Chapter 22. The Anointed One

Kench didn’t remember falling asleep, but he’d sure as hell remember waking up for the rest of his life. There was a sudden drop in his chest, it felt like his heart had decided to become frighteningly arrhythmic.

“Bibbs,” he called out. “Bibbs,” he yelled, but no one answered. He sat up, and felt an enormous pull of energy from his link to Finnigan. He threw off his blanket and got up from his cot, Bibbs was asleep on hers with waves of silver transparent energy shooting off of her. A wave hit Kench and he felt the pull from Finnigan slow down, another hit him and he felt it speed back up.

“Bibbs,” he said, moving forward. Another wave washed over him, slowing him down even more. He fell to his knees as Finnigan pulled more from him. “Bibbs, wake up,” Kench wheezed. She didn’t move, and another wave hit him. He felt the air on his face, the currents in the room flecking across him. He was empty, nothing more than a conduit. He could feel life being pulled through him. His soulmeld with Valera, it was her life essence moving through him. Finnigan would suck them both dry without even knowing what he was doing.

He leaned forward and fell onto Bibbs, she was completely unconscious. He could feel her power within her and was reminded of his mother. The energy she had used on him was Bibb’s own energy. Maybe he could use it too. He tried to will the power from her, to slip them into a faster time stream as he had done before, but to no avail. Another shot from her, and the fire began to burn at double time. Again, another wave blasted from her. The fire began burning in slow motion again as the pull from Finnigan lessened. He reached for his staff, and took it in hand. He felt the power within it and drew on it. He could replace it later if he survived.

Bibbs drew a deep breath and a wave of energy blasted out on exhalation. He used the power of his staff, the power of his sister to harness the energy. He could feel it; pure magical power absorbed by his staff. He redirected it, energizing it as much as he could, and hit himself and Bibbs with it. The fire seemed to freeze in place as Finnigan’s drain almost completely halted. He felt her power within her, it was going to blast out again. He felt what was stolen inside of his staff, he could use that to hold her here while she rested.

“Obnubilo,” he said. The spell shot out of the ends of his staff ricocheting in all directions.

Kench couldn’t let this continue. He staggered to the door, and blasted it aside with a golden spell from the tip of his staff. He knew how to use a staff. It was instilled in every child, even him. He leaned on it as he walked down the cold stone hall. He found a set of stairs and took them upward, towards the room where Finnigan was being kept. He stumbled down the corridor and saw four armoured guards blocking his path. He held his staff above his head and became acutely aware of the different notches on his staff. He focused on the parts of the staff facing the guards and used them to create a portal beyond them. He walked down the corridor, it seemed the ornament had the entire thing emptied for what she was doing.

There was only one door closed, so Kench approached it. He tried the handle, and to his surprise it was unlocked. He slowly pushed it open and saw something he couldn’t unsee. Back arched, completely naked, Fei was straddling Finnigan. Her skin was dark, not the usual pale. She seemed to be emanating a dark light that made everything it fell upon darker. Finnigan didn’t seem to be minding the situation by where his hands and face were. He circled around and could see one of Finnigan’s eyes looking out from behind Fei’s, well, Kench preferred not to think about it. It was wide with fear.

His chest was glistening with Fei’s enchanted oil, that was part of the magic! What was the spell Bibs had used to absorb magic? “Virtutem haurire,” Kench enchanted. All the points of his staff began to draw in magic from all around. He focused on the points of his staff facing the oil glistening on Finnigan.

“I don’t know why the hell we didn’t think of this sooner!” Kench cursed. He watched as the oil seemed to lose some of its shine. Next, he pointed his staff at Fei, and watched as the oil that was on her lost its shine. He noticed that the darkness seemed to siphon from her body as it entered his staff. He was careful not to stare at places where Valera wouldn’t approve, but he was thorough enough to make sure he collected all the magic there as well. He continued his work for a great deal longer than he wanted to be in the room. Truth be told, he hadn’t wanted to be in there at all, but if this was going to work, it was worth seeing parts of these people Kench had no interest in.

Kench glanced at his staff and saw patches of black mixed within the white.

As the oil and dark magic faded he could feel the drain on him subside. He did one more pass over Finnigan just to be sure, but when he got to the scars on the man he found that they seemed to wisp away with the magic from the oil.

“Well, there’s that!” Kench said. “Keeping you beautiful, one spell at a time. Hang in there brother, I think we’ll be meeting sooner than later.” He looked around, and saw Finnigan’s wand across the room. Next to the wand was a blood red stone in a glass vile that felt somehow familiar to Kench. Kench took the wand and moved back to Finnigan, and put Finnigan’s wand in his hand.

He went to leave, but the stone on the table had begun to glow in its vial. Kench picked up the vial, and the stone within shone brilliantly. It became hot, too hot. Kench dropped it and the glass shattered, leaving the stone on the floor. Kench crouched down and inspected the brilliantly glowing stone. He pointed his staff at it, and it shot into the air. Kench recoiled, not knowing what to make of it. The stone shot at him, and he swung his staff at it. The two connected, launching Kench onto his back. His staff stayed in the air, the branches that had sealed together unwinding. They ensnared the stone and held it so only a small portion of it was showing.

