Hard Light (NaNoWriMo15)

Chapter 33 - The Price of Command

DEDICATED TO THE BEST AND MOST DAMNED DEDICATED THEORYCRAFTER IN THE WHOLE OF WATTPAD LAND:

KHMaster101

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Leah didn't know how long it was until the Slayers picked her up.

More specifically, Iyarin, the female Slayer who'd brought Kieran down for Asriel.

"Leah," she said gently, far more gently than Leah had ever expected to hear out of her mouth. "It is almost dawn. In Emrys and Asriel's absences, people will ask questions. We need to be prepared."

Leah nodded. She tried to get to her feet, but she barely had the will. Unsteady, it was Iyarin who kept her standing, making up for Leah's own incompetence. Tir walked over and lifted Kieran up, slinging him over his back with ease.

Leah closed her eyes. "Will he be okay?"

"Yes," said Iyarin. "Becoming a Slayer is... disorienting. You Shatter, yet you are whole. Your mind is in pieces, yet it is held together by Light. It may be a while before he is ready to face reality, but he will return to you. You have not broken him as you feared. Pride would have done far worse."

Eyes on the floor, Leah mumbled, "How do you know what I'm thinking?"

"The Command Mark bonds us," said Iyarin. "We are sensitive to your wishes, even if you do not verbalise them."

"And is it because of the Command Mark that you're helping me?" asked Leah.

"Though it may sway our sympathies to you, no," said Iyarin. "For far too long, Asriel was using Pride to tear at us, at the Light between the pieces of our minds. Shattering again would have been far kinder. With the Mark on you, it seems unable to do that."

Curiosity was the only thing keeping Leah moving, back towards the spiral staircase.

"Why is Teridian blood resistant?"

Iyarin shrugged. "I do not know. I am not the oldest Slayer, nor the wisest, but the Teridians were said to be the physical race of the three. You are more grounded. The humans are the race of the mind, of intellect, and the Radiants were the race of the sun. Perhaps it is to do with that."

Leah glanced back at Kieran, draped over Tir's back.

"Perhaps."

Dawn had broken when they reached the surface.

The other three Slayers were waiting at the top of the spiral staircase. Radiants were already milling about the corridors, throwing many curious stares in the Slayer's direction.

"What's the plan?" asked the shorter Slayer in a low voice.

They all seemed to defer to Iyarin, who readjusted her grip on Leah. "We could tell the truth, but I feel that exposing the knowledge of Pride and the Marks would be dangerous. The aftermath of last night is proof enough of that."

Leah didn't miss the sideways glance in her direction. "Asriel and Emrys were the only two who knew about the Command Mark, right?" The Slayers nodded. "There were four others on the council, not including yourselves, Emrys and Asriel, correct? Do you have authority to call a meeting with all Radiants?"

"We do."

Leah nodded slowly. "Then I think I know what we need to do."

*+*+*+*

An hour later, and every Radiant within the League was assembled in the main hall, the same space as Kieran's trial had occurred.

They knew something had happened. There was too much nervous conversation, too many questions that Leah kept hearing over and over. One in particular stood out.