Icarus Read online

  “Back already?” a voice called. When he looked up he saw Elizabeth sitting on a stool near the front desk, holding a small paperback novel, maybe the same one she’d been reading when they first met. He slumped into a chair next to her.

  “Unfortunately, yes. There’s a lot of information, but there’s a bit of a language barrier.”

  Her eyes still scanned the pages, but she must have been listening. She turned one and responded without looking at Jake. “Really? I haven’t had any problems interacting with the people here.”

  “It’s a whole other problem when it’s in regards to history and religion though. They keep talking about some great calamity and a female warrior, and it just assumes you know about that stuff. I can’t make heads or tails of any of it,” Jake said.

  She closed her book with a thump, then turned and smirked at him. “Well, why don’t you just ask some of the residents here?” She was clearly mocking him, and he knew she already knew why he didn’t do just that. Still, her evil grin made it seem like she was going to force him to explain it anyway.

  “You know all the stories regarding religions. These people seem nice on the surface, but when they find out we don’t practice their way of life there’s no telling what kind of problems we might have.”

  Seeming satisfied with his explanation, Elizabeth reopened her book and scanned the pages again. “That’s what I like about you. You can actually conjure a decent thought from time to time.”

  The compliment caught Jake off guard, and he almost stumbled out of his chair, but managed to remain seated by grasping the arms tightly. He had a lot of questions for her, but all of them seemed like they were likely to end with her stabbing her rapier through his chest, so he just sat there, staring at the girl who was reading her book.

  Dante’s voice erupted from the background and for once his loud antics were welcome. “We found some old temple, but it was pretty lame,” he said as he walked into the center of the room, then eyed the desk suspiciously. Sara trailed in behind him and grimaced while shaking her head. There must have been more to the temple than that, but before Jake could ask Sara about it, Dante turned to Elizabeth. “They’re still not done with the rooms?”

  “No, and it’ll probably take a while. They said it’s been a long time since they’ve had visitors, and for an isolated country that could easily mean decades. Whatever lodgings they have must be filthy and probably need of a lot of cleaning.”

  “What do you care when they’re done anyway, Dante?” Jake asked, “you’re probably just gonna sleep outside like always.”

  “Well, yeah, but it’s the thought that counts.”

  “Meaning?” Elizabeth said, glancing up from her book.

  “Meaning that if it sucks, they suck.”

  “Only you would complain about a free room,” Sara interjected from behind him. He jumped and turned to her, then dropped his posture and scowled. He slowly shifted his feet so that he was facing forward once again, and his face jerked up. Jake turned to follow his line of sight and saw that the inn worker known as Ratio was standing in the doorway off to the side, hesitant to address the group. Jake didn’t blame him.

  “Um, your rooms are ready. Please follow me,” he said, then gestured toward the room he just came out of. Jake and Elizabeth got up and followed with Dante and Sara at the rear. They took silent steps through a dark hallway that curved the further they went in. Soon they saw the darkness at the end and when they emerged they were behind the building.

  There were two long dormitories. One was made out of fine stone and candlelight flickered from within. From what Jake could make of the interior it was fully furnished, even sporting drapes to the side of the circular windows.

  On the other side was what Jake could only describe as a broken-down crap shack. It was as if you took the lavished boarding hall that was its neighbor and found its drug-addicted evil twin. It had the same proportions, length and height, but rather than stone it was constructed of warped and weathered wood. The planks were set up in everything but level angles, with boards facing every which way as if a bomb had gone off, and as Jake was staring at the structure and begging that it wouldn’t be where he was sleeping, a plank fell from the roof and hit the ground.

  “You two, please follow me,” Ratio said, pointing at Sara and Elizabeth, and he guided them toward the stone structure. From over his shoulder he called to Jake and Dante, “That’s where you’ll be staying,” and pointed at the barely standing building. Jake almost fell to the ground in defeat. He looked over at Dante and waited for his smart-ass remark, but the boy seemed to be regarding the building with a fascination, as if he had to analyze it to tell whether or not it was a piece of shit. Thinking about it, the required quality of lodgings for a guy who typically slept outside was probably pretty low.

  Dante put a hand on Jake’s shoulder and nodded earnestly. “Listen bedhead.”

  “What’s this about?”

  Dante looked down and pulled his lips in like he was searching for the right words. He stood like that, hand on Jake’s shoulder, in the moonlight for a few seconds and Jake worried about what horrifying thing he was going to say. Was it the truth regarding the Lightning Gang? Or was it whatever secrets he discovered in the unnamed temple? Jake held his breath, awaiting the revelation.

  Dante pointed at the ruined building, nodded, then walked away, gripping his sides and laughing as hard as he could, the sound reverberating throughout the area and even earning a loud “shut up!” from somewhere within the magnificent building to their side. Dante found his way to a tree, began hammering in a stake, barely able to keep upright and manage the task due to his fit of laughter. Jake’s facial features slumped, and he turned and headed for the inside of the crappy building, stealing one last glance at Dante as he pointed and laughed at him.

