Four Elements Book 3 - Sacrifice

Part 34

Time seemed to have stopped completely. Bane stood frozen, staring at the dark haired, tired woman standing before him. She was looking at him with a similar look of shock on her face. There was a long silence before Bane was able to stammer:

"... M-Mom...?"

Her eyes gleamed as she clapped her hands to her mouth.

"Bane...!" she gasped.

They ran forwards and threw their arms around each other. Bane held her tightly, almost not daring to believe his eyes.

"... It's... it's really you..." he stammered as he looked at her.

There was no question. She had the exact same eyes as him, the same dark hair... she looked older than on her pictures, but that was hardly a surprise.

"... I was so hoping you'd find me..." she told Bane tearfully, touching his face.

They hugged again. Bane had to force himself to let her go, as though thinking she would disappear again the moment he did.

"I hate to interrupt your reunion, but we have to get out, fast."

Just then, they heard noises. There was movement nearby.

"Let's go!" Bane said.

He took his mother's arm, but she pulled away.

"No, Bane, I can't."

He stared uncomprehendingly at her.

"What? But..."

"She's right," Zarias intervened. "It's too risky with just the two of us. We got the answer we wanted. We should get out and find a better breakout plan."

Bane looked to his mother, then back at Zarias. Part of him knew Zarias was right. But he'd been deprived of his mother for so long...

"I'll be back as fast as I can," he promised.

"I can wait," Camille smiled softly.

"Bane, we have to go, now!" Zarias said.

Bane bit his lip, then turned to the door. Before he left, he looked round once more.

"I love you, Mom."

Tears glistened in her eyes.

"I love you, son."

His heart tearing as he did, Bane hurried after Zarias, who locked the door behind him.

"Come on, I don't know if they'd spotted us, so we have to hurry."

They raced up the stairs and threw caution to the winds, running flat out long the corridors, sounding like there were ten of them rather than two. Bane had to admit he was fortunate to have Zarias with him, because every corridor looked pretty much the same to him. Up a staircase, round a bend, through yet another corridor they went. Just then, they heard hissing sounds.

"The Umbras..." Zarias said.

"The what?"

"My fath-Zorak's demonic minions..."

Bane raised an eyebrows, but didn't comment.

"Great..."

Sure enough, seconds later, black shadows slithered into view behind them. Bane glanced over his shoulder. The Umbras were gaining on them. He spun around and raised his arms.

"Light of the Guardian!" he shouted.

A bright light filled the corridor, burning the Umbras, which recoiled.

"Not bad," Zarias said.

"Thanks," Bane replied.

More noises came towards them.

"Come on!" Zarias called. "The study's just up ahead."

He was right. Bane could see the door some fifty feet away. Although, there was always the possibility Zarias was lying. Before they could run towards it, however, a voice stopped them dead.

"Not so fast."

Bane and Zarias slowly turned round.

"Zorak..." Bane said coldly.

Indeed it was. Tall and shrouded in black like always, Zorak stood before them. He had an irritating little smile on his face. Bane's hands balled into fists almost without him realizing it.

"Now, now, is that a way to greet your own father?" Zorak jeered.

Bane's eyes narrowed.

"I am not your son!"

"By blood you are," Zorak snapped. "As much as we both might dislike the idea."

Bane had never felt so much hatred for Zorak. Not only had he been chasing him and his friends for over a year, but he'd also taken his mother from him.

"Why did you take my mother?" he demanded. "I know she's alive."

Zorak's gaze went to Zarias.

"I see you have been thorough in your betrayal," he commented. "But I suppose you won't live much longer, so there's no harm in telling you."

He placed his hands behind his back and began pacing.

"You might now my affections were initially directed towards Adena," he said. "Fiery, enchanting... she was all I could desire."

He waited a beat, then continued:

"But, sadly, she failed to see how much more fitting I would have been for her. She chose that idiotic, weak Balon. At first, I tried to fight for what I believed I deserved. Eventually, however, I came to realize that Adena's choice was not my doing, but her own. If she was not clever enough to figure out the best choice for her, then she didn't have any place by my side."

Bane didn't want to even dignify that with a response, so he fell silent. He glanced surreptitiously at Zarias, trying to read his face, hoping to determine where his loyalty truly lay. But he was keeping a smooth, unreadable face. Bane couldn't help wondering if that was because Zarias himself wasn't sure...

"And then, I encountered Camille. In several ways, she reminded me of Adena." Zarias went on. "At first, I simply dismissed her as another measly human."

"What were you doing in the human world to begin with?" Bane demanded.

"I wanted to cover my basis," Zorak shrugged. "I had already begun educating Zarias, but I wanted an heir of my own blood. And I believed she would be a reasonable choice. Clearly, a lack of judgment on my part."

"Why did you wait for me to be ten before trying to take me?"

"Because your mother fled when she realized what I was planning. It took me a long time to find her, because your powers hadn't awoken yet."

"So you wanted two heirs to chose from," Zarias said coldly. "I wasn't enough."

"Well, I couldn't be sure how you would turn out."

"So I was... just a test subject to you?" Zarias asked.

"... I a manner of speaking, yes."

Zarias's facade was on the verge of cracking, Bane could feel it. He couldn't tell whether it was a good or bad thing, though...

"Umbras!"

Black shadows shot into view, darting around both Bane and Zarias.

"And now... you shall die."

He raised a hand, conjuring a shining black sword. Then, he shot forwards, aiming for Bane.