93 - Healing
While they'd been gone, Vittoria had carried Elric to a different room, her bedroom presumably.
It consisted of an extra-large bed with a strange, hard mattress, a small window that barely let in any light, and even more clutter than the living room. There was a curious blood splatter on her wall, and a distinctly gamey smell permeating the atmosphere, mingling with the scent of old books from the piles on either side of the bed.
There was also a table full of lab equipment, simple tubes and pipettes, as well as a rune-making kit, and some complicated apparatus that Arielle had never seen before.
She was fascinated by it, reaching out to touch it when Vittoria said, “Don’t touch that.”
The order was given to Arielle, but somehow it was Inara who flinched.
Arielle pouted a little but let her hand drop as Vittoria put her palm briefly on Elric’s forehead.
"I’m going to make sure that they didn’t sneak anything suspicious into this antidote.” She waved her hand towards her table, bringing it closer.
Then she summoned a tube of green liquid, pouring it into the volumetric flask first before she swiveled the antidote and let a few drops into one end of a glass funnel.
The green liquid glowed, and the antidote drops were instantly pulled into the spiral tube that was segmented by layers of different materials; one like a honeycomb, another like a sheet of paper, another like a blade of glass. Each time the drops went through a barrier, they either changed color or left debris behind.
Finally, the drops reached the end of the twisted path and fell into the volumetric flask, where the green liquid was waiting for them.
The mixture went from an iridescent green to a clear white, simmering slightly before settling.
"Wow," Arielle said, putting her hands together in a quiet clap. Vittoria lifted the flask to her eye level.
“Looks pure,” she said as she aligned the tube with the rest of the antidote to Elric’s lips. She didn’t make him drink it. Instead, she slid his mouth open and used magic to channel the antidote down to his throat.
He coughed a few times, but she didn't relent, not even when Elric gagged and struggled to take down the liquid.
Arielle went by his side and patted his hair. “There, there.”
Vittoria's lip twitched, but she didn’t stop. She dropped the volumetric flash to free her other hand, so she could rub his chest in circular motions, presumably spreading the treatment all around.
Ari waited with fearful anticipation. A part of her was scared that it would not work.
She was terrified that she’d grabbed the wrong thing, or that Yseult had tricked them all and only left a decoy potion behind.
Even with Vittoria's assurance, the nagging voice at the back of her mind remained, and every second that passed without Elric opening his eyes only worsened her anxiety.
Eventually, after a whole minute with Vittoria drawing circles on his chest and Elric’s state remaining largely unchanged, Arielle asked, “Is it not working?”
“It is. It just takes time.” She glanced at Arielle. “He’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
Arielle clenched her jaw and swallowed.
How could she not worry when Elric was actively dying?
She activated Orion and used it to analyze Elric's organs again.
They looked even more ravaged than the last time she'd checked. Even with Vittoria's intervention, the disease had moved fast, blackening his organs.
Arielle put her hand over her mouth.
Were they already too late?
"I know it looks bad," Vittoria said, as though she could tell what Arielle had done. "But that's because the potion hasn't started working yet. Just give it time. It will do what it's set to do."
Ari bit her lip and nodded.
Afterward, Vittoria cleaned up both girls and healed the injuries on their bodies. She also ran health scans on each of them to ensure that they hadn’t been poisoned or otherwise possessed.
Once she was satisfied, she went down to her basement ‘to work’ while Arielle and Inara settled in the living room.
Well, Arielle settled. Inara kept standing, hovering in a corner as though trying to blend in with the lamp there.
Ari ignored her at first. She was too focused on uncovering all the loot she had gotten. She hadn’t really examined what she was taking while grabbing things, but she knew that at least one of them was a book associated with the Drift. She wanted to know what that was about.
However, the first book she pulled out of the sack wasn't the one she wanted.
Instead, it was a leatherbound book with a blood magic seal on it as well as some other protective spells that felt distinctly like Yseult.
