by G Sauvé
I think back to my conversation with my older self and comprehension dawns on me. Shortly after the older Will appeared, the ground shook. At the time I didn’t pay much attention to it, but now I regret my obliviousness. Had I been more attentive, I may have noticed the ground behind my older self giving out and filling with sand. Unfortunately, I didn’t, and now I’m paying the price.
As I float there, trying to make myself as light as a feather, I can’t help wondering if the tremor that led to my current predicament had anything to do with Avalon’s story. What if the Nibiran energy contained within the Mountain of Fire is reaching critical mass? What if the long-dormant volcano is preparing to erupt? I guess it doesn’t matter because I’m going to die long before that happens. Or am I?
I think about what Will 2.0 said, and I realize something.
I can’t die.
If I die, my older self will die along with me, thus keeping him from returning to the past—my present—to warn me of impending dangers. Since he did, in fact, return, it means I somehow survive this seemingly deadly natural trap.
I’m no longer afraid. Nor am I worried. In fact, I’m smiling. And I continue to beam as centimetre after centimetre of my body is swallowed up. It’s not until the sand reaches my shoulders that I start having doubts.
What if I’m wrong? What if no one saves me? What if this is what my older self warned me about? I think back to everything I learned about time travel and I realize the future—or the past, depending on how you look at it—is not set in stone. If it were, Avalon wouldn’t be going to such extents to change it. I suddenly realize my entire theory is utterly unsound.
I can die. In fact, I probably will. That’s my final thought before the sand reaches my mouth. Tilting my head back, I inhale deeply. I barely have time to close my eyes before my entire head sinks beneath the surface. In a final, desperate attempt at survival, I outstretch my hands. If someone is going to save me, now would be a great time.
I’m not sure how long I’m trapped in this sand coffin, but it feels like an eternity. The sand presses against my body, making it impossible for me to move. It also blocks out all light, leaving me in pitch darkness. My air supply quickly runs out, and it feels like my lungs are going to explode. I try to exhale, but the sand won’t let me. It has now reached my elbow. A few more seconds and it will arrive at my wrists. When that happens, all hope of rescue will—
I stop mid-thought. Something just brushed against my arm. I’m not sure what it is, but it feels like a rope. I desperately start fumbling around, but there’s no sign of whatever it is that slithered across my skin. I begin to wonder if perhaps I imagined it when it happens again. This time the rope lands squarely in my palm.
I clamp my fingers around the cord and squeeze. Moments later, the rope is pulled taught. I grasp it with my free hand just as whoever threw it starts pulling. It takes a while, but I slowly start rising. I’m just about to run out of air when my head breaks the surface.
I inhale deeply. It feels heavenly. Eyes still closed to keep from being blinded by the cloud of sand that envelops me, I hold on to the rope for dear life as more and more of my body is pulled free. I eventually reach the edge of the pool and multiple pairs of small hands grab hold of me. They pull and drag me to safety.
As I lay there, struggling to recover from my near-death experience, a thought floats around in my mind. Is this what my older self meant by “help will come when you least expect it?” I honestly don’t know. Nor do I much care at the moment. I’m alive, and that’s all that matters.
It takes a while, but I finally find the strength to sit. My eyes flutter open, and I find myself face to face with one of my saviours. He’s a lava korrigan. But that’s not what lures the stunned gasp from my mouth.
“Oh my god!” I yelp. “Korri!”
Memory 81
K orri is alive.
The small korrigan looks just as I remember. Short, with dark skin and fiery hair. He wears a broad smile, no doubt thrilled to see me again. While I’m equally glad to see him in one piece, the shock of discovering he didn’t die as Jonn told us he had keeps me from expressing my happiness. I just sit there and stare at him.
“You’re alive!” I finally blurt out.
Korri looks puzzled but nods nonetheless.
“Of course I’m alive. Why wouldn’t I be?”
I chuckle.
