Chapter 71

 

* Gilmore *

Ace, Alice, and Pathos stood on a high ledge that gave a partial view of Gilmore as well as the path that led to the quickener cave.

“The sun is close to setting,” Pathos said. “We need to hurry if we’re going to do this.”

“I know, just give it a little bit—” Ace started but Alice suddenly interrupted.

“Here he comes,” she called excitedly.

Illusion came scampering up the rocky path to meet them. “I wasn’t noticed,” he reported immediately.

“So how does it look?” Ace asked.

“From all I can tell, they don’t suspect that we’re coming. All the conversations I heard are about hunting for Alice. It also appears that their forces have been split, perhaps heading out to attack other towns, but Davron is still there, most likely in the tower.”

“Good work, you’ve been a real help.” Ace smiled at the dog, but it quickly turned to a frown as he looked at him closer. “You look off mentantly. Is something wrong?”

Illusion sat on his hind legs. “I’ve been active for much longer than usual and had to use my silver wolf form multiple times. My energy is drained. I should probably go to the void to replenish it. I’m sorry, but it means I can’t aid you in the upcoming battle.”

“It’s okay,” Ace said, “you’ve done more than enough.”

“Mrs. Guardman has my whistle if you should need to summon me later.” With those words, Illusion faded from view.

Pathos turned to his companions. “Based on what Illusion saw, this might be the perfect time to strike since they don’t have their full army here. We can capture Davron and get both the Book of War and the Sun Stone. Once we’ve done that, rounding up the rest of their forces won’t be an issue.”

Ace shook his head. “Capturing Davron and getting the Book of War are probably not feasible. At best, we can rescue Mrs. Guardman and her companion, and possibly get the Sun Stone back.”

“What do you mean?” Pathos asked.

“The Book of War is bound to Davron. No one can forcibly take it away from him except a seal bearer,” Ace revealed. “If I manage to get the book, it will disrupt its power temporarily and destroy all the monsters in the area, but the curse on the book forces it back to Davron if he summons it. The only way we can keep it from him is with the physical seal, and we need all twelve seal bearers to activate it.”

“Well, maybe we can keep the book from Davron long enough for your friends to return,” Alice offered. “When we left yesterday, Henry was getting his staff repaired. Hopefully, that means he’ll be able to get the others back soon.”

Ace shrugged. “It’s possible, but remember, as long as Davron has the Book of War, he can’t be underestimated.”

“Well, first thing’s first, we need to get into that quickener cave,” Pathos said. “You two bonded souls said you had a plan, right?”

Ace chuckled at this. “Yes, it’s actually the same thing the englers did.”

“What, you’re going to make yourself invisible?” Pathos asked. “That’s not possible.”

“Not exactly invisible, but we can use a similar trick to make ourselves unseen,” Alice clarified.

“You’re talking about obfuscation, right? Hiding our adimus signature and cloaking ourselves to blend in,” Pathos said. “That doesn’t work when people are on high alert though.”

“Right, but that’s the way we normally do it. The englers taught us a new trick in bending light around us, much more effective.”

“You can do that?” Jansdimion said in awe.

“I can now,” Alice said with a wink. “Mittius Mentenus Obfuscate.”

Pathos was stunned as Alice faded from view before their eyes and her presence diminished in the mentant realm. “I don’t understand.”

“Once you know the principles behind something, it’s fairly easy to use mandamus to mimic it,” Ace explained. “Of course, hiding your presence in the mentant realm uses up a lot of your own adimus energy, so it’s not something I could do for any length of time. Fortunately, Alyson is a guardian.”

“Don’t worry, once I get in, I’ll put everyone in the area to sleep and then we’ll be able to get started,” said the disembodied voice of Alice. “It shouldn’t take more than thirty minutes.”

Ace felt her kiss his cheek, and then Alice was gone.

 

***

 

“I think I’m getting the hang of this finally.” Mrs. Guardman said excitedly as she placed a thin purple card on the table in front of her with confidence.

There was another purple card across from hers and it started to pulse a faint red glow while the card she put down glowed green.

“Very good, Mrs. Guardman,” Jacob said from across the table. “Your mentus has really improved.”

“But you haven’t won yet.” Helena said with a smug grin. She was sitting to Mrs. Guardman’s left, examining several purple cards in her hand.

After a few seconds, she put down her own card and immediately all three turned blue.

“It’s all tied up now,” Jacob said.

