A Bridge of Realms

by B. T. Narro

  “That means you’ll convince the commander to let me stay?”

  “I don’t believe I can convince him of anything, but I don’t need to. You will join the effort as part of my own army.”

  A sour taste came into Andar’s mouth. “I’m honored, sire, but I have a contract. I’m to follow the orders of my superiors, or I will be imprisoned.”

  “You will no longer be associated with them. Any past contracts or promises will mean nothing. They will not argue with me on this, for it is not worth the trouble to them.”

  Andar wanted to appreciate what he was hearing, but something didn’t make sense.

  “Why do this for me?”

  “It is not for you,” the king corrected. “It’s so you can help with Jaktius Perl, of course. I agreed with many of the things you said. We need strong mages, and your commander would be foolish to send you away now.”

  “Does that mean you plan to dispose of me after we are done?”

  “That depends on many things, Andar.”

  “Am I to sign a contract?”

  “No. You will be provided food, shelter, and payment until either of us wishes for the agreement to end. Your word is all I need.”

  There had to be more to it than that, though. “Before I agree to anything, I want to know your plan for the commander.”

  “My only plan right now is to destroy the rift.”

  “What about after?”

  “That will be decided later.”

  Andar had so many questions and requests, but one was more important than the rest.

  “My brother,” he said. “He’s nearly as strong as I am. I would like for him to be given the same option.”

  “I am insulted that you brought him up. Yes of course he will stay here as well. He is your brother.”

  Andar was shocked. There really were cultural differences between the races.

  He didn’t know why he was taking so long to respond. Good fortune had finally come to him.

  “I happily agree.”

  The king looked content as he nodded, but the princess glowered.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Andar walked out of the palace with a big grin. He was sure people noticed him and was glad for it. Soon the commander would hear what happened. Skyfire and ash, will he be angry. But Andar shouldn’t gloat. It was dangerous to make an enemy out of a man like Jarrel.

  Andar was ecstatic to find his brother in their tent.

  “Why are you so happy?” Leo asked.

  Andar told him the conversation as well as he could remember it. Leo had a smile by the end, though the corners of his mouth were soon pulled down with worry.

  “It sounds too good,” Leo said. “Dasfis is planning something, perhaps against our own race, and he expects to use our stalwart link, maybe.”

  “I have the same concerns, but this is the only way I can stay here—and it’s our best chance of helping the rebels. Don’t forget that Erisena is an Analyte. Dasfis is likely to side with her if a conflict begins at the rift.”

  “I do agree with that. Gods, Andar. This is the best thing that could’ve happened to you, but only because you messed everything up royally.” Leo chuckled. “I never thought your big mouth would bring about good fortune.”

  “Me neither.”

  “Why were you sneaking into the palace?”

  “To find out where Jarrel would be staying.”

  “Ah, to see the back of his leg at some point,” Leo realized aloud.

  “Yes.”

  “That was foolish.”

  “Yes.”

  “And you’re lucky.”

  “Yes.”

  “Will you shut up?”

  Andar paused a moment.

  Leo held up a finger. “Don’t say it.”

  Andar shrugged.

  “Gods,” Leo said with shock. “Maybe you really are changing for the better after all.”

  “Yes.”

  Leo smacked him. Andar tried to grab him in a headlock, but Leo pushed him back. They danced back and forth as if they might wrestle, but soon Leo broke out in a smile.

  “Perhaps we can finish all this soon,” he said. “And our father will be in a safe position—and I can visit Rygen after, perhaps even bring her here if we like serving Dasfis.”

  “Bring her here to propose?” Andar teased.

  “No.”

  “You talk about her as if you’re already in love.” Andar poked Leo in the stomach. “You love her, don’t you? Loooooove.”

  Leo stood straight as Andar poked him, a bored look on his face. “Are you done?”

  Just then, the commander boomed from outside their tent, “Andar, get out here!”

  He muttered a curse and shared a look of dread with Leo.

  “Now!” Jarrel screamed.

  Andar ducked to maneuver out of the small tent.

  “What did you tell Dasfis!” shouted the commander. He had a number of officers behind him, but even more soldiers had gathered to listen. Andar imagined them watching the commander stomp over to Andar’s tent and had told their comrades to come. With such an audience, the commander had even more reason to “put Andar in his place.”

  But what could Andar say to answer the commander? Lies could turn even the Analyte king against him, but the truth was not an option.

  However, his worry faded as he realized that the commander no longer had power over him. He folded his arms.

  “I’m not going to tell you anything.”

  “Disobey me again? Fine. That’s the last time you do.” Jarrel used his hand to beckon for something. A horse and carriage were brought over with a cage fashioned out of the wagon. Men grabbed Andar and threw him into the cage before he could figure out what to say.

  “You can’t do this!” Leo yelled.

  “Take him out of here,” Jarrel ordered the driver.

  “This isn’t right!” Andar protested as they took him away. He looked around for anyone who might help him, an Analyte who could tell the king. Jarrel followed close behind. Andar saw no one until he was nearly out of the garden.

  Dasfis himself came running. “Halt!”

