by Day Leitao
Cayla stared at him attentively, her eyes wide, which was unusual for her. Karina had eyes lost in the distance. Darian closed his hands, then moved his arms, and was finally able to sit up. “That worked. I guess it sped up the healing process.”
Matheo was surprised, then laughed. “I think it did.” He closed his fist and punched the air as if celebrating a victory. “I knew it!”
Cayla squinted. “What do you mean you knew it? Isn’t it obvious, if it’s the antidote for his poison?”
“I wasn’t totally sure. I invented it.”
Interesting. Darian’s vision had opened, and he could see the magic in the young man. Cooking, antidotes, it was all related somehow. He was curious to something else. “Which poison was it?”
“Zelofrax.” He then put his hands over his mouth.
“But that’s deadly!” Cayla said.
The young man scratched his neck. “Well, yeah. Not anymore, right? I mean, it’s cured. I didn’t want to worry you.”
So Darian had indeed received a lethal poison. “If I had only a couple hours to live, I’d like to know.”
“Why?” Matheo asked. “If you’d do things much differently, then you should reconsider your life.”
Whatever. Darian wasn’t into philosophical ponderings. “How do you know the poison won’t kill me?”
“It stopped acting. It kills you by paralyzing your muscles. You’re moving, so…”
Perhaps Matheo had been right in lying to them, as he spared him and Cayla a lot of unnecessary pain. “Thank you.” He turned to Cayla and Karina. “Shall we go? I don’t want to waste any time.”
“What if he comes back?” Karina asked. “I think I’ll stay.”
“No. You might have to learn some magic to help us get Sian back. You have to come with us.”
She didn’t look happy but nodded as if resigned.
They all got up. As they were leaving the room, a sound got their attention and they turned. The last mirror was cracking by itself, and then it shattered.
Darian tried to catch his breath. No. No. It couldn’t be happening. After all they’d done. He hoped their information had been wrong, and that perhaps breaking all the mirrors wouldn’t do anything. It was a stupid hope. He took his communicator. All frequencies had been changed, and he didn’t even know who was in charge in the castle. His brother’s lift should have the right communication channels, though.
“We need to fly back to Siphoria, and I need to contact the castle. Come.”
He ran downstairs and outside, towards his brother’s lift. He hoped he’d be authorized and was relieved when he could open the door and then turn it on with the palm of his hand. Cayla and Karina were not far behind him.
He turned on the communicator on the lift to the emergency channel.
“Joel speaking.”
Right. Joel, sub-commander in the Siphoria division, and right now his brother’s assigned general commander.
Darian skipped formalities and introductions. “There’s an attack. They’re going to come from within the castle.”
“We know. Perimeter closed. Lifts are positioned and more are being called. Anything else?”
Darian remembered the damage that those winged creatures could make. “Make sure the lifts are not too close. Within shooting range, but far away. And some forces on the ground.”
“It’s all being set up. I’m taking care of everything, like you asked. The citizens are being told to stay indoors. Malena has been sent away. Are you safe?”
Only then Darian realized that Joel thought he was speaking to Sian. “This is Darian. My brother is caught up on something else.”
“Oh.”
“Keep it up, though. It looks like you’re well prepared. I won’t keep you any longer. Just a question: is anything coming through yet?”
“In the blue tower, yes, a few creatures, but we dealt with them.”
“Thank you.” Darian closed his eyes. A few creatures. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad. He turned to Cayla. “Do I sound like my brother?”
Cayla grimaced and shook her head, while Karina said, “You do.”
Surprising. Cayla seemed surprised as well, but didn’t say anything.
Karina then said, “I can teleport you to Siphoria. One by one. Or at least one of you. It will be faster.”
Darian shook his head. “No way. Until we know what’s happening, you aren’t teleporting anywhere. We can’t take any risks.”
Karina sighed. “Fine. And I guess trying to get Sian back will be postponed.”
“Not really. As soon as we know that the defenses are well set up we’ll work on getting him back. I promise. He’s my brother.”
Sian stared at the bowl in front of him. Moving worms. Now, he wasn’t a picky eater or anything, but they could at least have cooked or seasoned them.
The master creature screeched, and then the stone translated it. “The girl liked it.”
Girl? Sian was puzzled.
The creature continued. “She at it all.”
Oh, he knew who they were talking about, but wished they hadn’t dug up that memory. He had been doing so well. Either way, he wasn’t going to allow someone to best him at such a test. If she could be tough, so could he.
Yuck.
He missed Matheo and Malena and all the restaurants in Siphoria and perhaps he shouldn’t think about it considering at least he was alive, and she was safe. Plus, he’d better get used to the local food, since he’d spend a long time here. Next time he’d try to get some fire, salt, maybe some herbs… The creatures stared at him. Whatever, just swallow, Sian. He smiled.
The creatures then got agitated, and a few of them flew away. Sian asked, “What’s happening?”
“The tower opened,” the Maris leader said, and the stone translated.
Sian nodded. He had no idea what they were talking about, and it was probably something that didn’t concern him. The other creatures flew away, and only the leader remained.
