Consensus Breaking (The Auran Chronicles Book 2) (4 page)

‘I wasn’t sure, until now,’ Sedaris said. ‘But, alas, now I’ve heard the full tale, it can be the only explanation. The breaking of the Spoke Stone, one of the pillars of
this
reality, has caused a breakdown in the Consensus. This has led to the fractures in reality that we’re seeing.’

Seb sat forwards, his head resting in his hands. He scrunched his eyes shut, let out a slow, shaking breath, and sat back up.

‘I don’t know what to say.’

‘I can imagine this is a lot to take in.’ Sedaris rose again, obviously not a fan of the sitting still. ‘Still, all is not lost.’

Seb looked up. ‘Why?’

Sedaris smiled, those unnaturally white teeth on display. ‘Why, is it not obvious? With the Consensus in the state it is it gives us much more capability in terms of dealing with this new threat. The humans cannot handle it. Their minds would simply fold if they knew the truth. If anything, it gives us an opportunity we never had before.

‘I don’t follow.’

‘Think about it. For many centuries our kind has been bound by the Consensus, limited in using our abilities. And for what? To maintain a safeguard put in place for a war that happened years before, in an entirely different realm? Even the sheol are not the threat they once were.’

‘Really? Tell that to Skelwith.’

Sedaris’ face hardened. ‘Skelwith was the result of one Magister’s incompetence. If they had chosen to speak to us rather than deal with it themselves then this would never have happened. But lessons have been learned, Seb. Now is the time for us to take back control. We are the Aware, are we not? Does it sound right that control over reality should rest with the unconscious minds of the Unaware?’

Something uncomfortable had squirmed into Seb’s gut. He opened his mouth to disagree, but when he saw the look of sheer intensity that gazed back he changed his mind. This wasn’t an argument he was going to win.

‘I don’t know, maybe not,’ he muttered.

‘Of course not. They know not of the power they possess. It’s the ultimate irony do you not think? We know how to handle this power, yet they are the ones who have it, in vast amounts, yet do not grasp its magnificence.’

‘So what does this mean for these glitches you mention?’

Sedaris sat back down. He rang his hands constantly, his dark eyes glinting with intensity.

‘These glitches, we’ve found, are being caused by the Aware.’

‘What? What does that mean?’

‘I know, I know,’ Sedaris said, his eyes widening, a near-manic grin breaking out. ‘We thought so, too. I mean, how often do the Aware occur in a given generation? Once, twice in a million?’

‘One in a million,’ Seb quoted from memory.

‘Quite, quite. This is new. Before, the Aware, barring
some
exceptions,’ he nodded at Seb, ‘We could track them. We knew when they would emerge, and we could take them and deal with them.’

‘Purge them. Rip their minds.’

‘But not anymore,’ Sedaris continued, ignoring Seb, ‘they are occurring much more frequently. But they can’t control it; with the Consensus weakened they are able to do simple things, purely on instinct. For some it terrifies, they seek medical help, but of course the authorities cannot do anything. For others it’s much more severe.’

‘They go mad.’ Seb knew this already. It could’ve easily been him having his mind ripped by one of the Magistry’s magi.

‘Exactly. So what do we do? How do you think we deal with this, Seb?’

He wasn’t sure if this was an actual question or rhetorical, but the way Sedaris was looking at him seemed to demand a response.

‘I don’t know, treat them, try and see what’s causing this?’

Sedaris’ eyes fluttered and he let out a loud snort, as if Seb had made some kind of joke.

‘No, no. You’re an idealist Seb, I like that. But no, we simply do not have the time for that. Do you know what kind of damage these people can do to reality if they’re left unchecked?’

‘Perhaps it’s not a bad thing. Perhaps it’s time we just let the Aware emerge naturally, not controlling it.’

Sedaris cocked his head to one side as if Seb had just spoken a foreign language.

‘You really believe that?’

‘Not necessarily. Just wondering.’

