by Kyle West
The wind shifted through the silver-white boughs, and I closed my eyes, listening until I fell asleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“ANNA...”
SHE FELT HIS HAND on her face. The voice was loving, and at its sound, she felt a strange combination of happiness and sadness. Not merely happiness, but something exultant and far beyond anything she’d ever felt. And the sadness would be better described as grief, as if the one who carried that voice were already dead. She opened her mouth, but found herself at a loss for words.
“I love you,” he said. “Never forget that.”
“I won’t,” she said, her voice thick. “I couldn’t...even if I tried.”
She wanted to tell him she loved him, too, but no words came. They were nearly there. In moments, her grief would be complete. Her love would be gone. And even if she survived all this, she wouldn’t know what to do with herself. The world would never be the same.
And then, there was chaos, light, and heat — nothing but white radiance, as if they were entering the sun. She was somewhere between a dream and death.
“There was so much more we had to do,” she said. “So much more we had to see.”
Why does it all have to end?
“We can’t think about that.”
How could I not? She wanted to scream it, but in the end, felt powerless.
“I know,” she finally said. “Just...hold on to me, when we go in there.”
“I will,” he said. “I promise.”
Below spread the swirling maelstrom, the joining of light and dark. The Sea, split in a sinuous line, glowed pink on one side and black on the other. Anna felt herself floating up.
In time, that all faded, and she could see silvery streams connecting points of light. There were thousands, like the stars, too numerous to count, and on the horizon those points didn’t seem to fade. She could focus on one light, and she was there, or she could peer into the distance and zoom as far as she liked to focus on another.
Each of these are memories, a voice said. They tell the stories of every Elekai who ever lived and died on this world. They are preserved here, locked in the Xenofold. Some died during the war, but most died long after, including their children and their children’s children. They all returned here to the Xenofold. Samuel. Makara. Ruth. Ashton. Julian. There was a long pause. And Alex, too. But some time ago, one of these lights went out.
Anna, I thought. She left the Xenofold.
Do you not remember?
I remember nothing.
Perhaps I can help you remember.
How?
I’ve been the one helping you to remember. Perhaps your old self can never be reclaimed. Perhaps that is for the best. But it is necessary that you understand who you were.
But who are you? I asked.
I am...an intermediary.
You mean, the Nameless One.
No, the voice said. Unlike the Nameless One, I am here specifically to help you. I am something you created within the Xenofold, during your time here...a guardian, if you will.
Something I created?
Yes. I am a collection of your memories — memories that I can only share with you in short bursts.
You’re the one giving me the dreams, then.
Yes.
Do you have a name?
My name is the sum of every memory I contain. Essentially, I am you. A bank from which you can draw your moments.
I’m confused...you exist in the Xenofold? How is it I’m talking to you, then?
You are sleeping near the ichor, which serves as an entry, the voice said. I can communicate with dreams across distance. Direct speech, such as this, requires power that only ichor can provide. Until now, the connection has been less than perfect, but now that you are here, I can speak more directly.
If you contain Anna’s memories, then you know everything about her.
Everything she consciously stored in me, yes. I imagine there are some things she kept even to herself, not knowing that when she was reborn to the world, that it would be bereft of herself.
Would any of these memories contain her Prophecy?
There was a stretching silence, and it was long before the memory answered. I am not finding any particular Prophecy in my store of memories.
Why wouldn’t she save that memory?
I...don’t know. Memories have a way of slipping away, sometimes. Perhaps that is one of them.
I wondered how that could be, but then I remembered what Isandru had told me. Many Elekai memories had been extinguished with the draining of the Sea of Creation. Could Anna’s memory of the Prophecy be one of them?
What can you tell me? I asked. Have you been the one giving me strange thoughts? The one helping me to fight?
In a way. It is a slow process, but every night when you sleep, you learn a little more of who you were before.
Until I become her?
On that point, this nameless collection of memories was silent.
You must stop, then, I said. I...can’t understand what’s happening to me. I’m afraid I might be lost.
I only have my instructions. Instructions you yourself gave me.
Well, can’t you listen to me now?
You worried, in the Xenofold, that there might be details you wouldn’t remember. I was created as a failsafe. My instructions are clear: to restore your memories in the safest way possible.
You can’t do that anymore, I said. Things have changed. I’m a different person, now. Anna is a small part of me. And she must stay a small part of me.
All the same, the salvation of the human race depends on your remembering.
I don’t understand, I said. Salvation from what? The Second Darkness? What can you tell me about that?
I know...nothing on that subject.
You’ve forgotten everything important...I wonder why.
On that point, the voice was silent.
I’ll still have to discover the Prophecy on my own. Can you at least tell me where I came from? Can you show the memory of me entering the world?
You were hardly conscious at that time, the voice said. There would be nothing to show you. Besides, you were devoid of all of Anna’s memories at that time. I simply show what Anna has stored in me, both during her life on Earth and during her centuries within the Xenofold.
What can you show me?
