Prompt#337 –Vibrant - Room for Improvement - Tekia – Exalted/the Avengers

[tekia.livejournal.com]

Title: Room for Improvement
Fandom: Iron Man/ Exalted
Prompt: Vibrant
Warnings: none
Rating: PG
Summary: After falling into a trap, the first order of business it to find out where you are. But, if where you are makes no sense, then what are you supposed to do? Traveling to the future is easy, just fall asleep, right? Waking up to a whole different world is harder. Luckily, Tony Stark can adapt to any environment.



Iron Dust turned his hand over and curled his fingers around Tony’s. “You know what the future holds.” Tony regretfully nodded. “And I understand that you don’t want to tell us what it is you know. “ Again Tony nodded. “And that’s all right. What matters is that our paths lead to that manse. Mercury and Luna and even the Sun have had their hands in this.” Iron Dust leaned over the table and made sure Tony was looking at him. “That manse is the answer to all of our questions.”
Tony nodded. He pulled away and broke the hold Iron Dust had on his hand. He nodded his chin in the direction that Yinsen had gone. “Who is he to you?”
Iron Dust glanced at the empty space. “He is my brother, Chosen of Mercury. Path Maker.” Iron Dust regarded him with an arched brow. “How do you know him as Yinsen?”
Tony opened his mouth, and then hesitated. “Should I speak of the future?”
Iron Dust nodded. Tony arched his brows back at him. Iron Dust nodded again. “It is long after our time, is it not? How do you know him?”
Tony licked his lips. He hadn’t spoken of Yinsen since, well, ever. He had never told anybody what had happened in that cave. He had not even told Pepper. He hadn’t told Rhodey. The words stuck in his throat, and he had to clear his throat before the words would spill free.
“He saved my life. I was, well, they called me the Merchant of Death. I built weapons for my country, to defend the men and women that fought for my country. I was young and stupid and I can’t believe how naive I was.” He ran an irritated hand through his hair. “I trusted someone I should have been able to have trusted, but it turned out that he was the one I should have kept my eye on. He betrayed me and set me up to be killed.” He tapped a hand to the arc reactor in his chest, well protected by the armor. Yinsen hadn’t looked twice at the glow, and after a moment Tony began to wonder about that.
“Shrapnel ripped apart my chest. I should have died, but there was a doctor being held by the same men that took me. He saved my life. He put me back together and did all he could to fix me up.” Tony leaned back in his chair, his hand still over his chest. “He made me see myself for what I was. He changed my life. I owe him so much.”
“Your life,” White Song murmured.
Tony nodded. He ran his hands over his face. “I don’t understand. Is he with us or against us?”
Iron Dust didn’t answer right away. He bit his bottom lip in thought. “I don’t suppose any Sidereal is really on anybody’s side. We all have our duties to preform, and they must be done no matter what. It all depends on what he has been commanded to do.”
“Doesn’t the right hand talk to the left? You don’t know what he’s been ordered to do?”
“Beyond win the war? No. It is all of our ultimate goals.” He pushed himself up from the seat and moved toward the helm of the ship. “In any event, they will be traveling with us for a while. At least until you’ve been returned to your home.”
Tony stood and followed him. “Is that smart? They’ve been trying to kill us.”
Iron Dust nodded. “Yes, they have been. It is the job of the Hunt to kill demons, after all.”
“Sounds just about right.”
“But the Guardian of Kindled Fires is my brother, and we must work together for our common goals.”
Tony shook his head. “I can’t understand you people. This is taking ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’ to a whole new level.”
Iron Dust grinned at him over his shoulder. “You understand just fine. Now, if I were you, I would secure your bedroom from roaming eyes.”
Tony opened his mouth before he thought about what Iron Dust was implying. White Song grabbed him by his elbow and began hauling him away. “That’s a good idea. We wouldn’t want them to suspect that you’re sharing too much information with us. We’ll keep your secrets.”
White Song snorted, and Tony turned so that he was walking forward. White Song dropped her grip on him and led him down a hall into the room the three of them sharing. Once inside, Tony began to remove the armor, sighing a breath of relief at finally taking being free from the metal. He sat on the bed next to White Song. “What is Iron Dust getting us into?”
She shook her head and pulled her foot up to her opposite knee. “I don’t know. Let’s hope he does.” She massaged her bare foot, her thumb digging into her arch. “In any event, you should probably stay out of their sights.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” he said, dropping his helmet onto the bed. “And keep my armor locked up tight. That door isn’t going to hold.”
White Song laughed, stood and stretched her arms over her head. “You and I will focus on finding our floating manse. Iron Dust will keep The Guardian off our backs.” She put her arms to her hips and faced him. “Well, as much as he can. The Guardian will want to study your mind. He wasn’t wrong about you.”
“I am special.”
“Your mind works very different from ours. That clock you built is so very different than anything we’ve ever seen before. That type of machine building will change the world. The moment we saw it, we knew it. And that’s why you are dangerous to us all. The things you can build are closer to the enemy than to what we are.” She shrugged her shoulders, making a face of acceptance of her limitations. “You are what we will fail to defend against.”
Tony was actually getting quite used to the guilt that filled his chest. The last of the sunlight poured into the window and over the bed. Tony stared out at the open sky and tried to remember that it wasn’t his responsibility to save these people. Their deaths and failures had nothing to do with him. The events of this time were not because of him.
