Bathed in Silverlight, Liron enjoyed each look that followed him. Angin had spent an hour preparing him. When he had looked in the mirror, he had fooled himself. The shovel boy was gone, his place taken by a young highborn. Gabriella had given them her father's clothing, and Angin had used his abilities to adjust them to Liron's size. Gabriella hovered over him, cursing all he did.
Angin and Gabriella fell into their roles with ease. She had never left it, and the Alchemist had proven himself a capable actor. Liron feared he would fall behind, their deceit falling because of him. But as they walked through Kupferrang, all his fears ceased. Even in this area, housing nothing but highborn, they were greeted with approving looks. They were not simply accepted but regarded as examples of what their caste ought to be.
Liron mimicked Angin's walk, both sharing the grace with which a highborn man was supposed to walk. The arrogance that accompanied it came to Liron with ease. He took in the attention and walked with a straight back and shoulders pushed back on their own. All sorrows and worries gone. For the first time, he understood Gabriella. Her ludicrous belief in herself. Blessed with such confidence, one had to expect for the world to bend to their will. And if not, it would be forced. He could get used to that.
Gabriella, though, shone brighter than either of them. What else than royal blood could birth such tranquility and noble bearing? The way her hands rested on one another in front of her stomach and how her dress moved, never impeding her as she walked. Her expression was one of humble acceptance, taking all with the knowledge of her elevated position. She had nothing to prove, as no one needed to prove the air itself. Each breath a witness to what was obvious.
None of it was a performance. Gabriella's manic behavior and her current demeanor were not at odds with one another. They completed each other, fitting together. Only when combined could one glimpse at Gabriella's core, understand her. Though it was no guarantee. Only a necessity to have a chance.
Jean and Zonis stayed back, retrieving Angin's bike. It was an essential part of their plan. They had to make sure it would be safely secured.
As one would get satiated from the most delicious food, no matter the appetite, Liron's thoughts wandered to Emma. Angin had explained to him in great detail how unlikely it was to talk to her. But he had admitted there to be a possibility. Liron had accepted his sister to be gone. Hearing her voice, babbling about whatever was on her mind, was a miracle he had not dared to consider. The attention was sweet, but it was fleeting. Hope, though, stayed. It filled him with a strength he didn't know he was lacking.
Talking to her would give him peace as well. Certainty. Or so he hoped. He wanted to know what had happened to their parents. What fate they had endured thanks to him.
"Say, Angin," Liron whispered, cautious of the people nearby. "I have a question. In our fight, I improved my Conduit and did a new spell. I was tired after doing that. Will this change, or am I fucked?"
"Don't worry," Angin said. "That will change. Fast. Changing and evolving a spell on the fly is never a good idea. It tires out a Wizard. That's why they like to stick to their spells. The mental load is quite brutal."
The Alchemist smirked at that. "Thinking is an Alchemist's role. You Wizards, you are not meant for that."
"Ehr… sure. Another thing. What's the matter with Jean's notebook? That thing seems important to him. I mean, you went back to our rooms before getting us to Gabriella's house, right? Why all the work?"
"Remember how I said you shouldn't be too hard on him? Well, Jean struggles with… understanding certain things. He's not completely human, but he wants to be… or I think so at least. His blank stare is not an act. He doesn't feel emotions as strongly as we do. So, when he does feel something, he tends to write it down. To not forget.
"Don't ask me about the details. I don't know. We're not particularly close, so he never told me. But he seems to feel the most when fighting. He was crafted for war. It's the purpose he has been assigned for. That's why he writes down a lot after the fight is over."
"My, my," Gabriella said, "how peculiar. There's more to our dear Jean than I had thought. Seeking understanding through battle. That is something I understand and advocate for."
Angin grunted, not replying. Liron had convinced him to try to contact his sister, but he doubted that they would succeed.
"I'm all for exploring something we don't understand," he had said. "But we don't understand it. We can't allow a single mistake. This tree of yours, we have no real idea of what it is. It opened your Gate, sure, but there might be a cost for it in the future. One neither of you will be thrilled to pay."
But the potential advantages of having a Wizard on the inside, a surprise Adenius could never predict, were something they could need.
"Fine," Angin had said, "we will try it. But under one condition. We will not tell her of the plan."
"Not even the idea?" Liron had asked. "But Angin, she would never…"
"Liron, we are talking about the fucking Inquisition. I have no doubt in my mind that your sister would betray us. But she's still a child after all. Some of our best agents buckled to the Inquisition's will. Give them enough time with her in their dungeons, and she will break. Liron, this is common practice in the Resistance. You only know as much as you need to. We can't allow any member to become a threat to the whole."
