Smoke rose from a couple of the chimneys in the town below, and chatter sat in the air. Were there people here? Leaning on the wall by the mouth of the cave Nyt and Seth talked animately with one another.
“We have to go. As long as they’re around the attacks on my house won’t stop.”
“We can’t just yet. We’d die.”
“Die? We fought a dragon how much more…” Seth glances over toward the mouth of the cave as I step out. “Ah, we’ll ask him.”
“What’s wrong?”
Nyt steps up.
“When you were out, there was an attack on Seth’s house.” Upon seeing my reaction she holds up her hand, “All of his kids and his wife are safe; he, Fen, and I were able to repel them but...well…”
“We need to strike back at them, or they’ll keep coming.” Seth interrupts.
“But we can’t,” Nyt interjects, “The patrols have increased.”
“And why is that?” Seth turns toward Nyt.
“Because I tried to free the Efrans imprisoned by the army.” She answered, “Though well over half of them had already been moved off the compound.”
My eye turns toward the town and the black smoke rising out of the chimney. I suppose that explains it.
“How were you two able to get out without killing Ikit, first off.”
“Ah, right. Because he’s the anchor, and technically a divine being, he was able to force it open. After that, we grabbed a human cultist and…”
Seth drew a line across his throat.
“I see. So now we can go in and out as we please?”
The both of them nod.
“So why not move Seth’s family in here until the patrols die down?”
“Patrols are the least of our worries.” Seth said, “See, some letters were found in my bedroom. Some letters and a map of all the cult outposts in the area. They’ve captured Springville, and enslaved the entire population there.”
“Enslaved? What do you mean?”
“There’s a compound; well, more like a military base with helipads, barracks far, far up the mountains. Near the peak of Whitney. From what’s written in the letters it’s where their munitions and kits are coming from. And where the main force they’ll use to attack the valley with plans to stake a claim of California from Whitney to Coalinga.”
I wonder if that’s where Monica’s parents are being held…
“So we keep Seth’s family here and go to Springville, just the three of us?”
“See, that’s what I was telling her but…”
“But, according to the same letters, there are three apostles. Within the base, and one apostle in that, ‘Springsville,’ or whatever you called it. Both sites are important to the White One apparently.”
I could see the base being important, but Springville? Nah. It was too small. Too insignificant. It was a town of a little over 500 people.
“So? I think we can handle it.”
“That’s what I thought you’d say.” Nyt sighed, ‘You might, but I would die.” She said, “I’m not an apostle. There’s a limit to how strong I can get, and I’m just about at that limit.”
“...oh. Well, what’s your plan?”
“Fen and Alar said they could intercede with Shel to see if she could accept me into her fold, but I also asked if it was possible to find even just the slightest sliver of Athet so I could take that in instead. Alar said it would take some time.”
“How much time?”
“A month and a half. That’s all I’m asking for. A month and a half to find Athet, and if not, I will accept their offerings to become an apostle of Shel."
I drum my fingers against my thigh.
“Until then, do you think your family could stay here while we wait for her?”
I ask Seth.
“I suppose. But what about Springville? Are we just going to let the people there suffer?”
“No.” I turn to Nyt, “Seth and I will go ahead to Springville and kick the cult out, then we’ll wait for you there.”
“Well, you should probably wait,” Seth said after sighing. “At least until the heat dies down. Get some downtime as well.”
“Well, they’re looking for Nyt, right? I can turn into a cat, so I’m not really at a risk.”
“No no. They know you can turn into a cat.” The man said, “It was on the news. A CCTV image of you shifting from cat to human and then back to cat. They said you’re responsible for the recent breakout of the Efrans.”
“How do they even relate the two?"
“Well, when the footage of a large humanoid cat came out and broke what were supposed to be your allies...one can see how they made that connection.”
Nyt looks away from me when I glance toward her.
“I’m not sorry.” She answered plainly, “My people were being kept in captivity and used in cruel experiments, what would you expect me to do, leave them?”
