Ulrich's Prisoners

Theo tried to keep his wits about him as the soldiers marched him through the Himmelsfestung's corridors. They were much wider than those in the Blue Sky, lit at regular intervals by cages crammed with globe-fish.

That control freak Ulrich couldn't even let his globe-fish roam free. But Theo couldn't hold on to his anger for long, not when Zenith kept stumbling and groaning behind him. If it weren't for the soldiers prodding him, Zenith might not even be able to stay on his feet.

Guilt twisted Theo's heart into a painful knot. Not for the first time did he wonder if he'd made the right decision after all.

No time to second-guess himself, though. When the soldiers flung open an ornate set of double doors, his pulse raced faster.

But he barely felt it through the crushing pressure of Ulrich's Levia, squeezing his chest like an iron vice. The deeper they headed into the Himmelsfestung, the stronger it became. Now its overwhelming force almost buckled Theo's knees.

His every nerve screamed at him to run away, but of course he didn't have a choice about it. The soldiers shoved him through the doors, where a tide of steel-gray light flooded his vision.

Theo reeled, momentarily blinded, but didn't get time to adjust before the soldiers forced him to his knees. The pressure had grown so strong he could barely breathe.

Blinking, he struggled to focus. Gradually, he realized the gray light was concentrated in a single point near the front of the bridge. Ulrich stood before a throne-like chair, his scepter extended. The point of gray light floated inches above his scepter...no, wait. If he narrowed his eyes, Theo could make out sharp contours of crystal beneath the harsh glow.

His heart lurched. This was wrong, completely wrong – he couldn't let Ulrich corrupt the Star –

Suddenly Ulrich's Levia dimmed a little. Theo didn't have time to feel relieved before Ulrich turned to face him.

Even through the fiercely glowing Levia, Theo made out the scowl twisting Ulrich's face. "Why did you bring them here?"

Quick, Theo had to speak. "We can give you what you want."

"What I want?" Ulrich's scowl deepened.

As Theo's vision adjusted, he made out the sweat slicking Ulrich's face, the vein throbbing in his temple. Strangely enough, that heartened him.

"Information, to be precise," Theo said. "About the wizard in black armor. And how to draw out the Star of Miriel's full power."

Ulrich took a step closer. "What did you say?"

"Master," Rain snapped from behind him. "They're obviously trying to trick you. Kill them before – "

"Shut up!" Ulrich barked, not even looking at her. Instead, his eye wouldn't leave Theo's face, hard and fierce as his Levia.

"So you do know about the wizard in black armor after all. Why tell me now? What do you hope to gain?"

Theo swallowed. "It's obvious, isn't it? You've won. There's no way we can fight you anymore, so there's no point in resisting."

"Oh?" Ulrich took another trembling step forward. The Star floated with him, glowing so brilliantly Theo had to squint in order to see.

Gathering all his courage, he looked Ulrich in the eye and said, "But on one condition."

"Don't fall for it, Master," Rain shouted.

"I told you to shut up!" By now Ulrich had come so close Theo could count every droplet of sweat glistening on his face. "What condition might that be?"

"You have to let her fix my homunculus." Theo gestured at Nevy, who started, and then at Zenith beside her. The sight of Zenith crumpled in a quivering heap on the floor almost shattered Theo's fragile resolve.

'This is for Zenith,' Theo told himself fiercely. 'For him, for everyone.'

"You're trying to stall," Ulrich spat.

Theo's heart thumped. "No," he said. "It's – it's for your sake too. Don't you want him in full fighting condition? She's the only one who can repair him, so let her do it."

"Well…," Ulrich said slowly.

One final push. "You're struggling with the Star of Miriel, aren't you? You still haven't managed to completely take control of it. Well, I can tell you how. Of course, if you don't want to know, you can just throw us in prison. But you'll have lost your chance to find out."

"You can torture the information out of them later, Master," Rain insisted. "Please, just – "

"Don't tell me what to do!" His boots thudding, Ulrich stomped closer to Theo. Despite himself, Theo squeezed his eyes shut; he could no longer handle the light blazing from the Star. Of course, there was no escape from the Levia crushing his bones.

