The Regenerates (29 page)

“But I did die, in the end,” said Ven harshly. “Now what?”

Markis turned to the Keeper. “Ven has a point. We’re in a bit of a situation here. Novus is immune to positive Haze energy, so it’s safe to say the Regenerates are all but useless.”

Ven shot Markis a dirty look. “I was going to tell you I wish you were dead, but you already are. So I’ll settle with saying I hope your soul rots in hell.”

“I deserve that, so I’m not going to say anything.”

The Keeper looked back and forth at the two of them, then sighed. “I’m not going to do this again. If I do, I might as well surrender my position.” He turned to Ven and raised his hands.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to make you like Seer and the others.”

Ven fell back, dumbfounded.

“Before I do this, I’m going to give you a choice,” said the Keeper. “You can stay here, if you want. We’ll just have to find someone else to save Cor and stop Novus. We tried it with Markis and it didn’t work. There was a reason I asked him to recruit the Regenerates. We’ll just have to leave it to them to find another solution.”

“You mean…I can go back? To my mom, and Coralie, and the others?” Ven could feel his chest lighten considerably.

“The reason I’m giving you a choice is because there will be no changing you back,” said the Keeper. “You will be stuck in this state for the rest of your life, and it will come with sacrifices, just as it has for the others.”

“Sacrifices?”

“While possessing Haze energy makes you powerful to some degree, you are also still human. The human body is too weak to contain Haze energy, so it takes its toll by consuming the human body’s most wondrous gift; the ability to have children.”

There was silence. Ven couldn’t move. “What are you saying? I won’t ever be a father?”

“Those possessing Haze energy cannot be allowed to reproduce. The Keepers’ Realm and the human world must always remain separate.”

Childless. He was going to be childless. His mother would never have grandchildren. The woman he chose to spend his life with would never be a mother. Ven’s breathing began to slow. But it was that, or death. He gritted his teeth.

Markis placed a hand on his shoulder. “Ven…I’m so–”

Ven drew back his fist and struck him in the face as hard as he could. Markis staggered and Ven hit him again and again.

“I
hate
you,” he seethed. “I will
never
forgive you, do you understand?”

Markis’ eyes darkened.

Panting, Ven turned away from him and looked at the Keeper. “Alright, then,” he said, a familiar deadness in his voice. “Do it.”

“I will say it again,” said Markis. “Your sacrifice will have saved Cor from calamity.”

Ven looked back at Markis one more time. “I hope I never have to see your face again.”

I
t was blinding. Once again, Ven was reduced to nothingness, a feeble, hovering existence in a vast space of blinding white light. A needle-like sensation pierced him from all sides. Then he saw images. They flashed by so quickly he only saw glimpses of them. He saw strange people and buildings. They appeared to be ancient, from a different era. He saw battles, coronations, towns and villages. With a jolt, he even saw what appeared to be Cor in a previous time. Oceans, mountain ranges and rivers flashed across the reel of images.

Ven felt his toes go numb and then become extremely hot. The strange feeling spread from his feet, up his legs and arms till it reached the top of his head. Then there was pain. It was as though every part of him was on fire.

There was more white light. His heart was being ripped from his chest, every part of him being burned alive…

Then it stopped.

Ven’s eyes flew open.

Someone screamed and jumped on him. It was Coralie. She was white and bruised all over, her clothing torn in places. She also had numerous cuts on her face.

“Ven!” she cried, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

He blinked, looking around him. Seer and the others were on the floor, looking shaken. The circular room was a mess. Rubble from the pillars lay in piles and the ivory pool glimmered. The strange vortex and the black orbs were gone, as were the horrible forms of the previous Grand Magistrates.

Supporting an extremely pale and unconscious Kayn was Rogin, who looked horribly beaten.

Ven took deep breaths. The excruciating pain in his dislocated shoulder had returned. He yelped and Coralie let go immediately.

“What happened?” she said frantically. “You just fell to the ground all of a sudden after that thing pulled Kayn into the void, and when I took your pulse, you were–”

Ven was in a daze. Beside him, he spotted the Magistrate’s Dagger. Its blade was still a charcoal gray.

“It was Elias,” he said weakly. “He pulled me back to that place and we went to look for Kayn.”

