Regius Read online

  Ah. I nodded. "You left a system."

  "Exactly, and created a new one that is a whole lot more free and less dangerous, too. Our main income is reselling loot, hence why we created the Rangers Alley. It's a war free zone, so all races, except Civilians, are allowed to enter and purchase whatever the hell we got our hands on. We travel through the sky and that's one of the reason the Altors, Regius and Palliums call us sky pirates. We don't like being called the P word by the way, so don't even think about using it."

  "Or what?"

  "Or it's a gun to your head." I stared dully his way and he shrugged. "Alright, whatever. Be my guest and try it for yourself to see if what I say is true. You're not gonna like the result. Then again, I'm pretty sure you won't even realize the consequence to saying that word since you'll be dead what with the bullet launching itself through your brain. Blood and skin pieces all over the place and-" Placing a hand over his mouth, I cringed while laughing.

  "I get the picture." Removing my hand, I took a moment to breathe, surprised my temper wasn't trying to poke its head to the surface.

  Was I angry for being lied to all my life, being kept in the dark when it came to matters that concerned the whole of Zinc, and not just a few specific types? Hell yeah. But it was also clear to me that shouting, stamping my feet and slamming doors would do me no good.

  "Dell?"

  "Yeah?"

  "If this barrier allowed me into the Rangers Alley, it means that I was meant to find out about all of this, right?"

  Dell frowned. "I don't know, dude. Getting inside the head of a Seer isn't really my job description. I'd tell you to go find one and ask, but unfortunately they're about as close to extinction as one can get."

  There were Seers too? Eye twitching, I stored that away for later. "Has a Civilian ever entered before?"

  "No."

  "Okay, so do I really need to get confirmation from a Seer and have them tell me that, yes, what I believe is correct? They wanted me to find out the truth." Inhaling deeply, I started to feel a tad more stable now that a plan was forming in my head.

  "I don't like where this is going." Dell announced.

  "Sure you don't, cause I'm gonna ask you to help me go up against the law the Altors, Palliums and Regius installed without the Civilians’ consent."

  "Juglan is going to kill me."

  "Juglan?" I asked.

  "My boss. He's captain to Apnea. Which, by the way, Isa's not gonna be happy with me either. He's Juglan's first. Guo's his second and Ali is Apnea's cook, but also Juglan's friend." Dell told me in a conversational manner, seemingly forgetting my request for a split second. I'd met him not even an hour ago, but I could tell he had the attention span of a butterfly.

  As we fell silent, I thought about all I'd learned. I felt betrayed. While being clueless seemed to be a lot more comfortable than being aware, the reason as to why I was clueless was because I was the 'weak race'. That wouldn't do at all. I had no idea how I was going to go about it, or if it would even work, but one thing was certain; I was going to make the Regius and Altors pay for believing me unable to hold my own. Zinc wasn't just their land. It was mine too. Not just me, but all of the Civilians.

  "We need to be smart about this." I muttered, getting up and standing on the edge of the roof, the feeling of being at the top of the world returning to me as I looked out over Cobalt.

  "We?" Dell asked dully, getting up as well. "I just explained to you what Rangers are. We don't exactly do what is right. Why would I help a Civilian? What's in it for me? Ya gonna pay me?" Before I could respond, I could see a flash of confusion wash over his face. "Hey, you wanna tell me what your name is?"

  Blinking in surprise, I laughed. "Delph Riddle."

  Taking my hand, he shook it. "Dell McDuffy."

  "And no," I continued once the introduction was over. "I'm not going to pay you cause I have no gold. You're gonna be obliged to give me a hand since if you don't, I'll go back into that Rangers Alley, tell everyone I'm a Civilian, prove it with my weak blood, and then add that you are the one that smuggled me in there.” Smirking, I began making my way back down to the ground.

  Eyes now wide, Dell gulped and then instead of climbing down like I had, he simply jumped.

  Landing beside me, he squeaked. "Dude!" Grasping my shirt, he looked at me with fear in his eyes. "They'll have my freaking head for something like that!"

