Aegeus' Story Page 4

  “The corruption is more than their bodies,” Aegeus said. “It’s their minds and their souls. The mutation of their body is only part of it. There are many who have been completely corrupted in their thoughts and actions yet haven’t undergone the physical transformation yet.”

  He could see in their eyes that the young members didn’t believe him. They couldn’t see the danger that they were facing.

  “It just doesn’t make sense,” one said. “It sounds like a conspiracy, like part of the rebellion.”

  With that, Aegeus knew that the conversation was over. If he continued to push, they would become suspicious and might feel the need to discuss this conversation with the elders. Though he was masked, an inquiry might lead to the Panel uncovering his identity. He started to leave but turned back to face them.

  “Soon, you’ll see,” he assured them. “Soon you will see all that is happening. You will know the truth and join the cause for survival and victory, or you will fall. It will be up to you to decide which way you will go.”

  Aegeus left the lounge, weaving his way through several corridors before he removed his mask and tucked it away in his robes. He smoothed his hair and gave himself a moment for the heat to disappear from his face before he started through the corridors again. He made a point to look into the lounge and greet the young members, who were still sitting where they had been when he left, discussing what he had told them in low, muttered tones. One looked up at him, the questions in his eyes a stark contrast to the confidence that Aegeus had seen in the others when talking to them.

  “Aegeus,” he said.

  Aegeus stopped his progress out of the room and turned back.

  “Yes, Ephraim?” he said to the man coming toward him.

  “Have you heard anything about corruption in the Order?” Ephraim asked.

  Aegeus kept his expression still, not wanting to relay any emotion within it.

  “Corruption?” he asked.

  He intended to maintain the convention of formal conversation between upper members of the hierarchy and those ranked below them. In these interactions the upper member often spoke in questions to the lower member, encouraging them to think for themselves and evaluate situations critically, building confidence and assuredness within themselves while also ensuring that the higher member gave away only what information he deemed appropriate for that particular member. Because the use of this convention was based on the situation and was often used when a younger member was being considered for advancement through the ranks, Aegeus knew that Ephraim would find it impactful that he was using it. Aegeus could manipulate the young man’s perceptions of the conversation and the situation unfolding around him just by the way that he spoke to him, using his words and the inflection of his tone to conceal his true intentions just as much as the mask had.

  “There are rumors that there are members of the upper hierarchy, including the Panel, and members of the community that have become corrupt and are threatening the Kingdom and the Universe.”

  “And you know who these corrupt people supposedly are?”

  Ephraim shook his head.

  “No,” he said. “No one seems to. I’ve heard that Casimir was one of them. I’ve also heard that at least one advisor to the King is another.”

  This was something that Aegeus hadn’t mentioned to them, a new bit of information that Ephraim must have gathered from another source. He tucked it away in his mind so that he could share it with Athan.

  “And you believe that this is happening?”

  “I don’t know,” Ephraim said.

  “We don’t,” one of the other men said.

  “Why?” Aegeus asked.

  “If it was, we would all know about it. The Order is too powerful for anything to remain hidden for long.”

  Aegeus nodded slowly, processing what those words really meant. He looked into Ephraim’s eyes. He could see the beginnings of belief there, enough uncertainty that there was a chance that Aegeus could convince him, could sway him into understanding the truth and taking the steps that he needed to to help rise up and protect what needed to remain safe.

  “Do you know who you can speak to if you feel that there is something happening, or if you notice something that you find suspicious?”

  Ephraim stared back at him and Aegeus hoped that he had done enough to make his message clear. He turned and walked away slowly, showing no sign of the urgency he felt to get to Athan.

  When he arrived at Athan’s house his trusted friend joined him without saying a word. They walked quickly toward Aegeus’ house, neither looking at the other. The closer that they got to the battle, the more aware they were of the possibility of prying ears and curious eyes. They didn’t want to risk calling any attention to themselves, or for even a stray word to be noticed by someone around them. They rushed through Aegeus’ house and into the hidden lounge, each taking a moment to look reverently at the symbol that represented Aegeus’ father as they passed beneath it.

  They settled onto the chairs surrounding a rectangular table scattered with papers and Aegeus looked at Athan.

  “I think that we might be getting to Ephraim,” he said.

  “Just Ephraim?”

  Aegeus nodded.

  “The rest that I talked to didn’t seem convinced. They think that this is all just a conspiracy and that none of it is really real.”

  “I don’t know if we should consider that a bad thing because we need as much support as we can get, or a good thing because it means that the corruption is moving slowly and hasn’t yet infiltrated or impacted them.”

  “We don’t really know if it has impacted them,” Aegeus pointed out. “It’s possible that their resistance and distrust is just an early sign of it. We have to stay vigilant and pay close attention to them and how they are interacting to see if there are any further signs. How did everything go with you this morning?”

  “Well,” Athan said. “Our store of weapons has grown considerably. I think that we are nearly fully armed. I went to see the Irisa today and have found several who are sympathetic to us and are willing to join the cause.”

