Duplicitous: The Leordian Chronicles Read online

  "Do you need help standing?" He asked, reaching out his hand to aid me.

  Fortunately, the tingling had subsided, and I was able to feel my entire body again.

  "No, I don't believe I need assistance," I said, taking his hand anyway.

  Lucas pulled me to my feet and closed the barrier that secured his car's interior. We walked to a strange room where lights shined on the walls, and Lucas pressed his finger to the wall.

  "Are all of the gods in this city your father's children?” I inquired.

  "If by gods, you mean people, then no," he said, seemingly taken aback by my question. "I've never heard of anyone becoming so disoriented from a mis-port that their mind became stuck in a parallel reality, but we'll make sure you're well taken care of. I'm willing to bet that your disassociation has something to do with your short term memory, and it’s most likely fixated on whatever activity you had been taking part in when the portal malfunctioned. My father will cover all costs incurred from your hospital stay, so just relax and cooperate with the doctor's so that they can help you restore your memory," he concluded, smiling down at me.

  Suddenly, the wall opened before us, revealing a room that resembled my vanity in the castle. Lucas walked in and motioned for me to come, as he held the walls open with his own power. As I entered the room, Lucas released his hold on the wall and allowed it to close. Once again, he touched one of the many circles lit upon the vanity wall, and I felt a slight shake in the room.

  "Is this vanity what you refer to as a portal?" I asked nervously, feeling as if we were being lifted into the sky.

  "I guess the elevator does resemble a vanity from a medieval castle. I can't even imagine how strange things must seem, waking up in the modern world with no recollection of how technology has advanced," he said, as the walls began to open before us, revealing a huge, dimly lit corridor, with rooms on either side expanding as far as a small valley.

  Once again, Lucas restrained the walls as they opened, and he motioned for me to exit. As we had both exited, he released his hold, and the walls closed once again. As we began to walk down the corridor, I noticed that many of the rooms housed gods, who appeared to be sick or injured.

  "How is it possible that these gods are sick or injured?" I wondered aloud. "Are you not immortal?"

  "Like I told you before, we are not gods. We are human beings just like you. We bleed, get sick, and can be injured just like any other person," he said gently, but I could tell that he found it frustrating that I didn’t believe him when he originally explained things.

  "I’m sorry for doubting your word. You’ve already explained that this isn’t the Land of the gods, but it’s unlike anything that I have ever seen before," I explained, apologetically.

  "Don't sweat it. Once they figure out what's wrong inside your head, you'll remember everything," he said, as he took my hand and continued to walk down the corridor.

  I hadn't noticed it before, but the warmth of his hand was soothing. He didn't have the build of a laborer, but his hands were strong. When he grabbed my hand, I felt something that I hadn't felt in many years...safe.

  "Here we are," he said as we stopped near a large table carved into the shape of a crescent moon and placed in the middle of a large room.

  I noticed that there were three other corridors, which connected to this room, and each was identical to the one that we had followed to reach this central location. The central room was very well lit, and there were men and women bustling about dressed in white and blue. I wondered briefly if their garb indicated that they were somehow different from normal people, but I decided to not pursue the thought, so as not to repeat my previous mistake.

  "Stay here, I'm going to talk to the nurse and find someone to get you a room, so the doctor can see you," Lucas said, as he released my hand and walked to one of the women dressed in white.

  My hand immediately became cold, having been abandoned by Lucas's hand, and as odd as it was, I felt sad that he had to let go. Being lost in a place where I knew no one had forced me to place my trust in Lucas, the man whom I had met only hours before. While I stood, waiting, I smiled as I placed the hand he had held to my face, and I was thankful that someone like him had rescued me. My fantasy was interrupted as I heard people screaming from one of the other corridors.

  "Move, move!" A voice shouted.