  I peaked down to see he’d lifted me off the ground. "I figured. How about we go find my friend and then you bring me to your captain so I can have a nice long chat with him."

  Groaning, he set me back down. "I'd rather face Cypress."

  "Who-"

  "Altor District Leader of Cobalt City. Scary man. Not as scary as his brother, Reed." Dell shrugged. "But I'd actually rather go and face the Iodin Leader than tell Juglan what I just did."

  "I didn't understand any of that."

  "Are you sure you want to annoy the Regius and Altors?" Dell asked slowly, practically spelling out each word. "Revealing that you know and plan on telling more Civilians may only worsen the war."

  "I don't want to simply annoy them or create a hiccup in their plans." I murmured. "I want to scare them."

  "Why?" Dell asked curiously.

  "Isn't it obvious?" When he shook his head, I shrugged. "Cause finding out about the truth is scary, Dell. A war was taking place right under my nose and they made sure that I was blind to that fact. All these years where I thought I was living in bored peace...what if something had set off the Regius and they decided that they no longer cared if they had the Civilians to rule over? We would have become aware of the situation without explanation and suddenly would have found ourselves in the middle of a war that we'd thought to have ended long ago." Granted, nothing had set the Regius off and clearly all Civilians were still as clueless as they were made to be centuries ago. But. "Point being, these people took something from us, and while I have no idea how, I have to give that something back to the others like you've given it back to me." Feeling good about my words, my shoulders relaxed at my statement.

  Dell on the other hand, sighed heavily, seemingly exhausted with my plan already. "Alright. I'll help you create the mess, but don't expect me to clean up with you. I will run if it comes down to it."

  "Deal."

  * * * *

  Chapter 29

  Narrator

  I had seen the Coliseum many a time in my glimpses of the past, present and future, so seeing it again wasn't all that strange. What was a rare sight to behold, were the people that were walking towards the entrance in my vision.

  A flash and I got to see the Altors residing within the Coliseum. They formed a perfect line, flanking each other’s sides. Galax and Datura were nowhere in sight, stuck down in the cells. Everyone that had gone, had returned. I could see Dandelion and Jatrop, both reluctant to be here, upset about Calycanthus' disappearance and worried for the Keeper.

  Beside them stood Iso, who didn't know whether to be glad or upset he hadn't gotten the chance to find his twin and speak. His arm was around Ivy's shoulder who held onto the gloved hand of my half-sister, Vervaine. She, like the Jansen's, could only worry about Calycanthus' wellbeing, and now that she knew of my existence thanks to the Regius Prince, she worried about me, too.

  Caltha and Ilex were staring ahead, waiting patiently to receive their orders from one of the three Elders standing before the Trainers and students.

  Iris was the first one to break out of the line, stepping forward to meet her daughter halfway. Anemone had returned from Iron Island, accompanied by Angi, the District Leader of that region. She was a short, round woman in her late thirties with black hair loosely tied. She wore a long, black dress with combat boots underneath, as though she'd been pulled out of a fancy dinner and had no time to change. Considering Anemone's neat attire, that might have been exactly the case.

  She was distracted when Cypress, District Leader of Cobalt City, came to stand beside her and gave her a quick hug. Unli
ke her, he was dressed in the Soldier uniform most Altors wore. He was very stereotypical; tall, muscular, square, black hair, tanned skin and an unnaturally odd mix of one grey eye and one blue. While he looked like his mother, Rose, he was a man of few words like his father, Pieris.

  His brother Reed was the opposite. While he looked like his father, he was as loud as his mother. Like Cypress, he had one grey eye and one blue, but what made him special and perfect to be the District Leader of Iodin City, was the rest of his looks. He wasn't tanned and his hair was pale blue. Actually, with the exception of the one grey eye, he looked Regius through and through.

  But the party was not yet complete. Flux, Leader of the Palliums and his heirs, Conium and Galaxi, were next to appear in the Coliseum.

