Carmine

The many ways to kill were not something that would be considered when you were safe. It was only when you were on edge that you looked around and saw the many shadows.

"Is that it?" I asked.

"Yes, my lady. These were the earlier bodies they were made just before the war," Janilla answered.

Vapbon was quite plentiful in the soils of this world, but it was not something mined outside of Elam. Five found and bought raw iron as it usually had vapbon as an impurity.

He got it melted by a blacksmith and made thin strips that he used along the doors, windows, and walls. This should deter spatial effects, but not completely block them.

I could also use my knife to slice through the wall if it is thin enough.

Janilla got us musothin. Commonly used as a defense against witches. It is hard to get. Having it when you were not a priest or a member of a clergy was enough to get you hanged.

Janilla had to go to a dark part of the city to get it and hide it least the guards of the keep found it on her. I heard so many stories of how it was magical. In reality, Five instructed us, it just depowered the glyphs on a Elam's body.

Each Elamnite body was endowed with a tattoo made of olongoy. It was a living thing, a virus they called it. That was deadly when in a normal Shyia body.

Five showed me his.

On his right wrist, he could wake it from its slumber and make it raise, forming on his wrist. It went up halfway his arm and was intricate with swirls and lines, all culminating into a triangular base. Like a volatile flower, it gleamed.

Janilla said the beginnings of the body augmentation had those living tattoos present and in full display. So it was not a myth, we did use tattoos to show us who were the witches among us.

In time they adopted to hiding it in usually covered places such as between the legs and under the feet. Now they made a strain of the virus that could hide directly under the skin.

That was why they never found any on Valor. They hid it at will.

This virus fostered under the skin like a powerful living thing. It processed the complex coding etched inside to wield those abilities.

Janilla said it was a mutual exchange. A vicious virus that needed flesh to eat off on, essentially Five's body, and with that, it afforded Five the processing muscle to use those abilities.

As Janilla told me, Elam bodies had physical advantages over a normal Shyia body. Increased strength, speed, sense of hearing, smell, pain, magnetism, pressure, and so on, all could be altered beforehand.

Arcane were strictly the abilities that fell under the manipulation of arcane energy. It was the energy that surrounded us all the time.

The research behind it was young. All they knew was that it was an important energy force of the universe, like gravity, heat. It was related to time in many descriptions.

Through olongoys, it can be drawn upon to create effects unique to it. Warping, bounding, ward, spear, nucus, construct, among other abilities were possible through the olongoy etched tattoo.

All this power was in the hands of Elam. No wonder they thought themselves Gods. Yet, I knew better. They just had all the resources and knowledge for themselves.

If we had this knowledge, we would not be their pets or servants as they considered us.

I clutched my fist with fury. Everyone knew about this, protected them, turned their eyes from the truth.

It was hilarious, all these pompous nobles submitted to a higher power. They feared mortal men made infinite through their indolence.

A farce of the broken age written in stone, but whispered none at all by the weak and pointless.

Five stepped inside the room. Janilla asked, "Are you any better?"

Five widened his eyes. He nodded and looked down before saying, "I am fine." I looked at Janilla who nodded and looked down at the book.

I noted her gaze was shifting too much, her finger pointing down as if making it seem like she was reading something specific. Though, it looked more like she was searching for something.

Five broke the tension. "He is ready."

I quickly took a bath and went out into the banquet hall. There were two wooden tables and utensils being laid out for the meal to be orchestrated later.

A gray stone tiled floor and square columns stippled into a sunken section five feet in.

I looked up at the white gem crested lace strung along the roof of this room. The wedding was supposed to be a week ago. Canus was pretty much the genius of running away, because he found a myriad of ways to avoid marriage.

I had told him it was not a fate worth avoiding. My fate however, avoiding it was hard enough, so could I ever avoid it?

We reached the grand hall and King Canus was dressed magnificently. He walked out with bejeweled trousers and a wide panther leather belt.

His tucked satin purple shirt was patterned with swerves of black and white lines that rose from the buckle and swirled wildly on the left side up to his high neck collar. Ruffles of the arms were big and made his arm looked bigger than it was.

His brother Acomn was wearing a modest white robe, but his neckline was thick with jewelry as was his fingers.

Canus smiled at me and grabbed me up in a hug. I noticed Bi Go Mu coming from the side eying me with contempt.

Canus said, "Good to see you."

I replied, "This is different. Breaking Tiam traditions so quick?" I gestured to his attire.

He laughed then replied, "Well, she wanted me to try it on. I will be wearing this during the wedding."

"Which will happen today," Acomn said.

Canus looked back at Acomn. I chanced a look at Bi Go Mu, but she was looking somewhere else.

"That was kind of sudden," I said.

Acomn said, "The King did not feel right marrying her without the Darhaith King present. He is now present. So he can now be married today."

I stared at Acomn's rather calm demeanor, yet I detected so much self-control over his anger.

Canus continued, "Yes, the Darhaith King is already here. Many more delegates will be coming for the celebrations even the Eathen King."

I turned towards him. "Even Para?"

"Maybe, I am not sure."

