Penult (The Liminality, Part Four)

Chapter 36: The Pillars

Natural ledges blended seamlessly with engineered walls to form the rocky knoll harboring the council chamber and bunkers. Most of the upper terrace was visible from this vantage, but I could only see one small corner of the warren. The walls obscured the rest. Oliver and I left the council chamber together and made our way down a series of steep ramps.

"So how are you feeling?" said Olivier.

"Fine," I said, thinking it a funny question to ask. I was pretty much healed up from my battle wounds. Bodies mended quickly in the Liminality.

"You're not gonna go and fade on us, are you?"

"I don't think so," I said. "Not that I can tell for sure. Seems like I've been sticking around a lot longer these days."

"Because ... Karla?"

"Not sure what she has to do with it."

"Because you know she's here. Your soul is attracted."

"Yeah, but ... I don't even know for sure it was her I saw."

"But if she's as committed to this place as you say, I'm sure she gets here often."

"I guess."

We paused at the base of the knoll and stood blinking at each other. I wasn't in the mood to think about Karla.

"Think you can find your way back to the grotto without me?"

"Sure. It'd be a lot quicker with a pair of wings. Any idea what happened to ours?"

"Don't worry. I'm sure they've been tucked away for safekeeping."

"Guess I'm just spoiled."

"I'll join you later," said Olivier. "I'm going down into the ravine and check on our refugees. See what's up."

"Did Bern and Lille ever make it up here?"

"Don't think so," said Olivier.

"They still fade, those two. And when one goes the other usually waits until they come back."

"But I haven't seen any of the other folks who came with us on foot. I'm not sure what the holdup is, but I plan to find out."

We parted ways at a fork in a broad cobbled avenue that divided the city all the way down to the rim. Olivier took a short cut through a mass of temporary structures of re-fabricated root. Some of the newer residents were building homes in a section of ruins too obliterated to repair.

As I strode down the steep avenue I was startled by an Old One sequestered in a stone nook near a fountain that had long gone dry. That I had stumbled upon an Old One was not so surprising. They were strewn all over this damned city. For every one that waddled about there were ten captured by the long sleep. But this guy was different. This guy I knew. This guy was Mr. O

***

I took care not to disturb him. As much as I wanted to pat his back or give him a hug, I didn't dare touch him. I sat down on a low shelf of stone and sat with him for a bit.

Mr. O was special to me. Though I felt bad at the time for waking him, the raid on Frelsi would never have happened without him and his buddies being awakened. Of course, Karla would never have been infested with the Fellstraw that killed her, but that wasn't Mr. O's fault. It was just a matter of her being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

These awakenings proved valuable to the Old Ones as well, saving them from abuse by those who thought they were dead. I had heard that the Singularity also benefitted, allowing it to interact with the realms in ways that had been lost, offering a sensual and physical conduit for this vast sea of interconnected souls.