Dissolution

by Kyle West

  My mother said nothing to this. Perhaps she didn’t know what to say.

  “Perhaps that would be better,” I said. “Anna would know what to do. Unlike me.”

  “Can you hear her now?” my mother asked, after a moment.

  I listened. It felt as if there were a pair of eyes watching me, but there was no voice. Only silence.

  “No,” I said.

  “I don’t know Anna or who she was,” she said. “I know who she is believed to be, both by the Elekai and the Colonians. I know that she was a girl just like you, who was probably scared out of her mind. Those heroes of the past . . . I believe they didn’t know what they were doing, either. All they knew was put one foot in front of the other, not knowing where the path would lead. But they hoped it would lead to somewhere good.”

  I knew in my heart my mother was right. “I’m scared, Mom. No. I’m terrified.”

  She stood and came to stand by me. I turned, and she hugged me.

  “I’m scared too, Shanti,” she said. She parted from me and looked out the window. “Your father is out there, somewhere. I’m scared for him, too.”

  “I miss him,” I said. “Is he . . . different?”

  My mother knew what I meant. When I’d healed him in Haven, I’d also unwittingly connected him to the Xenofold. He was Elekai, now.

  “He has strange dreams sometimes, like you. He was confident that you were alive. He said he felt something, that if you had died, he would know. He’s been training with the priests in the yard.” My mother smiled. “He’s a natural. He has always been a fighter, but their discipline has made him a warrior. In another life, with those powers, he would have been a Seeker.” She smiled. “But then, he would have never been mine.”

  “I’m so grateful for you both,” I said. “So thankful you’re both still here.”

  My mother embraced me again. “I know, Shanti. We are all alive. So long as that fact remains true . . . we are a family. We always will be. Your father and I support you, we believe in your cause, and we stand ready to help. It . . . isn’t easy. Gods know it isn’t. I don’t know why they gave you this burden, Shanti.” She laughed bitterly. “I speak of the gods, and I’m speaking to one now.”

  “I am no god.”

  “I know, dear. All my beliefs and conventions have been turned upside down these last few months. I’ve been broken and rebuilt again. But my life’s purpose is clear. To see you succeed. I raised you from the day we found you in the xen. Your father and I were young then, not much older than you. We had been trying to have a child ever since we were married. And there you were, waiting for us.” She paused. “Finding you was no accident. Finding you was everything.”

  “Mom . . . stop. I’ve cried enough for one day.”

  She chuckled. “I’m sorry, but it’s true. I love you, Shanti.”

  Her arm tightened around me as we both looked out the window at the night-shaded mountains.

  “What about you, Mom?” I asked, after a time.

  “Me?” she asked. “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve been through so much . . .”

  “We all have, Shanti. And gods know, we will go through so much more before all this is done.” She paused. “I don’t have to know prophecy to tell you that.”

  Her words sent a chill down my spine. The only comfort I felt in the warm room was the feel of her hand on mine.

  “Mom?”

  “Hmm?”

  I looked out into the dark courtyard. All was quiet.

  “You can sing to me tonight.”

  * * *

  After the last notes faded, my mother kissed my cheek and softly closed the door behind. If she could see my tears in the light of the fireplace embers, she made no mention of it.

  Once she was gone, I reached for Silence to numb my feelings. In an instant, I was awash in its familiar serenity. But even feeling its familiar presence didn’t completely calm my roiling emotions. And in the end, I knew it was an escape from painful reality.

  But that didn’t stop me from seeking it, all the same.

  I just wished I could talk to him . . . to Alex. Not as Anna, but as Shanti. I needed to know who he was. I needed to know if there was anything he could do, or if the power of the Hyperfold was so strong now that even he was powerless. Anna had been able to talk to him in her life, even after he had gone into the Xenofold to take on the mantle of Elekim.

  Perhaps it was still possible. Perhaps if I spoke to him, he would hear me.