“I’m not upset, so you think I should lay low for a bit is what you’re saying, Seth?”
Seth nods.
“For at least two weeks. During that time me and some of the boys will take out some of the closest outposts.”
“Boys?”
“Used to run a construction crew. Got in contact with a few of them, through Paul and they decided they can’t just sit still. Told them to come on over. We got guns and trucks plenty for ‘em.”
“And they’re okay with the risk?”
“Okay? No. They have families of their own, but this is their home. Their families have lived in the valley since it was settled. Some even longer than that.”
“If anything happens too catastrophic during these two weeks when I’m laying low, let me know, alright? Also, any wounded bring back here, and I’ll heal them up.”
Seth nods.
“Got to convince some of the boys to not take your bounty when they learn I’m working with thee, Lawrence Abel.” He smirks.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
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“You’re a famous outlaw now. Don’t you know? A regular Billy the Kidd. A cool 15 Million for your head, or information leading to your capture.”
“15 million? Isn’t that a bit too excessive?” I say trying to quell my pride.
“Not at all. Aside from the prison break, and the apparent kidnapping of hundreds of people, you’re also being blamed for the loss of a Chosen.”
“Huh? Who?”
“Private Lamot or something like that.”
“La...what was their first name?”
“Started with an M?”
“She’s missing? She’s…” I shake my head. No...
“Do you have a computer or something in your house I could use? I need to look up information about this.”
“Did you know them?” Nyt asks.
“She’s the one who told you to come to me that night.” I answer, “Do you have a computer, Seth?”
“I do. In the living room. Log onto the guest account, but don’t look up anything weird.”
I set Clio down.
“Stay here with Nyt, okay?”
Okay...
I sprint forward, and once I was a good enough distance away, I cast Lightning Step and rocket down toward the town. I land on the roof of one of the buildings near the edge of the boulder scramble. I can see Efrans and the occasional human milling around, settling into a different house. I recognize many of them as some of the people I had rescued from the same dive I met Nyt in. Others...I don’t recognize them, but they’re in a state worse than the ones within the dive. Deep purple bruises form around their wrists and throats.
Sitting on the stoop of one of the buildings closest to the orchard that had the door back to Earth, I noticed two familiar figures. Two figures I hadn’t seen in a long, long time. I stop. Why were they here?
“Lawrence?” The owner and operator of the Sunshine Motel pushes herself off the old rickety chair.
She looks weary and pale.
“Jenna, is that you? And Dylan? You’re alright.”
The young girl runs up to me and hugs me.
“It’s not true what they’re saying about you, is it?” The young girl asks.
“No. None of it. Were you in a place underneath the bowling alley?” I ask.
Dylan nods.
“Who rescued you there?”
“A nice lady…” She said, “The one who would come see you when you were hurt back at the motel.”
“Do you know what happened to her?” I ask.
She shakes her head.
“She didn’t come out…”
I grit my teeth. It was my fault. I was the one who sent her there...I take a deep breath. No. There’s no way of knowing if she was dead or not. Her wish, at the beginning of all of this, would make killing her extremely hard; a body that was always perfectly healthy. Unless she was killed with a single blow, she would recover to be perfectly healthy. I have to find out more information.
“I’ll be back,” I say as I pull away, and sprint into the orchard.
Some of the trees had been felled, and a small gatehouse was beginning to form over and around it. Fen was overlooking the construction, as some burly-looking men and Efrans who looked just as weary and tired as the rest of the people here.
“This is a hard hat zone! Wear your hat!” One of the men calls out as I sprint through. I refuse the hat as I push through into the door that leads to Earth.
Rain pelts me in the face first things first as I spring out of the Efra and onto Earth. I swat aside the gnats and large flies that congregated on the fruit trees. They turn to dust at my touch and I rush through the orchard to the small farmhouse in the alcove. Trucks with the symbol of the White One sit idle up and down the dirt path. One, near the junk gate, is reared backward as a long line of solid ice pocked with bullet holes had caught it from underneath. Another had a large hole blasted through the windshield and through the driver-side seat. Dark red stained the brown seat covers where the head would have been. Brass casings poked out from the mud at the feet of every truck.
