by Devan Skyles
“Let me try,” Rhydian said, gesturing Auram to the side.
“Okay, but it’s locked from the inside. I might be able to pick the—”
Cutting him off short, Rhydian kicked the door in with a loud crash. The sound echoed all the way down the hall.
“—lock,” Auram finished.
The two rushed inside and closed the door before anyone came to investigate the commotion.
“You realize that probably just attracted attention, don’t you?”
“I don’t like being underground,” he explained hotly. “Besides, I’m sick of tip-toeing around. I want to take this guy down.”
“Well, let’s get to it then,” Auram replied as he opened desk drawers and began rummaging through various papers.
“I’m not even sure what it is we should be looking for,” Rhydian admitted.
He started looking around as well, emptying crates of paperwork and looking for any place that could hide incriminating evidence. He was halfway through tossing the contents of the bookshelf when his hand rested on a book that was different from the rest. Most of them looked new and pristine. In fact, everything in the office suggested that Redwing surrounded himself with only the best of everything. But this book was old and tattered, with pages sticking out at odd angles and the binding coming apart. He pulled the heavy book off the shelf and read the title, which was almost completely worn off: The Gatemaker’s Guild, Vol 32.
“Hey, Auram, look at this.”
Auram dropped the stack of papers he was looking through and came to stand by Rhydian. He looked down at the book, and laughed.
“See, that is exactly why I could never be a Gatemaker. Volume thirty-two? If they’re all this thick, I would never get through Volume one.”
“But what’s Redwing doing with a book about threshold science?”
“That’s what. Look who wrote it.” He pointed to the name of the author: Nicodemus Ulrikson, Gatemaker Supreme.
“Wow,” Rhydian said. “He must have written this ages ago. I’ve never heard him referred to him as anything but Grand Supreme.”
“There’s a page marked. See what it says.”
Rhydian carefully opened the book to the marked page and gasped as he read the chapter heading: The Rift.
“This is it!” Rhydian exclaimed.
“What? I don’t get it.”
“Don’t you remember? When we spied on Redwing’s meeting, Nicodemus said they only had a few more weeks to perform the rift.”
“So, what does it mean?”
Rhydian set the book on Redwing’s desk and read aloud. “A rift occurs when the barrier between realms loses its integrity and the physical laws that govern one world “spill out” into the other. If the rift is not reversed, it will continue to spread until it encompasses the entire world, at which point, the effects will be permanent. The last time a rift occurred, it happened because the energy signatures in the timekeepers were not being regulated, and their use overwhelmed the threshold system, causing almost irreversible barrier erosion.
“In order to safeguard against this devastating phenomenon, the dominant energy signatures have been placed in only three devices, called master timekeepers. These devices have been a well-guarded secret of the most elite Gatemakers alive for over a century. If, at any time, the energy signatures of these master timekeepers are combined, it will trigger a rift. If any of these master timekeepers is destroyed, it has the potential to interrupt the balance of energy and make a rift more likely to occur, which is why they have been entrusted only to the most highly respected members of Ilimíri society.”
Rhydian and Auram fell silent for a moment, until Auram finally broke the silence.
“So this— this rift. It causes the laws of physics from one realm to take over the other? Why would Redwing want to do that?”
Rhydian thought long and hard. “Well, if the human world spilled into Ilimíra, it would be bad for everyone. Our way of life would be destroyed. We’d be just like the humans, wingless. Ilïmbalm couldn’t convert and everyone would have to migrate to the other side or die of ilïmbalm withdrawal.
“But if Ilimíra spilled out into the other side, human technology would cease to exist.”
“How is that?” Auram questioned.
“Because, almost everything on their side relies on electricity, combustion, chemical reactions… None of that works in Ilimíra. The natural laws governing their side are fundamentally different. If their side becomes just like ours, they’ll be completely defenseless.”
“So, Redwing wants to conquer the other side? Why?”
“Think about it,” Rhydian prompted. “What is the human world chalk full of that we can’t survive without?”
Suddenly it dawned on him. “Ilïmbalm.”
“Exactly,” Rhydian confirmed.
“That must be why Fleet troops have been sent to the other side,” Auram realized. “They’re sleepers! They’re infiltrating the human world, preparing for the rift!”
“And as soon as it happens, they’ll take over, solving the ilïmbalm crisis by devastating their world.”
Auram shrugged. “It’s not a bad plan.”
Rhydian gave him an incredulous look.
“Well, you know, if you’re totally psychotic and evil,” he clarified.
“This is the evidence we needed,” Rhydian said, a broad smile on his face. “We should get this to the Council.”
Auram shook his head. “No way. We can’t trust them. Who knows how many Council members Redwing’s got in his pocket?”
He was right. Who could they trust? Perhaps the judge who had dismissed his conspiracy case would help. She seemed to have had a particular disdain for the Governor. But was that enough? Then it occurred to him.
“What about Corvus?”
“General Corvus?” Auram replied.
“Do you know another Corvus? He’s the last person who would let Redwing manipulate him! And he’s an authority figure. People will listen to him. If we’re going to have any chance of stopping this, he’s the one we need to trust.”
