The Day the Earth Met the Sky

by Pat Ellis

  “What, you worried you’re just a pretty face? To me? C’mon, Captain,” Kiddo kissed his neck and Roth breathed in sharply, “you know better.”

  “Hm. Maybe. But, it’s nice to hear… nice to know why, I guess.”

  Kiddo couldn’t help the short laugh that escaped him. “Well then, what about me?”

  “Hm? I love you because you’re a fucking weirdo, just like me.”

  Ever laughed against Erik’s chest.

  “What is it?” Erik said, gripping his hair playfully.

  “Just remembered something funny.”

  “Hm. I remember something funny too. Remember that one time when you were a kid and you tried to kill yourself? Ironic, don’t you think?”

  “How is that—that’s not funny!” Ever said, but he was laughing.

  “I think that maybe it’s good that we rarely met so young like that.”—Erik didn’t always remember that they were just as young when they met in this life—“A bit dangerous, don’t you think? Emotions that strong. But, I remember it so well… just that scene, nothing else. I saw you lying there by the water, all pale and bloody, practically glowing in the moonlight. You're left hand was resting over your heart, over my stupid knife… everything was silver and crimson and you… God, it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.” He cradled Ever’s face and stared into his eyes with a clarity that was becoming far too rare. “Kind of weird and creepy, I know. But, seeing you like that, thinking you might actually be dead, I could see what all would be lost so clearly. What a beautiful, terrifying moment. If I hadn’t been able to save you… I guess I wouldn’t even remember. I know I’ve watched you die, so many times… I still feel the pain of it, but I can’t remember…” Erik’s brow furrowed and his eyes fell to the side.

  Ever’s heart ached. He pushed Erik onto his back on the window seat and kissed him hard enough to hurt, pinning Erik’s hands above his head. Erik arched against him and bit down on Ever’s lower lip.

  Ever pulled away to catch his breath and appreciate the fire in Erik’s eyes. It was a different kind of clarity, but reassuring all the same.

  “Don’t stop now,” Erik said.

  It was incredible that after so many years he could never get enough of Erik. It wasn’t just true love they shared, it was an all-consuming, boundless obsession; a doctor probably would’ve called it unhealthy, but Ever never went to doctors. It was everything! Fuck Mother and Fuck humanity, loving Erik was his true purpose.

  Ever rested his head on Erik’s bare chest, letting his steady heartbeat lull him into a half sleep.

  Erik began to hum an effortless tune that made Ever feel as much at ease as he could be.

  Some time passed before Erik spoke again. “I know we fought a lot of wars, met a lot of people, did a lot of crazy shit… I know a lot, actually… but I can’t remember any of it. But, the memories I’ve held on to are the most important, I think. All of you. Times like this right now. And all the firsts, I think. I love those memories.”

  Ever smiled and nuzzled his chest. “You remember this one? This first?”

  “Mmhmm. On a roof. It was kind of raining again. Water seems to be a trend with us.” He laughed.

  “W-why did you do that?” Ever said, nervous, surprised, but still mostly aroused.

  “You were doing this thing,” Van looked hungrily from Ever’s eyes, to his lips, and back to his eyes, the corners of his mouth fighting off a smile. “That’s like, universal for shut up and kiss me.”

  “I-I would never want you to shut up…”

  “But you admit you wanted to kiss me!”

  Ever felt the heat in his cheeks and turned away, leaning over the parapet and staring intently at the city below.

  “It’s ok… I wanted to kiss you too. I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t. Hey,” Van grabbed Ever by the shoulders and forcefully turned him around. His eyes were intense. “This place is something else, eh? You were right… I always knew you weren’t crazy. Well, at least, I always knew you were right. Probably still crazy.”

  Ever was shaking, but he didn’t want to miss the moment. He put his trembling hands on Van’s hips and brought him closer. “I-I love you, Van…”

  Van’s eyes grew so wide Ever almost had a heart attack, but then Van broke into a grin, cradling Ever’s face in his hands. “I love you too, kid.”