The creature’s golden eyes were on him, examining him, perhaps expecting something.
“Doesn’t it bother you?” the creature asked.
Sian shrugged. “I don’t know what it is, or what it means.”
“The tower. Connecting your dimension and ours.”
Sian dropped the worm he’d been holding.
“There. I finally smell your fear,” the creature said.
How. How? He hadn’t accepted Darloom’s offer, he hadn’t opened anything. Perhaps his had been a losing game from the start, and he had been right that he couldn’t simply make a deal with that voiceless entity. And here he was, far away, powerless to do anything. He hadn’t even warned Joel that the attack was indeed going to happen. They’d be completely unprepared. It was his fault in so many ways, but regret didn’t help. He had to think and find a way to lessen the impact on his city.
“Aren’t you going?” Sian asked.
“My place is here.”
And then another thought crossed his mind. “Can’t you prevent it? There will be a lot of deaths. Not only my people, your people too. We have weapons and flying machines, and there will be deaths on both sides.”
“My dear fearless boy, you presume too much if you think you’re the only one who has nothing to lose. And don’t forget all the hate ingrained in them. Years under Darloom’s influence. You shouldn’t fear for us.”
“I have to go there. I… I won’t harm your, uh, subjects.” He’d just realized he shouldn’t be calling them people. “I just want to protect my city.”
“You made a promise and your promise holds you. That said, before the time comes, you can go anywhere you want.”
“Thank you.”
The creature remained sitting. Of course, Sian could go anywhere he wanted, except that nobody would help him. Maybe it was fair. He walked to the edge of the chamber. It was a long way until the opening on the other side, with a lake on the bottom. He could jump and swim on the lake, but then he’d have a hard time
coming up.
He grabbed the side of the cavern and made his way through the rocks. When outside, sunlight dazzled his vision and it took him some time to see the valley and the river far below. The Maris were flying into the tower, but not out. The passage was there, but it was too far. Sian looked down. It would be a very hard descent without equipment and would take too long. There had to be another way.
A cool breeze made him shiver, as his clothes were still damp. Sian sneezed. He hoped he wouldn’t die of pneumonia because that would be pathetic. A Maris flew below him. The claws were in the front, not on the back, and the creatures were much bigger than Sian. His armor was golden, but if he removed it he’d be black. Black like those large, powerful wings. He took out his armor, then went to the ledge and waited.
As a huge creature came flying, Sian jumped. He almost missed it, but got on its back. It was slippery, though, with no place for him to hold. The creature jerked upwards, and Sian dug his fingers to hold himself in place. There was some thin hair in the middle and he held on to it. The creature started flying again. Perhaps the jerking motion had been the scare of something falling on him, but now it was hard to think that he made any difference, right above the middle of its wings.
The creature flew into the tower, and then flew up, like all the other Marisians. Sian was all in black, with his face down, and appeased with the notion that the creatures smelled fear, and its absence made him invisible. There was no ceiling on the tower, but it wasn’t open to the sky either. It was bright as the sun, and the creatures were flying towards it. Lucky that he was flying because he’d never be able to cross that portal on foot.
Karina still couldn’t believe she was flying away from the portal that could lead her to Sian, and away from the portal from where he might come through. But he couldn’t teleport, so expecting him to come through was a bit silly. And yet, knowing that he could not teleport back was like sticking a knife on her chest.
They reached the outskirts of Siphoria much faster than all the other times Karina had flown. This lift wasn’t as huge as the ones from the army, but it was comfortable, with nice couches on the back and an open area. The important thing was that it flew faster. They had to land far away because the perimeter around the city had been closed for flight.
Even from the air, she saw that there was something happening around the castle. About forty lifts surrounded the city, at a safe distance from the castle. There was something like a blue mist around the castle and some dark clouds.
Karina ran towards the castle, ignoring whatever Darian or Cayla yelled. She still had that odd urge to face danger, fight it, and knew that she had at least some power to fight even otherworldly creatures. If she couldn’t get Sian back, she’d at least help defend his city. But she had a feeling, a hunch, and if that feeling was correct, she’d better run like she’d never run before.
She reached the river on the opposite side of the castle, which was indeed surrounded by a blue energy, but where Karina expected it to come from some kind of different tech equipment, it actually came from the hands of some people standing around the castle. The creatures struggled inside the shield they formed, but it was like a balloon getting bigger, and she feared it would eventually explode.
Sian noticed that the light had dimmed, and opened his eyes. This was unlike teleporting, it was just like flying somewhere else, maybe because there was no real teleporting, since there was an opening.
He was above the Queen’s castle, looking at his city from among hundreds and hundreds of Maris stuck together in what appeared to be a big bubble above the castle’s blue tower. He had made it back home, but those things were also about to invade his home, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to help. There were lifts in the distance, and some kind of barrier preventing them from entering. As far as Sian knew, all barriers collapsed sooner or later. Perhaps it would give the people in the city time to hide, but on the other hand, it would cause a sudden burst of creatures, and that would be hard for the army to deal with.