As I neared their house, I could hear the raised voice of Seth’s wife.
“If you’re going, I’m going too!” She yelled.
Paul was there, standing with a backpack and a black rifle slung over his back.
“But ma! What about Katie and Andrew?”
“I ain’t letting these cultish bastards push us around, or take you from me, when they’ve already taken so much…”
“I’ll be fine, ma. We have the Lawrence Able, and I’m just going to get Dad’s friends.”
“What if something happens while you’re gone? Oh look, let’s ask him; do you think Paul should go out and risk his life by driving around the whole goddamned county raising a militia?”
“If he wants?”
“Then I’m going to. There’s nothing you can say, Paul.”
“Okay, Lawrence. Do you think she should go?”
“If...if she wants?”
“See!”
“But what about my brother and sister? With Dad and you going to war, what will happen to them?”
“We’ll be fine. We’re with the Lawrence Able, after all.” She said in a mocking tone.
“I don’t want you to die, Ma.”
“I don’t want you to die either, Paul...but…” she sighs, “This is our home, and they’ve attacked it twice. The unspeakable things done to Katie…to Andrew…I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I don’t put a few of them bastards in the ground.”
“Mom…"
“No, Paul. I’m going.”
“I’m...I’m sorry to interrupt this, but do you mind if I use your guy’s computer?”
“Huh? Of course. It’s in the living room. Log into the guest account. Don’t look up anything weird.” She snickers.
Seth and her were made for each other.
Paul followed me all the way to the computer while his mother went upstairs to get ready and get her children ready. When he was sure she was out of earshot he leans in and whispers.
“Do you really think she should go?”
I click the guest account and open up a Google page...I probably shouldn’t log in anywhere.
“I think it’s her right to.” I say, “She wants to fight against a known evil. That’s commendable.”
“But she could die…” Paul echoes his concerns.
“Everyone is going to die.” I say, “It’s how they live up until that point that really matters, and fighting against evil for her family...well, I can only think that whatever is divvying out the rewards for the next life would look at her favorably for that act.”
“What, like Valhalla?” He rolls his eyes and snorts.
“Your father is literally the acolyte of a Norse god, so it could very well be Valhalla.”
Shadow hops onto the desk as soon as I put my fingers down on the keyboard and begins rubbing her head against my arm begging for attention. I pick her up and set her in my laugh. She kneads my leg as she purrs happily.
“Do you think your god or whatever would allow me to become a chosen? I already asked my dad, but he said that he wouldn’t even ask.”
“I could ask Reynard,” I say, “But he’s a spirit, not a god, so I would need to do something first to allow it to happen.”
“What’s that?”
“Clear an area to establish a ‘temple,’ or something to that effect.”
“Will you?”
I sigh and let go of the mouse.
“Hey, Reynard.”
What? Twice today?
“Where’s the nearest, ‘clear zone,’ or whatever.”
Oh, are you actually going to be utilizing perhaps the most useful feature we provided to you to accelerate your growth? Incredible.
When that sentence fades from the small break-off screen, another one appears. A map of the area encompassing the house and the small alcove it sat in the orchard, and the dirt road up until it connected to the main road appeared. At the top were the words:
[6/32; 320,000, +5 Stat Points, Temple Authority]
Temple Authority, I suppose, is the name given to the choice I was given to either make Nyt an apostle or improve all of my stats by five. Indeed, if I had just done these, and chosen the latter option, then my stat points would be so much higher than they are now.
“How old are you?”
“17.” He answered.
“If you really do want to join this conflict, I will close all the doors in this area after I recover and ask Reynard. You might want to talk this over with your parents about it, however.”