“People who fall into bottomless pits usually tend to die,” I point out.
Korri finally seems to understand why I’m so surprised to see him in one piece.
“Oh, right. I forgot about that.”
I’m about to ask how he can forget nearly dying when I notice the half dozen korrigans standing behind him. Like Korri, they’re all small, dark-skinned, and fiery-haired.
“Who are your friends?” I ask.
Korri seems confused until he remembers we have company.
“I’m sorry,” he says, gesturing to the first of the five korrigans. “This is Korri. And this”—he points to the second korrigan in line—“is Korri.”
The third korrigan is also named Korri. As are the fourth and fifth. I wait to see if this is a joke, but Korri doesn’t seem to be kidding.
“You all have the same name?” I ask.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re all named Korri,” I say, unsure whether or not I’m being punked.
“Of course not,” he says. “That’s ridiculous.”
He reintroduces his companions one by one, making sure to enunciate each name. Unfortunately, they all sound the same to me. I consider pointing this out, but I suspect it will only make things more confusing. I guess my ability to understand languages doesn’t extend to korrigan names. While curious, this is rather unimportant given the grand scheme of things.
“Oh,” I say, pretending to understand. “I hear the difference now.”
I feel bad for lying to Korri, but it’s easier this way.
There’s a moment of silence before I can no longer bear the mystery of Korri’s survival.
“What happened?” I ask. “Jonn told us you fell. He said you were dead.”
The smile evaporates from Korri’s lips.
“I did fall,” he admits, “but I didn’t die.”
“How is that possible?”
“I was lucky,” admits Korri. “I fell for a while before hitting a spider web. It stretched across the entire crevasse, acting as a net.” I probably should be surprised there are spiders massive enough to spin webs that can save a korrigan’s life, but I’ve seen so much it will take more than that to surprise me. “At first I was grateful, but then I realized I was trapped. The webbing was strong and sticky. There was no way for me to escape.”
“How did you free yourself?”
“I didn’t. I was trapped for a full night and part of a day. It wasn’t until a few hours ago that Korri found me.” He points to one of the korrigans. “He went for help, and working together, they managed to free me before the spider returned.”
“Then what happened?” I ask. “How did you end up here?”
“I tried convincing them to help me find you guys,” he explains, “but they refused.”
“Why?”
“Our city is in danger. It took a lot of convincing just to persuade the queen to send a rescue team to save me. There’s no way she would agree to let them help me search for non-korrigans.”
“Then how did you find me?”
“We got lucky,” admits Korri. “The korrigans couldn’t help me because of our queen’s orders, so we parted ways. They were just about to head back into the Mountain of Fire when the earth shook, and the tunnel was blocked. Since the nearest alternate entrance was near the summit, we travelled together. We were just about to split up when we came across you.”
I can’t believe how lucky I was. If not for that cave-in, I would be dead.
“Where are your friends?” asks Korri.
I’m suddenly reminded of the precariousness
of their situation. The last thing I want to do is recount everything that happened to them, but I owe it to Korri to tell him the truth.
It takes a while, but Korri is finally brought up to speed. He’s stunned, but just like my older self, he believes they can be saved.
“I agree,” I say, standing up. “I must rescue them before Avalon decides to kill them.”
“You can’t!” cries Korri, grabbing my leg before I can take a single step.
“Yes, I can!” I’m a little surprised to discover I believe it wholeheartedly. If my near-death experience has taught me anything, it’s that I was right. I can’t be killed. For all intents and purposes, I’m invincible.
Korri doesn’t agree.
“No,” he says. “It’s too dangerous.”
I sigh.
“Look, I know you’re worried about me, but you don’t need to be. I can do this.”
“It’s too dangerous,” repeats Korri.
“I can handle a couple of arkane guards,” I say, my confidence at an all-time high.
“That’s not what I’m worried about. The mountain is unstable. We encountered three sinkholes on the way here. There’s no telling where the next one will appear.”