The thought of his sister begging for mercy. One that had dogged Liron since they had survived the Promised Dawn. The Alchemist had been correct. No matter how much Liron wanted it to not be.
These dark thoughts returned to him as they reached the bureau. The titan was a block of oppressive white, cold to the eye. All houses around them had a personality to them, reflecting something of their owners. The bureau refused. No adornments or even depictions of Harras and His chosen. Its bareness was inhuman, rejecting all that would soothe the residents. It was a festering wound in Kupferrang, the heart of the disease plaguing the city. Drowned in its shadow, what soul could dare to wonder or think? Any question against the Inquisition and the Empire it represented was suffocated. It demanded a uniformity of the residents. And should they not follow, a promise of what would come lay unsaid yet known in its facade. A fleeting glimpse was all it took to receive the message.
Angin and Liron looked up high. The scale of it. The resources it had devoured. Its existence alone proved the power of the Empire. What else could afford to construct such a giant in an unknown city like Kupferrang? They walked into an alley near the bureau, dark and unseen. They would be able to flee should anyone notice them and demand an explanation for their presence.
Gabriella wasted no time on it. A bird flew out of her shadow. As they had left, she had killed one in her garden, impaling it through the chest with a knife. One that she threw at it. The bird was as colorful as a Lors. They were inspired by the many songbirds calling Lorsos their home. No two birds shared the same dress of feathers. Their beaks were long and sharp, meant to eat insects and drink the nectar of flowers. It was only the size of Liron's forearm. Angin had called it a nightingale.
Gabriella shrank the bird until it could fit into her hand. Darting through the sky, no one would notice it. Without a verbal command, she sent her Conduit upwards, ascending. Thanks to her father's recording and testimony, Gabriella had an understanding of the inner structure of the bureau. A prisoner like Emma would have been kept on higher floors. The dungeons were too risky, as someone could dig their way into them. To free her from her cell, one would have to make it through dozens of floors, climbing the bureau and then descend.
The bird carried nothing but a Nexus. The other one was attached to Liron. Gabriella closed her eyes, seeing through her Conduit. She was examining the entire bureau, looking through all its windows. From far away, one would never believe the bureau to have any. But the Inquisitors and all working for them would be in desperate need of the Silverlight. Considering their work, they didn't have much light in their life.
"My, my, they all look the same," Gabriella said. "Not one window has been open."
"How many more floors can you go higher?" Angin asked.
"Six. And there…"
Gabriella fell silent, still as a statue. Even with her eyes closed, Liron saw the shock in her features. "Say, Liron, your sister shares facial features with you, and she has long blonde hair, correct?"
Liron's heart skipped a beat, his body freezing as Gabriella's had. "Y… yes…"
"Then I found her. Her cell is connected to a window. My, what luxury she's enjoying. I would honor this room with my presence."
"What?" Angin asked. "Fuck, I hate that cunt Adenius. Impossible to predict. That makes no sense. Way too easy to contact her. It has to be a trap."
"Please, my keen eyes can distinguish deceit from reality. I proclaim this to be no foul play. I shall announce my presence."
Liron and Angin watched Gabriella, each little motion of hers a thrilling twist that made them twitch. "My, she doesn't open that cursed window."
"Has she seen you?" Liron asked.
"Of course. Do not question me! I have beaked against the glass and performed a silly dance to showcase my identity as not being a simple bird. She's just staring at me, and… oh, wait. Ah, finally. Praise to me, she has opened it. So, Liron, I asked her to connect with you. You should be able to communicate with her."
Liron followed Angin's instructions, thinking of his sister. A tingle spread through his mind, a presence asking for permission to enter. Liron allowed them.
"He… hello?" Emma's voice echoed through Liron's mind.
He let out a sigh of relief, tearing up. "Emma?" he asked. When using a Nexus, one could say out loud what they wanted to say or think of them. Liron couldn't contain his words in his head alone, as it was filled with a bath of boiling emotions.
"Liron, it's you," Emma said, choking on her own voice. "Thank Harras, you're alive. I thought you dead. I thought they got you. Are you good?"
Liron laughed, wiping away his tears. "Yeah, I'm good. How are you? Did they hurt?"
"No… no, he didn't…"
"Emma, listen, we don't have much time. We can't tell you the plan, but we will save you. You hear me? We will not leave you behind. Where I go, you will follow."
Emma went silent. All their life, she was loud and at the heart of celebrations. She knew how to entertain and be the focus of the attention. Going quiet was never a good sign. If she remained still, she withered. Emma needed motion and noise to flourish.
"Emma, what is it?" Liron asked. "Speak to me."
"No," she whispered. "That's what he wants. He wants me to talk to you. Liron, we can't do this."
"What? The fuck you're talkin' about?"
