Seventy-four

West Tiloch is as expected in ruins. Remnants of buildings, jutting towards the sky with jagged edges, and overgrown vegetation plunged into complete darkness that obscures the rest of the city. It is hard to see anything, we can't exactly shine a light to see the path ahead of us, and any advance we make is at a snail's pace. Trying to keep our presence concealed we stick to the thick bushes, and their shadows as we search for any signs of life. By now, it has become clear that some Daiō have chosen a side. Most of the Daiō have aligned themselves with Bartholomew.

Aside from the occasional rustle of leaves, the place is dead silent. And when I say silent I mean silent, like a tomb. There is no sound of insects buzzing, no wind, not even a slight breeze. It is strange considering that West Tiloch sits in the heart of a very wide dell.

Thankfully, or unfortunately, it's a cloudy night and the moon doesn't provide any of its light to guide us over the unfamiliar terrain. It's good and bad at the same time. They can't see us, but we can't see them either. It's not great, so we take caution with each step we take. We just need confirmation that my brother is here, in these ruins. And then we can go and begin to make a plan of action.

The sound of rapid footfall stalls the air in my lungs, and Mason becomes eerily still in front of me. I'm not sure he is breathing, I only take little gulps of air to keep the noise to a minimum. I've never done anything of the sort, but given that it is so silent, I am pretty sure that if I blink too fast someone will hear it.

The outline of a person brushes past the bush, rustling the leaves and moving deeper into the ruins. We quickly lose sight of it or him, but we don't have to wait too long until something disturbs the leaves in the tree over our heads. Neither of us looks up, we don't have to, because I know that whatever has landed on the tree must be Shay. 

It never crossed my mind that he might be able to sense our presence somehow, now that his abilities have evolved. I have no idea what else he is capable of, but judging by the set of Mason's shoulders, I relax just enough to release the breath I'm holding. He doesn't seem particularly concerned, so I try to stay focused on the matter at hand. More begin to pour in, and after what looks like a few hundred of them, I catch sight of a familiar form. He walks differently from the others. There is a certain confidence in his steps, and in the way he carries himself. Dignified, and poised, like any leader should.

I, on the other hand, hunch and waddle like a goose who has found its gaggle after a long time apart.

When he speaks, the ruins amplify his voice, carrying its echo through the stifling air far enough that we catch snippets of his orders.

"....vanished-," Then he says something else as he walks, while the person next to him says something as they walk among the ruins.

" Last time-," They turn around the corner, and his flock follows after him like a litter of subdued puppies.

Soon enough, they all disappear out of sight, and for the first time, in a good twenty minutes Mason moves, only to look up. Slowly, I do too, and through the leaves I see Shay perched on a branch looking right at us, but I'd like to think that he doesn't see us. 

We look at each other, a silent understanding falls between us. We can't leave or move as long Shay is standing sentry. 

After what feels like hours, Shay sits up on the branch and disappears in a ball of light, most likely answering a call from my brother. He is leaving or he needs Shay to run an errand for him.

Mason signals to go ahead, and I shake my head. Yes, it would be great if we could have a closer look but it's too risky. He mustn't know that we were here to spy on him.

Mason pats the pocket of his shirt, and it finally dawns on me what he is getting at.

Tricky but doable. I lack precision, I haven't practised a great deal, and most of the time I have successfully shortened the distance. That way has been more of a blind guess rather than a targeted, carefully chosen destination. Once we slip out of the pocket we could end right in the middle of the gathering, defeating the purpose of this stealthy mission.

He pats the pocket again and threads his fingers through mine, and I nod. We will give it a try. A hail Mary, if you like. It could go either way. Mason is much better at bending the wily powers to his will than I am.

With a deep breath, I create the pocket, but it's different this time. It is empty, there is no trace of lush vegetation, no treacherous terrain or beast that threatens to eviscerate me the moment they lay eyes upon me. 

" Focus on what you saw and take us there," Mason says quietly while I close my eyes and focus on the shadowy building and what memories I can scrounge up.

Mason guides me through the pocket while, I do my best to keep the building at the forefront of my mind. You'd think that this should come naturally, but then again, these powers are not mine. They've been gifted to me or better said forced on me by my lovely mother. 

I still have no idea how they work, it is probably too much for me to handle on my own.

Mason squeezes my hand, and I open my eyes, as he leads us through the rift and out of the pocket.

We emerge right at the corner of the building, and loud voices begin to trickle through. This must be some kind of ad-hoc because there are too many of them in one place.

