94 - Contemplation

Ari didn’t cry, but only by a hair’s breadth. Her lip trembled, her eyes grew hot. A flood of relief crashed into her the moment she lay on his chest, smelling his familiar earthy scent, her ears over his heartbeat.
It was still weak but steady, and that was the important thing.
He was alive, and he wasn’t a demon.
“Arielle?” He murmured, and she nodded, dropping her disguise finally.
Elric’s hand settled on the back of her hair, stroking gently. It felt solid, real as he brushed his hand through her strands. It wasn’t pleasant but not entirely unpleasant either.
After some time passed, he admitted in a strained voice, “Arielle. I can’t breathe.”
“Sorry.” She jerked off him and shifted to sit beside him instead, watching a smile tremble onto his lips. She wiped her hands and her face instinctively.
“What happened?” he asked. “Why are you here?”
“You almost became a demon,” Arielle blurted out.
“What?”
“It’s true.” Vittoria had arrived at some point and was now leaning by the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest, a soft smile on her lips. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
“I remember….” He frowned. “Fighting a behemoth. There was a brutal demon attack that I think could have been a trap.”
“It was a trap, and you fell for it.” Vittoria walked into the room, running a quick scan over his body. “You should have been more careful. You knew Yseult would come for you.”
“Yes, but I didn’t think it would be like that. I didn’t think he had ingratiated himself with the demons so much that he would have them kill me. Killing me would have set things in motion for him to get caught.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Killing you would have done nothing of that sort,” she said. “What’s going on at the sect is worse than we thought. It’s not just random demonic summons sanctioned by the elders. The sect has been completely infiltrated by a demon lord, who is effectively in charge of the sect and has likely promised them otherworldly powers.”
That shocked Elric. He gaped.
“I first assumed one of the Elders had been possessed by a demon lord,” Vittoria continued. “But it appears to be more than that. The healer is the demon lord’s son. I’m sure there are more demonkin running around. They’re fully integrated into their network, and it’s hard to tell how many people know about this.”
“So the demon is the one behind the altered memories of those in the sect,” Elric murmured.
“Yes, and I assume they’ve altered the memories of all those you told too. They may have put things in motion to discredit your investigation.”
“But I don’t understand,” Elric shook his head. “Why would Yseult allow it to go this far? I believed that the elders might be trying to find a way to control demons, but for him to allow a Lord to amass so much power in the human realm and take over the very group that keeps them from overwhelming us…this is madness. He understands that if they win, we all become slaves to them, right? All for what? Power that he already has?”
Vitoria looked thoughtful. “There might be more to it than that. Yseult acts like he still has some control over the situation, and there has to be a reason why the demons have not simply taken over the sect. They have been quite restricted in their activities so far, likely so they remain hidden. The Draco siblings are also aware of the demonic presence, yet they do not seem the least bit panicked. Nearly all the elders are in support of this. There’s something they know that we don’t.” She brushed her chin. “Yseult is a clever man, and you underestimated him. You thought he would simply try to blackmail you, but he was two steps ahead and already knew that was unlikely to work. So, he decided to transform you into demonkin, that way, they could control you or get rid of you in another way.”
Horror stamped on Elric’s features. His hands flew to his chest, patting his body, checking himself. “Am I–”
“No,” Vittoria cut in. “Luckily, Arielle and I got to stop the advance of the illness in time.”
“How?” Elric asked. “As far as I know, the only way to stop a transformation is to use an antidote and–” His eyes flared open. “Wait…you didn’t.”
Vittoria was silent as Elric’s eyes moved swiftly, putting pieces together. “You got it from Yseult?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Vittoria and Ariele shared a look, and Vitoria said, “Perhaps we should wait till you’re feeling better to tell you that story. I don’t know if your heart is strong enough yet to take it.”
Elric didn’t relax. If anything, his body tensed up even more. “Was Arielle involved?”
Vittoria studied her nails as she answered, “Only a little bit.”
“Vittoria.”
“I couldn’t have done it without her, and I mean that quite literally, Elric. I had no choice.”
Elric closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and told Arielle. “I’m so sorry that you got dragged into this, Ari.”
“It’s okay,” she said, fairly chipper now that he was awake.
“No, it’s not.”
“I was happy to help. I didn’t want you to die or become a demon.”
“That doesn’t justify Vittoria asking a child to assist in negotiating with a person like Yseult.”
“There wasn’t much negotiation involved,” Vittoria said.
He frowned, eyes opening again. “What does that mean?”
“Are you sure you want to hear this now?”
“Yes,” he said instantly, sitting up, despite the effort it took him. “Tell me what happened.”
Vittoria sighed, and then she started the story, telling him how she discovered that Yseult was planning something, how she recruited Arielle into helping her–this part got a sputtering protest from Elric–how they had found him on the brink of unconsciousness and finally how they had snuck into the demonic sect compound and taken the antidote.
Vittoria glossed over a few details, for example, Arielle fighting the Phasewalkers, killing the behemoth, and then killing the healer on the sect compound, but Ari figured it was probably not vital information to pass on.
