by Devan Skyles
“Pretty cool, huh?” she said, unclipping her harness from his.
“I’ve never experienced anything like it,” he answered truthfully.
Never before had he imagined that a human could show him such a unique and unexpected joy of flying. He turned and slid his arms around her. She leaned in close, her gaze darting back and forth between his eyes and her feet. She wasn’t a shy person by nature, but something about him disarmed her in a startling way.
A roaring wind suddenly broke them of their trance as the airplane landed a short distance off. The propellers slowed as the engines powered down and the cockpit door swung open. A smiling Benji stood up and hung out the door, holding on to the top of the craft.
“Hey!” he hollered. “Did I ever tell you I can jump out of this airplane without a chute and survive?”
Rhydian was skeptical about this claim, until Benji comically held his nose and jumped from the aircraft door, dramatically rolling to a stop on the grassy field and popping to his feet.
“See? I did it!” he exclaimed. “And he sticks the landing! Let’s hear from the judges! Ten points across the board!”
Rhydian and Ellie laughed and made their way back to the truck. They talked the whole way back to the house. Rhydian was smiling so much his cheeks began to hurt.
“You know, Ellie,” he began as they pulled up to the house, “it’s really strange thinking that we’ve only known each other a short time. I feel really comfortable around you.”
Ellie nodded her agreement. “I feel the same. You’re kind of a great guy.”
They both sat in silence for a moment, until she finally broke the tension.
“So, you want to see that weird cellar I found?”
He agreed, and they continued down the road until the trail became too narrow for the truck, at which point, they got out and walked. Rhydian wasted no time taking her hand in his as they strolled through the quiet woods.
The trail was still muddy from the previous day’s rain and every leaf on every tree and fern seemed washed clean. When they came upon the wooden doors by the trail, Ellie stopped and excitedly pointed them out. The rain had washed fresh mud over them, so Rhydian helped her clear it away and they each grabbed a handle. The doors swung open more easily this time, the rusty hinges moaning in defiance.
Rhydian stood aside and allowed her to enter first. She excitedly ran down the shallow stairs and over to the box of papers. Rhydian followed her in and looked around.
The room was better lit today, bright sunlight pouring through the entrance. All over the concrete walls were scrawled notes and diagrams in permanent marker. Much of it was illegible, and the rest made very little sense to him. He stood close to the wall and read one such notation.
Triangulating for energy torrent and ilïmbalm density in the surrounding area, likelihood of a natural occurrence is negligible, unless an error was made adjusting for back-current from barrier erosion. If so, it could happen any time between now and the next hundred thirty years. Unsatisfactory calculation.
“What do you think it all mean?” Ellie mused.
“I have no idea,” he admitted, though he knew for certain that he’d read the word ilïmbalm. This fact alone made him extremely uneasy. Humans couldn’t know about ilïmbalm. Though it permeated every part of the human world, it was undetectable on this side of the barrier.
“Weird,” she said. “Well, shall we take this stuff up to the house?”
“Allow me,” he offered, taking the box and gesturing for her to exit.
“What a gentleman,” she said playfully, stepping back out into the daylight.
They closed the doors to the strange place and headed back to the house, where they sat on the couch and spread the papers out on the coffee table to examine. Most of the pages contained more indiscernible gibberish like that on the cellar walls, but much of it seemed to be well-formed, articulate journal entries. They sifted through the pile page-by-page, spreading it out and organizing it as best they could. Soon, they ran out of space on the table and moved it aside to make room on the floor. Before long, the entire living room was covered in the old documents and they were both sprawled out on the floor beside one another, perusing them.
“This is so much fun,” Ellie exuded, picking up one of the journal entries. “It’s like some kind of treasure hunt or something. Listen to what this says.”
She read the letter aloud:
I’ve calculated where the next most likely entrance should be, as corroborated by Ms. Rose, but even her intel is becoming outdated with each passing year. Her sources are becoming scarcer these days, as very few people are willing to communicate with her under the apparent political pressures of the last few years. It is still too dangerous to try to cross, but I’m sure I know where there will be an entrance to Ilimíra.
M.B.
Rhydian’s heart raced. “Does it say who wrote it?”
“It’s just signed, M.B. Wait… That’s weird—”
“What?” he prodded. “What’s weird?”
She shook it off. “Nothing.”
He decided not to push it. “Well, there’s that word again: Ilimíra.”
“Yeah,” she said, as if waking from a trance. “Whoever, this M.B. person is, she seems to think it’s a real place.”
“What makes you think it’s a woman?” he inquired.
“Um, you know. The handwriting is too perfect to be a man’s,” she explained. “So, okay, tell me about this Ilimíra place. Apparently I’m the only one who’s never heard of it.”
Rhydian’s stomach knotted, unsure how to approach the topic, but he was so sick of lying that he breathed a resigned sigh and told the truth. Ellie sat up and listened intently as he spoke, a fascinated smile on her face.
“Well, according to legend, it’s not so much a place as it is—” he searched his mind for the right words. “I guess it’s more of a separate realm.”
“You mean like some mystical, parallel world?” she probed.
