Flying 31

Kinesis’ mind was racing. She could see herself in it and yet there was another mind of hers there, too. Both were speaking. “Phora, the dark knight –you will bite him and make him your own—no, he is—yours to take and ravish—not right, he saved—bite all of them and make them your pack—I am Kinesis, Elvin Queen of love and kindness—I am the hater wolf—I am….” But, she did not finish. A sudden volcanic eruption of anger and hate swept over her. From her right hand shot out fire, from the left, a jet stream of ice. One wall of the cell became a burning inferno; the other side was hung with thick ice sickles.

The giant soldier with massive shoulders, opened his visor and looked at the fire raging on the wall, then glanced back at Kinesis. He dropped like a wagon sized sack of lead pellets on the floor, hit by the full strength of Kinesis’ sleep charm.

Phora saw the danger and ran to Kinesis’ cage with a hood which he placed half way down covering her eyes. She was still screaming and the heart crushing sound of pure terror and rage which made its way through his protective helmet made his blood feel like it had turned to thick syrup so that he found it hard to move, even to breathe.

“The cure, Telos” he yelled at a shorter armored figure, who was obviously female the way the armor fit. “Now, we must give it, now!” he shouted.

From a steaming pot in the corner, Telos filled a silver goblet with a dark liquid. She ran over and held the goblet for Phora. Phora opened the face plate door to Kinesis head, reached to the sides of her mouth where the bit protruded, and pushed the levers on the bit. Kinesis’ mouth was forced opened. It was covered with foam, blood from her cut lips and had the smell of rotted flesh. Her eyes were covered but he could feel their burning stare trying to rip through the fabric. From the top of the goblet appeared a funnel with a long flexible tube. Phora took the tube and slowly inserted down Kinesis throat. He did it with skill and quickness, for he had done this procedure many times before.

“We must be sure to pass the tube to her stomach so that we do not to fill her lungs instead,” Phora said, while carefully fishing the last length down Kinesis’ throat.

(to be continued)

Flying 32

Phora poured the black liquid down the funnel into Kinesis’ stomach. Though it was liquid, it looked to anyone watching like a whirlpool of small obsidian diamonds that swirled in coal blackness with intermittent sparks flashing as it swept down the funnel and into Kinesis.

The little black diamonds were soul magnets. She could feel the liquid at work inside. It was trying to take her soul away. She fought it with all her might, but it was a force that began to suck the very essence of her being out of every part of her body; her soul was being drawn to the black pool in her stomach. She could sense her feelings of anger and hate flowing in turbulent rivers down, down, down, as if there were tiny bubbles vibrating and migrating through her body to her midsection. She reached out with her mind to hold on to the fragments of rage and hate, but they were swallowed up by the drawing force of the dark liquid. She tried one last effort to regain the rage, the wolf, but it pulled away and dissolved into the blackness; she was left in a vortex of thoughts and sensations. But now, the thoughts and sensations were coming from somewhere apart from her.

She saw across from her, a ghost white figure contorted in an iron cage in the form of a cross. Pathetic and horrible. The figure was lashed inside of the cage, hood over her head, every part of its body showing agony and pain. Then Kinesis realized that she was looking at herself from high up on the opposite wall. She could see the partially hidden ghost white face grimaced in frozen agony of agonizing death, blood and bits of torn lips streaming from the sides of its mouth where the bit had forced it back and open, eyes pale blue with a milky cloud in them, terrible bruises already showing a purple dawn on arms and feet. She could see the eyes through the hood as if it were a mere wisp of shadow around her head. Strange that she could not see herself on the wall. Where was she? What she could see was the figure of a corpse, yet it breathed. It was her, but she was not there; she was on the wall. How could this be?

(to be continued)

Flying 33

The caged white figure gave a violent lurch with a swift contraction of the stomach, like a cat with a life threatening hairball stuck in its throat. More heaves and gags. Saliva flowed freely in a bloody froth from death purple lips. Then, from the figure’s mouth which stretched open farther than was possible, there came a large form which propelled itself out like a jumping frog. It hit the floor with a sickening splat. Four legs began to form on it. Then a head. It became a fetal wolverine with a light fur matted to its side, eyes closed, but mouth open with a hit of a snarl showing sharp vicious teeth. The eyes were rolling under the lids.