  There was a reason why these people rarely gathered in the same place. If word got out, the Regius would take advantage and try to wipe out the entire hierarchy of Altor’s. Now though, they were in a dire situation and Pieris had been informed by none other than myself that changes needed to be made.

  Had they known what would soon happen, their certainty of believing things would turn out alright may not have been that certain. Their Keeper of the Dead was currently reaching a state of instability. What none of the people in the Coliseum knew, including Datura himself, was that when a Keeper of the Dead loses what makes their life worth living, the task of the Death Tongue becomes a burden too heavy to carry.

  While Calycanthus and Datura had once been separated before, the situation now wasn't the same. The key difference is that in their first separation was that Calycanthus had been in Lithium Village, which our Keeper had been very much aware of. The luxury of knowing his best friend and lover was safe, wasn’t something that was granted today. Without this knowledge, Datura would lose his focus, using whatever energy he had to seek an answer to his question. When the ghosts couldn’t help him, he would push himself towards the edge, and that was just another way of saying that our Keeper of the Dead was very likely to lose his mind. How does a Keeper control souls filled with greed for a harbor, when they don't know how to take care of themselves?

  And if that wasn't bad enough, things were worse for the heir.

  * * * *

  Chapter 30

  Datura Lovelace

  Datura watched as the Elders locked the door behind them, leaving him and the prince in their respective cells.

  "You knew they would expect me to become king one day."

  Turning his ruby gaze to Galax, he let out a weak sigh and then nodded. He had known because just as Vervaine had told Galax he would one day find his light, she'd seen in that same vision he'd wear the crown. Datura hadn't known the exact circumstances though, and now that that factor had been revealed by the Elders, the Keeper wasn't sure it was such a good thing after all.

  "But never would I have guessed them to be capable of using you as they intend to."

  Galax looked away, his sapphire eyes still as empty as they had become when he'd been jolted with the news of Solenum's death.

  "Honestly, I'm not surprised." The prince murmured. "My question is how they expect me to rule over a kingdom when I can no longer feel myself."

  "They're asking you to become their puppet!" The Keeper growled, wishing he could get out of here and do something about everything. Feeling weak all of a sudden, Datura let himself lean back against the bars, sliding down until he sat on the ground. Calycanthus could never leave his mind. "They didn't speak of a kingdom where the King was someone they bowed down to, they spoke of a person who was fit to wear the crown and could be their face."

  "I'm very well aware I was taken and put in the Palliums care so they could groom me to become their perfect tool, one they could use when the war reached a point of desperation. Xania is forcing their hands, Datura."

  How could he sound so calm? Datura knew that when a Regius lost his light, serious damage was done to the Blue Blood, but it had never been revealed to him the extent. While Galax didn't exactly give him a clear answer to the question, it was obvious to the Keeper that the prince no longer cared about what happened to him.

  "You cannot accept this!" He shouted, jumping back up onto his feet as the sudden rage flashed through him. "And there was once a time I wondered how it is Altor ghosts and souls could be as evil as they are!" Screaming at the door now and no longer Galax, he hoped the people upstairs could hear and feel his anger. "They have no idea how terrible they become once they die. And they can never find out because they are not me. They aren't the Keeper of the Dead!"

  Datura grabbed his heart, overwhelmed. "When I say someone is alive, my word is supposed to be law. I am in control of ghosts and souls. If only they would let me go to the Valley, I could confirm my belief. I can prove that they are still alive!" He looked at the prince. "How is it that without my voice, they cannot pass on to peace, but here, alive, my voice is of no matter?"

  "If it weren't true, my system wouldn't be shutting down on me." Galax whispered. "I won't stop you from believing Calycanthus may still be alive, but Solenum isn't." Although he could hear what the prince told him, other voices were trying to get his attention at the same time. "If you were so sure they were alive yourself, you wouldn't be losing control over what you are, Datura. The ghosts are eating you alive. Though the others can't see it as they are too preoccupied worrying over the future of Zinc, I'm as much in this numb point as you are. I can see what the Death Tongue is doing to you, Datura. The souls are getting stronger as you let yourself become weaker. And it won't be long until they break free from their realm."

