The Steele Wolf

CHAPTER 25



Wide eyed and confused, I turned and rushed out the door. I was not sure what I had seen; I decided that, with the way I was feeling, I wasn’t ready for a confrontation. Was I running away? Probably. But why wasn’t I turning around to confront Mona and fight for Joss? Maybe it was because, deep down, I knew that Gloria’s words had struck a chord with me and I was still feeling the reverberations from our conversation. Maybe Joss had chosen a long time ago, and this was all just a farce. If so, then why did my chest hurt so much? Why did he bring me here? Was it all a lie just so I would come and bring Kael and look for his sister?

Angry tears blurred my vision and I found myself back on the same floor as the observatory. The sound of music and laughter echoed into the dark hallway where I stood alone. Pressing my forehead into the wall, I tried to calm myself down. But it was no use; I couldn’t go back in. I couldn’t pretend to be happy and carefree. I didn’t belong here, I hated living up in the air on SkyFell and all I wanted to do was escape. And that’s when I realized that Mona was right. Gloria had won. I was going to leave.

Ripping off the necklace that Joss had given me, I placed it on the windowsill in the hallway outside of the Observatory. I was taking the coward’s way out and was going to sneak out in the middle of the night. I would leave Joss and Nero a note to explain my disappearance. After all, I never wanted this. It was premature. I never wanted to pretend to be engaged to Joss for fear of ruining our relationship. I was right. It had.

I had made it to my room without making any wrong turns, I grabbed my small bag threw the few items of clothing I had in it, not wasting time on folding them. Very carefully, I laid out my dress that Berry had brought for me on the bed in hopes that she would take care of it for me. Now for the hard part: leaving the Jesai residence without being seen.

With the celebration taking place on another level, it was easier than I had anticipated. I only had to stop and duck around a corner once before I made it down the steps and back onto the street. Walking in what I hoped was the right direction; I followed the road to the end of town. It was only when I saw the tall tower in the distance with the sky cages did I falter in my decision. Where was I going to go?

Lanterns along the street led the way and I approached the tower to see the beautiful white perot on its perch who trilled softly when I came near. I stopped to admire the bird, when a louder screech sounded. I stepped back and fell on my rear. How could I have forgotten the dorabill that also had a perch outside of the tower? The dorabill screeched again and flapped his wings, and the rustle of a chain drew my attention to his foot. A long chain was attached around his leg and led to a metal hook in the tower.

“Who’s there?” a gruff voice called into the night. A light came on in the tower and a middle-aged man stepped out into the street wearing a nightshirt. I hadn’t realized the obscurity of trying to leave SkyFell at such a late hour and the attention it would bring.

“Just me, sir,” I called back unthreateningly. I held up my hands to show that I was not hostile. “I was hoping to take a skycage down.”

“Well, hasn’t anyone told you?” He answered, rubbing his hands through his whiskered face.

“Told me what, sir?”

“We don’t run the skycages at night.”

“Well, why not?”

“We just don’t.”

“Well, what if it was an emergency and I had to get to Skydown?”

“Then you would risk your own neck and take a skite. It’s too dangerous for the operators of the skycages to run night shifts. Plus it’s harder for the dorabills. They aren’t nocturnal, ya know.”

“But I can’t operate a skite,” I said dejectedly.

“Well then, missy, it’s best you wait until morning. You’ll see. I’m sure whatever problem you are running from will have worked itself out by then.”

“What makes you so sure that I’m running from something?” I challenged.

“Pretty little thing like you, with a little bag in the middle of the night. Yeah, you’re running. Just wait; with morning comes a new day.” With a shooing motion the Skycage operator yawned and returned to his tower. A few minutes later the light inside was extinguished.

The white perot cocked his head and looked at me questioningly. The large red dorrabill shuffled sided to side as if it were sulking. I glared angrily at the bird and hissed under my breath. “Tattle tale,” for it was the dorabill who had alerted the skycage operator to my presence. I’m sure that is exactly what they were trained to do and it only made me dislike the bird more. The bird puffed out his chest to make himself look bigger and settled down again, still giving me a woeful look.

Walking away from the tower, I made my way along the wall that surrounded the city. What was I to do now? I definitely couldn’t fly a skite, so I was stuck waiting for sunrise. Trying to make the best of a terrible situation that I had gotten myself into, I tuckered down into the lee between two buildings that were close to the wall. I was still within walking distance of the tower. At first light, I would be at the tower waiting for the first skycage out of here. Then I would find Faraway, and then what? I guess I hadn’t planned farther than that. Placing my forehead on my knees, I wrapped my arms around my legs and tried to think through all of my options.