I hadn’t thought of that. Failing because of bad luck would be stupid. But I can’t abandon Kara and Jonn to their fate. I did it once, and I refuse to do it again.
“There’s another way up the mountain,” reveals Korri. “An underground passage that can lead you to the very summit in complete safety.”
That sounds promising. Part of me wants to run in and rescue my friends before I lose my sense of invincibility, but it would be unwise to go in without a plan.
“All right,” I say, though I can’t help wondering if I’m making a mistake. No sooner has the thought occurred to me than the ground starts to shake. Moments later, the spot where the pool of quicksand once stood opens up, swallowing every last grain and leaving a deep, dark orifice. By the time the shaking ceases, my mind is made up.
“What are we waiting for?” I ask. “Let’s go.”
Moments later, we’re on our way.
Korri’s rescue team leads the way while my friend and I follow a short distance behind. We travel in silence, which allows me to study the korrigans. They’re quite similar to Korri, but, unlike him, they wear pointy red hats. They would look like garden gnomes if not for the fact that their hats droop instead of standing erect.
“I lied,” admits Korri, putting an end to my study of the lava korrigans. “I wasn’t banished. I chose to leave.”
“Why?” I ask, wondering why he waited until now to tell me.
Korri sighs. “Most korrigans—lava korrigans, that is—spend their entire lives shovelling lava. I didn’t want that. I wanted to see the world.”
“So you left?”
Korri nods.
“At first, I loved the outside world, but I soon discovered it was a dangerous place for a small korrigan like me.”
“Why not go back?”
“I couldn’t. Leaving meant breaking korrigan law. I can never return.”
There’s a moment of silence.
“Why return now?” I ask. “What’s changed?”
“Everything,” says the small korrigan. “The city is under attack. Under such dire circumstances, they will welcome all help, even if it means pardoning me.”
I’m happy for him. After years of exile, Korri is finally going home.
We continue for a while before reaching a cliff. For a brief moment I fear we will have to scale it, but my friend assures me that’s not the case. At the base of the cliff stands a narrow fissure, barely big enough for a lava korrigan to slip into. According to Korri, that’s our way into the mountain.
“I’ll never fit,” I say.
“Yes, you will,” says Korri as he offers me his hand. At first, I don’t understand what he’s doing, but then it hits me. He wants me to copy his appearance, shrinking my body so I can fit into the stone passageway.
“Are you sure?” I ask.
Korri nods.
I take his hand, close my eyes and focus on replicating his appearance. Like the last time I shifted, the transition occurs easily. Within seconds, I have shrunk to the size of a lava korrigan. Korri’s companions are a little nervous, but he assures them I mean them no harm. They seem hesitant to trust me, but agree to let me follow them into the bowels of the Mountain of Fire.
The rescue team leads the way. Korri and I follow close behind. The deeper we travel into the natural tunnel, the darker it gets, but it’s not until the last few rays of light fade away that light floods the tunnel. At first, I think one of the korrigans lit a torch, but I soon realize the glowing mass of flames isn’t a torch. It’s the leader’s head. He has removed his red hat, and his hair is now on fire.
“Don’t worry,” says Korri when he notices my stunned expression. “It’s normal.”
“Can all lava korrigans do that?”
“We all have the potential,” admits Korri, “but it takes years of practice. My mother can do it without even trying. It annoys my father because he’s never managed to light up, no matter how hard he tries.”
I can tell Korri misses his parents.
“How long have you been gone?” I ask.
“I lost count,” admits Korri. “Fifty years or so.”
“Fifty years?” I yelp. I always sensed Korri was older than he appeared, yet I had no idea just how old he was. In fact, I still don’t.
“How old are you?” I ask.
“I’ll be ninety-nine in a few weeks,” he announces proudly.
I’m not sure how to react. So much has happened in the last few weeks. I can’t even fathom what it must be like to have lived nearly a hundred years.