The protective spells were easy enough to bypass. The blood seal, however, was different, because the spell form wouldn't present itself until it was in the presence of the target blood.
If she tried to use her blood or Orion to unlock it, it might activate a destructive mechanism hidden within the blood spell that she couldn't see until it happened.
Hmm.
This book felt important. It had to be for Yseult to take so many measures to protect its content, although he really seemed like an excessively careful man.
Either way, Arielle would figure out a way in. After all, the demons had created a backdoor access into an ancient treasure room protected by a blood covenant as well, so how hard could it be?
She put it aside for now and then fished out the other book.
This one had a red animal skin cover, and while it was also protected by a whole host of spells, it surprisingly didn't have a blood oath attached, nor did it have a self-destructive mechanism in place.
Also, the security spell didn't have Yseult's particular brand of paranoia.
The book did, however, have DO NOT OPEN carved in bold letters on the cover.
Which, of course, told Ari that she absolutely had to open it.
She felt the book pulsing. It was certainly an access point for the Drift, although she did not feel his presence as strongly as she had felt when she was in Yseult's room.
He was still there, but now shrouded in more darkness, withdrawing deeper into the void, leaving only a faint imprint behind.
The only explanation she could think of was that he had been making his presence known before, but now that she knew he was there, it was her duty to draw him out. To find him.
Excitement rifled through her as she disengaged the security lock and opened the front page, which was blank.
She used Orion to unearth the contents written in some kind of invisible ink.
Progress Journal For Cornelius Draco
Day 1
Power.
That was all I wanted. It's all I've ever wanted ever since our mother made that drastic decision that we've had to pay for with our lives.
I've tried making my peace with it. Attempted to accept the cruelty of fate and the ugliness of the world with all the grace and honor I can muster. I've tried to live my life well despite it.
But every day, bitterness gnaws at me. And then it follows with guilt, knowing I'm not the one who suffers the most.
That my brother had to sacrifice even more than I did, and he still does, for the good of our family.
My conscience will not let me be. It will not allow me to enjoy the fortunes paid for by his blood.
When I sensed the power on the horizon, I grabbed at it with both hands.
I passed the first test.
I found the key within me.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting NovelFire for this novel and more.
I made my first journey toward ultimate power, and this journal will be my guide, my anchor to make sure I never go astray, and only give him as much as I can spare.
He is a bottomless pit, Payn warns. If you give him everything, he will take it all, and it will still not be enough.
He has engulfed many souls like mine, souls for which there was no end to their greed, and they asked for more and more until he consumed them.
There has to be an end for me. My brother's freedom. His safety. His power.
Yseult can never fall. That is my ultimate wish.
Yseult?
That dragged Arielle out of what she was reading as it occurred to her that she didn't know Yseult's last name.
She glanced at Inara and asked, “Do you know a Cornelius Draco?”
The girl thought about it and shook her head.
“Is Yseult a Draco?” she followed up.
Inara nodded. “Yes, although it’s complicated. He’s reported to be the illegitimate child of Mursili Draco and an unknown woman. Mursili’s brother, Muwatalli, was the Last Legendary Mage, and he ordered for Yseult to be put to death on the day after he was born. But his mother managed to get away and hid for a long time.”
“What do you mean, put to death? Why would they do that to an illegitimate child?”
“Because he was cursed,” she said. “I'm not sure of the details, but then the Legendary changed his mind suddenly. It was decided that he would be raised instead to serve the clan. He was taken from his mother then and attended the academy."
“I see.” It was eerie how similar his history was to Elric's.
The pieces shifted around for Arielle, forming a whole picture. Cornelius Draco said he was Yseult's brother, likely also illegitimate. Were they twins? Or had there been two illegitimate pregnancies?
It was hard to tell since Inara didn't know him.
Ari had assumed that Cornelius Draco was much older, although fair enough, she didn't know how old Yseult actually was, so that was likely an unfounded assumption. But when Cornelius had said that his brother and immediate family were probably dead and to talk to his descendants, she had assumed that meant that he hadn’t been on Earth for a good while.