“Not for long!” Sherrilynn laid down her card confidently. For a second all the cards on the table went inert before Sherrilynn’s started glowing white.

“We win!” Mrs. Guardman said excitedly. She gave Sherrilynn a high five, which she’d taught her earlier.

“That’s ten to seven,” Helena said, “you two are making a comeback now.”

“Not bad considering Mrs. Guardman is just learning,” Sherrilynn boasted.

They were playing memorus, a mentus-based card game popular on Mendala that was similar to spades on Earth but used playing cards with embedded mentus. It was the perfect game for the group since it required exactly four players with two teams of two, and it was easy for Mrs. Guardman to learn, while also teaching her the basics of mentus.

“I still can’t believe you never learned how to use any mentus?” Helena said in amazement as she cleared the cards, and they all went back to staring at the ones in their hands.

“Just never had the opportunity,” Mrs. Guardman said vaguely. She knew better than to try to explain her true origins. “Sherrilynn, it’s your turn to go first.”

“I know, I know.” Sherrilynn stuck her tongue between her teeth. “I’m thinking.”

“Well, you all look like you’re having fun,” came an unexpected voice from the door.

All four of them turned to see Gamdon in the threshold, looking mildly amused.

Jacob shot to his feet. “Chief Barkwick! Sorry, I didn’t see you there. I…um…” He knew that abandoning his post and leaving the door ajar were serious breaches of his assigned duty.

“Don’t be mad, grandad,” Helena said with a pleading look in her eyes. “I brought lunch and then we were just playing some memorus; that’s all.”

Gamdon smiled indulgently. “It’s fine. It’s clear that you have been taking care of our guests; that’s all that matters. However, it seems that their time with us will be coming to an end much sooner than anticipated.”

Mrs. Guardman put down her cards. “What do you mean?”

“It appears that Fantasma’s army will be here shortly. They’ve discovered our base and plan to stage a raid,” Gamdon said matter-of-factly. “They of course have no idea that we are aware of their movements and will be luring them into a trap to decimate their forces.”

“What?” Sherrilynn almost shot out of her seat, but Mrs. Guardman put a hand on her shoulder before addressing Gamdon herself.

“So then, what does that mean for us?” she asked, her chest tight with anxiety. “Are you planning on…disposing of us?”

“What?” Gamdon actually looked affronted at this. “No, of course not. We have no reason to do that. You’ve been perfectly well-behaved guests and I already promised you that we would do you no harm. Fantasma’s army will be routed, that is to be sure, but I have no doubt that there will be some survivors; guardians are rather tough. After the battle, they will no doubt come and take you back into their care, for what that’s worth. I only ask that you stay here until that time comes. If you run out in the middle of battle, there’s no way we can guarantee your safety.”

Jacob and Helena exchanged concerned looks, though it went unnoticed by the others.

“Not to seem ungrateful for your consideration, but why not just let us go now before the battle takes place?” Mrs. Guardman asked.

“Unfortunately, there is no way we can do that. Our plans somewhat depend on them coming here to the city to rescue you. Plus, there are guardians in the mountains who would surely find you if we let you go now, and we wouldn’t want you to tell them about the trap we’ve set.”

“Um, Chief Barkwick,” Jacob spoke hesitantly. “If there’s going to be a battle in the city, isn’t there a chance that the tower could be damaged or even destroyed.”

Gamdon went quiet for a moment. It was clear this was the first time he’d considered this. “Yes, it’s possible,” he said finally. “There’s no telling what could happen in the ensuing battle, especially if guardians start using powerful mandamus.”

“Then, if it’s all right sir, could I stay here in the tower? That way if something happens, I can escort Mrs. Guardman and Sherrilynn to safety.”

Gamdon was taken aback. “Jacob, if you do that, there’s a good chance you’ll be captured by the Fantasmal Forces. Are you truly willing to risk that? I highly doubt they’ll be as kind to you as we were to our guests here. Any military aggression against the Fantasmal Government is punishable by up to life imprisonment or even death.”

Jacob nodded resolutely. “I know sir, but didn’t we give our word to keep them safe? Isn’t that important?”

Gamdon looked back and forth between the young, pale-skinned boy, only barely twenty, and the older matriarchal woman who was beaming proudly at him. He shook his head at the absurdity of it all and tried again to dissuade him. “It also means you’ll be cut off from the rest of the army. We won’t be able to reveal any of the plans beyond the raid so that you can’t betray us if you’re captured, and even if you’re not, you won’t know how to reach us as we’ll be sealing the main entrance to the translifts.”

