Galaxy of Hyperion: Mystic Heir

Chapter Twelve: Secrets in the Sand

The first thing Jay felt after waking up was the cold. 

It was powerful and sunk into her bones with immense force, practically pinning her to the spot and preventing anything that even slightly resembled movement. Prying her eyes open was a slow, difficult process, but she could still feel how damn chilly it was. Even shivering seemed like an arduous task no matter how much she wanted to. 

As soon as Jay was able to get her eyes open, she saw that she had been tied down to a chair. Regularly, it would have been no big deal, and she would have been able to free herself in the blink of an eye, but this situation was far different. The cold that dug into her skin was too much for her to bear, and she couldn't find a way to summon her magic. The nausea only made her feel worse, and she was vaguely aware of the familiar sensation that she knew as magical withdrawal. 

Everything came flooding back to her then, and she remembered being in Cloudpeak when Lana realized that something was wrong. Jay didn't know where the hell Lana was, or Arian, for that matter, but she was positive that she had to find a way to get out of there. They had to find the other Skylian Mages. Everyone was counting on her. 

Cryai was the one responsible for this. There had been something odd about him from the very beginning, and he was quick to show his true colors when the group claimed they would be leaving. She didn't understand why he would need to be so hostile, but she had the sneaking suspicion that there was something else driving him. She didn't know for sure what was going on, but she intended to find out. 

"You're awake."

A splatter of cold painted Jay's cheek as her chin was pointed up. Her vision was still slightly blurred, and her peripheral vision was filled with shadows, but she could still recognize Cryai from a few feet away. He had a sickening smirk on his face, and she realized that he was the one holding tightly to her face. 

Jay attempted to thrash, to find a way out, but her body refused to listen. Cryai chuckled to himself, seeming to recognize what she was trying to do, before shaking his head. "You aren't going to be escaping anytime soon... After all, you are of value to me. I'm sure that you know exactly why," Cryai commented. His hand stroked against her cheek once again, and if she had possessed any spare energy, it would have gone towards trembling to fend off the cold that was steadily attempting to suffocate her. 

The truth was that she did know what he wanted from her. She didn't know how he had gotten his hands on that information, but she was positive that it couldn't have been through savory methods. Nobody was supposed to know the truth but her. It had been her secret for as long as she could remember, and the only other person who would have been aware of the truth was dead and had been for quite some time. 

"Cloudpeak holds a secret, you know," Cryai went on, not bothering to give Jay the chance to speak. "It's a twisted tale, one that nobody could ever hope to uncover. In fact, I didn't believe that anyone would come close to learning about what was happening here until you and your friends arrived here. That robot is too intelligent for her own good, but she still isn't what I want."

Jay couldn't shake the feeling that there was something odd about Cryai. The skin between his thumb and pointer finger was pressing against her chin, but she still felt as if something was strange aside from the cold. When she realized what was happening, it hit her with all the force of a tidal wave, and she had to pry her lips apart to get it out. 

"You're not human," she breathed. There was no pulse jumping beneath the surface of his skin. It made too much sense when compared with the other facts she knew about Cryai; he was far colder than any person should have been. He wasn't even alive in the first place, and that was how his skin could be so chilly that it drained all who touched him. He was made of magic, and if Jay had to guess, it was Ice energy that ran through him.