by Matt Khourie
The Liche Queen’s illusion of beauty dissolved. Her skeletal jaws widened, cracked at the hinge and dropped to the ground. The indigo fire in her eyes dilated. She reached for the symbol of her black heart like a parent reaching for a wounded child.
“No!”
Then the black castle fell. It crashed upon the stunned army and the monstrous demon at its lead. The skeletal dragon’s pulsating heart was impaled on splintered bones and exploded in a wave of emerald. The Liche Queen’s mighty stronghold shattered in a gale of petrified rubble.
The Beast quickly rolled over Lia’s body, pressing her into the fountain, shielding her from the wave of thorny debris. When the dust settled, he brushed away the hair from her face, hoping for the miracle of his daughter’s amber eyes.
He found an angel sleeping, a curious, peaceful smile etched upon her lips.
Lia was gone.
Chapter 34
A pristine sunrise took full flight, painting the sky in wide ribbons of hazel and honey. Gentle gusts of wind swept the valley floor, kicking up loose snowflakes, scattering them about with no particular rhyme or reason. The Beast sat in silence against the fountain’s smooth ivory, gently rocking Lia in his lap. Time had finally run out. All of the magic in the world could not help him now. The lump in his throat choked his breath into haggard gasps.
“Oh Lia,” the Beast gulped, “I’m sorry.”
The fountain babbled a condolence, pouring liquid starlight from basin to basin. He reached over the side and dipped his paw into the sparkling reservoir. Gently, he dabbed the smudges from Lia’s face. He wanted to roar away the anguish, but his mouth felt full of dust. What good would it do? There was no one to hear him. He shifted his weight, settling into the soft earth.
He would be with her. It was all he could do.
The Reaper’s Song materialized overhead, shedding its mysterious shroud like a reflection on sparkling water. Poogs and Polaris appeared at the rail. The pirate shouted down through funneled hands.
“Well then, is it done?”
Polaris gasped, clutching at Poogs’s shoulder. “No... It cannot be.” Her knees weakened. “Captain please, the ship... set it down.”
The pirate landed the Reaper’s Song on top of the smoking rubble once called the Nekropolis, grinding the remnants of petrified wood into dust. He cranked the starboard side winch, stepped into a loop of mooring rope and descended with Polaris clasping his neck. Polaris touched the back of her hand to Lia’s forehead. She looked away from the Beast, unable to further fracture his heart. Instead, she laid her head upon Lia’s chest and sobbed. Poogs fared little better. Tears freely fell from the corners of his steely eyes. He shared his hands upon the shoulders of Polaris and her grieving champion.
The Beast choked down a lump. “Is she really gone? Is there nothing I can do?” He tipped his head to the fountain, his meaning clear.
The North Star’s face gravened, etching fine lines on her brow. “Do not even think it, Donovan. There are limits to wynisahil. Even more so if the wielder is uninitiated to the ways of its power.”
The Beast’s sprang to his feet, fixing a hard gaze upon his queen. “Would you have me do nothing? Would you have me sit by and lose her again? Do not ask this of me, you cannot. In all my years of service to the crown I have never asked for a single thing for myself. Can you really deny me this? Deny me my child?” The Beast’s words wavered, perched on a razor’s edge of pleading rage.
“I would do no such thing. If it were in my power, I would see our family restored and blissful to the end of time.” Polaris took the Beast’s face between her hands as she had countless times before. “The mortal soul is a tragically fragile thing. Once severed from the living realm, it travels to the World After. Interrupting that sacred voyage by wishing for its return can inspire terrible consequences, despite the truest intentions.”
The Beast’s ears perked up. “Wait. What was that about mortal souls?”
“Only that they are amongst the most fragile in all of Creation, like beautiful crystal strands connecting each to another. It’s why you feel the death of your loved ones more vividly than we Aether do. Your precious light burns so brightly and is yet so fleeting.”
The Beast abruptly threw a leg over the fountain’s side. Polaris moved to stop him with an outstretched hand. “Donovan no. You must not.”