“Then I’ll go with him,” Helena said suddenly.

“What?” Gamdon’s placid façade crumbled completely now. “Absolutely not. I won’t allow that. All of the non-combatants are evacuating, and that means you.”

Helena stood. “So, you admit that it’s too dangerous for civilians to be here, but you’re purposefully keeping them in harm’s way?”

“I…” Gamdon faltered for a moment but rallied. “Helena, this is war. Sometimes we have to do…unpleasant things. You don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand?” Helena scoffed. “I’ve lived through war; I know people die. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and I know that Lord Davron has to do whatever it takes to change the world, which means a lot more people will die, but these two don’t have to be in that count. Jacob’s right to want to protect them, and I don’t think he should be locked away in some Fantasmal Prison for the rest of his life for doing the right thing.”

“And how will you staying here prevent that?” Gamdon asked, his voice stern.

“After all these months training with you, I can quicken well enough to get Jacob back to the rest of the army. All we need to do is get to the quickener cave and—”

“Out of the question,” Gamdon said, cutting her off. “For one thing, we’re quite certain that the quickener cave is where the enemy forces will be stationed.”

“Then we’ll find someplace else,” Helena said undaunted. “Didn’t you say there was traveler quartz in some of the mountains to the west? Even if it’s just a small deposit, I’m sure I can make it work for just the two of us.”

“Helena, this is madness. You’ve barely learned quickening; anything could go wrong. I can’t allow it. I only just got you out of Navdee alive, I’m not going to let you be captured, or worse, killed,” Gamdon’s tone was almost a plea as he tried to make her listen to reason.

Even Jacob chimed in. “Helena, you should listen to the chief. You’re not a soldier; you shouldn’t be taking this kind of risk.”

“I may not be a soldier, but I joined up to do my part and this is what I can do. I won’t leave you behind just because you’re trying to do the right thing. I can get you back to the army. Grandad, all you have to do is prep a marker for me so I can quicken us back to wherever you are.”

Gamdon shook his head. “I’m sorry, but the answer is no. You’re leaving with the rest of the non-combatants and that’s final.”

“I’m not a child,” Helena countered mulishly. “If you won’t help me, then I’ll just find another way, but I’m staying.”

“Helena!” Gamdon barked even as she folded her arms and plopped back in her chair.

“If I may,” Mrs. Guardman finally spoke, and everyone turned to her. “Helena, Jacob, I appreciate you both wanting to protect us, but you don’t have to do this. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

“Mrs. Guardman,” Helena said, taking her hand, “you told me that you lived in a small town where there weren’t any wars, and that’s wonderful. I hope one day the whole world can be like that, but I grew up in war, and I know how dangerous and deadly it can be. Neither of us would feel right just leaving you here to fate.”

Jacob nodded at this. “I joined this army because I want to protect my friends and family from the endless cycle of wars, and even though I know we have to fight to make that a reality, I still want to protect the people I care about.”

Helena turned to Gamdon. “I’m not mad that you’re using them as bait. I know it has to be done to take down Fantasma’s army, but we can’t just leave them here to die in the crossfire.”

Gamdon sighed. “Even assuming you’re not killed, if the Fantasmal Forces capture you, they will treat you as an enemy combatant. They won’t make the distinction that you’re not a soldier. You’ll end up in prison for the rest of your life.”

“I won’t allow that to happen,” Mrs. Guardman said resolutely. “I’ll make sure that Jacob and Helena are allowed to go free if they’re captured.”

“What?” Gamdon eyed her almost suspiciously. “Why would you do that?”

“I’ve gotten to know these two quite well, and they’ve treated me with nothing but kindness and respect. I don’t want to see any harm come to them. Besides, it would be quite churlish of me to not repay the hospitality that you’ve extended,” she added with a knowing smile.

“Still, what sway could you possibly have?” Gamdon asked. “How can I trust that you will even be able to make good on your word?”

Mrs. Guardman stood and pointed to the symbol embroidered on the white robe she wore, denoting her status as a Fantasmal Advisor. “I swear on my name and rank that I will not let any harm come to your granddaughter.”

Gamdon smirked, quite intrigued at having his own words used against him. It was as if the entire scenario of having prisoners was now turned on its head. Not for the first time, he wondered if Mrs. Guardman was more than she appeared.

