A Scale of Sapphire

Matt

Cyrus gave a speech. It was long, full of flowery words and beautiful promises. It was also completely empty. Chelsea and I were nothing more than props he was using to heap more praise onto himself and his village, talking so much without actually saying anything of substance, but the people of Sunrise ate it up.

Not long ago, I would’ve too.

A broad smile broke out across my face as pride and joy continued to be hammered into me. I wanted to step forward and boast about what I’d done. What I was doing. It was only through the absolute certainty of my own death and the deaths of everyone counting on me that I was able to hold myself back. I needed to be more careful.

“...and that is what makes this town, this community, so great.” Finally, he was wrapping up, bowing extravagantly to the gathered people as they erupted into applause. Honestly, he wasn’t actually a very good public speaker, but I guess that didn’t matter when you could elicit whatever emotions you want. As the applause began to die down, he stepped back and turned towards the two of us, a slightly more serious look in his eyes. “Follow me, I want to hear your full report as soon as possible.”

With that, he walked purposefully back into his palatial lair, casually waving for us to follow, and follow we did. Together, we descended into the depths of the temple, to the massive complex of tunnels that ran under the entire village.

Even with Cyrus’ presence pressing down upon me like a heavy blanket, a hint of unease wormed its way into my mind. We were truly in the belly of the beast now. Cyrus and his angels had built this place, and if he sensed that something was off, only Evelyn would have the slightest chance of saving us.

Evelyn

Fuck.

Matt and Chelsea were inside, Cyrus was with them, and the entrance to his lair was at the top of an elevated platform in the middle of the town square. Once again, I was stuck. I needed to get in there, but going out into the open like that would be suicide, especially with the weird sentry angel thing floating above it.

I couldn’t count on any convenient crowds this time either. I needed to figure something out, and I needed to do it fast.

“Well that’s a bit of a problem, isn’t it?” A raspy voice whispered from behind me. Eric Fletcher was hiding in the shadow of a building nearby. “After hearing what the others said about him, I expected a lot of things, but a temple in his own honor was certainly not one of them.”

“How am I supposed to get in now?” I hissed, struggling to keep my voice down. “They’re going to die in there!”

The rat man shot me a cocky grin, pulling some strange device out of his pocket.

“You’re fast, right? Almost as fast as Aoife?” I wasn’t sure anyone could be that fast, but I nodded anyway. “Then wait for my signal and be ready to run. We just need to let Cyrus get a bit further from the door.”

I didn’t need to ask what the signal would be. Knowing the Fletchers, it would be loud, obvious, and messy. With another nod from me, he darted away, vanishing from my perception in moments. Not wanting to waste any time, I returned to the square, hovering on the edge of the slowly dispersing crowd to wait for my moment.

A moment that arrived shortly after when a series of aggressive pops and sparks erupted from a generator behind me. The lights of the house it powered cut out, and it began pouring black smoke into the sky.

Then another generator did the same.

Then another.

And another.

Eric wasn’t exactly being subtle, but I didn’t have time to worry about him right now. I just had to trust that he could keep from getting found out. Matt and Chelsea needed me, and I wouldn’t let them down. With all eyes on the disaster playing out behind me, I made my move.

Nobody noticed the crimson blur as it streaked across the square. Not a single human, and not a single angel. I was at the door in two seconds, and I passed through it a second later, and I realized a critical flaw with our plan a half second after that.

The sun wasn’t exactly kind to me. Sure, I could deal with it, I could stay awake during the day, and I could bundle up so it wasn’t as itchy and unpleasant, but fundamentally, the sun and I did not

get along, and just like Aoife is the moon dragon, Cyrus is the sun. It’s like he was a walking battery of solar magic, and I’d just sprinted into his temple.

I think it’s commendable that I didn’t scream. Even as my skin began to crisp and char before my eyes, I didn’t scream. It still wasn’t as bad as the flicker.

I didn’t scream. Instead, I crept down the hallway as gracefully and stealthily as I could still manage, following the scent of my own blood, and trying to ignore the growing hunger I was beginning to feel. My body was burning through blood like a roaring furnace as it tried, and failed, to stave off this searing heat.

I really hoped the kids could get that confession quick. I wasn’t sure how long I’d last.