The Silence Between Read online

  Griff made a face, impatient to read the book he just knew his father had gotten him, but obediently slipped the package into his bag. As he's about to close the door, Tal called after him one more time.

  "Come right to the community center after lessons today, okay? I'm closing shop early and Lori will already be there to help set up."

  Griff nodded, feeling a smile spread across his face. His father wasn't even trying to hide the fact they were attempting to throw him a 'surprise' birthday party later that day. Tal had gotten used to the fact he couldn't hide anything from his only son anymore.

  "You're late," Charlie griped, feigning insult as Griff finally stepped out into the early morning sun. She crossed her arms and turned her back to him. Griff made a noise of hurt until he saw the grin spreading across Ignis's pale face.

  "Aw, stop being so mean! I didn't mean to sleep in."

  "Sure you didn't," Ignis replied. "Just like you didn't mean to sleep in on your birthday last year or the year before."

  "Hey, hey! I said I didn't mean it!"

  Charlie turned back, all smiles, and gave Griff a big hug. "I know," she said, laughing more. "We gotta tease the birthday boy!"

  The three of them walked south through town, crossing the stone bridge by the tiny Miner's Cove Cemetery to get to the library. Griff stood at the edge of the bridge for a moment and waved his friends off until they went inside without him, then immediately stopped to open the package form Airdeis. So maybe he's already going to be late to lessons, but he was ever so impatient, and he really wanted to see what his father had gotten him.

  Inside the package was a small something in wrapping paper, and in that was…a book. The book. Giddy in his excitement, Griff flipped it over to look at the cover, but instead found a note in his father's handwriting taped to the front cover.

  Happy birthday, Griff~

  I knew how badly you wanted this,

  and I finally got ahold of someone on the committee!

  Enjoy it, and maybe one day you can go see it in person.

  Love, Dad

  Definitely not in the mood for learning at the library now, Griff peeled the tape and the note away from the book's cover and read the title.

  Airdeis: City of Water, Myth, and Magic

  By Simón Renata

  And somewhere in the back of his mind, a plan to one day attend the annual tournament of magic and wonder stirs.

  ‡ † ‡

  He started the book on his lunch break, and apart from a five-minute break where he tried to explain—without really explaining—to Ignis what he was reading, he didn't stop until it was time to clean up for afternoon lessons. Throughout the rest of the day, though, Griff kept pulling it out to peek at another page or two. When Mister Sebastien finally let them go for the day, he read it on the walk to the community center.

  It was hard to put into words just what part struck him so deeply, why the book had enthralled him so completely when his friends couldn't even get past the first few pages. While they teased him for being a nerd, he just kept on reading.

  The tales of the Floating City. The magnificent tournament where participants of all walks come to meet in a splendid display of magic, might, and mayhem. The masquerade ball where you never know just who or what you're dancing with until the clock strikes twelve and all masks come off.

  Many of the interviews and battle play-by-plays were old, originally written in Dacian and translated eventually into Grenzan, full of references to nineteenth century Eternal Dacia that went right over Griff's head. It wasn't at all like the books he usually chose to read, mainly for the fact that it was nonfiction.

  But there was something about the spirit of the city's annual events that struck a chord deep inside him. The thrill of competing against Cieth and Moroi in a stadium surrounded by thousands of cheering onlookers, dancing with Fae in the grand cathedral, and partying with Bruxa until your feet were too sore to move.

  Everyone was at the community center when Griff ambled his way there. The far-off wonders of one day visiting Airdeis were pushed to the backburner when he remembered it was his birthday…and that meant his father's awesome strawberry pie. And presents!

  He scrambled to help finish setting up—blowing up and hanging balloons, setting the long table, and being shooed from the kitchen when he tried to steal an early bite of that pie. It was his day, right? Pout as he did, he let it go. He'd get it eventually.

  "Alright, the guests are starting to arrive!"

