Cure for a Nation

Chapter Fifteen

The room was massive, like a spacious theater or auditorium with a ceiling so high Claire couldn't see it. Red balls of gas floated through the air, illuminating the room poorly but well enough to see without squinting. At the end of the room was an old man in tattered robes standing atop a stage with his hands held to the ceiling. His very body was covered in Tech Warrior glyphs that glowed and his chant was clear across the grand room despite his age. Three tech warriors in red robes and scavenged Imperium armor pieces flanked him on either side. Between the stage and Claire and Daniel was a crowd. A very thick crowd that rested on one knee with their heads bowed to pay respect to the magister at the end. Claire felt compelled to do the same but Daniel took one step into the room and the chanting ceased abruptly. He stepped entirely into the room and his armor hissed quietly while he scanned the crowd before staring intently at he magister on stage. He clenched his fists. The magister stared back while his guards moved to surround him, their hands at their hips. One by one, the people of the crowd began to look back at Daniel and get to their feet. A lot gasped and scrambled to get away from him. Someone screamed in the back. All looked with disgust. Claire shrunk behind him. The second the Magister stopped his chant, the feeling that had gripped Claire fled her and she looked at the scared crowd before her. Daniel began to walk towards the magister and Claire stuck right behind him. "It's the Steel Imperium," she heard someone whisper.
"They've come for us!"
"They've come to finish job!"
"Which one is that?"
"It's him!"
"The reaper is here for us!"
"Beware!"
"He's come for the Magister!"
"Is that his little pet following him around?"
"That's his slave. It must be."
Claire looked into the eyes of Tech Warriors she walked past and saw that they were all full of fear and pain. She looked back at Daniel and wondered what they meant by "reaper."
"Ah, he has arrived at last!" The magister said grandly with a sweep of his arms. The same feeling from earlier gripped Claire once more and she froze. Daniel stopped as well and looked defiantly up at the magister.
"The Reaper of the Battlefield has come for me! Just as was foretold!" The magister finished.
"I come not only in peace," Daniel proclaimed, raising his hands in the air, "but to aid you."
"Lies!" The Magister spit suddenly, "he is the Reaper, he is here to kill us all!"
"No!" Daniel shouted, "I seek answers, not your demise. The war is over! I only care for the safety of Aurora and her people! I've come to search for the cure to the plague!"
"You lie again! Right to our faces! Begone from here and never return!"
"Please, just listen-"
"We have no need! I'll not let you take the lives of anymore innocents!"
Claire saw the crowd was shifting restlessly and a couple people even shuffled forward slightly. She herself felt compelled to turn on Daniel but she shook her head. "What he says is true," she yelled as she stepped in front of Daniel protectively, "i can vouch for him. My mother was one of you, she fought for you! And she believes in him! She believes we could both end this plague!"
"Claire, don't," Daniel muttered quietly. Claire kicked back at his boot for him to be quiet. The people around them shuffled back and she noticed they turned back to the Magister as if he was the stranger. He noticed as well and squinted at her. And then smiled. "I see it now, my child," he said sweetly, "you have the Sight of a warrior. Come closer so that I may welcome you properly." Claire took a tentative step forward but quickly went back to Daniel. The Magister's words had a stronger hold on her than ever before as his focus shifted to her. "Claire," Daniel whispered, "get behind me." Claire wanted to but couldn't move as she held the Magister's kind stare. "Why do you travel with that monster?" He asked her. The crowd looked on expectantly and Claire answered without realizing it. "He promised to help me cure the disease ravaging Aurora," she said dreamily.
"Oh did he now," the Magister said mischievously, "and where did you find your little friend?"
Again Claire had no choice but to answer. "I found him sleeping in a battlefield," she answered.
"Claire, we're done here," Daniel said, resting a gloved hand on her shoulder. He turned to lead her back the way they came but the crowd had closed the gap behind him. He cursed beneath his breath. "Let her go," he yelled defiantly, pointing a finger at the Magister.
"Silence!" The magister commanded. "This girl does not belong to you! Her place is here with her people, not with the Imperium!"
Claire swayed unsteadily on her feet. Her thoughts were foggy and she could only see the Magister up on the stage. "Now," he said gently, "tell me, my child. Do you know who you travel with?"
"I travel with Daniel, the last soldier of the Steel Imperium," she said sleepily.
"His name may be Daniel but he's not a soldier. He is the Reaper himself! Do you know what he did for his cause, to our people?"
"He fought-"
"He slaughtered us! He exterminated our kind until there was nothing left! And now he's returned to finish his evil task."
Claire turned back to Daniel who's face was an expressionless mask of stone. "Daniel?" She asked uncertainly.
"Come to me, my child," the Magister beckoned, "allow me to prove it."
The crowd parted once more and Claire took unsteady steps toward the stage.
"Claire," Daniel said hopelessly, "if you go up there you will be just another slave. He won't show you the whole truth-"
"Shut up, Daniel," Claire said over her shoulder, "I have to know."
Daniel staggered, anguish stinging his eyes and dropping his jaw a moment before his expression hardened again. Claire approached the stage and clambered onto it with the help of a guard. The Magister turned with a kind smile splitting his long white beard. He lifted a hand to her head and Daniel called out one last time.
"Claire, think about your mother. You'll be trapped here while she dies," he shouted uselessly. Claire shrugged the warning off and bent her head to the Magister. The second his thumb rested against her forehead, a bright white pain seared Claire's mind and she screamed before blacking out entirely.