‘Well don’t wonder. Not anymore. The Magistry’s time is over, the Brotherhood are gone. It now falls back to us to deal with this. That is why I created the coteries.’

‘Coteries?’ Seb plucked the memory out, one from months before, when Marek was just about to launch his attack on Skelwith. Cian had told Seb to fight with Cade and not the other magi as he hadn’t trained in a
coterie
.

‘Yes, groups of magi, bonded together. As one unit our powers are greater, much abler to deal with this threat. With our greater resources we are able to put people on the street, not magi, but our own
trained
Aware, helping us find these newly awoken and dealing with them before they can hurt themselves or others.’

‘So, you rip their minds.’

‘No, Seb. We are not barbarians. We cleanse them, removing the corruption of the Weave before it can do irreparable damage to reality.’

Seb frowned. ‘What else is there? You said this was an opportunity for us.’

Sedaris smiled, mistaking Seb’s question as a sign of ambition. ‘Indeed it is, Seb. Very much indeed. With these restraints removed, we are no longer held back. As you can see from the building around you, we are not unsuccessful in what we do. With our abilities we excel at business. We can influence people, predict certain events before they happen. Imagine what rewards this can yield in a world like this?

‘But now we don’t need to stop there. We
shouldn’t
stop there. Before us, the Unaware were like sheep, layering this reality with their
science
, hardening it to such a degree that our kind was being starved of the very lifeblood that sustained us. Not now though. We can insert ourselves into their power structures, bringing our influence and abilities to bear on a much wider scale. We can save them from the oblivion of the mundane, and instead direct them to the truth about reality, about the Weave.’

Sedaris was in full flow now. He leant forwards, an almost imperceptible nod moving his head up and down. He believed all this, that much was obvious. His words were convincing, and Seb couldn’t help but feel a certain logic in his words. The Unaware
were
vulnerable. They
were
susceptible. With the Consensus breaking like it was, did they not need the magi to help them, to steer them back to the truth? So what if magi were suddenly inserted into the governments of this world.

It’s not like they were doing a good job
without
the magi, was it?

A knock at the door shook both men from their thoughts. Seb felt a tug on the Weave as Sedaris glanced past him. The Archmage rolled his eyes and smiled.

‘Forgive me, Seb, but we are out of time. I have an urgent meeting that cannot be moved.’ Sedaris looked past him, towards the door. ‘Come in, Alain.

The door opened and one of the guards from outside stepped in.

‘Sorry for the interruption, Archmage-’

‘It is fine, Alain, thank you for reminding me of the time. Seb was just leaving.’ Sedaris turned back. ‘Alain here will show you to somewhere more comfortable. I can imagine it’s been a trying time, both for you and your comrades. You can rest easy here, have comfort in that.’

This conversation was over. Sedaris was already making his way out of the room. Seb had more questions, but for now, they could wait. He was eager to get back to Cade and Sylph to check that they were okay. Then a thought occurred.

‘Wait,’ he said.

Sedaris stopped. He slowly turned. Alain’s blank face twitched slightly, obviously he wasn’t used to his leader being addressed so directly.

‘Yes?’ Sedaris said, that salesman grin back.

‘What will happen? With me, I mean?’

‘You, my boy, will continue from where you left off.’

Sedaris glided out of the room without a further word.

‘How long are we going to sit here, waiting like this?’ Cade said. He marched in front of the fireplace again, his hands dropping instinctively to the empty sheaths on his waist.

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Sylph said, stretching out like a cat on the leather sofa, ‘I could get used to this.’

Cade stopped. His yellow eyes fixed upon her. His voice dropped to a whisper. ‘How can you be so cool about this? Danu knows what they could be doing to Seb right about now. They’ve got guards at the door, and who knows how many scattered around this place.’

Sylph sighed and sat upright. ‘Has anyone ever told you that you need to chill out?’