  At Lori's call, Griff, Charlie, and Ignis all piled out of the crafts room where they'd been trying to create mock-up costumes for the battles in Griff's book. Charlie pranced out in a raven costume, while Griff and Ignis fought over the sword to complete their own, individual warrior getups. Lori and Tal smiled and laughed as they herded the kids to the table, and Griff to the seat tied with balloons and streamers.

  "Happy Birthday," Masae smiled, waving her arms with glee.

  "Thanks!"

  "Birthday boy~! Birthday boy~!" Hannah sang while Jason popped a small party popper.

  "Everyone ready to sing?" Tal said, coming to a stop behind Griff's chair.

  Everyone cried in unison: "Yeah!"

  "Alright. Here we go. One, two, three…"

  ‡ † ‡

  Tal, Lori, and Abigail took turns washing, drying, and putting away the dishes. They were almost done when Sebastien walked in, rubbing charcoal dust from his hands onto his jeans. He gave the group a tired smile.

  "Grill's stacked and ready to light."

  "You remember the lighter?" Abigail, his wife, teased.

  He shot her an unimpressed look. "Uh, yeah? Since when does a smoker go anywhere without an ignition source?"

  Abigail just scoffed and shook her head. She dried her hands and turned to Lori, who was finishing the last slice of Tal's strawberry pie. Hands on her hips, she eyed the redhead with annoyance.

  "Oh, you suck! You stole that when my back was turned!"

  Lori laughed as she exaggeratingly licked the last bits of strawberry jelly from the utensil before placing it in the sink for Tal to wash. Who said adults had to act mature all the time?

  "You guys are as bad as the kids sometimes," Sebastien sighed. He said it a tired tone, but he was smiling, even if his back was to them and they couldn't see.

  "Speaking of kids, you think they—"

  Tal's words were cut off as a tiny pink forest sprite popped into view in a flash of light. The little thing bobbed and weaved, chiming frantically until Lori shook herself and cupped the pink light in her hands. She uttered words of calm to the sprite, holding her to her chest until the little thing seemed able to properly speak.

  "Okay, Serah. It's okay," Lori said gently. "What's going on? What did you see?"

  Men. Soldiers dressed all in black. Then, shadows. There are shadows loose in town!

  "Shadows," Tal repeated. "Where are they? How close?"

  The mountain path, close to the lake. More of the soldiers broke off and are almost here. They're coming here!

  Lori, pulling her axe from thin air in a hum of multi-hued magic, seemed now to be a different person—a true warrior ready to kill for the safety of her family instead of the gentle mother who cooed an ancient forest sprite into calm. She shot a look to the others, releasing Serah to freely bob about the air once more.

  "I don't care how you do it but get the kids together and get them safely to their homes. Serah, if Reiem isn't already here by the time we get outside, call him."

  The sprite chimed rapidly before popping off in another flash of light. Sebastien and Abigail began to gather up all the kids' things while Tal went to break the news. Cancelling a much-promised burger-and-dog barbecue to a group of hungry kids was almost as daunting a task as what currently faced them outside.

  "Hey, guys. We gotta move the barbecue to later, okay? I know, I know," he said sympathetically to the slew of groans and shrills of disapproval. "But! I'll make another strawberry pie when we do get
to do it. Maybe even two…with ice cream. How's that sound?"

  That did the trick. Children, thankfully, were easily convinced with the promise of sweets and salty bad-for-you foods. Tal urged them to get their shoes on while Sebastien and Abigail finished cleaning up anything the kids were gently asked to leave for the time being. They'd all rationalized that the mess could wait.

  All the other kids filed out of the community center with the other adults, while the telltale trio remained—Charlie, Griff, and Ignis—all huddled at the back and struggling to keep the looks of fear off their faces. Lori approached, not trying to hide her weapon. Immediately Ignis flicked his eyes to it.

  "Mom," he began. Charlie cut him off, striking a pose with fists clenched.

  "We want to fight!"

  "Yeah!" Griff exclaimed. "It's my party being ruined by whatever's going on!"

