Eternal Code: La'lliia's Fire

Epilogue

A deafening roar filled the chamber room as a chair was hurtled across the room, crashing against the mortar wall and splintering into pieces. Ben cringed as the pieces scattered across the floor to come to a rest near his feet. He drew in a breath and braced himself for the next barrage of fury that was surely to come from his Mentor. He knew the news was going to displease him and Bane was not known for his restraint. "Sir, it has been almost a week. From our reports they have secured the remaining paper work from the vaults beneath the Museum and it has been confirmed that Christian has indeed turned. Alfred has brought in his lead Water Prime to begin his training and La'llia had increased her security around the house."

"Why have you surround yourself, and me in the same respect, with a bunch of incompetent initiates?" Bane bellowed.

Ben could see the rage simmering beneath the surface and knew his Mentor could easily snap at any moment. All efforts up to this point would certainly be lost if he could not in fact reign him in. He took in the formidable man that stood before him. His size alone was enough to scare the most common of people that along with his hard and unusual facial features made him a sight to look upon, much less face his fury when it peaked. Everything they were trying to achieve up to this point had been somewhat successful and Ben had thought securing Christian would be of no consequence, but he had not anticipated La'llia's presence, much less her role in all of this. He himself was disappointed that he was once close to the women and had not known she was a key role in their plans. Now with their combined strength he knew their task would be even more difficult to achieve.

"Sir, we have only those who have turned away from the Code to work with. Perhaps if we had not forced the turning of so many we could have..."

"Forced or not, their intelligence and competence up to this point have been disappointing." Bane interrupted. "Maybe I should rethink your role in all of this as well Ben. You were instructed to form our army and select the potential leaders for our ranks were you not?" He asked, his voice hard and determined.

"I was, but I can only do so much with the tools provided Sir." Ben felt the heat within the room swell and suddenly the smell of burnt wood filled his nose. Bane shimmered and stood towering above him as Ben strained his neck to look upon his Mentor. As his eyes locked on his Mentors auburn ones he saw the sneer break his too thin lips just before he was back handed and his body landed mere feet from the remains of the broken chair. He reached up and swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. He spit as the metallic taste of his own blood filled his mouth.

"If you are suggesting that I am at fault for your endeavors, I would rethink your strategy Ben."

Banes voice was calculated as he spoke, but Ben heard the underlying threat in his words easily. He rose from his position on the concrete floor. If he was going to tempt fate he would do it facing it square in the face. "No Sir, I am simply implying that we need to take a different approach to our efforts at this point." He paused and spit a mouthful of blood again. I'll need to see our Water elemental after this, he thought, but continued on. "He isn't lost to us entirely. His powers are fresh and he has little use of them now. La'llia was an unforeseen hurdle, but I feel if we navigate their relationship we may still be able to obtain them both. As far as our forces...well maybe we should take a different tack to recruiting them. Forcing their turns limits their powers. Bane's journals have confirmed this. I have all of the documents uploaded into my computer systems. We may not have the originals, but we can still work with what we have. I just need a little more time to solidify my next plan."

He watched as Bane made his way to sit behind the massive oak desk that filled the room. As he sat he felt the heat begin to dissipate and return to a normal state. "You've lost one of my best Air elementals Ben. Victoria will be hard to replace. She at least had some sense about her. Make your plans, but do it in haste. We've lost too much ground already to speak of. Now leave me before I change my mind about ending your pathetic life."

Ben slightly bowed before him. "As you wish. I will return when I know how to proceed." As he closed the door behind him his thoughts drifted to Victoria. Bane had been accurate. Victoria was one of their most accomplished elementals, but she did not stand a chance against La'llia. His eyes narrowed as he made his way to his own chamber room. La'llia had become a larger force than even he had anticipated, and now with her new skills she would be a formidable advisory to overcome. Ultimately, he knew his efforts would have to immobilize La'llia to gain access to Christian, but in turn she would come to him if he could acquire her newest companion. The odds that after all these years she would take on another elemental for her companion could very well be her weakness. And in the end he would not only have captured two powerful Eternals, but he could also remove Bane from his seat, leaving Ben to rule. A smile formed on his face as he prepared for what was to come. Certainly no one would see through his deception least of all his too confident Mentor Bane.