  Van kissed him harder this time and Ever wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing, but it must’ve been ok because Van was noticeably aroused and Ever had never wanted to be so close to anyone.

  Suddenly, something hit Ever like an electric shock and he pulled away.

  “What was that?” Van arched an eyebrow.

  “There’s something in here…” Something that belongs to me. Ever patted Van’s chest, careful not to get burned by something.

  “My heart, I hope.”

  “Something else…” Ever reached for it and got another shock and Van let out a hiss. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

  “Go on, touch it,” Van said.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. Felt kinda good.”

  Ever reached and let the electricity wash over them both; flooding, consuming, magic like he’d never known! But, he had known it, for ages upon ages. It was his magic, and it had been waiting there this whole time, nestled right next to Van’s heart! So much power, so many memories—

  “We were so young then. Kinda sweet, don’t you think?” Erik said.

  “Yeah,” Ever smiled, “but, sometimes I wish we didn’t remember so quickly that time. Part of me would’ve liked to spend more time figuring you out.”

  “You say that now, but back then you were nervous as shit.” Erik laughed.

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  They lay there in silence for an achingly long moment.

  “Hey, Aaron? I think it’s time to go.”

  “Yeah…”

  Ever reluctantly got to his feet, redressing himself, and Erik followed suit.

  He was shaking. He didn’t want to cry.

  “One second.” Erik left for a moment, presumably rummaging around in the cargo hold, and returned with a small potted heliotrope plant. “Here, you can hold on to this for a while.”

  The cluster of purple blossoms smelled like cherries. He held it close to his chest and took his seat while Erik, in the pilot’s seat as usual, prepared to detach the old research vessel from the station. “It’ll be ok, I promise.” Erik gave him a sidelong smile and winked.

  Ever’s heart was about to burst. He was in an anxious trance as they abandoned the station, gaining some distance between themselves and the red giant, gradually approaching the very first Jump Point, which was far enough away that they could safely watch their Sun swallow Mother before departing the solar system. Ever didn’t want to see it, but he knew he had to.

  “It’s happening right now, isn’t it?” Ever asked.

  Erik magnified the rock on the monitor. There wasn’t much to see; it might’ve been just a speck of dirt on the screen, but his heart knew different. Erik laid his hand in Ever’s lap and Ever took it gratefully.

  Whatever happened next, nothing ever truly ended. One way or another, they would go on. It was time for the next adventure, something like never before. The truly unknown.

  Ever squeezed Erik’s hand tight as the sun Ever had known since his first breath consumed the Earth.

  Excerpt: The Lost Girl and the Queen of Air

  Sequel to The Demon King and the Boy Who Hardly Knew Anything

  Prologue

  Once upon a time, there was a man who became a god. Born from the essence of the sky and the love of the earth, he changed the world forever

  “How can a man become a god?” Quinn had been told the story many times, but there was always something missing. She hated how her grandmother would purposefully leave out anything that made sense, as if understanding the story would somehow ruin it.

  “Faith, dear girl. Now, hush. Mankind had evolved beyond the nat
ural order, you see; far removed from the natural world, and this caused a great disruption in the balance. We’d become vastly reliant on reason and technology, surely, but we were still capable of faith. Still are, of course.”

  “But, how, Gramma? That doesn’t mean anything! You’re just dodging the question!”

  “How do you think gods are born? We believe, child! We have faith, and that is why gods exist. There were many before him, but they abandoned us when we changed. When we stopped believing enough, to be more precise. The old gods had been gone for centuries, abandoning mankind for a world of their own, as mankind was already in the process of generating this great rift. The old gods saw the future and knew they would be useless to us.