  Lori blinked. Just how in the world did these three always seem to know things they shouldn't? She brushed it aside—something for another time.

  "Look, I know you guys want to help, but it's way too dangerous. Charlie, you haven't even begun your training yet. It's safer if you three just go to orchard for now," she urged gently. Charlie made a face.

  "I can, too, fight!" she exclaimed. "I've…been practicing. Please don't tell Grandma!"

  The smile that crossed Lori's face quickly fell as sounds of gunfire and screaming reached her. A hellish shriek made her skin crawl and, clutching her axe and readying her free hand for whatever magical signs she'd need to make, Lori took off for the main door.

  "Find a place to hide!" she screamed over her shoulder.

  III

  Desperado felt an aching pain in his left arm as the stinking black breath dissipated from his vision. He then sensed a tightening pressure around his wrist and ankles. He opened his eyes, and then understood.

  The brute he'd barreled over was trying to make him its meal instead of the purple-haired woman it had knocked down. It crept up his legs, his waist…until a loud blast from a shotgun tore through the air. Half the thing's face exploded in a blast of black smoke and it shrieked. Free once again, Desperado scrambled for his katars, executing a flurry of rapid slashes on the thing. He rolled to dodge the corrosive black blood that poured from its rapidly dissolving corpse.

  "Thanks, lady!"

  "No, thank you," she replied. She looked around before reloading her gun. Instead of running off to help eradicate more of the shadows, she aimed it at him. In her eyes was a serious but curious expression. "Mind telling me just who you are and why you're here?"

  "Would you believe me if I said we were trying to prevent this?"

  The soldier in black stood still, hands raised in surrender as dozens more shadows swept down the path, attacking all in their way with frightening ease and coordination. Anyone who didn't run or fight was immediately swarmed and devoured. Another soldier—Hawk—tried to be a hero by throwing two bolts of fiery magic and was wiped out two brutes and a shaman.

  "Normally, no," the woman replied. Her voice shook slightly at the horrible sounds but she never took her eyes away from Desperado. "But seeing as you haven't gone after a single person here makes me feel you're not completely an enemy." She took her sights off him, focusing instead on the swarm that rushed their way.

  "Where's Charlie?" Desperado joined her in cutting a swath through the rushing, moaning horde.

  "What d'ya want with my kid, huh?"

  "Something bad's supposed to happen today…and I can't let it," he muttered as he felled another brute. He cursed loudly as the thing exploded the moment it hit ground. He shot his gaze up to the shaman nearby, its eyeholes glowing a brilliant green as it charged for another spell. Shaken, the woman turned to him, eyes wide with alarm.

  "To her? What are you talking about?"

  Desperado looked her in the eye, fumbling over his words. He wasn't supposed to say anymore than he already had. It would be way too complicated, and they just didn't have the time to convince these people to let them just do their job. Especially not now. If they could make their stand here, keep the monsters from getting into the community center, then maybe—just maybe—they had a chance after all. However, as he found the right words, they heard a call behind them.

  It was a scream for help.

  Shotgun and katars were ready in an instant as the unlikely battle companions turned and ran in the direction of the cry. Desperado checked on his remaining teammates, making eye contact with Ghost to let him know he was determined to end things here and now. The pale-haired man nodded, and a new rush of determination flowed through Desperado's body. His pace quickened, as did the woman's.

  To the immediate right of the building, where the stone bench sat beneath the town's ancient oak, three shadows swarmed down on an unfortunate person. Approaching, they heard another scream. It was from a man, and the maddening cry was followed by horrific crunching and squelching sounds.

  "SEBASTIEN!"

  As they reached an appropriate range for their weapons to do some damage, a thick cloak of darkness swarmed over them all. Desperado and the woman skidded to a halt. The shadows abandoned the now-limp body of Sebastien as they made confused gurgles. purple crackles shrieked here and there in the air, multiplying in speed and intensity right before the ground beneath the shadows' feet began to boil. In an instant, thousands of black, shadowy arms burst up from the ground, entangling the monsters before pulling them down, down, down. All that remained was the body of the man.