Only the memories, such as I can impart to you. I can only communicate when you sleep. I am merely visiting you now to acquaint myself with you...to let you know I’m doing all that you have instructed. My allegiance is to Anna.
Even at the cost of erasing me? I’m a different person. If Anna had foreseen this, she wouldn’t condone it.
The voice paused, as if that was a thought it hadn’t considered. Perhaps it wasn’t even capable of considering it. It was just a consciousness that was following the orders of her master.
I can sense this alternate consciousness within you...the one called Shanti. I agree that Anna could not have possibly foreseen it. And yet...my instructions are clear. Memories shall return to you, such as they can. Memories that will keep you safe in a new world where, if you die, disaster will befall humanity. Would you not agree that their needs are greater than your own? Was it not you who said to think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world?
The words rang true in my mind, as if they were something I had once said. Unbidden, a memory of the one called the Wanderer came to me. Something told me that he had once said it, but where I had heard it — whether in my former life, or while Anna was in the Xenofold, I couldn’t say.
Then it came to me, far distant within the midst of my dream: it was one of the tenets of the Seeker’s Way.
Don’t be discouraged, the voice said. My protection goes with you. I have a memory that will keep you safe. If you bathe in the ichor upon waking, I can assure you that your blade will sing in harmony with the xen. It will be your shield, protecting you from harm.
You’re going to teach
me how to fight like Anna.
Yes. Before, the memories could only be transmitted in bursts, imperfectly. But soon, you will be capable of far, far more.
What about Isaru? Can he gain the same memories?
The Voice hesitated. The effects would be...uncertain. His potential is not the same as yours. He has potential, yes...but of a different kind. One thing is clear: the Prophecy — your Prophecy — must be found.
The darkness swirled, the shining lights went black, and the silver streams faded to nothing.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
WHEN I AWOKE, THE DAY was already bright, and I could discern the blue of the sky through the parted treetops. The sun cast translucent pink shadows on the forest glade. I turned on my side to see Isaru still asleep.
Through the twisted spiral trunks, gleaming silver in the morning light, was the ichor of the pool. I rose, being careful not to disturb Isaru. I left the glade and walked slowly on the silver shore. Jorla was gone from the pool, and in the daylight, its surface shimmered like colored glass.
I remembered Isaru’s warning: ichor was dangerous to touch. Only, the voice in my dream had told me to enter this pool. If I was truly going to enter the Red Bastion, then I felt as if I had no choice in the matter.
So first, I knelt at the pool’s edge, lowering my hand and allowing it to break the surface. The ichor wrapped around my hand, slipping through my fingers as I raised it above the surface. It didn’t hurt, though it did make my skin tingle.
It was enough proof for me. I took off my boots and socks, but left the rest of my clothes on. I placed one bare foot in the ichor to test it. It wrapped around my foot and was warm to the touch, giving the same tingling sensation it had given my hand. I put the other foot in, and the thick liquid gave way easily, almost seeming to part for me. I walked forward until it was up to my torso.
I drew a deep breath, allowing myself to sink below the surface. Immediately, a rush of images entered my mind, seemingly transmitted by the surrounding ichor. I saw strange colors, flying dragons, the connection and harmony of all Elekai. I was a part of something ancient and wonderful.
I moved to return to the surface, but I remained frozen in place. This didn’t panic me; instead, I felt strangely calm. When my lungs began to burn, I simply breathed in the ichor, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
I don’t know how long I remained below the surface, in stasis, but there was one thing I was sure of: I wasn’t entirely myself. Whatever of Anna that was in me came to the fore, dominating the entirety of my consciousness. I wasn’t in the present era; I felt as if I had gone back in time four hundred years, and I could remember everything from her life clearly. I could still feel myself — Shanti — buried somewhere deep. And perhaps the most unsettling thing of all, this change didn’t alarm me.
Alex? I thought.
Within the Xenofold, as deep as one’s thoughts could reach, I thought I felt something stir. Or perhaps someone. Someone powerful, someone ancient, someone who would overwhelm me had I been my former self.
The surrounding ichor seemed to fade, until there was a sudden brightening. I stood on a shimmering white surface, and a dark sky filled with stars spread above. In the distance stood a figure, obscured by shadow.
I knew it was him.
Anna...you’re back.
My chest tightened as an intense longing permeated my entire being. It was a voice I hadn’t heard in what felt ages.
I never left.
I walked forward, but suddenly felt compelled to stop.
I’m sorry, he said. I can’t allow you to come any closer. It...might kill you.
What?
You’re no longer of the Xenofold. Not completely. Even this connection can only last a moment. I just...wanted to feel your presence.
Alex...
I wanted to tell him that I wanted to be in his arms, even if it killed me. Instead, all I could manage to say was something entirely insufficient.
How have you been?
He was quiet for a long while, as if the question were too large to answer. I’m happy, now...if that’s what you mean. Whether we’ll survive the coming storm, who can say? But I believe in you. I believe you can do what you set out to do.
Just as you did.
