Serah and Fergus stared at him blankly.
“That makes absolutely no sense,” Serah said.
Lucian then reminded them of Vera, of what she had told him aboard the interstellar liner – that he had been “marked” by the Manifold, and that she had foreseen that he was to become her Psion. If she believed that prophecy was true, then it also meant that Lucian could not stay on Psyche.
It was a long shot. But if Vera were truly the most powerful mage in the galaxy, then she might be capable of pulling it off.
Once done explaining, both of them watched him, their expressions worried. Cleon groaned again.
“To sum it up,” Lucian said, “we can’t find the Orb without the Queen. We may have to work with her . . . temporarily. But from my short conversations with Queen Ansaldra, she and Vera are not on the same page. If we can somehow get Vera here, then she would offer us a way off this world. And she would most likely challenge the Sorceress-Queen directly.”
After a long, considering silence, Fergus was the first to speak. “How do you know this . . . Vera . . . is any better than the Sorceress-Queen?”
It was something Lucian hadn’t even considered. Emma and the Transcends had certainly thought she was dangerous. But if Lucian had to make a choice, it was easy.
“Even if she is more dangerous, she would have a way off this world. That’s something we need if we’re going to continue finding the Orbs.”
“That wasn’t the plan,” Fergus said. “You were to find the Orb and use it against the Sorceress-Queen. I can’t abandon Psyche. That isn’t the oath I swore.”
“The Queen wouldn’t have a reason to target the Riftlands with me gone,” Lucian said. “I’d rather avoid a fight, because I don’t think we would win.”
“This isn’t your home,” Serah said. “It’s just another stop for you while you add to your alien artifact collection. Why am I even helping you?”
Lucian threw up his hands in the air. “I don’t know! I told you that you could leave if you wanted. What you don’t seem to understand is, I can’t save Psyche. Even if we killed her, which you’re suggesting, it would throw everything into chaos. Tens of thousands could die in the upheaval.”
“But she would be gone,” she said.
“Don’t you see?” Lucian asked. “What we’re doing is so much bigger than that. This fight will go beyond Psyche. I need you guys to come with me when the opportunity presents itself.”
Both of them were quiet for a while. It wasn’t a conversation Lucian wanted to have. Asking for help was always hard.
Serah’s blue eyes weighed him carefully. “So, you need our help?”
Lucian almost didn’t want to admit it. The old him certainly wouldn’t have, but he had come too far. Risked too much. “I can’t do this alone. I need the three of you. Not just for Psyche, but for the future. I’m still weak and untrained. I have one Orb, but it isn’t listening to me. I have a Queen who is trying to manipulate me, and then there’s this damn voice in my head . . .”
“Voice?” Serah asked. “What Voice?”
He hadn’t told them that part yet. He was afraid they would think he was fraying.
“I hear it sometimes in my dreams. I haven’t for a while, but this Voice wants me to find the Orbs. The Queen’s telling me it’s . . .” He trailed off, then shook his head. “Well, it’s quite unbelievable who she says it is, and who the Oracle of Binding says it is. But I have no reason to think either is lying.”
“We’re listening,” Fergus said.
Lucian took a moment to collect himself. “Remember everything I told you about the Immortal, the one who gathered all the Orbs during the time of Starsea?” At their nods, he continued. “Well apparently, when he died, he didn’t exactly . . . die.”
“Being immortal tends to do that,” Serah said.
Lucian ignored the joke. “Apparently, something about him fused with the Manifold. And . . . he’s somehow survived all this time and is speaking to me from there. He’s the one who has chosen me. To find the Orbs and bring them to him. At least, that’s what I think.”
Both of them went quiet as they considered that. Serah’s face had gone pale, while Fergus simply looked sick.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Fergus said.
Serah’s expression tightened with worry. “You’re not . . . fraying, are you? That can be one of the signs. Hearing voices.”
“I don’t think I am. But then again, I’ve been using far more magic than I should be. When I wake up in the mornings, sometimes I feel this fire beneath my skin. Not as bad as a few nights ago, but it’s there. Burning.”
Serah nodded, her expression solemn. “That’s how it starts. You have time, still. Time enough, maybe, to find these Orbs. The whole part about giving them to this Immortal guy, that sounds a bit iffier.”
That about summed it up. “I don’t know what to make of any of it. I’m not even sure how I would do that, or how what the Oracle of Binding told me fits into all of that.” He sighed. “I’m in way over my head.”
“I will help you, even if it was not my original oath.” Fergus said. “Feels bad to say that to someone twenty years younger than me. But this is bigger than me, bigger than my pride. And . . . I’ve always felt like my life was missing something. This is a chance to do something big. Something that matters. That’s all I ever wanted as the Mage-Captain of Kiro.”
“What about the Elders?” Lucian asked.
He waved his hand. “I’m swept up in this now. I don’t