Or his refusal to help.
He took a bracing breath and stood. “Well, I’m going to change out of this mess you’ve covered me in. So, where have you hidden my clothes?”
White Song waved to a chest on the floor as she moved to the sidebar and began rummaging around for food. Tony quickly changed into clean clothes and took the time to wash his face and hands in the cold water that had been sitting in the room for who knew how long.
He didn’t want to think about how it had probably been placed there by the previous owner.
Together, they made their way back to the deck, where the sun had finally set and the sky overhead was littered with millions of stars. Tony took a moment to gaze upward, trying to find something familiar in the arrangement. There was nothing, he admitted with a sigh.
Iron Dust and the Guardian- Yinsen- were standing close, their heads bowed together. Whatever they were saying was taken away by the wind, and even White Song made a face when she couldn’t hear them. She stalked off to the side and leaned heavily against the rail. If she were in a cat form, Tony could easily imagine her tail whipping around in irritation.
The Dragon Blooded man was standing with his feet braced, his arms crossed over his chest, and his eyes hard as he gazed at the two men talking in hushed tones. Tony didn’t even hesitate before walking over to the man. “What is your name anyway?”
The man turned his glare onto Tony. “I am Sesus Kazuya.” The man slapped his hands together before him and gave a very militant bow. Tony waved his fingers, dismissing the bow. Kazuya looked like he had sucked on a lemon. “And you are the anathema that the Guardian of Kindled Fires thinks will be our salvation.”
Tony arched his brows. He really hadn’t thought that Yinsen was the type to tell his underlings his plans. Maybe the Yinsen he knew, but not this one. This man was quite different, in nearly every way from the man that had saved Tony. He looked the same, but maybe Tony had been wrong and this wasn’t his Yinsen at all.
“Yeah,” he said to Kazuya, snapping his attention back to the man. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Of course it isn’t. You and your kind are a plague on Creation.” His lips turned up in a smirk. “And I’ve seen you fight. How are you supposed to win a war when you can’t even fight your own battles?” His eyes flicked to Iron Dust. Tony followed his glance, and then snapped back to Kazyua. He forced a smile.
“He likes to say I’m young. You know how it is. Big brother protecting little brother.” Kazuya rolled his eyes, and Tony nodded. “Okay, you caught me. It’s just that Stars of Sorrow knows that I’m powerful. It’d be a problem if I were to take you out while they were trying to work together. I mean, how would that look, their charges going at each other’s throats like rabid animals?”
Kazuya sneered and shook his head.
“You’re a fool.”
Tony nodded. “I’ve heard that before.”
“When the chance comes, I’ll kill you myself.”
“You can try.”
“But not right now,” Iron Dust said as they approached. His eyes went from Kazuya to Tony. “The Guardian has told me of a manse that hasn’t been accessed in ages. It may be our manse.”
Tony blinked in surprise. “And you’re just going to give us directions?”
Yinsen regarded him steadily. “Yes. And there is a price, before you get too excited. You will teach me your way with machines. Iron Dust has convinced me that it is to our advantage that you return to your world, rather than remain in ours. I will learn what you have to teach, and we will make do with that.” He didn’t look too happy about it, if how his lips twisted were any indication.
Kazuya opened his mouth, fury in his eyes, and Yinsen held up his hand, one finger extended. He stared hard at Kazuya and spoke slowly.
“We will travel with these people, as they have the transportation that we need to get to our destination in such a quick manner. They are merchants, nothing more.”
Kazuya’s mouth snapped shut with an audible click, and he didn’t protest further. Tony’s eyes went wide. He pointed. “You can do that Jedi mind trick, too!” He turned accusing eyes to Iron Dust. “Do all of your kind have that ability? Have you used that on me?
Iron Dust smiled slightly as Yinsen looked quizzically between the two of them. Iron Dust dismissed it by motioning toward the wheel of the ship. “If you would, Guardian?”
“Yes.” They went to the wheel and bent over the thing, setting their course. “You didn’t answer me!” Tony called at their backs. Iron Dust waved an absent hand.
Cautiously, Tony tore his gaze from them back to Kazuya, who was frowning in confusion down at the wooden floor at his feet.
“So you’re a Dynast?”
Kazuya’s eyes snapped up and he threw his shoulders back. “Do not speak to me, peasant.” He turned smartly on his heel and stalked away. Tony’s brows went up in surprise, and he caught White Song staring at him with a smile. He went to her.
“They’re so nice, aren’t they?”
“The nicest sweetest man I’ve ever met,” he replied, copying her stance on the rail, staring down at the trees drifting by under them. He could see thin slivers of water between the leaves, and even a wisp of smoke here and there indicating a village. “Almost as nice as those sheepmen we saw before. Speaking of which, you get around, don’t you?”
She nodded. “Before I met Iron Dust, I traveled a lot. I was born father north, but Luna led me south. I moved on foot, and met hundreds of peoples and joined with many tribes. I have great renown among my people.” Her chin was tilted up with pride, but then she bit her lip and her brow curved down. “I’m afraid my time with Iron Dust has diminished my standing among the Chosen of Luna, but it matters naught to me. I am where Luna wants me, and I am where I want to be; at his side.”
