Knights Apocalyptica

Chapter 160: Blue Castles

“I don’t envy Jennie the man,” thought Valancy sincerely—Clayton Markley was not one of her many ideals—“but I do envy her the house. It’s such a nice young house. Oh, if I could only have a house of my own—ever so poor, so tiny—but my own! But then,” she added bitterly, “there is no use in yowling for the moon when you can’t even get a tallow candle.”

In dreamland nothing would do Valancy but a castle of pale sapphire. In real life she would have been fully satisfied with a little house of her own. She envied Jennie Lloyd more fiercely than ever today. Jennie was not so much better looking than she was, and not so very much younger. Yet she was to have this delightful house. And the nicest little Wedgwood teacups—Valancy had seen them; an open fireplace, and monogrammed linen; hemstitched tablecloths, and china-closets. Why did everything come to some girls and nothing to others? It wasn’t fair.

-L. M. Montgomery, The Blue Castle, (1926, 2nd Era)

Erec took a deliberately long trek through Vega, away from the safe house they commandeered from a condemned building deep in the city. He double-tracked, wound, and twisted through streets, anything that crossed his mind to throw off anything that might track where he was.

Besides, he needed to clear his head.

This temporary situation would soon pass. The moment Boldwick handed him over to the Pendragons—and thus to the Council, they’d have whatever information they needed.

Sometimes, it was best to acknowledge if you weren’t the correct person for a mission; just like Garin wasn’t the person they sent in to wreck a door or beat the shit out of a monster, he wasn’t the person to trick information out of someone. Still, that acknowledgment stung. Of course, it did. Especially since he knew he wouldn’t be the first person to learn more about his mother. His being in the room would only continue to delay that. His frustration at being unable to do everything himself wasn’t new, and maybe it ran in the family if Bedwyr was any sign.

So, he had to kill time.

With hands in his pockets, his eyes trailed the lights advertising on the street. Food, drinks, and women or men, if that was your preference. Vega didn’t care. If you had chips, it was yours.

As much as he tried to distract himself by feasting on the sights and sounds of the city, he kept thinking of his brother. Of his childhood. The two had been much happier and thrived before she vanished. And when she was gone, that’s when Bedwyr changed. When he changed, he supposed, trying to plod along after his older brother, to catch up and remove that distance between them.

Though he told himself he didn’t have a destination in mind, his feet conspired to head to Enide’s hotel.

[Brooding, huh?] VAL asked. [Retrospection is fine and all, but your anxiety is steadily rising. Heart rate, too. Oh, and we’re heading to the Pendragon’s hotel. Are you about to celebrate your victory over Seven-Snakes?]

“No, I just… Don’t understand why my mom left. Who was she with that was that important? I wanna… Well, I feel anger towards her right here.” He set a fist on his heart, the chip still clutched in his palm. “If I see her again, if this leads back to her, then what? Do I kill the thing that tore her away from us? Do I drag her back to the Kingdom? What if she was right, and I never—“

[You know, you tend to get into your own head far too often for your own good. Finish the walk and go blow off steam with your girlfriend. Boldwick’ll call you back before you know it. Then, with more information, we can assess and evaluate the most prudent path forward. Don’t get locked up in the details. As much as it pains to admit, perfection can often be the barrier to progress, and considering things you won’t know until they’re present is a fast track to freezing yourself in place.]

Erec let that go and slipped the chip back into his pocket, taking the words to heart.

Shortly after, he made his way to Enide’s hotel. To her room. Convincing her to step out with him was as easy as possible. Effortless, and she readily agreed to a date and dinner. The night transformed from one of frustration at his own abilities or lack thereof to one of pure joy.

They ate, they danced, and they loved.

He kept the knowledge of finding Seven-Snakes from his lips since they’d tell the Pendragons soon enough. Luckily, she didn’t seem to care. That wasn’t a worry for tonight, but one for tomorrow. Each second, each minute in her company, was one without reference to the future, one of enjoyment. They let the night, the sensations, and the emotions dwell and live without corruption.