  “Sire, this is not a matter over which you have control,” Jarrel said.

  The king said something in Analyse to his men. They quickly surrounded the wagon.

  Dasfis announced, “You are in the gardens of my palace, commander. Everything here is under my control. Now release him immediately.”

  “He will be punished for his disloyalty, sire. It is up to our army, not yours.”

  “He will be released to help destroy Jaktius Perl, and that is up to me.”

  Tension brought a hush upon everyone watching.

  “Now, commander!” Dasfis yelled.

  Andar heard phrases about the prince buzzing around. A man who seemed to be around Andar’s father’s age pushed through the crowd. He was no doubt Gavval Orello, signified by his fancy robes and the steel plated armor of his guards.

  “Prince,” the commander said and bowed his head.

  “I arrive to find you arguing with the Analyte king?” Gavval sounded incredulous.

  Jarrel pointed at Andar in the cage. “This solider snuck into the palace, lied, then disrespected all of us.”

  Andar had only disrespected the commander, but he decided to keep his mouth shut here. These were some of the most powerful men in all of Aathon. If they couldn’t decide what was best, then there were worse problems than just his life to worry about.

  “He is a powerful mage, you neglected to mention,” said Dasfis.

  The commander grumbled as he turned to address the king. “I assure you, sire, that we can destroy the rift without him.”

  “Perhaps, but I am not willing to take that risk. I claim responsibility for this man and his brother. They are no longer held to any past obligations or contracts. Now the matter is over. Release him.”

  “Do it,” agreed the prince.

  The commander looked as if he had a lemon pressed agai
nst mouth. Andar was soon released.

  He would not gloat here. In fact, he even had the strength to do the most difficult thing since this trip began.

  No, he caught himself as he was about to apologize to the man who might’ve murdered Rolan. Andar couldn’t get the words out, even if they should’ve been meaningless to him. It was just too hard to say. He held Jarrel’s gaze for a moment before the commander turned and walked away.

  ◆◆◆

  Andar and Leo were given the same room within the palace. There wasn’t much to it besides a large bed and a dresser. The other furniture was decorative, with unnecessary curves and bright colors. It was a little strange that the king provided them not only with a single room to share but a single bed as well, but Andar figured it was probably common in their culture for brothers their age to share a bed. He wouldn’t complain about anything, for the king had saved him from imprisonment.

  Andar and Leo had each been provided a bath as well as a meal. The food was strange in flavor and texture, a little too spicy for Leo, but Andar enjoyed it. He wondered if everyone would march to the rift starting tomorrow or if today’s incidents had caused a delay.

  He mused with his brother for a while, neither coming to any conclusions about what to expect. Near nightfall, someone opened the door to their room without knocking.

  Andar and Leo had both removed all but their undershorts, for even after sundown it was hot here. Leo quickly grabbed his trousers as the princess entered. Andar’s were across the room, though. He stood as proud as he could and did not cover himself. He would not run for his pants like a fool, for she had been the one to enter without knocking.

  She stood with a blank look as her gaze roamed his body and then settled on his chest for a breath. Finally she looked up. “Don’t you humans cover yourself when a woman enters?”

  “Don’t women knock here!?”

  “Andar, just put on some clothes and don’t complain to the princess,” Leo said as he crouched behind the bed.

  “Fine,” Andar groused as he walked over to his pants and shirt draped over a chair. “But it’s hot as the hells in here.”

  “That’s a complaint,” Leo reminded him.

  He supposed Leo was right.

  The princess shut the door and her expression stiffened. “Do you plan to attack Jarrel Marks, Andar?”

  “No, Siki.”

  “You will call me by my royal name if you are to remain here.”

  “You’re a royal something, for sure.”

  “What was that?”

  “Princess Siki Meplr.” He bowed as genuinely as he could. “How may I assist you?”

  “Is he making fun?” she asked Leo.

  “Surprisingly, no.”

  “May I ask one thing, Princess Siki Meplr?” Andar asked sweetly.

  “Of course.”

  “Do I have to call you Princess Siki Meplr every time I address you?”

  “Princess is fine.”

  “To answer your question, princess, I do not plan to attack Jarrel. I am not such a beast of a man. However, does your father plan to check his bare leg for a scar? I fear I must know, or this dreadful heat will not compare to the curiosity that is certain to keep me up tonight.”

  “All right, now he’s making fun,” Leo said.

  “Stop talking like that,” said the princess.

  “Fine. Well?”

  “I cannot guarantee what my father will do about Jarrel Marks. We must wait to find out together.”

  She turned around and opened the door. She was shutting it behind her before Andar even realized she was leaving.

  “The women here don’t say goodbye!?” he called, freezing her.

  She muttered something in Analyse, then shut the door.

  ◆◆◆

  Leo and Andar walked among the Analyte army the next day. Leo felt painfully aware of his age as so many of them stared at him and his brother. The Analyse language fluttered around them like little birds, light and quick. Leo hoped they were telling each other who these two human boys were and what they were doing, so eventually the Analytes would stop staring with curiosity.