Together they turned to look at Iron Dust. He was much shorter than Yinsen, coming only up to the man’s shoulder, and he looked far younger than his four hundred and twenty-three years. He looked like a child at his father’s side, learning the ways of the ship. Tony had a feeling that it was Iron Dust teaching Yinsen the mechanics of the ship.
Tony pushed away from the rail and strolled over. He folded his arms over his chest, wishing these people would learn about pockets in their pants. “Kindle, how old are you?”
Yinsen glanced up and nearly smiled at him, and Tony was thrown back to that cave, having Yinsen smiling at him when he finally understood that death was the easy way out, and he had to keep fighting and fix his mistakes. Then the smile was gone.
“Why?”
“No reason, just wondering.” Tony smiled his best and leaned against the counter that held aged maps. “Where did you hear about this manse? What makes you believe this could be our manse?”
Yinsen followed him, his whole body moving as he kept his eyes on him. “From the descriptions Stars of Sorrow has given me, and what books he had pulled from the Forbidden Manse,” this was said with a glance out of the corner of his eyes toward Iron Dust, who merely shrugged. “This one seems like the most likely match.”
Tony leaned around him to catch Iron Dust’s eye. “You couldn’t have asked him about this in the beginning?”
Iron Dust arched a white brow. “You were supposed to be a secret.”
“Secret’s out.”
Tony spent the most of the next few days hidden away from the rest of their visitors. Yinsen sat with him for hours at a time, listening and memorizing everything that Tony had to tell him. With only the materials available on the airship, they built crude and basic machines that had no reliance on magic of any sort.
Yinsen rebuilt the clock under Tony’s tutelage. It even worked.
Yinsen was far smarter than Tony had given him credit for, back in the cave. Tony only had to say something once, and he had it committed to memory. Just like Iron Dust, Yinsen had a knack for learning, even going so far as to make his own conclusions and ideas that had Tony astounded at his learning curve.
Iron Dust never participated in the lessons, but Tony had the feeling that he was absorbing it all in. His eyes were as intent on Tony as Yinsen’s were and he didn’t doubt for one second that the lessons were going to waste.
The air ship was built with machine parts, but it was powered by magic, and Yinsen had great knowledge in the subject. It took a great deal of patience and fortitude to change tactics, from working with magic to working without. Even the basics of the engines were different.
Together, they learned from each other. Tony soaked up the new, old, technology, and Yinsen taught him how to put his own magic into the engines. Tony learned as much as he taught, and he had the time of his life. It was like being back at MIT, only without all the booze and women.
Well, White Song was there in her tiny outfits that left very little to the imagination.
So it was just like college.
It was Kazuya who came to them to inform them that they had arrived at the location of the floating island. Tony rushed to the window to try to see it, leaning half out the window in his efforts. White Song hooked her fingers around his belt to hold him back.
Tony had been warned that the air was going to get colder the farther north they went, but the air here was only just cool, despite the land below the floating island being covered in a thin dusting of snow. There were three lakes on the island, one overflowing into the other until the last one trickled into a stream that led around the island back into the first lake.
The island also had its own landscape. There were small hills that framed the back of the manse, so one could only see it from one direction, and it was from that direction that their airboat approached.
Tony laughed and pointed, his heart fluttering in his chest with excitement. “Look! It’s it. That’s the manse!”
The manse was not how he remembered it at all. First off, it was above water, and that was a major difference. The walls on the outside were pristine and glimmered in the sunlight. There were two towers that reached up over the rest of the manse which had crumbled down in Tony’s own time. But the doorway that Tony had entered through was still the same, the art carved into the stone as beautiful as he remembered. Next to the green of the landscape, the white jade was as vibrant as a jewel. It was like coming home.
Iron Dust joined him at the window and studied the island a moment before he ducked away and went to the wheel. Immediately, the ship changed course and slowed.
The members of the Hunt all moved to secure the boat when they reached a safe docking distance. Kazuya showed off his own talents by leaping from the airboat with a rope, landing with ease and grace that White Song said belonged only to the Air Dragons.
Tony danced from foot to foot, impatient to get to the manse. He was so close to getting to go home, he could taste it on his tongue. He was going to get to see Pepper, and Rhodey, and Steve, and Bruce. Oh how he missed them all.
When the air boat was secured and the men were disembarking, Iron Dust held Tony back despite his protests. When the Guardian and his men were out of earshot, Iron Dust murmured, “Watch your back here. You said there were traps the first time you were here. That was far into the future. What traps that had failed with time may still be active. Don’t rely upon your memory to lead you.” He glanced at the thick trees clogging the view. “You should wear your armor. You don’t want to fail this close to success.”
Tony nodded and turned about to fetch his armor. Very carefully, he put the armor on, one bit at a time, making sure that each piece was secure and intact. The boots were ruined thanks to that Solar and his temper. The gauntlets were not his own, but Tony stared at them, thinking that perhaps he could learn to make an armor out of stone.
He wondered how well the jade would hold up against the gods and villains of his time. He pulled the helmet on and JARVIS greeted him.
“JARVIS, baby, are you ready to go home?”
“Quite, sir.”
