Continuum (38 page)

After recording the message I hope Izic will ignore, I am back in my gilded cell.  What the hell would I do if the exchange actually took place?  Epir would certainly kill Izic and I would ascend.  I know nothing of leadership but I guess that is the point.  Epir expects me to abjure my title.  That or he would just kill me later.

I oscillate between panicking, pacing, and plotting.  I only have a vague idea of how much time passes as the sun travels across the windows of my room.  The restlessness and anxiety gnawing at my mind like a rat clawing to escape.  My unease makes me manic.  I’m alternating between laying on the bed and staring comatosely at the ceiling and wanting to pound on the steel door and scream at the top of my lungs.  

I am off the bed and pacing again, ending up in front of the dressing table.  Settling in front of the mirror, I study the tender, yellowish-blue bruise that has bloomed across my face where Epir struck me.  In the center of the bruise is a small cut on my cheekbone where my necklace cut my face.  The colors are livid against my too pale skin.

That burst of anger was only a fraction of what he is capable of.  I am not worried about myself.  For now, I would be safe.  The image of my silver necklace swinging from his fingertips plays over and over again in my mind.  I jump back up from the chair and start pacing the room again.  

It feels like an eternity before night finally falls.  I know what I have to do now.  I have to seek out my father.  Settling into the bed, I try to relax.  I close my eyes and for once, I pray for the dreams that come with sleep.

There is only one way for this to end.  

Blood for blood.  

I stand in the darkness.  Well, that is not quite what this is.  My eyes see nothing, my lungs draw in nothing, my feet touch nothing.  In this strange place, I am suspended between between dream and reality.  Waiting and waiting.  There is only the sense of time slipping away as I wait for my father.  The awareness makes me feel in control for once.  In control on this side, anyway. 

My waking hours could not be any more out of my control.  The darkness suddenly recedes and I am standing in my living room back in Everest Heights.  Izic is standing across from me, his arms crossed over his chest and his expression solemn.

“I received the latest message they forced you to record.”  His eyes study the bruise on my face and then his expression softens.  “I am sorry that I cannot stop them from hurting you.”

“Don’t worry about my face, Izic,” I reply dismissively.  “This is only the beginning of how they will hurt me if you don’t stop them.  Epir knows about Ethan.”  I try to sound calm but the panic leaks through.

Izic closes his eyes and starts rubbing the bridge of his nose, “I knew it would not be long before he found out.  This certainly changes things.”

I nod in agreement, “I think the time to act is now.”  

He sighs, stroking his chin with his thumb, “I agree, Fallon.  I am afraid time is running out.  Epir will not be satisfied with mere threats, he is going to lash out.”

“Since Epir can’t get to Ethan, he might try to go after his family next.  I don’t want anyone to get hurt or worse because of what I am.  We have to act now.”  

“Are you ready to do what I have asked of you?”

“Yes, I'm ready.” 

Sadness seeps into Izic's expression and he once again looks like the weight of the universe is on his shoulders.  “What I am asking of you... it is a great responsibility to bear.  Greater than any warrior, any army that I command.  If we fail tonight, you will not survive to see another dawn.  If we succeed tonight, I fear you might still meet your end.”

“Nothing will stop Epir from his quest for vengeance.  I understand the consequences of what we're attempting.”  I close my eyes briefly, sending a silent goodbye to Ethan.  

“You are a child of two worlds, belonging to neither.  I had hoped there would be more time for you to find your place.”  

I smile weakly at my father, “I have found my place, Izic.  Promise me, you’ll take care of him.  Tell Ethan I love him... that he helped me find my wings.  And that his love set me free.”

Izic places his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it gently.  “I swear on my honor, I will keep Ethan safe when you are gone.”

This is really going to happen.  Blood for blood.  This will devastate Ethan.  I just hope that one day he will be able to forgive himself and move on.  The knowledge that this will keep Ethan safe gives me enough strength to do what is needed instead of falling apart.

My father’s voice is gruff when he speaks again, “Let us end this now, Fallon.  Our time is limited.  Another dawn is on the horizon.”  As Izic turns away, the light catches the glimmer of a teardrop on his face.  