“All right,” he conceded. “But I’m not carrying that massive book.”
“Me neither,” said Rhydian, carefully tearing the page from the book and folding it neatly. He tucked the page away in his pocket and headed for the door. He was halfway there when he realized Auram wasn’t following him. Turning, he saw him cleaning up the ransacked office.
“What are you doing?” he asked “Let’s get out of here before we’re discovered.”
“We can’t leave any evidence that we were here,” Auram reasoned. “We don’t want him to know someone’s on to him.”
“Good point,” Rhydian replied, and started placing the books neatly back on the shelf.
Before they could get everything back where it belonged, however, there was a jingling sound of keys at the front door and the handle started to jiggle. They froze, pale white.
“Run!” Auram hissed, and they both bolted for the back door. They swung it open, and piled out, only to see two guards coming down the hall, one in each direction. They were trapped.
Rhydian grabbed Auram and dragged him back into the office before the guards could identify them.
“Hey you!” the guard to the right called out just as they were closing the door.
Soon, both guards were banging on the unlatched door, held closed only by Rhydian leaning against it. He wished now that he’d left the lock intact rather than busting in the door. In seconds, the guards forced their way in and drew their swords. Only a moment later, the front door of the office swung open and two armed tree-dwellers entered the room, followed closely by two Fleet guards and, last of all, Governor Redwing.
“Well now,” Redwing said calmly, his fingers interlocked. His eyebrows rose as he glanced casually at the open book on the desk with the page torn out. “Seems like my spies have finally managed to do their job. I was interrupted in the middle of my state of the city address and told that two r
uffians had broken into my office. Imagine my surprise when they told me it was none other than Mr. Gideonson himself that had perpetrated the act. I don’t suppose you’re looking for this.” Out of his pocket he withdrew the round amethyst stone Auram had planted on him.
Rhydian and Auram remained silent.
“Amethyst, isn’t it? A clever little trick. I’ll tell you what. I’ll give it back to you in exchange for your father’s timekeeper. Then you’ll be free to go.”
“That’s not ours,” Auram lied.
Redwing smiled, amused, and dropped the amethyst on the wooden floor, which promptly rolled toward Auram and stopped at his feet. Auram sighed and picked it up.
“Now, how about giving me that timekeeper, otherwise the deal’s off the table. It’s nothing personal, you understand.”
“You know,” Rhydian replied defiantly, “you keep saying that: It’s not personal. But after trying to steal my property, having me arrested, ransacking my home, and sending thugs to murder me, it’s beginning to feel a bit personal! Besides, I’ve already told you, it’s gone. I don’t have it anymore.”
Redwing’s demeanor became dark and dangerous as he stepped close and said in a voice only they could hear, “I hope, for your sake, Gideonson, that that is not true. You don’t know the significance of that timepiece, do you?”
“I know that my father was entrusted with it to keep it out of the hands of people like you,” Rhydian fumed.
“People like me,” he said with a smile. “People like me made this world what it is, while people like your father wasted their potential fighting against progress. In reality, young Rhydian, people like your father are the reason our society is crumbling.”
Rhydian’s anger burned inside him until it boiled over and he suddenly snapped. Furious, he made a fist and punched Redwing in the face so hard that he staggered back into his escorts. Before the guards could react, he continued to rage against the Governor, pushing him back against the other men in the crowded office. Auram was right behind him, elbowing one of the guards in the face to get away.
While Redwing and the other two tree-dwellers were scrambling on the ground, the Fleet guards put up very little fight. One of them, suppressing laughter at the governor’s expense, stepped aside and let them pass.
Rhydian flung the door open and bolted through, Auram hot on his heels. They flapped hard and fast through the massive hall and out into the open sky.
“I’ve been wanting to do that ever since I met that creep!” Rhydian confessed.
Soon, it became evident that several guards and both of Redwing’s spies were in hot pursuit.
“What do we do?” Auram shouted, looking over his shoulder and seeing their pursuers gaining on them.
Rhydian reached into his pocket and pulled out the page from The Gatemaker’s Guild and held it out, whipping in the wind as they flew.
“You can outrun these guys in your sleep,” he said. “Take this and get it to Corvus. It’s the only way.”
“No way!” Auram retorted. “We either get out of this together or not at all. I’m not leaving you behind!”
“Auram, this is bigger than you and me,” he persisted. “Whole civilizations are depending on this information getting to the right people.”
“No!” he refused. “You’re my best friend. I couldn’t live with myself if I got away and let you get killed. He knows we’re on to him. Do you really think he’s going to let either of us live knowing what we do?”
Rhydian, frustrated, stuffed the paper back into his pocket and flew as hard as he could, but the soldiers were gaining on them, the tree-dwellers falling a bit behind with their small, slender wings.
They had left the city and were now aloft over the canyon, the massive trees rising like towers over the forest floor. A little ways beyond, a clearing opened up, where the slightest glimpse of the ground was visible far below.
“Any ideas?” Auram asked desperately. “Because I’m fresh out!”
“Are you sure you won’t take the evidence to Corvus by yourself?”
