Circumstellar

by J. W. Lolite

  “She has something to do with my father,” I said out loud. “Like she was angry with him or something.”

  “Angry isn’t exactly the word I would have used,” Emba said, “but that is what happened. Now she seeks to obtain all of the keystones and open the Gate to the Human World. She wants to kill the humans and reclaim this land for her own.”

  “How many keystones does she have?” Loxley asked, the seriousness of the situation setting in. Loxley may not have been entirely comfortable huddled around a campfire with an Ankida, but this was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up to obtain vital information.

  “Two. Or she did have two.” Emba grinned, a mischievous air lighting her expression. “Before I managed to sneak in and steal this one. After having her Anbar use it to retrieve the Orion Key, she became careless. She still has the Orion Keystone, and before I left I heard rumors she’s managed to get her hands on – ”

  “Lesia,” I interrupted. How could I have gotten so complacent? While we were here telling ghost stories, Lesia was still being held captive by those goons. We were wasting valuable time. Lesia’s time. “Give me the stone,” I commanded. This was an urgent situation, and I didn’t have time for this. “I need to go to the Ankida World and save Lesia.”

  Emba looked at me, her face a mask. “No.”

  “Wrong answer,” I glowered, shooting to my feet. “You said it was mine. Give it to me.”

  “And then what? You burst into Aureliel’s throne room and get taken down by her guards?” Emba tossed at me. “No, you’re far too valuable for me to let you throw your life away.”

  I glared at her, looking for any type of weak spot or opening. Nobody was perfectly on guard all the time. There had to be some kind of – oh, who was I kidding? I wouldn’t be able to see an opening if it came up and knocked my teeth out. Why couldn’t Meissa have found me a couple of years ago?

  “Fine,” I ground out. “Then I’ll just go and find another keystone.” I turned and made my way to the edge of the campsite. Back to the darkness and wilderness . . . and bugs.

  “It’s pointless,” I heard Emba call from behind me. “You only have a connection to the Therion Stone. Finding the others will be almost impossible. She knows it’s true.” Emba indicated over to Loxley, who could only nod in solemn agreement.

  “Well, it’s better than just sitting around here doing nothing!” I argued. “I’m going to rescue Lesia, and I’ll do it with or without your help!”

  “I accept.”

  “What did you say?” I rounded on her, my anger, like always, slowing down my brain.

  “I’ll help you,” she replied.

  “Well . . . well, good,” I stammered, crashing from my roid rage. “Good. Okay then.”

  “But not right now.”

  “What?”

  Emba looked at me with a serious expression. “It’s exactly what Aureliel is expecting. She’ll have her guards on full alert, especially since she knows I’ve taken the Therion Stone. All I’m asking is that we wait a few hours for things to calm down before we make our move.”

  I opened my mouth, but Loxley cut me off. “She’s right,” she agreed, reluctance in her voice. “It will also give us a chance to rest up and regain our energy.”

  It was a peculiar thing, having logic thrown at you. I wanted to argue so bad I could feel the words bouncing around my tongue. Unfortunately, it was two against one. Two smart, strategic, veteran fighters against one novice.

  “Okay,” I resigned. “We’ll wait a few hours, but only a few. After that, I’m busting heads and taking the keystone.”

  “No one could tell him what to do, either.” Emba sighed, a nostalgic look on her face.

  “Huh?”

  “Oh, nothing.” She smiled at me. “Just reminiscing about the past.”

  Chapter 25

  Heaven and Earth

  If real camping was anywhere as tense as this atmosphere, I never wanted to go. Emba sat in silence, her eyes glued to the strange fire, but her mind lost in a sea of personal revere. Loxley was equally quiet, concentrating on sharpening her arrow tips. She tried to appear relaxed, but I could tell from the stiffness of her movements that being here was making her uneasy. She had been trained to kill Ankida, after all.