Something strange happened. The creature he was on flew upwards, while the others flew down, so that he and the creature were isolated on top. This couldn’t be good.
And it wasn’t.
A voice boomed in the sky. “Citizens of Whyland. Here I have your king. Open this barrier or he dies.”
No. He wasn’t going to be used as hostage or bait, not that he thought anyone would care if he died. And he didn’t care either. Sian stood on top of the creature and shouted, “No. Whyland, fight, defend yourselves!”
He then jumped and fell on another Maris, got up, and jumped from creature to creature, until he saw he was out of the tower and jumped down, towards the grass outside the castle.
35
After the Fall
Karina’s heart didn’t actually stop, otherwise she’d be dead, but that was what she felt like. From elation at seeing Sian alive, she was now watching with horror as his body fell. No, no, no. Explode, push. But what… What could she do? Push him up. Slow his fall. It was so far, and she couldn’t see him, she couldn’t know if she was doing anything right. And then it was even harder to see.
The barrier opened, and Maris flew everywhere. One of them came in her direction. She did her mini explosion but just small enough to keep herself safe. She wasn’t going to exhaust her magic as she ran to the bridge and towards the castle in the opposite direction of people retreating.
Karina kept her energy just strong enough to scare away the creatures, waiting for them to get close enough before doing anything. Like that, she reached the grass around the castle to the place where Sian had fallen. She was running as fast as she could when she bumped into someone and couldn’t believe her eyes. It was Sian! Standing, and looking up to the sky.
“You’re alive!”
He looked at her and his eyes had a spark before looking away. “Disappointed?”
The question was so stupid that she was just going to ignore it. “You saved me. You didn’t have to. You shouldn’t have.”
Sian shrugged. “It was my fault. I clean up my mess.” He looked up. “Usually. When I can.”
An idea was coming to Karina, and she was recognizing what that idea really was, and the energy with this idea. She realized some of her impulses and insights had something more to it.
“Sian, we can close all the portals. We can seal Whyland. If you come with me.”
He considered her. “To the Darloom Castle?”
Karina nodded.
“How?”
Karina was about to explain, when another voice caught her attention. “Nice. But plan this elsewhere. I can’t hold this for long.”
It was Leena, who had a blue energy around the three of them.
Karina wanted to run and hug her, but she obviously wasn’t going to interfere with her protective circle. “You saved him! You saved Sian from the fall!”
“No,” she replied. “It was you. But you ruined our barrier.”
Karina was surprised. “Sorry.” She had to find a way to make up for that. “You said we could close the portals with powerful magic. Would that send these creatures away?”
Leena said, “It would snap everyone back to the dimensions where they belong. Our city might be isolated and lost again. But if you can manage it, you might be able to save Whyland.”
Karina turned to Sian. “I know how to do it. We can teleport there. Take my hand.”
“Teleport? What if they—”
“They’re busy here. Trust me.”
Sian held her hand and immediately she saw flashes of light and the distinct feeling of being teleported. She saw the tower by the river, then they were in the purple room, where the mirrors had been broken.
Sian seemed dizzy. He opened his eyes slowly and then looked around. “How did the mirrors break?”
“Liam broke them.”
Sian frowned. “With the staff?”
“Yes, and he died right after.”
“I’m sorry.” He sai
d it as if he was consoling her.
Karina felt awkward. “You don’t think I liked him, do you? Not that I’m super happy with his death, but…”
Sian was startled, then stared at her as if examining her. “He was under the impression you were in love with him. Why was that?”
Karina felt embarrassed and hated having to talk about that. “Darian said Liam gave me a love potion.” Sian frowned, and Karina continued, “But all it did is make me think he was good looking.” Now that she thought about it, it made sense. “Cayla says those potions only amplify what’s already there, so there was nothing there. I kissed him just to spite you and I knew what I was doing. I guess it did spite you.” She looked down. “Not that I knew you’d feel it. It must have been horrible.”
Sian looked at her, a horrified expression on his face. “It was horrible.” He was thoughtful. “Love potion? I’m glad he’s dead, then.”
He then stared at her as if trying to figure out something. So he was going to reject her because of a couple kisses. What a steep price for a mistake, but then maybe there were other reasons besides that. Perhaps it was for the best, considering what they were about to do.
“If this works,” she said, “we’ll never see each other again.”
“At least you’re alive and well. That’s what matters.”
“You too. I was so worried.”
Sian looked around. “How do you propose to seal Whyland? Do you think you have the powerful magic it takes?”
“Not me. Us. Remember when you told me about magic? It’s specific, it’s non-replicable, it depends on the person, it has feeling. Well, love is magic.”
Sian raised an eyebrow. “One-way love?”
Karina should feel hurt or deflated, but at that point it didn’t matter. “Yes. And it’s selfless, it’s pure feeling. There’s something special about it.”
He turned and looked down on the well. “So it’s not weakness, it’s strength.” He snorted. “As with everything that causes pain.”
“I won’t focus on the pain, but on the good moments, and on the feeling. When I heard you had stayed behind in Marisia… I just lost it. I almost went there on my own, but your brother wouldn’t let me.”