“Even if I would, it’s too late. We’re too far away from the city now. I’d have to double back to get there, and then they’d just cut me off.”
“In that case, I do have one plan, but you’re not going to like it.”
“Any time! No rush or anything!”
Rhydian looked at his friend and replied. “There’s one place I know they’ll never follow us.”
And with that, he folded his wings and angled into a steep dive, down through the towering treetops towards the ground.
The Ground
“I’m not so sure this is the best plan!” Auram yelled over the rushing wind as they descended rapidly towards the ground.
“Well, it was a bit of a last minute idea!” Rhydian yelled back, looking over his shoulder and seeing their pursuers hanging back, reluctant to follow. “But it looks like it’s working!”
“Yeah, great!” he replied sardonically. “Now, instead of being murdered by our own people, we get to be murdered by grounders! Brilliant!”
“You have a better idea?” he argued.
He didn’t, so he fell silent. It took a few minutes to reach the ground, but eventually they flared their wings and tail feathers and leveled off, settling on a grassy knoll by the tree line. They looked up to see if the guards were still following them. High above the canyon walls were five tiny specks circling overhead. Rhydian was right. They’d never dare follow them down here, not in such few numbers.
The trees, each as big around as the largest buildings he’d seen in Clearbrook, towered over them, reaching so high into the sky Rhydian wondered how they supported their own weight. From above, most of the view was merely canopy, and so there was very little appreciation for their sheer enormity. But from down here it was clear that they were so tall and close together that, even in the clearing, much of the sunlight didn’t make it to the ground.
Rhydian and Auram both drew their swords as they examined their surroundings. Between each gargantuan tree trunk were younger, smaller trees and dense foliage, so much so that it was impossible to see past the tree line.
“We can’t stay here,” Auram stated. “They’re just going to wait us out until we go back up.”
“So, we don’t go back up,” Rhydian replied simply.
Auram gave him a bemused look. “Oh, yeah! Of course. I’ve always wanted to live the rest of my life on the ground with creatures that can kill me. Dream come true!”
Auram turned on his friend acrimoniously. “Look! I had a plan that kept you safe! You decided not to take advantage of it, so don’t complain to me that you don’t like plan B!”
“Plan B? The word plan implies that it was thought out. THIS is not thought out! THIS is getting us killed!”
“Then why did you follow me?”
“Because, I—” he stopped short, his demeanor softening. “Because I was scared. I’m still scared.”
“What do you mean?” Rhydian asked.
“I mean, I’m not the person I thought I was,” he hung his head and let the tip of his sword rest on the ground. “I always thought I was this fearless warrior just waiting for my chance at adventure, but then when I finally get the chance, I can’t handle it. I’m not ready for war, Rhydian. I’m scared.”
Rhydian was completely disarmed by his friend’s candor. He knew he’d been struggling with his training, but Rhydian had never known him to be scared of anything.
“Auram,” he said softly. “Every warrior gets scared. It’s overcoming that fear and acting anyway that makes you brave, like refusing to leave me behind. That was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen, and I will never forget it as long as I live.”
“No, Rhydian. You’re wrong. It’s so easy for you. Everyone knows who you are. You’re the son of the great Warlord Gideon. People expect great things from you. You have every opportunity afforded you, but instead you work as a smith. They offer you an officer’s commission, your own COMMAND, an
d you turn it down!”
“How did you know—?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he replied. “The point is, you don’t understand what it’s like to start from the bottom as a nobody. I didn’t get a warrior’s education handed to me because of my lineage. I left everything I knew to go and follow my dream, and after all that, I discover that I’m nothing but a coward!”
“You’re not a coward, Auram.”
“Yes! Yes, I am! You, Rhydian… you have a destiny. You have a higher purpose. I have no higher purpose, brother! I have no higher purpose.”
A long silence ensued, during which the two friends awkwardly stared at the ground. The sun was beginning to dip behind the canyon wall, and though it was not long past midday, the forest floor began to darken.
Rhydian, appealing to his friend’s better nature, tried a joke. “Well, there’s good news. If we survive, we’ll be criminals, and you won’t have to worry about deploying anymore.”
Auram laughed halfheartedly.
“Come on,” Rhydian said. “If we walk below the canopy, they won’t be able to track us.”
Auram shrugged his shoulders. “Beats waiting here to be eaten, I guess. Or shot from above.”
Rhydian hacked at the dense foliage with his sword to clear a path, but it was such hard labor pushing their way through that they tired quickly. They took turns leading, cutting as they went. Vines and branches continuously caught on their wings and stickers and thorns clung to their trousers.
“Well, at least if we run into any ground-dwellers, our swords will be nice and dull,” Auram joked cynically.
Rhydian laughed despite the dreary conditions.
“So where is it we’re walking then?” Auram inquired. “Or are we just wandering aimlessly through the forest.”
“We’re going to the threshold,” he replied. “I figure if we walk far enough down the canyon, they won’t see us when we fly back up. Then we can go hide on the other side until things calm down. After a few days, they’ll assume we got captured or killed by the enemy and they’ll give up the search.”
“Then what? We’ll still be wanted men. Redwing doesn’t exactly strike me as the forgive and forget type.”