Mason tugs on my hand, as we slink around the corner and I finally see them all gathered in the middle of a field, with my brother standing on a rostrum.

A pang of sorrow unfurls in my chest at the sight of Shay and the flames burning brightly at my mother's side, shedding its light to make him visible to those present.

" Our time has finally come," My brother bellows," Er'Shala's reign of terror will finally come to an end once the last seed of her womb will perish. I'll make sure to squeeze every drop of blood, to watch as life bleeds out of her, upon the very ground where the Daiō went against Daiō. Revenge is ours, and we will finally prosper on the very ground she gifted to the humans, forcing us to serve them for millennia. Freedom is within reach, and perpetual servitude to a rotten race is no longer an obligation. I've promised you a new age, a golden age, and I will deliver. But we all have to work together to get there.

My sister is hiding, like a coward, like a rat. I cannot ascend until she is eliminated. Find her, bring her to me, my brothers and sisters. Greatness awaits you, it is finally within our reach. All of this could be ours," The cheers that erupt are so loud that I can barely hear my thoughts on this. Mason looks at me and nods. It's time to go, I have heard enough.

We slip into the pocket that hopefully will take us far enough from Tiloch.

We are silent, I don't say anything, nor does Mason.

He is probably turning everything that my brother said in his head, on all sides. Analysing, and trying to figure out a way out of this without too much bloodshed.

But I know that my brother wants the power that courses through my veins, and the only way to get it, is by killing me. Plain and simple. He wants absolute power, and I have it.

If I could offer the Daiō a life free of indentured servitude then, half the problem would be solved. Bartholomew on the other hand, I have no idea how to offer him complete sovereignty over the Daiōs without the fear of annihilation of an entire human race. What's left of it anyways?

We emerge out of the pocket, in East Tiloch, very awkwardly in the middle of a busy street. Luckily, it's the middle of the night, and none is about, but there are still cars on the road. I'm so deep in thought that I don't see it approach until Mason sweeps me to the side, and out of the way.

Growling, he looks down the street where the car has disappeared, before turning his attention onto me.

" You're distracted," He hums, pensively. At this point that is a major understatement.

" I'm fine. I'm just…I don't know what to make of this. How am I supposed to fix a problem that I didn't even know existed," I fret and begin to pound the pavement, back and forth I go as if that alone would solve the problem. It doesn't, just for the record.

" You need to calm down, and I need a fucking drink," Mason says calmly, following me with his eyes as I pace in front of him. 

" I can't calm down. I've been calm so far, this changes things. Even if I manage, somehow, through some miracle, to whoop my brother's ass. I cannot offer the Daiō the same deal. They will rebel and I'll end up like my mother. He is offering the moon, the sun and the fucking sky, I can't compete with that," Panic rises through me and sweeps me into a whirlwind of possibilities. All of it ends with my head on a stake. I don't know why that image popped into my head, but it did, so I don't focus on the why.

" You're making a mountain out of a molehill, " Mason grabs my hand and tugs me to stop," First of all, that sounds like a lot of empty promises to me. There is no guarantee that he can deliver on his promise," I roll my eyes at him and Mason sighs, exasperated.

" He can if I die. He will be able to do whatever he likes, and you know it," I poke his chest with my finger with every word that comes out of my mouth. He winces and pulls back a little.

" Ouch, what's with the hostility?! " He quirks a brow at me," He can't. Because you can't either. You rewrote our past," He waves a hand in the air, " And a few others. One to be precise. Eric died a few months before everything happened. That doesn't mean that your brother will have the power to do anything of the sort," I heave out a deflated sigh and drop my head onto his shoulder. This is complicated. It requires more brain power to solve than I'll ever be able to accumulate in ten thousand lifetimes.

Folding me into his arms, he begins to stroke my hair, trying to soothe me," It will be fine. You're overthinking this. I'm not sure how your mother managed to convince the Daiō to serve humankind, but I'm pretty sure it's not complicated to figure out. We will find a solution…you'll see," He presses a kiss on the crown of my head and pulls back, to look me in the eyes.

" Let's figure this mess out then. We need to speak to Apple. He might be able to offer some insight on this matter. I never knew that they were forced by my mother to serve the humans," I don't even know why I'm explaining myself to Mason, he already knows. It feels like I owe a lot of apologies to a lot of people.

" I know," He grabs a strand of hair and rubs it between his fingers," We need to find a safe space to summon Apple. I'd like to keep them away from the Quarter," I nod, and take the proffered hand so we can return to Morston.