  People were lining up along the walls, as three men pushing a cart with a person on top of it, rushed into the center of the room. I hadn't noticed before, but there was another elevator in this central room which opened far wider than the one that we had traveled in. Wide enough, in fact, that the men and the cart were able to fit into the elevator together.

  "Hurry, James. We need to get him to the OR stat!" One man yelled to another, as he moved to the wall to initiate the elevator ritual.

  As they turned the cart, I noticed that the person upon it was wearing a robe which appeared to be Venubrian Silk, a very expensive material used in crafting the robes worn by those in The Council of Leordia. I rushed as fast as I could to see if, in fact, the man on the cart was one of the Council members.

  "Please, hold! That man, please let me see him!" I begged as the walls closed, but it was too late. I felt a firm grasp on my arm, and I turned to find Lucas.

  "What are you doing? That man is being rushed to the operating room." Lucas said firmly, as he released his grip on my arm.

  "I'm sorry, but I’m sure that was one of my people," I stammered in frustration. "The material of his robe, the way it shined in the light, it's not of this world," I concluded, as I turned and walked back to the table that Lucas had told me to wait near.

  "Lucas," I heard a voice call out.

  I turned, and I saw that the voice belonged to the woman in white, whom Lucas had spoken to when he left me, to seek out a lodging for me.

  "Once you finish up here, give me a call. I'm going to head home and freshen up. Mary will help your friend there to her room; I'm looking forward to dinner tonight," she said with a grin. "I've heard your dinners include a lovely dessert, and I for one am starved," she finished, as she sashayed past me into the corridor toward the elevator, which lead to the temple full of cars.

  "Ehem, sorry that you had to hear that," Lucas said with a grin as he walked beside me, all the while, watching the woman in white walk down the corridor. "It appears that I have a bit of a reputation here. I've dated a few of the nurses and one of the doctors, and I guess word travels," he snickered, wiping his hand beneath his nose.

  I had met men with similar reputations in Leordia. Womanizers, who cared nothing for the women who cared for them, and in the end, simply left them for the next. It was a way of life for the most disgraceful vagabonds. I felt disgusted, having enjoyed such a man's touch, even if he had rescued me from drowning.

  "Hello, I'm Mary," a sweet voice claimed, rescuing me from my revile. "Come with me, and I will take you to your room," she said, walking down the leftmost corridor.

  "Well, that's the end of my good deed for the day. They'll take good care of you from here. I've worked everything out for you, and I'll come by tomorrow to check up on you," he said, reaching his hand out to me.

  I couldn't bring myself to take his hand, rather, I turned to follow Mary to my room.

  "You needn't trouble yourself. Besides, I wouldn't want to interrupt your dessert," I said in consternation, as I walked away.

  Mary turned into a room not far into the corridor, and as I turned to follow her, I could see Lucas still standing where I left him, looking quite puzzled by my words.

  "That was priceless," Mary said to me, as I entered the room. "I dated him about two years ago, and you hit the nail on the head. He is a total dog! He cheated on me with my roommate, after we had been together for two months, and admitted it openly as he broke up with me," she said, with a sigh of disgust.

  I felt a wave of regret overcome me. While what I said may be true, this was the man who saved my life, and I shouldn't have spoken out when i
t had nothing to do with me. I walked out of the room to apologize, but Lucas was already gone.

  "I know exactly what you're feeling," Mary said as she touched my shoulder. "There's a power to his hands. He's quick to offer it and it's easy to take, but trust me, you're better off never seeing him again," she sighed, moving to the bed near the back of the room, placing a book at the foot of the bed, and pulling the sheet from the pillow. "Go ahead and rest here, and if you need anything, push this red button," she said, placing the red button onto the table beside the bed.

  Mary walked out of the room, and I sat on the edge of the bed. It was firm, and very much unlike my bed in the castle. I surveyed the rest of the room, and I noticed that there were many things which I couldn't imagine the use for. Thankfully, there was a toilet, and though it was crafted from a material that I wasn't familiar with, after half a day of holding it...it was a relief.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Jaleen Frelo

  The next day, after a long night of tests, as the healers called it, I was awakened by the sound of people arguing. I rose out of the bed, walking to the entrance to my room, and I saw Mary and Lucas seemingly locked in a standoff.