Kench climbed to his feet, and grabbed his staff. It writhed in his hand, he could feel the essence of his sister imbued within the staff, as well as his own essence, but he felt something new there too. Something powerful, something familiar.

“Brutus,” Kench said. “I feel you!” The stone glowed, pushing Kench’s essence away from it. The essence of his sister seemed to work as a buffer between the two. Kench turned his staff and looked into the stone. “I didn’t make you attack me. You tortured me, you hurt me, and you deserve to be trapped in there.” The stone glowed again. “We’ll talk about this later,” Kench said.

He left the room and tried to open a portal, but the stone stopped him. It glowed brightly, and Kench felt a surge of adrenaline. He leapt down the corridor towards the posted armored guards, spinning his staff in his hand. He slammed it into the ground, and the stone cracked beneath its power. He reached out and pulled the armoured guards into his time stream.

“Tin cans!” he yelled at them. “I got past you!”

The four armored guards turned in the blink of an eye and had their spears pointed at him. The ends of their spears glowed red, and blasted a crackle of red energy at him. He spun his staff and created a wall of magic, which dissipated their energy.

“I don’t know how to do that,” Kench said. He didn’t have time to react though, as the guards sprang forward to attack him. They launched into a series of stabs, which Kench batted aside with his staff. He condensed a layer of air between him and three of the guards. They tried to stab him, but were stopped by the air. He swung his staff hard at the spear of the fourth guard and knocked it aside. Kench swung hard, harder than he thought he had strength, and crushed the metal head of the armored guard.

“This isn’t me!” Kench said. “I have to stop!” He could feel Brutus within the power stone. This was Brutus’ influence. The tips of the spears of the guards glowed red again and they sliced through Kench’s enchanted air and lunged at him. He leapt back, soaring through the air as he deflected their attacks. They pressed him further, putting his back to a wall. He twisted to dodge one spear tip, then shifted his head to dodge another. Both spears stabbed into the brick beside him, he brought his staff down hard on them, breaking them in two. The guardsmen they belonged to collapsed to the ground as they broke.

The last one stabbed at Kench, aimed at his throat. Kench caught the spear with his left hand just below the tip, and put the tip of his staff to the chest of the guardsman. It glowed brilliantly and a wave of energy blasted a hole in through his foe. Kench moved the corpses of the guardsmen from his timestream and ran back to his quarters.

He found Bibs asleep on her cot then sat on his. “I can’t do that again,” he said. “Brutus, that’s too much. We can’t attack everything we see!” He could feel the power of the stone resist him. He figured that would be a trend, but he had to fight it. He stuffed his staff under his cot. To his surprise he could still feel it there, holding the power from Bibs, the power to alter timestreams. He still couldn’t feel the drain from Finnigan, but Bibs needed rest. He laid down and closed his eyes, mind racing.

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Could he use that staff? He wanted his club back, he wanted to be back in his van, selling baked goods at a farmers market. Everything had happened so fast, now, he was here in this far away place, in love with a woman he didn’t know as well as he ought, fighting for the sake of China? He didn’t care about China! He wanted a normal life; to take Valera home, and be done with this place!

The staff called out to him, encouraging him to do exactly that. He had the power, he could take Valera. If any of the Regalia came for him, he’d do to them what he did with the armored guards! He could protect her, have his home, and maybe even have a few kids.

“Yes,” Kench said, sitting up. “Wait, no, dammit Brutus!” He grabbed the staff from beneath the cot and said to the stone, “I just got this staff, I’ll throw it in a fire and smash the stone if you don’t stop!” The stone quit glowing, and almost at once he felt at peace.

He had saved Finnigan, retrieved his brother some way or another, protected Valera, and somehow could use Bib’s endowment. He would take tomorrow as it came, and once he got some sleep, maybe he and Bibs would be able to just step out of the higher time stream.

“Kench,” came Bibs voice. “Kench are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Kench said with a stretch.

“How are you doing this?” Bibs asked.

“Doing what?” Kench said, sitting up.

“I fell asleep, we’re in a different timestream than the one I left us in, and it seems you’re the one keeping us there.”

“Oh yeah, that. I am,” Kench said. He stood up, then dipped into a deep stretch.

Bibs brandished her wooden spoon threateningly then said, “I’ll have you know, I feel perfectly fine after last night. I’m not opposed to cracking your knuckles.”

“No Bibs,” Kench said. “I don’t need to be threatened. I’ll just talk to you, don’t worry. But first, let’s get out of the time stream and find some food.”

“Is Finnigan still pulling at you?” she asked.

“Well, okay, maybe we should talk first,” Kench said. He filled her in on the night before as he stretched, but left out the bit about his brother. And he might have made it seem like the Armored Guard were accidentally pulled into his time stream, he didn’t need The Regalia trying to kill him.

“Okay,” Bibs said. “Well, you can use a staff?”

“Yes,” Kench said. He didn’t say why, but he was sure it was Brutus’ essence within his staff that knew how.

“Alright, well, if we get asked, which we may, neither of us had anything to do with the guardsmen. You feel ready to go back to normal time?” she asked.

