by Gabi Moore
The air was cool, and there was no light in the sky except for the bright blue fae fires which lined the stone pillars of the building like glowfish in some purple ocean.
My hands and knees were scratched, and I had to recover from a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, but the trip had gone smoothly into the Fae Realm.
Home...
I looked at my body and was honestly a bit sad to be back in my broken body once more.
One wing stuck out uncomfortably through the back of my dress. The fabric had been ripped, and since my breasts were now significantly smaller, the dress sagged at the top. My skin was a different color once more, and I seemed to be a reflection of the evening around the two of us.
The strangest thing about our arrival was that there was no one else around. The Capitol was not usually this empty. Something was terribly wrong.
Erol on the other hand was not yet able to get out of his state of shock from the transfer.
This isn't my body...
I took a sharp inhale, and tried to clear my mind for a moment.
Focus.
My hands immediately went to my face, and I began to rub the bones around my eyelids.
"We are in another dimension. All souls inhabit new forms for each dimension they visit. I personally haven't ever met a human who has come to the Fae Realm before, but that really shouldn't be our focus right now. Can you pull yourself together or not?"
He gulped, and nodded.
"Good, then follow me. We need to get over to the University."
I let go of his hand, and took a few steps. The acclimation to the new body was a bit slower this time. I ended up stumbling a bit, and losing my inner sense of balance. The vertigo passed while I held my head with both hands. Pushing forward, I willed myself to continue.
"If you die, then that is the course of your life, but for sake of the gods you are going to push through this."
The promise was spoken to myself, through grit teeth, but it had an impact on Erol as well, as he ended up getting his shit together as well. The two of us ran toward a transport station located nearby the capitol, and hopped on a pair of hover discs. Aristocratic government types who were accustomed to sitting in their desks all day were usually the ones who used these sorts of things. They were a relic from Xan's era, which had been stripped of its privatization and made available for public use.
"Lean into it," I nodded. "Yea. Like that."
He could have flown.
Most fae preferred to fly, rather than taking the hover discs. However, there were a few who, like me were no longer physically capable of flight. Whether they were handicapped, or indulgent business types, I always thought hover discs looked too flashy to be taken seriously. However, with no one around, and a limited amount of time, I didn't mind dealing with a bit of pretension in order to achieve our goal.
The portal remained behind us, as Erol and I cruised through the vacant streets of the Fae Realm.
Where is everyone? I thought.
The empty streets of the Capitol brought an urgency to the situation that stretched beyond what was reasonable. I had grown worried, but I needed to push that into the back of my mind.
Focus on the present moment.
The way the disc moved through the air became my sole focus. I allowed the wind to caress my body, and took pleasure in the way that the disc pushed long grasses down to the ground in my wake. In the distance, the University came into view.
The buildings were more deteriorated than the Capitol. The University was untouched by the superficial protections that were offered to the Capitol. Every financial resource that had been directed toward the University since before the revolution had been directed exclusively into research.
We pulled up along the side of the great library, and jumped off.
"I don't understand why we can't just bring something like that back through to the human dimension. That technology alone would change lives."
"Fundamental difference in physics. Now, can we please focus on the task at hand?"
Once we reached the inside of the library, I started to feel a sense of relief wash over me. The outer landscape had been eerily absent of people, but the University library had the most subtle indications that people were around. The space was comfortable in a very physical, old-sweater kind of way.
Going downstairs, I saw that the fae fire lamps hi-lighting the stairs were in operation still. Down in the basement, where our research lab awaited, there were the sounds of Fae at work.
When I opened the door to the lab, Erol just about lost his cool.
"My God!"
The scientists that had been hard at work, turned an irritated eye toward the source of the outburst.
I had been on an acquaintance-based relationship with these people for some time, but there was no real love present. When I had last seen them, I had been busily attempting to remove myself from the majority of prominent Fae society over the last year. A hand full of people had offered me sympathies, while the vast majority couldn't understand or relate to my depression.
These trollish Fae, that permanently dwelled in the basement laboratories of the University Library were a part of the latter group.
"We need your data on the approaching environmental instability."
He paused and regarded me suspiciously, while all of the others in the lab stopped what they were doing and turned toward Erol and myself. All movement in the room stopped, and all that was left was the monitors which surrounded the workstations of the lab.
"Aria, why are you still here?"
"I noticed that the streets were pretty empty on my way over here."
His laughter in response to that statement was sick, like something braking inside of his soul. He coughed, and squinted at me from behind his wire-framed glasses. Pulling a cigarette out of his pocket, he lit up and walked over to open up one of the windows which lead upward to the surface level through a ventilation shaft.
"There was an evacuation. Most of the populace is with the Wilder Fae right now in the outer forests. Most of the members of the Capitol are in negotiations with the Tribe about using their lands as an extended shelter, though from the looks of it, I'm not sure how much good that is actually going to do."