“No, not really. There’s nothing supernatural about it, and it’s still part of this world. They share the same space, just… on separate planes, with different physical laws.”
“This doesn’t sound like any bedtime story I’ve ever heard,” she joked. “So, on this other plane, what is it like? The poem I read talked about angels or something.”
“Not angels, no,” he corrected. “But they do fly. In fact, in their culture, many people believe that the sky is the mother of all creation; that it breathed them into existence. They believe that their souls don’t reside in their bodies, but amongst the sun and the stars and the clouds; that their souls fly free, and that is what draws them to the sky. They fallow their spirits high above the earth. It’s where every Ilimíri truly belongs.”
He suddenly realized Ellie’s gaze was fixed on him, an amorous look upon her face.
“I do believe you might be a romantic, Rhydian,” she said softly. “Who told you these stories? You describe it so vividly.”
“I don’t know,” he replied, suddenly realizing he may have said too much. “Just heard them growing up, I guess.”
The two sat in silence for a moment until Rhydian realized she was smiling at him. When he met her gaze, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
Rhydian continued to go visit Ellie as frequently as he could over the next couple weeks. They had become nearly inseparable, spending every spare moment together. Most days he’d finish his work as early as he could and rushed to meet her at the air field. It was too far for him to walk, but he found that, as he got to know some of the town’s people, they were more than happy to give him rides from time to time, especially when they saw how happy Ellie seemed to be around him.
Ellie often let him sit in the co-pilot’s seat when she took tourists up, and even let him take control of the aircraft after the passengers departed. On her days off, they would jump together, enjoying the brief, exhilarating free-fall, followed by Rhydian’s favorite part: dr
ifting down slowly to earth together. It was as if they had the whole sky all to themselves, as if they were the only two people in the world.
The two also spent a great deal of time sifting through the cryptic papers she’d discovered in the cellar. The more they read from the journal entries, the more intrigued she was by the concept of a secret, mysterious land that no one could find; strange, winged people walking the shadows of the earth, avoiding contact with humankind. It was such a romantic notion, she thought. She had nothing but questions for him about every story he knew regarding the place, so he fed her with stories of adventure and Ilimíri fables from his childhood.
He’d been seeing less and less of Redwings spies, and so far, they hadn’t figured out his evasive trick of sneaking out of town through the tunnel near the barracks. He did this nearly every day after work in his rush to the secret threshold in the cave.
Mr. Ferro became bewildered by his puzzling behavior, until one day he confronted him about it.
“What have you been in such a hurry for lately?” he inquired.
“Just have other things I’m trying to get done, that’s all,” he explained vaguely.
Ferro’s face stretched into a broad grin. “Ah, I see! What’s her name?”
Rhydian rolled his eyes but couldn’t help but smile.
“Listen, I’m glad you’re happy,” he said, “and I hope I didn’t put too much pressure on you to take over the forge. I just know your father would be proud to see you succeed, and to be honest, I can’t think of another person I’d rather have running my business when I’m gone.”
Rhydian wrung his hands uncomfortably. “I’m glad you have so much confidence in me, sir.”
Ferro nodded, his lips pursed. He clapped his sooty hands together and returned to his work.
Auram came to see Rhydian that night. Rhydian was happy to see his friend. The house had gotten so lonely with his mother away. He’d received a few letters from her, expressing her worries for his wellbeing, as well as assuring him that she was doing just fine. He wrote back every time, but he couldn’t think of much he wanted to tell her. He didn’t think she’d be too proud of him if he said he’d been illegally sneaking across an unregistered threshold to tell a human girl all about Ilimíra. He was trying to compose a letter at the moment Auram arrived.
“Big news!” Auram said, drifting down onto the ledge and letting himself in. He’d become much more casual about visits now that Rhydian was the only one there. “I finally passed my sword qualifications!”
“Congratulations!” Rhydian replied, giving up on the letter and crumpling the parchment into a wad.
“I still don’t know how I’ll do against the ground-dwellers, but if I die, you’ll have one more story to tell your girlfriend, you traitor.”
“You’re not going to die,” he assured him. “I saw you beat that instructor.”
“Sergeant Taya? Yeah, I haven’t beaten her since. I swear, she’s got it in for me!”
“Of course she does,” he joked. “She knows you, doesn’t she?”
Auram shoved him playfully. “Seriously, she hates me! I’ve got welts and bruises from that sadist. She just likes to see me suffer.”
“I think if she really wanted to see you suffer she’d have just kept letting you take the evaluation again and again.”
“Maybe,” he conceded. “Listen, I actually came here to give you some other news.” He lowered his voice and continued. “Troops have been pouring to the ground. They’re even deploying to the other side. There’s talk of an uprising from the grounders, which very well might be true. But what if this has something to do with Redwing’s plan? You heard him talking about solving the ilïmbalm crisis. Maybe this is his play.”
“But Redwing doesn’t have any control over military movement,” Rhydian reasoned.
“He might if he’s got other government officials backing him. Either way, my company deploys next week. If we’re going to figure out what’s going on, we need to do it now.”