“Yeah, let’s do it,” he said.

“Take us out,” she said with a smile.

Kench felt his staff pulling on him, and reached back for it. It shot from under the cot to his hand, red stone glowing brightly.

“It’s black and white,” Bibs said. “What happened?”

“That happened when I siphoned power off of Fei,” Kench said.

“Oh, that power, careful with it Kench. You’re more bound to the Regalia than you realize now.”

“Okay, I don’t feel much of a difference in it, but I’ll watch for anything unusual.”

She stared at him, then nodded. “Alright, Kench. One day, you’ll find out what really happens here at the palace. I want to apologize now for when that day comes. I’m doing everything I can to help,” she said.

“What’s going on here?” he asked.

“Nothing I can tell you now,” she said with a frown. “Now, take us out, we can check up on Valera.”

Kench took his staff, and focused on the flow of time around him. He felt a pull, then another, then another.

“Wow, you move so roughly through the time streams,” Bibs said. “Let me take over.”

Kench let go of the power, and felt nothing. “Are we there?” he asked.

“Yes, see how smooth that was? Now, let’s go check on Valera and Finnigan.

Finnigan felt dizzy as Fei collapsed on top of him. “You okay?” he asked. He must have misunderstood her, she was harmless, she was sweet, she was his.

“Yes,” she said. “I need a drink.” Finnigan lifted her off of him, and slowly stood up. He had to regain his bearings, Fei needed a drink after all.

“What would you like?” he asked.

“Water,” Fei said.

“Alright, but you’ll have to say please,” Finnigan said.

“No, serve me,” Fei said.

“Excuse me?” Finnigan said. “I have your little stone on my wand, I think that means you serve me,” Finnigan said. “Now, say please and I”ll get you a drink.”

“Please,” Fei said slowly. Finnigan fetched her a drink, and drank half of it on his way back to her. He handed her the cup, and she drank it, staring at him over the top of the cup.

“You look confused, let me break it down. I decided, I’m yours. And you’re mine. Together, we can find the emperor and prevent a war.”

“Together?” she asked.

“I don’t know anything about your brother, or how China works. However, you do,” he smiled at her.

The door burst open and in came Jade and several armored guard. “What’s going on here?” Jade asked.

“I was just receiving counsel from the Ornament,” Finnigan said as he covered himself with a blanket.

“Council?” Jade asked.

“Well, the Emperor gave me this, so it’s up to me to find him. The Regalia will help I take it?” he said. “Wait, why are you here?”

“The armored guards were destroyed,” she said. “The four outside your door, was this you?”

“No,” Fei said. She got to her feet, and with a glance at Finnigan she covered herself. “I put an enchantment on the door, so we wouldn’t be disturbed by outside sound.”

A rush of footsteps preceded Bibbs and a lean bearded man. Finnigan looked at the man, then stepped forward. “Kench,” he said. “You look so different, you’re going to have to tell me how you did it all so fast. I wonder if it had to do with our time together.”

He could feel something coming from Kench, concern it seemed, but Finnigan didn’t know why. They were all there together, safe and sound, finally able to use the Regalia to help find Song. What’s more, now Fei was invested.

“Finnigan,” Kench said, looking sidelong at Fei. “I think we should talk about this. Privately.”

“Kench,” Finnigan said. “Do you trust me?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” Kench started.

“No, it is that my brother,” Finnigan interrupted. “Either you trust my judgement, or you don’t. I know you don’t trust Fei. The general is her brother, so what if she’s a little rough around the edges? However, it’s Fei that told me about the stone. She could have kept it from me. She told me about everything! I don’t know what you guys have to say, but I can tell you now, I trust Fei implicitly. She isn’t on trial here.”

Kench looked around the room, Finnigan felt as though he was avoiding eye contact. “What’s the matter Kench?” Finnigan asked.

“I, well sir, it’s just maybe we could all talk when we are all fully clothed,” he said.

Finnigan laughed, then smiled at Fei. “Let’s dress.”

Fei pulled her wand from her hair and waved it around, keeping her breasts covered with her other arm and hand. From her wand shot red silk, which wrapped itself around both her and Finnigan, fashioning itself into a dress on her, and a button up shirt and pants for him. He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss.

“Let’s get the ball rolling shall we?” he said.

She smiled up at him and replied, “It seems my lost puppy has found his home, let’s take care of the general, he’s too big of a threat.”

“Take care?” Finnigan asked.

“Kill,” Fei said softly, letting her lips gently touch Finnigan’s ear as she spoke. “He took the emperor to start a war, to gain power.”

“We can’t just kill him,” Finnigan said. He felt sad for her. Fei had spent her whole life thinking it was kill or be killed. And here she was again, doing the same thing. He could help her though.

“My lost puppy, I will do as you ask. And if he kills me, don’t feel guilty over my loss. I just hope we find a way to bring the Emperor back so you and I can settle down together.” Then she kissed him. He felt overwhelmed by love for this woman. He wouldn’t let her brother do a damn thing to her. If that meant killing him, so be it.

He pulled away and said, “Where is he?”