  Then there was me. It’s not like I was acting like this was a vacation or anything, but I was definitely the most unconcerned person in the immediate area – a real twist considering I was the one determined to shortly embark on a suicide mission to save my friend. Perhaps it was my previous detachment to this hidden world that made me so accepting of this bizarre arrangement, or perhaps I was the most blindingly trustful person around. Either way, it provided me with a means to reach Lesia, and that was all that matter to me right now. My thoughts were cut off when, in a sudden jerk of movement, Loxley stood up and slung her quiver over her shoulder.

  “I’m going to patrol the area,” she announced. “I don’t want any more unexpected guests.”

  I nodded and watched as she slipped into the brush. Hopefully, securing the perimeter would take some of the edge off. Or something. That’s what I hoped, anyway. I had no clue what fighters do to calm their nerves.

  “How surprising,” I heard Emba comment.

  I turned my head and raised my eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

  “When I came to this world, I already knew about you. To find another part Ki child was unexpected,” Emba replied, glancing at where Loxley had disappeared. “Maybe our great ancestors’ will lives even now.”

  With a curious stare, I looked at her. Our great ancestors, huh? Not according to what I knew.

  “Meissa told me,” I started, “that nobody knows where the Ankida came from. She said they just showed up a couple of thousand years ago and started attacking humans for a city.”

  “Is that so? Well, it doesn’t surprise me that their kind only knows half of the story,” she snorted in distain. “Our great ancestors came to this Earth much longer ago than that.”

  “Wait,” I stopped her. “They came?”

  “Yes. Our great ancestors, the great Anunnaki, came to this Earth,” she explained, looking up at the night sky, “from the stars.”

  “You’re shitting me.” The look Emba gave me indicated that particular phrase didn’t exist in her peculiar accented vocabulary. “There’s no way. Aliens? I mean, I was totally expecting some kind of mutation or evolution, or hell, maybe, and this is a strong maybe, some kind of magic thing. But come on! Extraterrestrials?”

  “Extrarelials?”

  “Extraterrestrials! People from space! You’re telling me we come from space!” Was I really the only one that saw something wrong with this picture? Did these Ankida people really think their ancestors were aliens?

  “Is that really so hard to believe?” Emba asked in a tone that made me pause. Why did I get the feeling I had been through this before? Someone telling me something so absurd it was too wonderful for me to believe. “Your eyes pierce through the dark, Ingrid.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” I asked, becoming exhausted of this game. Didn’t anyone realize it was kinder to leave me in reality – where there was no room for silly hopes, and dreams are always dashed. “What does seeing in the dark have to do with anything?”

  “Tell me, Ingrid, what could be darker than the outer sky?” I stared at her, stunned for a moment. “Your eyes are the stars that light up the spaces the sun cannot reach.”

  It didn’t make sense. Well, it kind of made sense, but just a little. About as much as a tale of warriors connected to a meteorite, I suppose. A smile crept onto my lips, and I sighed dramatically. “Between Meissa’s cosmic warriors and your stellar granddaddies, I may start going to sci-fi conventions.”

  Emba frowned at me. “What does this sci-fi mean?”

  “It means that everything revolves around the stars.” I grinned. “Everything in my world.”

  “That is the Ankida way. You seem to have come to some sort of rev
elation.”

  “More like resignation, but it’s fine for now. I’ve found it’s pointless to argue with you believers. Anyway, what happened next?” I asked, thinking back to the previous topic. I was surprised to find myself really interested in the Anunnaki. “The Anunnaki came to Earth.”

  Emba shifted into a more comfortable position and returned to her story. “Our great ancestors soon discovered they could no longer return to the stars, so they searched for life and discovered a human civilization. The humans were in awe. Never before had they seen such magnificent beings. For many years, Anunnaki and Human lived harmoniously, sharing knowledge and even producing offspring – a union of sky and earth they called Ankida.”

  “But that means,” I jumped in, this new information sinking in, “that the Ankida are descended from humans as well.”

