Prism

by Matthew D. Ryan

Chapter 2

  Akarra stood before the entrance of Yridia’s cave; the pentagonal opening held a gathering of shadows. Behind her, the Lightshards in the center of the square entered their dim phase. It was the end of another day.

  She paused to examine the necklace of prisms Thaygos had bought for her today as a keepsake. A spray of iridescent stonelights splashed into her eyes making her blink repeatedly. Six of the seven basic colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo. Violet, of course, was missing—it was too dangerous and slightly obscene. Today had been long and tiring. She’d spent an hour talking to Thaygos. Although she and Thaygos had their troubles, by far the most pressing issue of the day was Yridia’s news. Separating from a lover was one thing—even if such was coming on suddenly. Accepting the fact that someone you cared for was about to die was quite another. Death was such an absolute thing. The end. Complete and final. No one knew what lay on the other side. Legend said there was an afterlife. An existence better than this one in Gorinna, The Cave of Paradise. But no one knew for sure. No one had ever returned from such a place to bring news of hope or joy. And so, death remained an utter mystery.

  And now she was about to lose Yridia to that mystery.

  Once more, she felt the blue lifelight pulsing through her body, welling up from the pits of her soul to radiate outward from her antennae. She must be a sorry sight, standing here before the Shardshapers Cave, shoulders slumped, weeping for anyone to see. She indulged herself but only a moment more. Then she straightened her shoulders, lifted her chin, and steeled herself to enter the cave. It was unbecoming for the Shardshaper’s Apprentice to weep too much. Some, perhaps, but not too much.

  She strode into the cave. On her left a tetrahedron crystal glowed with white stonelight. Yridia lay nearby, her body covered by a yenshi robe and a yenshi blanket, both of which failed to keep her from shivering. There was no one to attend her. Among her many other tasks, the Shardshaper served as healer to the tribe. If anyone should attend to her needs, it was Akarra herself. She could not have used the Heartshard, but she could have helped in other ways.

  Akarra felt suddenly guilty. She’d been lax, squandering her time on romantic frippery. She should have been here. Yridia needed her.

  Moving over to Yridia, Akarra knelt and placed her hand on the top of Yridia’s head. It felt strangely warm. Most noticeable was the blue and black lifelight cascading from her antennae, the signs of sadness and fear.

  Yridia turned her head and opened her eyes. They sparkled briefly with golden joy before lapsing back into charcoal fear. She turned on her side and pushed herself up into a sitting position.

  “Should you not rest, Mistress?” Akarra asked.

  “Posh,” Yridia said. “I can spare a few moments for my apprentice.”

  “Tell me what to do, Mistress,” Akarra said. “Surely there must be some way to treat your illness.”

  “If so, do you not think I would have done so already?” Yridia said. “Even now, I feel the cold, dark hand of death reaching toward me. My light is running out. My life will soon end.” She convulsed. Once. Twice. A third time. Ripples of multi-colored lifelight effused from her body. And after every convulsion, the light seemed weaker, dimmer.

  “Then what am I to do, Mistress?” Akarra asked.

  In response, Yridia reached into her robe and pulled out her Heartshard. She lifted it before her. “Do you see this?” she said.

  “Of course,” Akarra replied.

  “It is my Heartshard. A piece of my heart. I am bonded to it. Only I can wield it to its full potential.”

  “Yes, I know, Mistress Shardshaper. I have always felt your connection with it and I have always felt how it bore my touch with resignation. You have taught me much on how to use it, but I have always known its full powers are beyond me.”

  “They are not beyond you,” Yridia said. “They are blocked from you.” She lowered the Shard and bent over it like a miser hoarding coin. “This precious object comes from the Heart Crystal in the center of the Cavern. When I die it will absorb my soul. When this happens you must bring my Heartshard to the Cave of the Heart Crystal and ...” She paused, searching for words. A haunted expression flashed across her face and her features grew dark with black lifelight. “And ... restore it to its former place. Then, when this is done, you must claim your own Shard and bond with it. You are my heiress. You will be the next Shardshaper of our clan.”

  “Of course, Mistress,” Akarra said. “I will do as you command.”

  “Go, then, and prepare for your journey, for my time grows short.”

  “No.”

  “No?” Yridia asked. “You are not Shardshaper yet. By what authority do you resist my command?”

  “There will be time for preparations later,” Akarra said. “I would rather spend your last moments in this world comforting you as a true friend would.”

  Blue light effused from Yridia’s antennae. She straightened slightly and stared at Akarra for a moment. “You have grown strong, my youngling. And wise. I will grant your last request. Remain here with me for a little while.” She shivered. “But take this now, lest we both forget.” She handed her Heartshard to Akarra, then convulsed again, radiating more lifelight. Exhausted, she slumped down to the warm quartz floor at Akarra’s knees. “So ... tired.”

  Akarra spent the next hour watching over Yridia. As she watched, Death advanced with slow, steady surety. The lifelight coursing through Yridia’s body grew dimmer and dimmer. Akarra’s own lifelight was tinged blue. Blue-tinged tears appeared on her face; one fell to the floor while her antennae drooped.

  Akarra placed a hand on Yridia’s forehead. The warm quartzflesh exuded tiny ripples of light at her touch. She pulled her hand away, and Yridia convulsed a final time. Blue and black lights flashed across her body; her antennae whipped about for a moment then grew stiff.

  As Akarra watched, a misty white mantle of light rose out of Yridia’s body, flowed across the short distance between them and settled down upon the now gleaming Heartshard. The Shard drew in the light, capturing it and holding it for the journey ahead. At the same time, Yridia’s quartz body began to change, to decompose. Bits and pieces of her quartzflesh disintegrated, raining down in a shower of powdery white. The process accelerated: first the feet disappeared; then the hands and the chest. Soon only the outline of a vaguely bipedal shape composed of white salt remained on the floor.

  She was gone.

  Akarra gently picked up the Shard. She held it a moment, noting the odd gleam it seemed to have acquired before placing it in the pocket of her own yenshi robe. She stood and struggling to contain the emotions within her, moved across the chamber, exited the building and stepped out into the Dimlight. There were few passersby at this time, only a few younglings holding discrete rendezvous.

  She walked across the square, her hand grasping the Shard in her pocket. She made it past the four Lightshards in the center of the square before her control broke. First, there was a flicker of blue light in her antennae, followed by ripples of the same through all her quartzflesh. Then, a single tear broke free and slid slowly down her cheek.

  She started to run, then. Across the square. Down the path behind the yenshi shop to another path that led to her own home, a small hemispherical quartz building only fifteen feet across. She staggered through the opening and threw herself to the ground.

  Then, in the safety of the shadows, she began to sob and weep.