The trip back to Morston goes smoothly, once we retrieve the blade we stashed in one of the abandoned buildings on the outskirts of East Tilloch.

Since everyone is in the land of z's when we return, Mason and I go to bed as well. 

Now that we know where Bartholomew is hiding. Look at that, it seems that we are both rats after all. The apple didn't fall that far from the tree either when it came to him. Instead of coming to get me himself, he sends the Daiō after me, to do his dirty work, like a true leader.

I fall asleep with a storm of thoughts raging inside my head, but I can't do anything until I get more from Apple. He must know how my mother has successfully forced the Daiō into servitude. 

When morning comes, so does Laira looking like she hasn't slept in days, her hair all tangled up, looking like a rat's nest.

" You've got to see this," She barges through the front door, startling both of us.

Both, Mason and I, spring up from the bed like the house is on fire, still groggy, the world doesn't make much sense.

" Laira what the hell," I croak as I sit up on the bed, trying and failing to cover myself up with the slip of a sheet that's just a tad bigger than a tea towel.

" Crickey," Laira squeals, and covers her eyes when she realises what she had walked into.

Laughing, Mason grabs his trousers from the floor and pulls them on while he throws me his shirt," Quite whorish of you to show so much skin," He laughs, as he makes his way to the hot plate in the corner to make a pot of coffee. Can't think straight, until properly caffeinated. 

Laira slips in with one eye open and settles on the bed next to me, and I notice that her cheeks are flushed bright red," That thing deserves to be put on display in a museum. It's the most beautiful dick I've ever seen in my life," Laira whispers with her face buried in her hands, and I can't help but laugh.

" Miss Winters, the room is not as big as it looks. But I do appreciate the compliment," We both blush and begin to giggle. Truth be told, Mason is very well endowed, but since Laira has seen more than one, I trust her judgment on this.

" Sorry," Laira squeaks," Anyway. You have to see this," she backtracks to the reason as to why she barged into our room at the crack of dawn.

" You're going to love it and hate it at the same time. I can't explain. You have to see," She rises from the bed just as Mason, brings two cups of coffee and drops one into my hand while he offers the other to Laira.

" No, coffee can wait. This can't," She storms out of the door, leaving both Mason and me staring at each other," Come on," She shouts from outside.

" I hope she found the Holy Grail because nothing else can get her out of the shit she just got herself into when she walked into this shindig without knocking," Mason sighs and takes a sip of his coffee just as the sound of rapid footsteps begins to echo in the air.

Laira appears in the doorway and stomps her foot, " Come on. Stop wasting daylight," She marches off again, and I finally get off the bed and start looking for my clothes.

Mason picks up my trousers shoves them under my nose, and then proceeds to lean against the table, watching me getting dressed.

" Enjoying the show," I quip, as I pull over my head the long-sleeved top, and look in the tiny mirror that hangs on the wall.

Smirking from behind his cup," I like it better when I'm taking them off," He places the cup on the table and follows after me.

Laira's barrack is about twenty feet away from ours, but we don't need to look for it because Laira is standing in front of it, impatiently tapping her foot.

" I swear to god, that she drives me up the wall every time we are in the same room," Mason hums as we close the distance.

" Does she?" I smirk, as I look at Laira flailing her arms, so we can move faster.

" She is a wiseacre.No one likes a wiseacre," Mason replies with a huff.

" Can't stand the competition," I laugh when Mason groans at my side when I bolt towards Laira.

" Birds of a feather," Mason shouts after me, slowly picking up his pace to catch up with me.

When he does, he sweeps me off my feet mid-run, throws me over his shoulder, and dives into a thicket of tall grass with me in tow. We both start to laugh, rolling on the ground, with me trapped in his arms, while I hear Laira let out a feral groan. Mason and I laugh even harder, wisps of grass tickle my feet, as Mason rolls on top of me, and props himself on his elbows, his face hovering just a few inches from mine.

" Rolling in the grass with your lover in plain sight it's very unlady-like," He hums rubbing the length of his nose along mine, grinning from ear to ear.

Laughing, I poke him in the ribs," And having a mistress while betrothed to another is very ungentlemanly," He laughs, and heaves out a deflated sigh.

" Not by choice. It is being dealt with," He pauses, " For now we need to focus on the matter at hand," He adds as he brushes his lips over mine, his fingers thread in my hair as he slowly slants his lips over mine. 