“Yeah, I’m ready too. Let’s keep an eye out for back stabbers. Wisp of Shadows is still out there, and I don’t trust that he’s just forgotten about us. These people here are crazy intense. They all want me, JARVIS, and not all in a good way.”
“Indeed, sir. Shall I notch the figurative bedpost now or wait until later?”
Tony laughed and tugged open the door, headed out to go home, finally. “Naw, wait until they make the attempt on my life first.”
They had to march through the forest, around the lakes, and cross a waterfall before they could get to the manse. Yinsen directed the trek, and White Song hovered near Tony the whole while, her eyes sharp on the Hunters.
The forest was quite around them, only the sounds of water surrounding them. There were no birds in the trees, and there were no animals in the foliage. That, more than anything else, made the hair on the back of Tony’s neck stand on end, and his heart pound in his chest. His hands were damp with sweat inside the gauntlets, and he had to resist the urge to wipe them on his thighs.
Iron Dust was quiet and watchful walking before Tony. As far as Tony could tell, Iron Dust kept his eyes lowered and merely walked where Yinsen led. That too left an odd feeling in Tony.
Tony rested a hand on Iron Dust’s shoulder, slowing him. “What are you doing?”
Iron Dust glanced at him. “We are being followed.”
Tony glanced at the stats on the HUD. “I don’t have anything.”
Iron Dust frowned in confusion before he shook his head. “Your pets are following us.”
Tony arched his brows, despite knowing that Iron Dust couldn’t see his face. “Pets?” Yellow eyes drifted to the trees off Tony’s left before he resumed walking, taking back his place only a few steps behind Kazuya.
Tony looked up at the trees and spotted the blue gaze of Glare staring down at him from the shelter of leaves. He grinned and waved his fingers at her. She glared and ducked away. He lost sight of her and the HUD couldn’t locate her. With a twisted of his lips, he looked back at Iron Dust’s silver head. How had he known?
Chalking it up to Sidereal magic, he kept moving forward, the tension and anxiety left him, knowing that the two nymphs were watching his back.
Once his mind was off the fear that was crawling around the back of his thoughts, he realized that there was something more in the air; what’s more, it was something that Tony recognized. His muscles shivered in remembered pleasure, and he couldn’t keep the smile from his face. The vibration in the air was now something he could name, and the Essence called to him. Claimed him. He closed his eyes. Home.
He had thought of the manse as home once before, and back then, in the future, he had scoffed at it. Now, after gaining his Second Breath and learning all the things that he had never knew existed, he accepted it. He flipped up the faceplate and tipped his head toward White Song.
“I was meant to Exalt. I can feel it.”
She frowned at him. “Of course you were. Why else would you have Exalted, if you were not meant to?”
Tony paused reveling in his clarity to give her a hurt look. “I know that, but when I was here before, I could feel the Essence of this place. It calls to me.”
White Song nodded. “It’s yours.”
“What do you mean?”
White Song stepped closer and lowered her voice. “Manses are built by the smartest and most powerful of Exalts.” She arched a brow at him, waiting.
Tony studied her face a long moment before it hit him. “We reincarnate. I built this manse in a past life.” White Song nodded. “The magic in the place is my magic.” With new eyes, Tony looked up at the spires peeking out from the trees.
He had built the manse in a past life, a life he didn’t remember at all, but he could remember so much about the manse. If he closed his eyes, he thought that perhaps he could remember standing at the open doors of the manse, the jade just carved, his hand resting on the cold stone, pride in swelling in his chest. Tony snapped his eyes open and rushed to catch up with White Song.
“I built this manse,” he said, voco sotto, “so did I put the traps in it too?”
“Most likely.”
Iron Dust glanced back at them, and they both smiled wide guileless smiles at him. He narrowed his eyes but turned forward a moment later.
“Maybe I can remember all the traps. I did, after all, get through them the first time.”
“You’re going to fall on your face,” she predicted. Tony rolled his eyes and slapped his faceplate back into place.
The lake they were skirting was far larger than any lake on a floating island had a right to be. The manse was on the far side of the lake, separated from them by the waterfall. It wasn’t a large waterfall, and the Exalts easily jumped the distance, their Essence powering their leaps. The human members of the Hunt struggled with ropes over the rolling waves. While they waited for their human companions to catch up with them, the made a camp and ate a light meal.
After a while, Tony realized that Kazuya was staring at him. Had been staring at him since he saw him in the armor. With a quizzical glance at White Song, Tony stood and went to where Iron Dust was sitting. He knocked his knee against his, drawing his attention away from the book he had been studying.
Iron Dust glanced up at him.
“Why is he staring at me?”
“He’s forgotten about you.”
Tony looked over at Kazuya. “How? Why?”
Iron Dust followed his glance. “It was better this way. He is a Dynast. He has power, and he is dangerous to us if he thinks you’re a threat. So we made him forget.”
“He’s dangerous, so you made him forget.”
“Yes.”
Tony breathed a heavy sigh. “And you couldn’t do it before now because?”
Iron Dust finally lowered his book. “Because I only came in contact with him the once, when we were fighting on the river. There was no time to work a spell on him them. The Guardian of Kindled Fires has his trust, and has worked with him for a very long time, so it was quite easy for him to do the spell.”
“So who does he think I am that makes him stare?”