For a moment, silence filled the bridge. It probably lasted less than a minute, but seemed to stretch into an eternity. Even with his eyes closed, Theo could feel Ulrich's glare piercing his skin.

Then Ulrich sighed out a breath. "Fine. She can fix the homunculus. However, none of you are leaving the bridge."

Footsteps pounded and metal clicked behind them. The soldiers, coming closer. Theo's nerves prickled, but he couldn't deny the fragile relief that fluttered through his stomach.

"Master," Rain groaned softly, but of course Ulrich ignored her.

"Hurry up and repair it!" he barked, snapping his fingers.

Nevy spoke up, voice shaking. "I – I can't do much at the moment. His core is damaged, it'll take weeks and the proper equipment to fully repair – "

"Well, do something!"

For the first time ever, Theo found himself in full agreement with Ulrich. A bizarre feeling, and more than a little unpleasant.

"Ah, I – I can provide some stopgap measures to keep him from leaking more Levia. You'll have to, erm, let go of me first."

"Fine," Ulrich said impatiently. Judging by the clicking sound that followed, a soldier must have uncuffed Nevy.

Theo cracked his eyes open as wide as he dared, trying to see what was going on. Nevy knelt by Zenith's side, rummaging in her coat with one hand while the other gripped the hilt of the sword still lodged inside Zenith.

Bracing herself, she yanked it out. Theo winced when Zenith's back arched and white lightning crackled around the hole in his chest.

Fighting his every instinct, Theo tore his eyes away. Zenith would be okay – one task accomplished. Now he had to focus on the more vital, and more risky, part of the plan.

The furtive glance Cay shot him didn't help. But Theo swallowed his nerves and made himself face Ulrich again.

"So," Ulrich said, tapping his foot. "The information."

"Okay. Well, about the black-armored wizard," Theo said. "Yeah, I know him. Matter of fact, he's my brother."

Ulrich breathed in sharply, but Theo couldn't spare much attention on his reaction. Instead, he reached for the Levia coursing through his own veins. Beneath Ulrich's crushing power, his dawn light felt so weak it might as well have been a distant star in the sky. Even so, its reassuring warmth still pulsed in his chest.

While he gathered his Levia, he also had to pay attention to Ulrich. "Your brother," Ulrich said slowly, but beneath his skepticism was a quivering edge of interest.

Encouraged, Theo went on. "That's right. His name's Victor Hua. He's a soldier with the Infernal Legion, ever heard of them? I don't know how he got to Tielos, but – "

"Never mind that." Ulrich snapped his fingers. "Do you have any idea where he went?"

"Um, well…." Theo still didn't know what exactly Victor had done to cross Ulrich, but it didn't matter. "He probably went to join up with the rest of the Infernal Legion? They've got quite an impressive army. If you really wanna get revenge on him, you're gonna have to fight the entire Legion. Just a warning."

"Just what is this Infernal Legion anyway?"

'Keep talking, keep talking.' But it was getting increasingly difficult to focus on his conversation with Ulrich while also drawing out his Levia.

"They're an army of demons who want to conquer Tielos. Oh, and they're also looking for the Star of Miriel. As soon as they find out you have it, you'll become a target. They'll stop at nothing to get it in their hands."

"Tch. Demons, you say? I'll just make them my slaves. Now tell me how to find them."

Wasn't someone confident. Oh well, it gave Theo more to work with. "Not so fast. If you really want to stand a chance against them, you'll need full mastery over the Star."

"Oh?" Ulrich wasn't bothering to hide his impatience.

Sweat coursed down the back of Theo's neck. By now, the Levia he'd gathered had flowed into his limbs, warming his stiff muscles and providing some slight protection from Ulrich's crushing power.

Now time for the hard part.

"I...don't know that much about it, to be honest," Theo forced himself to say. He could barely hear his own voice about the mad throbbing of his heartbeat. "You'll have to ask him. He's the expert."

With that, he cracked his eyes open and nodded at Cay beside him.