Was I going to abandon everyone? Leave without telling Hemi and Kael? I was wrong for leaving and I knew it. Just when I decided to be strong and confront my fears instead of running, when I decided to accept who I was and Joss’ choice, I was attacked painfully from the inside out.

“AAAAHHH!” I cried and grabbed my stomach. It burned and I felt as if I were being ripped apart. Falling to my side, I curled in a ball and rocked myself, hoping the pain would depart as quickly as it had come. Sweat dripped from my face and I bit my lip in hopes of stopping the pain. It worsened and I screamed into the night, digging my fingernails into the ground. My breath was ragged and sent little puffs of dust into the air. Turning onto my knees, I tried to get up but I was crippled with pain. My hair had fallen out of its beautiful coif and dangled in the dirt, hiding my tears as they dripped onto the ground.

I cried out again and this time I heard an even louder scream. Only it wasn’t mine, it was higher pitched but it echoed my cries. Every time I screamed I heard a louder one, until loud voices could be heard in the distance along with a commotion. Shortly after, a great shadow loomed over me and the answering calls of my screams stopped. I heard the rustle of chain and felt something powerful nudge me in the side. I toppled over and saw the giant red head of the tower’s dorabill inches from my face. Painfully, I tried to crawl away from the bird but I watched as the bird’s great talons kept stepping in front of me, blocking my escape.

The manacle around the dorabill’s leg sported a foot of broken chain and I could see fresh blood from where the bird had struggled to break free. He had heard my screams and probably mistook me for a dying animal and fresh dinner. I was probably a more tempting piece of meat than a rabbit.

I heard a whimper escape my throat and I thought how pathetic I was, unable to gather the strength to put up a fight. The dorabill cocked its head and darted quickly forward towards my stomach as if it were going to attack. I threw my hands over my neck and tried to curl into a ball to protect my soft spots. Who was I kidding? I was all soft spots. The bird stopped inches away and turned his head back and forth before leaning back away and screeched loudly into the night. More voices could be heard and I saw torches coming lighting the night. The dorabill stepped back from me as men came rounding the corner.

The tower’s operator was the first one I recognized, still in his nightclothes but wearing boots and what looked to be a giant club and a bucket of rabbit. Other townsmen gathered around and froze when they saw me on the ground huddled in fear and pain. They looked confused and shocked. They were probably here looking to find someone who stole a dorabill, not an injured young girl.

“Well, the least you could have done is wait till morning,” the skycage operator fumed. “I didn’t think you had it in you to try and steal a dorabill?”

“I…I…d-d-didn’t,” I gritted out between clenched teeth as another painful cramp came on and I curled up and groaned loudly.

“Larn, she’s hurt!” came a female voice.

“Well, I can see that now!” The operator, whose name was Larn, shot back. Larn stepped forward and dropped the club and bucket on the ground. The dorabill shot out his giant neck and overturned the bucket to get at the pieces of rabbit and ate his fill in two crunchy bites. Larn leaned down and touched my forehead, which was hot to the touch. “Golly, she’s burning up!”

“Who is she?” the female spoke up again.

“She’s staying with Jesai family. I’ve seen her with their son.” This time another unidentified man spoke up.

“Quickly, we must get her back.”

I was lifted into the air and carried swiftly down the street. The mob of people that started with us died down as they stopped following us and one by one entered their home.

“No!” I tried to shake my head. I didn’t want to go back and the pain in my stomach was dying down into smaller controllable cramps. “I’m fine. Please let me down.” But it wasn’t Larn who was carrying me, it was someone else.

“I’ll take her from here.” A voice shot out from the darkness. The man carrying me stopped and waited for the speaker to come into the light. I felt myself cringe as I recognized the balding head and robe of Talbot.

“Oh, Talbot, it’s you. Do you know her?” the man carrying me asked. He must know Talbot and know that he is a close friend of the family.

“Yes, she is the guest of honor at the party and she ran off. I’ll take her around the back so no one will be the wiser.”

The stranger carrying me shook his head and carefully set me down feet first onto the ground. Weakened, I leaned against the closest building for support. “Alright!” The stranger spoke. “Just make sure she seen to right away. She’s apparently sick and running a high fever.”

“Wait,” I called out. But the stranger, having done his good deed for the middle of the night, turned and ran back home.

I clutched the wall and glared at Talbot as he came near me. “Is it true?” he asked.

“Is what true?”

“Are you running a fever?” He stepped closer to me and raised his hand as if to feel the temperature of my skin.

Turning my head I avoided his touch. “Not anymore,” I lied.