Iron Dust smiled at him as if he were practically slow witted. “Your red armor marks you as Dynast. He probably thinks you’re family.”
“Our armor is the same color,” Tony said, his voice wonderingly. “Is that why people have been glaring at me wherever we go? Because my armor’s red?”
“Because you wear full armor. Most are not warriors, and those that are are either demons like White Song and myself, or Dynasts.”
Tony rubbed a bare hand over his brow and groaned. “Well, that clears up a lot of things.”
“It’s not important.”
“Well, now it’s not. I’m going home soon.” He stood and patted Iron Dust’s shoulder. “What is next on our plate?”
Iron Dust frowned in confusion. “I don’t-“ He paused and shook his head. “We are going to the manse.”
“Then why are we taking the long way around?”
“Because you seem to have forgotten that the Hunt wasn’t the only one hunting us. Your presence that was supposed to be a secret seems to have gathered a lot of unwanted attention. You have a Death Lord and the Hunt, and even a lone Solar all after you.” He glanced up at the bit of the manse they could see. “All because of this manse.” He got this odd look on his face that Tony thought that perhaps he could recognize as an expression that he himself had worn when curiosity got the better of him. “I wonder what is in that manse that brought us all here.”
“You think they followed us here?”
Iron Dust pulled his gaze away from the manse to Tony. “Stone’s Throw knows this manse, he said so himself. And Wisp of Shadow, well, he has been with us every step of the way, just biding his time.”
Tony’s breath caught. “With us?”
Iron Dust nodded. “Wherever there is a shadow, he was there.”
“Oh. I should have known that.”
“He’s clever. I haven’t been able to catch him, but I hope that we can before we reach the manse.”
“The both of them.”
“The both of them.”
“And you weren’t going to mention this before now because?”
Iron Dust set his book aside and rested his elbows on his knees as he looked up at Tony towering over him. “Does it make a difference?”
“It would be better for me to be prepared rather than caught by surprise.”
“You roll with the punches rather well.”
Tony grinned and glanced back at Kazuya. “So, can I play with him?”
Iron Dust sighed and pulled his book back onto his lap. “Try not to break him.”
Tony laughed and went back to his seat next to White Song. He leaned his head against her shoulder and fluttered his lashes up at her. “Did you know that we were being followed by your boy toy, Ol’ Wispy?”
White Song licked grease from her thumb and arched a golden brow at him. “You didn’t?”
Tony threw himself away from her. “How did I miss this? Does everybody know that he’s with us?”
She grinned at him. “If it makes you feel better, I don’t believe the Dragon has noticed either.”
“The way you and Iron Dust talk about him, that doesn’t make me feel any better. Why do you guys talk about him as if he were a lower species than us?”
White Song snorted. “Because he’s Dynast.”
“And that’s bad?”
White Song sighed. “After the First Age, the Dragon Blooded rose up and ran the Lunars out of Creation. We were Hunted into the Wyld and many of my siblings were lost into the chaos. They created myths about us all. Taught the humans to hate and fear us. They are the cause our sufferings. Well, most of it.”
“Most of it?”
She nodded her chin toward Iron Dust and Yinsen. Tony turned toward them, watched as Yinsen crouched down to speak with him in hushed tones. “It was them. They were the ones that set the Hunt. It was them that set this Second Age into motion.”
“Why don’t you hate them then?”
“Oh, I do.”
Tony frowned at her. “You love Iron Dust.”
“That too.”
“But you hate him?”
“Yes.”
“You are one strange woman.”
She smiled at him. “I love Iron Dust, yes. But his race as a whole? What I’ve learned about them over the years is enough to make sure I’ll always hate them. But it’s hard to hate what you can’t see, you know? They’re an elusive bunch. The Guardian is only the second one I’ve met.”
“He doesn’t seem so bad.”
She shrugged. “He’s not. One on one, they’re all right. But once you get a group of them together, they start getting terrible ideas and start thinking that they’re infallible. It’s dangerous to the rest of us. It was them that used the Dragon Blooded against the Solars and Lunars. It was them that set us up to lose this war.”
Together they stared out at the calm water of the lake just this side of the waterfall. Under the smooth surface, Tony knew that the water was rushing toward the fall, the pull irresistible, and he had to wonder at his state of mind if he was comparing Iron Dust to water. He breathed deep through his nose.
“They let you know this? It seems strange to me. They use their powers to make people obey them, and make people forget all about them. Why does Iron Dust let us know?”
White Song blinked wide eyes at him. “You heard them mention the Factions, yes?” Tony nodded. “In this time of tumult, the Factions have broadened their stances. They have made choices, and they have drawn lines in the sand. Iron Dust believes that we, Lunars and Solars, are well needed to win this war. He believes in us. And he trusts us.”
“Trust is a dangerous thing.”
“And yet, I still trust you,” Iron Dust said, suddenly standing over them. They both jumped, caught unawares. Tony quickly gained his feet under him and dusted off his armor for something to do with his hands as embarrassment flushed his cheeks. Iron Dust watched him, features as calm and cool as the water Tony had compared him to only moments before. After a moment, the corner of Iron Dust’s lips twitched in a smile and he broke eye contact to nod toward the trees surrounding them. “Your pets have warned us of Stone’s Throw’s presence.”