— - ☢ - — - ☼ - — - ☢ - —

“Wake up, hero. Someone’s knocking.” Enide said from the end of the bed, already dressing. Thankfully, she hadn’t opened the hotel room curtains and let him sleep in. He groaned and, for a moment, rejected the idea of getting out of the covers until he remembered why someone knocking on his door might be an urgent reason to get up.

He rubbed his eyes. Listening to the soft but insistent knock—it was at the hotel room door, not against his bedroom. Meaning that it wasn’t Garin checking in on him. Wearily, he slid out of bed, found pants, and threw them on, doing his best to ignore Enide’s whistle. He gave her a shrug, then went out the door.

Where was Garin, anyway?

He hadn’t been in the room when they returned; did he stay the night in that grungy condemned building?

Shirtless and burning with curiosity, he opened the door.

What greeted his eyes was entirely unexpected and immediately made him form a fist. There was an Arch-Magi. Right there. But not only just an Arch-Magi, the bastard who was wrapped in bandages. The cause of Seven-Snakes escaping and leading them into this whole mess.

Erec hesitated, hand shaking as the fires burned him out from within. Should he punch this guy? Slam the door and tell Enide to run? Rush for his axe and spill enough blood in the hallway to fill an elevator? The war of indecision rolled through him in an instant before he settled on a choice. It wasn’t the most violent option, but this was an arch-magi. As curious as he was to see how he stacked up, it’d be a fool’s mission to assume he’d get away with fighting one in their city.

Fight, flight, or hide—all valid tactics.

Act shocked. Give nothing away.

He firmed his resolve, fixed his face the best he could, and spoke. “I remember you, the one with bandages; you’re one of the Magi. What did I do to deserve such an honor?”He raised his voice enough so that Enide would know the situation. His eyes locked on the man, the way he might watch a vicious monster waiting for it to make its move. Even though he did his best to strip his face of emotion, he couldn’t talk himself into unclenching his fist. A gesture that he didn’t think went past the bandaged Arch-Magi.

“Erec of Cindrus, or rather Erec of House Audentia?” the man asked, his voice raspy and thin.

“That’s me. Though it’s house Audax, now.”

“Indeed. Well, now that I’ve confirmed your identity—would you be so polite as to accept an invitation for breakfast? I would dearly enjoy the opportunity to converse with you sans the retinue of Knights who are currently busy interrogating my associate.” The man let out that last sentence with a mirthless droll.

This is bad.

Was he going to abduct Erec? Use him as a bargaining chip? He knew they had Seven-Snakes… But where were the other Knights? If he shouted, would they help? But then, Enide was back there. He didn’t want her to get tied up in this either; she didn’t even know about Seven-Snakes. The best he could hope was that she’d wait until he was gone. Maybe track down Boldwick to tell him what happened as long as she didn’t get tied up in this.

“Oh, don’t worry. If I were planning to kidnap you, I wouldn’t go through these formalities.” The Arch-Magi said.

“Make that breakfast for three,” Enide said. Slipping out of Erec’s room, she moved right next to him, throwing a familiar arm over Erec’s shoulder and boldly sizing up the Arch-Magi. His chest clutched, but he had to admit having her at his side made this easier. “Threats and the promise of violence are my favorite side for breakfast, and this one seems to have potential for that in spades.”

“Very well. I can make it a meal for three if you so wish. Will you two follow me, or will that be an issue?”

[Follow him onto the strip. I wouldn’t advise making a scene out there since they’d take his side as an Arch-Magi of this city, but it’d give you much more space to run.]

Erec took a deep breath, feeling the weight of Enide leaning on him. As casually as she tried to put on there for their uninvited friend, he could feel her heart racing as quickly as his.

“Let’s eat then. I am hungry.” Erec agreed.

Time. If they had time, they could consider what to do—but the fact that this man approached them also piqued his interest. This was the scum working with Seven-Snakes… But what if it was more than that? What if this man knew more than what Seven-Snakes was trying to achieve? All he’d seen was that vision; who was to say this guy couldn’t provide answers? And when else would he speak to him? Even if that chance carried with it a very unfortunate likelihood of demise.

Then again.

How strong was an arch-magi?

That question made him burn, too, even if it was borne of arrogance supreme. With Enide… Why did he feel like he could accomplish anything?

With a firmed resolve, he followed the traitor to this city out into the daylight of Vega.