I look away as the room shimmers and suddenly we are standing in the forest beyond the Eku palace wall.  Izic grabs my hand and starts leading me through the thick grove of trees.  His direction out of the forest is a straight, unwaveringly line.  He releases me once, we reach the high walls surrounding the palace.  My eyes travel up and up and up-- the wall must be at least 25 feet high and made of a flat, smooth metal.  The hum of electricity surging through the walls is palpable.

I turn to Izic to look for instruction but his eyes are squeezed shut.  He drops to his knees and places both his hands on the wall.  I expect him to be promptly fried to a crisp, but instead his jaw is strained and sweat is rolling down his brow from exertion.  As I watch, a hole begins to form in the wall like acid is eating away the metal.  He stops when the hole gets large enough for us to crawl through.  I make sure to stay very flat on my stomach so that no part of my body touches the still humming wall.

Izic brings his finger to his lips to keep me quiet as I'm about to ask him if he knows where to go next.  Soundlessly, we cover the ground until we're pressed up against the stone wall of the palace.  Once again, Izic presses his hands against the wall.  The stone simply crumbles away from his hands. 

In the dim glow of lights inside the palace, Izic looks tired, his pallid skin covered in a sheen of sweat.  All the mental maneuvering has taken a physical toll on him.  He traces a small square on the wall and a black panel appears on the blank space.  Izic presses his left wrist to it and a door appears on the seamless wall.  It slides open silently, revealing a long staircase.  He leads the way into the darkness.

The stairs spiral upward and I realize we must be in a narrow staircase built inside the thick walls of the palace.  The thundering of my heartbeat floods the tiny space.  With each step, I can sense Epir's presence and the creeping fear that comes with it flooding my veins.  The atmosphere seems to be thinning the higher up we go and by the time we reach the top step, my breath is shaky and my head is spinning.  Izic reaches out and wordlessly places his hand against my face.  I place my hand over his and squeeze it, my goodbye stuck in my throat.  

Izic stands on the top step, examining my face doubt in his golden stare.  I look at him a moment before whispering, “I'm ready.”  He nods once and turns away.  The outline of a door forms on the smooth surface of the wall and Izic pushes it open.  He enters the room but closes the door before I can enter, leaving a sliver for me to see through.

“I have been waiting for you, Izic.  I wondered when you would finally show up.  I was beginning to question whether you loved your daughter at all.  There is much we need to discuss,”  Epir is sitting in an oversized black armchair, his fingertip tracing the gold rim of the glass in his other hand.  He calmly takes a sip of the amber liquid in the glass before setting it down on a wooden end table.

Izic spreads his hands in front of him and tilts his head to the side in a bow of sorts, “I apologize I could not make it sooner, Epir.”

Epir makes a show of heaving himself off the armchair.  “Somehow I doubt that.”  He raises his right arm, a large silver talon attached to his pointer finger.  It looks innocuous until I notice the red laser dot appear in the center of Izic's chest.

Izic raises his empty hands in the air.  “I thought you wanted to talk, Epir.  I thought you wanted to have an open dialogue with the neighboring King.  Is this any way to treat a fellow dignitary?”

“I grow tired of playing games.  Let us be honest with each other, express our real wants,”  Epir’s hand is unwavering.  “I do not wish you or your family harm.  I just want what is my birthright.  I am the rightful heir to Phynx.”  

“As you know, that is not something I can give away.  The successor is chosen not born into the role.”

His lip curls into a sneer, “Then I want you out of my way.  As you know, I already have the next in line.  When I am done with you, Phynx will be mine.”

Izic replies calmly and slowly as if he’s speaking to a small child, “I cannot allow that to happen.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that,”  Epir lazily flicks the armored finger toward the wall next to the door.

I choke back a scream as a chunk of wall comes crashing down inches away from me.   Epir lets out a yelp of pain and rips off the silver talon, his finger is a brilliant shade of red and his flesh blistered.  I can practically hear his skin sizzling.  Fear flickers briefly in his gray eyes as he inspects his injured finger but when he looks back at Izic, they are burning with rage and pain.

