The Regenerates (28 page)

Beside Ven, Kayn was shaking, clutching at his side.

The silence returned. Ven was panting. Elias walked up beside him and grinned.

Suddenly, the smile was replaced by a look of pure terror. In an instant, Elias vanished.

Ven blinked. “Elias?”

He looked around blankly for a moment, but Elias was gone.

Ven heard a rush of sound. This time, Kayn was by his side. The overwhelming blackness and mind-numbing pressure had returned.

Once more, it disappeared. They were in a forest again. The moon reflected in the fog of the forest floor, sending waves of ghostly light flickering around them. Ven grasped his limp arm. Beside him, Kayn was looking around, confused and breathing heavily.

“We need to get you out of here.” Ven lent Kayn his shoulder for support.

His eyes suddenly fell on something in the distance amongst the trees. It was a man.

Ven couldn’t make out his face. The man was lanky and looked barely older than Kayn. He was dressed in a worn-out Coran worker’s outfit. Ven tried to inch closer, narrowing his eyes. As the man’s appearance slowly became clear, Ven shrank. The man didn’t have a face at all. There was nothing but a smooth surface of pale skin on a blank head of light hair. Ven could not take his eyes off the disturbing figure before him.

After a minute, a pair of eyes suddenly appeared on the man’s face. They opened unnaturally wide, bright and glaring, as though they had just seen something shocking. Ven began to shiver. There was still nothing else on the man’s face; no nose, no mouth, just the terrible eyes.

Then everything turned to fear, fear so powerful that Ven was rooted to the earth. He forgot where he was, who he was.

For the first time, Ven wanted nothing more than to stop feeling.

A
ll Ven could see was death.

He saw his own death, the death of his mother, of Coralie, of Hans and Florentine. He was in hell. Screams filled the air. He was no longer in his body, but simply a presence, a meager and insignificant presence completely overtaken by the being before him. The man’s gaze bore into him, more powerful and frightening than anything he had ever experienced. He wanted to die, for it to be over. Every single terror he had ever felt was suddenly real. His own screams mingled with those in the air.

Let it be over. Just end it, I’ll do anything you want, just please let it end…

And then it stopped. Ven was back in the forest. The horrible being edged closer and closer until he was less than a foot away. Kayn was unconscious beside him. When the being reached Ven, he bent down and picked up an invisible object from the ground. As his hands closed around it, the silvery-white cord slowly became visible. The almost faceless man stretched the cord with both his hands, continuously pulling in the opposite direction.

Ven could only watch. He was grateful. It was going to be all over, soon.

The man’s abnormally large eyes narrowed. With one final stretch, the cord snapped in two.

The next few seconds felt like several hours. Ven’s eyes widened.

Then everything vanished.

“Shall death take this one?”

“Death takes everyone, eventually. This one is no different.”

“He saw Novus, the one who has entered the Keeper’s Realm. It was he who sent him here.”

“Novus killed another some time ago. Should we summon him? I have questions to ask. The two of them may help to solve our problem.”

“We do not spare anyone from death.”

“But I did. I gave Markis a choice. He failed because Novus was too strong.”

“If he failed, it means he was not meant to help.”

“No. He has helped. He has made an interesting decision with this one.”

“There is no decision. This boy is a nobody. He is weak and foolish. He is an act of impulse by a fool.”

“Markis was not a fool. I made the right choice. I do not regret my actions. Let me speak to them.”

“Very well. If this doesn’t go as planned, then Cor can no longer exist.”

“Then Novus will get what he wanted all along.”

“So be it. The human world is not worth risking the balance of our realm.”

Ven was floating. Or at least, it felt like he was floating. It was as though he was weightless, nothing more than an entity hovering in the air. He opened what he assumed were his eyes and looked down at his body. Slowly, the feeling in his limbs returned. His arm was throbbing slightly.

It took several seconds for him to fully accept his surroundings. He appeared to be underwater. Ven flinched and tried to cover his mouth with his hands. He looked up, searching for the surface, but all he could see was endless, deep blue. When he calmed down, he realized that he could breathe. The water was light and tranquil. Ven looked around till his eyes found the silvery cord, snapped in two.

