Lore of Eternal Shadow: The Fugitive King

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Runa returned from her scouting mission only with news that Caligo had opened up a two front war in both Tyre Pren and near Hathlos. The situation was very different from what she'd left. Tiberan had taken the role of leading the others and he began to share what had happened a few days earlier. Runa took one of her notebooks out but Tiberan touched her hand. "Don't," he said, "It's... the time's not right to write this down."

Runa glanced back at Zicone. He hung back almost too far from the others, wet in the face, ashamed to meet their gaze. He seemed half in a trance, only mechanically following the others as part of some distant obligation. "What happened?" Runa asked Tiberan quietly.

"I can't... quite piece it together," Tiberan answered, "Somehow Zicone made Alva dissolve... I could feel every single atom in his body detach and disappear."

Runa looked at the Vampirex, "Have you seen what Zicone did before?"

"Not personally," said the Vampirex, "but I knew of it. The Time-Masters were never warlike enough but this technique was definitely in their arsenal, a relic from before my time. A complete obliteration like this, every atom scattered to a different universe, hasn't been done in thirty thousand years. We should be asking ourselves how exactly Zicone knew how to do that."

Tiberan recalled the moments that led up to Alva's death, "Do you remember that feeling after Zicone was knocked down?"

"Hm, I'd forgotten," mused the Vampirex, "Zicone was dead. I sensed him slipping away. Then that strange energy came, most exotic. It was Zicone but it wasn't Zicone..."

"Somebody was controlling him?" asked Runa. She glanced back at Zicone, "Is he still being controlled?"

"At this moment, no," the Vampirex replied, "but I can't be sure who was inside of him in Alva's final moments."

"We're in danger, aren't we?" asked Tiberan.

The Vampirex nodded back toward Zicone, "You'll have to ask him."

Zicone was in no right mind to tell the others what he'd actually done to his brother. He was low on energy from the magnitude of his spell but could only recover small amounts at a time. Runa, Tiberan, and the Vampirex agreed that Alva would certainly not be the last thing Caligo would throw at them. While the other group was also in relative danger, the presence of Zicone, the Vampirex, and Tiberan together heightened the awareness of their nefarious adversaries. Runa decided their safest next step was to head for Narbon and report to Chandra.

Zicone seemed to improve as the days went by. Slowly, he rejoined the others as they travelled and his tears had dried. He didn't speak a word, though; lost deeply in his thoughts.

One morning, a fortnight after Alva's death, Zicone joined the others at breakfast. He drank some tea and let it moisten and clear his throat. The morning breeze felt dry and cold. The tea helped a little warmth back into his bones. "I woke up this morning and realized," he spoke, "I shouldn't be like this."

"Zicone, don't worry about it," Tiberan replied, "We all understand."

"I appreciate that," Zicone said.

"Would you humor us a question?" asked the Vampirex. Zicone studied the Vampirex for a moment before nodding, "When the brat fell... I sensed something decidedly different about you."

Zicone drew in a sharp breath. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to," Runa added.

"No," Zicone shook his head, "It's fine... Alva struck me with Force-Master magic, which he shouldn't have even known. I lost consciousness and then found myself somewhere... else. A warrior met me, clad in gold. He claimed to be my dormant Time-Master powers."