The Regenerates (7 page)

His mother sniffed and turned her head.

“Markis,” said Hans. “Is he that man who requested an audience with Kayn? The one who caused the explosion in Council Hall?”

“Yeah.”

“And you went to him for
help
? What were you thinking?”

“I was out of options.” Ven lowered his voice and looked around to make sure no one was listening. “Plus, I had just finished talking to Kayn and he got me so riled up that I thought I could do anything.”

His mother had regained her composure. She squeezed Ven’s hand. “They told me about you and Kayn, how the elders have decided to send you both to Roth’s tomb to purify the Magistrate’s Dagger.”

Florentine gasped. “They’re making you leave Cor with Kayn? But he…why would they do something like that?”

“I don’t know what they want, or why they think bringing me along would help anyone. I think they just want me to die out there. But don’t worry, Mom,” he added. “I won’t die. I promise. You know how smart I am,”

“We tried looking for you after that monster appeared,” said Florentine. “But you weren’t in your room.”

“Where was Markis when it appeared?” asked Ven.

“We didn’t notice right away,” said Hans, “but after a minute or two we saw him on the beast’s head. Why? I thought you two had worked out a plan.”

Ven’s eyes darkened. “Everything was going perfectly. Coralie and the other Sentenced made it through an underground passageway in the Drudger Quadrant. It had worked out somehow. I managed to steal the dagger without getting caught and made it all the way there–”

“You did WHAT?” Hans cried.

Florentine punched his shoulder, motioning for him to lower his voice. His mother closed his eyes and put her hand to her forehead.

“That’s not the point. What’s done is done,” he said hurriedly. “Markis was…kind to me. He walked me through everything and as promised, he got Coralie and the others to safety in exchange for me stealing the dagger for him. But after they were gone, he began to act a little weird. The next thing I knew, that creature had picked me up and carried me to Stratum Square and then…”

They already knew the rest of the story.

“That’s why I wanted to know what could have happened to him in between. Did he always plan to betray me like that? Why would he want me dead?”

Ven’s mother was shaking. “You know what that dagger is, don’t you?”

“Yes,” said Ven. “It contains a power that protects us from evil so we won’t be harmed like Roth was.”

“You’ve been pierced with it. That power is ancient. There’s no telling what affect it will have on you.”

Ven let out a grunt of frustration. “Markis whispered something in my ear right before I blacked out. He said, ‘Your sacrifice will have saved Cor from calamity.’”

No one said anything for a moment. Then Florentine spoke up. “That’s like what he said in Council Hall that day, about Cor being threatened by something to do with you-know-what.”

“I know. Why not just tell me, though? I had already gained his trust.”

“That man was not trustworthy,” said Ven’s mother through gritted teeth. “He deceived you, and he used you.”

Ven decided to change the subject. “What’s going on in Cor now? What is everyone saying? Do they know everything?”

“I don’t think so,” said Hans. “I think some of them are starting to put things together, but I don’t think the elders will be able to keep it all a secret for long. People are already starting to talk.”

“Are you scared, Ven?” Florentine’s eyes sparkled with tears. “Of leaving Cor and going to some strange place? Will they at least give you weapons? I know you can’t use them on Kayn, but if he tries to hurt you, don’t be afraid to at least knock him out, okay?” She glanced around to make sure no one had heard her.

Ven couldn’t keep himself from laughing. The idea of laughter felt strange after everything that had happened. He held Florentine’s hand. “Don’t miss me too much, Flor,” he said. “You need all your attention to keep Hans out of trouble.”

“Says the one in jail,” Hans retorted.

They looked at each other and laughed again.

His mother was still silent, her head bowed. Through his handcuffs, he pulled her close and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll come home soon.”

Though he held his voice firm as he reassured her, deep inside he was afraid. How long would it take before he saw her again? And what if he never made it back? He took a deep breath and made up his mind. For her sake, he was going to survive.

After few minutes, the guard appeared in the corridor. “Visitation has ended.”

“You need to come back, you got that?” said Hans.

“I will,” Ven smiled.

Florentine sniffled and affectionately touched his cheek. His mother kissed him one more time, and was gone.

“We’re going to look after her, Ven. We promise,” said Hans.