“Secure it,” spoke Phora with the authority of a general witnessing an execution.

At once, a cage just large enough to hold the creature descended from the top of the room and engulfed the thing as a pelican would a fish. It lifted it from the floor. Telos dragged over a steel box, crafted with precision so that every part fit flush and perfect. She placed the box under the cage, which was lowered into it. She quickly closed the lid and fastened all the securing latches. A red hot rivet was brought to her by Phora and she hammered it into the main latch. There would be no key. The box was sealed forever. Finally, the box was lifted by its handles attached to a chain from the ceiling, swung over to a large kettle steaming of boiling tar, and slowly eased into it. It was raised, coated with the tar which dried instantly. A door at the bottom of the side of the cell behind the caged white figure opened. Kinesis, the spirit on the wall, watched as they dragged the box behind her caged near corpse. It was shoved in the open space and the door closed. There was silence in the room.

(to be continued)

Flying 34

Kinesis saw her crumpled, battle ravaged body in the cage. It was barely breathing. She could not concentrate on her own self in the cage. It was easier to let the image blur and soften. The room started to slowly fade with black edges creeping in towards the center of her vision. She seemed to be drifting away on a gentle whisper of heavy peace. The smells, sounds and feelings tended to become softer and more distant. Not even a part of her world or her mind.

Phora looked at the ghost white figure of Kinesis in the cage. He could see that she was dying. He ran over to it and placed his mouth on hers.

“Phora, No!” shouted Telos, and ran to his side trying to pull him away. “It is too dangerous. She is already gone; let her go to her rest.” Telos struggled to tear Phora away, but she may as well have been trying to move a concrete pillar.

Phora breathed himself into Kinesis, the breath sealed in a kiss of blood. He could sense Telos pleading and pulling at his side, but she felt no more than a spot on his armor. He willed his spirit with each bloody aired kiss into Kinesis; he would not let her go.

Kinesis saw the room slowly fading into black velvet. She felt as if she were falling away into more of the black velvet, so peaceful, so calm, and so soothing to her painful past life of terror.

“This is what it is to die,” she thought to herself. “It is not the way I thought it would be. I thought that there would be fear and trembling, but everything is at peace. The world simply fades away and I fade away into that darkness. It is so easy to just let go.” Kinesis smiled at the darkness which was mingling with her mind.

(to be continued)

Flying 35

But, there was something else. Something that began to delay her fall. What was it? It was very faint.

Then she realized that it was Phora’s voice, but the voice was more like a warm hand grasping her and stopping her drift to the darkness. It held her softly, then started to pull her back. Slowly at first, then faster and faster. She could see the room coming into clarity, Phora holding her head and breathing into her mouth, her body twisted and so fragile white in the cage. Now, she could hear the voices, especially that of Telos urging Phora to stop. And the smells returned –that of battle, blood rust, tar and that of a foul wet animal. With blurring speed, she fell into her body with a jolt that brought electric fire to every part of her body and mind.

Phora was breathing into Kinesis mouth. Suddenly, she gasped, opened her eyes and shuddered down the whole length of her body.

“Phora,” she said weakly.

Phora grasped the latches of the cage one by one with a madness of haste, opened the door and released the straps holding Kinesis to the cage. She collapsed into his arms as he loosed the straps binding her hands.

(to be continued)

Flying 36

“Kinesis!” Phora shouted and held her close to him, but softly, for he had on his armor. “I thought that I had lost you, and my world with it,” stammered Phora. Tears traced clear lines down through the battle grime on his face. His eyes were bright with joy.