  Chapter 4

  Everything around them bustled with laughter and color. The simple designs of the robes worn by Light were nothing compared to the array of colors and outfits that Jake saw before him now. He continued to walk around the area and took a bite out of his frozen popsicle, something he should have tried in Niflheim but didn’t bother due to the frigid temperature. To his left and right were booths staffed by people who gave their wares away for free.

  Jake respected this notion and didn’t take more than he needed, but Dante hopped from booth to booth laughing maniacally, insulting the economic system of the nation all the while. He walked before Jake, a mask strapped to each side of his head, several scarves, beads, and garlands around his neck, holding an armful of food and still stuffing more into his face.

  Turning his attention from the foul-mannered boy, Jake took note of the people here and their customs. It seemed like the lazy man they encountered was the norm: most people walking the streets wore baggy clothes and had eyes that seemed to be straining just to stay open. They meandered into each booth, viewing each attraction, however small, as some kind of world-shattering discovery. Jake shook his head, not understanding how a society comprised of people like this could even function as a nation, let alone without a concept of money.

  When Jake turned back he saw Dante pulling a corndog out of his mouth, revealing a slimy but bare stick. His eyes were narrowed at a spot directly in front of him, and Jake could only guess that it was some of the local folk. His mouth still stuffed with food, Dante mumbled “hippies,” then walked forward. Jake knew this couldn’t be good and strode to the boy’s side.

  Dante, fists clenched, stormed off toward a man and woman, both of whom had such long curly hair that it was difficult for Jake to tell which was which. “What do you lot do for fun around here?” Dante asked when he approached, placing both hands on his hips and inspecting them.

  “Oh, y’know,” the man said, “hang out.” The woman giggled slowly. “Yeeeaaah. Hang out.”

  Dante’s posture slumped at their tepid response, and he flickered his eyes to each of them. When he was sure that was all they cared to say, he continued his
interrogation. “And does anyone in this damn country have a job?”

  They looked to one another and giggled, shaking their heads, although Jake was sure that they would have said “nah duuuuuude” had they spoke. Dante shook his arms at the sky then dropped them to his sides, finally walking away from the lazy people. “This place is nothing but jobless hippies.”

  “Dante, last I checked you don’t have a job either,” Sara said.

  “Of course I do, I’m out hunting those shit monsters!”

  “You don’t get paid for that,” Jake said.

  “Yeah, well consider it charity work. At least I’m not a good-for-nothing hippy.”

  “Didn’t you say that you used to wander around before you came to the Republic?” Sara asked.

  “And last I saw you,” Jake said, “you wore that big cloak and your hair was super long, you looked like a total hippy.”

  Sara and Jake stopped and nodded in sync. Dante looked at each of them, fear shining within his pupils. Based on his frantic looks to either side you’d think they’d accused him of being a murderer instead of a hypocrite. He lunged at Jake, and the boy almost tried to defend himself thinking it was an attack, but when Dante grabbed him by the shoulders he knew it wasn’t. Or at least not intended to be. His fingers dug deep into Jake’s collar and caused a sharp pain, but Jake was only vaguely aware of it as Dante’s earnest stare seemed to suck him in. “Listen bedhead, this is serious. No functional society should have this many hippies.”

  On that Jake could agree, but he wasn’t going admit it to Dante, lest he put fuel on the fire of whatever the hell it was he was doing. Instead Jake drew back, staring at Dante like the nutcase he was being. In response, Dante only gripped him tighter. “Nerdboy, can’t you see? This amount of hippies is unnatural, manufactured.”

  “Manufactured?”

  “There’s someone at the top creating hippies.”

  “Why the hell would anyone want to create hippies?” Sara asked. Dante turned to look at her without releasing his death grip on Jake’s shoulders, considering her as if that was the dumbest question he’d ever heard.

  “Because they smell and don’t work.”

  “Why would anybody want that!?”

  Before Dante could give whatever crazy response he was planning, several loud trumpets blared, and the group’s attention turned to the large center stage well ahead. Walking to the top was Light. He stood on the podium, which sported a large tube for him to speak through, leaned in, and spoke.

  “I hope you are enjoying the festival, set up to commemorate the first docile visit from groundlings in over a century. We hope that our honored guests, too, are finding everything to their liking.” His eyes narrowed, and he picked Jake and the group out from the crowd almost instantly. Jake nodded, entranced by the strange radar on the man. “Before I go on with the reading, please would our guests approach the podium?”

  Jake exchanged hesitant glances with each of his comrades, but they all – except for Dante – seemed to agree that it was the least they could do considering this whole festival was to mark their visit. They each took a step forward before being halted by a piercing, unnatural screech.

  Jake had to cover his ears, as the noise was akin to nails grinding against chalkboard. It sent a shiver down his spine, and he was immediately uncomfortable and filled with an animalistic urge to get away. He pounded his fist against his temple and shook his head, trying to knock the sensation out of his mind. It was a sensation he knew all too well. One brought on by the Malice, and based on the extent of his pain it had to be an especially powerful one.

  There was another piercing screech that seemed to be coming from every single direction at once. Jake shot his head up and tried to pin down the source of it, but the sound bounced and echoed, as if whatever was making it was traveling fast or…

  As if it was circling them.