But he was around the same age as Yseult–who was likely centuries old, to be fair. Who were his descendants?
Arielle switched to the next page.
Day 2
There was a demon attack earlier this morning, from a rift that no one could understand how it appeared. Yseult was the only one present and was able to dispatch the demons quickly, earning the admiration of the clan heads and possibly the Ascendant himself.
It's all happening so fast. It’s frightening. I didn't think things would change this quickly.
He has also awakened a new skill. He can apparently read the minds of demons.
It is a good skill to have in this day and age.
Day 3
Yseult has been invited for a special visit with the High Ascendant.
In the meantime, Payn tells me to prepare myself. I will be needed soon.
Hmm.
Arielle paused on that, sitting with her thoughts. So was the Drift a wish granter? Like a djinn? Or did he only do that for those he deemed his disciples? Did he exchange those wishes for favors, or missions as Cornelius put them?
So why did they disappear or die? And why was Cornelius trapped in the In Between?
Why did the Drift need them in the first place if he was powerful enough to grant wishes that bent reality and gave certain people powers? What was he exactly?
Arielle's thoughts strayed when she noticed once more that Inara was still standing in the same place, playing with her fingers. It was odd that the girl hadn't moved much in the thirty minutes or so since they'd been placed in this room.
“Are you attached to that corner?”
“What?” The fidgeting got worse as she lifted her eyes from the floor and placed them on Ari.
“You have been standing there since we arrived. I was wondering if you liked it for some reason.”
“Ah no. I just…this is the best place to stand.” Her face heated up as though embarrassed by the admission.
Arielle glanced around the vast living room, noting that there were several objectively better places she could stand, with a more interesting view. Or better yet, she could sit. Even though her injuries and bruises were healed, Vittoria had told them that they were supposed to be resting and that things might still hurt. For example, Arielle's palms still stung, likely from the abuse they’d taken, from the hellfire and the rocks.
“You should sit down,” Arielle said. “It’s hard to rest while standing.”
"I don’t want to dirty the furniture.”
“She already cleaned you up.”
“I still feel dirty.”
Ari didn’t understand the girl. She was very strange.
But Arielle insisted, because it bothered her to see her standing so stiffly like a frightened lamb. "You really should sit down, Inara.”
The sound of her name seemed to surprise her–she was surprised easily–but she ultimately obeyed. Kind of.
She moved tentatively and perched herself on the edge of the couch.
She didn’t seem any more comfortable than when she’d been standing, but Arielle couldn't find anything to say to enhance her comfort.
She instead went back to her book. The thought of the Drift as some kind of djinn bothered her. It felt too cheap, and ultimately it didn’t make sense.
There had to be something more, something she would hopefully discover the more she read.
And then, she heard a loud masculine groan that sounded exactly like Elric.
She forgot all about the book, and her thoughts, and Inara as she dashed into his room.
Elric was awake.
He was lying down, but his eyes were open, his face still showing signs of strain even as he twisted his neck and frowned at Arielle.
"Who...what are you....oof!"
"Elric!" She had screeched loud enough to wake the dead, as she ran and threw herself on him, earning an even louder groan of pain.
**
Leviathan, the Fourth Son of Mordius, was no longer angry.
Of course, dying was an unpleasant, albeit temporary, problem. The way he had died was painful too, and humiliating, and it was bound to trigger blind rage and a craving for vengeance.
That was all his soul could think about while his body stitched itself back together. Thanks to his human blood, it took much longer than it should have.
He was fuming during much of that time, angry that such a person, most of whose spells he could blow away with a single breath, had managed to tear down his fortress. Sure, she had some skill, but she was seemingly unpracticed and naive.
And human!
How did she manage to break his fortress?
No other human had ever done that to him before, although he knew that there were at least two on this Earth who could.
