CHAPTER 45 – WHEN THE PIECES COME TOGETHER
Mitakahn and Tron rushed after the thieves. They all converged on the front lawn of the Western Tower. Mitakahn tackled one of them into the tower wall. Bridger ran out and saw Mitakahn and Tron on the prowl. Kunezar threw his sword, heaving it into the air over the running thief. It came crashing down into his chest forcing the thief to fall forward. Tron knelt down and fired off an arrow from his bow. The arrow flew low through the air and pierced the thief’s ankle pinning his leg to the ground. They defeated the last of them and regrouped in the field.
“Do you have your piece?” asked Mitakahn.
“Yes. And yours?”
“Orion took it to the temple,” answered Tron.
They quickly caught their breath and started their last sprint across the quad. They made their way over to the East Tower. Bridger could not see any more thieves in the courtyards. What he did see was a familiar hound waiting for them in the tower’s shadow of the moonlight. Tron looked up into the sky at the full moon. It looked bigger than usual, as if some supernatural force has been shining a spotlight on them the entire night. They followed Orion around back to an entrance those barricading inside left open for them. Orion took them into the main altar room. Excelsior came walking out of the back room with blood all over him and Conroy in his hands.
“He’s dead.”
“What happened?!” asked Bridger.
“They were waiting for us in the back. He went in to get the stuff we needed for the ritual.”
“They knew we were coming,” Mitakahn said.
“We found out from a thief in the northern hall. They were assigned to Mitakahn from the start by Warlord Cassius.”
“Cassius!?”
“There’s no telling how many will come after us.”
“We brought this down on that poor man. I marched them right to his front door and asked for help. I handed the last of the warlocks up on a silver platter to that fat-headed crime boss. I failed them,” said Excelsior.
“That’s not true. Echo is still out there.”
“It is ultimately my fault, Excelsior,” Mitakahn confessed, “I brought you all into my misery without any regard for your own well-being.”
Excelsior looked at Mitakahn without contempt or forgiveness in his eyes. He looked at his friend like he was looking in a mirror.
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“There is no way any of us could have known! For all we know the same people who exiled Mitakahn hired the warlord to kill us,” reasoned Tron.
“We shouldn’t waste any more time!”
“Forget the ritual now! Let’s just put the pieces together and see what happens,” suggested Kunezar.
“I am doing the ceremony!” Excelsior gave Kunezar a cold look as he informed him of the plan.
“The perimeter is secure. Do we have all four pieces?” said Bridger trying to break the tension.
“Yes,” answered Excelsior as he revealed three of the pieces. Bridger untied the rag from his belt and took out the final piece of the diamond, handing it over to Excelsior who was placing a pouch on the altar, and loosening it.
“Do you need help?” asked Mitakahn.
“You can hold it as I put the pieces together,” directed Excelsior, “the rest of you stand back.”
Excelsior wiped his hands clean and put on the charcoal robe. He placed each piece on the altar. Mitakahn walked behind the altar and got in position next to it. Excelsior fit two pieces together and handed them to Mitakahn. He took the oil from the altar and spread it over the two conjoined pieces in Mitakahn’s hands. He fit the other two pieces together on the altar, pulled a handful out of the opened pouch, and rubbed a powder on them.
Anilithion leaned over to Tron who was bandaging the wound on his arm and asked him, “How does Excelsior know what to do?”
Tron answered him with one, soft-spoken word, “…Demascus.”
Anilithion was the only one in the group that did not know of Excelsior’s history. Growing up under Demascus, Excelsior learned many outdated ceremonies and irrelevant procedures of the Canine Kingdom’s heritage. Excelsior always knew one day they would come to be useful, either for a resourceful reference or something inconsequentially important. But never in his wildest imaginations did he think that he would have to remember the step by step ritual of putting together the infamous Carbon Terra in his dear mentor’s place.
Excelsior lifted it up and concentrated all his attention as he slowly lowered it onto the half Mitakahn was holding. When the powder touched the oil a flame ignited spreading over the entire surface of the crystal and down into the cracks between the conjoining pieces. The flame welded all four pieces together. The entire diamond melded into one. Excelsior stepped back.
Without warning, the entire diamond caught fire and began burning off its edges. What Mitakahn would never know is the smoke filling his lungs drifted past him and reached everyone involved in the mystic ceremony. Mitakahn coughed and shook his hands in fear of getting burned but he could not release the diamond. He tried over and over to rid himself of the diamond as it burned, but to no avail. The rigid diamond melted into a smooth sphere, just like it did in his dream.
Mitakahn began to panic, but the fire in his hands did not burn him. So, he did not drop it, in fact he stopped moving completely. He stared into the fire as it eroded the diamond into a crystal ball, hypnotized as if. The fire danced around the ball and pulled Mitakahn’s vision into its red crystal eye. Excelsior along with the rest of the group, watched helplessly, not knowing how to intervene.
The prince stumbled back but still did not yell for help. The morphing diamond enthralled him. The small shining particles melted into all different colors and painted a perfect picture worthy of a thousand interpretations. The picture was a portal and swirled open for all to see. It lingered above them until it reached every corner of the ceiling and then dropped enveloping everyone.
They briefly fell through a world not of their own, floating in utter oblivion. The company propelled back out of the diamond’s realm. Mitakahn hit the floor as his head snapped back. The portal diminished and exploded above them raining darkness all around. Mitakahn could tell that they were no longer indoors. It was night and they were not in Epitaph City anymore. The shadows stirred. There was something in their midst.