The Line Madder, page 10
Midas drops me as a figure something like a white horse enters the room, resuming a human form immediately after. “Take care of Seth,” the familiar voice calls to Ser. “I’ll deal with this one.”
Ser walks over to me and raises her stinger. Is this it? Is this the end? Have I lost any use to her that I might have had after our energy was united and now she doesn’t need me alive? Or does she think I’m suffering from Midas trying to shut me down and so she plans to put me out of my misery? She leans over and opens my mouth. Damn it. I can’t move. She’s going to hurt me. She prepares herself to strike me. Does she know that I’m scared? I won’t be thinking for much longer, I won’t be breathing for much longer. If only I could move. The red stinger of my companion, and someday my wife, comes down upon me to ensure that there never will be a someday for me. It goes right into my mouth and pierces the back of my throat.
It doesn’t hurt, not even a little. In fact, it feels good.
And suddenly I can breathe again. Ser removes her stinger and smiles down at me. I can see her human features even when she’s a massive scorpion, and they’re kind, pleasant, and a little worried even. I slowly stand up.
“Sorry, Seth,” she says. “I figured you’d be a little concerned there, but it was the only thing I could come up with.” She shakes her head. “Hopefully that won’t have to happen again.”
Hopefully? I know all too well what that could mean. Hopefully is a word for when there’s nothing you can do about something and can only rely on another person’s luck or skill to pull them through. Ser knows that we might not get out of this fight with Midas unharmed.
“Um, yeah. Let’s just get this over with.” My Blood returns. I run at Midas while he’s preoccupied with the horse, which is actually Cloude, and I claw across his neck.
“You idiot! Why won’t you lie down and give up already?” he shrieks. I must have got him good. Fortunately I wasn’t in contact with him long enough for him to take over my mind again. Midas bleeds from the massive wound on his neck. He strikes me with his arm, too distracted to use his Voice for anything useful. The pitch black energy soon returns to him and he uses his donkey head to hit me in the stomach, right where I was pierced earlier.
“Sorry, but that’s not going to happen.” I growl. I completely transform once more and throw myself at Midas. I manage to hold him to the ground long enough for Ser to approach him.
“It might look like I’m helping you like I helped Seth, but don’t count on that.” She slams her stinger through his head.
Ser, Cloude, and I wait, and when we confirm that he won’t be bothering us anymore we place his body outside so no one would find it indoors. “Thank you for your help, Cloude,” Ser says.
“Me? What did I do? I just came in here and didn’t do much.”
“You caught his attention,” Ser told Cloude. “Without that we would have been in much more trouble.”
“I was only a distraction, y’know.” She shrugs. “It wasn’t much.”
“You were very important in this,” I sigh. “Your contribution wasn’t worth nothing, and you know it.”
“I suppose.”
Cloude leads us to the upstairs level of the house. The place isn’t much better than it is downstairs, except the smell of alcohol is better masked by a cheap air freshener. “Everyone, everything’s okay now. That blond kid won’t be any more of an issue.”
“Midas was back?” Hibou asks. He is afraid. Of course he would be, though. Midas is a strong opponent. Or rather, he was.
“Yes, but he has been defeated. We should leave for Virid soon, but we should have some introductions first. Everyone, this is Seth Madder. I know some of you do not know him well or at all, but he has been very helpful to me in the last little while.”
She turns to a girl with shoulder length brown hair and a piercing above her lip. “This is Morgan Atwell. She lived across from you, if I remember correctly. She seems to have the same opinions on Ivoire’s discomfort regarding piercings. Her Blood takes the form of a deer.”
Morgan waves slightly. There is a hint of apathy in her hazel eyes, but it looks more like a mask than a true feeling.
“Next we have Lukas Burrin. He’s Morgan’s boyfriend from another world, though I have no idea really which one. His Voice forms into a shrew. It’s kind of cute, actually. He works in developing technologies for an unknown group, but he can’t really assist us in that regard since he’s only allowed to make things for them, according to his contract.”