Either that or Vittoria really was concerned Elric would have a heart attack.
He already seemed to be having a hard time digesting everything they had said so far. He kept sputtering, gasping in outrage and swinging his gaze between them in disbelief.
When she was done with her retelling, he was completely silent.
“Arielle,” Elric said finally. “Can you give Vittoria and me a moment?”
“Are you going to yell at her?” Ari asked because his voice was similar to how her mother’s sounded when she was on the verge of yelling at someone. She too would ask Ari to leave the room in those situations.
“No,” Elric answered at the same time as Vittoria said, “Yes.”
Arielle looked at both of them and shook her head. “I don’t want to go.” She didn’t like yelling, and it would ruin everyone’s good mood.
And it might scare Inara, who was already skittish enough as it is.
“Arielle…” Elric said.
“It’s okay, Ari,” Vittoria said. “I can handle a little yelling. To be fair, I deserve it. This whole thing is my fault anyway.”
“It’s not your fault that demons attacked Elric.”
“No, but I could have warned Elric earlier instead of using it as an opportunity to test you,” she said. “I didn’t think things would get that out of hand, and my lack of foresight nearly caused Elric to lose his life. So I think a little yelling on his part is completely fair. And I do need to apologize to him.”

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Elric had narrowed his eyes at Vittoria, but she didn’t seem perturbed by his animosity. She winked at Arielle and said, “Don’t worry. I can take the heat. You should go and hang out with Inara in the meantime. Try to get her to stop pretending to be a lamp.”
“Inara,” Elric said. “Who’s that?”
“She’s a maid from the demonic sect. Apparently, you left quite an impression on her, enough that she was happy to help us with our theft.”
“You involved an innocent maid in this too?”
“She involved herself, actually. She was going to do it anyway,” Arielle pointed out. “The second she heard that something had happened to you, she made a plan to steal the antidote. But had she done it on her own, she would have failed and been killed. I saved her. And now she’s here.”
That seemed to stun him into another stretch of blinking silence.
“Why would she go through that trouble? We only spoke once, and I didn’t really do much to help her.”
“That’s what you think,” Vittoria said. “But whatever you did was enough for her to risk her life for you. And Arielle too.” A thoughtful glow appeared in Vittoria’s eyes as she added, “I’ve often criticized you, Elric, for spending too much of your time performing pointless acts of service instead of amassing power and influence which would enable you to enact a more lasting and widespread change. But it seems that you were amassing power, just not in the way people in your shoes usually do. After all, having two young people willing to lay down their lives just for the slim chance of saving you is its own sort of power. Especially when one of them is someone like Arielle.”
Elric still didn’t look pleased as he rested his head back on the mattress. “If this is you trying to butter me up to overlook what you did, let me tell you now it won’t work.”
“I know. I’m sorry I didn’t warn you earlier.”
“It’s not about warning me,” he said. “I knew what I was getting myself into, and knew how dangerous it was, which is why I asked you to watch over Arielle. You did not need to drag her into this as well.”
“If not for her, you would be dead.”
“Then perhaps that was the fate intended for me.”
“Don’t say that,” Arielle cut in sharply. “That’s not what’s intended for you.”
Elric didn’t answer, and Vittoria spoke again.
“Have you thought of what would happen to Arielle if you died?” she said. “How much pain that would cause her? Do you think your death only concerns you?”
Elric blinked and took a deep breath, folding his hands together. A struggle appeared on his features.
“Whether or not you think that, Elric, you’re here now. And for better or worse, that will have consequences.”
“I know. So will her actions.”
“It’s okay. I’m going to take the blame for all of it. Which also means appearing in front of the council and likely taking my place on it once again.” She said it with all the distaste she could muster. “I’m sure my mother will be happy.”
“I thought you said you would never go back there again.”
She shrugged. “Well, perhaps this is the fate intended for me.”
They were silent for a few seconds, and then Elric deflated. It seemed as though the last of his anger had been drained from him.
“Thank you for saving me,” he said finally.
Vittoria waved it away without a response.
“Yseult is going to be furious,” she said.
“I know.”
“He’s going to come at us with everything he has. Which is going to be a lot. I don’t put it past him to use whatever tools he has at his disposal to turn the council against us.”
“He can try, but all the evidence is on our side. The Ascendant will know we’re telling the truth. Yseult can try to distance himself from it and claim he had no knowledge, but even if that works, that only makes him look weak and ineffective. There are no cards for him to play. We have all the leverage here, and he has none. “
“Yes, but you know how it is with the Ascendant.”
“I know. But the Ascendant won’t be able to deny what’s in front of his eyes, not in front of everyone.”
“I like your optimism, but we can’t underestimate Yseult again. We have to be prepared for anything. We need a plan.”
Elric nodded.
While they talked, Arielle had surreptitiously activated Orion so that she could scan Elric’s body.
His organs were still bloated and a little darkened. Some parts were too red, like they were sore.