"Can you show us what you are seeing? We need to know if there have been any changes in metaphysical currents in the last hour or so."
His eyes narrowed, as he looked at me, smoke rising through the air from his nostrils.
"What do you know?"
I shook my head, and pushed his inquisition off to the side.
"No time. I'm here because we need to get real time information on what's happening with cross dimensional currents, and this lab is the only place where I can get an accurate readout in the time frame needed."
He stubbed out his smoke on the wall, leaving a black, ashy stain followed by a flick towards the nearest trash can. The rest of the attendants in the lab were watching the entire situation unfold like it was the most interesting social phenomenon they had seen in their lives.
"Get back to work!"
He walked over to a station that was covered in papers and monitors, and waved the two of us over.
"They don't understand why you are here. That or they do, and your celebrity is giving them pause. You hear to save the world?"
I had to close my eyes and swallow.
"Readouts."
"Sure. Well, right over here you can see that blip you're talking about."
He was pointing to a veritable cliff in data.
"I'm sorry, but that doesn't look much like a 'blip' to me"
He laughed, which managed to make me uncomfortable again, though the laugh clearly transformed into a cough by the end of his fit.
Just a bit of a joke, but I can see you're in no mood for it."
He scrolled the panel outward, with a wave of both hands. The entire picture panned out, and I could see how my initial ‘cliff’ was part of a much larger picture.
; The data on the screen looked like a long and protracted crash of some sort, followed by an unexpected and sharp rise in something. The cliff itself was nothing more than the other side of that sharp unexpected rise. Beyond the cliff, and into the present moment, there were no patterns, only chaos.
"As you can see, from the data there are a number of reasons why we might be more than a bit surprised at your visit."
Turning to the side, I saw that a young scientist with curiosity in his eyes that could not be dismissed was peaking over to see what was transpiring between myself and the lead technician.
Erol, on the other hand, was absolutely stricken dumb. He was giving his entire attention to the screens, instruments and papers.
The technician pointed at the monitor with his nicotine stained fingers, and began to explain.
'This huge fall you see here is the data which caused the evacuation. We are calling this the destabilization of our ecosystem, due to the approach of the void. The readings center geographically around the capitol itself, while the outer forests are relatively unaffected. Of course, over time, we suspect that those too will become inhabitable."
"Inhabitable?"
"Well yes. We don't have extended data to work with, but there is a very grave risk for all those who stay within the contaminated area."
Finally, Erol spoke up.
"You mean this area."
The scientist grinned, showing his yellow teeth to the two of us.
"Sometimes, my boy, you need to make a decision about your priorities. For us, this data was more important, and I'd say since your arrival, we may have not thrown our lives away after all."
"What do you mean by that?"
This time the reply came from me. The scientist's tone grew more serious, and he brought his arms together over his chest in a resting position.
"Well that answer is pretty easy to manage, though I think you two would have a better job of providing the details yourself."
He pointed at the screen once more.
"If the destabilization had maintained its course, we would have reached some level of critical threshold by now, if not within the next four or five hours. The problem is that since just before you showed up, that downward trajectory has been halted. Now, thing's aren't exactly getting better, but if you were to take an average of these peaks, I'd say that we have reached some level of stabilization."
He paused again, and leaned back against the table, then he opened his hand out to both sides, indicating both his team, and himself by his gesture.
"Now you've seen your data. You come in here anticipating a modification which has been proven, and I'm lead to believe that you had something to do with that. Now, I've seen your memorials in the Capitol. I know what you're capable of, and I know that you have a history of involvement in questionable activities."
He shook his head.
"But I'd say that the people in this room, myself included, would be more than interested in knowing what it is you are up to, considering it may just indicate the salvation of our race."
I blew him off.
"Nothing that spectacular, I can assure you."
Of course, he didn't buy it, but I didn't have the time to explain everything to a team of scientists. I looked at Erol, and made eye contact.
"You get everything you were looking for?"
"Well, of course, but the problem is that we need stabilization. The portal needs sacrifice in order to continue to open."
I felt like slapping him.
“Gods damn you, Erol, for not knowing how to keep your fuckin' mouth shut."
"They are scientists! Don't you think it's a smart idea to let them in on what's going on? Maybe they will be able to help."
"It's not a regular portal... is it?"
The lab tech was already putting the pieces together. I let out a sigh, and decided to let this one go.
"Rift, technically speaking. The whole point is to take the portal and maintain it indefinitely."
"Oh, I know what it is all right. I just didn't know that someone would be foolish enough to try and do something like that."
This got under my skin.
"Foolish? You were thanking me a minute ago."
"You have no idea what kind of external factors could be involved in something like that. You may have immediately stabilized the situation, but there's no telling what will happen as a result."