I needed to see her. It’s been so long since I talked with anyone. Janilla mostly complained and Five was a wealth of facts and information with no humor attached, unless I made humor out of it.

Canus cleared his throat. "Yes, Acomn please see to Bi Go Mu and make sure everything is ready. The decorations must be flawless, the guest must be content and the fireworks must be prepared with care."

Fireworks were a hallmark of Tiam.

I knew that the underground cities were carved on the broken backs of their ancestors, but in time they exceeded their forefathers and went to greater lengths building truly works of art under the crust.

It was only possible with the invention of explosives. Tiam was a place of great innovation different from the other countries.

Acomn tilted his head at him. His eyes narrowed as he moved his head back. Acomn's mouth opened and Canus interrupted him. "Please brother we have little time and I want to get this over with. Janilla, Five is it? Yes, go with Acomn we will start soon."

Canus grabbed me and I flowed into his stride as we left the room. I looked back at Acomn's morphing shock to see us leaving him there, babysitting three people.

Canus and I reached outside on the second floor overlooking the inner garden and I said it clearly even if he had not realized it, "You are about to be a married man, you and me cannot be seen like this."

Canus scoffed. "I do not care. Let them talk. No one likes me in this family. Them talking behind my back is expected."

I nodded in agreement. "I would figure that as much, but maybe you should try to make peace with your family."

Canus shook his head. "I do not care about such things."

"Canus, remember you have a family. I wished I still had mine."

Canus looked at me with wide eyes. His eyes softened as he looked away. "I forget. Maybe I should not say this then, but my family makes me feel like I am not even their family. I feel like a Boomon piece. Used and easily discarded."

I said nothing as he laid his open palm towards me. My back fidgeted from a swift chill as I tried to shake off my memories of Canus.

I pushed his fingers over his palm closed. "It is too late now. We all have our role to play. Nothing more needs be said."

Canus whipped his head to the side as he groaned. "What happened to you?"

I shifted to the side when I squinted my eyes at him. "Life punishes you for doing the wrong thing."

Canus laughed lightly then his smile dropped into a somber flat line as he stared out over the garden. "No, society punishes you for doing what it does not want. Us at the top of society and, yet we are so enthralled to it." He snorted. "Being a peasant almost seems fun."

I laughed. Canus looked at me with wide eyes.

"You would not last a day Canus," I said.

Canus was about to speak, but his lips were pursed together. He smirked, looking away. "You are probably right. Still, I want you close to me. Even if—even if it is in the dead of night under the shadows of Fallen."

The dark God Fallen, very few worshipped him, but it was the closeness that Canus was calling for that pulled me out of my snickering fit. "Stop, Canus have some respect for your future wife."

"And if I said I want you to be my first what would you say to that?"

I gave him a knowing look. He saw the smirk on my face, but I crushed it and gave a more serious one. "Such thoughts are sully to your God. I will not participate in such acts of depravity."

Canus sighed. "You act like it is not normal for Kings to have other beds to lay in."

Anger welled up in me as I frowned. "I am not going to be your concubine, Canus."

Canus shushed me. "I never said that. I just want you to be my true love. She, her—that woman, my betrothed is only another achievement for the family. She is not mine. You are mine."

My heart throbbed. I stepped forward, while around me was a blur. "Truly yours?" I asked.

"Yes, truly."

What was I doing? I closed my eyes and tried to gather my wits about me as I ripped myself from his infectious aura. I immediately turned. "Come on Canus, as you said we have little time."

I heard nothing for a long while as my boots were the only thing kneading the stone floor.

Five—

A terrible pain ripped into the back of my head as I fell over onto my knees and hands. I looked up, in the grand hall with that beautiful pond now drenched in blood.

I saw bodies on top of bodies. Five, Janilla, dead. Their bodies were floating upright in the pond.

Canus sprawled on the throne chair at the end of the room. Spears were sticking out of his chest. His family, all around him were on the ground.

I froze. My bones, I heard them clattering under the slackness of my skin, or was that my teeth?

"You know, you can prevent this." Corona's voice was close, but it was the hot breath of hers that thundered fear through me.

I kept looking down and noted the shadow looming over me. Corona was right beside me, yet I could not move.

"You want Canus and your friends to live? Come to the orchid farm, alone. We will settle our quarrel there—if you don't come. I will come for you and I will slaughter every living soul to get to you. Do you hear me cockroach? You have one hour."

Laughter, short, dismissive almost snide.

I blinked.

Carmine! Carmine!

I shook my head as Five and Janilla were shouting in my head. The hall's polished floor greeted my eyes. I breathed and stared blandly at the ground trying to decipher what just happened.

Hands touched my shoulder. I jumped forward and swung around with the knife flying out. Canus drifted back avoiding my strike and I shuddered in horror at what I did.

I dropped the knife and pleaded. "I am so sorry. I tho—"

"Carmine?" Canus asked.

I breathed out and my heart pained me immensely. Throat seized up, I coughed, for I lost my footing and fell back waving my arms backward to break my fall.

Canus surged forward. "Carmine?" He held me, but I shook intensely as I sat on the ground. This, this was my last hour on earth.