"He knows…"
"Who? Adenius?"
"Yes," Emma whispered. How small her voice sounded. Broken and beaten down.
Liron planted his hand against the wall, pressing against it. Smoke plumes came off him, his knife close to materializing. "What did he do to you? Emma, Harras be my witness, I cut that cunt into…"
"He didn't do anything," she said. "Liron, there is no point in any of this. Just leave. Leave me behind. I don't want you to fall into his hands, too."
"Fuck, Emma…"
"What, what is it?" Angin asked.
"He did something to her," Liron answered. "She doesn't want to talk."
"Liron, tell your sister that you're not alone. You have the Resistance on your side. Explain to her that we have a real chance to rescue her. No matter what Adenius did to her, he's only a man. A man can bleed. And we will make him bleed."
"Emma, I've got the Resistance with me. They have experience kickin' the shit outta assholes like Adenius. He's no fuckin' god. We can beat him. But we need your help for that. What did he do to you? Did he tell you something, or did you hear anything useful?"
Emma didn't respond. She took her time, Liron thinking she had cut off the connection. "He… he said that information is a disease. He knew you would come to me. Liron, he knew so much just by watchin' me. He's not a god, aye, but he isn't a normal man either. Right now, he can't really predict you. That's why he wants me to talk to you. He gave me a lot that could help you, but if you knew, it would make you act differently. You'd act on all that I told you, which makes you predictable for him. He's laying a trap, and I'm supposed to lure you into it."
Liron repeated what she had said. Gabriella liked what she heard, but Angin shook his head. "I get the game he's playing. He wants to act like the mastermind that's always in control. He wants your sister confused and scared. Get her to become passive and give up. Tell her that. Tell her that no one can be so good at guessing what their enemies will be doing by sharing information. And mention the tree. Cause that's something Adenius won't be guessing."
"He's full of shit," Liron said. "Emma, he wants you to do nothing. Angin said so. He's the Alchemist that saved my ass. He's been with the Resistance for years. Has fought against the Empire many times. Remember when we were kids, and we played war? You were Resistance, and I was Empire."
"Yeah," she said, sounding more like herself. "You let me win."
"Bullshit. You've beaten me every time. They are the real deal. They are here to save you. Once this is over, and we've gotten you out of here, we will become part of the Resistance. Like you always joked we should. Emma, you were right. With everything. Fuck the Empire. Divine Empire of Harras' Scion my ass. There's nothing divine to them. I will fight them, Em. They think me a heretic, a bad omen. Fine by me. I will become one to 'em.
"They will piss themselves when they hear my name. I will bring an end to 300 years of war, and I can tell you who will be the winner. But I can't do this without you. I need you, Em. You agreed to it. You said we would leave our shithole together. Don't bail on me now. Please, I'm nothing without you."
Emma fought against her sobs. A battle she was happy to lose. "Yeah, fuck 'em. I'm with you, Liron. Always. What do you want me to do."
Liron had to calm himself down, new tears pouring down his cheeks. "Emma, this will sound stupid, but I need you to do as I tell you, alright? Don't question it too much. Just remember it and then try it until it has worked."
Emma's frown was something to be heard. "S… sure. What is it."
Liron had asked Gabriella to describe the moment she saw the tree. She had felt a plethora of emotions. Indignation. Agony. Anger. But above all, she had desired one thing. She wanted to win and kill the assassin. When Amor had tortured Liron, he had thought only of the revenge he would enact on him and the Empire at large. The tree had told it himself what it had supported in him.
"Emma, I have become a Wizard through a tree I saw when I was fucked. It helped me to unlock my Gate. You know what that is, right? You have to summon it, too. It wants ambition. It came to me when I wanted to burn down the Empire. I screamed my lungs out. It wants real passion. You need to show your ambition is big."
"Ehr… Liron, you…"
"Don't come at me with this. Think about how all of this started. It's not that much weirder than the vision and the dreams."
Angin nodded. Gabriella sneered.
"Fine," Emma sighed. "Whatever. I will… try."
"Good. Emma, I have to go. You have to give back the Nexus to the bird," Liron said, pausing. His guts cramped. He had one final question left to ask. A nausea crawled up through his body, a hand forcing its way up his throat, clawing into his jaw. It attempted to paralyze him, ending the conversation. But the time for cowardice had long passed. The truth would set him free.
"Em… what has happened to them? Ma and Pa?"
Silence.
"They… they're dead, right?"
"Worse," she said. The strength she had regained died. Broken and beaten down again. "Adenius… he turned them into something like Sinners. He… he makes them watch me. They wear masks, but… I've seen their faces. Liri… they're gone."