  Alex . . . Elekim . . . I need your help. I’m at a complete loss. Nothing seems good enough anymore. All I want is to be free of this burden . . . this responsibility. Why did it fall on me? Was it hard for you to do the same? Where you succeeded, though, I’ve failed. I couldn’t stop the Hyperfold, and now, people are going to die because of it. How many will have to die because of me?

  The night was answerless.

  I need to help Isandru, I thought. But how? I need answers. Give me a dream, a prophecy . . . something to point the way. I’ve spoken to the Nameless One, but for some reason, I feel as if there’s more to my prophecy. Why did I think the Nameless One would tell me anything? Why would that suit him? Where are the answers? What do I have to do? How . . .?

  I broke my thoughts, unsure of where I was going with all this. More than anything, I just wished Isaru were here. Even if he didn’t have all the answers, he at least had useful things to say. Comforting things.

  I needed him back. There was no second option.

  But how to get him back? How to break him free from the Hyperfold? The dragons said they had a way to overpower him, but it didn’t sound like a permanent solution. I’d die if I tried to do it on my own, and even with help, his connection to the Hyperfold would be difficult to break.

  I kept my hold on Silence. I had to try and find Isandru, to help him in whatever small way I could. If I could do that, then not only would the Hyperfold end, but Isaru would be freed.

  As afraid and overwhelmed as I was, Elder Isandru had it so much worse.

  I formed a picture of him in my mind, and he was the last thing I thought of as I fell asleep.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  SHANTI . . .

  A VOICE CALLED IN the wilderness. I floated above the xen-covered Earth, alone in the starry night.

  Isandru?

  I flew north across the Xenoplain, passing fields of ripened corn and wheat, streams and forest, until I reached the wide Colorado. I followed its course through the Grand Canyon, its twists and turns and under its sheer cliffs, until I left the river behind, flying farther north past fields, forests, and hills. There was not a soul for miles. A deathly, unnatural silence overhung the dark landscape like a cloud.

  Shanti . . . can you hear me?

  Isandru.

  I can hear you, I called back. I’m coming.

  I was flying faster, now. Laston passed below in the night, a mere blip due to my sheer speed. I arrived at a range of forested peaks, which marked the border between Annajen lands and the Northern Wild, the land of the Samalites. There was no fog here in the dream world. The land below was clear, as it hadn’t been in months.

  Shanti . . . you must come. You must hurry . . .

  Hold on! I called. I’ll be there soon. Just wait.

  But then I felt myself slammed, hard. The sky spun above me as I spiraled down to Earth. The land rushed up to meet me, not even giving me time to scream.

  I changed my course at the last instant, barely missing being impaled by a tree. The impact on the ground was hard, but I could still move, and I could still stand. The pain was just a dull ache in the back of my mind.

  I scanned the sky for whatever had hit me, but there was nothing to see.

  This is only a dream, I reminded myself.

  But dreams had power. I would have to be very careful indeed.

  Shanti . . .

  The voice came once more, what I thought to be Isandru’s voice, but it was fading. It was coming from the north, no
doubt.

  My reverie was broken by a cold, amused voice coming from behind.

  “Found you.”

  I spun around, drawing my blade by sheer instinct, just in time to cross it with none other but Isaru’s blade. The steel of both gleamed coldly under the pale moonlight, but his eyes shone even paler and crueler. A twisted smile so unlike him spread across his face, marring his princely demeanor. He chuckled as he spun around for another strike, which I parried aside.

  “Isaru . . . don’t do this.”

  “So long as I breathe,” he said, “I won’t let you reach the old man.”

  We exchanged a few more blows before I could knock him back into a tree. He grunted from exertion, backing away just in time to dodge my next swing.

  “His name is Isandru,” I said, between breaths. “Or have you forgotten?”

  “Prince Isandru of Hyperborea,” he said. “Prince Isaru of Haven.” He gave a crazed laugh. “We could be the same person.”

  “Is this really you, Isaru?” I asked. I assumed Treeform, taking on a posture of defense. I didn’t want to immediately harm him. I wanted to learn more for now.

