Golden

Chapter Sixteen

Hey guys, sorry for the late upload. I've just been busy with exams and whatnot. Can you believe it? Tomorrow is my last day of high school and then I'm off to university. I can't even wrap my head around it.

Chapter Sixteen

            “Is he still in Maltha?” is the question that leaves my lips the very moment Quinn finishes retelling the events with Adrian.

            Quinn runs a hand through his hair and sighs, “I am not sure. He must have called for Norun’s help by now, unless he is still unconscious,” he answers.

            “You should have brought him back here. We could have held him before Penella and had her decide his fate,” I tell him, then a thought crosses my mind, “why did you not kill him?”

            Quinn glances at me, then away. “If I killed him, he would have simply arrived in the waters here.” I give him a look, ensuring his acknowledgement of my disbelief. While it is true that Adrian’s body would have returned to Valsea by the waters from his death, it is not the actual reason for Quinn’s inaction.

            Another sigh, “however traitorous he may be, I cannot kill my good friend.”

            I nod, “I understand.”

            Seemingly in an attempt to change the subject, Quinn retrieves a luminous blue stone from underneath his armour. “We were able to find this, however,” he says, handing it to me. “Since I can no longer communicate with Penella, you must give it to her and inform her of what happened with Adrian.”

            “Come with me, she will want to see that you are here anyway,” I tell him, standing up from the comfort of the couch and heading towards the door. As I move, all that runs through my mind is: there is no pain in my body.

            We reach the courtroom quickly, the protecting pillars giving a short click as Quinn and I pass by them. The rubble that was once the doors rebuild, and soon we push through the doors and step onto the linoleum floor.

            “She is getting worse,” Quinn says, his voice solemn as well as his expression.

            We kneel before the breaking statue, taking in the significantly colder air that accompanies the darkness of the room. The light that Penella’s shrine once carried is fading, almost completely invisible to my eyes.

            “Goddess, we bring great news as well as bad,” I start. “Agent Quinn has retrieved the Ilathum from Maltha, however he also discovered that Agent Adrian has turned on us and has chosen to follow Norun.” I stand, Quinn following suit.

            I knew I could not trust the boy… comes Penella’s faint voice. However I needed the help to restore Valsea to its working world…

            “Quinn left him in Maltha and stripped him of his armour, but he is certain Norun will send rogues to bring him back to him,” I continue.

            The act of killing a loved one is all too much for a human to bear… Penella suddenly murmured, seeming to instantly understand the reasoning behind Quinn’s inaction. Set the Ilathum in front of me…

            Fluidly, I stand and stride over to the very base of her throne, where I carefully place the stone on the linoleum floor and step back to where Quinn stands.

            My gaze falls on the Ilathum as it suddenly begins to react to an unknown force. The stone’s bright hue turns black as pieces of the stone split apart and disintegrate. Within the blink of an eye, the particles of the Ilathum absorb into the statue and disappear from my sight.