“I’m sorry about that,” the man tells us. “I needed the job to take care of my father and stepmother's wedding costs.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s for your family.” Even after knowing this guy for only seconds, I’m pleased with his efforts to help his parents. That gains my approval, if nothing else. Also, I would be lying if he didn’t have something almost charming about him. Morgan made a good choice.
“I’ll do my best to help you in any other way I can,” Lukas adds.
“Thank you, Lukas.” Ser scans everyone. “So is that everyone? The rest of you know each other by now, I assume?”
“Well we’ve been here together for the last while in this room,” Dalila states. “We don’t need any more greeting time.”
“Good. We’ll be leaving for Virid then. Hibou, do you know of a way to get there from here? It is your home, after all.”
“I think I know. There’s a hot air balloon system that runs from different major worlds to Virid all the time. I’m pretty sure Ivoire was on the list of worlds that the balloons run to.”
Of all the unusual transportation, we’re going to be stuck out in a little balloon. How could this get better?
Dalila knows where to find the balloon station. Why someone would think calling it that is a good idea is beyond me, but if it works for the locals, who am I to complain? There are worse things going on in Ivoire anyway, I’m sure. As we walk to the station, people glare at our group. What the hell did we do wrong? Did they discover what we did to Midas? No, then they would be alerting the police to our location. The people were just offended by something about us.
“Pull up your scarf,” Tala instructs me. “And Morgan, you should find a way to cover your face. We warned you that they didn’t like that here.”
“Screw what they think,” Morgan groans.
We rent a balloon, and somehow the eight of us are able to fit inside the basket. Not well. Not comfortably. It’s something, though, and Dalila at least thinks it’s better than riding two separate balloons with the risk of getting a group of us lost. We don’t go forward at all. I’m not sure how hot air balloons work, but they sure aren’t supposed to stay in place forever until they go up. Which is exactly what we’re doing now.
“There’s a portal above the balloon,” Hibou comments. “That’s why we’re only going up.”
“Oh,” I mumble, feeling suddenly a little too foreign for my preferences.
The balloon takes twenty or so minutes to reach the portal, and when it does and the balloon goes through we’re hit by intensely pouring rain.
“What is this?” Dalila asks. “I didn’t think we’d be getting weather like this.”
Hibou smiles. “The weather is usually like this. The amount of rain helps the plants here grow.”
“That’s kind of strange,” Dalila mumbles.
The wind blows through the boy’s hair as he leans out of the balloon. “It could be to some, but my sister really liked the rain. Her soul is what created this place. Some don’t believe that, but I see no reason not to.” A tear appears in his eye.
“She died tens of years ago. Before you were even born,” Morgan states. “I’m not sure how she could be your sister unless there’s something going on with your family that I don’t know about.”
The boy adjusts his green jacket’s collar and smiles. “She’s not technically my sister, no. She’s regarded as a sister to the people of Virid.” He pauses. “But I’ve seen her. She’s appeared to me. She comes to me in dreams sometimes and I can swear that I’ve seen her for real sometimes. I think I saw her on my way to meet a couple of you back before that report I was supposed to do.” Hibou looks at the ground. “I bet it sounds kind of silly, doesn’t it? I’ve been seeing her for as long as I can remember, but I don’t think anyone else has.”
“Maybe you could show her to us someday. I’d like to meet her,” I tell him. It must be really hard for him to have such a strong connection to a girl that had never lived while he was alive, but as long as he can still think of her as his family member, there’s no reason for anyone to doubt him. If only I was able to see people that were gone…
“Seth, it’s time to get out now.” We’re on the ground and Tala’s pulling at my grey coat. “We have to meet your family across the town.”