  "You shouldn't be here," Mary said, aggressively, pointing her finger in Lucas's face.

  "I've been here all night," Lucas replied. "I don't really know why, but I feel like I need to see this through with her," he said, as he gently pushed Mary's hand from his face.

  "What about Veronica? I heard y'all had quite the dinner planned. You figured you would grab a quick "bite", then come and stalk your next victim?" Mary accused.

  "No, I called Veronica to cancel. Listen, I know I hurt you Mary, and I regret it. Sometimes, when people profile you a certain way, you tend to fall in line with their expectations of you. What I did to you is unforgivable, and I won't ask you to forgive me, but I want you to know that I'm not that guy anymore," he said, lowering his face away from her. "I've learned from my mistakes, and that's partially why it's so important to me to make sure that Vel is okay. Call it recompense, or whatever, but I want to see this through," he said, seeming to plead for her approval.

  "Well, it's hard to believe that a tiger can just change his stripes by willpower alone, but it’s really up to her whether she wants you here or not. When she wakes up, I'll let her know that you're here. For now, though, you need to go to the waiting room. The doctors may need to see her at any moment, and I can't have you in the way," she said as she walked away.

  I rushed back to my bed, but I couldn't make it before being spotted.

  "Wow, you must do a lot of aerobics, Vel," Mary said, giggling as I jumped into the bed.

  At one point in the evening before, the doctor had demanded that I change out of my clothes and into a gown which they provided. It was loose, much like a peasant garb, and had a slit which swayed open in the back as I moved, making it very awkward to walk around.

  "I guess that you heard Lucas and me talking?" She asked, walking to the bedside, writing notes on the board at the foot of the bed.

  "Yes," I replied, ashamed. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop on a private conversation, but I heard arguing. I'm so sorry," I said, bowing my head.

  "No need to be sorry. I walked in today and saw Lucas asleep with his head on your bed, and I assumed he was trying to pull a fast one," she said with a smirk. "Enough about him, though, I spoke to the primary doctor assigned to you, and he said that they ran quite a few tests on you to ensure that you were okay biologically, and in that category, you're fine. He asked me to advise you that they're sending in a psychiatrist to speak to you this afternoon to try and work through your memory loss," she said, as she reached into the drawer next to my bed and pulled out a toothbrush.

  "Finally!" I sighed. "Something that I recognize, though the material this is made from is odd," I said, smiling as I accepted the vibrant colored toothbrush from her, and went into the vanity, which Mary called a 'bathroom', to freshen up.

  "I hope you don't mind, but you look like you probably wear similarly sized clothes as me, so I brought a few things from home for you," she said, laying an outfit onto the bed beside me. It was likely an accurate assessment, as, like me, Mary couldn’t have been more than five foot two and seemed as curvy as I, for the most part. The similarities ended there of course, as her coloring was far more vibrant than my own. Mary had shoulder length vibrant red hair, and lightly tanned skin. Her eyes reminded me of the lavender fields that surrounded Leordia City.

  "I'm sad to say that I don't have a bra large enough to fit you, though, so you may want to continue to use the wrapping you wore when you arrived," she said from outside the vanity. "I have to go make my rounds, but I'll check in on you later. If you decide to speak to Lucas, he's in the waiting room down the hall," her voice trailed off, as she walked out of the room.

  "I'll have to thank her properly when next we meet," I thought aloud, as I brought the garments she left with me into the bathroom to change.