Horror surged through every part of him. He was dead. Wherever this was, he was never going to get out. He would never see Coralie, or his mother or the others again. How quick his death had been. He had barely even realized that it was happening. But the horror he had seen before was enough for him to be grateful for relief.

“This is almost nostalgic.”

Ven jumped. The lightness of being underwater sent him floating almost half a foot before he returned to the ocean floor. A strange, silhouetted figure appeared before him. Its voice and appearance was androgynous, just as the other Keeper’s had been.

Ven didn’t know what to say. His mouth hung open.

“At least Markis didn’t die right away. You died within seconds.”

The figure looked like a gray shadow that could walk. Where its face should have been, there were dark, empty sockets.

“I…what?” This couldn’t possibly be… “Wait, are you the one who–”

“Yes, I saved Markis’ life. Not that it did any good; he still died. I suppose we underestimated how powerful Novus is. Markis really did a number on you, though, didn’t he?”

“Novus?”

“That terror back there, the one who killed you.”

He went numb. So he really was dead, after all. “What’s going on? Why are we underwater?”

“The ocean is one part of the human world that has always fascinated me. This is my attempt at recreation.”

“So what is this place, then?”

The Keeper’s shadowy mouth smiled. “Let’s call this place After. You are in my kingdom. There are things I need to explain to you.”

Ven was thoroughly confused, but he didn’t ask any more questions.

“Something has disturbed the balance between the Keepers’ Realm and the human world. It is a disturbance so powerful that for the first time in centuries, we are forced to intervene with your kind. Whoever Novus is, he has a vendetta against Cor. He has tapped into the knowledge of Haze, and of our realm, knowledge that we were sure was kept secret from humanity, and has used this knowledge to cast a curse on Cor.

“Those of us here in After are in charge of ensuring that no harm comes to our realm. We cannot just sit by when we discover that a human has managed to enter our realm and use our strength for his own personal means. We took the help of a human from Cor who would not be afraid to defy his city, someone who would potentially be able to relay useful information to us about who Novus is and how to stop him.”

“Markis…” said Ven.

“Yes,” he nodded.

Ven tried to soak in the information. “What connection does Novus have with Cor?”

“We only know that he was once a Coran, which, based on his actions, isn’t hard to believe.”

“What’s special about Roth’s Tomb, then?” said Ven.

“Many years ago,” the Keeper continued, “Roth and his army were heavily outnumbered during the Battle of Justice. He was losing men by the hundreds each day. One morning, he displayed a brute strength that seemed to come out of nowhere. The enemy was vanquished. The Battle of Justice became a topic of discussion. How could a seemingly powerless leader suddenly lead his troops to victory after suffering countless losses? Theories of black magic and sorcery began to emerge. Patriotic Corans believed that their initial losses were the result of black magic cast by the enemy. Those who were slightly more rational believed otherwise. It is our belief that Roth and Novus had a meeting. How is still unknown to us, but it is safe to say that Roth’s win is because of Novus.”

Though no one ever spoke of it, there had been a shrouded rumor in Cor for decades that Lord Roth had sold his soul to a Keeper to help him win the Battle of Justice. The idea that the rumor could be true made the hairs on Ven’s neck stand up. What else had Cor been wrong about?

“The curse on Cor is connected to the deal that Roth signed with Novus,” the Keeper said. “We believe the Magistrate’s Dagger is involved in that deal somehow.”

“Why aren’t you able to get rid of him yourself? You are powerful enough, aren’t you?” said Ven.

“Novus has made himself immune to our interference. He has managed to create his own private Keepers’ Realm, where he holds the souls of the previous Grand Magistrates. We cannot enter there. Earlier, I said that Novus had tapped into knowledge about Haze that we believed was hidden. There are secrets about Haze that you would be unable to comprehend. I will not divulge them to someone like you.”

“But Roth was the only one who sold his soul. The others have nothing to do with it.”

The Keeper’s brow furrowed. “It appears that Roth sold the souls of every single Grand Magistrate in the Stafford bloodline in exchange for power to win that war.”