Poogs was next to intervene. “Perhaps Lia was not meant for this world, my friend. Perhaps her light burned brightest for a reason.”
“Of that I have no doubt,” The Beast said as he waded waist deep into the pool, carrying Lia in his elbow’s crook like a newborn. In his free paw, the medallion sparkled. He turned to the North Star. “You said it yourself. The mortal soul is fragile. But that is only the half that I cursed her with. The other half is of your world, of the Aether... I have to try.”
Polaris smiled. “That’s my Donovan. Even when the blackest night falls, ever seeing the light. Make your wish then. Save your daughter.”
The Beast closed his eyes and freed his mind of emotion. He thought of Lia. Her eyes. Her courage. “I wish for my daughter to return to me.” The Beast braced for the inevitable explosion of magic, certain the liquid starlight would rise and explode to life.
Nothing...
He peeked one eye open. Then the second. Blank expressions stared back at him. “I don’t understand. Why is it not working?”
The Beast looked down at Lia’s pale features. Every moment passing saw Lia farther down the path to the World After. He wished again and again. He focused all his will on Lia. On the medallion.
Nothing. She had really left him behind.
The Beast sunk down, submerging Lia up to her chest in the warming starlight. He pressed his forehead to hers, whispering the words to the lullaby he first sang a life time ago. Words that no guardian, no matter how loving and kind could duplicate. Words that had been forgotten far too long for a father’s heart.
In my heart, I know you’re there
shining with the brightest glare.
Starlight is near
my starshine is here.
Never gone, still here in faith
in memories my thoughts shall bathe.
Darkness forces skies to dim
hopeless challenge, outlook grim.
Clouds will form and shroud the sky
always your love revives my eyes.
Glorious, with luster bright
touch the beauty of gleaming night.
Fall back home, to father’s arms
free yourself of all that harms.
Starlight is near
my starshine is here...
The Beast kissed his daughter’s forehead, and placed a paw on the fountain’s edge. “Goodbye, starshine.”
The earth suddenly shook, rippling the fountain’s calm surface. A great veil of shimmering gold and silver sprang up from the starlight, blanketing its occupants in a glow that quickly spread to the fountain’s crown. The Beast cradled Lia to his chest. “What’s happening?”
“Wynisahil!” Polaris shouted back over the wail of rising wind.
The Beast stared slack jawed as Lia rose from his arms, coming to rest above the fountain’s glowing precipice. A slice of twilight penetrated the morning. Millions of tiny shooting stars fell through the breach, then fused with the floating child. A minute later, Lia was cocooned in sapphire light, sparkling in a wondrous sky shared by night and day.
The dome of gold and silver dimmed. Lia’s body slowly descended into the waiting arms of her faday. The Beast accepted wynisahil’s gift with trembling arms, afraid to speak lest he spoil the miracle. Instead, he held the child close to his heart.
Thump, thump...
His heart beat faster.
Thump, thump... thump, thump...
Lia’s heart echoed her father’s own powerful bound.
“She’s alive!” The Be
ast waded to the fountain’s side and clambered over, pulling a wave of liquid starlight with him. The Beast motioned to Poogs for his coat, but the pirate had already dutifully pulled it free and spread it over the ground. Lia stirred. Her eyes opened a slit, then slowly widened. The Beast knelt by her side and swallowed her pink hand with the golden brown of his thumb and forefinger. “I know those eyes.”
“I.. I..” Lia’s lips quivered as the divine balance of Breath and Blight surged through her body.
“It’s alright, starshine.” The Beast’s warming words soothed Lia’s fear. “I am here, and I’m never leaving you again.”
Lia scanned the stunned faces, finding eyes full off watery blur. “Is everyone ok?”
“We’re fine, little one. Thanks to you.” Poogs removed an imaginary hat and struggled with a low bow.
Lia’s eyes remained fixed on the rubble. “She’s gone isn’t she?”