Telos was starting at Phora. “What are these tears on my brother’s face? Was there something in his eyes that came from the outer world and would need quick examination and extraction? Or, was it the work of the figure Phora held? What could that Elven woman have done to him for his eyes to run so badly?” She was cemented in place in disbelief that her brother had tears not associated with some foreign object involving battle. She tilted her head to try to remember some long forgotten fables. She had heard of strange sensations called feelings from her city’s folklore and thought that she had experienced something like a feeling called worry when Phora would go out alone in search of the skinny, though beautiful figure he had brought back. But, for Phora to have tears of feeling, that was impossible. He was the knight of the Keep, the master of thought, the agent of justice and control. He was beyond feelings and the trouble they could cause. No one in their world could survive with feelings. That is why they had been suppressed during their training years. All Keep children had the training at the proper time.

Telos took a second look at Phora. There were tears leaving clear lines down his face, but the skin underneath was beet red. No, the coals of a hot fire, red.

Phora picked up Kinesis and carried her into another room and laid her carefully on a cot. Telos and another soldier called Hyle followed. Telos shouted back to the other soldiers to take Ergon, the huge soldier to another recovery room. It would take at least four to pick up Ergon, much less carry him.

Kinesis gazed up and Phora and reached out with her right hand to touch his face. Then, her eyes widened.

“Phora, the effects of the pearl! You are fire red. You must get into an ice water bath now. I am alright. You must think about yourself. Hurry. Please.” Kinesis was shaking Phora’s collar to his armor; she could not reach to sooth his battle weary face.

“Kinesis,” replied Phora with a slight smile. “I am fine.” And with those words, his eyes rolled back and he fell over backwards. Telos tried to stop his fall, and Hyle managed to get an arm behind Phora before he crashed to the floor. But it was a hard fall, nevertheless and the breath left Phora with a loud “Unhhh!”

(to be continued)

Flying 37

Phora lay on his back, his legs bent in L shapes, his arms in the strange position of a dropped marionette, his eyelids closed. He started taking deep, gasping breaths. His face was now covered in sweat and seemed to have a puffy, bumpy look almost as though he had been stung by a swarm of bees.

Telos removed the armored glove from her left hand and felt his forehead. She jerked it back, her mouth showing barred teeth with a grimace. She turned toward Kinesis in a crouch, nostrils flared, fists on the floor in claw like position, a black panther ready to spring.

“What have you done to my brother!” shouted Telos at Kinesis. “Tell me now or you will experience pain the likes of which you cannot imagine.” Telos had her visor pushed halfway down, but her eyes were not covered. There was a glare in them that Kinesis had only seen a few times before. It was the cold, dark, terrifying stare of a giant killer shark as it was just about to shred its prey with its massive jaws and rows of jagged sharp teeth. It was the glare of imminent, swift, painful death.

“You must take his armor off and put him in an ice bath. I gave him Elven medicine to bring him back from the brink of death, but the side effect is terrible overheating if one does too much after taking it. You must get ice water on him and in him. Otherwise, he will cook in his own body.” Kinesis was straining to make herself clear, but her energy was so depleted that the words came out only as loud whispers.

“His armor will not come off unless he is in a safe bathing room,” said Telos. “The armor is designed to keep the body comfortable at all environmental and bodily temperatures,” she said in a quick, matter of fact way, as an executioner would in giving the order to pull the latch of the gallows. “You must tell us what is in this potion. Now, or you die.”

“No, telling what is in the pearl would not be of any use. And you could kill me, but that also would serve no purpose. Instead, you must act quickly. Phora’s armor will not be adequate to cool him down, for it will think that his elevated temperature is normal. If you do not get him into ice water and force ice water into his stomach, he will die, and you will have killed him by not listening to me,” said Kinesis as forcefully as she could. Her eyes were locked with Telos’.

“Do you realize how dangerous it is not to have armor? Do you know how…” started Telos.

“Do what I say now!” exclaimed Kinesis and bore into Telos’ gaze with her crystal blue eyes.

(to be continued)

Flying 38

Hyle was standing beside Telos. He was shorter than Phora, but had a thickness to his body that indicated great strength. His face was square, with a broad nose that had a notch or dent in one side of its bridge. His lips were full and his teeth were white as the sand dollars on Kinesis’ beach. Only his hair, eyes and eyebrows were different; the hair and eyebrows were a deep orange red which made his dark green eyes into radiant emeralds. He spoke quickly.