“Is that normal for korrigans?”
“It depends on the korrigans,” explains Korri. “Lava korrigans can live to be a thousand years old. Forrest korrigans rarely make it past five hundred as their life expectancy has been lowered by their arkane ancestry.”
“How long do arkanes live?”
“I’m not sure,” admits Korri. “Less than a hundred years, I think.”
I can’t believe how much there still is about this time and its inhabitants I don’t know. I could spend my entire life here and still only know a fraction of all the information this time contains. Of course, that would be impossible as this time is doomed.
I feel sorry for Korri. Should I tell him he’s going to die or should I let him live the last few years—hopefully it will be that long—of his life in ignorance? If I were him, I would prefer not knowing. I’m debating whether or not to tell him the truth when we reach the end of the tunnel. It’s not until I reach the gathered group of korrigans that I realize we have reached the very bowels of the mountain.
We stand at the top of a high cliff. Before us stretches a vast cavern. It’s so massive I can’t even see the far side. Far below us—I avoid looking straight down as I know it will wreak havoc with my balance—stretches a vast ocean of lava. The molten rock bubbles and erupts angrily. I may not be a volcano expert, but there’s no doubt in my mind this is the cause of the tremors that shook the mountain. It also means it’s a matter of mere days—or hours—before the volcano erupts. And, when that happens, the summit of the Mountain of Fire will explode, destroying anything within range of the blast. Unfortunately for Jonn and Kara, that includes the tower in which they’re being held.
Memory 82
L ava. It stretches as far as the eye can see. Its orange glow illuminates every centimetre of the vast cavern, but the sheets of hot air that waft up from the molten rock keep everything hazy. I can barely make out the island that stands at the very centre of the ocean of lava.
“Is that a city?” I ask, struggling to make out the distant island.
“Korrigania,” says Korri.
“Excuse me?”
“Korrigania,” repeats the lava korrigan. “That’s the name of the city.”
“
Oh. Is that where you grew up?”
Korri nods, but he seems worried.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s the lava. It’s much higher than when I left.”
“Let’s go,” says the leader of the rescue team before I can think of anything comforting to say. He heads off, followed by the four other korrigans. Korri hesitates for a moment, then follows. I do the same, but first, I revert to my normal appearance. There’s nothing wrong with being small, but I feel better in my own skin.
The korrigans lead me along the edge of the cliff until we reach what appears to be a staircase. Like the remains I encountered on the way up the Mountain of Fire, it has been carved directly into the cliff. The only difference is that this one is still intact.
“Oh no,” I groan at the sight of it.
“What’s wrong?” asks Korri.
“I’m afraid of heights.”
“Don’t worry. We’re not using the staircase.”
“How will we get down?”
Korri doesn’t answer. He doesn’t need to. His rescue team has gathered around a hole in the nearby wall, and one of them is now in the process of climbing in.
“Wee!” he cries out as he vanishes from sight. His voice grows more and more distant until I can no longer hear it. As soon as that happens, a second korrigan climbs in and vanishes. It’s not until the third one enters the hole in the wall that I realize it’s some sort of slide, carved directly into the stone.
“Are you sure it’s safe?” I ask once all five korrigans have vanished.
“Don’t worry,” says Korri with a wink. “You’ll love it.” He climbs into the hole and vanishes.
I’m alone. I hesitate for a moment before entering the hole. I may be afraid of heights, but I have no issue with sliding. As long as I don’t realize how high up I am, I’ll be fine.
I take a deep breath, close my eyes and release the edges of the hole. I barely have time to tuck my arms by my side before gravity grabs me. Within seconds, I’m speeding along in total darkness.
At first, I’m terrified, but I soon relax when I realize the slide is safe. I cry out in glee as I speed along the twisting, turning, and looping stone tunnel. The journey lasts a full minute, and I enjoy every second of it. It’s not until I finally reach the bottom that I realize my mistake.