Lukas has rented a van for the group of us to fit in. Though it has only seven seats and there are eight of us, Ser uses her Blood to become a scorpion of regular scorpion size. I’m left in charge of holding onto her so she doesn’t get lost or destroyed. The shrew boy drives the car much too fast over the speed limit to reach the destination in a reasonable amount of time. It’s a good thing that we haven’t been flagged by any cops. When we get to the building I notice that instead of a regular home or an office of any kind, it’s a mansion. What the hell? How did they get a hold of a mansion so easily? Why aren’t they living here all the time if they can afford to do this?
I cautiously approach the enormous building, climbing the large flight of stairs that leads to the entrance. Ser escapes from my hand and turns back to her regular self. The rest of the group soon follow behind, with Cloude taking the lead. “So should we knock? It looks safe enough.”
“Hold on. You don’t know what could be inside ready to attack. For all we know Seth’s family isn’t actually here and this was all a trap.” Tala inspects the wooden door. “It looks fine, but we should still be careful.”
Hibou falls to the ground. “D-Don’t go in!” he raspily warns. “Someone will…”
“Someone will what?” Lukas asks. He bends down and comforts the younger boy.
“Someone won’t make it out of the building. You need to be careful!” Hibou stands up. “I-I’ll go in first. I know where the danger is.” He’s terrified. He opens the door a little before entering.
Tala puts her hand on his shoulder. “It will be okay, Hibou. Thank you for protecting us.”
Seven of us follow Hibou into the long halls of the mansion until we get to a point where from one hall, two more emerge. “Take the left one,” Hibou instructs. “There’s no danger down there. I’ll make sure nothing comes behind you.”
We walk and walk. The lights get dimmer in the halls until they’re changed by the third doorway without a door to intensely bright lighting that I can’t stand. I don’t generally mind light, but at this level it’s too much. It’s also very hot. “Do you know where this ends?” I ask anyone that’s willing to answer.
“Not really. None of us have been here before,” Cloude mutters. “I’m getting tired of walking. Isn’t there at least going to be somewhere to sit down and take a break?”
“Come on, darling, I’m sure we’ll be there soon. Then we can rest for as long as we need to,” Dalila tells her.
“All right, but I’m still not really pleased with whoever designed this place.”
I look back at everyone else. Cloude and Dalila are walking closely together, Morgan and Lukas are holding hands side by side at the back of the group, Tala is carefully moving forward at a constant pace, Ser follows a few paces behind me. Hibou is missing.
“Damn!” I run back in the direction that we came. “Have any of you seen Hibou in a while?”
“He’s gone?” Tala shrieks. She takes off even faster than I did, passing me in her efforts to get down the hall. “Hibou! Hibou, are you there?” Her voice carries tears and terror. Soon, the older woman is out of sight.
I finally reach the end of the hall and see a silver bracelet lying on the floor. I recognise it as Tala’s. Did she go missing too? No, I hear her crying from the place where the hall split. I pick up the item and approach her sound. It’s dark. Following her sound feels exactly like the dream I had that time long ago, or what feels like long ago to me. The difference is that she’s not singing, and when I finally see her and she looks back at me, her eyes are leaking tears.
“It’s too late,” she breathes.
I step over and see the boy. His light brown hair is plastered to his face with blood and there’s a hole right where his heart would be. There’s no life in his face, his eyes, or the rest of his body.
“H-Hibou!” I kneel down beside the boy. “Hibou! Wake up!”
“He won’t do that!” Tala cries.
“I know that, damn it!” I take Hibou’s hand. I check his wrist for a pulse. Nothing. I check anywhere else there might be a sign of life. Also nothing. Hibou Allyns has died.
“Why did this happen?” Tala asks. She holds a small piece of paper covered in blood, but I’m not sure if she wants me to see it yet. “What happened to him?” The woman takes her white fluffy sweater off, uncovering her blue dress, and places it over Hibou’s shoulders. “I’m so sorry,” she exhales. “I’m so, so sorry, Hibou.”
