She hadn’t noticed
the girl there before. Suddenly, though, with two words, L’lorne
saw Deborah again, standing behind a block made of tiles, staring at
her first in fit of anger, then in utter fear. In one swipe, she
could cut that head from that body.
“The plan.” A
small voice, tiny, but hers, responded to the thought. “We need
her for the plan.”
As that voice spoke,
L’lorne remembered the plan. She had known for some time that she
would go wild if she let the block in her own mind dissipate. There
was too much anger and sorrow leaking out from behind it for her to
conclude she would do anything else. She would charge, she would
attack, and she would do so without regard to any person, place,
thing or promise she had or would have ever made.
“She’s part of the
plan,” the small voice was larger now, stronger, forcing the
furious version of L’lorne to give up its control. “If we don’t
follow the plan, we’ll never kill him.”
That was the one thing
the clam voice and the angry reality could agree on: Ritch ‘arrd
had to die. He had killed their son, snapped his neck literally
minutes after his birth. She nearly exploded then, if it hadn’t
been for Delphi and Quinn, she probably would have ripped the
universe apart right then and there, and in the process destroyed her
teacher, her lover, the murderer of her son and probably herself, all
in one single strike.
Delphi had prevented
it, to protect itself more than anything else, and Quinn had subdued
her, dropping the initial block in her mind that allowed reason to
take back over. By then, Ritch ‘arrd was gone, vanished into near
infinite depths of the universe. Her quest began then, to find him
and the reason she had to kill him. Now both were here, and she was
still angry beyond all reason.
Two words, though,
pulled her back. Rational L’lorne was now reminding her of the
plan, the details, the reason she had insisted on bringing Deborah
here. She had set her up with the tools to be the perfect pawn, the
will to help, and the knowledge to prevent Ritch ‘arrd from turning
her to his side. The bump that was Patricia Ignigus’ death, and
the fact that he had know L’lorne had let her die, was a minor
inconvenience. She could still win this. . .
The glow in her eyes
dimmed away as she closed them. The heat and pressure emanating from
her body relaxed as she pulled the power back into herself. However
much she hated him, Ritch ‘arrd was right, she would never beat him
without control. Quinn had said the same thing, and they worked to
focus that control. The axe was his weapon, and he had taught her
how to use it most effectively, and how to use it to focus her wild,
angry power into a single point. With this, she could win. . .
What would she win?
Her eyes opened again,
and she looked at Deborah. The girl’s fear was genuine, and very
much justified. Those emotions she had felt not so long ago made
sense now. She had been treating this girl as a surrogate child,
replacing the one she had lost. Even now, she knew she would never
harm her, nor would she let harm come to her. L’lorne would not
lose another child.
“The plan!” The
voice, once so strong, suddenly took a blow and weakened. “No, the
plan!” It faded away with that and vanished into the mists of her
mind. Deborah had completed the first part of the plan, but the rest
no longer applied.
“Ah, good, I’m
glad to see you’re under control again,” Ritch ‘arrd said,
clapping silently. “Now we can begin this properly.”
L’lorne glared at
him, let a bit of the anger surface again, but kept it in check. He
would be punished, but not the way she had planned. She swung back
to Deborah. “Deborah!” The girl hadn’t taken her eyes off of
L’lorne since she shouted, but still jolted when her name was
called. “Get out of here, leave and go as far away as you can.”
“What?” Both
Ritch ‘arrd and Deborah responded simultaneously. She knew
Deborah’s response was a confirmation, but his was one of utter
disbelief.
“I said GO!”
Deborah looked ready to protest again, but L’lorne would have none
of it. With a single push of her mind, she lifted the girl up into
the air, arms and legs dangling out of her brown coat, and flung her
at the door. Deborah grunted a protest, but the door flung open, the
girl flew out and the door shut again before any coherent response
could be generated. That done, L’lorne turned back to Ritch ‘arrd.
He was staring at the
door as it finished latching closed. “Interesting move,” he
said, his eyes indicating that he was still trying to process the
purpose. “I’m not sure why. . .”
“No more games,”
L’lorne interrupted him.
“Lakinde. . .”
“We’ve always
played games,” L’lorne continued, moving the axe into a more
proper attack position. “This is no longer a game.”
Ritch ‘arrd watched
her and moved into a defensive stance. “You can’t be serious
about this. If you do this, whatever promise you made to that girl
will be broken.”
L’lorne smiled.
“Only by you, and she knew that was possible from the beginning.”
“This is foolish,”
Ritch ‘arrd was getting angrier with every moment that passed.
“You still won’t win, Lakinde and I will have to kill you if you
insist upon this course of action.”
“Shut up,” L’lorne
lifted the axe up and braced herself. “And don’t call me by that
name again!” There was flicker and she vanished. Ritch ‘arrd
quickly followed and a crack of thunder ripped through the
natatorium.
---------
Questions
1. What kind of person is Lcorn L'lorne? What does she look like (in your mind)?
2. What kind of person is the Deborah Ignigus? What does she look like (in your mind)?
3. What kind of person is The Ritch 'arrd? What does his human form look like (in your mind)?
4. Does the setting seem fitting? Would you like to know more?
5. Any idea what L'lorne's original plan might have been?
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