Chapter 28

The others kept practising after that, taking turns to wear the harness, while the others touched the Flow. I stayed below deck, straining to hear any sound, until Aase finally came down and announced that everyone had managed to kill the Worm. I rushed back with her to find the others grinning on the deck.

It really seemed we’d found a way to teach people not to be afraid. Tore pointed out that the Worms hadn’t disappeared but kept whispering to Ifrim and me, but even if we couldn’t create a world without them, we could live as we used to and touch the Flow.

Why hadn’t the Council thought about this? They must have had the harness for a while. They’d done so much harm when they could have helped the people and defeated the Worms.

We continued after that, but we decided to stop by in Tovira on our way to tell Stella and the others about Tanur and what we’d found. Tore and the others kept practising to touch the Flow without the safety of the harness, and it didn’t take long until the Worms no longer dared to appear. By the third day, we flew in daylight, and it was one of those afternoons that I finally saw Tovira in the distance.

“What are you doing?” Stella called as we came in for landing.

She ran over to us as we climbed down.

“Has something happened? Is Luna okay?”

It took a while to explain what had happened and what we’d found, and by the time we’d finished, a large crowd had gathered. I could hear a murmur go through it once they realised Tanur was gone, and Stella opened her mouth to speak, but Kine said,

“We need to leave for Varja again.”

She frowned, and Mitrandes told her what the Worms had said.

“Do you really think he’s working with the Spectres?"

Mitrandes sighed.

“We don’t know.”

She glanced back over the square.

“I’ll come with you. Wait here.”

She gestured for us to stay and hurried back through the crowd, and soon after, she returned with Yorun. Kine gestured for us, and we climbed on board, and with the sun still above the horizon, we set out again.

It didn’t take long for them to learn to touch the Flow, and for those days that we travelled, I almost forgot that we’d lived without it for so long. Stella cast a detection spell to keep watch against the Monsters, while Tore navigated Aegon through the mountains. Yorun even remembered a spell that let us go more swiftly, and it didn’t take long until we could see Varja in the distance.

Havan must have seen us from the air, because he was waiting for us as we came in to land. I glanced around as we made our way down the rope ladder, but Lucius was nowhere to be seen, and the village didn’t look any different from what I remembered. I didn’t know what I had expected, but if he really was working with the Worm, he must still be hiding it.

“Mitrandes!” Havan called as we walked over to him. “I didn’t think I would see you here until after the Rains. Has something happened?”

“A lot has happened, my friend, but all in good time.”

He gave him a hug, and I saw Stella glancing around. She had wanted to talk to Lucius right away, but Mitrandes had told us we should get to know as much as we could first. I could hear them chatting about the latest news, and it didn’t take long to realise that my impression had been right and everything was as we’d left it. Lucius spent most of his day with Dalor, working on another weapon, and those times Havan had spoken to him, he’d been as helpful as he always was. I shivered. Wasn’t he working with the Worms, or was he simply biding his time until he would reveal it?

Once they were done, Mitrandes promised we would meet in the evening and then gestured for us to follow. He took us through the village and down the stairs to the workshop. Just like Havan had said, Lucius was working with Dalor, deep in a discussion about how to best go about something I didn’t understand.

Mitrandes walked over to him.

“Lucius.”

He looked up, confused.

“You are back?”

“Is it true that the Council has worked with the Spectres?”

He stared at us.

“They told us you’ve been working with them,” Mitrandes continued.

Lucius straightened his apron.

“We did what we had to do to save this world.”

“It’s true? How could you!?” Stella exploded.

“We’ve made sacrifices so future generations can live at peace.”

“You are lying!”

“Foolish child. You think about no one else but yourself. Without us, everything would have been lost.”

“Let him speak.”

Mitrandes stepped between us.

“So it’s true you’ve worked with the Spectres?”

He nodded.

“It is.”

“You lied to us!”

“I have not lied. We want to defeat the Worms.”

Stella opened her mouth to speak, but Mitrandes said,

“Let him talk.”

He turned back to Lucius.

What have you done?”

“We did what we had to do for this world to survive. We needed to buy ourselves time to learn and understand them.”

“What did you do?” Mitrandes repeated.

Lucius looked at him.

“We gave them what they wanted.”

I stared at him.

“How could you!?”

“Silje, let him talk.”

Mitrandes turned back to Lucius.

“What do they want?”

“For fear to spread so they can feed, while keeping the society safe enough so they can continue breeding.”

“How?”

“By creating Monsters.”

“The Monsters turn into Spectres?”

He nodded.

“But we have yet to see them transform. It takes time.”

“That’s what Nolar said they want too,” I murmured.

Lucius nodded.

“You have gained some insights into them, but you’ve barely begun to understand them. You are still fumbling in the dark, with no plan of how to defeat them. It is through the sacrifices we’ve made that we’ve come to understand how to bring them down once and for all. But our weapon takes time to develop.”

Mitrandes frowned.

“What do you want to do?”

“Use the same technology the Ancients relied on to create the Crystals. But much has been lost, and it has taken us a while to recreate their knowledge.”