Polaris clasped a hand over her heart and then pressed it to Lia’s. “Your matar loved you very much, but she was lost long ago. She would have been proud of the magnificent person you’ve grown into.” She gestured to the pile of rubble smoldering beneath the healing Reaper’s Song.
“The Liche Queen was a terrible perversion of your mother, my daughter’s true self. An empty soul consumed by hate.”
Polaris helped Lia to her feet before sweeping an arm to the twilight filled tear in the sky. “I shall tell you all about our family along the way.”
The Beast’s heart sank. After all that had happened, he was to lose her anyway? No. That could not be. He would not allow it. He quickly stepped in front of his daughter, shielding her with the bulk of his thigh.
“No one can take her from me. No queen, no North Star, not anybody.” The Beast’s chest tightened as he fought the perceived betrayal. His fists clenched and his jaws began to grind. He uttered a guttural growl...
Poogs’s hand subtly reached for his flintlock. Polaris pushed the pirate’s hand aside, standing firm her ground. “I warned you, my son, that wynisahil did not come without a price. Only the sustained magic of the Aether can fully restore her soul. If the delay is too long...”
A gentle tug on the Beast’s tattered cloak ended the standoff. Lia’s eyes were wide and tear filled. “I have to go, faday. I need to know who I am.”
The Beast knew that feeling all too well. The genuine desire to fit into a world where one knew their place and purpose was the strongest, most beautiful bond connecting father and daughter. The Beast eased his stance. Lia was right. Her place was among the stars.
The Beast scooped Lia into his arms and then swung her into the sky before catching her in an embrace. Lia giggled the way only a father’s princess could know, one that sang of true love and joy. One that knew for certain her faday would always find and protect her. If only wynisahil could freeze time and preserve the moment forever. But the Beast knew such a thing was not meant for eternity. Such moments were shared and remembered always in flashes of warmth and light precisely because they were so precious. Such moments spurred hope and courage, fought back shadow and would always light his way home.
The Beast placed the child gently down and took a knee. “Go little starshine, go and brighten the twilight skies.” He hugged her and smiled. “For me.”
Lia opened her arms wide and pressed her face into the Beast’s chest. “For you, faday.”
“It is time, Lia,” Polaris said. The North Star had no desire to separate from each other those she loved most, but a fledgling Aether soul was a fragile thing that required special care. Polaris linked hands with Lia’s and with a whisper the child transformed into a blazing silhouette the color of the fountain’s starlight. Lia took to the air, playfully spinning as she ascended to the stars. She waved a final farewell and then vanished in a halo shaped flare.
Poogs took Polaris’s hand, gently kissing it. “I suppose this is good-bye as well. It has been an honor to serve you, Lady Polaris. If you ever have need of my humble ship...”
Polaris stretched to her tip toes and kissed the roguish captain on the cheek. Sapphire star dust fell from her lips. “You know where to find me.” The North Star glanced at the Beast, then pulled Poogs in close, whispering into his ear.
“Look after him for me... Lorenzo.”
Poogs leaned away, face flushing over a wry smile. “How do you --?”
Polaris only winked and smiled.
“It seems so unjust, that we are parted so soon after our family has been re-united. Must you really leave?” The Beast’s voice was a calm grumble.
Polaris took on a pale bluish glue and levitated to the Beast, hovering eye to eye.
“Captain Donovan,” Polaris smiled, the thought of the young boy wielding a wooden sword storming the castle halls prominent in her mind. She touched the medallion at his chest, setting the firestone ablaze with radiant light. “There is a place within us all that we may always find our truest heart. Lia will never be far from yours. Someday, when she is ready, she will return and finish what she started here.”
The Beast growled. “Ahriman...”
Polaris nodded grimly. “He is undoubtedly growing his power in the Gloom, plotting his revenge. Lia will need time to prepare for his wrath.”
The Beast’s blood flashed to a boil, but the rage quickly faded into a knowing smile. “Then I shall see her again.”
