Ch9-9: Helpless
Joran was too giddy to sleep that night. Though the bed was soft and the room was far more comfortable than she felt she had a right to, thoughts of the day capered through her mind restlessly. Every time she thought about it, her heart began to patter faster with delight. So the girl found herself tossing and turning in the streams of moonlight that fell through the tall window onto her bed.
I think Golbez likes me in return. But I can’t really tell. He doesn’t give me a lot to go on. And his mind… he keeps everything so quiet.
But the night had been too pleasant to worry about the big picture. They had dined, danced and then afterwards, he had walked her to her room. They had spent the long walk talking about things, all sorts of things. And for the first time, Joran saw what he was like when he was far away from the Lunar lands… from the confines of his library… from the influence of the Crystals.
When he’s left to be himself without all those things, he’s a whole different person.
And she really liked the person she saw. She just hoped that Golbez felt the same in return. Though he didn’t offer her a kiss or any other token of affection at the end of the night, he had allowed her to hold on to his arm just about all day long. Also, when they had danced, he allowed her to lean on him. Things she wouldn’t have imagined doing before that night.
So, that’s a step in the right direction. Right?
Joran sighed quietly and rolled over in bed for yet another time.
Through hazy, half-asleep eyes she caught the motion of shadow. Something there by her window. Something that she was sure had not been there before.
All thoughts of the day washed out of her head as she sat up slowly. Her eyes were locked in on the splotch of darkness in the moonlight. That’s when she realized that her curtains were wavering back and forth on the night breeze.
My window is open.
Joran balled up the edge of her sheet between both fists, squinting. She schooled her voice to calmness as she called, “Hello? Is there someone there?”
A single slit of cold-burning green appeared within the heart of the shadow in response. Then it moved, the soft white of gauzy curtains parting. It was coming closer.
“Stop right there!” she commanded, sliding back in bed. The girl could feel her stomach knotting in fear. An unnatural cloud of apprehension suffocated the room, clinging to her damp skin.
The figure did not stop. It kept approaching, a darkness within darkness. She could hear the sound of a man’s breath growing louder as she stared up into the single green glow. Something about it was familiar, but her mind was reeling. And she was suddenly feeling woozy.
Not a good time! What’s happening to me!?
“Now you’re going to make this easy on yourself, aren’t you, dear?” the raspy voice breathed from the shadows.
Everything took form for her at the sound of the voice. She knew exactly who she was looking at. Her green eyes suddenly could pick out the details that had been obscured through fear and shadow.
The single burning green eye. The glimmer of metal plates along one cheek. The imposing eye patch hovering over the other. The single diamond pattern in the middle of his forehead. And the slick, dangerous smile that was now meant for her.
“Kip!?” Joran breathed. And she was terrified.
One hand shot out clamping fast over her mouth. But she was already immobilized by the weight of his mind magery, a fear that weighed down her limbs and fogged her thoughts. Her mind screamed to fight back, but she was in his grip. The moment that he touched her… the moment that the Athrylith’s power swept over her… Joran knew that she was overtaken.
“Now, now…” O.M.E.G.A. leaned over, murmuring quietly into one of her ears. “You’re going to work with me on this. Be a good girl and you won’t get hurt.”
Golbez…
He intoned, responding to her thoughts alone, “The boy has to be done away with.”
Joran choked back on tears. Tears that he didn’t allow her to have.
Why? Oh… why, Kip! Why are you doing this?
“Because,” the Athrylith’s voice was almost regretful, “It’s what I was made to do. I can’t stop it. I can’t avoid it. I can only fulfill it.”
I don’t understand…
“I know. Pray you never do,” he said, straightening. “Now… I kept my promise to keep you alive while you were stuck in the Daear fortress. It’s time for you to return the favor.”
No! Not like this! I won’t hurt him!
Kip gave a half grimace, half smirk that peeled his lips back, revealing a row of glittery white teeth. There was a dangerous note in his voice, “Do you think you have a choice, dear?”
And Joran knew that he spoke the truth. Though she could see everything around her through a fuzzy haze, her body was not responding to her commands. She wanted to fight him. To strike out. To run away screaming a warning to anyone around.
But she couldn’t move. She couldn’t even think or feel without him knowing. Even the way her chest rose and fell as she breathed felt like it was only because it was granted at the Athrylith’s permission.
“I’m sorry, Joran,” Kip murmured. One hand lifted, like a puppeteer pulling a string. She felt compelled to rise from the bed, her body moving against her will. “I didn’t want to get you involved in the middle of it all. But that’s just the way it is now.”
Please… Kip… please… let me go…
Joran choked in a mental sob of fear and frustration. It was horrifying to watch as her arms and legs moved, far beyond her own will to control.
“I will. Once this is over with,” he answered, voice a bit more soothing. As if he was making some little attempt to calm the terror that swept over her. “We’re going to take this one step at a time.”
As he spoke the words, she began to walk forward. Her feet padded across the bare stone floor of their own accord. And though he followed her from a distance, his control was just as strong… even growing all the stronger. His grip was like an icy vice on her mind that no amount of pleading and desperation could break.
Why… why me?
