Gathering of the Chosen

by Timothy L. Cerepaka

  Chapter Twenty

  The voice was cold and unsettling and unnatural. It was like listening to the howling wind in an empty valley, only a thousand times worse. And Raya could still feel whatever it was that was crawling up her body in a way that made her feel very violated.

  Raya could hardly breathe. Abacos stepped back into the corner, but the Steed had nowhere to go. He kept snorting and pawing at the ground, but he was clearly doing that more out of fear than anything.

  “Who … who are you?” said Raya, her voice so tiny that she felt more like a child than an adult now. “What … what are you doing?”

  Do you not recognize my voice? said the voice in her ear. Raya thought that it sounded vaguely feminine. I suppose not, seeing as we have never met before. But I have seen your father, the brave man who saved this world from its own creators in his youth. It has been ages since he came close to my realm, but I can see that his daughter is as arrogant as he was.

  Raya gulped. “How do you know my father? Are you some kind of goddess?”

  Goddess? Of course not, said the voice. I existed before the gods, who are as ants beneath me. No, I am the Void, the primordial force that once ruled the wastes of the world before this one until the Powers came and built Martir.

  Raya shuddered. “I've heard of you. But I thought that you were returned to your original boundaries after Uron's defeat.”

  Silly girl, said the Void. Uron did do that, true, but with Uron and Skimif's deaths, and the resurrection of the human known as Braim Kotogs, the natural laws of Martir have grown weaker. Now more than ever, I have a chance to finally consume this world, and all who dwell within it.

  Raya had no idea what these 'natural laws' were, but it didn't really matter because at this point she was pretty sure that the only reason that she was still alive was because the Void was allowing her to live. She tried to move, but it was impossible. It felt like the Void was restricting her movement and she had no idea how to break free of its grip on her.

  “You can try,” said Raya, “but even if Skimif is dead, there are still the rest of the gods. They will stop you, you know.”

  If the gods could stop me, why haven't they already? the Void said. You do not realize how much weaker the gods have become ever since Skimif's death. They can no more stop me than you humans can stop the tide.

  Raya had no idea if the Void's words were true or not, but then she realized that the Void had a point. She didn't see or hear the gods anywhere, which made her realize that she and Abacos were on their own here, at least for now.

  And don't bother hoping that Alira will come and save you, either, said the Void. She's currently incapacitated. Truly, you are on your own, as all beings ultimately are.

  Raya found that rather pessimistic, but she didn't say that aloud because she knew that the Void could kill her instantly. In fact, she found herself wondering why the Void had yet to do so, considering how it had her in its grasp.

  Maybe I can somehow convince the Void to let me go, Raya thought. I mean, I can clearly communicate with it, so maybe if I just talk to it, it will listen.

  But finding the words to speak was much harder than it should have been. It was probably due to the way in which the Void felt against her skin. It was a shuddering, creeping feeling that made Raya want to throw off her clothes and jump into a lake. She found herself wishing that Carmaz was here. Or really, any of the other godlings. She would have even been happy to see Saia.

  There's no way I can get out of this situation on my own, Raya thought. I'm not as strong or as powerful or as smart as the others. Just like when that assassin attacked me. I only survived because the others arrived in the nick of time.

  Raya flicked her eyes toward Abacos. The Steed was looking at Raya with terrified eyes. She didn't know how she must have looked—the Void was holding her head and making it impossible for her to look down at herself—but she could guess that she was giving off a very unnatural aura that was probably scaring Abacos.

  I need Abacos's help, Raya thought. He's the only being I can depend on in here right now. But how?

  Raya tried to think about what kind of powers that the Steeds must have. Unfortunately, Teacher had never taught her much about Hollech or his Steeds. As a matter of fact, Raya recalled how violently her father reacted anytime anyone even mentioned Hollech around him. That still puzzled her to this day, but right now Father's reaction to Hollech's name was irrelevant to her current situation.

  If only Father were here, Raya thought. He could help me.

  Then Raya felt the Void touching the back of her ears, causing her to shudder at the cold, slimy touch.

  You are rather silent for a human, said the Void. I thought you were going to speak defiantly about how humanity will continue to survive against the forces of nature or some such cliched garbage like that.

  Raya huffed. “That's because I don't speak to my obvious inferiors. Father always taught me that being royalty meant never lowering yourself to the levels of wretched creatures like you.”

  Inferiors? You truly do not understand the power that I wield, said the Void. You must think that I am nothing more than a slight breeze, when the truth of the matter is, I am far closer to a raging tornado.

  Then Raya felt it. Along her back, she felt something that might have been long, thick claws raking her skin. She opened her mouth to scream, but then felt the Void's shadows enter her body through her open mouth, causing her to choke on them. She couldn't feel any air coming into her mouth and her eyes were starting to water heavily.