I fold my arms around his waist and return the kiss, full of want and fervent.

" I just wanted you to know," He whispers against my lips," That no matter what I'll be at your side until the very end, whatever and whenever that might be," He presses his forehead against mine," Now let's see what the crazy scientist next door has cooked up overnight," He pushes himself up on his knees, and offers me a hand to pull me up.

Once we are both up, we emerge from the tall grass, while Laira sits in the doorway fiddling with a piece of metal.

" Wow, that was quick. I'm disappointed for you Lily," Laira quips with a devilish grin on her lips, as we step inside her barrack. Which, frankly looks like a child has had a wild time with a roll of wires.

There are scraps of metal everywhere, wires and piles of cables all over the floor, and a tin hat for some reason. I pick it up and put it in front of me, it catches Laira's eye, and she shrugs.

" Just in case they try to read my mind," Mason laughs, while Laira snatches the hat from my hand and plops it on her head.

" You need to sleep," I say, as I take another look around the room," For a really long time," She sighs, and picks up her precious,' baby'.

" This is the solution that you are going to hate and love at the same time," She rolls the ball in her hand, its brightly white light engulfs the ball in hallo obscuring the metal case.

Without a word, she presses the core and throws it in the air, while Mason lunges to catch it," No," Laira pushes him out of the way, he stumbles a bit looking at me confused

Laira points up," Look," We both look up and see the damn thing hovering above our head, suspended in the air at a fixed point.

" It's great Laira. You made a metal ball fly. Well done you," Mason quips, and stretches to poke it, just as a metallic clank rings in the room.

And the ball emits a pulsing light, shrouding Mason and connecting to the plate at his feet.

" Laira," I say calmly while Mason begins to feel around the veiled walls, that seem almost see-through, and easily penetrable, but not quite.

" You replicated what they did in Zareen," I say, as I take a step forward and reach to touch the force field. When Laira doesn't say anything, I touch it and press my hand on it to feel it. When it doesn't zap me, I turn to look at Laira, searching for an explanation.

" I did, but made it better, " She hums smugly, while Mason catches her eye, and quirks a brow at her.

" How? It's harmless. If you ask me that's not an improvement, quite the opposite," Mason points out, and I can't help but agree with him on that.

" This is the part you're going to hate. It creates a void. Nothing goes in and nothing goes out. And when I say nothing I mean nothing. Nothing can get passed the field. Not even air," She looks at Mason," You have about twenty minutes worth of oxygen in there, if I were you, I'd stop talking if you want to live," She smirks at Mason," Ta-da," She beams, and claps her hands, looking very much like seal about to get her fish snack.

Mason presses his lips together, while I silently ask him whether this could work in our favour.

" How many of these can you make?" I ask when Mason nods in agreement. 

Lairs smiles, proudly " I have enough to make another five, but I can make up to twenty give or take a few hours provided that you help me," I can help, but I'd have to leave the planning to Mason.

" Good morning ladies," Aaron croons as he strides inside the barrack, holding a steaming cup of coffee. Behind him, Jacqueline and David slink to the sides and I see how Laira's mood visibly sours at the sight of David. I don't think she will ever forgive him, but she strives to remain civil as long as David keeps to the sidelines.

" Mason," Aaron smirks and hands the cup to Laira, who takes it and inhales it with a satisfied sigh at the end.

" What about the rest of us?" Mason whines from inside the forcefield, getting himself ready to protest some more until Laira touches the metal plate that cuts him off completely. No sound.

" Wow," Aaron hums with a raised brow," I never thought that anyone could ever possibly shut him up," Aaron shrugs, " I guess I was wrong," He winks at Laira who giggles and blushes, furiously

Dropping my gaze, I study the metal plate trying to find the switches embedded in the corners. Laira is clever indeed, she can control the device from the metal plate and the strength of the forcefield.

I press the corner that points towards my right foot, and the shield drops, like a curtain. Growling Mason gives Laira a scorching look and snatches the cup from her hand, and finds it empty.

His face scruches up in a grimace, that sits somewhere between fury and disbelief, before heaving an exasperated sigh.

" You have chosen to pledge your allegiance to the enemy," Mason shoves the cup in Aaron's hands," Prepare for retaliation," Mason declares, as he starts for the door," I'll get a head start on the plans. You two get ready to mass produce the contraption from hell," Mason sternly says as he pushes past Jacqueline and David.