Tony turned on his heel to peer into the leaves. He spotted Sweet Leave waving at him after a moment, her small hand in the shape of a new leaf. He made an aborted move to wave back, but Iron Dust caught his hand and held it down at his side. “The Hunt doesn’t know about them. It is best not to alert them of their presence, don’t you think?”
“Right, I should have thought of that.”
Iron Dust released him. He lowered himself to the ground between White Song and Tony, his shoulder propped up on White Song’s knee. Her fingers went to his hair and began carding through the strands. Tony curled his fingers toward his palms as he lowered himself back to his seat least he copy her.
Iron Dust folded his legs under him and propped open his book on his knees. White Song and Tony leaned over his shoulders to better see the words drawn out on the pages. “Local history says that Stone’s Throw’s family has guarded this island since the First Age. He will not easily give us access to the manse. It is in his blood to protect this from thieves and intruders.”
“But I built this in my past life,” Tony protested. “Should I have just as much right to it as him?”
Iron Dust shrugged. “Perhaps, unless he thinks it was him that built it. Or that it should belong to him now that his family had given their lives and blood to keep it.”
Tony huffed out a breath. “Can’t we just talk with him? Tell him that I just want to go inside and then I’ll be out of his hair forever, and then he can keep the damn manse and do whatever he wants with it until it sinks into the ocean.”
“It sinks into the ocean?” Tony jumped again and turned to look up at Yinsen. How the hell do these guys keep sneaking up on him? Yinsen wasn’t looking at him, but gazing at the mountains in the distance. “The ocean is in the other direction. If it is going to sink, we need to readjust the engines.”
Tony opened his mouth twice before, “Okay, what?”
Iron Dust nodded. “These engines were very well built. I don’t see them failing for a very long time.” His eyes dropped from Yinsen’s face to Tony’s. “If this island keeps on its current course, then it will crash, when the engines fail, in the far east: the Boarder Marches.” White Song made a displeased noise in the back of her throat. Iron Dust glanced quickly at her and then away. “We will have to find them and set the island on the correct course.”
Yinsen nodded. “And your Solar stalker mustn’t know.”
“We’re not splitting up,” Tony snapped before Iron Dust could open his mouth. Iron Dust arched a brow at him, and Tony returned the look with a glower. “No, let’s just get inside before he arrives and let what happens, happen.”
Yinsen chuckled and turned away, his cloak fluttering behind him. Iron Dust covered his smile with his hand and bowed his head. Tony’s frown darkened. “What?”
Iron Dust smiled up at him through his lashes. “What happens, happens? That never happens. Do you forget who you’re talking to? We are path makers, fate finders. If something must needs happen, we are the ones that make sure it happens. It is our duty to see to it that fate follows the correct course. Now, we can use your knowledge to rework the engines, but it is far more prudent that you return to your own world. There are great snags in the Tapestry and others are starting to take notice. Time is running out for us.
“We will go to the manse and see you home. And then we will see to the fate of this island. You will not think of this again.”
Tony nodded. Right; his priority was getting home. What happens after that wasn’t his concern. None of it.
“Kindle knows about Stone’s Throw,” he said instead. Iron Dust nodded.
“Of course he does. But Stone’s Throw doesn’t know about him, and that will prove to be our advantage. Now, the others have joined us, lets us continue to the manse.”
Tony glanced over toward the waterfall where the humans were now on their side of the divide and resting.
As a group, they stood and packed up their camp and resumed their trek.
Then they were at the front gates of the manse. Tony paused to gaze up at the white jade, his chest tight with so many conflicting emotions that he felt choked up. He bit his lips and took a moment to pull himself together. After this was all over there would be plenty of time to have a break down, but not now. Now he had to step forward and open those massive stone doors.
Those doors that looked pretty well hidden. He frowned and tilted his head to one side, regarding the entrance for a long moment before he slapped the helmet back on. “JARIVS, where the hell is the opening?”
“Sir, from the readings taken underwater, the door should be right there, but, as you can clearly see, there is no door.”
“Yeah, I see that. How the hell is there no door?”
“I’m afraid I am lacking an answer, Sir.”
Tony pulled up the faceplate and gave White Song a quizzical look. “No doors?”
She scratched a spot on her chin. “You’re the one that’s so sure that you built it. You tell us.”
The others were all lined up, heads tilted back to gaze at the beauty of the manse before them. Kazuya’s mouth had dropped open in awe, and he held one hand out before him as if he were going to reach out and touch the stone. Yinsen stood with his chin perched on his thumb as he regarded the words that were etched around the frame that should have held the doors that Tony very clearly remembered from the future. Iron Dust’s eyes were rapidly reading the texts, already having translated it from Tony’s memories.
“There is a riddle here, but it’s not a play on words. It’s a spell that must be uncovered.” Iron Dust looked at Tony.
He held up his hands in defense. “The doors were open the first time I came here. Don’t look at me for answers.” Iron Dust rolled his eyes and pulled Tony forward by his elbow until he was standing next to the two men. He pointed to the words lining the doorframe.
“If it is indeed your creation, then use your Essence to open it.”
Tony reached out with his hand before he even thought about it. The jade gauntlet retracted so that his bare fingers touched the wall. The white jade thrummed with energy, the same calming feeling as before reached out to him, and he pressed the flat of his palm against the stone.