  The woman screamed his name as she threw herself to ground beside him, looking up only once to whisper a teary, "Thank you" to someone Desperado couldn't see. He looked quickly behind him.

  "You don't belong here."

  "We…"

  Under Adagium's black, soulless stare, Desperado felt just as helpless as those shadows. The pale, silver-haired man raised his hand as if to call forth his shadows once more, but for a second he paused, as if recalling something about the soldier. He then flicked those dark orbs to Ghost—who approached, covered in the corrosive black substance. Once again, he hesitated. Whatever trance he was in seemed to break as Lori rushed over to them, her axe fading from glowing a bright red moments before. She eyed the soldiers at first with contempt, her expression fading when she glanced to Ghost.

  "We aren't your enemy," Ghost explained. "We're here to prevent a tragedy."

  "Marvelous work so far," Adagium growled. Ghost glared at him.

  "Hey, hey! Not the time!"

  "Look, I can clearly see you're not the real bad guys here," Lori interjected. "Please… Whoever you are, go inside and keep those kids safe. There's three of them."

  Ghost nodded and motioned to Copper who—while shaken and covered in blood—was still whole and functioning. He moved quickly into the community center. Desperado was fast at his heels, while Ghost lingered for a moment. Lori turned back to him, eyeing him with something more akin to recognition than confusion. Ghost quickly looked away before following his men into the building.

  ‡ † ‡

  By the time they made it into the community center, Desperado and Copper felt ice drop into their stomachs. There was only one kid—a girl with green eyes. She showed no fear as the black-clad pair approached, weapons clearly visible, but instead showed a fierce determination either men had only ever seen in the staunchest of military officials. The girl gripped the prop sword in her hand tightly as she stared the two men down, as if daring them to make a move.

  "Hey there," Desperado said, trying to keep his tone level and pleasant. To show he wasn't a threat, he sheathed his katars.

  A noise from behind alerted the soldiers.

  "Get away from her!"

  A young teen with pale blonde hair and fierce blue eyes charged at them, a blade held high in both hands. The soldiers moved as the boy brought the blade in a smooth arc and pivoted on his heel to hold it out before him.

  "H-hey now," Desperado tried, but the blonde wasn't having it.

  "Get out of our town,
" he growled. "You don't belong here."

  "First Reiem, now him," Desperado groaned. He roughly scratched his head. "Dude, look—Lori sent us in here to protect you kids. Now, where's—"

  "My mom? Where is she? What did you do to her?"

  "And where's Griff?" asked the girl.

  Desperado and Copper shared an 'uh-oh' look. If these two didn't know where the third was, then that meant he probably wasn't in the building. The sounds from outside grew in intensity for a brief moment before dimming again, and the sound of heavy boots on the hardwood floors filled the fragile silent air.

  Desperado turned, machine gun at the ready while Copper jumped behind the kids to keep them both in his sight. He raised his own gun over their heads, training it on the entrance.

  The blonde gripped his own prop sword tighter, darting past Desperado in effort to reach the door. Both soldiers let out cries of surprise as they lowered their loaded weapons. As the teen reached the foyer entrance, he came to an immediately halt. A gasp left him and he dropped his prop as he found himself face-to-face with the barrel of a large handgun—or hand cannon was a more apt term.

  "Back up," growled a low voice.

  The vibrant purple eyes of Ghost drilled down into him. The boy, now shaking, slowly raised his hands and took shaky backwards steps, all while keeping his gaze locked onto that of the man. Once they were in the middle of the room, the boy cursed at the man and walked quickly back to the girl.

  "So, what's the mess out there?" Desperado asked as he approached. Both men walked over to a nearby window, surveying the visible areas without. Ghost shook his head.

  "We've managed to cut their numbers. Shouldn't be a problem for the townsfolk and Adagium to handle now."