Ninjago - Heart of Stone

Chapter Fourteen: Whispers

It started first as a tiny whisper in his consciousness. Through the sounds of clanking metal and hoarse shouting, he heard it, just a small breathe of a voice tickling the back of his mind. Garmadon squinted at the mine, searching for Overlord amidst the Stone Warriors, coughing as dust tickled the back of his throat. He shielded his eyes from the glaring sunlight with one hand, peering forwards.

It took him a moment to realize that the voice he was hearing did not belong to the Overlord. It was gentler, softer, and almost pleading. A woman's voice, he thought, young and untouched. He closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair, focusing hard. He tried to reach back into his mind, like sinking tendrils deep inside, rooting around and searching blindly for the source of the voice. He could feel it; it was seeping from the back of his brain, spreading like blood across water through his entire head, wrapping itself around his brain and floating there, like mist over the ocean.

Don't, Lloyd.

He gasped, his eyes flying open. Lloyd? His son? Garmadon was on his feet before he knew what was happening, starting from his tent and stepping outside.

He stopped at the entrance, taking a moment to think. He didn't know who that voice belonged to, or if it was even speaking to him. It sounded like someone he knew, but he didn't know who. And whoever was speaking knew Lloyd... perhaps it was the Overlord, after all. Perhaps he was still peering into Garmadon's mind, hunting for weaknesses, for faults, for signs of betrayal.

Well, if that was the case, then Garmadon was ready. He was prepared for anything his master threw at him, and he was willing to play along with his games, at least for now. He understood how things worked-- Overlord was in charge, and Garmadon followed his lead. The teacher and the student, and Sensei and the pupil. It was a delicate dance, and Garmadon was well-rehearsed.

He sat back down, easing himself into his chair and sighing deeply. He relaxed his still-aching limbs, stretching his legs and resting his arms at his sides. He allowed his eyelids to droop, and darkness overtook him, consuming him. Garmadon slept quietly, concealed by the shade of the tent, as the Stone Army worked hard, mining the Dark Matter. His eyes were closed, and he couldn't hear, but if he had, it would be the second chime of the Celestial Clock that rang in Garmadon's ears, loud and clear as a bell, and mournful as a raven's cry.

----------------------------------------------------

"You have got to me kidding me."

Jay spoke for everyone sitting around the campfire, leaning forwards to gain warmth from the crackling embers. Wu had been worried about the smoke, but Misako had eventually assured him that the island was too big for a single stream of smoke to be seen. "Besides," she'd said cheerily, as the ninja set about preparing the fire, "even if we are seen, we will at least know who it is we're fighting."

"I'm sorry, but that's where it is." Kai, Zane, and Julian had been the ones to find the clock, but its placement was less than satisfactory. "Yeah, it's on a mountain. Where did you expect it to be, sitting in an open glen with a welcome mat outside the doors?"

"No," Jay grumbled, "but I'd sort of been hoping for an easier route."

Kai snorted. "This place isn't called the Dark Island for nothing."

"Arguing isn't going to help anything," Misako said lightly, "we need to figure out a way to get up there-- from what you told us about the mountain, it's near impossible to climb."

"I'll bet Cole could do it," Lloyd said. Cole frowned.

"The tallest mountain I ever scaled was Mount Festa, and it took me a month to make it to the summit. This mountain might not be taller, but it's steeper, and that means no resting-- it would take a superhuman to get up there."