  Jake looked frantically in every direction, trying to find from which spot the dreadful creature would emerge. He was vaguely aware that all of the natives were looking up at the sky, entranced and unafraid, but he was too preoccupied with his impending death to give it much more than a passing thought. He knew his comrades were all suffering as he was, and he figured that between the four of them they’d ought to be able to pinpoint the thing when it showed itself.

  Elizabeth pointed at the sky and everyone followed her finger. There, blocking out the sun, was the silhouette of a dragon. It dropped down and gilded on its wings, barreling for the large cluster of people. Jake scoffed and ran out of the way, all the while incapable of taking his eyes off the fearsome creature.

  It was a dragon all right, just like the ones in the artwork from old myth, although it was lacking front legs, sporting only back ones and wings, so technically it was a wyvern if he wanted to be exact. Instead of scales its body was supported by that disgusting black liquid that Jake was all too familiar with, which streaked off the creature in a large trails due to its fast movements. When it was over top of the people it parted its mouth, just barely due to the dripping tendrils that connected them, and puked out more blackness onto the ground. It fell in a steady stream, earning screams from the festivalgoers who did nothing as it splashed all over them. Atop the podium, Light stood with his arms outstretched and head cocked back, accepting the putrid liquid like some sort of twisted baptism. It seeped into the ground, and faint steam drifted from it.

  “Dammit,” Dante said, then pointed his arm at the dragon in the sky. He began to collect energy into his palm, but only a few particles formed before he was jolted suddenly backward and slammed into the building that Jake entered for refuge. His back was halfway through the wall, and he slumped down and moaned as a cloud of thick dust arose out of the shattered building. For a second Jake searched for the Malice that did this to him, but then his more reasonable brain kicked in. That had been no Malice, but Sol. A wind type, the same the natives of the area used.

  As Malice rose from the puddle the beast created, Jake’s eyes locked onto several figures wearing long hooded robes. The member in front had his finger pointed at Dante. Jake scoffed and reached behind, grazing the Sol rifle with his finger but deciding against it and drew his sword instead. He held it in front and shouted at the robed figures.

  “What the hell are you doing? He’s aiming for the big one!”

  “That’s exactly why I did it,” the one at the front of the cluster said, his voice loud and gruff. Jake was shocked to hear him so simply defending a Malice, but regained himself and glared at the man.

  “What do you mean by that? That thing’s going to kill—”

  “That ‘thing’ is an extension of Her will, and as such shall remain intact.” His robes began to blow and swirl, an indication that he was gathering fast wind into his palm. “You will stay put and accept Her judgment.”

  Jake took a step back. He could hear the people screaming just out of his reach as they were slaughtered by the numerous Malice that rose up, but he couldn’t just jump in and help with this group holding him hostage. He could tell by their robes that they had to be some elite battle unit, and they outnumbered them, consisting of six as far as Jake could tell to their possible three, since Dante may be out of the fight. But he couldn’t just wait here and do nothing either, so maybe now was the time to bust out the Sol rifle, but Loid had instructed him to only use it when a lot of Sol was being deployed at once, and so far only one blast had been fired. Dammit. He wished the kid would have just explain—

  To his left, there was some shifting as wood fell to the ground. Dante rose out of the hole, the strings of the many masks he’d adorned sliding like messy glue then snapping. The beads, likewise, rolled at his feet. He shook dust out of his hair and glared at the robed men, his eyes radiating with anger and his teeth clenched so tight they might actually crack. “Which one of you balless fucks did that?”

  Jake’s whole body tensed and he took a step back as Dante strode in front of him, standing before the elite group of wa
rriors without a scrap of fear. Knowing that Dante wasn’t going to ask for permission before starting a big fight, Jake held his sword at the ready. Across the way, Elizabeth did the same, Sara next to her with her hand outstretched, ready to unleash her Sol as backup if the need arose. The area was quiet, and Jake waited in apprehension. It was as if a single drop of sweat could disturb the unnatural calm that had settled over the space, and Jake dared not move a muscle for fear of bringing things to some violent head.

  Dante didn’t care about that though. He ran forward and immediately the robed leader thrust his arm out. The grass beneath his feet tore violently and lashed out in a straight line: one heading straight for Jake. He dove to the side, and the building behind him exploded. As shards of wood rained around Jake he came to the realization that the previous attack was a controlled blast, but he was obviously no longer fooling around.

  Getting up and readying himself, Jake saw that Dante was fending off the group just fine without him. He mowed through the cloaked men, knocking them out at close range before they could unleash their deadly Sol. Stepping back from the boy who was punching, ducking, and kicking at his companions was their leader. He gathered energy, preparing to take Dante out while he was distracted with his comrades.

  Jake called to Sara, then charged at the man. As he approached, several icicles tore at the cloaked man’s outstretched hand, and he had to pull back to avoid getting cut, disrupting his energy gathering. He turned to Sara and let out a few bursts of air from his palm, but Jake wasn’t concerned. The girl would create a wall of ice to shield herself, and while he was distracted with her he’d fail to notice Jake closing in from behind.