  “It is ironic,” Emba replied, “but true. We are the children of two worlds. Eventually, the land where our ancestors lived was invaded by another tribe of humans. Life on Earth had made the Anunnaki weaken considerably, and their brittle bodies could not withstand the attack. They tried to beg the invaders to spare their children, but it was in vain. While the Ankida had eyes and forms more human-like than their parents, the foreigners still considered them demons cursing the land. The children fled and searched desperately for a new home. Cast out from place to place, they eventually became nomads, wandering in the Earth’s shadows for thousands and thousands of years. With time, they came to resent humans and the societies they build – something they could only yearn for.”

  I gazed at the dirt below me, shadows flicking upon it in the pink light. I didn’t say anything. After all, what was there to say? Among the things I expected to feel for the Ankida, sympathy wasn’t one of them. Was this really the way this whole war had started in the first place? Fear, rejection, resentment, and jealousy: was that really what people were made of? It had nearly torn the world apart once, and now, it was threatening to happen once more. Starting with us. With Lesia.

  Snap! I whipped my head to the side, startled by the sudden noise. When Loxley emerged from the tree line, I very nearly went over and hugged her, glad to see she had made it back safe, and secretly, glad for the distraction from my thoughts.

  “You picked a pretty good spot. This site is a fair distance away from the rest,” Loxley said, looking at Emba with intense focus.

  “Yes, I thought it would be best to keep as far away from humans as possible,” Emba said, her face innocent but her voice tinged with mirth.

  “It’s definitely far enough to avoid detection,” Loxley replied, “and to keep others isolated from help.”

  “I never thought of it that way,” Emba responded, laughing.

  “And that’s how you should keep it,” I jumped in, taking advantage of the situation to change gears. “Loxley, we’re E.T.’s, but that’s not important right now,” I swiftly added at her stare. “We’ve sat here long enough. I’m ready to go get Lesia.”

  Emba shook her head. “I don’t think that’s – ”

  “I agree,” Loxley backed me up, shaking off my previous comment and getting to business. “We need to go before they’ve had time to organize a plan and get the location of the Gate. I’ll take the keystone by force if I have to.” I nodded in agreement.

  Emba looked between the two of us. I watched her lips twitch as though she was muttering to herself again. After a few moments, she threw her arms up in defeat.

  “It’s seems I don’t have much of a choice.” She smiled wistfully. She brought her hand to the front of her cloak, and with a sharp fling of her arm, tore the material right off. I gawked like a seagull at the sight that greeted me. A dazzling display of black and red armor shone back at me. Red metal forged in the shape of flames created a breast plate, shoulder pads, and tasset. Underneath the metal, Emba wore some type of shiny black material that created a sort of body suit that ended in a short skirt. On her arms, she sported armlets of the same flame shaped metal that extended from her wrists to her elbows. Completing the outfit were her matching leg guards and boots that spanned the distance from her feet to the edge of the skirt. The light from the nearby fire danced across the dark metal, breathing life into the solid flames and making them burn.

  “Woah.”

  “Are you ready to go?” Emba asked, bringing the Therion Stone over to where Loxley and I stood. “This isn’t going to be some easy retrieval. You may have to fight for your lives.”

  I looked at Loxley, and she gave me a firm nod. “There’s no way I’m backing down now. Lesia needs me.”

  “I knew you wouldn’t scare easily,” Emba said. “Grab onto my arms tightly.” Loxley and I moved forwards, each grabbing one of Emba’s arms as she clutched the stone. “Whatever happens, don’t let go, or you might get thrown off somewhere.”

  “Thrown off?” I whispered to myself.

  “To Kigal!” Emba yelled out.

  Never in my lift had I thought I would get to experience what it’s like inside a vacuum cleaner bag. A swirl of dust hit me in the face, and it was all I could do to keep my hands glued to Emba’s arm. By the time I tried to hold my breath in a futile effort to protect my lungs from clogging, my feet hit something hard and I crashed to the floor. I let out a hacking cough, waving my arms to clear the dust cloud. The sound of someone else struggling to breathe caught my ears. I guess that means I didn’t get thrown off. Once some of the material settled, I looked down and discovered I was no longer on the now familiar dirt of the forest. Below me lay a smooth, stone walkway illuminated by a distant light.

