The Forgotten Light

71. Kaelen

Kaelen made his way running along the road leading to the castle on the cliff. Although there wasn't even a trace of Invicta anywhere around, he hurried because he felt an overwhelming premonition that he was in danger of something, especially since his hearing still hadn't fully recovered.

The closer he got, the more the enormity of the castle came to him - the soaring, almost all glass towers, the huge courtyard, the long row of ornate arcades leading to the half-burnt garden. Fairlight mentioned something about a fallen tower that was impossible to miss, and she was right - the structure lay shattered in the central part of the castle, blocking the passage to the eastern side. Fortunately, that wasn't where he was supposed to head.

He kicked the nearest door off its hinges and entered a grand lobby painted red. Several chandeliers dangled from the ceiling, shaped like tree branches, with glowing pebbles deep-set in places. He walked on, watching carefully the passing rooms. The furniture was overturned or damaged, carpets and curtains were torn, vases and other vessels were broken. Kaelen hadn't expected that the Beings might have an enemy who also belonged to Invicta, but what he had just seen confirmed Fairlight's words.

He reached his hand behind his back for the silver Invicta sword that Fairlight had given him.

Invicta were fighting someone. On the one hand, it was comforting - it appeared that they weren't the only ones who wanted to get rid of the Beings, that they weren't alone against them. But on the other hand, who were those who attacked San Diego? What was driving them? Was it a struggle between good and evil, or a fight for power? Which of them was actually the better evil?

He entered the first room on the first floor and found it to be something like a dressing room. Most of the silver and black uniforms were in excellent condition, so he chose one and quickly put it on. He concluded that he could also use something to cover his head, so he reached for a long cloak with a wide hood on his way out.

He was told that there were two ways into the room where the slaves were kept: find the right staircase downstairs, or go through the small canteen for the prisoners via a door on the side of the courtyard. He preferred not to risk getting it wrong and going down to that dungeon where the worst Beasts were kept. From what Fairlight had said, he didn't want to meet them at all. He couldn't even imagine that she had to deal with them and by some miracle came out of it unharmed. Well, such a thing must surely have left some kind of damage on her. One that wasn't visible with the naked eye.

He had never met someone like her in his life. To change into a Being with a thought? Unthinkable! One moment she had been standing next to him, so human and fragile, and the next she had been his height, dressed as a white-haired Invicta guard with sharp facial features and a dark sparkle in her icy eyes.

Disguised as a Being, he stepped out into the courtyard, looking around for doors. Other than the main one, richly decorated, he saw none.

"There was no mention of a midget passageway," he muttered a little nervously, because, after all, he was pressed for time. Fairlight was alone in the arena full of Invicta, and who knew what crazy idea had come to her mind?

He looked along the castle walls, all the way down outside the courtyard area. "There they are."

He ran down the uneven steps and swung the door open, stepping into a dark room that was illuminated by a faintly glowing, flickering bulb. Kaelen squinted at it. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen the object, if he had ever seen it at all. He thought Invicta had gotten rid of humanity's inventions, replacing them with their own, and there it was, the only specimen of a light bulb on the continent.

Somewhere farther away, something loudly hit the ground, arousing his utmost vigilance. The next moment he heard quick footsteps.

He tightened his fingers on the hilt of the Fairlight's sword. Admittedly, it had been a long time since he had fought with this type of weapon, but if an Invicta lurked somewhere around the corner, he was sure he would immediately be reminded of all the moves and tactics.

He ran into a dimly lit corridor and spotted a figure disappearing around the corner. It was too dark for him to determine who it was, so he took his steps as quietly as he could, following the figure. Finally, he came upon a sizable hole in the wall and carefully slipped his head in there, peering inside.

"Blessed Goddess..." The sword almost slipped out of his hand. "What is this place?"

In front of him was a huge grotto. Its floor was strewn with mattresses, tattered rags hung from the ceiling, serving as hammocks, crumbled pillars already barely supported the ceiling, that was lit up in places.

Plus dozens of pairs of eyes fixed with disgust and horror straight at him.

"Easy now." He leaned his sword against the scattered wall and raised his hands, stepping slowly inside.

A few people hid behind columns or under blankets, the rest froze.

"I'm not Invicta." He removed the hood from his head, showing his rumpled blond hair. "I'm not one of them."

"So what are you doing here?" An older woman in a dirty apron asked. "You have a death wish?"

Kaelen focused his gaze on her, lowering his shoulders. "You are Amaris, aren't you?"

She wrinkled her forehead, approaching him. "How do you know that?"

He smiled crookedly. "From a mutual friend of ours, but we don't have time for that now. We have to get the hell out of here."

"We'd love to, but is that even possible? Ivy tried, and she's failed to get over the wall..."

Kaelen grabbed her by her shoulders, silencing her with a look. "This is your lucky day, today anything is possible. Now gather all these people and lead them to the arena."

Amaris stepped back. "To the arena...?"

"Trust me."

After a moment's thought, she gave a silent sign to the rest. People, as one man, began to gather around, some of them were looking at Kaelen distrustfully, muttering something under their breath. All he heard was something about Ivy and how she had left them there to the mercy of Invicta, that she ran away as soon as she saw her chance.

He cleared his throat pointedly, interrupting the exchange of that pack of nonsense between them. They glared at him absentmindedly.

"You don't even know what you're talking about," he muttered, reaching for the sword.

He stopped at the breach in the wall, measuring the awful room one last time. An idea began to form in his mind.

He noticed that Amaris was also looking around, searching for something in her apron pockets.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

The woman nodded, pulled out a lighter and said with the purest hatred in her voice, "Let's burn this fucking shithole to the ground."

Kaelen, though his heart started pounding with fear of fire, grinned and pulled his hood back over his head.