Silence. But from his part. Liron didn't feel the blow at first. An unseen punch hit him in the back of his head. All air and thoughts knocked out of him. He stood there, nothing stirring in him. But he knew it was there. A cascade, raging its way towards him. Its force would tear through all. He had seconds.
"Em, give the Nexus to the bird. Do what I told you. Find a fitting Conduit. It doesn't have to be forever. You can break the connection once we're safe and get something better. We will save you. Be ready."
Emma tried to say something, but Liton took the Nexus from his temple. He was so composed. A tranquility had taken him. One that knew its end was looming. There was no fighting it. The fleeting moments of peace should be cherished and enjoyed, for there were not many to come in the future.
"Liron?" Angin asked. He hadn't heard what Emma had said.
Liron simply handed him the Nexus and walked deeper into the alley. His legs were hit first. He staggered, losing sense in them. Bones, muscles, and flesh all reduced to faded memories, nothing to carry him forward. He leaned against a wall, struggling to breathe. He ripped his collar open, damaging the fabric.
His eyes stung from the new tears. Liron could barely keep them open. He bent forward, about to collapse. But he kept himself upward. Slow and gentle at first, Liron pressed his fist against the wall. As he wound up the next punch, he put more force into it. Before he knew it, he was slamming his fist into the stone, hammering it until his knuckles and fingers were covered in blood. Even if Angin hadn't numbed his pain, he would have continued. What else was he to do? Crying gave him no reprieve.
Violence, on the other hand, would. It could only take and destroy, but it offered the one who wielded it something beyond the sombering sight of what they had shattered. He was in control. For a moment, he could free himself from the whims that had taken all he had loved. If only by taking control over his body, deciding how much he wanted to harm it, he would do it. Better than being at the mercy of forces that have shown him yet again what his birth had given to the ones that mattered most.
Angin and Gabriella were saying something. He didn't listen. He felt their arms on him, stopping him from punching the gored remnants of his hand yet again into the wall. A bloody print on it, attesting that he could change something. He could paint the wall in his blood.
They tried to restrain him. He raged against them mindlessly, succeeding in freeing himself. Liron fell to his knees. He bit into the fabric of his sleeve, screaming as loud as he could. Suffocated and dampened, the bitter dread of a boy who had killed his parents.
"Liron, my boy, please," Angin begged. He grabbed Liron's face, making him look at him. "Speak to me, please. What happened?"
Liron failed to speak, stumbling over his words. Sobs crippled his speech, each rippling through him like a snake's poison, emphasizing what had happened. "He… he turned them. He… turned them into Sinners. He… he… makes them watch her."
Battle-hardened and experienced in tragedy, even Angin cringed at that, feeling pieces of Liron's pain. "Liron, I…"
"Can we turn them? Please, Angin, there must be a way. Please, I will do whatever you want from me…"
"Liron, I'm sorry…"
"I will kill as many as I have to. I will kill children if I have to…"
"Liron, there is nothing…"
"There must be a way! You said the world is big! We have to save them somehow!"
"There is nothing!" Angin said, stunned at the force behind his words. He softened, but a colder edge took hold of him, knowing what needed to be said. "Liron, they are gone. The only thing you can offer them is peace. There will be justice. Adenius won't get away with this."
Angin's eyes changed, a thought taking hold of him. He wanted to fight it off, his good senses warning him, but he pushed them aside. "Change of plan. Adenius will die. You and your sister will live, but he won't. On my name, Liron. No matter what happens. He can run away and hide wherever he wants. We will find him. Adenius will die for this."
Liron stared at Angin, blurred through his tears. The passion behind his words was something primal, irrational in their fury. He believed him.
Without thinking, Liron hugged Angin, crying into his shoulders. The Alchemist froze, shaken to his core. His fingers trembled, and he looked like he wanted to run away. A deer scared by a wolf, fearing an agonizing end. Despite his instincts, he returned the hug, sluggish. He wasn't used to it. He patted Liron's shoulder, breaking the hug off too early.
"Come on, stand up," Angin said.
Liron did as he was told, still reeling. Angin put on a forced smile. "We… we have to leave."
Angin stormed off, leaving them behind. Liron didn't know what to do or say. All ached inside him. His words had lessened them, but seeing him fleeing revoked what he had received from the Alchemist.
But Gabriella was different. She jumped on him, taking him in a fierce hug. They slammed into a wall. Now it was Liron not knowing what to do.
"On my name, too," Gabriella said. "They will suffer for such a crime. I have sworn to accompany you. I had hoped for worthy opponents. Now I know that I will have them. They shall know my wrath, Liron. I will punish them for what they have done. That I swear. Your parents will be avenged."
She was a mystery. Liron returned the hug. "Thank you."