He nodded his agreement, silently berating himself for letting himself get so sidetracked.
“What do you suggest we do?”
“I think we should break into Redwing’s office. Whatever he’s planning, there could be evidence in there. Now, I stole his appointment book today. Tomorrow he’s got a council meeting at noon. I think we should do it then.”
“Yeah, okay. Let’s do it.”
Pursuit
Rhydian again woke up before the sun and dressed for work. He flew out into the cool, moist, morning air. A few night birds called as he passed the bush they were resting in. It was quiet and peaceful out. Most of the city was still asleep.
Unlocking the big, wooden door to the forge, he stepped in and poured some low-grade ilïmbalm over the light stones in the corner of the room. He squinted as they illuminated, clear vapors rising from the bowl. Some of the stones were beginning to dim with age, so he added a couple new ones and doused them as well. He then took a shovel and piled a scoopful of the lumpy, uneven heat stones into the forge. He stood back stretching his arm out over the furnace with the pitcher and poured ilïmbalm over those as well, which sizzled and glowed bright orange. A wave of heat washed over him.
Heating the metal and tending the forge diligently, he expertly worked the material into the weapons he was so adept at creating. The rhythmic beat of his hammer on the anvil lulled him into a routine he had become so accustomed to that it was now second nature. His muscles seemed to know the motion without him having to think about it. This was good on this particular day, because his mind was not on his work. He concerned himself only with what they’d find when they raided Redwing’s office.
By mid-morning, he was finished with his work, and he went to meet Auram at the barracks. It was his day off, so he lay kicked back on his bed, a half empty bottle of ilïmbalm on the nightstand.
“You ready for this?” he said, his hands behind his head.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” he replied. “How are we going to get in and out without anyone noticing?”
“We’re not going in through the front entrance. There’s a tunnel that leads behind Redwing’s office. He’s got his own private entrance there. Hardly anybody goes back that way. The only problem is the hallway is patrolled regularly, so we’ll have to get in and out quickly.”
“Sounds easy enough, I guess.”
“He should be leaving for that meeting soon,” he said, sitting up, “so I suggest we get there early and make sure he leaves before we go in.”
“Let’s do it then.”
The two dove down the Monolith City to the council chambers and perched on a rooftop just outside the cavernous hall. There they sat, watching and waiting for the governor to leave. They made tense conversation as they waited.
“So, how’s the human side?” Auram said, his eyes scanning the flocks of Ilimíri winging in and out of the chambers.
“It’s awesome. Ellie’s been teaching me to fly.”
Auram looked at him as though he’d lost his mind. “You do realize the absurd irony in that, don’t you?”
Rhydian just laughed. “Yeah, I know. But it’s different somehow. They appreciate it more because it’s not an everyday thing for them. And skydiving with her is like—” he stopped and sighed.
“Careful, brother. Sounds to me like you’re starting to fall for this girl.”
Rhydian was silent for a long beat, then admitted, “I think I am.”
Auram gave him another incredulous look. “Okay, I could get on board when you were just having fun, breaking the status quo. But this is getting serious now. I mean, seeing her all the time, telling her about Ilimíra, meeting other humans. Rhyd, if anyone finds out about this… I don’t even know what they’d do at this point.”
Rhydian gave a tense laugh. “I don’t think I care anymore! I mean, nobody’s discovered the threshold yet. No one knows I’m using it.”
“It’s only a matter of time, brother. And even if you never
get caught, the gateway won’t be there forever. Even the Gatemakers can’t keep a threshold active that long. If this one is naturally occurring, who knows how much longer it will be there? I just don’t want to see you get hurt, or worse, stuck on the other side.”
Rhydian fell silent. He was right, of course, but for the first time, getting stuck in the human world didn’t sound like the worst fate he could suffer. He almost said so when he noticed a flutter of black and red wings and the telltale two-man guard detail. Redwing was leaving the city council chambers.
“There!” he exclaimed, pointing at Redwing. “There he goes!”
“Perfect! Let’s do this!”
The two fluttered down from the rooftop and into a back ally leading to an opening in the mountainside. A long, granite tunnel lit by dim, blue stones stretched as far as the eye could see. At the entrance stood a guard with a round shield and an arming sword at his hip.
“Any ideas?” Rhydian whispered as they approached the man.
“Working on it,” he replied, but he seemed unsure.
Rather than wait for Auram to come up with a plan, Rhydian ran up to the guard, who cautiously laid his hand on the hilt of his weapon.
“Sir, there’s something going on in the council chamber hall!” he said urgently. “There’s this crazy guy screaming. I think he’s starting a fight.”
The guard rolled his eyes and muttered something vulgar under his breath. Taking flight, he went to investigate Rhydian’s claims.
As soon as he was out of sight, the two rushed into the tunnel and made their way past numerous doors. As they made their way further and further into the heart of the mountain, they began to feel claustrophobic. The tunnel was short and narrow, the only light coming from the eerie blue cast of the light stones every few yards. Just as panic began to set in and Rhydian prepared to turn around, Auram stopped and inspected a door.
“This is it,” he said after a long pause. He tried the door latch, only to find that it was locked.