Bones of the Earth

by Jason A. Gilbert

  In a final blast, the flames roared into the dome of the hall. A tearing sound echoed through the hall, and stones crumbled from the dome. Consuls dove out of the way, trying to avoid the avalanche. A large stone crashed next to Torin, but he lay still, oblivious, staring blankly into the sky. Laila held herself steady. Then the fire was gone, and so was Casus. The only thing left behind was a pile of Casus's robes, singed with fire. No body. Nothing was left of the young Consul.

  The air of the hall hung hot, and the smell of flames still lingered. Laila held tightly to her staff, keeping herself upright after the confrontation. Casus was gone.

  Laila stood for a moment longer in the full embrace of her power. Torin lay on the floor near her. The gathered Consuls stared at the scorched floor of the hall. No trace of the Aurai remained. Whatever Casus had done, the Aurai was gone, or dead.

  On the upper level of the Consulate hall, she saw a scattering of Consuls who had watched the confrontation. She knew that she had reveled herself as a Magus, and she would have to face the repercussions of that soon. But right now, she needed help.

  "My father, Alain, is being kept prisoner. Bring him here." Her voice still held the weight of her power, and one of the Consuls moved away immediately. The others stood and stared blankly at her.

  Laila took a deep breath. She released the hold on her power, and the earth that had coated her body shifted off, returning to the staff. She moved up to the rim of the hall. She saw Selene standing near one of the pillars. Her old friend stared at her with unbelieving eyes. As she walked toward her, Selene took a step back, fear evident in her face. Laila stopped. Was this what would become of her? Feared by those she once cared for? With a deep breath she brushed aside those feelings for another time.

  "Selene, where are the Guardians Torin asked for?" Laila said.

  Selene pointed behind Laila. Laila turned and saw a group of three Guardians standing with a group of older Consuls. She walked toward them, turning her back on her friend's gaping face.

  "I need you to watch the Consulari," she stated.

  They looked at her for a moment, and then turned to the Consuls near them. One of the older ones she recognized. His name was Gregor, and he was an old friend of her father's. Gregor nodded to the Guardians, and they moved toward Torin, surrounding him hesitantly. Laila nodded her thanks to Gregor. He nodded back. She then moved past him back to the floor of the hall, approaching Torin herself.

  She sat on a bench one the floor level, a few feet from the Consulari. He knelt on the floor with his head bowed, staring at the scorch marks left from Casus's fire, unaware of the Guardians standing watch around him. She laid her staff across her knees and waited, watching him. Something would have to be done. Torin had manipulated the Consulate, and now, it appeared, it was at the behest of the creature Nuriel. The Consulate could not let that treachery go unpunished. After a quarter of an hour, her father arrived, following closely behind the Consul who had answered Laila's request.

  She felt relief wash over her at the sight of her father. Behind Alain came her mother, followed by Icarus and Connor. Lunete and Connor stood at the lip of the hall, staring in, not understanding. Icarus followed Alain down to face Laila. Alain's eyes moved between the scorch marks on the stone and Torin kneeling on the floor, surrounded by guardians. Finally his eyes rested on Laila.

  "What...what happened?" he stuttered finally.

  "I'll tell you later. You need to take care of Torin." She motioned to the broken Consulari.

  "How? What do you mean?" her father continued, surprised at the forcefulness in his daughter's voice.

  "I don't think he'll be Consulari much longer. Not after this," she gestured around the hall, "and I need you to bring back some order. They won't listen to me."

  Torin continued to sit on his knees, staring ahead blankly. The power and arrogance that had surrounded him for so long was gone. Dissipated like the flame of the man, or being, that had been manipulating him. Laila could almost feel sorry for him, had it not been for his blatant abuse of the Consulate.

  She could see that her father did not understand, but he moved toward Torin regardless.

  "We need to talk," she said to Icarus.

  Glancing around the hall, he half-smiled at Laila as he nodded.

  "Laila." Her father's voice called up to her. She turned back to him. He hesitated, unable to think of the right words to say. "Are you...?" He could not finish the thought.

  Laila took a deep breath. "I will be, I think."

  Laila turned and made her way off the Consulate floor, pulling Icarus to her side. She finally released her power and felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her. Her confidence dissipated. She could now feel the full force of the eyes of the Consulate staring at her, and she felt suddenly self-conscious.

  Turning to her father once more she asked, "May we use your office, Father?"

  Although he was still taking in his surroundings, her father was becoming more responsive as the other Consuls began to move, trying to salvage some semblance of order in the wake of the conflagration that had been Casus's transformation. "Yes, Laila-sa."

  Laila nodded, thankful, and led Icarus out of the Consulate hall and through the halls to her father's office, pulling Connor with her as she passed him.

  Laila made her way to her father's office, holding onto Connor's offered shoulder. Her ordeal had drained her. Revelations spun through her mind, but it seemed that with each discovery, new questions arose. Casus had been revealed as the one behind Torin's rise, apparently, but who was the larger, darker figure from Laila's vision? The one she had seen as the true manipulator. And why were the Aurai here? How were they involved? The emissary had spoken of a greater conflict, one that had not yet come, but so had Torin. Laila shook her head wearily—too much was unknown. For now, she tried to be happy that Torin had been exposed.

  She directed her two companions through a few turns until they reached her father's small office. Once inside, Laila dropped herself into one of the heavy chairs, her staff leaning against it. Icarus sat across from her, eager to hear about what had happened in the hall, and Connor stood by the door, worry etched onto his brow. Laila enjoyed the calm. She leaned her head back against the cushioned back of the chair and felt herself drift into unconsciousness. Her body felt completely drained, unable to continue. Icarus's voice brought her back from the brink of sleep.