  Aegeus nodded.

  “Good. We need to determine how we are going to call the battle without disturbing anyone else in the Kingdom. This is only about us confronting the corrupt in the badlands, not against any of the rest of the Order or any of the community in the Kingdom. I want to make sure it stays that way.”

  “So do I,” Athan agreed.

  “Creia,” Aegeus suddenly said.

  “What?”

  “Creia. The King of the Denynso clan.”

  “The Mikana has no alliance with them,” Athan pointed out. “Even the link between the Order and the Denynso has been extremely thin and fragile for many years. We rarely, if ever, interact with them.”

  “Exactly,” Aegeus said. “Remember how the Panel questioned me. They know that something that’s happening has to do with the Denynso clan that disappeared. So, if it is conflict with the Denynso that the corrupt want, then that is what they’ll get.”

  Aegeus leaned back against the stone wall, shuddering as a drop of water slid down the surface and ran down the back of his neck. He hadn’t felt warm and dry since Ryan had tossed him into this cell. His mind was slipping further. He was disappearing a little more each moment. He had to keep concentrating, no matter how painful it was to remember. He had to try to understand what had brought him here, to this moment, to this place. Who betrayed them? How did they know? How could his plan have gone so wrong, so quickly?

  He shifted and a shooting pain cut through his back. Aegeus gritted his teeth and hissed at the pain. One benefit that he had found for the cold that surrounded him was that it helped to take some of the intensity away from the pain of his deepest injuries. The numbness of his skin ensured that the worst of the pain was dulled rather than driving him into madness. Some of the injuries had been inflicted purely for their pain, punishments for resisting transfers, for fighting against th
e Valdicians, for existing. Others were the result of experiments that Ryan carried out on him. Aegeus never knew the true purpose of any of the experiments, just as he didn’t know how much time had passed. The constant changes in amount of light that he had and the amount of activity he was allowed, or forced into, made it so that Aegeus was never sure of the time that passed and his body was rapidly losing its internal rhythms, leaving him not knowing whether he was being awoken every day, every other day, or several times throughout a single day.

  By the hair on his face Aegeus could only make a guess that he had been with Ryan for several weeks, if not more. His body ached from being kept in such small spaces for so long and not being allowed to move around when he wanted to. His mind was continuing to slip away, the torment of what he was going through chipping away at him little by little. But it wasn’t enough. He was going to keep fighting. Nothing was going to stop him. He would continue to remind himself of why he was there, why he was such a threat to Ryan and the Valdicians that they felt they had no choice but to focus all their energy and attention on finding and stopping him. No matter what he went through now, he knew that it was because he got so close to them, he threatened them so much.

  Chapter Seven

  One month before capture…

  Aegeus could feel the tension in the room around him. It was nearly palpable, as if he could reach out and scoop it into his hands. The days felt numbered now as they started their descent toward the inevitable. Their battleplans were laid out now and they had begun to discuss the specific maneuvers that they would use when they walked onto the field. They had to stay exactly within their plans. They couldn’t vary from them even the tiniest bit or it all could come crashing down around them. Aegeus felt a twinge of guilt knowing what the rest of the men were going to have to go through on the battlefield. He was going to be gone within minutes of the fighting starting, but they were going to have to stay and see the battle through until the end. He could only hope that they all got through it safely and were able to join him back at the war room as they intended.

  He was beginning to say something to Athan when he heard a knock on the door to the hidden lounge. He stilled, his body tightening. No one knew of this place. At least, no one was meant to. His hand slid toward a weapon sitting at the edge of the table and he listened for another knock. When it came, his body relaxed slightly. It was a code, a rhythmic knock designed not just to identify one of their group, but to tell those inside exactly who it was. He jumped to his feet.

  “It’s Martin,” he said, rushing up the stairs toward the door.

  He opened the door and the man who hadn’t been seen or heard from in weeks stumbled inside. His face was drawn and discolored. One eye was closed and a gash down his cheek was closing into a deep, angry-looking scar. His body seemed weak and battered as he made his way down the stairs, and Aegeus felt a sense of dread settle over him.

  When he got Martin into the lounge he set him into one of the chairs and went for a cup of water and some of the food that Ellora had given him. Martin drank as though water hadn’t touched his lips in days and ate in what seemed like a single breath.

  “What happened to you?” Aegeus asked.

  Martin shook his head.

  “There’s no time to tell you about that. There’s more that I need you to know. I found out more about the being on the ship. The one that wasn’t detected and that was responsible for Etan’s death.”

  “What did you find out?”

  “It was an extremely powerful Klimnu, one with the ability to cloak himself. He disguised himself as different members of the crew throughout the journey so that he could go unnoticed.”

  “Why would he want to do that? And why did Etan have to die?”

  “I don’t know,” Martin said. “I still don’t have all of the information. But it must have been something very important for them to go to those lengths. It wasn’t just a situation that unfolded that way. This was intentional. It was the plan all along.”