“What?” said Seer. He had large circles under his eyes and was covered in scratches.

Ven slowly relayed to them all that had happened. He told them about the strange door in Elias’ library that lead them to Kayn and how they had battled Russell Stafford’s monstrous form, as well as that horrific man with the large eyes known as Novus. Just recalling the incident was making Ven sick.

“Is Kayn alright?” he said softly. Rogin had wrapped his jacket around Kayn’s side. It was dark and bloodied, and was emitting a glow.

“That was way too close,” said Seer. “We saw Novus, too. If we had arrived there any later, Kayn would be dead. We barely had time to get him out and escape ourselves. Even now, Kayn’s injuries are bad. Aside from the wound in his chest, which is going to cause him a lot of pain for a while, we’re going to need to fit him with a prosthetic arm.” Seer looked at Rogin. “Someone in Crion specializes in prosthetics, right?”

“I know just the person. Kayn will be better than ever after he’s through. I’ve heard they’ve made prosthetics which are strong enough to be used for combat, as well. Still, to have something like this happen…”

Ven looked at Kayn’s unconscious form, tremendously guilty.

“But, Ven,” said Seer. “you weren’t there when we got there. Neither was this Elias kid.”

“Yeah. Novus killed me. Then I saw Markis, and that Keeper. They told me everything.” He was extremely tired, but managed to narrate their conversation to Seer. Seer and the others listened intently, their eyes widening.

“So you’re just like us now?” said Dorian. He and Renny were battered and pale.

“It was either that, or I stayed dead. I don’t feel any different, though.”

“You will, in a few days,” said Shen.

Coralie’s lower lip quivered.

“Let’s get out of here,” said Seer. “I don’t feel like lingering.”

They all got to their feet. Coralie and Renny helped Ven stand and put an arm around his shoulders to support him. Rogin picked up Kayn and together, they made their way to the exit.

Ven was dizzy and the events from before were making his head reel. Novus’ monstrous eyes kept flashing in front of him. His breathing began to get heavy.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” said Coralie. Ven tried to speak but he had no energy left, so he just nodded.

“We have a bit of a problem here,” said Seer, as they left the large pillared room with the pool and made their way down the many flights of stone steps.

“What?” said Renny.

“Novus is immune to positive Haze energy, remember? Now Ven is just like us. How are we supposed to defeat him?”

“Is there any way to get rid of the immunity somehow?” said Coralie.

“There may be one way,” said Shen. “The place where Elias took you, Ven, isn’t the real Keepers’ Realm, it was Novus’ private domain. Which makes it even more bizarre that the door in Elias’ library was able to lead you there. Anyway, it’s been said that though the Keepers put a dimension in between them and humanity, there were some in the Keepers’ Realm who believed that humankind was worthy of redemption. So upon a unanimous vote, the Keepers created a gate. That gate is believed to be the only remaining link between the two worlds. In some cities, the Haze theory is like a religion. The ultimate salvation would be to open the Keepers’ Gate and pass beyond it.”

“Is it possible to do that?” said Coralie.

“Potentially, yes,” said Seer. “There’s a powerful weapon that exists known as the Demon’s Arrow. It’s split up into four parts, each like rounded spokes that fit together. It’s a mythological weapon, but many believe it really does exist somewhere. It’s said that two of the pieces are in the Keepers’ Realm and the other two somewhere in the human world. The two pieces in the human world are essentially like a key.”

“So if we find them, we can unlock the Keepers’ Gate?”

“Yes, something like that. I think before we discuss that, though, we need to figure out what to do with this,” said Seer, gesturing to the Magistrate’s Dagger.

“I think we should keep it,” said Ven slowly. “I used it to kill Russell Stafford. It could be useful as a weapon.”

Seer raised his eyebrows. “You used this to fight?”

“Yeah. Without this, I’d have been dead from the start. It injured him pretty badly, too.”

They had reached the main atrium with the stone murals of the war. Ven stared at them, wondering if Roth had already met Novus when this had been carved.

“What will Kayn do now?” said Rogin. “The Elders’ Council has to hear about this, and who knows how they’ll react. Will Kayn still be allowed to rule?”