  But, when the disruption caused by man grew too great, something had to be done or the world could not bear the devastation. A new god was born to suit the new world. Faith brought him to us! And, love, of course. You see, someone very special, someone who carried the mandate of the earth, fell in love with this man and believed in him so strongly… well, he had no choice but to become a god! So, when the original Demon King—the oldest creature known to mankind—emerged to take the world from our ancestors, the new god was forced to make a choice: to return the natural order by reining in humanity, or strive for a new kind of balance; a way for mankind to regain our lost connection with our own planet, without giving up all we had created. And, in the end, the new god chose mankind, for his true love had chosen mankind. His true love had chosen him, as he was as a man! Before he was a god! What the god himself had truly wished is unknown, but he could not betray his love, you see. For in the end, love is the most powerful magic of all.”

  “But, gramma, what did he actually do?” Quinn hated to whine, but her frustration always got the better of her.

  “Hush! You can’t expect all the details, after so much time has passed. After so much has been lost… Where was I? Right. But, it didn’t end there. The new world was unstable, of course, very unstable. We could travel to the moons, yet we were incapable of maintaining global peace between the old lands, and our weapons grew more and more perilous… we’d become a ticking time-bomb, as they say. So, the new god, still carrying the sky in his eyes and the earth in his heart, was tasked with saving the world of man three times after the first; the last from none other than our own devastating creations.

  But, one day, after the last great war of the old world, the god’s true love withered and turned to dust, right before his eyes… for, despite all the god’s efforts to maintain balance, the earth had become barren, and his true love could not survive without it. It was unbearable! After centuries, the god was all alone.”

  “Centuries? But wasn’t the god’s true love human?”

  “I never said that, now did I?”

  “Gramma…”

  “Hush! He lost his heart…”

  “But—”

  “He began to curse his own immortality! He began to hate with every ounce of his being. It was the purest hate, with no direction, no focus; a rage that consumed him and everything he touched. But, the memory of what he used to be, that hero of legend which his one true love had believed in so completely, saved the world from the wrath of his pain, if not from the next great disruption…

  Another god was born shortly after, from faith of a different kind. Our ancestors had grown to loath themselves so strongly that their own hate, their own belief in the uncontainable malevolence and corruption of humanity, of themselves, gave birth to Amaalei, Queen of Air. The new god, who was now the old god, didn’t have a heart to care with, so he let the newest god do as she pleased, and that is when we lost our world. The new god, now the old god, withdrew into the mountains, confining himself within a fortress of ice, called Geraan’s Keep, and he vowed to stay there for eternity. Or, until his heart returns.”

  “Gramma… but the earth isn’t barren anymore where the Queen of Air lives.” Quinn was always pointing out holes in her Gramma’s stories. There were always so many.

  “Yes, you’re quite right.”

  “Well?” Quinn wasn’t going to let it go this time.

  “Well, what? She has dominion over the natural world.”

  “Well, she’s a god, just like the new god… I mean the old god—”

  “Let’s call him Geraan, shall we? That is one of his names.”

  “Well, why couldn’t Geraan do what the Queen of Air did and fix the earth?”

  “Oh, yes, well… they were created through different magic, I suppose. They don’t share the same purpose, they don’t serve the same beliefs, so their magic is different. Amaalei was born to overwhelm humanity and allow the natural world to thrive again. Geraan could never manipulate the natural world, being born as the savior of mankind and not necessarily the world itself, but he was blessed with the favor of the natural world… which was likely due to the Earth Child—who carried the mandate of the earth, if you remember—falling in love with him. This protected him from harm and gave him great strength. He became invincible! But he couldn’t—”

  “He made a fortress of ice! He can manipulate water!”

  “Oh! but then, by assimilating the old creature and becoming the Demon King, he gained a very alien magic, not a part of this world, nor humanity. This was very special indeed; magic from another plane altogether. Though it was diluted within him; the original Demon King was capable of altering and destroying natural laws once he’d established his domain over an area. Geraan has some of this power, but mostly he’s simply capable of controlling the demons and making things very cold. The old Demon King had turned the world to ice back then, you see, and the magic of that stayed within Geraan after he ate him.”

  “Ate him? Gramma…” Quinn couldn’t stop her eyes from rolling at that.

