THE FINAL CALL II
Sigrid Hermon, Alexander Xermia and Thomas Milner had the crowd of slaves gathered around them. The smell of vapor from their lamps circulated round the room.
“So what is the plan. Why did you call us hear today.”
One of the slaves asked. He had tattered clothes on his back, soiled from head to toe. Sigrid pointed his lamp towards his direction.
“We have been summoned here by the person who planned all of this. He told us to gather all the slaves here and wanted to reveal his face.”
“What if it is a set up! You all could be wrong about this ally of yours”
“We could also be right about him…”
“And how sure are you about his alliance?”
“My guess is as best as yours. We have only one way to find out.”
Sigrid tried to reassure the jittery crowd. Some halfheartedly complied with his persuasion. They crowd stuck around for a while until others grew weary. The tension building up inside the room became unbearable.
Suddenly the back door of the room slowly opened, and in stepped in a man clad in a long black robe.
When he pulled back his hood the rest of the crowd of slaves did not recognize him, but that face was all to familiar to the three gentlemen sitting around a table placed in front of the room.
“YOU!!!”
DISTRICT DARK
Alicia locked herself up inside her house. She felt the entire weight of the world on her shoulders and she wasn’t strong enough to bear that burden. She wanted to get stronger, but there was no possible way she could. The heads made sure of that. They took the covenant book, the only thing that could help her master the art of god magic. The last two remaining dark benders were practically erased from the face of the earth, meaning everything she was learning was either by sheer luck or instinct.
She tried hard not to cry, but she couldn’t hold it in any longer. She cried herself to exhaustion. She shed the act she was putting on of being a strong fierce leader and allowed herself to feel vulnerable for once, to be a young adult girl in a cruel world. The rest of her fellow state guards in her living room could hear her crying, but they all put themselves in her shoes and knew deep in their hearts what she was going through. They would have done the same, take a break and let it all out.
Surprisingly Tulip was amongst them, but she was heavily chained down she couldn’t even make a step forward. The whole house was soundless, only infrequent sounds of Alicia’s sobs broke the silence. After an agonizing thirty minutes her cries finally died down and she walked out of her room with swollen eyes.
“So, what is it you wanted to tell us! Exchange of information and we will grant you freedom… that was the deal.”
Alicia said, trying hard to compose herself. Tulip tried hard to straighten to her feet.
“Yes, that was part of our deal. Part of it, you still haven’t brought your mother here.”
“That is out of the question!”
“Then we have no deal, you can throw me back into your cell.”
“… What is it that you want with my mother exactly?!”
“I have told you a thousand and one times I am not going to hurt her! She is part of my deal for the exchange of information, besides don’t you know where I’m from. I made a vow with my mistress never to hurt women.”
“And after we bring her here what next?”
“Then we can begin the deal. Have a little faith!”
Alicia reluctantly nodded to Robert Townsdy, he stepped out and a few moments later he came back pushing Martha on a wheelchair. Once they entered the rest of the soldiers outside surrounded the house.
“I will tell you what I know. About the plans of the Heads. The fact is, their plan is not over yet. The invasion was just the beginning of it.”
“What are they planning to do?”
“They seek to remove obstacles along their way. Obstacles are people who are strong enough to foil their plans. Either you join them, or they eliminate you. That is what they did to the two strongest people from this kingdom. The dark bender joined them, the king refused, and he was to be killed. They wanted to break the covenant in order to continue their next phase… but you seemed to have slowed them down.”
“How?!”
“They would have continued with the second phase of their plan straight after the invasion, but they did not account for you to renew the covenant. The covenant cycle still stands Alicia, meaning the king is still alive!”
The atmosphere in the room shifted immediately.
“Stop your lies!”
“Honestly how many times do I have to tell you I have nothing to gain from lying to you. Think about it. You have been staying inside these walls for five good years after the invasion. The only reason you haven't been attacked by Tyndale is the same reason why you haven't attacked him…. The Vurhans. Dakario placed a strong boundary made of Vurhans between the two of you. Keeping both of you at bay so that they can have more time to find the king and finish him off the end the covenant cycle for good, because if you and Tyndale went to battle and you died it would ruin everything. That is why they were cautious not to leave anything behind that could help you get stronger and break through the boundary.”
“… That is why they took the covenant book and killed Hashi,” Alicia responded in realization.
“Exactly. So, they sent spies here to monitor your state, and lately you have been getting stronger. And once one of the spies broke cover and was seen conscious they knew it was only a matter of time before they were discovered so a plan was made for their extraction, and they scouted everything so they knew the festival would be the right time.”
“...So you mean to tell me Drom is still alive, but I saw him die!”
“If he was truly dead the covenant seal would have never appeared on your back, so I am certain he is alive, somewhere. Now please unlock the shackles, that is if you want to learn more.”
Alicia unlocked her chains, making sure her guard was still up, many things had slipped through her grasp that night and she wanted to be in control of that situation.
“And where does my mother fit into all of this?”
“For this…”
Like a snake she rapidly slithered her way past the state guards and knocked Robert off his feet, taking control of the wheelchair Martha was sitting on. She pulled out a dagger and placed it over Martha’s neck.
Alicia charged a shot and pointed her hands towards her but she used Martha as a shield. The rest of the state guards pulled out their weapons. She pulled her off the wheelchair and walked with her towards the door.
“This entire house is surrounded Tulip. If you do anything foolish you won’t make it out of here alive!”
“Don’t worry Alicia. I'm not going to hurt your mother. This is just a precautionary measure to ensure my escape. I have one last thing I was told to tell you Alicia. The person who was sent to extract the spies. He told me the eight Heads have chosen you to be worthy of seeing the truth! You must follow the path to find the great link. He has all the answers!”
“Let my mother go and we can have a civil discussion!”
Oddly enough Martha remained as calm as ever, as if she knew she was not going to get harmed.
“Remember when I told you it was an extraction? Once again your ignorance made you miss out what was in front of you! I am part of the extraction. I was also left with a miracle and I was instructed to use this miracle on one person only! Martha, that was the special message from my mistress!”
Alicia and the rest of the State Guards were uneasy. The blade of the dagger was awfully close to her throat it made them feel like they were the ones in danger.
“I call to you great presence! Heed to my Orison and grant me you unfathomable power! For we server you, oh great link, our path to Tomasa!”
She recited the incarnation that was becoming too familiar to Alicia. The predictable sequence followed. A strong gust of wind, the appearance of the orange halo and a bright flash of light. Alicia and the state guards opened their eyes to the sight of a healthy Martha, standing on her own two feet. The door behind her had been kicked open and the soldiers outside that were near the entrance lay on the ground grumbling in pain.
Alicia ran to her mother and embraced her. She was her only emotional anchor and she needed that comfort and reassurance at that time more than ever. Tulip was long gone. But she kept her promise, she did more than restrain herself from hurting Martha, but she healed her entirely. The hectic day ended well, but the turn of events and revelations were too much to be processed in one night. Alicia was determined then, more than ever, because she finally knew what she had to do!