Zeff exchanged looks with Ax and the other Rainlords. After everything that had happened, Salazar’s visit had been the furthest thing from his mind.
“This is your home in this picture?” Sanko asked.
“It was,” Zeff said through gritted teeth. “Until the Vanguard attacked it without warning or cause. I have yet to return there to see if it is still standing.”
‘I’m sure someone told you,’ said Axiolis. ‘That was the attack that resulted in the death of Zeff’s wife.’
Parson blinked. “What? Mariana is dead?”
“Yes,” Zeff said lowly. “Did you not know the extent of your crime?”
“I’m very sorry to hear that, Zeff. I had no idea.”
“You’re not sorry, Parson. Not yet.”
“Zeff, I swear to you, the orders were always to take your family alive.”
Zeff glowered. “You say that like it makes a difference.”
“Doesn’t it? No one was supposed to die, Zeff. I would never have ordered--”
“Keep talking, Parson. That seems to be all you are good for anymore.”
Oddly enough, that seemed to shut him up, which was perhaps why Overra decided to chime in.
‘You’re being unreasonable,’ she said. ‘If Mariana had simply followed her orders, then we could have avoided this whole mess. And she would still be alive, I’m sure.’
Axiolis responded with a hoarse laugh. ‘Don’t try to goad us, you stupid bitch.’
‘I wasn’t trying to goad anyone. But it sounds like it wouldn’t be very difficult. Have you all inherited Mariana’s paranoia now that she’s gone?’
That very nearly broke Zeff’s composure.
But Octavia stepped forward first, tapping her cane against the pavement. “Have some respect for the deceased, lest you find yourself joining them shortly.”
‘Ah, the bloodthirsty Redwater clan. Tell me, are those old stories about how you got your name true?’
“Enough,” said Sanko, and the ground trembled beneath everyone’s feet. “No one says another word unless it is in answer to my questions.” She pointed at Overra. “You. Back inside the Keep. Now.”
‘Why? I’ve done noth--’
The ground shot up around the reaper, encasing her in a cage molded from pavement before anyone could even blink. And then the whole cage moved, speeding away like a shark’s fin atop water. It smashed a hole through the gate and kept going, undeterred until it was out of sight.
Sanko looked to Parson next. “I suggest you join her. And advise her not to return.”
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
Nice. Just nice.
ReplyDeleteWhy does he have to be such an asshole
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see Parson get pushed around a little bit, but nothing has been concluded yet. This could still end very badly for Zeff.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who thinks that Parson might be right? Salazar IS a traitor (well, defector, anyway). Being visited by her, while Gema was already under suspicion, looks really, really bad for the family. Of course, this being Parson, it's likely that he manufatured some or all clues, but still. It's probably true that no one would have died if Mariana hadn't put up a fight.
ReplyDeleteAnd, uh, can anyone explain how Sanko managed to make the cage move after she created it? I thought materialization users can't manipulate their creations after the initial materializing is done? Any pan-* abilities at work here that I'm not aware of?
Some typos:
"I have yet to return there to see if it [is] still standing."
"Have you all inherited Mariana’s paranoia now that[’s] she['s] gone?" (In case it's unclear, the contraction needs to switch places.)
Ah. Thanks for the catches. Fixed now.
ReplyDeleteAnd, mm. So tempted to answer that question. BUT NO. I MUST BE STRONG. THE TEXT WILL EXPLAIN IN DUE TIME.
she might be adding more materials onto the cage that is in motion
ReplyDeleteAlright, I can wait. :)
ReplyDeleteImpatiently, that is.
By a thought is Sanko doing a surround and attack plan on Parson maybe?
ReplyDeleteSanko is such a badass. ;__;
ReplyDeleteMy question is how did she soul empower whatever it is she did?
ReplyDeleteI think her power is some kind of spatial manipulation. It did say that her cage was made of pavement, not a single-element thing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the thing is that he is directly responsible because he sent someone who he knew was too stupid to hold back. His destruction user made a deliberate attempt to murder innocents just in the hope of forcing recklessness on Mariana's part, and unless he was willing to risk potential death he wouldn't have sent anyone that unstable. Honestly, between the danger posed by their power and the kind of personality that tends to get it, I wouldn't ever trust a destruction user with a mission that delicate, unless I had spent enough time around them to verify that they were as stable as Stasya's castle.
To start with I had figured that he might be convinced not to be evil, but his complete lack of a problem with having killed someone undeserving is making me more sure that he definitely needs to die.
I'm amazed at Zeff's ability to hold back, here. That smug mug was practically begging for a punching. :|
ReplyDeleteWhat if instead of giving it a constant velocity, which would eventually stop, she gave it a constant ACCELERATION, thus keeping it moving.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe they can program their matter to do specific things after they create it... Imagine, maybe we'll get to see a servant so intelligent and skilled with it that they can make functioning automatons.
... Imagine Hector making iron golems... Or a dragon to fit with his knight fetis- I mean theme.
Don't forget to vote for this at topwebfiction.
ReplyDeleteNew word for you. Backpfeifengesicht. German phrase for "a face that needs a fist"
ReplyDeleteAnything you can make or do with your power, and probably anything under its influence, can be soul-empowered. Anything else, too, but I don't think as easily.
ReplyDeleteTyping Zombie Knight on google, then clicking the image... found this.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is that, it is one of the lowest type for the rare cards. It's not a card I would put in my Zombie deck.
ReplyDeleteI think I've figured out what Sanko is doing. Her ability is integration, and she's using pan-rozum to add in the mass types' velocity states, creating a form of telekinesis that works on preexisting objects.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I wonder if Mariana and the other would have gone along with it if the Parson's guys hadn't tried to trick them and just said "You're all under military arrest on suspicion of treason."
ReplyDeleteIt sounds to me like the cage was hanging there in midair for a moment before flying away. I don't know, I guess we'll just have to wait for the official explanation.
ReplyDeleteWho are you referring to in your last paragraph? Parson? Or the guy
ReplyDeletewho killed Marcos (and by extension Mariana)? I'm just saying that
Parson does seem genuinely sorry for Mariana's death. Of course, he
might be acting, but I'm willing to believe that he's sorry for now (haven't read the next pages yet, so maybe I'm wrong).
One thing I meant to say for a long time now -- your comments are awesome and I admire your encyclopedic knowledge of the story. I had totally forgotten about the destruction user who ended up killing Marcos. Maybe Parson did send him on purpose, hoping that he'd mess up the assignment. Thanks for reminding me. :)
Oh shit. O.O
ReplyDeleteSanko does not fuck around.