A single reason crosses my mind. I’m not certain where it came from, but I know it to be the reason as to why our friend is gone. Midas was killed earlier, and now Hibou is gone too. We took one life and lost another today, and Hibou knew fully that the trade would be made as soon as we arrived at the mansion. I can’t be certain that he didn’t make sure he was left alone on purpose, just to keep the rest of us safe. Then again, I could never tell what that kid was up to.
All I know is that he won’t be with us anymore.
Chapter 12
Iwalk stiffly alongside Tala as she carries Hibou to the rest of our group. She’s careful with him, as if she imagines that he’s asleep, though it’s quite certain that she knows the difference. Neither of us speak until I dare to make a statement.
“He knew that something was going to happen.”
“Yes.”
“You’re aware of what it is?” Not even I know, but if Tala’s somehow sure of how Hibou knew this, it could provide a way to keep the rest of us safe.
“He told me a couple of times. He’s started seeing things. He knew you’d kill Leyna, though he couldn’t do anything about it. He knew that someone would die here because of what happened to Midas. His note that he left says that Lucy didn’t do it, and that it’s safe to kill others around her. He insists that she didn’t have an ability that would get revenge for her accomplice. An odd thing to write, but it must have been important.”
“Midas couldn’t write the truth,” I explain. “That means that he knew Lucy would kill someone here.”
“Should we go after her?”
Tala’s suggestion stirs up my anger for the gem trader. Still, I know that if anything were to go wrong, more and more of us would be with Hibou. “No,” I sigh. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Oh.” Tala reads the note again. Her eyes express more than what I know of Hibou’s note would provide. Maybe there was something that Tala was meant to see that I wasn’t.
I glance at the boy. The boy. Why do I still call him that? He’s not too young, only a few years younger than me at most. Still, something is striking about him. His innocence. Hibou was kind and sure as hell more pure than I am, and yet where did that even get him? It got him a hole in his heart and a short life. It got him a short career in journalism and no second chances. It got him the last of many of his days going to unknown places with unknown people. It got him stuck in a shelter losing his mind and it got him predictions of the future that lead ultimately to his end. If there’s one thing and only one thing that I can say for him, at least he got to go back home to Virid for his death. Even that might be pushing it, since Hibou was a traveller. He was never meant to be kept home, and now he will be for the rest of eternity.
So many hurt, a few even killed, what has this journey even become at all? “Tala?” I speak up. “Why are we even doing this? We’re not trying to help anyone close to us, and we’re not trying to stop something terrible. We’re just risking others with our personal problems. What’s the point anymore?”
Tala takes a deep breath and stops walking. She stares right at me with the eyes from my dream. Her words shake. “That, Seth, is the difference between a good person and a hero. A good person prevents others from getting hurt by not involving them in dangerous situations, where a hero gets involved in the dangerous situations to prevent others from getting hurt. Does that make sense to you?”
“I suppose,” I say, though I can’t say I agree with her choice to be a hero. I can’t agree with any of them. And thinking about what I’ve been doing for the last little while, I can’t say I even agree with my own choices.
When we make it back to the rest of group, I see that they’ve reached the end of the hall and are waiting in front of a white door. “We didn’t want to go without you,” Morgan states. “Is Hibou okay? He’ll wake up soon, right?”
Tala bursts into tears again while I shake my head. No one speaks.
The door opens. “I’m so sorry about what happened to your friend,” Grandmother says. “We wouldn’t have invited you here if we knew what was going to happen.”
“You didn’t know,” I mumble. “Only Hibou did, as well as Lucy, of course.”
“We’ll do the best we can do to get him back living again.” Henry takes the boy and exits.
Ser comforts Tala after the older sister lets go of the body. “Do you remember Hibou’s sister?” she asks. “He’ll get to be with her now.”
“But think of what would have happened if he had been able to develop his ability to see her fully! He would get to see her and still be…!”
“Yes, but what if something took away his ability just like Midas took away his ability to write the truth? Tala, no matter how much we can hope, and no matter how much the Peytons’ people try to bring him back, it’s not going to happen. The technology that was used to help them with some, well, things years ago no longer exists.”