“That explains Kayn’s father and the others appearing, and why Russell Stafford pulled his son into the void,” Ven’s eyes widened. “Novus was trying to capture Kayn’s soul, too.” He clenched his fists. “Kayn is still back there! He was with me when Novus killed me. What if he’s been killed, too?”

“If he has, then there’s nothing we can do about it.”

A thought struck Ven. “Wait…how did Markis die?”

“Why don’t we ask him that?”

“What?”

The Keeper pointed a long, wispy finger behind Ven. He turned.

Markis was standing a few feet from them. Graying stubble covered his chin and his clothes were old and fraying. He wore a strange, hardened expression.

“You–” Ven clenched his fists.

“Hello, Ven.”

Ven advanced on him, but before he could take another step, the Keeper blocked his path and raised his hand.

“Tell us, Markis,” he said. “How did you die?”

“What the hell kind of place is this?” Ven looked back and forth between them angrily.

“It’s like a twisted afterlife, isn’t it?” said Markis. “Anyway, don’t you want to know why I betrayed you?”

“Yeah,” said Ven bitterly. “If you could explain yourself, I’d appreciate it.”

“Novus is using the Magistrate’s Dagger as a mechanism to contain the curse on Cor. Somehow, he’s managed to make himself immune to positive Haze energy so no one can interfere with his plan. After you gave me the dagger on Abolition Day, I tried to trace the energy to its source. The minute I did, Novus appeared and severely injured me.”

“But you stayed alive long enough to pass on the message to Seer and the others,” said Ven. “I know that part.”

Markis looked surprised. “You met them?”

“They’re in Roth’s tomb now. That doesn’t explain why you had to stab me with it.”

“The dagger had to make it to Roth’s Tomb,” Markis continued. “I was close to death. I knew I wasn’t going to make it there myself. The dagger and the power it obtained from the pool are what binds Kayn and all the other Grand Magistrates to Novus’ curse. The pool is teeming with negative Haze energy, probably Novus’ doing.”

“But the Magistrate’s Dagger is what keeps us safe,” said Ven. “It’s supposed to protect the Grand Magistrate from succumbing to black magic like Roth did.”

“No, Ven. That’s a lie. The power contained in the Magistrate’s Dagger isn’t protective, it’s cursed, and has been cursed all this time. Of course, no one in Cor believes this.”

Ven’s jaw dropped.

“When you came to visit me in prison, you were willing to jeopardize your safe and wealthy life to save a friend from death. I was once in the same position as you, except that I never had the chance to save my mother and sister. That’s why I couldn’t decline your request. But I decided I could use you.” He looked stressed all of a sudden.

“Novus has a hatred for Cor,” he went on. “One of the secrets of Haze is the ability to turn emotion into a physical power and contain it, use it. I stabbed you with the dagger because you contain the opposite qualities of the curse.”

Ven stared at him blankly. “What?”

“While Novus thrives on hatred and vengeance, you are driven by a strong sense of sacrifice. You risked your prosperous life to save a low-caste friend from a terrible fate. It’s like I said before, thoughts and emotions contain physical power. In tainting the dagger with your blood, I believed that your goodness would cancel out his hatred and at least alter the curse, if not completely destroy it. Not only that, but based on my injury, I realized only a human possessing no Haze energy could take it to Roth’s tomb.”

“Do you have any idea what this has done to my life?” said Ven. “What were you planning on doing if the elders had me killed?”

“It was a massive risk, and I’d be lying if I said that part of it wasn’t luck. I was out of time, and I made a hasty decision without considering your personal feelings. I saw a tiny sliver of hope, a potential solution, and I took it knowing that it could have ended badly. But I knew there was an equally good chance they wouldn’t kill you.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because of your position as a Highborn. Part of the Stratum Order’s formula is that you reap what you sow. Your mother’s long years of service as a member of the council are partly what saved you.”

“Alright, then,” said Ven. “How did you know my sentence would be to take the dagger to Roth’s tomb?”

“I didn’t know that. I just knew it would have to get there somehow, even if it meant Kayn went himself.”

Ven wanted to rip him in half.

“I’m sorry, Ven. You don’t understand how important it is that Novus be stopped.”