Chapter 16 #3
“I’d like to be there,” I said finally. “For when Tobias wakes. I’ll send word to the bishops regarding my safety and buy myself a little time.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?”
“Certainly not, but I have already decided it. I carry the Source with me for the time being, so it’s not as if they can just replace me.”
Bastien rolled his eyes. “Glad you haven’t let the power go to your head or anything.”
“I want to be there. And not just for him. I told you before, Bast. You need not take everything upon yourself. So, I’ll be there to help. And when Tobias awakens, I want him to know that we came together to bring him back.”
Bastien exhaled, giving a short nod before his attention returned to the compendium sprawled across his lap.
“Have you thought about what to tell the Magi Council?” Azrael asked. “Sancha was such a strong voice in support of the ongoing negotiations for the Unseen. I can’t help but feel that we’ll lose ground without her being there.”
There were countless things that I hadn’t considered when it came to my new role.
Sancha played her part so well that I often forgot just how many circles of influence she frequented across the Expanse.
Her absence would cause a vacuum, there was no doubt.
The question was, would I be able to fill it?
“I’ll do everything in my power to support the cause, Az. If that means I have to sit on the Council myself, then rest assured that is what will happen.”
He placed a hand over mine, those wide eyes filled with enough sincerity that it almost drowned me. “Thank you. I know you haven’t had the proper time to… grieve. But I’m here. You can lean on me as much as you need.”
I nodded, looking away from those pools of violet blooms before I fell in. Grief for Sancha would certainly come, once the shock had time to settle. Till then, carrying on was my only option.
Before the conversation could shift to other things, the bookshelf doors swung open once again, the Sleeper striding into his office accompanied by Reina.
“Ah, deepest apologies for keeping you all waiting,” he said, stopping short of his desk and leveling his masked face at the three of us. “Cirian, you look well. If you feel as though you’ve recovered enough for traveling, Reina is ready to escort you wherever you’d like to go.”
“I am,” I replied, rising to my feet. At full height, I towered over the masked man. Even Azrael had a few inches on the slight fellow. “I’m afraid that I may have been rude earlier in not thanking you for all you’ve done.”
“Think nothing of it,” the man replied, hands clasped in front of him. “It is the small joys I find in helping my fellow man that keep life worth enduring. Not to mention you and I now share a kinship that only we can claim—those who have been touched by the Source itself.”
The others gathered themselves, Bastien closing the compendium and holding it against his chest, and Azrael tidied the tea set before joining us.
“May I ask one more question of you?”
The Sleeper’s attention was wholly focused on me, and I swore I could see the piercing eyes behind that mask.
“Ask your question.”
“What is it that you intend to do with that abacus?”
The Sleeper paused, unmoving in the posture as the room went silent. For a moment, I wondered if he hadn’t heard me, but before I could repeat myself, his hand slowly lowered, falling to his sides.
“More and more Converts flock to me each day, looking for guidance. They come because they feel the calling of that which has been denied them for centuries. But I am not the only one who is there to answer those who come asking. There are others who would lead them down darker paths. You’ve already experienced this yourself, there in the very heart of your church.
But know this—that darkness is not the only being who thirsts for power.
The Second Awakening has begun, but it is far from finished.
The abacus will be kept safe till the time that it is required.
And for all of our sakes, I pray that time never arrives. ”
My head swirled, grappling with the onslaught of information. There were more creatures out there, like the Umbral? If one were strong enough to bring down the Cradle by itself, then the destruction would only multiply in horrific magnitude.
Would they come looking for the Source, just like the Umbral had?
I wanted to ask, but Reina planted herself between the Sleeper and me. “Where will you be going?”
“Wait, what if we need to contact you?”
The Sleeper took his seat behind the desk, reaching for a stack of papers piled precariously on the corner. “Not to worry, Saint. We’ll be around.”
“I’m not a saint,” I reminded him.
The Sleeper didn’t reply, instead humming a tune under his breath that sounded vaguely like a child’s lullaby. Recognition flared somewhere deep within my mind, but Reina snapped her fingers, drawing my attention once again back to her.
“I have other matters to attend to,” she said flatly. “Now, where would you like to go?”
I looked back at Bastien and Azrael, getting a final confirmation before answering.
“Paradise.”