Chapter Three1
Brother and Sister2
3
Evra packed her bag. School had just finished up, and her students were almost all gone. She checked the hidden pocket inside her long corduroy jacket. When a glint of red winked back at her, she closed the jacket.4
“Miss Evra?” a girl asked as she had been about to head out the door.5
“Yes, Madeline?”6
“Why haven't we learned about the Black Mist in school?”7
Evra smiled. “It's because I'm not allowed to teach you about it. Some parents don't want their children to know about it—what it does, what it is, where it came from—because of how horrible it was for them.”8
“But... isn't it part of history?”9
“Hm. I guess you're right.”10
The girl's face looked thoughtful. “So can you teach us about it?”11
“Sorry, Madeline, but they won't let me.” Evra lowered her voice a bit and leaned closer to the girl. “How about this? Ask your parents to tell you about it. If they don't want to, ask them if I can teach it to you. Then I can teach you all about it.” The girl's eyes were wide now. “But you gotta promise you won't tell anyone else, okay?”12
“Okay, Miss Evra!” the girl said in excitement. She ran out the door, leaving Evra alone in the room.13
Evra laughed to herself; had she really just made that offer to the girl? She hoisted her bag up on her shoulder and walked out into the streets of Gedric.14
It had been an unusually long day. The hours had slumped by, and Evra could feel herself becoming more and more desperate for bed. And just as the hours had earlier, she slumped home, her body sluggish, her mind restless.15
She laughed a little to herself again. Maybe Seven should become my assistant. That way I could leave him in charge while I rested, or send him out to get coffee. Besides, it's not a difficult job; all he'd have to do is learn the notes and teach them to the class. Then again, I may have to play the part of damage control afterwards...16
She shrugged, finally reaching the stairs down to her home. The majority of people on any homeship lived in the lower areas. They had been built for size constraints, the intent being to allow for as many people as possible to live on each homeship. They were much like apartments, in the sense that people simply needed to walk down a hallway and find their door. The upper areas were mostly reserved for large families and people of high standing—governmentally that is.17
Evra reached her door and went inside. The lights were out, and a half-full glass of juice was the only indicator that anyone had been there earlier. She flicked a light on and poured the glass into the sink.18
She opened the door to Seven's room and looked inside. The bed had been made, and the room was empty. Good, she thought. He's not being as lazy as usual.19
The empty bed reminded her of just how tired she was. She yawned at the thought of sleep and dragged herself to her own room. She lay down on the bed, fully clothed, on top of the sheets, and fell asleep instantly.20
21
It wasn't until the twilight hours of evening that Evra woke up. The house was quiet. She sat up and stretched, relaxed after the long rest, and arose from bed.22
She walked into the kitchen, all the while fixing her hair which had been matted and tangled against her pillow. The light was still on, and she left it on so she could begin to make dinner for herself and—23
“Seven!” she yelled out suddenly. Her tiredness was swept away in that brief realization. The pan fell from her hand, clanging noisily against the floor.24
Evra ran over to her jacket, hung on a coat-rack by the door, and grabbed her cane from it. She sprinted out the door and up to the main level of the ship.25
An orange sky greeted her. She looked around frantically. Where is he? Evra bolted down the street and up and down every road she knew.26
Gedric was one of the smaller homeships, but that didn't mean it was small. Searching for Seven would be difficult no matter what the size of the ship. And the sun was falling fast.27
28
Earlier that day...29
30
Seven awoke in darkness. He looked around him, finding that he could see nothing but himself. He wasn't in his room; he was in a dream. At least, that was how he rationalized it. He had been here before.31
“Where are you?” he called out, unsure if anyone would respond.32
I am here, to be sure. He couldn't tell if the words were spoken or if they were inside his head. You have questions, I can tell.33
“What are they? Those black things?”34
Nephilites. His creations; lifeless beings of no free will. They will hunt you wherever you go, and you must prove to them Erebus is rightfully yours. The voice was gritty and hoarse. Making out its words was a difficult task.35
“And why do they hunt me? What do they want?”36
The opposite of what we want. They want humans to remain in the sky, so that they may live on with the Black Mist.37
“Then they must be dealt with.”38
39
The house was quiet when Seven awoke. He looked over at the clock on wall. Noon—that meant Evra was still at the school.40
He sat up on his bedside and rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes. He reached for his sword, leaning up against a table. He grabbed the handle, gritted his teeth against the pain, and lifted it out of its sheath. He looked at the blade, admiring the curves and shine of it. When he was done, he put the belt on and clipped the sheath to it.41
A glass of juice and a piece of toast awaited him on the counter. No doubt Evra had left it there for him assuming he would awaken soon. He took a bite of the toast; stale. He kept eating it though, for want of nourishment. He gulped down some of the juice, wincing at the bitterness of its settling. He left the glass where it was.42
Seven lifted Erebus from its sheath once more. The pain became less and less each time he did so. He looked it over as though it were a child he had sworn to protect. “Let's prove our worth.”43
44