“I have a bargain to keep. And that starts with getting Incrytan back in my hands,” Kip told her. “Other than Golbez, you were the only one that I’ve seen who could use the Crystal.”
Hopeless. Powerless. She watched as her hand turned the knob of her door and pulled it open.
Please don’t make me do this.
Sensation was distant. The feel of the floor against her feet. The sound of the echoes of the hall. All of it was drowned by the overpowering presence of the O.M.E.G.A. Before she realized it, Joran was standing in front of the door to Golbez’s guest room.
Though she fought with every inch of will, Joran couldn’t keep her hand from moving up. Taking hold of the knob. Turning it with a quiet click. The door pushed open into a room of shadows. And one corner, nearest to Golbez’s bed, was bathed with a muted light.
Incrytan had been placed upon the table near his bedside. Its light was contained within a soft cloth sack that the Master Wizard used to carry the Crystal in. The girl began to creep silently across the chamber towards the waiting glow.
Golbez… wake up! You’ve got to stop me!
For once in her life, Joran welcomed the thought of tripping. Or falling on the rug. Or stubbing her toe. Knocking something loud and clattering over. Anything that would wake the sleeping Half Lunar.
And once in her life, when she needed clumsiness the most, it did not come.
The girl stole across the room with a grace she didn’t know she possessed. Caught in the motions of the O.M.E.G.A., she moved far more craftily than she normally would have. There was certainly the knowledge and experience of a thief hidden behind his dark eye patch. And for this moment, all that had been transferred into Joran.
Her hands reached out towards Incrytan, fingers trembling. The Crystal instantly recognized her, responding to her cupped palms the way it always did. With a flash of bright light.
That’s it!
A swelling of triumph flooded her being as the glow illuminated the room with a high-pitched trilling sound. Instantly, Golbez’s green eyes flipped open and he sat straight up in bed. His gaze was focused on her sharply, in disbelief.
It occurred to Joran, a moment too late, that she might end up in a lot of trouble should the Master Wizard wake.
“Joran! What are you doing!” his voice was large and exasperated.
The girl couldn’t utter a word. Nothing for defense. Nothing at all. She merely stood there, frozen within his powerful gaze for a long moment. Before the O.M.E.G.A.’s command sent her bounding back towards the doorway.
Surprisingly fast for his size, Golbez gave chase. Sheets and blankets scattered as the huge Half Lunar swiped one arm out, attempting to catch the racing girl. Joran could feel a new sort of alarm flashing through her mind as her heartbeat began to race.
How can I explain this? He’s already given me the benefit of the doubt before. But now…
She found quite quickly she wouldn’t have to explain anything. Because O.M.E.G.A. was waiting for her on the threshold of the doorway. As he met her, one strong arm whipped around her neck, swinging Joran around to face the stampeding Master Wizard. In the cold Crystal light, the tip of the bladed staff glittered sharply, point leveled up at the bottom of the girl’s chin.
“I’d stop right there if I were you,” Kip said coolly. One slight jab with the blade was given for emphasis. “You know what the poison on the end of this weapon can do, right?”
Golbez froze in mid step. His eyes were wide with shock, “Joran…?”
For a fleeting second, the girl could feel the mind-hold loosen just a bit. Enough for her to cry out, “Golbez! Help me! He’s forcing me to do this! I can’t stop!!”
The Half Lunar’s face fell ghostly pale as he stared at horror at the girl and the O.M.E.G.A. Joran realized that he was caught, just as helpless as she was in this position.
It’s probably exactly what Kip wants him to feel.
“That’s right,” the Athrylith crooned. Though she couldn’t tell if it was in response to her thoughts or to Golbez’s dumbfounded stare. “You wouldn’t want this pretty face to get messed up. Now would you?”
Golbez’s breath came in gasps of suppressed rage. When he spoke, his words were not at all what the girl would have expected. “Let her go, O.M.E.G.A. You can take the Crystal if that’s what you want. But she’s innocent. Let her go!”
Joran held her breath as silence fell over the chamber. It seemed as if Kip did not expect the Master Wizard to respond in that way either.
“You are in no position to be making demands,” O.M.E.G.A. answered after a moment. Then he began to back up, pulling the girl with him.
“No! Stop! You just want Incrytan, right?!” Golbez’s voice broke with desperation as he reached one shaking hand towards Joran.
“I care nothing about Crystals and powers of this world. They are all just a means to an end,” the Athrylith replied in a low, level voice. “Your death is the only thing that will pacify O.M.E.G.A.”
The Half Lunar choked with the realization that there was nothing he could do. Absolutely nothing. His expression was broken, like he was seeing a part of himself reflected in someone else. There was a mist about his eyes, bordering on tears.
And it broke Joran’s heart.
“Let’s go,” O.M.E.G.A. nudged her with the flat of his weapon’s grip.
She could feel Kip shaking a little at her back. Maybe his resolve was wavering. Maybe he was reconsidering this deed. Whatever it was, he was backing away with her more quickly now. And his sneering smirk wasn’t quite as convincing. Once they reached the hall, she was commanded to flee, taking Incrytan with them.
The last that Joran saw of Golbez was his haggard look of despair and defeat.