“Thank you.”

Hans and Florentine disappeared, and Ven was left alone once more. He chose the softest part of the stone he could find, curled into a ball, and waited for sleep to come.

It was quiet. Rosa Kealy had a job to do, and it was crucial that it be done tonight. She followed the corridors of the palace that she had called her home for so many years until she finally reached her destination. She stopped in front of a gorgeous mahogany door and knocked. Several moments later, Kayn Stafford appeared. He looked weary and dark.

“You,” he said.

Rosa frowned. Had his father not taught him respect at all? “I need to speak with you, Lord Kayn.”

“I don’t have time for this. Any council concerns are now being handled by the elders–”

“Please,” she said. “It’s imperative that you give me two minutes of your time. I won’t get another chance.”

Kayn sighed irritably, but motioned for her to come inside. “Two minutes. No more.”

Her eyes narrowed. Kayn, though only a few years older than her son, was much taller than she was. Nevertheless, she brought herself up to her fullest height and looked him in the eye.

“I understand your frustration at being forced to take on this task with my son,” she said. “And on another note, I commend you with full sincerity at taking on the duties of a nation at such a young age. But as your powers as Grand Magistrate are not effective at this moment, I am going to take the chance to give you a warning.” Her gaze became steely. “Ven is the only thing I have left to live for on this earth. If you attempt to harm him in any way, or if you fail to bring him back home in one piece, I give you my word that I will make it my life’s ambition to
destroy
you.”

Kayn stood there speechless. Before he could respond, Rosa Kealy turned her back on the young man who had given her orders day after day and walked, head held high, back to her room.

Once inside, she bolted the door and collapsed onto her bed, sobbing uncontrollably.

T
he sun was unusually bright. Ven slung his cloth satchel over his shoulder and stared up at the massive gates that led out of Cor. These gates had remained closed for generations, locked shut so none from the outside could enter. Any minute, he was going to accompany Kayn Stafford past these gates, away from the safe confines of his home and into the outside world.

He had been so preoccupied that he hadn’t bothered to stop and think about Coralie. She was somewhere on the outside, with her parents and the other Sentenced. Had they managed to locate the refugee camp and start a new life? He had no idea where the camp was. He hadn’t bothered to ask Markis, since leaving Cor had been nowhere on his agenda at the time. At least she was free now. He would see her again one day; he had faith in that.

Moments later, Kayn appeared carrying his own satchel. It seemed that the elders were serious when they said he needed to be in disguise. His usually elegant attire had been replaced with a simple worker’s outfit. Ven couldn’t help but snigger at Kayn wearing Prentice clothing. Kayn himself looked less than pleased. On his head, he wore a cloth scarf which he wrapped around his forehead to hide part of his hair.

Closely following Kayn was the first elder. He turned to Kayn, pulled something out of his robes and handed it to him. It was the Magistrate’s Dagger, wrapped in a burlap bag and tied with rope.

“Do not remove it for any reason until you reach the tomb. I do not need to stress the importance of keeping this object safe.”

“Yes.” Kayn said, taking it gently and placing it into his satchel. He looked different somehow, other than just his appearance…

“The map we have given you should be clear. We have also provided you with this transport pod. It will seat the both of you, but my advice is to let Kayn do the driving.” Gant stepped to the side to reveal a bulky-looking transport pod. It was long and cylindrical, and the two seats were embedded back to back in its thick, bronze center. The wheels were chrome and modeled after carriage wheels. It looked impressive to Ven, though he hadn’t really used transport pods anyway, so his opinion probably wasn’t worth much.

Kayn hopped in the front seat and adjusted the knobs. Ven climbed clumsily into the back seat and the transport pod droned.

“Good luck to you both.”

The elder motioned to the gatekeeper. The enormous bronze gate slowly pushed open, giving them their first glimpse of foreign territory. Ven pulled in a deep breath. He never seen beyond these gates before. In fact, he had never even been within ten feet of them in his whole life. There had never been a reason for him to venture so close. The gates creaked loudly as they were heaved open and dust rose from the ground. Finally, they were fully open.