  "Why are you so sure she is dead? What is it about the light system that overrules my certainty?"

  Galax smiled weakly. "They are surrounding you."

  Datura frowned, looking around him, his vision filled with the translucent figures. It was a sight he had become accustomed to these last few days.

  Surprise washed over him nonetheless. "You can see them?" The Keeper breathed.

  "They're calling for you."

  Datura's entire being was filled with dread when the prince spoke. Feeling his throat turn dry and goosebumps spring alive on his skin, Datura stared at Galax in fear.

  "You're dying."

  "When the light dies, so does the Regius."

  * * * *

  Chapter 31

  Reed Saxton

  "Status?" Aram asked as Iris returned to the stone table in the Coliseum conference room, Anemone no longer in her arms. As the Elder spoke, those who'd been asked to be present sat down with Aram at one end and Pieris on the other. Ilex, Caltha and Iris were seated on the left while Cypress had come to sit beside myself on the other. I couldn't even remember the last time we'd all been in the same room together. The war didn't allow it, each of us was needed in our respective districts, but although skeptic when Aram had approached me, I could see it was a relatively serious matter that did indeed need all of our voices.

  "Your daughter is on watch along with Ivy and Dandelion at the front of the Coliseum." Iris informed.

  For as long as I could remember, Aram had tried to match me up with Vervaine. She was about as reluctant as I was. Not that she wasn't a pleasant person, but I needed a bit more than conversation in a marriage. Her Seer side couldn't allow that.

  "The Palliums and their guards are in their respective rooms. I placed Jatrop and Iso as guards in front of the cell entrance." Iris added, clearly not pleased with having to put the Keeper and prince through these circumstances. "Angi will be right with us, she's finishing up Anemone's bedtime story."

  Turning to look at myself and Cypress, Pieris wrinkled his nose. "Rose will join us when she feels like it. Your mother is still rather upset that I stopped her from completing her suicide mission." Grinning at my father, I could hear my little brother grunt, telling me that he too was rather amused with our parents situation. Apparently, our dear mom had decided to go and find the Ghost Assassin. He was the one that knew the answer to the location of Jan Jansen. Of course good old dad
made sure she didn't so much as breathe the same air as Digitalis.

  Leaning back, I blew a lock of blue hair out of my face. "You could have just called me. I'd have intercepted her once she entered Iodin City."

  "Or," Angi butted in, sitting down beside Cypress as she joined in on the conversation, having changed out of her evening dress. "Me. I know I don't watch over big ass cities such as yourself and Cypress, but my island controls the ferry lines. Had your dad called me, I'd have snapped my fingers and made it so the ferries wouldn't have shipped out."

  "Did Anemone go down okay?" Iris asked Angi, who nodded with a smile.

  "You seem to forget how conniving mom is." Cypress muttered, pulling us back into the previous topic. "The moment she heard the report of Calycanthus' growing powers and his disappearance, she made use of the situation. She slipped through all the security thanks to the kid's invisibility barrier."

  "Can we get back to the matter at hand?" Ilex asked somewhat stiffly. "I got two dead students, which results to a tense Keeper of the Dead and a Regius who just lost his light. He clearly won't do any harm right now considering the state he's in, but I want to point out that we don't know how the whole light system works. For all we know our future king may just burst and worsen the war by running back to his original birth right."

  "And," Caltha continued, showing me that those two were still as tight as they ever were. "Neither do we have that much info on Keepers. What we know we learned through Datura. He's never been in a situation such as he's in right now, so consequences are unknown to us."

  Aram grunted. "Iris?"

  She shook her head. "I've looked, honest. I can't find anything that could help us with Datura or Galax."

  Jan's library. Iris had been asked to unlock the door and enter it, which she'd been avoiding ever since her husband left to find an answer to a question and dying in the process.