  He ignored that question. “The Hyperfold is guarded, even in the world of dreams, Anna. I’m afraid it won’t be as easy for you to contact Isandru as with Mia.” He smiled. “Not unless you can defeat me, of course.”

  Well, there went that idea. “Isandru doesn’t need my help. If you’re here, then he can deal with Rakhim without you interfering.”

  Isaru strained his ear, and chuckled with sickening glee. “Sounds like he needs your help to me.” He looked at me, his eerie all-white eyes considering. “What will it be, Anna? Fight me, or leave me?”

  “I’ll fight you if that’s what I have to do.”

  “You will be defeated,” Isaru said. “The Hyperfold’s power is mine, and you’ll soon see you’re no match.” He chuckled. “I’ll give you one last opportunity to wake up.”

  “Why did you kill King Taris?” I asked. “He was your father, Isaru.”

  “You ask that question as if you don’t know.”

  “Don’t know what?”

  Isaru leaned forward. “I’m not really Isaru, now, am I?”

  For some reason, Isaru . . . or rather, Shal . . . seemed content to speak, and continue speaking, as Isandru continued to call in the background. If I was talking to Isaru, then it meant that I wasn’t getting any closer to the Hyperfold and aiding Isandru.

  I had to figure out a way to neutralize Isaru . . . but how?

  I was already touching Silence, but I needed more power. I opened myself to the Xenofold fully, feeling its energy burn within me.

  “That won’t be enough,” Isaru warned.

  I ignored him, reaching out and probing for his connection to the Hyperfold. I could see it . . . strong, sure, and yes, unbreakable, at least by me. This wasn’t like cutting off the likes of Kachar, or the priests that had been under Mithras’ dominion at the Sphere in the Ruins. Almost all the Hyperfold’s power was concentrated in him right now, and that power could not be broken easily.

  Not even by me.

  “I will be here tomorrow night,” Isaru said. “And the night after that. And every night until you either kill me, or the High Lord Odium arrives.”

  “Do you remember anything of when we were friends, Isaru? Or are you completely buried now?”

  Isaru was about to answer when a set of footsteps approached from behind. Isaru’s face contorted in anger, just as I backed away to be able to face the new threat.

  It was Fiona, her sword drawn and her green eyes fiery. “Shanti isn’t the only prophetess you have to deal with, Isaru. And you’re wrong. I heard everything you just said.”

  “What do you mean, he’s wrong?” I asked.

  But before Fiona could answer, Isaru attacked, going right for Fiona. I moved to intercept, forcing him to disengage and back away into the woods.

  “I’ll hold him here!” Fiona said. “Go to the Hyperfold. Get to Isandru!”

  I didn’t know how Fiona had managed to get here, but now wasn’t the time to ask questions. “Will you be okay?”

  “Just go, Shanti! There isn’t time!”

  Fiona grunted as Isaru attacked, but I could only do as I was told. I had to get to the Hyperfold before Isaru could do any damage to Fiona.

  I ran into the woods, faster and faster, the sounds of the fight fading with distance. My feet flew off the ground as I went airborne above the trees. As I had been before, I was flying, even if I didn’t know how.

  Fiona . . . be strong.

  There was no response from her, but I heard her screams emanating from below. Continuing on toward the goal was the hardest thing I had to do.

  * * *

  The night was cold and eerily quiet. I couldn’t help but feel I had done wrong in leaving Fiona behind. Isaru was the stronger fighter with the strength he could draw from the Hyperfold. Fiona, as skilled as she was, could only hold on for so long.

  As much as it pained me, I knew reaching Isandru was the more important goal. If I could do that, I somehow knew that Fiona would be safe.

  I flew across the vast forests of the Northern Wild, the light of the moon casting a pale light. The swamplands of the Withering Waste were close, and the horizon stretched far away. The world swam before my eyes, a sign that this dream might not last long.

  Isandru . . . are you there?

  There was no response, but I flew on.

