Regius (30 page)

The flash of blue I caught
in the corner of my right eye was a color many people in Zinc
feared. I had seen Digitalis more than once in my life, but I'd
never been alone with him. My mother would have never allowed it.
She was one of those who feared the assassin. Yet I knew he would
not kill me. I'd seen it. If I timed my words properly, he would
have no reason to.

Holding the package I'd
been clutching to my stomach this entire time more tightly, I
squeezed my eyes shut, pushing my feet firmly off the ground as I
launched myself across Digitalis' path. My shoulder connected to
his side, my head bouncing off his chest, the package still in my
arms as I didn't try and stop the fall I was about to suffer. He
would not catch me. He would not care.

And indeed, I landed on my
back, feeling the wetness of the forest ground seep into my clothes
and mud on my left cheek. Opening my eyes, I faced him, but then a
vision assaulted me. Digitalis had stopped, I could sense his
presence, his eyes so curious. I had the ability to stop a vision
if I wanted to and end them before they started. I wanted to now,
not wishing to waste any time as the Assassin was here, while he
wasn't thinking of using his weapon on me. This time, however, was
one of those visions that didn't give me the option of ignoring it.
This one was powerful; it sucked me in.

~~~~~~~~

"What have you
done?!"

Xania had never been a man
you could surprise or startle easily. He always had a back-up plan,
always some kind of trickery to stay one step ahead. Of course, the
only way he'd been able to do this, was because he had Robinia
Kowalski.

The boy smiled. "I'm doing
what is right."

He had done what was
right. He had set Solenum free, and now the control panel Robinia
could always be found working behind, containing such a great
amount of knowledge, was dripping with water, the machinery
destroyed.

Xania was also a man who
knew how to get back up on his feet quickly. "I know the legend by
heart, Robinia. I do not need you to get Galax or Datura. I shall
succeed with or without your knowledge."

Robinia's smile didn't
falter. "But will your people still be as obedient when you have
nothing left to blackmail them with?" The silence that followed was
deadly.

"I am a great king." Xania
clipped out.

"You certainly are
conniving." Robinia allowed. "But a king you will never
be."

Before Xania could take
his rage out on the boy, Robinia revealed the hand he'd been hiding
behind his back, placing the gun's exit gently against his
temple.

~~~~~~~~

A fearful scream ripped
its way out of my throat as I tried to push myself out of the
vision, but it wouldn't let me. It held me captive within its
images, showing me how Robinia seemed to feel
right
about the decision he'd just
made, the one that would release his soul from his body so he may
meet the Creatures of Origin. Would they accept him?

I hadn't seen this happen.
I should have foretold this! Choking on my sobs, my eyes were
finally allowed to open when Robinia's body connected with the
floor, showing me one last image of Xania's face. Like me, the
Steward had not expected this outcome. Palliums did not take their
own lives. It was against their nature. Would the Creatures of
Origin protect Robinia's soul nonetheless? Could they ignore the
way his life had been used for evil?

Curling myself around the
package, I pressed my face into the mud, crying. He shouldn't have
died.

"Mallow." Darting my eyes
off the ground, I looked up at Digitalis, having nearly forgotten
his presence.

"Robinia is dead." I
whispered. When one has to deal with too many emotions at once, it
is a possibility that the body shuts down. It wasn’t long before
mine went numb to the pain I felt as the images kept flashing
before me.

The Assassin lent me a hand
and after helping me up onto my feet, I could instantly tell that
he was having an internal battle concerning his current
destination.

"You will not find what you
are looking for. He destroyed his machine." Timed words. I knew
exactly what I had to say in order to manipulate the Assassin.
Although I had not known Robinia had wanted to take his own life,
the destruction of the machine had been part of our plan. What had
once been attached to it was the very tool that would allow me to
manipulate Digitalis to do my bidding.

"Is all his knowledge
lost?"

"This package contains a
backup of all Robinia learned and knew." It was the boy's very
soul. "I will give it to you so you may use it to find what you
seek." Although I couldn't see the Assassin's mouth, his eyes
flashed with surprise at my knowing. "I am Seer, Digitalis. I know
what you wish for, but I do not carry the answer within me. Even if
you had found a fitting second to slip through my mother's cracks,
my powers could not have helped." I hugged the package tightly. "I
have tried, curious to know what is so important to someone with
such little feeling. It is part of those things I cannot touch and
unlock." Like I had no clue as to why Solenum and Calycanthus
didn't have the gift of foresight.

"But what you hold does."
He stated, not questioning.

Breathing in shakily, I
offered the Assassin the package with trembling hands. "It is yours
if you promise me something. This is a deal, Digitalis, not a
gift." He did not reach for it yet. If there was one thing about
him that made him unlike all other Regius, it was his patience and
being able to listen until the end of a story. And because I was
not his target, he would not kill me. My death would bring him
nothing.

"I promise I shall not lay
a finger on Everhart or Esquivel." He knew what I'd ask
for.

"Yet you will tell Xania
you took care of them," I finished for him.

"
Lie
to the Steward?" This may have
been the first time the assassin showed surprise.

"If you want this, then
that is what you have to do." A cold shiver shot down my spine as
Digitalis' smile became visible to me from behind his veil and his
hands closed around the package.

"What makes you believe I
will keep my word?"

"Your loyalty to the
Steward is not as strong as it is believed to be."

He stared at me in silence
for a long while before he inclined his head. "You have my word,
Seer."

Watching his figure fade
between the trees, my lips parted and sadness washed over my entire
being.