  "I told you, child," he was saying, "you are the Magusari! By the five, I can't believe it."

  Laila raised an eyebrow. "You don't even know what happened," she said, her voice faint and distant.

  "I heard the commotion when the Consul retrieved us from down below."

  "You still don't know what actually happened."

  "Then tell me, child."

  Laila took a deep breath, calming her ravaged nerves. "Not now. Later."

  Icarus nodded, sitting back in his chair for a moment. But his excitement could not be contained; he stood and began pacing. He did not speak to Laila, but she could see that he was processing the events in his mind.

  "I do have one question, first," said Laila, forcing herself awake for a little longer.

  Icarus turned to her, eyes wide, ready to answer anything. "Yes?"

  "Does the name Nuriel mean anything to you?" she asked.

  Icarus stopped his pacing, in thought. He tilted his head to one side, digging deep for the information. "I believe so. It's an ancient name. One used for the Aspect of Fire long ago, before even the Moon Kingdom."

  Laila nodded.

  "Why?" Icarus prodded.

  "Casus," Laila began; she could feel her eyelids drooping heavily.

  "Casus...?" Icarus did not understand.

  "Torin's assistant," Laila continued.

  "What about him, child?"

  "He called himself Nuriel, right after he burst into flames."

  Connor stared at her, aghast. Icarus stopped pacing, turning to face Laila.

  "After?" Connor asked.


  "After, yes," Laila answered.

  Icarus shook his head. "You mean before? Did something happen to Casus?"

  "No, after. He burst into flames and attacked me. He... I think he killed the Aurai. He called himself Nuriel and said he wanted to cleanse the world of its sins."

  The nonchalance in Laila's voice was a product of her tired mind. She knew that what she was saying was significant, but her body did not want her to stay awake. Her battle in the hall had taken a lot out of her. But she continued to fight against her urge, resisting the desire to drift off into peaceful sleep. She needed to know what Icarus knew, confirm her own suspicions.

  Icarus considered for a moment longer and then answered. "Nuriel is the Aspect of Fire. An incarnation of the very element. An Aspect hasn't existed for thousands of years!" Laila could hear bare fear in his voice.

  "That's what he called himself," Laila said again, shaking her head to keep her eyes open.

  Icarus stared at her, and finally he relented, seeing her exhaustion. "We can speak of this later. Get some rest, Magusari. You will need it."

  With that, Icarus moved to leave the small office. He motioned for Connor to follow him, but the young man hung back a moment longer. "Just a moment, Magus."

  Icarus hesitated, glancing at Laila drifting off in her chair, but then he nodded his head and stepped out. Connor moved to the chair across from Laila. It was all Laila could do to keep her eyes open at this point; her exhaustion had moved beyond the physical and into her mind. She could see Connor, knew he was sitting in front of her, but there was not much comprehension beyond that.

  "I need to ask you something, Laila," Connor said, almost whispering, afraid of his question.

  Laila nodded slowly.

  "What did you see in the book? Before the library collapsed back in Balon. You saw something. I didn't ask before now because there was too much going on. But I wanted to know. It scared you."

  The question snapped Laila out of her sleepy haze. She had not expected Connor to ask her this, was not even sure he knew what had happened in the collapse of the library. It was a question she had feared. She had deliberately avoided considering the answer herself and had focused instead on dealing with her plan to confront Torin. It was obvious Connor could read the anxiety in Laila's demeanor, and so he pressed the question.

  "What did you see? We agreed. No secrets."

  Laila swallowed; she wanted to lie. That was her first instinct, to make something up. But looking into his eyes, she knew that she could not lie to him. He had been through similar trials, and they would likely go through many more, together. Steeling herself, she stood, despite her body's protestations, and grabbed a sheet of paper from her father's desk. She did not have the courage to answer his question out loud—perhaps writing it down would diminish its impact.

  She hastily wrote down a few lines, folded the sheet, and then handed it to Connor. "I'm going to sleep. Read it outside. We can talk later. Right now, I just need to rest."

  She pleaded desperately for sleep with her eyes, hoping Connor would respect her request.

  He glanced at the folded sheet and then returned his gaze to hers. "Aye. Get some rest."

  With that he stood, leaving Laila to settle herself into the heavy chair.

  Connor stepped out of the office. He walked down the hall a ways, watching as the people of the Consulate ran frantically through the halls, trying to recover after the confrontation in the hall. Once he was a few steps down the hall, he stopped and unfolded the sheet. The words took a moment to sink in.

  In the end, to maintain the balance of the world, the Magusari will have no other choice. Every Magusari from time's beginning has faced the same decision, and every Magusari has completed their task. To maintain the balance of the world, the Magusari must surrender their life to the world they protect. Only in so doing can balance be restored. The very existence of the Magusari is an imbalance, but by their death, the balance can be restored.

  Connor read the passage three times, trying to rationalize what it meant. His existence revolved around protecting the Magusari, and yet here was evidence that in the end, he would fail.

  "No," he said to himself. "There has to be another way."

  With a deep breath, he folded the sheet back up and placed it in his pocket. He then moved back toward the hall, seeking Icarus and something to do, leaving Laila to rest.

  End of Book One

  The Equilibrium Cycle

  Afterword

  Thank you, reader, for coming with me and Laila on this journey. Please follow along as Laila continues her adventures in Heart of the Ocean (out now). If you enjoyed the book please leave a review, they are always appreciated. Keep track of when the next book, and other stories, are coming by following me on Facebook and Twitter, it’s always great to hear from readers! Thanks and I hope you enjoyed Bones of the Earth!