  “But who sent him? Who put the Klimnu on the ship? And how did they know that it was going to be Etan piloting rather than you?”

  Martin looked at Aegeus with a pained expression in his eyes that told Aegeus the man didn’t know if that was the case at all. It was possible that the Klimnu wasn’t onboard the ship to kill Etan, but to kill Martin.

  “I have to go,” Martin said.

  “But you just got here,” Athan argued.

  “I know. But I can’t stay in one place for long. They’re tracking me. I can’t let them find you.”

  He stood and took a final swig of water. Aegeus wrapped the remaining food in a cloth and handed it to Martin who gratefully tucked it into the bag that he wore.

  “Do you still have what I gave you?” he asked.

  Aegeus nodded. Through all the chaos that had happened in the last few weeks he hadn’t even thought of the package again.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Protect it. Leave it where it is until I see you again. Don’t let anyone else know that you have it.”

  “I will,” Aegeus said.

  Martin nodded and rushed out of the room again. Aegeus heard the doors above him close and wondered if that was the last time that he would see him.

  Three weeks before capture…

  Aegeus set the fabric-wrapped bundle of weapons on the floor of the cavern and pushed it up against the wall to ensure that it was out of the way but easily accessible.

  “Is there anything else that you need?” he asked.

  Casimir shook his head.

  “No. I don’t think so. Declan and Astaria visited me yesterday and brought enough food to last me through until I return to the Kingdom.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He nodded.

  “I’ve gotten fairly adept at hunting here. There isn’t much available, but when I see any of the animals that live here, I am able to harvest them. I keep them frozen in the snow until I need them.”

  Aegeus hated to hear of the stark conditions that his friend was enduring, but he took hope in knowing that it would soon be over. In only a matter of weeks, he would release Casimir from the bond that he had to this place of exile, allowing him to move through the portal that would bring him back to the Mikana Kingdom. Once there, he would go to Aegeus’ house and wait in the war room for the battle. That was where Aegeus would meet him after he left the battle, hidden by the Irisa. Together they would gather up the weapons and wait for the rest of the army. From there, the real war would begin.

  Two weeks before capture…

  Aegeus felt a chill roll down his spine as he looked out over the badlands. They burned and hissed, the ground tumultuous even still, even after generations had passed since the weapons had been buried that had destroyed this once-beautiful land. What had once been one of the most desirable and fertile areas of all Uoria had been reduced to ashes, rubble, and bones. This was the work of the Valdicians, the remnants of their first destructive encounter with the planet. It was here that Aegeus meant to repay them, to bring about the destruction of those that they had warped and bring down the species that intended to bring the entirety of the Universe under its control.

  To one side Aegeus saw a group of massive men approach. These were the Denynso, the lingering bloodline of those who had lived here when the Valdicians came. The group had split, some choosing to remain while others sought a new life. For those who stood before him now, it was that new life, established on the land that was once home to the Irisa, that ensured the survival of those who left and enabled this generation to be here now.

  He approached them cautiously, unsure of how they felt about being involved in this battle. They, of course, knew of the corruption that was spreading rampantly through the Mikana. The Klimnu had focused their wrath on the Denynso before and swore to continue to. He didn’t know if the Denynso knew the full extent of their influence, however, and doubted they could fully appreciate it in the short time that he had to make them underst
and. For now, he didn’t need them to be as invested in the fight as he was. He didn’t need them to be fully informed or to grasp the enormity of what lay ahead of them. He just needed them to be willing to stand alongside him, to walk into battle with him and face down the enemy together. The call of the Denynso would be enough to draw out the corrupt but would have no meaning for the other Order members or the rest of the Kingdom. Those who were familiar with the Denynso at all, which was a number rapidly dwindling, knew that they were ferocious warriors and often trained brutally. If they even noticed the call to war, they wouldn’t have any reason to suspect that it had anything to do with them.

  Aegeus approached Creia and greeted him.

  “Thank you for coming,” he said.

  “The Klimnu have been a burden to our kinds and on this planet for long enough. If you believe that you have found a way to eradicate them and ensure that they will no longer threaten any of us, I have no choice but to help you. You understand, though, that this does not change the status of the relationship between our kinds. The Mikana and the Denynso have not been allies in many years and this will not change that.”

  “I understand, King,” Aegeus said. “This has nothing to do with the Mikana and everything to do with the Valdicians and the destruction that they have caused to our kind, to this planet, and to you.”

  Aegeus knew that Creia was all familiar with the destructive influence of the Valdicians and what they were truly capable of doing. It was because of them that the Denynso split and because of them that they had suffered extensive losses in war. It was also because of them that the once powerful and peaceful link between the Denynso and the Mikana had ended. Though he hoped that they would be successful in bringing about the end of the influence that the Valdicians had on Uoria and cleanse the planet and the rest of the Universe of the evil, corrupted creatures that they had manipulated, he didn’t know if that would truly change anything. The break between the two species had occurred so long before and was now such a deeply ingrained part of their existence, he didn’t know if there was a way to bring them back to what they once were.