I could, only because you were with me. It pains me that I can’t do the same for you. Only know that I am with you, always. I will protect you, always, Anna.
At the mention of that name, I felt Shanti’s consciousness stir within me. Not yet. Give me more time with him.
Do you remember any of the visions I gave you?
I fought to remember, but there was nothing. No. It’s all been eroded. She...wrote down some of them, but even she fights to remember.
I’ve tried to restore the Sea of Creation, he said. But there is no power left...even for me.
Don’t say that, I said. We always have power if we decide to act. We will save the Xenofold, and we will save the world. I just can’t remember what it is I’m supposed to do, or when Xenofall is coming...
Xenofall. Where had that word come from? It sounded familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I’d heard it.
The Prince of Haven and Shanti are on their way to Colonia now, I said. We hope to find the Prophecy...and Shanti’s parents. I like her, but she’s young. It’s hard to believe we were both like that.
Will you have to overcome her?
I don’t know the answer to that. We’ll have to see. It would be as good as death for her. But if it means the salvation of the planet...I have to do what I came for.
Let’s hope that it doesn’t come to that. Perhaps her being overcome is impossible to stop, but we should do all we can to preserve her memory. What happened was...unfortunate. It was never meant to work like this.
The stars above and the bright floor below were fading.
Alex?
I can’t stay any longer. I’ll always be with you. Always.
I tried to say goodbye, but I already found myself under the pool’s surface. I wondered at what had just happened, and then, it was all gone...everything.
NOW FREE TO MOVE, I broke the surface of the ichor. The cool air felt strange, and I coughed out the liquid in my lungs while drinking the air in huge gulps. I blinked a few times, feeling more shocked than I had ever been. Anna’s presence felt stronger than ever, but even now, she was receding deep inside my mind, until all that was left was me.
“Shanti!”
I turned to see that Isaru had shouted from the shoreline. I couldn’t remember how I’d come to be inside the pool.
“I’ve searched all over for you, and you were in there the whole time?”
He took off his boots and socks and waded into the ichor, but he had only made it to his shins when he screamed.
“Isaru!”
He rushed out of the ichor, sprawling on the shore and grabbing at his feet.
I pushed through the ichor toward him, and when I emerged, the ichor slid off my skin to rejoin the pool. I knelt beside Isaru, whose eyes winced in terrible pain. His shins and feet were red and covered with boils that were still expanding so quickly that I could hardly believe my eyes. Isaru watched, his eyes wide with disbelief.
On impulse, I placed my hands on either of his feet. He yowled in pain — but only for a moment. His face calmed, and he looked up at me with surprise.
“The pain is going away...”
My own eyes widened as I watched his boiling skin transform before me. The wounds faded, the angry red softening to marble clearness, until, after a moment, not a spot was left.
His chest rose and fell, as if he were still panicked. I lifted my hands, watching them shake in front of me.
“What...what did you do?”
I blinked. “I don’t know. It just happened.”
We just sat quietly for a while, trying to process the situation.
“I’ve see no one heal like that before, with such skill,” Isaru said, looking at me. “No one. How
...”
“I don’t know, Isaru. I think I had a vision in that pool, but I don’t remember any of it. I can’t even remember why I went in there.”
“Ichor is dangerous,” Isaru said, after a moment. “Normally, one can’t just enter like you did without any ill effects. When I saw you in there...I assumed it was safe.”
“Wait,” I said, remembering. “I had a dream last night. There was this voice. It said it was a collection of Anna’s memories in the Xenofold that’s been trying to communicate with me, and...” I shook my head. “It’s all so confusing.”
I explained that dream as best as I could. If anything, Isaru seemed to make more sense of it than me.
“Yes, that does explain where all your dreams are coming from,” Isaru said. “It makes sense that the Xenofold would try to teach you about the past. And it makes even more sense that it can speak to you more directly when the power of ichor is involved.”
“It told me to go in the pool,” I said. “It said it would give me Anna’s ability to fight, but I don’t feel any different...and I remember nothing. There’s only a blank space between my going in and coming out.”
“The toxin,” Isaru said. “Though I’ve never heard of it working so quickly. Perhaps you were not meant to remember...”
Isaru was interrupted when Jorla flew from above the trees, spreading her wings and gliding to land on the shoreline. She flapped her wings a couple of times to steady herself before addressing us both.
The way is clear, she said. We had best be on our way.
Isaru and I looked at each other, as if each of us were wondering whether we needed to work this out more.
“I’m all right, if you are,” I said.
Isaru nodded. “Not all questions have answers. And we do need to get moving if we’re to reach Colonia. We should be there by late afternoon.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
IT WAS AN HOUR INTO our journey that I felt a sharp pang of hunger. I hadn’t eaten or had a drink since the night before, so we stopped for water when Jorla spied a bubbling spring among the xen-covered rocks. Her eyes were far sharper than ours. From time to time, she would change course for no clear reason. It was as if she were plotting her way across the Red Wild by sighting landmarks.