Tearha: Deck of Clover

Chapter Thirty-Six: King, Part Three

They flew up the bell tower three steps at a time. The large bell above stayed silent but their hearts beat with rhythm of the passing hour. Kingston was following the line. A bright green breeze that led up the stairwell. His powers were telling him this was the best course of action. Rarely had the green been as bright. The colour green was reserved for the outcomes that were considerably good, and even those were few and far in-between. Yet, the brightness of the wind was a show of simply how positive the path must be. He felt elation that there was an optimal path to follow and that there was a chance to live.

"This way!" he shouted back to Shjacky who followed him up with tired panting.

"Are you sure... this will work?" she asked of the umpteenth time, catching her breath mid sentence.

"No!" he answered again. "But I think... it has good chance."

They reached the topmost floor and held the door open for her to enter. There was a ladder to the side of the room that lead up to the bell chamber. She approached the ladder hastily but he stopped her short of climbing up.

"What's wrong?" she questioned. "Don't tell me you're backing out now?"

"That's not it." He could feel his face heating up. "You're wearing a skirt."

"Oh." She nodded, staring down at her dress before stepping with a grin. "I'm disappointed with you, Kingston, that you did not take that chance to peek."

He exasperated, "I'm trying to be respectful!"

"Still disappointing," she chided. "Quinton would have peeked."

With a huff, he passed her to climb the ladder. "No, he wouldn't."

"You're right, he wouldn't. Such a gentleman," she sighed with forlorn. "I wished he would just take me already."

Halfway up the climb and ignoring her fantasy, he retorted, "How do you even fight in a dress?"

"With sophistication and style." She followed after him.

He reached the top of the room and pushed opened the trapdoor out onto the bell chamber. Once outside, he reached back down the ladder and gave Shjacky a hand up. They got to their feet and looked out over the city frozen in time in the midst of a battle for the fate of the world. The unspawns moved through the streets in sparse waves, each group like a blob of living water lulling over the roads slowly making their way towards the arena where the sound of fighting was loudest.

Kingston focused his magic. He was looking at the paths the wind took through the city street with each of them connected by junctions and twisting roads. One of them should lead to wherever The Janus was and he directed his power the best he could in search of that route.

"Have you found it yet?" his companion asked.

"No," he replied. "There're too many uncertainties." His powers was good for simply directions. Where to go next. Finding a needle in a haystack was never his forte.

"What if you try to be more specific with your prediction? My mother always said that precognition is akin to bartering. You have to give up some of what you want to be able to find exactly what you need."

"I just want to know where The Janus is. How complex is that?"

"Your power predicts the future, not the present."

"Right..." he agreed slowly, taking the thought in. "Right. So, instead, I should be asking where she will be."

Almost instantly, his vision changed. He was looking at a new map of the same world. Instead of streets being painted, buildings were alternatively highlighted by swirling colours with hues from red to green, all closing in on a single point of the city.