  “He was able to manipulate the demons—the creatures from that alien plane—into lifeforms of his own design, and they served whatever purpose he asked of them. It is rumored that, benevolent as he was, Geraan gifted the alien creatures with free-will like our own, but they still—”

  “What’s an Earth Child?” Quinn reigned her Gramma in before she went too deep.

  “Why, it’s a child born from the earth, of course!”

  “Gramma…”

  “Like a plant! But, in human form. Very special and very rare, born straight from the earth to create a bridge between nature and humanity, and help restore balance when there’s a disruption.”

  “Seems like a lot of work went into keeping balance for everyone to have failed so hard…”

  “This kind of balance is a complicated thing… you can’t measure it on a scale, and it’s as subjective as beauty.”

  “Subjective?”

  “Ah… I mean, the idea of it tends to vary from person to person… or god to god.”

  “Oh… but I don’t think beauty is subjective. Like, everyone knows when a girl is real pretty the Lost Man will take her into the mountains. We all know the ones that’ll go if we don’t protect them.”

  “Oh, come now,” Gramma scoffed, “there’s no evidence any of those girls were taken away! Perhaps they go to Geraan of their own will, have you ever thought of that? But, besides that, I refuse to believe that he keeps all the pretty girls. Are you trying to say all of us left behind are dogs? Maybe everyone who talks simply knows Geraan’s specific tastes in—ah, you’re too young for me to be asking such a thing. But, who knows? I suppose it would get terribly lonely up there, and boring to say the least. If I was a god, I might do the same—”

  “Wait, wait! You mean, Geraan is the Lost Man? In the Glorianus Mountains?”

  “Why, yes! That is why the story is so popular amongst those of us who live under the mountains’ protection. Didn’t you know? Oh, I thought you knew. Most of the other territories have no memory of Geraan, you see. His legend belongs to us, because we live in the shadow of his domain! Wonderful, don’t you think?”

  “So, when the kids at school talk about the Lost Man…”

  �
��Mmhmm, you see? Why must I tell you so much, when you already know so much? Anyway, he’s been called many things: Sky Lord, Geraan, the Lost Man, Great Hero of Aria, the Spirit of the Mountains, and, before all, the Demon King, Garaak. But, his oldest name, his one true name, the name he knew as a man, hasn’t been spoken in over a millennium. It is said that only when one calls him by his true name will he descend the mountain and return to us.”

  “That’s sort of silly, don’t you think? Why would he do that?”

  “Well, I assume because there is no on left alive who would know his true name, unless his true love returned to him… A god must have faith too, you know.”

  “I guess so. Gramma… is it really true, you know, that all those girls are imprisoned on the mountain?”

  “So they say. Though very few have even seen Geraan’s Keep and lived to tell. The cold is simply unbearable up there. But, for generations, our lovely young girls have had a habit of vanishing into thin air! And, when I was a girl, one man did visit the keep and live to tell—the father of a girl I went to school with named Juniper, in fact—and he brought back quite the tale! He said it was the loveliest place; made of ice that wasn’t cold to the touch—caught somewhere just between water and ice—and it shone like a thousand stars! All these women and strange, human-like creatures inhabited the shining, fantastic fortress; all ethereally lovely, all draped in silken cloth, impossibly blue—the true color of the sky that has been lost to us for so long!

  Juniper herself saved her father, Mr. Aldenthorpe, from the cold after he’d collapsed and brought him inside the keep where her and the other women nursed him back to health. He said that Geraan, the Lost Man himself, leaned over his weary body and put a hand on his forehead! He thought he would die from the electricity of his touch, but it only soothed. Then, he looked into Geraan’s eyes and couldn’t help but weep, for Geraan still carried the sky in them! Mr. Aldenthorpe was gifted a glimpse of the old world in those eyes and he was filled with hope, for the sky was not truly lost! He understood then that Juniper would not return with him. Not ever. In fact, he’d have stayed there himself if he’d had a choice in the matter. But, he fell into unconsciousness and woke up at the base of the mountain. Most thought he was a loon, mind you. Collapsed in the snow right there at the mountain’s base and experienced a fever dream, nothing more. But, who really knows anything?”