Chapter 63 The Friendly Assault

Strange objects hang in the skies above the forest we’re in. The screeching seems to be coming from them. Come to think of it, it is more melodic than annoying. It feels like they are talking to each other. The objects hang low enough to discern what these things are.

Well, I don’t know what they are, but I can see that they are oval and colorful. There are long flags, or banners hanging from each object. They swing back and forth in the breeze, touching the tips of the trees, and getting tangled up in some branches. The objects are agate-black with green sides, but the banners are sparkling green and honey-yellow.

The colors are vibrant, fantastic, indescribably attractive. I stand there with my mouth open, and just stare, until I hear Salix’s voice in my head:

“These are not banners, but a part of their bodies, you can call it a tail.”

This calm narrative is a stark difference from Fern’s reaction to the intrusion. Weird. Oh, these objects are creatures. Even more weird. Why is everyone was so afraid, though?

Well, because while gawking at the… whatever it is in the sky I failed to notice a group of creatures right around me. Frankly, they were impossible to notice with just my human eyes, when I wasn’t even paying attention. The creatures change colors, taking up whatever color is on the background.

The thing Fern called a “flinger” flies around me and then to one of the creatures. It slaps itself against his body and disappears. As I start paying attention, it does not disappear, but takes up whatever color the creature is. On a second glance the creatures are most definitely humanoid. They all look at me, but their faces bear no expression.

More flingers break away from their humanoid hosts and fly towards me. They smash themselves on the walls of our office, and then fly away. This is what was making the banging sound when I was inside… The walls then immediately begin to “leak” and “disintegrate”, whatever word you want to use.

“The flingers deposit pasid on the walls.” Salix comments nonchalantly. He does not seem to be alarmed at all, and does not believe that I’m in danger.

“What is pasid?” I ask.

Another flinger flies straight at me, and attaches itself on my chest momentarily. Whatever it deposited immediately starts burning through my shirt. I scream with pain. Allright, now I know why Fern and Levir ran away, these things are vicious, and it’s time to retreat. Why hasn’t Salix warned me?!

It may be too late to retreat. I get dizzy and slowly sit down on the ground.

“You were just shot with pasid. Simply speaking “pasid” is flinger’s excretion, a combination of poison and acid, I have a chemical formula available if you’re interested.”

What? Is he serious?

I look down and there is an impression of this small flinger on my chest. My shirt is burned away and my skin is turning black. It hurts like bloody hell, so much I go numb and unable to scream any more. The pain reaches my head and rings in my ears.

One of the humanoids approaches me, and now I’m scared. Well, the human in me is scared, but the oeve in me wants to rip them to shreds with a blast of energy that will knock those peacocks out of the sky, too!

He is not a “humanoid”, he is a man allright, this guy. Or, rather, probably, an ederi. His face takes up a regular ederi color, which is dark, lovely, and I bet it is soft. As soft as Zumi’s skin was. I loved him so. Where is he?

“Thank you for responding to my call. I shot you with pasid by the order of our Emperor Alare. He believes the injection might help you clear your mind, overcome your oeve side, resist Fern’s influence, and so much more.”

Then the man leaves. His smell still lingers in the air. It’s a sweet smell of freedom, and a desire to define his own destiny. Something Fern does not want to grant him. As the ederi walks away he takes up the color of the tree trunks nearby. Fern does not know half of it, and he can’t hold these people back! Unrest in the West… They are the “unrest”. But only because they want to defend their way of life from Fern.

I close my eyes in unbearable pain, and as I open them again, the creatures are gone, including those in the sky.

“They flew away. Both tasks are accomplished.” Salix says.

Yeah, one task was to hurt me beyond belief, I hope the other one was less devastating! But I can’t think anymore. The pain overwhelms me, and I black out.

“Allright, you idiot, next time we order you to follow us, you will follow us! This will serve you right!!!”

I open my eyes, and I’m still outside the office, but Fern is over me, screaming angrily. His green eyes are glowing with wrath.

Where have I seen these eyes before? Such beautiful eyes of a peaceful man I loved so much. The green eyes of that man warmed me up, melted my heart and made me smile. He was never angry. I loved him more than my life. I risked my life to save his. He broke the Law to be with me. My love, my Izumrud, where are you?

“There is no way this could have worked!!! But it did!!! I beg you with everything sacred – do not reveal to Fern that you have remembered…” Salix’s voice is both loud and fearful.

I have a vision of being in a small craft with someone I loved, but could not be with. The craft crashes into a mountainside. I see flames, and big amethyst wings are entangled in those flames. I killed him… I killed Kallitris to stop him from an endless path of destruction of planets. I loved him, but I could not let him continue a life of crime. And now I have his wings. How is that possible? Then the vision turns into darkness, darkness all around.

“Arte, are you OK? You have been bitten by a positive offspring. I need to administer an antidote.” Levir says, his face is concerned.

He is so close to me, that I now see the device on his eyes in every detail. It looks like the rainbow eyes of a dragonfly – a honeycomb structure, both captivating and complicated. Oh, I get it! These are photoreceptor cells.

“Hmmm…” I answer. However, not because I have nothing to say, and have to play “smart”. I have more than enough to say, but Salix wants me to play dumb for a change.

Arte is not my name. My name is Domiarn Gidealis. And I did remember. Not only what happened since I was brought to Lira, and what happened in the catacombs. I remember everything. The feeling is empowering and inebriating. Wow!

Someone calls for Fern, and he frowns and goes inside the office. I catch the moment to have a secret word with Levir.

“My friend, someone very dear to you is in grave danger. The radiation in Polinas is getting out of control.”

“We know.” Levir sighs, his translucent photoreceptor cells do something no device can do – they relay his sadness, depressed state of mind and a lot of anxiety.

“You do not know that there is a certain unexplained phenomena going on. There is a magnetic field developing next to Polinas. It will soon become strong enough to hurt Lierance. It will disrupt the electrical signals in his nerves, and might kill him.”

“How do you know all of that?!” Levir gasps and wants to ask me another question.

I do not know. The information just comes to me and I must reveal this scary and mysterious turn of events for the sake of Levir, and Alare. Oh, dear, lovely Alare. His radiant smile, his impressive knowledge and age, his fragile body.

I feel the sparks of desire piercing me all the way through as I remember our escape from the mountain. I held him in my arms. He was so vulnerable, yet, so clandestine, mystifying and… gorgeous.

Right then Fern returns, disrupting my reverie, bringing with him his disdain for everything that is not like him. He reminds me of… Yasen from Crumbling Rose. Could it be that Fern is like Yasen because he hated him? You always turn into what you hate, one way or the other…