“That’s a good question,” said Seer. “The dagger hasn’t changed back. Knowing them, there’s no guarantee they’ll believe your story.”

“More like they won’t
want
to believe it,” Rogin scoffed. “Close-minded fools, those old bats.”

“I think our only option now is to pay Cor a visit.”

“Is that such a good idea?” said Ven. “Things over there are sensitive as it is. I’m not sure your appearance is going to make things better.”

His legs felt like jelly as he walked down the final flight of steps. Coralie tightened her grip around his shoulders. He smiled at her and tried to steady himself.

“While it’s unlikely the elders will believe you, they are aware of the truth,” said Seer. “even if they don’t want to hear it. We just need to show them a little bit of proof. With someone like Klaus currently acting as Grand Magistrate, I’m positive the Quadrants will know something is up. If the elders are smart, they’ll listen to us and accept our help so we can try to calm things down a bit. I can only imagine all the rumors spreading about Kayn.”

“There’s also you, Ven,” said Rogin. “I think for your safety, you should stay with us for a little while longer. Your body hasn’t even fully registered the change yet.”

“I have to go back!” Ven said. “My mom, Hans and Florentine are there. I’ve been away from home for too long.”

“It could get ugly if you suddenly release your Haze energy in Cor, and trust me, you won’t have much control over it for a while,” said Rogin. “You’ve already been arrested once and narrowly escaped death. It wouldn’t be smart to tempt fate.”

”What do you mean, ‘release it’?” said Coralie.

“There’s a reason a little shrimp like Seer can maim an adult with his bare hands,” said Shen. “You’re going to have strange abilities that are most definitely not human and will frighten a lot of people.”

Ven narrowed his eyes. “So…I’m going to be able to fight things like all of you?”

“Not for a while, but eventually, yes.”

Ven beamed at the thought, trying not to think about the horrible condition that came with his new gift. He would cross that bridge when he got to it.

“Coralie, you’re staying with us,” said Seer.

“Yeah, I know.” She smiled at Ven.

It appeared as though his days living in Kayn’s palace feasting on goodies with Hans and Florentine, or perusing Market Plaza with Coralie were long gone, but at least he wouldn’t have to leave Coralie behind. One good thing had come from all the tumult, mayhem and pain of the past few weeks.

They had finally reached the entrance to the woods.

“Right,” said Seer. “Let’s get back to the cruiser. It may take Rogin a little time to fix it up again, but we should be on our way soon.” He turned to Rogin. “Take Kayn up to the bunker. Ven, Coralie, you two join him and rest. We’ll tell you when we’re ready to leave. We’ll have someone take a look at your shoulder, too.”

Ven nodded, overcome with exhaustion. When they made it to the ship, he and Coralie climbed up to the passenger compartment after Rogin, who had slung Kayn over his shoulder. He mumbled thanks to Coralie, then plopped himself onto one of the beds and fell asleep almost instantly.

When he opened his eyes, he felt oddly refreshed. He sat up and looked around. To his surprise, his shoulder was in a splint. A dull pain coursed through it. Coralie was nowhere in sight. He wondered how long he had been asleep for. The low humming and rumbling meant that the cruiser was in flight.

Kayn was sitting upright in the opposite bunk, holding a mug in his hands and looking terrible. His face was pale and his chest was covered in bandages. A blanket covered his shoulders. He seemed to notice Ven staring. “I suppose nothing can be done about this,” he said.

There was a sadness and disappointment in his voice that made Ven’s heart sink. The injury was probably not the only painful thing on Kayn’s mind. He tried to imagine what it must feel like to meet your dead father in such a horrible way.

“Does it hurt?” It was a foolish question. But he asked it anyway.

Kayn stared at him in disbelief.

Ven looked down at his lap. “How long was I asleep for?”

“I don’t know, I just woke up.”

There were a few more painful moments of silence.

“I’m not staying in Cor,” said Ven.

Kayn frowned and placed the mug down on a table beside him. “Why not? You served your sentence. That means you’re forgiven.”

Ven looked up at him. Kayn sounded more curious than anything, but the question still surprised him.

“Why would you leave your mother behind after all of this?” said Kayn.

“You don’t know, do you? I’m one of them, now. I’m like Seer and the others. I have Haze energy inside me.”