"When we left Lana on the platform near the teleporter, Raten and Vorden tried to get me to look at her but I couldn't. I knew she would be upset and I didn't want her pain burned into my memory. I didn't want to leave her. I wanted to grab her and run away, hide somewhere so Hilston would never find us. But I knew there was always the chance he would. Going back would mean she would be safe. He wouldn't ever find out about her."
Sil didn't pay attention to how Vorden got them back to the island either. There was a moment when Hilston had said he wanted to speak to him and he refused calling Hilston a liar over and over again.
The next time Sil paid attention again, Vorden was working at the temple and there was a little boy named Deal, a year younger than he was when he was a student there, when The Event happened. He was crying in the back of the classroom. Vorden was trying to get through to him and calm him down. Deal had even struck him and broken his nose which terrified the teacher. Vorden was from the castle and they were taught to never anger or go against those from the castle.
Sil decided to take over calling the boy a cry baby then asking if he ever heard of super heroes. Deal had said he hadn't. Sil then recited the first chapter of the book and even acted out parts of it which caused Raten and Vorden to look at each other because neither would be willing to do such a thing, considering it embarrassing.
Deal enjoyed the story and before long, Vorden became Deal's favorite. Vorden would switch to Sil every time Deal came in the room. Sil would share the story. Eventually, Deal felt the same way about Vorden that Sil did about Caser. Then it was close to The Event.
Sil, for the first time, left his office in his own body and looked around at all the kids. He remembered how he felt that day. How scared, how angry, how horrified. Sil told Vorden and Raten they needed to save them.
The morning of the event, the teachers told the kids what the rules were. Deal asked Vorden if it was true. Vorden told them it was. He was from the castle and had gone through this. But they didn't have to. Vorden then attacked a teacher and killed one. All the teachers were given the invisibility ability so they could watch the event unseen. That was the only ability Vorden was allowed to have per Histon's instructions.
That didn't stop Vorden from touching the Chained that was there for the students to touch. Vorden started killing more and more teachers and the kids joined in. They were all given the invisibility ability. Vorden would make noise once in a while so the kids would know where he was and make sure they were keeping up. At the earth wall, Sil opened it and they all stepped on the beach and headed toward the hanger to get a ship off the island.
That was where they met Hilston. Sil immediately retreated to his room and did his usual posture. Raten took over before Sil's body fell over. He tried fighting but Sil wasn't paying attention. The next thing Sil knew, they were chained up in the dungeon and little Borden was handing him the mask created by Logan to communicate with them.
Sil called Quinn but they kept fighting for control of the body while talking to him. Sil thought he got his message through but wasn't sure. Vorden knocked the mask away so he couldn't use it again telling him he was stupid and was going to get Quinn killed.
Borden tried to break them out and could have done so but Vorden was despondent. Refusing to respond. He felt it was useless. Doing so would cause Hilston to go after them and more would die. He thought it would have been better if they all died there.
Pie and Vicky, the twins would come visit every day, sometime one, sometimes both, to keep him company. Brock, the head servant, would make sure he had proper food. It wasn't that Hilston wanted him dead, he just wasn't allowed to leave the island. Histon had always prized Sil like a trophy or a favorite shirt that needed to be ironed and polished. Meanwhile the three of them barely talked to one another. Sil slept most of the time or cried.
One day, three boys came down to see him. Raten woke him up. It was Quinn's friends. He recognized Logan but the other two people he was confused about. It turned out one was Peter who used his transformation ability to look like someone else. The third person looked like him.
Peter explained his soul weapon allowed him to create a mask for another person. So, this other person was going to be pretending to be Vorden while they got off the island. This made Sil happy but Vorden was unsure and it took convincing. Vorden finally relented, crying, grateful he had such good friends. Raten shared his sentiment.
They got out of there and Vorden was going to go to the village to touch the chained there but decided to find Quinn first. Peter went to the Temple where the kids were because they were coming with them. Logan went to the room he was staying in at the castle as a guest of all things. Hilston had left to go collect Bernie Sunshield to add him to his Chained collection.
It was a requirement that the Graylash, Sunshield, and Bree families provide their most powerful ability user to the Blades every 50 years to become a chained due to losing a fight against the Blades in the past. It was simply Bernie's turn to take that position. The problem was Bernie was running so it was taking a while to collect him.
Sil didn't know what happened at the castle with Logan or at the temple with Peter. Vorden found Borden and told him to go find Logan. Borden told Vorden, Quinn was fighting the twins near the village. Quinn was badly beaten when Vorden found him. Sil was quite angry when he saw Quinn's condition and wanted to kill them both. Vicky had stated something about adding Quinn to the collection and making Hilston happy so she could leave the island.
Vorden tried to negotiate with her but she told him he had no chips to bargain with. The next thing he knew he was in darkness then he was standing next to the chained in the village. Vorden touched them and got three abilities since that was all Sil could hold at the time. While Vorden then Raten was fighting, Quinn was killing the villagers and drinking their blood to regain his strength.
Once he was back to strength, Quinn called out the name Vorden. Raten was in control at the time and stated so. Saying it was the first time they got to fight together. It was really the first time they spoke because they fought together at the Assembly.
Quinn held out a flask telling him it would be needed then placed it on the ground. They were confused when Quinn said that then started hurting himself. Soon he had turned into that same bloodsucker monster they met back on that red portal planet when Peter was forced to push them through.
The bloodsucker started attacking while Vorden and Raten discussed what the flask was for. It was Vorden who figured it out. They grabbed the flask, took the lid off and watched as the bloodsucker came their direction. To keep from getting killed and have the bloodsucker follow them, they started teleporting toward the beach. Quinn had hit them at the same time into a building. They would take a bit to get back up.
Even teleporting, the bloodsucker was keeping up, almost catching them. They finally got to the beach and everyone was on a ship waiting. Vorden took over for a second and said to get Peter hoping he'd have an idea. Then tossed the flask to Pam who was a trusted advisor to Hilston and leader of the temple. For some reason she was on the beach and he didn't care if she died to get Quinn back.
Quinn attacked her and apparently Peter had turned her into a lesser wight because he instructed her to open the flask and dump it in Quinn's mouth. Quinn grabbed it and drank the rest while the dead body returned to an inanimate state. Quinn collapsed to the ground and Peter grabbed him as the Twins arrived on the beach.
"I was the last one on the ship. Logan tried his best to get us out of there but Vicky's strongest with water and created a water spout. Holding hands with Pie, they can combine their abilities so it's like them having 6 abilities, each having three by themselves. Raten and Vorden..." Sil started crying again and Lana held his hands close to her. She wanted to put her arms up around his neck but she was breathing through another contraction.
When Sil regained control of himself again, "they said goodbye after telling me to get Logan's ability and one other and save Quinn. So I did."
The contraction ended and Lana said "so find the ability and a body to put them in, you'll have them back."
Sil nodded, "that was the plan all along."
Rene then stated, "you are dilated enough. On the next contraction, push."
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