“Telos, she speaks clearly. I think that we should do as she says.”

Telos hesitated for a split second. “You are right Hyle. Call in the floor guards and let’s get him to a secure bathing room.” As she spoke, she began to press hidden buttons on Phora’s armor in a coded pattern. Immediately, his gloves, and arm covers separated from the main body armor and fell away. She did the same with his leg and foot armor, which opened like clamshells and seemed to propel themselves away a short distance from Phora. Phora had on a light body sleeve that looked to be some sort of silk, but which was clearly not, for the sweat poured through it, yet it remained smooth and dry.

“Front four here, steady, easy look!” shouted Hyle and immediately four soldiers appeared at the door. Their swords and shields were put in carry position. They seemed to hesitate a slight moment at seeing Phora without much of his armor.

“Take Prince Phora to the second level bath. We must remove the rest of his armor and place him in an ice bath,” said Telos to the four soldiers.

“But, Princess Telos,” responded the nearest soldier, “There is no ice, save at the third level.”

“How much time would it take to get him there?” Telos spoke quickly.

“About five minutes,” replied the soldier.

“Too long,” said Kinesis. “Soldier, bring me your helmet.”

The soldier look inquisitively at Telos who without hesitation said, “Do what she asks.”

The soldier removed his helmet and brought it to Kinesis. She placed her hand in it and said, “As ice when asked for.” The helmet quickly frosted over and cold vapors came from its insides. “Pour the water through this helmet. It will be as ice when it reaches the container. You must go quickly.” Kinesis spoke quickly, but there was no force in her voice. When she withdrew her hand from the helmet, it was blue. She slowly withdrew her hand back to her side and closed her eyes.

“I must sleep now,” she said. “Make sure that you force ice water into him without choking him. I am sure that you can do it,” she said, almost in a whisper. She remembered the tube that went down her throat. It would be used to save Phora, if there were time enough.

(to be continued)

Flying 39

Kinesis eased her head back against the pillow. She drew her right hand up to her side; it was cold, brutally cold and hard to move, especially her fingers. The coldness seemed to creep up her arm, cold water filling a glass. And with it came the urge to sleep. She tried to fight it off, she wanted to hear about Phora, but the force covering her body was relentless. Slowly, she could feel herself sinking down, down into the valley of dreamless sleep. It was a velvet comfort; she knew that she would heal there. Wouldn’t she? Then, the india ink swirled into her clear liquid consciousness, and she was gone.

(to be continued)

Flying 40

Telos looked at Kinesis as she held Phora’s hand going out of the room. “The Elf woman was indeed beautiful, but so frail. She could not last long in the outer world, even with armor. What Phora saw in that fragile white figure with the golden hair was beyond her understanding. There were so many vibrant, powerful women of his world who would be perfect for his match.

But, those thoughts were only passing wisps of ideas at the edge of her mind. Her full concentration was getting Phora to a safe bathing house and putting the ice around him. Kinesis was right about the armor; it was not reducing his body temperature as it should.

They ran down the hall carrying Phora. The hall was grey granite stone and arched to support great weight overhead. There were weapons and shields at seemingly random places. They were locked in place by iron bars that went across them, yet there looked to be no locks on the bars. They rushed up to an iron door guarded by two soldiers who drew their weapons.

“Telos lead, Phora injured, code blue star, emergency for Phora” shouted Telos.

The guards swept around looking closely at the Telos, Phora and the others. Telos and her crew had their weapons put away, while the guards never let the tips of their swords leave the direction of Telos and Hyle. Satisfied, they quickly opened a massive door and let Telos and her group through.

Telos’ group rushed down another hall similar to the one they had just traversed. The halls were both cold, clammy and smelled of burned candle wax from the arm sized, dull yellow candle torches that lit them. At the end of this hall, were two more guards, but they were behind a crosshatched mass of steel bars. As soon as Telos’ group passed a point about fifteen feet from the guards, a grate similar to the one the guards were behind crashed down behind them, just missing Hyle’s heels.

(to be continued)