“Let’s go! Katie, Andrew, let’s go! Paul, one of the trucks is ready. We’re moving!”
She comes down the stairs wearing body armor and carrying one of the rifles that had been stored upstairs.
“Where are we going, m—“ The young girl, who I assume was Katie stops at the banister and glances into the living room. Her eyes rest on me and widen in panic as she goes to hide behind her mother.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. He’s not like those other men.”
“Hmn.” She whimpers.
The young boy comes down the stairs and likewise hides behind his mother. He looks worlds better than he did before.
“I’ll talk to them, so can you do that?”
“When I’m rested,” I answer.
“Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, dear!” Laura calls back as she steps out of the door.
Paul and the three of them filtered out of the house. Laura led the two smaller children over to the door that would lead to the cove to be escorted in by her husband, while I turned back to the computer.
“Monica Lamot.” Was the search query I put in.
The first few results were articles from a variety of newspapers. I click the first. The image at the top was of, what I suppose, was her family. A woman that looked remarkably like Monica smiling with her hand over the back of a rather large man with a mop top blonde hair and round glasses. In between the two of them were two children. A son and a daughter. The son, listed as William Lamot stood stone-faced next to his sister, Monica.
In the picture, she was in a wheelchair, with a tube going up from a green and gray oxygen tank to her nostrils. Her jaw hung slack and open. Was that her? I remember the words that William had said when he told me his wish: he believed her the moment she walked into the room. It makes sense, now.
The article is titled: Monica Lamot: In Memoriam.
Monica Lamot was born in a small town in Wisconsin. At a young age, she was diagnosed with a degenerative disease known as ALS. That, however, never stopped her from loving life and being a kind and caring person. Those who remember her, speak frequently about her kindness. Even after she was wheelchair-bound, she would frequently stop to help people who dropped something, or volunteer to take things to the office for her teachers.
By the time she was 26, she had been accepted into the University Of Wisconsin in Madison with a full-ride scholarship and was working on her master's program for theoretical physics. She wanted to emulate her hero Stephen Hawking by setting off into a field and setting a precedent for those suffering through the same disease as her, that they didn’t let it control their lives.
On December 22nd, 2022 she was Chosen by Ariel, the sylph that appears in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. She had previously told The Post that she related to her a lot because, like Ariel, she had been bound by a power outside of her control for most of her life.
On January 28th, after the attempted arrest of the terrorist Lawrence Able (there was an article linked here detailing my supposed many crimes with interviews by Janet and Ortega), she was led into a trap by him in a ‘dive,’ (there was a link to another article detailing what a dive was, and how they work for the chosen. William and Janet were both interviewed for it), by telling her that he had captured a young child and sold her to the denizens of Efra for power and wealth; knowing that, by her good nature, she would go and try to rescue the child.
A day and a half later, the group of Chosen that she had led into the dive returned following a stream of humans in chains; all of which were sold to a being that Monica Lamot challenged known as the Under King (There’s a picture underneath this with the fearsome visage of a great ratman that could rival the size of a bear. He had a crown of shimmering gold on his head, and carried two large maces with an asterisk that read, 'artist's rendition'). According to her brother, she first rescued the child and ordered the rest of the group to escape while she held the Under King back. She never returned
I finish reading, but I focus on the sentence, ‘She never returned.’ It never said that she died...so it was entirely possible that she was still alive down there; locked in the fog. No. She must be. It’s the only thought that would stop me from killing myself with grief and blame. I need to go find her. No...even if I did, how would I get her out? How would I go through the fogwall?
I lean back in the chair. The only thing I could think to do was to hunt the White One down. But to do that I would need to get into the town, but to do that, I would need to bring down the cult in the surrounding area and find information to clear my name...and none of that could start until the cult was finished. So the path we’re on right now will lead us in the right direction. I take a deep breath. That’s right. I’ll find her. I have to. Next time in Efra, I’ll use Far Sight to see if I can find her. If only there was a way to let her know that I’d be coming for her.