Polaris kissed the Beast on the forehead and phased into the shimmering silhouette of the Aether. “A little girl will always need her faday. And a queen shall always need her champion.” The North Star sparkled as she rose to the sealing rift of twilight. “Farewell, Beast of Briarburn.”
“My name is Donovan!” The Beast proudly shouted after her.
Polaris twisted in flight and smiled. “Good boy.”
She disappeared with a flash and the morning sky filled itself in. A moment passed when finally Poogs spoke. “Well then.”
The Beast chuckled. “Well then? Is that the best you’ve got?”
“It’s as good a start as any! I have never heard you venture anything more profound than a grunt.” The pirate clenched his jaw and did his best impression of the Beast growling. His expression softened. “Where will you go? Back to your grove? Life on the ‘Road’, that sort of thing?”
“Actually, I thought I may try my luck with piracy.” The Beast extended a paw.
“Aye,” the pirate said. He grasped the Beast’s forearm, squeezing hard. “Partners it is then.”
The Reaper’s Song cleared the tree tops and darted into the horizon. Cloaked by Death’s ancient shroud she flew for no particular heading, churning rolls of fluffy clouds into forgotten wake. The pirate’s hands caressed the helm, guiding the ship along the winds. “Where to?” Poogs asked.
“First, we eat. Then we wait for nightfall. I intend to learn to sail this heap properly, under the guidance of the stars.”
Poogs flashed his new first mate a knowing smile. “We will need a bearing then. Any one in particular strike your fancy?”
The Beast gazed upon the spectacular panorama the world had to offer, for once free to pursue his own destiny. The possibilities were endless and that, in itself, was frightening. But the Beast knew that the chains of the sure and certain were far worse.
He would have his freedom.
“Let’s try the second star to the right...”
The End
Epilogue
Pandora’s bony heels clicked through thin skin as she paced. Fiery anguish coursed through the newly formed veins crawling under her newborn flesh. Captivity offered precious little else to do.
Pace. And remember.
Pace. And plan.
Pace...
The clicks died soon after birth, forbidden to echo. She toed playfully at the cracked floor like a child, ticking years away. In the Gloom, time was as meaningless as hope.
Where a wall should have been, there was an em
pty stretch of sky. Dirty light poured freely through the panoramic gap, but provided no warmth. Pandora dangled her feet over the side, contemplating another plunge into the jagged mountains below.
Such was her life as prisoner in the Gloom.
Despite the dozens of deaths suffered on the rocks below, Pandora always reawakened in the cell.
She scratched at the ugly skin of her arms, hating its soft pink weakness. Being stripped of her power should have been punishment enough. But this? Restored of flesh and blood? Ahriman had gone too far.
Just outside the cell’s heavy door, a pair of phantoms materialized into forms nearly human. Ahriman nodded his jeweled horn to the door, inviting his guest to view the newest addition to his gallery.
“As you can see, this one quite hates the flesh. More so than any I’ve ever seen.”
“Indeed she does, Lord Ahriman. She seems to crave undeath. Strange for one so young.” The wraith pulled back the hood of its black cloak, leaning closer to the barred portal. Shiny black hair, soft as silk, draped over its slim shoulders. A long scar of fading silver crossed its throat from ear to ear.
The wraith’s hand fell to the kusarigama at her waist. The chipped blade gleamed at the thought of claiming such a prize. “Why not give her to me? She craves my touch...”
The master of the Gloom shook the prison’s walls with a roar of raucous laughter. It was not often he allowed himself such a joy.
“I am afraid this one is still of use to me. And besides, you have not come all the way from the Nether Realm to parlay for a simple soul, now have you Morgren?”
Morgren’s hand abandoned the eternally hungry weapon. She traced the scar at her throat with timid fingertips, memory of the dagger’s kiss vivid still. The almond shape of her eyes grimly narrowed.
“No, I’ve come on a more personal note. Something of mine was stolen. By someone I should think you’d prefer to see punished for his role in upending your plot against the Aether”