But typically, they would do so by employing explosive spells that blasted everything apart, while protecting themselves with some type of shield.
The girl had used no explosive spells. She had spent most of her time cleverly redirecting his spells.
He had thought her so weak that he had toyed with her.
And then she'd destroyed him.
"Leviathan." Mordius’s voice rang in his head, also trembling with rage. "Are you mended?"
“Almost," he answered. His father's anger would have added to his own if he had not already dealt with his feelings as rationally as he could. It was his own foolishness that got him caught up, his hubris. It was a lesson he needed to learn, but one that he would not learn again if he were to face the girl.
And he would face her. That much was for sure.
He was hungry to meet her again, and the next time, he would be prepared. He would not play with his food, nor would he underestimate the human.
He would find out how she did what she did. Then he would stare into her eyes and laugh while he sliced her open as many times as she did him.
He heard footsteps, as feeling had finally returned to his toes and his fingers. Ugh. He still could not believe he'd been torn to pieces like that. His other brothers, particularly the Third, were probably laughing at him right now.
The footsteps stopped at the doorway, and though he could not yet turn his neck, he knew exactly who was there. He couldn't mistake that natural dourness for anyone else. "Yseult. You came, finally."
"I heard you were stabbed in the heart. Not that you had been sliced open."
"Ah, yes." If he were human, he would have felt sorry for anyone who saw him in this state. It couldn’t be a peasant experience watching tendons mend and the entrails sprayed across the floor slowly shifting into place. "Sorry about that. What's important now is that I will be fine."
"Hm." Yseult wasn't as easily fooled by Leviathan’s friendly human affect and tone. Some of the humans had begun to treat him as though he were one of them, giving him nicknames and such, and assuming he felt the same way humans did.
But Yseult never lost sight of the fact that he was a demon.
“So,” Leviathan said. “She was different than you said she would be.” In some ways stronger, other ways weaker.
There was no response for long enough that Leviathan regained control of his neck to turn to watch him.
Yseult's eyes were on the wall, his face deep in thought. His face was in subtle disarray, rage mixed with despair. He looked almost as if he had wept a little.
“I think she might be working with a primordial,” Yseult said finally.
“You think so?”
“Yes.” His voice trembled, and Leviathan wondered if he would cry again. “She entered my home and took things... things that she should not be able to take. There was no warning, no signs, not a single mechanism triggered. Only a master of darkness and void would be able to achieve that."
"I see." It did make a strange sort of sense. He had sensed her discussing something with someone when she had arrived, and sensed the presence of another soul.
He thought it was another human, but it could be a primordial.
"When I heal, we will go find her and kill her," he said.
"No."
"No?"
"Even without factoring in the primordial, it will be difficult to enter Vittoria's territory without her knowledge, which makes an ambush practically impossible. I also don't know anything about her new powers, so I can't truly tell you how the battle might go. After all, she managed to somehow fight your father and the Elders too, all while stealing from us."
"So you think there were two of her?"
"Possibly. I suspect an accomplice, but I don't know anyone powerful enough with that particular set of skills to help her."
"Perhaps the primordial is using a human disguise," he said. "You should have the council take a look."
"I can't."
"Yes, you can. You have all sorts of things to manipulate them with."
"Not anymore. My book...it's gone."
That earned another stretched silence.
"She took it. It's protected by a blood covenant which I don't think she could bypass… or at least, I could have said that confidently yesterday, but now that she has been granted powers by a primordial, I don’t know."
"You cannot use any of your allies at the council?"
"It will not do any good. There are only five people on the council that can stand up against Vittoria, and one of them is her mother."
Leviathan frowned. "But there might be someone we can use to get to her, someone that she cares about."
"At this point, the only person I think she cares about is Elric."
"Well then, is there someone that he cares about?"
Yseult paused, a spark in his eyes for the first time since the beginning of their discussion. "Yes, as a matter of fact. There is. Quite recently, I heard he found a cousin."