"This is the last time you
shall trick me." I whispered at the ground before pointing my gaze
up to the sky. "I do not know what you are and what power it is
that you hold, but this is the last time you shall use me as your
tool." Anger was so irrational sometimes. It led people to talk to
nothing, say things they didn't mean, or show others their
vulnerability.

I closed my eyes and
gritted my teeth as several tree roots erupted from the mud beneath
my feet, twirling their way gently around my ankles, mocking my
words.

"I will find you." I
promised.

There was something evil
about the Seer powers. To allow the person who carries the gift to
tap into its magic and see what was, is, and will be, something
must be taken from the carrier. Although something bigger than
themselves guided them to do certain things they didn't always
agree with, it wasn't that higher being that paid for the
consequences.

Robinia's death, although
at his own hands, could be connected back to my decision and
actions. While I knew everything happened for a reason, it would
not justify the loss of such a brilliant mind. Not in the eyes of
the Creatures of Origin. If they agreed to return his soul to their
midst, they would need a token. What would they take from me as
collateral for his death?

* * * *

Some people say I am
lucky.

I didn’t feel it much
though. Your parents had to die or abandon you in order to end up
in a boarding house like the one I’d landed in. I’d once wanted to
know what had happened while dreaming that my parents would come
back to reclaim me. It had never happened though, so I’d turned the
page and continued on with what I did have. Unfortunately, they
wouldn’t be the only people I’d lose in my life.

Acacia had died and then
Lupinus lost his way, abandoning what had been left of the 'lost
kids'. I’d thought my streak of bad luck had come to an end, but
things could always get worse. Calycanthus, a great friend, fell
off grid. He'd been missing for months. When Solenum followed, all
I could think was that they must have run away together. I was
upset that they hadn't brought me with them.

Holly had found her future
and home in LV, so it made sense for them not to ask her, but me?
Granted, I’d found a place to stay at Helix’s, but unlike Holly, I
had still come around on a daily basis to the boarding house to see
them.

A disconnected feeling
started to grow inside of me, leading me to stop hanging out with
Helix as much, avoiding Holly with all I was and blatantly ignoring
Marguerite’s presence when she was around. No matter how hard I
tried, I just couldn’t understand why Cali and Sol had abandoned
me. I’d considered Cali one of my best friends, and while I didn’t
see Sol in that same light, I’d shared an intimate moment with
her.

As though I’d needed to
feel their presence, not able to let go, I’d found myself going to
Edge nearly every day after they’d both gone. Holly thought me an
idiot, Helix worried and Marguerite pitied me. I thought I was the
only one in LV that missed them. Soon, I came to find out I was
wrong, the most unlikely person joining me on Edge. My hate for him
was more passionate than my friendships with Cali and Helix
combined.

~~~~~~~~

"Believe it or not, I'm in
no mood to bully you." Although I heard what he said, I didn't
respond right away, my eyes fixed on the mop of dark brown hair
that was starting to grow on top of his head. I'd always known him
to be bald.

"I’m not in the mood for
an ass kicking." I muttered as he came to stand beside me, leaning
onto the railing as I was. Silence dragged out between us for a
while, until I broke it, surprising myself as it seemed I was able
to have a civil conversation with this guy.

"You ever wonder what
happened to Lupinus?" I didn't mention Cali and Solenum since they
had been Brass' main target and it didn't make sense to voice their
names in his presence.

"All the time." Brass
murmured.

"If she hadn't died,
things would have stayed the same." I winced as Acacia entered my
mind.

"You know-" Growling, he
cut himself off and glared. The anger in his demeanor wasn't aimed
at me. Exhaling in exasperation, he ran his fingers through his
short hair. "Look, no disrespect, kay?"

Frowning and nodding, I
allowed him to say whatever was on his mind.

"I don't think Acacia and
Lupinus cared about us the way they did about crater face and
skeleton girl." Wrinkling his nose at me, he then pointed his
uncomfortable gaze back at the sea. "The way they were always
trying not to favor one kid more than the other; they didn't try
hard enough." Brass shrugged, giving me a look at a side of him I
never thought I'd see or find. He looked hurt. He'd been jealous of
the attention they had gotten.

~~~~~~~~

If someone had told me that
I would one day understand and agree with Brass, I'd have never
believed it. We'd made a sport out of knocking the shit out of each
other as we'd grown up. The number of wedgies, shoves, slaps,
smacks, bites, kicks, punches, hair pulling, pranks and name
calling we'd launched at each other back and forth... Well, I
suppose that in a way we were close, just not in the regular sense.
But that moment on Edge had us both realize we were a lot more
similar than we thought.

From there on forward
something happened and the wedgies, shoves, slaps, etc, seemed to
dial down quickly, almost cold turkey. I hadn't questioned it.
Brass, strangely enough, was someone I could relate to today and I
saw no reason to push it away. Of course, not everyone agreed that
my newfound friendship was a blessing.

“Delph.” Helix snapped,
returning my attention to the dining room table he, Holly, his
parents and myself were sitting at. "You're the one who kept going
on and on over the years how Brass is always up to no good. What
tells you that he isn't just pranking you again?"

Puffing out some
frustrated air, he shrugged and looked at Holly. She of course, had
to be here because they were practically married at this point. I'd
always felt different, but I figured I'm just weird, most likely
overreacting and will have to deal with it since they don't seem to
mind. I guess now they
did
mind.

"He's probably just trying
to fish all the secrets out of you so he can use them against you
later." Holly offered with a flippant gesture of the
hand.