He shook his head back and forth as though he was fully realizing something tragic in his own mind.
"That's dark magic... dark magic indeed."
"Look, hate to break up your little pity parade, but while you're sitting here looking into a mirror of your own doom, I'd rather take a chance on making some kind of change..."
My self-righteous tirade was interrupted by a cry outside of the library that sounded like a mixture between the wail of a banshee and a quake. The lab tech shrunk into himself, and stared with wide eyes at the data on the screen.
The needle was oscillating furiously; each dip lower than the last, and each peak more perilous.
"It's coming," he whispered, another cigarette compulsively shoved between his lips.
I didn't wait around for any explanation. I only grabbed Erol by the collar and yanked him toward the door.
"We're leaving. Now!"
Chapter 19
Sprinting up the stairs was to be endured only with minor tremor. The ground itself was in revolt, and it seemed as though the central location was not too far away from our current position.
Erol stumbled to the floor, and yanked on my hand. I held onto him, turned around, and grabbed him with both hands. Yanking him to his feet, we pushed past the end of the stairwell, and into the main floor of the library.
Books had fallen all over the floor, and the doors hung wide open. Outside, a fierce wind blew and for the first time, I began to be truly afraid. I paused for a moment, and realized that my fear was magnified, as I was actually concerned for Erol's welfare, and doubted as to whether or not he'd be able to manage to get through the chaos that was growing outside. I turned around and looked at him.
He was pale, and his eyes were bewildered. His mind wasn't present, and he was struggling with some internal revelation. I knew that this had been too much for him. There was a reason why humans didn't come to the Fae Realm, as a general rule, but this whole experience was only pushing that boundary further.
"Look at me."
I grabbed him again, and held him close to my face.
"I won't be able to protect you once we're out there. We need to get to that portal, and you need to get your head together. Do you understand?"
The whole library shook as we stood there. I saw focus come back into his expression, and a nod come from his head.
"Good. It's time to go now. Just follow my lead, and we'll do what we can."
I let out one final exhale while we stared at one another. I wanted the eye contact to be significant; to provide him with the help that I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to provide once we got outside.
"Those men downstairs are ready to die. I've seen it in the eyes of men before. You can join them, or you can follow me, but I'm not going like that."
With that, I spat on the floor, and set my brow into a glare. Blood and adrenaline returned to my entire body, and I sank into a predatory state of consciousness. Anything I had left in the past was now called to the present. There was no more room for dispossessed states of depression or powerlessness.
I broke out into a sprint, and didn't look back. I had given him the only warning he would receive, and that was more than most would have received. The rest was up to him.
The rush of the wind whipping past my face as I ran toward the door brought a sensation of elation. The doors themselves slammed to the side, as though the environment itself was frightened of my approach. The blue lights underneath the surface of the hover discs wavered eerily on the ground beneath them. In the distance, I could see the darkness approaching; it was head
ed straight for the Capitol.
"The portal!"
I hopped on the hover disc, and ducked down toward the ground to reduce the drag on my body. They didn't make these things to go extraordinarily fast, but if you knew what you were doing, there was an override switch available on the bottom of the disc. The switch is pressure sensitive, which means that if you want to get going, you have to be in a position to physically handle yourself. Most of the populace doesn't engage in risky behavior like this, but there are a number of youth that have caught onto the secret, and hold races in the older, more abandoned districts.
My hair whipped behind me, and I watched as debris flew beneath my transport. I thought about Erol, but I couldn't risk looking backward to see if he was all right or not. The environment was moving by so quickly that I had to keep my eyes on the road. To divert my attention for only an instant would mean a fall. At this speed, it would not only be painful, but I might actually do some serious damage to myself.
Narrowing my eyes, I squinted into the distance. Everything around me was growing darker, with the storm. The darkness that came out of the skyline and moved toward the portal held the same qualities as the tentacled creature from the hell realm. This time, it was projected against a sky that was only lit by faerie fire. The resulting atmosphere was a soft glue glow coming up from the Capitol. The light pushed upward through gradients of darkness into the stars of the sky. Between the stars, and the ground, a clear outline of inky black tendrils stretched toward the Capitol building.
The sight was so awesome, that I nearly ran into the side of the hedge which outlined the garden courtyard of the capitol. The hover disc spun wildly in the wrong direction, and I ducked down and clutched at both sides of the disc with my hands. I lowered my gaze and stared at the nearest fixed point possible. The fixed point in my vision was a bright source of blue light just outside of the Capitol building, some twenty yards away.
The portal was there, but something was wrong. Two figures were outlined by its light, and the approaching darkness from behind. My wild crash was so taxing that I couldn't be sure who was there, or if I had seen anything at all. Keeping track of the details around me was low on my list of priorities.