The wall wasn’t thin, but it seemed to glow from the inside, centered on where his hand touched. It was calling to him, reaching out for him. With a grin over his shoulder to the others, Tony shoved against the wall and the door appeared under his hand, slowly moving inward until the sunlight poured into darkened interior.
Before he could take a step into the manse, two arms shot out across his chest and pulled him to an abrupt stop. He looked down at the arms crossed over his chest, then to his left and right at Iron Dust and Yinsen.
“Really?”
“It’s dangerous.”
“There are traps.”
Tony stumbled back a step as they both leaned forward to peer into the manse. Tony would pout, but they weren’t paying any attention to him and his efforts would have gone to waste. Tony looked toward White Song. Then he frowned.
White Song was standing over Kazuya, her hands on her hips, arms akimbo as she watched him study the text low on the wall of the manse. With a final glance at the two men stopping him from entering, Tony strolled over to them.
He dropped his hand to the small of her back. “What’s going on?”
White Song looked up at him. “There’s information about the island here. About the Lawmaker that built it.”
“Anathema.”
White Song made a displeased face over Kazuya’s head. “Anathema. This place was built by one of them, after all. It stands to reason that they would…” Her eyes turned down to Kazuya. “…spread their propaganda.”
Kazuya nodded and stood. He dusted his hands free of dirt and turned to face them. “We should tear this place down.” Then he curled his lips over his teeth and bit them. “Or we can find that hearthstone.”
White Song snorted with laughter. “Really? Leave the demon’s place of power-“
“And use the power for the good of the Realm.”
White Song rolled her eyes and walked back toward Iron Dust and leaned heavily against his back. Tony folded his arms over his chest and tilted his head toward Kazuya. “What’s the hearthstone?”
Kazuya shot him a snooty look. “The homes of the demons,” he started, gesturing to the manse, “have great power. Can’t you feel the power thrumming through the walls? Anyway, the manses were built to channel the very Essence of Creation. The power of the five dragons and Gaia flow through the threads of Creation and the manses tie into those lines. There is so much power inside the manse that it coils and becomes solid. It turns into a stone. A stone of great power. A hearthstone.”
Tony’s hand twitched at his side. “What does the stone do?”
Kazuya shrugged. “When we find it, we’ll know.” He walked away, leaving Tony lost in thought. He hadn’t seen a stone in the future, but then again, he had been drawn to the room with the coffins. He had been so in tune with the manse, he wondered why he hadn’t stumbled upon it. Surely, something so tied to him through fate and magic would have told him all about it.
Iron Dust had ducked into the manse, disappearing into the depths, and Tony’s heart jumped to his chest. He quickly raced over to the entrance.
“Why does he always go headlong into danger first?”
“It’s his talent.”
“He’s going to set off the traps.”
“That’s the idea,” White Song murmured. She leaned against the doorframe and well into the manse. Tony hovered over her shoulder.
Iron Dust had crouched down on the floor and had one finger tracing a near invisible line in the jade of the floor. Tony pulled down his faceplate. “JARVIS? What have you got?”
The HUD displayed the immediate room in bare lines. The line that Iron Dust had noticed was highlighted, but disappeared under a wall. Tony leaned farther into the manse, putting enough weight on White Song’s back that she stumbled forward. She hissed at him, smacking the flat of her palm against his armor.
“Ow,” he said, distracted. “Is that the trigger?”
Iron Dust looked up. “Yes, don’t step on it.” He stood. “And there’s a second one there. That one we cannot go near at all. That is triggered by Essence.”
“JARVIS?”
“Sir, it appears that the trap is dormant until magic triggers it. Would you care to step up to it so that I may get some readings?”
“JARIVS,” he said, feigning deep feelings. “You make me proud.”
In a long line, the group slowly walked down the hall, the walls softly curving up around them. The air was cool and, yes, there was that breeze that curled around Tony like a lover’s embrace. Iron Dust led the way, eyes moving constantly, searching for the traps. Yinsen walked behind him, his lips moving as he quickly read the words written on the walls.
White Song walked behind Tony, her whole body tensed. One hand clutched at Tony’s armor, while the other fisted at her hip where Tony knew she kept a knife. Only a step behind her, Kazuya walked with his shoulders rigid and eyes alert.
He couldn’t understand why everybody was so tense and nervous. Couldn’t they feel the peace and tranquility in the air? What was there to fear here?
Except for that trap that had sprung some time in the past. A body laid on the ground, the flesh all gone and the bones white in the dim light. Iron Dust and Yinsen circled the body, picking carefully at the darts that littered the ground.
When Tony moved to approach, they both held up their hands to waylay him. “Stop, Lost Path,” Iron Dust murmured, his voice low, but still echoing down the hall. “Just because the trap had been triggered once doesn’t mean that it will attack only once.” Tony froze and glanced around.
“Where did the attack come from?”
Yinsen pointed without looking up. Tony moved carefully toward the wall. JARVIS highlighted the small openings in the wall that the darts must have emerged from. Quickly, Tony scanned the floor for pools of light, a la Indiana Jones.
Of course, there was nothing.
“How was it triggered?”
Yinsen stood and scanned the floor quickly. “The floor has pressure sensors.” As soon as he mentioned it, JARVIS highlighted the pressure plates on the HUD.