  But I have no reason to continue to let you live, you pathetic mortal, said the Void. You may be a princess, but I am the Void, a force greater than any mortal individual. I will consume you from the inside out, until soon there is nothing left of your body, not even a withered husk to act as a warning to other mortals arrogant enough to cross my path.

  This time, Raya knew that she was going to die. She could feel the air leaving her body, feel the Void as it tore at her back, but there was truly nothing she could do about it. She just prayed one final prayer to Grinf and the gods to save her, though it was an incoherent prayer because she couldn't think rationally or coherently due to the pain she was in.

  That was when a powerful, blinding flame came out of nowhere, causing Raya to close her eyes to avoid being blinded herself. Even with her eyes closed, however, Raya could see the light from the flames and feel the heat all around her. She even heard the Void let out a shout of surprise from the attack, as if it, too, had not expected this to happen.

  Then Raya heard a loud whinnying sound and opened her eyes in time to see Abacos charging at her. She at first thought that the Steed was going to kill her, but then much to her surprise, Abacos ran around Raya. She looked over her shoulder (which she realized meant that the Void had let her go) and saw that it was Abacos who was firing flames from his mouth. The light tore away at the deep darkness of the Void, which surprised Raya, as she hadn't thought that anything less than a god could come close to damaging the Void.

  That was also when Raya realized that she actually was free of the Void. Air returned to her lungs, which tasted sweeter than ever, but she hardly gave herself time to focus on that. She just stepped back, watching as Abacos burned away the flames with his fire, leaving charred grass or blackened walls wherever his fire touched.

  Why is Abacos saving me? Raya thought, too stunned by this unexpected turn of events to move. I barely even know him. Could it be because he thinks I'll win the Tournament?

  Raya shook her head. Now wasn't the time to worry about that. She could see already that Abacos was burning a path for her to reach the exit. She just had to gather the courage to do it, and quickly, because she could already see the shadows of the Void returning to smother the flames from Abacos.

  When Raya saw a break in the flames, she ran toward the exit. She ran so fast that she almost slammed into the door. She caught herself in the nick of time, however, and pulled at the door's handle. U
nfortunately, it wouldn't budge, even when she put all of her strength into opening it.

  Come on, Raya thought, scowling as she pulled and heaved. Open, damn it, open! Who had the bright idea of locking this door? Did they really think that we godlings might try to run away or something?

  Raya stopped pulling at the door and looked over her shoulder. She saw Abacos still breathing flame and kicking with his hind legs, which was a great way to distract the Void. Unfortunately, she could also tell that the Void was beginning to recover from Abacos's initial assault. The shadows were thicker and even absorbing the fire that Abacos breathed. It would likely be only minutes before the Void achieved enough power to put an end to Abacos's assault, at which point Raya was pretty certain that there was no way that she or Abacos would survive.

  So Raya shouted, “Abacos! Get over here, you stupid horse! I need you to break down this door! It's the only way we'll survive!”

  Much to her relief, Abacos understood what she said, because he let out one final burst of flame at the approaching Void tendrils and then dashed over to her faster than she could blink. When Abacos reached the door, he turned around and kicked the door in with his two powerful hind legs. The impact knocked the door inwards, but it didn't actually give out until he kicked it again, which finally sent the door flying off its hinges into the dark room on the other side.

  Relieved, Raya dashed through the open doorway, but paused when she heard Abacos give off a whinny of surprise. She then looked over her shoulder to see what had happened. She wished she hadn't.

  The Void had pierced Abacos through his heart with one of its tendrils, which had become as sharp and pointed as a knife. Abacos's blood dripped golden, like a god's, but despite that, the Steed tried to move forward toward her, as if the sharp shadow knife in its heart wasn't an issue.

  “Abacos!” Raya shouted.

  But then Raya felt a shudder in the darkness and a gigantic set of dark teeth appeared above and below Abacos. Then, before Raya could say anything else, the teeth slammed shut down on Abacos. There wasn't even a sound. The teeth simply slammed shut and Abacos was gone.

  Although Raya wanted to run, she could not help but stand there and stare at where Abacos had been standing mere moments before. She thought that her eyes had to be playing tricks on her or something, even though she knew that they were working just fine.

  “Abacos?” Raya repeated. “Abacos!”

  Your horse is dead, said the Void, its voice coming from everywhere around her now. I don't see why you are so despondent. You never even liked horses anyway. You mortals always get upset about the silliest things.

  Raya's every instinct told her to run, but she couldn't. She had to avenge Abacos. She couldn't just let the Void get away with its vile actions. It wouldn't be just.

  She stepped back into the room, her hands shaking at her side as she faced the Void. “You monster. How dare you kill Abacos. He was just an innocent horse.”