Izic sighs, reaching his hand inside his jacket and pulling out a white handkerchief.  He holds it out in front of him.  Epir snatches it and wraps it around his injured hand.  Izic’s tone is impassive, “It is rude to point.  I thought we were going to have a discussion.”

“It was my original intention.  I am sorry I cannot be more like you.  As you said earlier, not all of us are born kings.  Perhaps that is why grandfather chose the just and righteous Izic to rule.”

“How can you lead the people, Epir?  You know nothing of the needs of others.  You only think of yourself.” 

He snarls back, “You know nothing of what is it like to be an outsider.  To have to struggle your entire life.  Life has never just handed me things.  I have always had to take what I want.”

“I am sorry, Epir.  We were once like brothers.  But that time has past... I only hope you can find peace.”  With that Izic lifts his right arm, the silver talon materializing on his index finger.  

Epir’s gray eyes widen and his lips part as the explosion rips through the calm of the night.

My eyes flutter open and I am screaming, the sound of rage emitting from Epir still ringing through my ears.  I am back in my gilded cell.  I swallow back another scream before I attract the attention of the guards standing outside the door.  I push myself into a sitting position and hug my legs against my chest, resting my chin on my knees.

I try to shut out the terror that is threatening to consume me.  But my heart is beating too fast and my breaths are coming in too short and shallow.  A tremor travels down my whole body, beads of sweat rolling down my skin.  

Sunlight is flooding through the high windows, beaming down on the bed.  I had slept through the night.  Everything seems quiet outside my room, a contrast to the chaos going on inside my body and my mind.  They had not discovered Epir's body yet.  

Dread fills me as I play out the scenario of what will happen to me when they do.  I can only hope that Umira will be so enraged that my death is fast.  The sound of shattering glass startles me from the contemplation of my impeding death.  Tiny shards tinkle down on the ground as they land on the floor next to the bed.  I am frozen as I watch a thick rope unfurl down the length of the wall and a familiar voice floats down, “Fallon, we’re coming down.”

Ethan.
 What the hell is he doing here?  My frantic heart is about to beat out of my chest.  Izic had sworn on his honor to protect Ethan but now Ethan is in the belly of the beast.  Then again my father was not the most honorable man I knew.  I spring off the bed and run to the window as Ethan zips down the rope.  

Zefa zips down right after him.  There is a lethal gleam in his eye as he assesses my battered face and bloody shirt.  Attached to his finger is a silver talon, like the one Izic used to... I swallow back a wave of hysterics.  Zefa’s eyes and his trigger finger are shifting as they take in the room.

“Oh my God.  What did they do to you?” Ethan inspects the bruise on my face, pulling back my sleeves to check for other marks.

“I’m fine.  We need to get out of here before the guards come.”  Alarm bells are screaming in my head.

Zefa starts attaching a rope around my waist, “Time is of the essence, Ethan.  She is alive and they will examine her once we get on board.”

The door of my cell is blown off with a thundering boom, the steel door a crumpled mass crashing into the bed I had been laying in moments before.  My legs give out from the force of the blast and I’m knocked into Ethan.  Zefa shoves the both of us behind him, shielding me with his body.

Umira is standing on the other side of the doorway.  Her long dark hair is disheveled from sleep, her purple eyes are wild.  The front of her silky white robe and her hands are covered in blood.  That silver talon is attached to her pointer finger which is aimed straight at Zefa’s chest, her hands trembling.  The guards are standing behind her, all aiming their weapons at us.

Her voice is hysterical as she shrieks, “You little witch!  What have you done!”

Zefa’s weapon is aimed squarely at Umira’s chest and his voice is just as steady, “Drop your weapons.  The palace is surrounded.”

The guards look at each other before kneeling down and placing their weapons on the ground.  They step back with their hands up as Umira shrieks at them, “You spineless cowards!  I will execute you myself.”

Her face crumbles and drops her taloned finger and starts sobbing into her bloodied hands.  Zefa nods at Ethan and then tugs twice on the rope.  Ethan wraps his arm around my waist and I grip onto his shoulders as the rope is pulled back up.   We are halfway up the wall, when Umira pulls her hands away from her face, a cruel smile on her lips.  Time slows down and I can see everything so clearly in this moment. 
This is how it ends
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