“Very well. I suppose I have no other choice but to trust you.” He stepped forward and his voice became dark. “But know this: if harm does come to Helena, then I will personally hunt you down and make you suffer.”

Mrs. Guardman did not flinch at this. If anything, she understood the fierce protectiveness he felt for Helena. After all, she would do anything for her son and the other teens.

Seeing that they had an understanding, Gamdon turned to his granddaughter. “Come Helena, we need to get your staff and connect it to a marker.”

Helena stood and followed her grandfather from the room with Jacob close behind.

“We’ll be back, ma’am,” the young soldier said before shutting the door behind them.

Sherrilynn turned to Mrs. Guardman in awe. “Who are you?”

Mrs. Guardman chuckled as she started to collect the discarded cards. “I’m not sure how to answer that.”

“How did you get Helena and Jacob to stay and protect us. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“I didn’t get them to do it,” Mrs. Guardman corrected. “They wanted to; they’re good kids.”

“But they’re the enemy. Why would they go so far for us? Why would you go so far for them? None of this makes any sense.”

“They’re not the enemy,” Mrs. Guardman said sagely. “They’re two young people just trying to do what they feel is right. It’s like I told you yesterday: it’s all a matter of perspective. Just because they’re fighting with Davron doesn’t make them evil. Everyone has experiences that define them and shape the choices they make. They still think Davron is in the right, and they want to follow him. They just also want to protect as many people as they can from needless death. It makes sense based on what they grew up in.”

“I guess,” Sherrilynn shrugged. “I still think it has something to do with you though.”

“Come now, Sherrilynn, there’s nothing particularly special about me. I’m just a mother with a lot of experience talking and listening to people.”

“Well, I’m glad we’re going to be getting out of here soon. Hopefully, the battle won’t be too dangerous.”

“I agree, though I’m curious about what Chief Barkwick said. He mentioned that there were guardians in the mountains. I wonder if that means Alice is okay.”

Sherrilynn nodded. “Maybe they sent someone to look for her.”

“Hopefully, by the grace of God, we’ll all get out of this alive and well,” Mrs. Guardman said.

 

 

* Fantasmal Mountain *

“It’s almost setting sun in Gilmore,” Rockwall said with a hint of impatience.

“I know, sir, but I believe Pathos and Ace will make it,” Karmandrian said.

“We’ll wait a little longer, but if they don’t show up soon, we’ll need to change our plans to transport everyone to Zohare,” Rockwall said sternly.

“Yeah, like that’s a great plan,” Tabatha muttered from the corner. She was standing next to Isabelle in the largest quickener cave on the transportation corridor. The room had almost a hundred people in it including soldiers, guardians and quickeners, and was one of many rooms on standby to transport as soon as they received their orders. Unlike all of the fatigue-wearing soldiers and purple-robed guardians, Tabatha stood out in her lose fitting, khaki-colored pants and matching shirt.

“You should watch your sass around Rockwall. He won’t be as forgiving as I am,” Isabelle warned.

“Fine, fine,” Tabatha said dismissively before changing the topic. “I don’t see the Fantasma anywhere. I thought he’d be here with us, or is he in another room?”

“He’s still putting out diplomatic and political fires,” Isabelle explained. “More and more leaders around the world are on edge due to all the monster attacks.”

“I can’t believe he doesn’t think this is more important,” Tabatha said in exasperation.

“Of course he does, but there’s a lot happening around the world and he can’t be everywhere,” Isabelle countered. “That’s the whole reason why we have an army. Don’t worry, General Rockwall has things well in hand and we already have plenty of extra firepower with all these guardians. There’s no reason we’d need Fantasma’s power for this raid.”

“They’ve called,” one of the quickeners in the room said excitedly. It was Martinson, the quickener who took Ace and the others to Zohare. He disappeared right after saying that, holding the marker all the quickeners were connected to.

“Let’s move out,” Rockwall called.

Since it was impossible for multiple quickeners in the same area to quicken simultaneously, they had to go one at a time with a few seconds delay in between. Isabelle was first. She tapped her staff and several of the room’s occupants disappeared, including Tabatha.

 

***

 

It took a few seconds for Tabatha to get her bearings. The cave she was now standing in was about three times larger than the one they left.

Rockwall was already giving out hurried instructions. “Linwald, setup operations over there. Palson, see what’s beyond those tunnels, we may be able to use them for staging. Benson, bind up all these unconscious troops and move them someplace out of the way.”