The whole situation felt abnormal, and there was a strange feeling in Ven’s chest. He wanted to rush to the gatekeeper and make him slam the bronze doors shut before he took one step further.

“We’re going,” said Kayn.

The pod began to move. Ven stuffed his satchel at the bottom of his seat, turned back to take one last look at his home, and then watched as Cor grew farther and farther away. A cloud of dust followed closely behind them.

Ven would have to make good his promise to use whatever he had studied in class about foreign territories to help them get to Roth’s tomb as quickly as possible. He reached into his bag and pulled out the map the elders had given them. He gripped it tightly and held out the edges as the wind made it whip back and forth. The map was dotted with little villages and towns that led up to bigger, major cities.

He tried scanning the map for signs of a refugee camp of some kind, but stopped himself, feeling stupid. A refugee camp wouldn’t be on a map like this. Coralie and her parents were intelligent. They would have known not to linger too close to Cor, in case a search was conducted for them.

Kayn refused to say a word to Ven as the pod sped across the barren land for hours under the hot sun. The dry land surrounding Cor was vast. A makeshift road lined the terrain between the large, sandy hills. Ven frowned. He still hadn’t seen a single settlement, no towns or villages anywhere near Cor. How isolated were they? From the broadcasts he had watched at home, Cor had always made it look like they were the center of the civilized world – but there was no civilization anywhere that Ven could see. Just as he became lost in thought, the pod began to slow down before it came to a complete halt beside a row of small, sandy hills.

“We’re stopping now,” said Kayn. His voice was mechanical and monotone and he kept his back to Ven. Ven ignored him and jumped out of the pod, reaching for his satchel.

Kayn leaned against a cliff, reached into his bag and took a long swig of water. Ven nibbled at some of the food in his satchel and looked around at the desolate landscape surrounding them. No wonder Cor didn’t get any visitors, though it was far from a hospitable tourist destination, anyway. The city was constantly fearful of spies leaking information to rival cities like Crion, so the Elders Council was picky regarding the foreigners they allowed into Cor.

That night in prison should have been practice for sleeping on the cold, hard ground, but Ven had never pined for his soft pillow and silky duvet more than he did as their journey continued. It rained heavily later in the week, and the closest village was hours away. Ven knew Cor was an isolated nation by choice, but he had underestimated the distances in between civilized areas, even with wheels. The only shelter they managed to find each night was an abandoned airship garage or a tent left behind by nomadic limestone miners.

So far, Kayn had refrained from trying to kill him, although that didn’t stop Ven from keeping weapons hidden on his person at all times. His ears burned in embarrassment as he remembered himself flinching every time Kayn pulled out his loaded blaster. During the night, he tried to sneak in a bit of practice with some of the weapons they had brought, but finally gave up in frustration.

While Kayn hadn’t tried to murder him, he didn’t hesitate to steal Ven’s food, or shove him to the ground and snag the most comfortable sleeping space. He would often throw Ven out into the cold when he decided he needed more room. As the days pressed on, the bullying began to get worse. So far, Ven had tolerated everything. No matter how much Kayn’s tricks bothered or hurt him, Kayn was keeping him alive.

Now, however, Ven had had enough.

It was late afternoon. They had finally left the dry, barren wasteland behind them and had reached lush green forests. They set up camp in a clear, wooded area for the night. The rain had left the forest smelling fresh and the ground damp. Ven had never seen such beauty. Seeing nature like this in a book was one thing, but smelling the air, running his hands over the soft, dewy moss and hearing the cries of exotic birds was a different thing altogether. Everywhere he looked, he could see vibrant color, greens, blues and pinks. The woods were thick, as were the tree roots that covered the forest floor. High above him, a canopy of wide leaves spread out amidst the now darkening sky. He wished Coralie, his mother and the others could see all of this.

Kayn lit a fire and began to warm up the food from his satchel. The fire reflected off the wired engine and chrome wheels of the pod they had parked on the man-made path running through the woods. Their rations had begun to grow thin. Ven rummaged through his bag searching for his food. After a few minutes, he realized that almost all of it was gone, save for a single loaf of bread. He dumped the contents of the bag on to the forest floor. Nothing remained of his rations but the meager loaf in his hand and a fistful of crumbs that now littered the ground.