“Thanks,” Tony drawled with no little irritation.
Yinsen pointed to each pressure plate, and the last one he pointed to made him pause. He looked up at Tony, his lips tilted up in a small smile. Tony held out his hands in silent question, but Yinsen shook his head.
Kazuya carefully sidestepped each trigger and stepped over the body. “Do you believe the hearthstone would be down or up? This is a water manse, so I’m guessing down.”
Tony started to shake his head. The only thing down was the room with the coffins. Then he stopped himself. “Do you think you can just take this hearthstone? Won’t that, I don’t know, disrupt all of time and space?”
Kazuya looked at him with confusion, and Tony shrugged. “I don’t know what that means. I’ll claim this manse, and it will give the hearthstone to me when I tie my Essence to it.” He turned away and motioned Yinsen to precede him. Tony stepped closer to Iron Dust.
“Can he do that? Tie his Essence to this manse?”
Iron Dust rested a hand on the chest of the armor. “He can, but it may kill him. He is air aspected and this manse is water. You have a much better chance of tying yourself to the manse than he does, but really, either one of you could claim it. Stone’s Throw may even have already claimed it.” Iron Dust hissed in his breath. “And if he has, the hearthstone may very well be gone and the Hunt will be on again, as they Hunt for him.”
Tony nodded and fell into step behind Iron Dust as they followed Yinsen. The humans of the Hunt stayed at the entrance, and Tony watched them over his shoulder as they made their way away from the sight of the door. “What about them?”
White Song glanced at them a moment before nodding. “I’ll stay behind. Iron Dust,” she called softly. Iron Dust turned toward her, his hair falling over one shoulder.
“You know my calls.”
He nodded and walked around a corner. Tony reached out and caught White Song’s hand. She arched her brows at him. “Be careful,” he said. “Stone’s Throw.”
“Yes, I know.” She used his grip on her hand to pull him toward her. She stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his. Before he could react to the kiss that shot electricity through him, she was moving away. “Go home, Lost Path, and find yourself.” She cupped his chin in her hand, her thumb brushing over his beard. “If all goes well, we will not meet again in this life time.”
He didn’t want to let her go. He didn’t want to not see her again. He most definitely didn’t want to see her as a corpse in the future. She tugged out of his grip and walked away, hips swaying, hair flouncing over her shoulders. The sunlight was poured over her, making her look ethereal. Her skin was a vibrant copper, her hair gold. He closed his eyes, letting the sight of her burn itself on his closed eyelids. He never wanted to forget her. Strong and powerful, passionate and dedicated.
She stepped out of the manse and out of his sight. He turned on his feet and marched after Iron Dust.
The trio of men had stopped at the fork. Tony glanced down the hall that led to the room with the coffins, and felt a pull at his core. He took a step in that direction just as the others took the opposite hall. Checking his action, Tony followed. He rested a hand on Iron Dust’s back.
“Why is Kazuya leading? Because he’s royalty?”
“Of course.”
“Back home I was regarded as royalty.”
“How nice for you.”
“You don’t appreciate me.”
Iron Dust hummed and pointed out another trap waiting for them to stumble upon the trigger. Tony easily sidestepped the trigger. A bird thrilled somewhere, the whistle echoing down the hall. All four men paused, looking around.
“That was White Song,” Iron Dust murmured. Yinsen stepped back to join Iron Dust and Tony.
“Your Lunar sends a warning?”
Iron Dust nodded. “We have unwelcome followers and they have made their way into the manse. Guardian, go with the Dragon. Keep him well away from Lost Path.” Yinsen nodded and turned on his heel to catch up with Kazuya. Iron Dust turned to Tony. He held out his hand back the way they had come. “We must get you back as soon as possible. If Wisp of Shadows stops us, we may not have another chance. He wants you to stay. I wouldn’t put it passed him to destroy this manse.”
Tony quickly marched back the way they had come, Iron Dust hot on his heels. “Can he do that? Kazuya said that manses were built into the threads of Creation. Can you destroy something so embedded?”
“He wouldn’t destroy it in physically. Just as Kazuya would make the manse his own, Wisp of Shadows will corrupt the Essence. He will taint it and turn it from a beacon of light to a home of death.”
“Death Knight. Death manse. Death Manse!”
“Indeed.”
“So, this is the room where I disappeared from.” They slipped into the massive room, and Tony froze. Instead of six coffins, there was only one. It laid in the middle of the room, on a platform made of gold.
Tony slowly walked up to the coffin and stepped up the platform so he could peer down at the body that rested behind the glass. He had never seen the body before, but knew in an instant who it was. He leaned over the glass, one hand holding him up, the other clutching at the arc reactor.
Iron Dust’s hand on his startled him, and he looked up into those yellow eyes. “It’s- it’s me.”
Iron Dust looked away from him and at the corpse. “His name was The Most Gifted Artist.” His finger drifted over the name etched into the glass. Tony reached out and pressed his fingers to the cuts, imprinting them on the pads of his fingers.
“What does your book say about him?”
Iron Dust pulled away so that Tony was alone with his past self. “He was clever. He built this place and he much more besides.”
“Weapons?”
“He was from a world at war. Yes, he built weapons. The books says he built some of the very weapons that still keep Lookshy safe to this day.”