought that maybe she would find a palace unlike any seen before, made of glistening ircidium and nestled on a cliff, a paradise of sorts.

  At least she thought there would have been something.

  The fog had lifted, but the darkness remained. Heavy clouds hung above them, dropping light rain and rolling with thunder. There were cliffs, as she had expected, but the land behind them was dark and almost completely empty of life. The surface of the entire mass seemed to be coated in a mottled gray mud, the shore giving way to hills, the hills moving back into sharper mountains, and all of it the same drab color.

  To her left, she found the Boneyard. There was enough shattered wood, enough corroded metal that she imagined there must be over a thousand ships piled up there, creating a false extension to the land that stretched out for nearly a mile. She could see the bones of corpses rising up from the wrecks in various places, though they too had been coated in muck. There were no scavengers, no birds, no living things of any kind out there.

  Ahead of them, she saw a large pier. It was made of ircidium, coated in a layer of rust save for the top, which had been lined with wood planks for better footing. A dozen men stood at the end of the pier, waiting for the ship to reach them. Three wagons rested in the back, ready to carry the cargo. One man stood in front of each, gripping large poles, ready to pull the wagons. Eryn realized they couldn't be men. Juggernauts. They were smaller than Oz, but looked similar, especially since they too were rusted.

  She put her eyes back on the people. They were dressed in simple linen shirts and pants, with bare feet and narrow, sinewy frames. Like everything else, they were gray and lifeless, their movements slow and depressed. They seemed indifferent to the sudden appearance of the ship, other than to begin preparing to tie off the boat and retrieve the ircidium.

  Worm tapped her arm and pointed to her right. She followed his arm up and back, squinting her eyes to finally see it.

  Area North.

  The tower at the head of the reactor was visible from here, rising like a spike, stabbing high into the clouds. She felt a sudden chill at the sight of it. He was there, somewhere. She was getting so close.

  It took almost an hour for the current to bring the ship to shore. Eryn could feel the coldness of the place sinking into her, permeating her skin and her mind and her soul, reaching down and grasping for whatever hope remained. She could also feel the magic, the power put out by the distant reactor so strong that it tickled her skin and made her nauseous. She held fast against both by gripping Worm's arm tighter.

  "Genesia was a toy compared to this," she said.

  He didn't reply. He didn't need to. She continued to clutch against his arm while the men at the end of the dock moved in silence, two of them leaping a six foot gap between the pier and the ship with ease, carrying a rope that they used to secure the Sorrow and bring it in. They didn't seem to notice the damage to the ship, or that she and Worm were the only ones on it.

  Worm took her hand and guided her from the side of the ship to the pier. The first of the men had gone down to the hold to begin retrieving the barrels, a
nd he ran back up, motioning to the others and pointing back excitedly.

  Only then did they seem to know that Worm and Eryn were there. Two of them stood in front of the pier to block it, while the others filled in the space behind, leaving them surrounded.

  Eryn had no fear of the men. They were unarmed, and certainly no match for Worm. She turned her attention to the juggernauts instead. They were motionless.

  "Don't kill them," Eryn said to Worm as the men closed in. He had already taken their tongues, and she could tell they were too simple-minded to be held responsible for anything. They didn't deserve to die for being trapped the same way so many others were.

  Worm responded by grabbing the arm of the first and throwing him across the dock and into the water.

  They tried to attack her. She was weak from the magic, but she managed to put Talon's lessons to use, slipping to the left of a grab and shoving the attacker into another. They both got pushed into Worm, who almost carried them over the edge, pushing them into the water to join the first. A fourth man tried to punch him, and he caught the fist and gently twisted the man's arm before throwing him in.

  The remaining workers stopped trying to fight them. They fell on their knees and began to wail, muffled grunts and groans all they could produce. Eryn looked at the juggernauts again. They still hadn't moved.

  Worm took her hand and led her down the pier. Not only had he not killed the men, he had been gentle with them, moving them aside without harming them at all. She couldn't help but admire the effort.

  She didn't take her eyes off the juggernauts as they reached the wagons. The metal men remained motionless, their eyes glowing softly as they waited for the cargo to be loaded. Their instructions must have been preset, which would make them incapable of attacking. Even so, she didn't stop watching them until she and Worm had gone past.

  The road to Area North was as gray as the rest of the barren land, muddy from the rain and rutted from what had to be a near-daily procession of wagons back and forth from the dock to the reactor. It wound its way back and up a large hill, disappearing on the other side and reappearing further back before vanishing into the mountain. They could make the journey in a day if they kept a good pace and didn't stop.