  I passed the last mountain range before the Plains of Decay, the last flat stretch until Ragnarok Crater. The clouds darkened above while the ground below looked like something out of a nightmare – fields of deadened xen, bare trees, all cloaked in a wispy veil of mist. Dark clouds gathered over the cliffs of the Ragnawall that fell into the crater, lightning crisscrossing their mass.

  Shanti . . .

  Hold on! I said. I’m almost there.

  I was flying down into the Crater. Just a few minutes more, and I’d reach the Hyperfold.

  Through the thick mists, I found what I was looking for. The pink Thought Dome glowed in the distance like a beacon in the haunted night. I flew straight into it, not even having to pass through the outer door by way of the bridge, until I was floating above the shining Point of Origin.

  Was this real, or was it a dream? If I flew in . . . what exactly would happen?

  This is where I go now, a voice seemed to say inside me. Go in now. We’ll meet again.

  Was that Anna speaking? Something in her words told me that I didn’t have much time to hem and haw. Isaru had been trying to keep me from coming here for a reason, and I might never get another chance to do this.

  I flew forward and was pulled into the light.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  I OPENED MY EYES TO find myself back in my bed. It was still dark outside, but the mountains had lightened to a dark gray with the coming of the dawn.

  What had just happened? Was any of that real?

  I felt strangely empty, as if a part of me were gone. Before I could wonder at it, I remembered Fiona and her fight with Isaru.

  If that dream was real, then I needed to go check on her.

  I pulled myself from bed, threw on my cloak and sword, and ran into the corridor. It only occurred to me, once I was out in the hallway, that I had no idea which room Fiona was staying in. In my mind, I could still hear Isaru laughing, could still see the evil glint in his all-white eyes. Elder Isandru’s voice echoed in my mind, urging me to hurry.

  “Fiona?” I called. “Anyone?”

  No one was up this early—not even the castle servants. Short of barging into all the closed doors on either side of the corridor, there was no knowing where she was.

  I realized, however, that barging into random rooms was exactly what I had to do to make sure Fiona was okay. I hesitated only a moment before trying the first door, the next room down from me. As soon as the door opened, my mother rose from the bed against the far wall, waking with a start. She clutched
the covers closely to her chest, as if using them as a shield. She relaxed upon seeing that it was me.

  “Shanti!” she said. “What’s going on?”

  “Which room is Fiona’s?”

  Seeing my manner, she looked at me anxiously. “Just down the hall. What is this about? I can show you where she’s staying.”

  “She may be in trouble. There’s no time to explain.”

  My mother nodded and was already getting out of bed, and thankfully didn’t waste time with pointless questions. She walked quickly out of the room barefoot, leading me briskly down the corridor toward the stairs.

  When we reached the second to last door on the left, she knocked.

  But I didn’t bother waiting for an answer. I pushed the door open, to find two beds . . . Isa in one along the left wall, with Fiona in the one on the right. Both seemed to be asleep.

  Isa roused, and looked toward me with groggy eyes.

  “Shanti? What’s wrong?”

  But my attention was on Fiona . . . Fiona, who had yet to move.

  “Fiona?” I said her name loudly, so there would be no mistaking my voice. I ran forward and stood over her. Although Fiona remained still, I could tell that her eyes weren’t closed. In fact, they were wide open . . . and glowing white.

  “Oh, no . . .” my mother said, running forward.

  “What’s happened to her?” Isa asked, her voice beginning to panic.

  I ignored Isa’s question for now. I grabbed Fiona’s hand, only to find it unnaturally cold.

  “Fiona?” I said. “Fiona, please, wake up!”

  She wasn’t hearing me, not stirring an inch.

  I realized then that I’d have to try getting her up on her own. She wasn’t dead . . . not yet. The dream had been real, and Isaru was keeping her inside it.

  “Isa . . . you need to bond with me.”

  “What’s going on?” Isa asked. “No one’s explaining anything to me.”

  “Fiona’s trapped inside a dream with Isaru. There’s no time to explain right now, but if we work together, we might be able to get her out before anything bad happens.”