  Innocence and justice matter not to me, said the Void. All that matters to me is that I consume everything. Gods, humans, and yes, even horses. Nothing is above my hunger. Nothing.

  The Void's words just made Raya even angrier. She pointed at the Void and said, “I will make you pay for what you did, Void. I swear by Grinf's name that I will ensure that you receive the judgment you deserve for your vile and wicked crime.”

  How do you intend to hurt me? said the Void. You can't even touch me. And if it hadn't been for the horse, you would already be dead. You are nothing more than an insignificant candle fighting against the powerful hurricane that is me.

  “I …” Raya tried to figure out how to respond to that, but the words just didn't come to her no matter what. “I … I will …”

  And it is hilarious, isn't it, how you act so high and mighty when I know how selfish you really are? said the Void. I know of your 'takings,' mortal, and while I do not care about human morality, even I can see the irony in your talk about 'justice' when you are anything but.

  “My takings?” Raya repeated. She gasped. “Did you put that letter in my room?”

  One of my followers did at my orders, said the Void. He sneaked into your room and put the letter there in order to scare you, for mortals who are afraid are easier for me to consume than mortals who are not.

  “How dare you,” said Raya as righteous indignation rose in her. “Why, I am so angry that I—”

  Save the words, mortal, the Void interrupted. You should have run when you had a chance. At least then, you would have had a chance at survival, if nothing else.

  The shadows of the Void drew closer to Raya. She stepped back instinctively, but then looked over her shoulder and saw that more of the Void's shadows were coming from behind. She was completely surrounded on all sides and, without Abacos, she was certain that she was going to die.

  Raya looked around desperately, but no matter where she looked, she only saw the Void's shadows closing in on her. She was beginning to rethink her decision to stay behind and avenge Abacos. She could just imagine the shadows of the Void clamping down on her, just like poor Abacos, and killing her instantly.

  At least my death won't be drawn out, Raya thought. Not that that is much of a comfort.

  But Raya would not give up. She forced herself to think as fast as she could, considering any and all possibilities that she could use to get out of this situation alive. She would avenge Abacos later, she decided, after she made sure that she was safe here.

  The Void's shadows were now mere inches away from Raya's feet. Raya kicked at them, but her feet touched nothing, and even if they could, she doubted the Void would care. The Void was so much more powerful than she that she really couldn't hurt it no matter how hard she tried.

  I guess this is it, then, Raya thought, trying to fight back the tears welling up in her eyes. This is the end.

  But then an idea occurred to her: Raya was half katabans. It was not a fact that she focused on too much—she had always received unconditional love and acceptance from her parents and everyone else on Carnag for it, after all—but it was a fact. And katabans could access the ethereal, that other plane of existence that could be used to travel great distances all across Martir without needing to use ships, airships, or land vehicles of any kind.

  Can I access the ethereal? Raya thought, wiping the tears from her eyes that were now coming whether she wanted them to or not. I've never even tried it and Mother has never tried to teach me how to do it. But I don't have any other options at the moment. I must give it my best shot.

  Raya held out a hand before her and concentrated hard on opening a portal to the ethereal, trying to ignore the Void's tendrils that were slowly coming closer to her feet. She also tried to ignore the fact that she very well might not have that power at all, because her human half might somehow negate her innate katabans abilities.

  So quiet all of a sudden, mortal, said the Void in a mocking voice which Raya did her best to ignore. That is fine. I can see you've accepted your fate. Perhaps you are wiser than you appear.

  Raya didn't respond. She just focused hard on opening a portal into the ethereal. She felt nothing except for her head starting to hurt a little from the intense concentration, but she didn't give up, and she wouldn't give up until she either succeeded or the Void killed her.

  Then—quite without warning—the ethereal portal popped into existence before her. Raya hadn't sensed it coming. It merely popped open before her, without any warnings at all. That was almost enough to shatter her concentration, but she decided not to question it.

  So Raya threw herself through the open portal headfirst even as the shadows of the Void touched the heels of her feet. She heard the Void let out an angry curse, but didn't get to hear much of it, because as soon as she passed through the portal, it closed behind her with a small yet audible pop.

  As for Raya, she staggered forward across the pure white road of the ethereal, breathing hard as she did so. She hadn't realized how exhausted she was, but perhaps th
e combination of the Void's earlier attack on her body and opening the ethereal had drained her more than she thought.

  In any case, Raya found that she could no longer retain her consciousness. She fell face-first onto the white stone road before her, but was out before she even hit it.

  The last thing she saw before she fell unconscious was a glowing light before her that was walking toward her, along with the sound of mechanical joints creaking. But she soon stopped focusing on it when she completely lost consciousness.

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