The sun was falling swiftly. Most nights, when Seven watched the sun fall, it was for his own enjoyment and peace of mind. But now that he had given himself a task for the night, he wanted it to fall more quickly.45
Seven arose from his bench, one of the many situated along the perimeter of the park area, and walked out toward the middle. Only a sliver of the sun was left on the horizon, and it would only be a matter of minutes before nightfall.46
Darkness soon enshrouded the interior of Gedric, and Seven drew his weapon. He looked all around, aware that without the light, they would be difficult to see.47
Then the wind changed. It became colder, and the grass began to stir. Shadows rolled along the ground, obscuring Seven's vision of the grass. They circled him, like sharks revolving around prey, trying to invoke fear and prolong death.48
A ring of nephilites rose around him. Seven swung his sword in a wide arc this way, and then back the other way. He looked at the shadows on the grass. They flooded the entire area—there must be a hundred or more!49
Seven's stomach began to churn. This was more than he had bargained for.50
As if to surprise him, one of the creatures leapt up from its shadowy hiding place and tried to tackle Seven. It missed and landed among several others of the black things. They arose with him.51
Not wanting to be the defender any longer, Seven ran towards the mass of creatures and struck them down as quickly as he could. Another rose here, and another there, and he swung madly at each one, felling the creatures with all the dexterity he could muster.52
Then several of the shadows came together, merging into one large shadow. It rose and stared Seven down. This one was more detailed than the others, and he then realized that those he had been fighting were mere peons among nephilites. This one had the body of a man, well muscled and clutching a sword. It stood several feet taller than Seven, and he nearly fell over in fear.53
It raised its weapon and swung forward. Erebus blocked the attack. His fear gone, his confidence up, Seven slashed at the creature's stomach. It dissolved into the air without a sound.54
Aware now that if he wasn't careful, he could be killed just as quickly as these black things, Seven looked around cautiously. Several more of the peons arose and advanced on him. They tried to deceive him with tricks in their motion, but they were no stronger than any other.55
More than half of the shadows were gone now. He smiled wickedly, now assured of his strength. Then something unexpected happened.56
All the shadows swam around in the circle, and within a minute they gathered into one big shadow, several times larger than the one before. It rose as a sphere of blackness, hovering higher and higher into the sky, until finally it took shape.57
Claws, muscles, wings, a dragon's head, and glowing red eyes now faced Seven. It flapped its wings steadily to keep its position in the sky. It threw its arms out to the side, reared its head back, and let out a monstrous roar. Then, with eyes locked on its prey and a claw reached out to grab it, the creature fell towards Seven.58
This was the end. Seven held up arm and sword to shield himself, all the while sure it would make no difference. He stood there and awaited the inevitable.59
A loud cry of pain broke through the night, and Seven gasped, sure that it was him who had let out the bloodcurdling screech. Looking up, he noticed that the creature had stopped its advance, and it was flapping funnily now. One of its wings was ripped, and the split flapped as worthlessly as paper.60
Then, below the creature, Seven saw a man in a white jacket with sword in hand.61
“Are you all right?” the white-jacket man called back.62
Seven nodded, then pointed up in alarm at the creature. Its arm was outreached with its hand flexed open. “Magic!” Seven called out in warning.63
Seven felt heat on his face, and his vision was filled with flame. But once again, the pain was not his. His sister stood beside him now, with rod outstretched before her, the nephilite, now writhing on the grass, locked in her aim.64
Evra looked to her brother and nodded. Seven returned the gesture, knowing exactly what to do. He sprinted forward with sword clutched in both hands, and ran through the black-winged monster. It vanished as its brethren had.65
Seven panted hard. Evra put a hand on his shoulder, but was brushed off by Seven's arm.66
Evra looked up at the stranger. “Thank you.”67
“Why were they attacking you?” the man replied. “They never attacked anyone on Creto.”68
Seven looked down at the ground. “They want me.”69
“Why did you stay out so late, Seven?” Evra scolded. “You know they only come out after dark.”70
“Hold on. Your name is Seven?” the man in the white jacket asked.71
“Yes. What's it matter?”72
So, that's what it meant. “It's not important now. My name is Coda.”73
“I didn't ask.”74
“Seven!” Evra yelled.75
“It's okay,” Coda said. “I came here because these things are on my homeship as well. When I was trying to fight them myself, one of them told me to come here, to Gedric.” He looked at Seven, then to Evra, deciding that she was the more rational of the two. “I want to help you and your... brother?”76
“Yes, he's my brother.”77
“We don't need any help,” Seven said. “I did this for a purpose. I can do it alone.”78
“It looked to me like you were done for until I showed up,” Coda said. Seven shot a hateful glare back. Coda cringed, then said, “You're right. That was wrong.”79
“No,” Evra said, “you're right. Thank you very much.”80
Awkward glances were exchanged among the group. Then Coda spoke up: “Well, it's been a long day for me, and I'd like to talk with you two to see if I can help.”81
“Right,” Evra said. “Then I will show you to our home.”82
“But—” Seven tried to call out in protest, but he found that Evra's glare was as paralyzing as his own.83
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