“Do you have cramping in the stomach? Does it feel like you’re on fire?” He asked quietly, surveying me with his dark eyes. A chill went up my spine as I stared at him, trying to place that cold calculating stare.

“Sometimes.”

“Hmmmm, Thalia, Thalia, Thalia.” He chanted, walking around me while still keeping me pinned between the wall and himself. “What am I going to do with you? You were the only one worth keeping. At first, I thought you wouldn’t survive, but you’re stronger than that. You’ve surprised me. And now you are proving me wrong again. Even as we speak, you are trying to resist.” He stopped pacing and leaned towards me. “But you can’t.”

Fear shot up my back and I froze at his words. My heart began to race and I could hear its frantic thud loudly in my ears. The dark eyes were suddenly familiar; only, I had seen them watching me from behind a silver mask. Here was Raven in the flesh. I felt myself go weak with terror at facing my greatest nightmare.

“You are coming with me.” Talbot grabbed my wrist and commanded me to follow him. Out of fear, I followed for a few steps and then I resisted. He pulled on my arm again but I was tired and weak so I dropped like dead weight to the ground and pulled away from him. “All she was supposed to do was make you drink,” He snarled angrily at me. “You didn’t drink anything, did you?”

I smiled weakly at him in triumph.

“Stupid girl,” he spat out. Whether he was talking about me or Gloria, I wasn’t sure. “I’ll show you,” he threatened and grabbed me around the throat. I felt a jolt of power slice through me and I went limp. Talbot grinned evilly and sweat dripped off his bald head. He was tired, weaker now, but so was I.

The jolt, paralyzed me, and Talbot grabbed me under the arms and started dragging me down an alley, murmuring curses under his breath. “Stupid female couldn’t even follow one instruction. How in the world you figured out about the drink, I don’t know, but it would have made it much easier if you hadn’t.”

He fumbled with his jacket and pulled out a small packet. He dumped a few seeds on the ground as he reached for another and tried to shove it in my mouth. I bit at his fingers and felt the bitter familiar taste of the drug used to paralyze me in prison and that Bvork had used to incapacitate me in a solid, concentrated seed form.

Talbot forced one into my mouth. I pushed out the seed and bit down with my teeth to keep him from forcing another one in. But I was already feeling the effects of it being in my mouth and a numb feeling started to take a hold of my senses.

“I hate wasting the nulle seed. They are so few and rare. It’s why I prefer to shave it down and use it in drinks. It stretches farther,” he chuckled.

My eyes started to get heavy and I felt him grow larger in my sight.

“When used in the right dosage, it’s also a great mind control; did you know? Mona, of course, didn’t have the gift of persuasion until we stole it from a poor little Denai. It’s sad that Mona was only able to retain that one ability.”

I had no choice. I was losing this battle, so I decided to give in to it, let him think that I had swallowed the whole seed. Pretending to go limp in Talbot’s arms, I let him drag me down the street, waiting for the perfect opportunity to surprise him. Plus, I needed to see where he was going to take me.

“You probably wonder whose Denai gifts we gave you. But ah, ah, ah, that would be no fun. I’m interested to see what you retain and which ones are still developing. You are a conundrum. I’ve counted four denai gifts running through you, and it seems that another one is going to appear soon. I know, I always know. Headaches, stomachaches, fevers. It will be so much fun to recreate our studies. Mona has asked if, when we are done with you, she could have your gifts. You think the girl would be satisfied, but no, not that one.”

“Stop!” a voice yelled out of the darkness.

Talbot froze and dropped me on the ground but stood over me, keeping his hands free; eyes darting back and forth, looking into all of the shadows for the speaker.

“YOU!” the voice yelled again. “How dare you!” I took this moment of distraction to roll into Talbot’s legs and knock him off his feet. His moment of surprise didn’t last long as he scrambled to his feet, but I was already scrambling away towards the now familiar voice of Fanny.

Fanny stepped into the street carrying a torch, which lit her copper curls to look like a ball of fire. “How dare you take my invention and turn it into a means to inflict pain.” She shook with anger and I tried to stand next to her and take the torch from her shaking hands. Fanny shook me off and stepped forward to confront Talbot. “You stole my designs and perverted my creation.”

“No, I didn’t. I made a few changes and it has been immensely useful to me. It is helping us make the world a better place.”

“I highly doubt that,” she growled, clenching a hammer in her hands that she pulled from her work belt.

“Oh, but it has. Even now, after all of these months, it is still affecting her, changing her, making her stronger.”

“What have you done to me?” I had found my voice and for once I could get my answers. “What did you do to Kael?” I screamed at him.