" Someone needs to get some," Aaron quips and looks at me expectantly. I roll my eyes and turn to the work table Laira has set up on the side while, David slides to my side and begins to tidy up the wires haphazardly spread all over the table.

" How are you holding up?" I decide to make conversation while the other three begin to chatter about the decahedrons.

" Still here. She hasn't killed me yet, so I suppose I should be grateful," David says quietly.

Not my favourite topic, since Laira is my best friend but I don't want to be rude, so I indulge him.

" It is odd to see you two like that," I pick up the boxes that are filled with empty power cells. My part in this is fairly easy. Last time we did this it took me ten minutes to fill up five power cells.

" I should have never touched Laira. It's too late now for regrets. I didn't know she had romantic feelings for me until after the fact. I don't feel the same way about her. I mean she is beautiful, smart, and a hell of an engineer but I don't have any romantic feelings towards her," Right. Who'd want a smart, beautiful girl? Nobody is stupid enough, I guess. This one is dumber than a box of nails.

" I just need for things to go back to the way they were," Of course. Who wouldn't want that, right? Literally, every single person has made a mistake that has derailed their entire existence.

" It isn't about what you need. Give her some space. She will eventually forgive you, but I'm sorry to be the one that breaks it to you. Things will never be the same again. Unless you can magically turn back time, and not sleep with your step-sister," I give him my best smile to soften the blow, and he sighs.

" You know," David sighs," When we went out that night," He pauses when I frown at him. Even now, I'd like to erase that night from memory but eyho, you can't always have what you want.

" Why did you run?" He finally asks the much dreaded question and for once all I have to offer is the truth.

" Because, I was in love with Mason, and at the time we were sleeping together. When you asked me out, I was under the impression that there would be three of us, and that's why I accepted. Otherwise, I would have never gone out with you. Don't take this the wrong way, you are a great guy, but not for me. Maybe for someone else," He nods and presses his lips together.

" I fell for you the same morning we met," He confesses, and can't help but feel guilty about all the time we spent in each other's company, while he was thinking that he was making headway and I thinking of another man.

" I'm sorry if I mislead you," I say quietly, but it comes out slightly morose.

" No," He shakes his head," I just hoped. It was foolish on my part to believe that a girl like you could ever want anything more than friendship from a guy like me. I mean, I'm not rich, I'm average-looking, and according to Laira a pitiful lay. So why would a girl like you even look at me," Shit? His frustration bleeds out, and the hurt in his tone brings tears to my eyes. I know, I've hurt him but I never thought he took it this hard.

" David, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just…it's complicated," I relent because he doesn't need to hear my excuses. It doesn't matter why, it matters that it happened.

In an attempt to soothe his wounded ego, I pull him into my arms to give him a warm embrace. This thing with Laira is taking its toll on him. He has lost a friend, and I'm not exactly around like I was before everything came crashing down.

At first, he is as stiff as a wooden plank, but slowly he melts into my arms, and returns the hug, albeit a little meek, but he does nonetheless.

" Just promise me that we will be alright, in the end," I smother a sob, and he nods eagerly as he begins to pull away.

" I'm sorry. Things are getting out of hand. I'm just tired," He closes his eyes and gives me a watery laugh.

" We all are David. It will be fine. Just pace yourself for now. It will be over soon," I say and he nods as he returns to fiddle with the damn wires.

Apart from Aaron, everyone has left but for some reason, he is lingering and I need to know why.

Clearing his throat he steps between me and David, his bulking frame taking most the length of the table. And David and I are pushed to opposite ends of the table.

" Quite the sobfest," Aaron chimes in and picks up a wire but I don't think he knows what to do with it. He just coils it around his finger, his biceps bulge, any closer and they could easily give me a black eye.

" Be a man and accept that not all women will fall at your feet just because you have a sad story to tell," Oh boy. David cranes his neck to look at Aaron " As it concerns your former step-sister, I can't even put in words how stupid it was to sleep with her. You've lived under the same roof with her for almost eight years and saying that you didn't know she had feelings for you," Aaron scoffs," I say horseshit to that," David's brows pinch, " Fishing for pity from a girl that you clearly still have feelings for, it's just plain and simple, pathetic. Get a life David," Aaron slips the coiled wire off his finger, throws it onto the table, and storms out of the barrack.

I'm going to need roughly about a month to unpack all of that. David storming off sobers me, and I'm left grappling as to where we all are. This is all kinds of bad and the last thing I need. I've made my feelings clear, and that is all I can do. David will have to deal with it, and I'll deal with the consequences.