I shivered. Is that what they had done in Naria?

“What do you plan to do?” Kine asked.

“We want to release the power of the Crystals into their realm.”

Mitrandes frowned.

“Is that safe?”

“Every action carries a risk, but it’s a risk we’re willing to take. We do not want this world to live as slaves under the Worms.”

“Where do they dwell?” Kine asked.

Lucius turned to him.

“Now, do you see? Those are the things our sacrifices have made us understand.”

Mitrandess sighed.

“Just answer him…”

“They reside just outside of our reality, in the realm of the Flow. That’s why touching the Flow lets them find you in this world so they can take shape.”

“And you can go there?” Kine asked.

“If you know how, you can.”

“But you cannot even touch the Flow?” Mitrandes said.

“We could, but… We slowly came to understand the Worms did not need us as they used to. Touching the Flow became dangerous.”

Mitrandes frowned, and Lucius continued,

“I believe they understood we were working to annihilate them. They didn’t want to take their chances of us succeeding, and so they turned against us earlier than we expected."

“What did they do?”

“Nothing, at first. But they were looking for ways to replace us. Our exchange has always existed by virtue of dependency, not trust. There are always others who can give them what they need, and we would become obsolete.”

“Is that why they tried to talk to Silje?” Kine asked.

“Silje, Tanur… They had many ways to outmanoeuvre us.”

“And the Flow?”

“We had a deal. We were given pendants to wear that let them know they could not harm us if we touched the Flow.”

I stared at him. Orun had worn a pendant in Naria…

“But we had our suspicions they would not uphold that deal for much longer,” Lucius continued. “That’s why we created the harnesses.”

“Is that why the Companions got infected in Tovira?”

He nodded.

“That’s when I realised they’d moved against us earlier than we’d expected.”

“You’re lying.”

“Do with it what you want. I’m not here to convince you. I only want to defeat the Worms.”

“But you tried to kill us!” I yelled.

“Because you would have done their bidding without ever reflecting on the consequences. You would have doomed this world had you come under their influence.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but Mitrandes said,

“Tanur knew we were coming. Do you know how?”

Lucius turned back to him.

“The Worms can trace the Crystals. I would imagine they saw you approaching and warned him.”

Aase frowned.

“That time in the mountains, when we flew back to Varja and the Monsters attacked us. Is that how they knew we were there?”

Mitrandes nodded.

“It must be.”

“Do you understand now how much we’ve learnt?” Lucius said. “We have a way to defeat them with all our knowledge. What do you have? Nothing.”

“That’s not true!” Stella said. “We can teach the people to touch the Flow.”

He scoffed.

“And so can the Council, but it will change nothing. Do you want to entrust the safety of the world to the ignorant masses? Imagine the panic that will spread once someone fails and succumbs to their fear. The people will realise they are as powerless as we already know them to be.”

“You’re lying!”

“What did you do when the Worms came? You ran to us. We’ve kept this world at peace. You’ve been safe under our guidance, and we will continue to keep it so.”

“How do you know it wasn’t the Worms who told you that!?”

He stared at me.

“She’s right,” Kine said. “What if it was them who showed you the darkest future they could conjure?”

Lucius frowned and fell silent for a moment before saying,

“But even so, we have kept this world safe for generations. Would you be able to take on the responsibility we have carried for so long? You refuse to see the reality for what it is, and with it, you are doomed to fail.”

“You’re lying!”

Mitrandes sighed.

“I don’t believe he is. I’ve known them long enough to understand their way of reasoning.”

He turned to Lucius.

“I just never thought you would agree to work with the Worms to get what you wanted.”

“This has nothing to do with what we want. It’s what is best for this world.”

“But it isn’t! We’ve found a way!”

He snorted.

“You have proved nothing.”

“And if we can?” Mitrandes said. “If we can prove we have found a better way, would you listen?”

“We are always open to cooperate. We’ve never been your enemy. I am here helping you, am I not?”

Mitrandes sighed and began to explain what we’d done, and once he had finished, Lucius said,

“It is reckless. I do admit there is some merit to your solution, but the consequences if it fails are too great.”

Mitrandes sighed.

“What do you risk? Your weapon will still be built, and if you’re right, you will annihilate the Worms regardless of what we do. Why not try this in the meantime?”

Lucius looked at him.

“I do know you believe in cooperation,” Mitrandes said.

He fell silent, and I saw Aase frown.

“But…” she said. “If Mitrandes is right, and you do want to defeat the Worms, why did they always tell us we couldn’t trust you?”

Lucius frowned.

“Is that what they have told you?”

I nodded.

“They told us you would betray us.”

He turned to stare into the distance.

“So that is what they fear. How come we have not seen it…?”

“They fear us cooperating?” Mitrandes asked.

Lucius nodded.

“They must fear what we could accomplish together. They are afraid we would be able to defeat them. They turned to division to try to hinder it.”

He frowned.

“Would that be the way…? Is that what we’ve been looking for?”

“The Masters in Akkadia would want to know about this,” Mitrandes said.

Lucius turned to him.

“They do.”