  It took only a day to reach the capital nearby. Leo had expected it would look different than the human cities he’d passed through, but not this different. The town itself was long and narrow, built between two mountains. There were not many streets, but each one was paved to create a firm, level surface that made walking easy.

  The buildings were tall, sometimes four stories high. They were decorative as well, with layered roofs and glass windows. Leo wondered what each massive structure was for, but the few Analytes he tried asking did not speak common tongue. A single business could not have the coin for such a building. Perhaps groups of Analytes lived in these colossal structures.

  He started to feel a wetness to the air. Thinking it meant rain was coming, he lost his breath in surprise when their road took a turn and Leo saw a waterfall crashing down the mountainside. It fell into a deep hole that led underground. Bright plant life thrived around the edges.

  Eventually the army stopped and began to spread out. Leo and his brother stood in the middle of the road in confusion as the armed Analytes bustled around, carrying sacks and rolling barrels. Then Leo realized they were fetching supplies for the trip to the rift. It reminded him of the threat they would soon encounter. Nothing else that had happened before mattered if they could not put an end to Jaktius Perl.

  The capital stretched out through the hills even as the mountains diminished. It took two days for the troops to walk through the city. By then, Leo and Andar had figured out that the human army was behind them, the Analytes leading.

  He and his brother were the only people to make a sound when they saw the rift. These Analytes all must’ve become accustomed to the terrifying sight as they marched on, but it stopped Leo for a breath. It was massive.

  The mountains had been too close before to see the top of it, but now not even the nearby hills had any hope of blocking it. It was wider and taller than anything Leo could imagine. It was like seeing the massive blue ocean take form and come to life, rippling up from the ground and towering into the sky. It was oval shaped, taking up the whole ground, the whole horizon, and almost the whole sky. There had been talk of its size before, two hundred miles in diameter. That always sounded huge to Leo, but he could’ve never imagined something this large.

  He wanted to hit Jarrel Marks for claiming that the destruction of this rift would be easy. No, he wanted to hit Mavrim for not sending mages here sooner. Gods, it was gigantic!

  Leo cursed aloud as he realized that the closest side of it wasn’t even that far from the capital. The Analytes had not abandoned their homes and shops yet, but most certainly would soon if this attack on the rift failed.

  Leo wondered how he hadn’t seen it sooner. He recalled traveling up and down many slopes on the long trip to the palace. Perhaps the rift was hidden by mountains and hills if viewed from the west.

  It won’t be much longer, for it’ll be in human territory soon enough.

  ◆◆◆

  It took just two days to reach the face of the rift from the capital. It was an easy walk to the base of the mountains, where the rift edged past some of the rocky legs of the slopes. It looked almost transparent as Leo and the troops circled around, Leo feeling as though he could see into it. But as he strained his eyes, his realized that the blurred shapes he thought were within were just different shades of light across the surface.

  The rift sounded like Leo imagined a tornado would if he ever stood close enough to hear one. The wind was near deafening, whipping Leo’s shirt and hair and threatening to lift him from the ground. Terror came over him as he realized he could barely hear the shouting of the officers.

  Fortunately, everyone had already decided on a simple plan. All mages with any control over Artistry, like Leo, would pull as much of the essence together as they could to make a massive blanket. They would smother the face of the rift as other
mages who controlled Esitry would pull and poke at the rift itself. All it took was a disruption, and it should collapse.

  But what would happen then? Would it explode? Could everyone here be consumed in Esitry? It was dangerous to be exposed to a large quantity of Esitry, one of the many reasons humans and Analytes alike could not enter a rift and survive, for the other realm was filled with the blue energy.

  Soon Leo felt the Artistry thicken in front of him. The mages had begun to gather. He joined in, drawing it from the ground and the air and pulling it toward him from as far away as he could reach. Every little bit of it was ripped out of his grasp and stuck to the blanket forming over the rift. There were so many mages that even Mavrim himself would have no hope of moving a piece of the Artistry on his own.

  Leo felt safer knowing the human king was somewhere along the thick line of troops that failed to surround even a portion of this rift. Somewhere not too distant, Leo’s father and the rebels must’ve begun their work on destroying the rift. He hoped it would not matter that they were separated. This thing needed to be destroyed now.

  But Leo’s hopes began to dwindle as the rift remained unchanged. The blanket of Artistry had grown to be massive, probably covering a larger area than the entire city of Jatn. Leo felt it weakening, though, as he and the other mages stretched it and pressed it against the wall of Esitry.

  He wondered how the summoners were fairing, disrupting the energy of the rift. He could not feel Esitry with his mind, so he watched for changes to the rift.

  Suddenly, there was a crack across the surface, a black line that tore down the curved edge of the rift. Leo heard many of the Analytes shouting over the wind, more pointing at it. The tear glowed white as it pulsed. Blue light burst out. The whole rift fluttered as if it were water and a massive boulder had fallen into it.

  Something that wasn’t light reached out of the rift. It startled Leo as he realized that it was physical, like a gnarled tree.

  “What in the hells?” Andar shouted as it arched down and crashed to the earth. It looked like a claw of some creature. It had long tendrils with sharp edges in the shape of a foot with claws. A second one came out, followed by what had to be the creature’s head.