As everyone rushed to secure their new base of operations, Tabatha heard a familiar voice. “Tabatha, what are you doing here?”

She turned to see Ace standing with Pathos and Alce and quickly rushed over to him. “I should be asking you the same thing. You’re not really planning to raid Gilmore with Fantasma’s army, are you?”

“Mrs. Guardman’s in there, I have to get her,” Ace said.

“You know, she wouldn’t even be in this predicament if they hadn’t sent her off by herself into the mountains.”

“She wasn’t by herself,” Alice corrected vehemently. “I was with her.”

“Well, it doesn’t look like you’re with her now, so what good are you?” Tabatha didn’t bother to mince words.

“Hey,” Ace said in a calming tone before Alice could retort. “Tabatha, you need to back down, Alice nearly died trying to protect Mrs. Guardman.”

Tabatha looked back and forth between the two of them, catching something in their interaction. She was about to respond when Karmandrian came up to them.

“Alice, I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said as he hugged her.

Alice grinned as she returned the hug. “Thanks to these two.”

“General Rockwall wants to see all of you,” Karmandrian told them. “He wants as much information about the town so we can develop the best strategy.”

“Let’s go.” Alice took Ace by the hand as they headed to where Isabelle and Rockwall were standing.

Both Karmandrian and Tabatha noticed the gesture and had similar stunned expressions as they followed.

“You three did good work securing this cave.” Rockwall extended a hand to Ace. “I’m General Norman Rockwall. Karmandrian tells me you’re the one who can kill these creatures.”

“One of them, yes,” Ace clarified as they shook hands, “though I guess I’m the only one here right now.”

“We’ll take what we can get,” Rockwall said with a chuckle. “You’re going to be integral in securing the town. I’d like to send you in with a platoon of 50 troops led by one of my most skilled lieutenants.”

“Sir, if it’s all the same with you, I’d rather fight with these three,” he indicated Karmandrian, Pathos, and Alice. “We already have experience working together and know how to cover for each other.”

Rockwall thought about this. “Well, my plan was to have most of the guardians offering support from higher ground using mandamus, but I don’t mind sparing these three if it will work best.”

“If you put us at the center, flanked by multiple squads on both sides and behind, we can easily clear a path while your troops hold back the overflow until we’re ready,” Pathos offered. “The other guardians can provide cover and support.”

“That’s a solid strategy,” Rockwall said. “Sounds like you’ve done this before.”

Pathos nodded. “We did something similar in Riverbed. It was a smaller battle, but I still think it could work here.”

“The only issue we’ll have is getting from here to the town. It’s about a twenty-minute walk and the path is narrow,” Ace added.

“We’ll make it work,” Rockwall said. “Let’s get going.”

Everyone dispersed to continue setup, but before Ace could go off with his guardian companions, Tabatha pulled him aside.

“So that’s it; you’re just going off to fight a war?” she asked.

“I’m trying to prevent a war,” Ace said. “Even if we can’t stop Davron completely, we can still decimate his forces and get the Sun Stone back; that’ll slow him down. Besides, Mrs. Guardman is down there.”

“Well then I’m going with you,” Tabatha said.

“No way, there are probably hundreds of those monsters. It’s not safe.”

“I’m a melder; I can hold my own even without some fancy mark.”

“Then you can help protect the base,” Ace countered. “Besides, once we get Mrs. Guardman out of there, she’ll need to be with someone who’s strong enough to protect her.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Tabatha said, “since we obviously can’t count on your guardian girlfriend.”

“Tabatha—”

“Is she the reason why you didn’t try looking for me?”

“It’s not like that—”

“You know what, never mind,” she took a deep breath to calm herself. “We’ve both been here a long time, a lot has changed, and we don’t have time to get into it. Let’s just focus on getting Mrs. Guardman out of this mess; we can deal with everything else later.”

Tabatha walked off before Ace could respond. He was debating whether or not to go after her but then a hand brushed his arm. He turned and saw Alice behind him.

“Is she one of your friends from your old world?”

“Yeah…it’s complicated,” Ace said.

Alice shook her head with a smile. “It doesn’t matter; you don’t have to explain. Come on, let’s go.” She gave him a brief kiss then took him by the hand and led him back to Pathos and Karmandrian.

The cave continued to fill with more and more soldiers, and everyone was bustling about to prepare for the impending battle.