‘Chill out? Chill out! Have you lost your mind?’ He pointed at the closed door.  ‘They could take us out at any time, you know that?’

‘They could’ve done that back at Haven, but they brought us here instead.’

‘Only because of Seb. What about us? A member of the betraying Brotherhood and you, a Baloran refugee who worked for Marek?’

‘Cade, Seb’s fine.’

‘How do you know?’

Sylph raised an eyebrow. A light bulb switched on in Cade’s mind. ‘You can sense him?’ he said.

‘He’s alive. Confused, slightly tense, but definitely alive. He’s coming closer, I think.’

‘You can sense all that?’

‘Of a fashion,’ she replied. ‘You can’t, I presume?’

‘Brothers have only limited
sense
, similar to what a sheol has. I can sense the Weave in this place, but there’s nothing that lets me pick Seb out amongst the noise.’

‘I didn’t know that.’

Cade smiled. ‘When you have insomnia one day I’ll give you the full chapter and verse.’

‘Please, there’s alcohol for that.’

The door opened. Cade tensed. Sylph casually turned towards the arrivals, knowing already who had returned.

‘Seb!’ Cade said.

‘He lives! It’s a miracle!’ Sylph said, the sarcasm not lost on Cade who shot her a poisonous look in response.

Seb nodded once at the guard that had escorted him. The guard turned without a word and shut the door. Everyone noted, but did not comment, as they heard the door lock behind him.

‘What happened? Where did you go?’

Seb took a seat and relayed everything that Sedaris had told him. Cade and Sylph sat in silence as he summarised what they’d always feared, that their actions,
his
actions, had broken the Consensus, possibly beyond repair.

‘And there you have it,’ he said when he’d finished recounting the story back, ‘I’m to blame. I carried that damned bomb in my head, and then I broke reality just for the fun of it.’

‘You can’t blame yourself, kid,’ Cade said. ‘We had no choice. Marek played everyone, and even then he only capitalized on the failings of the Magistry and the Brotherhood. If it wasn’t you, it would’ve been Sarah, and, perhaps, if it had been Sarah, or some other mage, then Marek would’ve succeeded.’

‘What makes you say that?’

‘Think about it,’ Cade said. ‘Sarah could’ve quite easily carried the whole thing back to the Magistry without a concern. If Clementine hadn’t got to her she would’ve succeeded in her mission. The Magistry would’ve praised her for her bravery and casually recanted the Runic Script she carried and
boom
, Marek wins.’

Seb sat back, his arms folded across his chest. ‘I never thought of it that way,’ he said.

‘Try. It’s going to be no use to us if you’re going to kick your arse about this for the rest of your life.’

Sylph laughed at that. Cade raised an eyebrow. ‘Something funny?’

Sylph blinked back tears. ‘Sorry, it was just you, Cade, lecturing Seb on trying to look positive. Have you ever listened to yourself?’

‘She’s got a point,’ Seb said.

‘Forgive me for showing concern,’ Cade said, not smiling. ‘However I feel the two of you need to gain some perspective. Seb, you need to focus on moving forwards. What happened was not your fault. Accept it. Move on. Don’t let anyone, this
Archmage
included, tell you otherwise. Sylph, you make light of this situation but I feel you too do not appreciate the gravity of what has transpired in recent months. You both need to look at yourselves,
hard
, if we are to come out of the coming months in one piece.’

Cade rose. ‘Now, I will retire, it has been a long day, and the thought of a proper bed is too good to turn down.’

‘Cade, wait,’ Seb said. ‘We didn’t mean to cause offense.’

Cade’s shoulders slumped. ‘I know this, Seb. If anything I am envious, really. You still have that spark of optimism, that belief that everything will be okay.’

‘And you don’t?’

‘I may not have your
sense
, but I have experience, and it's telling me that there is more to come in our tale, much more, before this can be considered over.’

Cade vanished into one of the bedrooms, leaving Seb and Sylph in a chastised silence.