  The garments were similar to the clothing that I saw people wearing as we drove through the city on our way here, even if a bit tighter than I would like. As I glanced into the mirror, the contrast of the dark blue blouse was startling against my pale white skin. Much like my eyes, a rich brown, so dark that hey bordered black; the contrast reminded me of my brother. My Yin to his yang. The Rough Blue pants hugged my short curvy frame like a second layer of skin. I ran my fingers through my long and wavy silver white hair and grimaced, as I realized that I desperately needed a hair brush. I sat on the edge of the bed and my thoughts were brought back to Mary and Lucas's conversation. I had thought of him as a vile creature, despite saving me, and he had added further injury by foregoing his dinner to stay with me and ensure that I was okay. He may have a bad reputation, as he had mentioned, but his actions proved that he may not be the same man who had earned that reputation. And so, I decided that I would go to the waiting room to thank him for his concern.

  "We need to evacuate the patients now!" I heard a man's voice scream, as large numbers of people ran by my room.

  As I stood to my feet in an effort to see why people were running by, I felt the ground beneath me quake, and the rumble was followed by a loud explosion. The lights flickered, and a deafening sound rang through the air. The sound, which was much like the war horns of Leordia City, seemed to indicate something ominous, and it threw the otherwise calm people in this place into a frenzy. The sound rang repeatedly throughout the building, and the people who had been steadily rushing by became more chaotic. When I reached my room’s doorway, I saw droves of people aggressively pushing each other out of the way, trying to reach the elevator at the end of the corridor without regard to others. I walked into the hysteria, and I saw a man who seemed to have a crippled leg thrown against a wall by another, and fall to the floor. I rushed to him to help him up, and I tossed his arm around my shoulders and assisted him into the line of people that were waiting on the elevator.

  "Thank-you," he said, looking to me with tears in his eyes.

  As I released him, the ground shook again, followed by another explosion. The second explosion blew out the roof in the central room, and a large number of people fell down from the level above, crushing those below alongside the debris from the explosion. I ran toward the scene, and I began pulling people out of the rubble when I heard a voice, chanting. I raised my eyes and saw a face that I believed I wouldn't see again; standing above me was the Headmaster of the Council of Leordia, Jaleen Frelo.

  "Sphaera Ignis!" He shouted, and a large sphere riddled in flames manifested before him.

  With a touch, he directed the sphere forward from the level above me. When the sphere connected, there was another explosion, followed by the screams of the people who were caught in its wake. I heard a second crash behind me, and when I turned, I saw that the floor had crashed down from the upper level, and the debris from the floor above had crushed many of those who were waiting for the elevator.

  "Jaleen!" I shouted as I walked u
p the debris before me. "Stop this, these people are not here to hurt us," I pleaded.

  His torso was wrapped in cloth, like a wounded warrior returning from battle, and his blood was seeping through the cloth because of the strain he was placing on his body.

  "Queen Velareedra?" He inquired, looking to me. "How are you here?"

  "It is I, Jaleen," I replied. "I found myself in this world as well, but these people are not to blame, please stop!" I pleaded from atop the pile of rubble, which housed an unknown number of corpses from Jaleen's assault.

  "It seems that runt, Astiel, failed to complete his task," he said, positioning himself to face me directly.

  Jaleen had been like a father to me following my father's death, and his actions were completely out of character. My body instinctively positioned itself to prepare for an attack.

  "Why are you hurting all of these people, Jaleen?" I asked.

  "Ha! These vermin have not once manifested a single invocation to defend themselves, and unlike you, they don't appear to be Eaters, either. They are just lowly rats who don't deserve to live," he declared as he began to chant.

  "Sphaera Ignis!" He shouted, attempting to manifest another invocation.

  I felt his Ether begin to fill me as his invocation fizzled out. Blood had completely saturated the wrappings around his body, and I knew that he neared death; my ability to absorb Ether couldn't have prevented his invocation completely, otherwise.

  "Damn you, Eater!" He shouted, coughing up blood. "You are the reason that your father had to die. If he had only heeded our warnings and destroyed you, he would have ruled his entire natural life," he said.