Chapter XXXVII: To Zeo (Cont VI)
“Ahem,” West said, a small roll of smoke filtering out of his nostrils. “If we could focus on the job at hand and not ‘jobs’ to come.” He smirked as Blackheart blushed.
“Yes, well, I can’t rightly say what’s happened to her. I have no clue, to be honest.”
West glanced up at the sky, squinting the way most men do when they’re deep in reflection. “It seems that she’s been more distant ever since the Alabaster Temple way back when in Bouat.” He chuckled at his joke and continued, “Anyway, she told us just before the slight mishap that she had something to tell us. Then she never did. When I talked to her back in the temple, she told me she forgot.”
“You never told me that,” Blackheart said, glancing over at West.
“Must have forgotten,” West said winking. “Doesn’t matter really.” He took one last puff on the cigarette and flicked it off into the brush where the rain froze it to the ground.
“It matters to me,” Blackheart replied, wiping the water from his face. It was starting to get increasingly cold and the world seemed to be humming.
West glanced down at Blackheart’s amulet, “Oh Blackheart….”
Blackheart’s gaze followed West and the two stared down at the amulet in shock. “ADELIA!” Their voices echoed up the side of the mountain, though they were still near the base. Adelia turned to see Blackheart’s amulet, flickering a rainbow of colors, some of them actually seeming to come out of the amulet. “What the hell is going on!?” Blackheart and West charged up the mountain and past the others who were also stopped and confused.
Adelia glanced at the others, “Don’t worry everyone. It’s all right. Let’s keep moving.” She turned to Blackheart as she began to march back up the mountainside. “The balance has been thrown. Think about it. When Peace was killed, war broke out on Bouat. When Life was killed, the Bouatian soldiers began to die more often. Life had been thrown out of balance as well. Now this storm is destroying nature and the magical nature of the world is also spinning out of control. The servants were a sort of grounding for it all.”
Blackheart glanced back down at the forest which was swaying, tree collapsing from the weight of the icy rain that froze to the foliage and made the vegetation too top heavy. A bolt of lightning crashed down into the woods and a large explosion rolled up the mountains. “What happens when War and Death are killed?”
Adelia glanced over at Blackheart, “I’m not sure. You would think it would be good.” Her tone made it absolutely clear that of all things, ‘good’ would not be it.
West shrugged and pulled himself up to full height. “Then we’ll need to make sure that those servants don’t die, correct? Where are they?”
Adelia closed her eyes and tried to feel the minds of the two, “Death is on Zeo, riding towards Baen as we speak. War, however, seems to have taken hold somewhere on Azurat.”
“Doesn’t he plan to try and stop Baen?”
“I’m not sure,” Adelia said at last, opening her eyes. The air was cooling around her and both Blackheart and West noticed this. They watched her for a moment, but she seemed unaffected by the change in temperature. “Let’s go. We don’t have much time!” With that, Adelia raced up the side of the mountain. Blackheart and West exchanged a glance.
“Let’s not lose her,” they said together, glaring at one another for a moment before racing after her.
Far up in the mountains, a wave of energy rippled out from one of the many peaks, a lightning bolt curling down from the sky finding itself suddenly in two places at once as it passed through the ripple. Not too far below, the heroes raced up, following the Seph girl who stared towards the peak with eyes fixed and almost vacant.