Vol.4 Ch.62 – Unease

Chapter 62: Unease

As Ophelia got into the Gospel she couldn't help but think that something was wrong. She couldn't put her finger on it but something about the situation was giving her the worst possible vibe.

She wanted to chalk it up to the knowledge that the two angels, Heaven's most premier Necromancer hunters, seemed to think that they would need backup to kill this particular Necromancer and while that was frightening, it wasn't what had her on edge. She hoped Elaine and the others would be okay.

**

Something's off, Elaine thought as her team loaded into the Gospel. Maybe it was just the unease of having civilians along, though calling the four human mages civilians was a bit of an insult. They had survived for most of a year in a city overrun not just with Outsiders but with Caulder's kidnapping squads as well. They were more battle-hardened than most of the cadets. But they were also undeniably weaker than the cadets. No leveling, no Soul Shard enhancements.

Maybe that would change. Especially with these four Elaine was certain Rachel would insist on testing them for aptitude later. And while powerful magic didn't require a powerful Soul Shard, the chance was much higher with one. Of course, that made her think of Esther once again.

Did Atlanteans have Soul Shards as well? Or did their divine blood exclude them from that system? God, the woman already made her feel all fluttery just from the power exuding off her. How strong could she be if she ended up as Elaine's Shard Bearer? And of course that thought led her down a rabbit hole of imagining ways of increasing their Bond Level.

“So, this is a Gospel,” Esther said, ripping Elaine out of her lewd fantasies. “Tech straight from Heaven.”

“How does it stack up to Atlantean tech?” Elaine asked. There. That was a normal question, right? It wasn't about Esther's striking looks or bedroom preferences so it had to be normal. Right?

“Hard to say,” Esther said. “They don't really concern themselves with vehicles that much. Well, except for submarines.”

“Submarines?” Elaine asked. “You mean to reach Atlantis?”

“Oui.” There it was again. Esther clearly had no idea what effect she was having on Elaine with that. “The last Knight I fought assured me that Atlantis is no longer buried beneath the ocean but still, for the longest time that was the only way to reach the island. Even a supernaturally tough body can't withstand those depths.”

“What, they dragged the entire island up from the depths?” Elaine asked. “How?”

“I don't know and I haven't been able to confirm it yet but he had no reason to lie to me. Apparently Prince Dexter is using it as a base of operations.”

“This Prince Dexter,” Elaine said. “You know him, don't you?”

“Of course,” Esther said, too quickly. “He's the Uncrowned King, after all.”

“No,” Elaine said. “You know him personally.”

Esther froze, her eyes darting around looking for emergency exits.

“Relax,” Elaine said. “Those two aren't here right now. You can be honest.”

Esther let out a huge breath. “Oui, I know him. Or rather, I knew him. The Dexter I knew would never have done this.”

Elaine didn't say anything.

“There's been this prophecy about him, that he would destroy the world. And his father was always pushing him in that direction, that he would throw wide the Outer Gates and offer the world to the Crawling Chaos after all, that he would do what his ancestor failed to do, but he always rejected that. But somehow, despite all of that, he ended up doing it.”

“So that's the plan?” Elaine asked. “Do what the High Priest failed to do and summon the Crawling Chaos?”

“Oui,” Esther said. “Or at least I think so. But it has been months now and he still has not done it. So I have to assume that something is holding him back. Maybe the ritual is too complicated or maybe he needs to wait for some kind of alignment. Or maybe... there is still something of the old Dexter inside him.”

“I hope you don't expect us to spare the guy who doomed the world,” Elaine said.

“Non. He will pay for it. But... I can't believe he would do it in the first place...”

Esther was spiraling and Elaine was determined not to let her. “Tell me about Dexter. The Dexter you knew. And tell me about yourself. What was it like growing up as a demigod?”

Esther let out a rueful little chuckle, clearly noticing Elaine's attempt at distracting her and being grateful for it. “Most of the big Atlantean families operate on levels of wealth that is impossible for normal people to fathom,” she began. “They have been around for thousands of years, gathering riches and collecting interest. All the rich assholes you think are running the world from the shadows are just empty suits for empty suits for the Atlanteans, three layers removed from the actual movers and shakers of the world. Every alleged philanthropist whose every donation ends up making the world a slightly worse place is just doing what his Atlantean handlers want him to do.”

“Does this have anything to do with these Vassals?” Elaine asked.

“Oui,” Esther said. “Most of the chosen Vassals were just the most faithful bootlickers of the High Priest's family. The one you're after, Caulder, he used to supply their family with defense solutions.” She paused. “But I am getting off track. I grew up in the lap of luxury, sent to a private school so elite it doesn't even have to advertise. And Dexter was another student there, as were his siblings.”

“Didn't you say his family used to hunt yours?” Elaine asked.

“It's complicated,” Esther said. “With beings like us, who cannot die of old age but have difficulty conceiving, there are rules of engagement. We do not attack the children of our enemies, neither directly nor indirectly. And we do not cause scenes in public, lest executioners like those two angels show up to eradicate us.”

Elaine nodded in understanding.

“Even so, when I learned who I would be going to school with I assumed I would be dealing with harassment and bullying throughout my time but that never happened. Dexter and his siblings went out of their way to treat me well. They wanted nothing to do with their father and his blood feuds. And I was perfectly happy with that. I thought we could let bygones be bygones. The hatred of our forebears would not need to define us. Except...” She let out a fluttery breath, then shook her head. “As for how it was to grow up a demigod? As the traitor family I did not enjoy all the same luxuries as them but we did have some. Atlantean robotics are infinitely beyond what the humans are capable of. Even now, with the angels gifting you their tech. I had automaton nannies and butlers, even automaton dogs as pets.”

“Is that the same tech Caulder is using with his cyborgs?” Elaine asked.

“I am certain they paid him in scraps of information,” Esther said. “I doubt they shared all of it with him but I did see design elements in some of his cyborgs that must have come from Atlantis.”

Elaine nodded.

“And other than that, I was rich, yes, but so was everyone else at that school. That I was richer as a child than others would ever be only occurred to me much later. The biggest difference was that while there were many Atlanteans at that school, not everyone was and so we had to keep our strength in check so as to not give ourselves away. The teachers were bought off but the other students weren't.”

Elaine stayed quiet for a moment, then asked: “What about Dexter's siblings?”

But Esther just shook her head. Elaine decided not to pry. If it were relevant she would have shared it.

“We're at the hospital,” Elaine said, loud enough for everyone to hear her. “Game faces on.”

**

“I got eyes on the library,” Abigail said as the building came into view. And now she knew why Sergeant Wright had been so sure something was wrong with that place.

The sun had been shining without a cloud in sight throughout this mission but now dark clouds were hanging overhead. It wasn't even like a localized thunderstorm, with the clouds centering around this one building. One moment they'd been flying under uninterrupted sunshine and the next there had been an almost tangible lurch and now there were dark clouds stretching along the horizon.

Abigail didn't know whether the clouds were an illusion or whether the lack of them had been but she knew this meant something bad. The very distinct synesthesia of looking at the antenna on the roof and tasting the color blue didn't help, either.

“Whatever Darklight protection you have,” Kaja said, looking at Ophelia and Cassie, “please keep it ready to go at a moment's notice.”

“This isn't normal, is it?” Abigail asked.

“No,” Kaja said, the worry in her voice the most terrifying thing Abigail could remember ever hearing. “No, it isn't.”