The Icon Unbound

Chapter Eight, Part B - Rigel

Whew, ok. So this is the fall out: where Rigel uses his gift to discover one of his brother's closely guarded secrets. What they will do here tonight will have consequences all the way through the end of the book. If you think you know, leave me your theory in the comments section! As always, thanks for sticking with me. --Elizabeth, UPDATED 05/13/2017

Rigel felt his stomach twist in both anger and apprehension. "What, you think we should leave them alive? Perhaps we should invite them into the village?" Rigel tried to control himself, tried to make his voice even. "You've got another way to do this that I don't know about? Do we have time to wait for the Icon?"

Saiph shook his head, glancing out the window. There were dark shadows racing across the valley below getting close enough to see their rapidly moving legs and hairy bodies. "No, there's nothing else for it. Once we've opened the gate, Resplendent will get us to high ground."

Together, they pushed the wooden arm until the gear shifted. Even with both of them it was not easy.

For a moment nothing happened.

One heartbeat before Rigel started tearing the whole place apart with his teeth, it moved.

Click.

Click, click.

Clickclickclickclickclick.

Saiph nodded and turned, bypassing the ladder and jumping to the floor below. Rigel forced his feet to follow. His knees knocked with weariness, and the world tilted around him. He let himself fall back to the first floor. His landing was not as graceful as his brother's and his hands stung when they slapped against the wood.

Beneath the floorboards, he could feel the rattle of the pipes as the water redirected and the pressure built. There would be a foot of water on the ground in mere seconds, sweeping away anything not rooted to the ground. When a valley was scheduled to be flooded, the entire village would show up for the event, and it would become a sort of holiday. All of the affected areas would be prepared, the trees uprooted if possible, burned if not. Trenches would be dug, wild herbs and fruits gathered, and three or four sluices would be opened slowly and the process would be gradual.

This flooding would devastate this alley in a matter of moments, but as Rigel slid down the ladder into the gloomy darkness, he couldn't think of any reason why Saiph would be so concerned. There was nothing between here and there except a few orchards, which could be replanted. Of course the road would be washed out, but all the roads in Waterwall were designed to be underwater for long periods of time.

These windmills were so old and common place, it was easy to forget how much water each one controlled. If the spiders somehow managed to survive that, they would be dashed to pieces on the rocks and tossed over a series of four hundred foot drops.

Rigel's hands froze on the valve.

Era's body would also be directly in the path of the flood. She would be washed away probably all the way into the stream and down the mountain.

Outside, he could hear Arrow barking again. Saiph was yelling something he couldn't understand anything but what this would mean for Era. How could he do this to her? He had failed her so utterly. He wouldn't even be able to burn her body, to give her ashes to the sky, to give her parents that much comfort.

The walls shook and he heard the crackling sound of wood about to break.

Goodbye, my love. I'm sorry.