“Why, I’ve started the wheels of fate in motion. I’ve released your true form. You can feel it, can’t you, Trying to get out? It’s going to break free. There’s no stopping it now. I injected the serum and the machine has activated it.” Talbot spoke but took a step backwards away from me.

“That’s not an answer.”

“That’s all that the answer you’re going to get.”

“Why me?” I yelled at him.

Talbot didn’t answer but looked at me, eyes squinting joyfully, knowing that he held the answers I was so desperate for.

“Why not?” He intoned taking another step away from us as Fanny and I took a step closer to him.

“Where’s Tenya? Where is Joss’ sister? What have you done with her?” The questions poured out as I realized he was starting to play a game and was refusing to answer my questions. I desperately needed him to answer these ones, if any.

“Oh, she is far from here. Don’t worry. She is safe in the hands of my faithful Septori, experiencing their humble hospitality.” Talbot spoke with his hands dramatically; he cocked his head to the side as if he were listening for something. “But I fear my welcome here has come to an end. It’s such a pity that you chased away Xiven. I’m very eager to personally see how strong you’ve become. But that will be another day.” The noise Talbot was listening for became louder and drew closer.

Unsure of what Talbot’s next move would be, I tried to prevent him leaving by draining him of his life energy. If I could drain him and make him pass out then he couldn’t escape. But it wasn’t there; there wasn’t any power or life force for me to steal. How could it be? Was he somehow shielded from me?

“I’m tired of playing games with you, like a cat and mouse. This time you will come to me and I will show you what your greater purpose is. I shall be waiting for you, Thalia.” Talbot bowed deeply before us and waved farewell. “Till then.” He turned and walked into the shadows.

“Stop him!” I yelled to Fanny. “Use your powers.”

She turned to me with defeat on her face. “I can’t. I only have powers of healing, nothing more.”

I took off at a run but found that I could only stumble along painfully after him into the darkness. “Kael!” I yelled loudly. “Kael, help! Where are you, you stupid SwordBrother? Kael!”

A shadow jumped from one of the balconies of the Jesai home and landed in front of me, grasping my shoulders to steady me. “Thalia, what’s the matter?”

Swinging with all my might at him, I pushed Kael roughly into the wall, not bothering to notice the blood and ripped shirt he already sported. “Where have you been? Where were you when I needed you?” I cried desperately, my hands shaking as I grabbed his shirt. “Go after Talbot. It’s Talbot. Talbot is Raven and he is getting away.”

Kael looked at me, his face a blank mask. A deadly blank mask. He only spoke one word. “Where?”

“He went that way.” I pointed into the darkness and Kael flew after him. His hands reaching for the throwing knives he kept hidden within his vest. Kael’s footsteps were silent as he chased after him and I wondered to myself how long it took him to learn to run so silently.

A soft hand touched my shoulder and I turned quickly to see Fanny. Standing this close to her, I realized how petite she was. She was even a few inches shorter than I.

“I’m sorry, Thalia. You must hate me. I’ve disappointed you twice now.” Fanny looked devastated as. Her head dropped in shame and she dropped her hammer into the dirt and fell to her knees. “I couldn’t stop him. I’m not strong outside of my workshop shield. Plus, there wasn’t anything I could have done.”

I dropped to my knees next to her and put my arm around her. “No, Fanny, don’t blame yourself. I’m not disappointed. It was wrong of me to ask you to do something I couldn’t. I just assumed you had other gifts besides healing. It was my fault.” I wrapped my arms around her and comforted the older woman.

“I was coming to tell you that I found the information you asked me about. I didn’t think you wanted to wait until morning so I was going to leave a message at your home. I was on my way when I heard his voice. I would recognize that voice anywhere, although he wasn’t speaking with an accent. I hung back in the shadows to be sure and when I saw him, I knew it was him.”

“What did you find out?” I asked.

“Well, I was right about the fake name.” She ruffled in her apron pocket and pulled out a much worn, yellowed piece of paper. “The order was placed by a Balto Varen from Thunder Valley. That man was definitely him except that when he spoke with me he wore a wig and spoke with an accent.” Fanny stood up and I walked with her as we headed to the closest entrance to the Jesai home. We parted ways and I told her to come by if she remembered any more information for me. Heading up the stairs to the main room door, I opened it to find that the place was quiet, empty.

Was I gone so long that everyone had departed and gone to sleep? That’s when it hit me. I had forgotten about Mona. She was a traitor, in league with her father. I flew up the stairs as fast, or should I say as slow, as my wobbly legs let me and burst through the observatory door. What I saw left me speechless. The room was destroyed.