UNTITLED: Book One

DAY 132

Hold them down to drown them

Make only struggle surround them

But your death comes the second they just take a second

The Warden sits in the dark room of The Eye. Meditating, thinking about all that he witnessed transpire in the last few weeks. Mourning the loss of his dear old friend, Sollar. To see that happen to him. The rot. The decay. Knowing it is happening to him as well. Albeit at a significantly slower pace.

But he is running out of time. He would be just like Sollar if it weren’t for The Eye, or the healing facilities in the city in the sky. And now, most importantly, he’s deciding how to feel about Thema claiming his weapon. How to handle her. Death. She’ll be coming. No stopping it now.

He let Thema run around too freely. It got way too sloppy for his tastes. Results and all. Now she has a weapon of mass destruction without the emotional capacity to be trusted to wield it responsibly. This, is a problem. Especially since he knows how the weapons function.

He won’t be able to simply take it from her, even if she willingly hands it over. He knows that no one here has the ability to do that, not even him, yet. He’s not even sure if the sword and the twin blades operate the same way. They’re their own separate entities after all.

When he and Sollar retrieved the sword, they had to fight a battle the you would have to see to believe. That was a legendary battle that now, only he will remember. The battle with the Hero was child’s play compared to the battle for those weapons, and the pain and loss he had to withstand when bringing them here.

The sword must acknowledge him first, and the fastest way—currently—is to defeat the wielder. He must kill Thema before she learns more of its abilities. Before she communes with it.

Speaking of… Suddenly, The Warden’s body tenses up in a jolt. Someone is behind him. Only one other person, in all of the land, is able to enter here now. Thema.

“Sir. I’ve returned.” Thema says dryly, only an arm’s length behind him.

She’s changed. He wonders for a moment, is it the weapon already?

She doesn’t react to his surprise or show any discerning signs of what she is thinking. The Warden gathers himself and stands up to see her. Subtly brushing his sides, realizing his blades are gone. He left them. Not the biggest concern as he can simply call them here, but if she strikes, even that split second to retrieve the blades could prove fatal.

Damn this. The Eye is the perfect place to do this, right now while she’s not accustomed to the sword’s powers. But he left the blades, and using the residual energy may or may not be enough. In addition to that, the mental drain would be greater without the blades in hand. And, he doesn’t know when the Dark State or the colonies will strike. Damn this, he repeats internally before speaking up.

“Thema. I see you’ve learned new things.” The gaze of his sunglasses fall to the unsheathed sword in her hand.

“Yeah, a lot of new things. You wouldn’t guess the half of it, sir.”

The Warden extends both arms out to his sides, palms facing down towards the black, luminescent waters. After a few seconds, his blades zoom up through the waters and firmly into his hands. He then places them in their sheathes behind his back.

“Try me. You would be surprise at what I actually know.”

Thema doesn’t react to his show of strength, his warning. She keeps her dry tone and remains unfazed. “Certainly, sir. My mistake. Perhaps it’s better if I show you.”

Warden’s body tenses and he firms his stance ever-so-slightly as Thema walks towards him. But then she walks passed him to the dark wall. She waves her hand and a video of Solara sprinting through the city at an impressive speed, pops up. Everyone moving out of her way as she speeds through. Then, another video of The Broker making calls and rallying troops. Another of Aiye’s transport on its way.

“All of this has occurred at different times sir. But of course, you already know this.” Thema’s voice cold for a split moment. She’s looking down with her head turned slightly toward his direction—no eye contact.

The question, is how does she know all this. This information, and how to operate The Eye? The Warden wonders to himself. One thing is clear, Thema no longer feels allegiance to him, but it seems she that her allegiance is still to her people, which makes her his regardless.

Perhaps it was rash to write her off so soon by letting her confront Sollar alone. Their battle was… impressive, admittedly. The doubt trickling in gets stopped short as his ego blast through. As he begins to feel it take hold, his chin rises and his stance straightens, how I made her to be.

Thema still with her dry expression, not interested in whatever is going on in his mind, continues. “So I’m sure you have a plan for us all. I simply would like to make a few…suggestions.”

“I’m listening.”

So Thema explains and he listens.

“That is quite the plan.” He pauses for a moment to take the sight of her in. Her stature. Her height. The bruises. Her blackened hands he only just now notices. And the fact that the water doesn’t illuminate under her wherever she stands and walks. Something he’s never seen before.

He recalls back when he and Sollar studied the land through The Eye. It lit for Sollar, so why not her? This is unnerving.

“Thank you sir. I will get started on it right away.”

Thema moves to walk away, but only goes two steps before she is stopped by Warden’s words.

“Thema.”

It’s been a while since he’s called her by her name and she’s realizing now that she absolutely HATES it. Not because she dislikes her name. She love her name. It’s just that she’s now realizing that anything he calls her comes with an insult imbedded within it. Nothing is genuine with this person and it is now getting to her.

And he knows this. Still trying to maintain his control over her. Like she’s some tool. That’s all she ever was to him. He never cared. The realization starting to truly settle in now. It’s as if, the more she tries to become a stronger person, the more she realizes. The more she realizes, the more she cringes at herself. Which turns into self-loathing, then rage.

Her grip around the sword tightens for a second. But then she relaxes. Trying to regain her composure. This is exactly where he wants her. She’s come to realize that. So, she calms herself.

“Yes?”

“A thought has recently come to mind, that maybe I have been to tough on you?”

“Is that a question, sir?”

Sir. No more Protector. Not even Warden.

“No… No. Just a thought. Perhaps you have some thoughts of your own that you’d like to share?”

“Not really, no? Ah! The sword. I’m sorry. How could I forget…”

She turns and offers the sword to him. Extending her arm out towards him rather than taking the two steps to close the distance.

He waves her off, “Hold on to it for now. I will get it from you later.”

She cocks her head at a slight angle, feigning confusion. “But why not now? This is what you wanted so badly, sir? It’s here now, for you.”

He smirks, “Perhaps you are right.”

He stares at the sword for a moment. The room silent. So silent. Unnaturally so. He reaches, then hesitates.

Thema notices his Adam’s apple subtly gulp and a grin threatens to creep across her face before she stops it. He can’t take it, can he?

Then he gets close, just a fingertip away. That’s when he’s hit with the visions. Through the somewhere and immediately in front of the someone-something. But he doesn’t lose his mind. It reaches for him and he almost reaches back for it before he pulls his hand away, quickly as if he touched a fire.

“Take it, for now, Thema. I already have my own, and it seems I am no longer as strong as my younger days.”

“Of course sir.” Then she turns and walks away, but once again stops. This time to say a few words of her own.

“I think…” Thema lets go of her sword and walks toward him. The sword floats mid-air, upright, as it follows closely behind her. She never needed to hold it to begin with.

The water still doesn’t illuminate with her steps.

She hugs him tightly. He stands there, stiff.

“I think, sir, that you couldn’t have treated me any better. I’m grateful for all that I’ve learned. Because now, I am strong. And now that I’m strong I too understand how to identify the weakness in a system and cut it out. It’s this new power I have won. With it I can get Solara and see to it personally that you two can be together. You and your daughter. Thank you.”

With that, she turns to walk to the dark wall, disappearing into it like a shadow with her sword following closely behind her. Gone. Gone from the room. Gone from his control. And gone from his forever shrinking list of allies.

The Dark State. The colonies. And now his own people. Death, she comes.

The thunderous drum strikes once…