  “Where are we Emba?” I managed to croak out around my coughing.

  “We’ve made it to Kigal,” she replied smugly. “Right in her tower.”

  Chapter 26

  Ziggurat

  “Are you sure we didn’t end up in the dungeon?” I couldn’t help but ask, inspecting the now dust covered stone hall. There were no windows to be seen, and the only source of light crept in from a nearby doorway. I didn’t realize this Ariel woman lived in the Wicked Witch’s old tower. I would have brought a bottle of water to celebrate. I stood up, futilely waving at the remaining dust cloud in the air.

  “Damn, I hate this stuff. This is the second time it’s tried to smother me.”

  “Here that would be considered quite fortunate,” Emba mused, strapping the Therion Keystone to her belt. I glared at her, wondering if Loxley may have been right about her intentions after all. Emba looked up at my thoroughly unamused expression and smiled at me. “The stardust is very rare,” she clarified, “and considered extremely valuable.”

  “Stardust,” I muttered, staring down unimpressed at the pile of sandy, gray-black debris I was standing on. This crap was actually worth something? Didn’t I throw a bunch out of my window?

  “That’s enough talk,” Loxley commanded, making me jump. Her voice hitched noticeably when she spoke. “If we truly are in the enemy’s tower, someone might hear us and –”

  “That’s not a problem,” Emba interrupted. “This is one of the old underground hallways in the base of the tower. Hardly anyone ever comes down here. Being surrounded by earth is sometimes . . . suffocating.”

  I glanced up and down the hall and shrugged. Didn’t bother me. Not that there was much to be bothered by. I was much more likely to die from slipping into a coma at the shear boringness of this bland hall.

  “You seem to know a lot about this place,” Loxley bit out, the accusation in her tone obvious.

  Emba turned to look back at Loxley, the smile on her face a mere ghost of its former glory. “I’m going on ahead to scout the area. Stay here.” She spun around and strode down the hallway.

  “Hey, wait!” Loxley called after her but to no avail. In little more than a few seconds, Emba effectively disappeared out of view.

  “I didn’t see that one coming,” I said, moving over to lean against the wall. After looking around the grand basement hall, I sighed and closed my eyes. Break into Ankida World. Check
. Find out where the hell to go next. Not quite a check. The sound of footsteps crunching against the stardust echoed in the passage, and I opened my eyes to see Loxley furiously pacing back and forth.

  “This is just great. Just great,” she rambled to herself. “Trapped in the Ankida World. Abandoned by the only person who knows where to go. She even has the keystone.”

  “I don’t think Emba’s abandoned us,” I offered, trying to ease Loxley’s tension.

  “How can you be so sure?” she snapped. “Something’s not right. She hasn’t been completely honest with us from the start. I just know it! There’s something she’s hiding from us.”

  “Even so, what would be the point of taking us down here?” I reasoned. “Why hide us away? If she wanted, she could have just zapped us to that Ariel. And besides, it’s not like we have anything valuable. She’s already got the stone.” So this is what it was like to be the logical one. Interesting.

  “I. . . I suppose you’re right,” Loxley acquiesced, hopefully finding sense in my words.

  “Yeah, see, so just calm down,” I eased, waiting patiently for my friend to cease her nervous pacing. Any time now. Maybe now. Now. No? I watched as she continued to move up and down the narrow passage, every now and then glancing at the walls. “Are you okay, Loxley?” She looked so lost and panicked, almost like she was trapped . . . or suffocating. “Does being down here bother you?”

  “No, don’t be ridiculous,” she replied a little too quick for my taste, almost as if she had been waiting for my question. “I’m perfectly fine in this little buried hall. Look, Ingrid.” She darted in front of me, grabbing my shoulders. “I’m going to go after Emba, and I want you to stay here.” Like hell! I opened my mouth to protest, but she cut me off. “I’ll be back shortly, but I need you to stay safe down here. It wouldn’t look good for my first apprentice to get killed just over a day into training,” she tried to joke. “I need to find out what’s happening for both of our sakes. So please, just stay here.”