But the medicine was working, and the black was retreating. She saw the orbs, Vitae combined with Vacu and Luxa in constantly shifting orientations, streaming through his body, attaching to pieces of him bit by bit.
The healing was interesting to watch. The orbs did not form or follow a regular pattern. The stream would cover a portion of an organ, then they would disconnect from each other, and form a different shape, and then another one, and then another one. By the time they were done, the black would be gone, and the organ would be back to its original color.
But they didn’t form the same shape twice when healing a different part, even when it was of the same organ. They handled each part of his body as though it were distinct and needed a different treatment style.
Why? How did they decide?
She didn’t know. The spell had taken a life of its own, and even as the demonic orbs fought back, trying to get rid of the healing complex and break its bonds, it would simply form another bond and another.
What was even more interesting was how it got rid of the demonic orbs.
The complex would bind to one, encircle it, and transform it.
It lost all movement, all its mini-orbs stilled, and it simply stood in place.
She had never seen anything like it, and something told her this was more than the work of regular healing.
It must be Saint’s blood that gave it the power to do that.
Blood magic was fascinating. It seemed more powerful than regular magic, and it enabled the orbs to do more than they usually did.
She wondered when they would get to learn more about that. Probably in the second or third year. She didn’t want to wait that long, so she would ask Valeria more about it when she got back to campus.
Arielle did ultimately give the adults space to discuss how they would move forward with their report to the council, but not before Elric called Inara into the room. Arielle donned her disguise again before the girl moved in tentatively as always, as though she wasn’t sure about her reception.
However, when she finally entered the room and saw Elric sitting up, she lit up. Inara put her hand over her mouth, and tears filled her eyes.
“Praise be,” she whispered, and Elric smiled. “You’re okay.”
“That I am. I’ve heard that’s in part thanks to you.”
“No, I didn’t…” She looked down at her hands again. “All I did was get caught and–”
“Inara played a vital role in our plan,” Vittoria said. “She showed us a spare antidote that we could have used if this one did not work. And speaking of the spare antidote… I have a feeling it’s going to help us make our case too.”
Elric nodded, but didn’t take his eyes off Inara.
“Thank you, Inara,” Elric said as Inara looked stricken. “I won’t forget your bravery. Rest assured, we’ll protect you from any repercussions that might arise as a result of your actions.”
“We can add that to our negotiations,” Vittoria said.
“No, you don’t have–”
Suddenly, a stomach loudly growled to interrupt Inara’s objections.
It was Arielle’s. Vittoria snorted, and even Elric cracked a smile.
“I’m hungry,” Ari announced.
“I’m not surprised,” Vittoria said. “You expended a lot of energy today. I do have some ingredients, but unfortunately for you, I’m told I cook like I lack taste buds, so nothing I make will be anything more than edible.”
“I can cook,” Inara said. “I learned to cook well at the sect.”
“You don’t have to–”
“I want to,” she said. “Please, I want to be useful.”
There was a pregnant pause before Vittoria said. “Alright then. I’ll show you the kitchen.”
And while she did, Arielle stayed with Elric, beaming at him. He beamed back at her.
There was so much she wanted to tell him, about the Dean and what had happened at school, but she didn’t want to stress him out any more than he already was.
He was already angry that Vittoria had placed Arielle in danger, and he would be even angrier if he found out what the dean had done.
“Thank you for the jewels,” she said.
He was confused for a second, then understanding descended. “You saw them?”
“They were in your pocket. Vittoria said they were for me.”
“They are. Did you like them?”
She thought about it. “I’m not sure yet. But I think I will.”
Her answer made him smile.
When Vittoria returned, they went back to talking about politics, which bored Arielle, so she left them to it and went to the living room, continuing with Cornelius’ journal. Perhaps she would find out something in there to help Vittoria and Elric with their plan.
Day 5.
It was harder than I thought it would be.
Genuinely.
Of course, I can never tell anyone about it. I can’t even write about it here.
Just know that I risked a lot. But it was worth it.
Payn warns me that it will get harder. He tells me that there is still time for me to stop.
But I cannot stop. I feel something within, telling me to go further, that there is something I lack, and emptiness that can be fixed by something I need to find right beyond the horizon…
I need to find what that is. Perhaps I need to find him for myself.
Arielle paused on that thought again because it resonated strongly with her. Every time she thought about the Drift, she also felt like she had to find him to solve…something she couldn’t describe.
Within…
Prior, Cornelius said he’d found the key within.
So far, Arielle had assumed that The Drift wanted her to find out more about him, but what if the answer wasn’t in any book or any of the people she’d been looking for?
What if she was meant to look within herself?
She thought back to the whirlwind of the past few days, everything that set her on this trajectory, the strange bond she had formed with a creature she knew nothing about, the urge to see him and discover who he was.
She also thought about what was lacking inside her.
Her lack of fear concerning death stemmed from the day she’d nearly drowned. Something had been blocked off from then on.
Perhaps something had happened that day, something more than what she thought, and the answer was only to be found there.
She had to go within.
But how…
The book pulsed again. It felt alive in her hands.
She glanced down at it and closed her eyes.