Everyone will think she bombed the school and disappeared. Everyone seemed to think she was weird. It might work. Acid rose into his throat from somewhere within his tangled abdomen. You know you can’t just leave her here.
Kaden nodded to himself. I know, but I can’t save her either. I can’t save anyone. We’ll both end up dying over here and it will be all my fault.
His mind wrapped around the tether like it always did just before he would normally vanish into the space between worlds. He sat there for a long moment, thinking of home, Tracy, and his dad. I can’t save anyone. His mother’s face popped into his head.
He rolled onto his side, away from Evandrel and pulled as hard as he could on his tether with his mind and his will. It hurt, not as much as when Evandrel had tried, but still burned his soul as a small part of himself flowed back across infinite space. His tether felt even thinner as he let it go. I can’t even save myself, but I can try.
Aren stood before the Petro Gates of Anysh, as Dveldor had called them. For a small people, they had built these gates on an enormous scale, each monstrous door carved from a single massive stone slab at least twenty feet high and over four feet across. Aren ran a hand over a section of intricate carving and then snapped her hand away. She looked at Dveldor to make sure she hadn’t broken any laws by touching something sacred.
Dveldor smiled at her. “It’s okay, Aren. The Gates are meant to be seen and enjoyed. They are my grandfather’s greatest work.”
Aren frowned. She hadn’t thought of the Dwaro as having parents and grandparents, even though she’d seen children and infants in the parade of Dwaro that had followed them to the gates. Dveldor seems so solid, like he came to life from the stone itself. Like they chip their children from the rock.
She turned back to the massive doors, taking in the delicate flowers that glinted rosy pink in the faint light, the streaks of silver clouds, the blue stones that wavered like rippling water as the lantern flickered. “They’re beautiful. Do I knock?”
His laugh echoed down the cavern behind them, golden and full of warmth. “You do not knock on the Gates of Anysh. They are stone, not wood like doors of your people. We announce ourselves and they will be opened.”
“Oh. Sorry.” She blushed in the darkness. “I’m a little out of my element here…literally.”
Dveldor laughed again. “No one told me that humans are funny. I will show you. I will announce myself first.” His English continued to shock her. Any word she had spoken in his presence now came as easily to him as it had to her.
Dveldor reached a fur-lined hand out to the door and spoke in his language and then in English.
Aren listened to his sing song voice and was filled with a sense of digging, carving, beauty, freshly moved soil, and purpose. She realized as he repeated himself in English that this was his full name along with his request to enter. He finished and turned to her, giving a slight nod to go ahead.
Aren reached out and touched the cool stone of the door. “I, Aren Call of Earth, ask entrance and audience with Sethkar, Keeper of the Gates.”
The doors swung inward on silent hinges. Aren stepped back to Dveldor’s side. “Here we go.”
As she and her companion stepped through the doors, she felt a slight tickle in the back of her mind. She wasn’t sure what it meant, but she was struck by the impression of Kaden, standing on the edge of the empty meadow. He’s come back for me. Aren felt a surge of relief, but then Kaden turned and stepped off into the dark woods. The image blurred and darted away from her. No! Kaden, don’t leave me here.
Dveldor stopped walking and looked up at her with his furry brow furrowed. Aren had frozen just inside the doors, as panic crept through her. She knew the visions were of something that really happened. She and Kaden were still connected somehow. He left me. I’m alone.
The doors no longer looked beautiful but were streaked with dark stains as the light shifted. The Dwaros that had been shuffling behind them whispered and muttered. Aren could feel hate and fear in their voices. The darkness beyond the doors was absolute, swallowing up the light from the dim lantern. I’m alone and lost, surrounded by those who hate me. Dveldor tugged on her hand and she stumbled into the darkened room, allowing the black to fold around her.
In the hospital, four people took steps back from Kaden as he froze in place and flickered transparent before solidifying once more.
Tracy screamed when another wave of flickering transparency rolled through Kaden’s frozen body and grabbed Kaden’s dad by the hand. “What’s happening?”
Kaden’s father looked at the policemen whose eyes were wide. One of them had his hand on his weapon. “Hold it right there, officer! Go get a doctor.”
The man slowly moved his hand away from the firearm. “Yeah, good idea, I guess.” He walked out, but glanced back several times as Kaden continued to flicker in and out of existence.
He looked like a bad hologram on a cheesy science fiction show, stuck staring ahead without moving. But when Tracy worked up the courage to step forward and take his hand, he still felt solid. “Is he turning invisible somehow? Kaden, you still there, Kaden?”
Chapter 22: Stone Seer
Kaden woke to the smell of something sweet and tangy. He opened his eyes to see a mound of berries set on a large green leaf, just inches in front of his face.
“Eat. You will need your strength.” Evandrel paced back and forth across from him. “And do so swiftly. We have already lost much time.”
Kaden stretched and popped some berries in his mouth. They were perfectly ripe and juicy. His stomach immediately growled and he finished them off in seconds. “Got anything else?”
“We will find more as we travel. You humans waste so much of your nutrients. You had to get up and relieve yourself twice last night alone. It is ridiculous.”
Kaden felt himself blush a little. “It’s natural, dude.”
“Not for the Keitane. I need only—”
“Woah there, buddy! I don’t need to know your bathroom schedule. Let’s just get going.”
Evandrel smiled. “Exactly what I wanted to hear from you, human. You also snore. It is very fortunate I require very little sleep.”
“Yay for you.” Kaden rolled to his feet and blinked as Evandrel bolted into the forest. “Um…”
A few moments later the Sidra returned. “Why are you not following?”
“What? We’re running? I just woke up.”
“And?”
“It takes me a moment to get going, especially after sleeping on the ground all night. I’m not a morning person.” Kaden stretched as Evandrel glared at him. “Fine. I’m ready.”
Evandrel sped away and Kaden jogged after.
Kaden couldn’t breathe. He’d been running for hours and sweat poured down his face, blinding him. He stopped to wipe it from his eyes. “Wait up. You’re killing me.”
The elf never got tired. Kaden had been struggling to keep up since they left that morning and he’d expected them to stop and rest, but Evandrel loped ahead like a deer bounding through the forest.
“I apologize.” Evandrel appeared next to Kaden. “I forget sometimes how slow and feeble humans are. It is why you use beasts to aid your travels.”
“Nice apology. You’re super sneaky too. Anyone tell you that? You’d make a great ninja.”
Evandrel cocked his head to the side. He did that often when perplexed. “Ninja?”
Kaden smiled at the now familiar face of his companion. “Yes, a ninja. A stealthy warrior capable of moving without sound and killing with just a touch. Wears black pajamas.”
“That is a fairly accurate description of me apart from the black pajamas. I am a Ninja Elf then?”
“Yeah, pretty much. I’m not quite up to ninja status myself, so how about a breather?”
Evandrel glanced forward toward his homeland and shook his head. “We are not moving as quickly as I would have hoped, but I also cannot push you beyond your limits. It would do me no good to ki
ll you with the journey.”
“Hah. That’s the spirit. Always nice to have you talking about killing me again.” Kaden slumped to the ground in exhaustion. Now that they’d paused, the sweat cascaded in waterfalls down his chin. “Got any water?”
Evandrel pulled a small gourd from inside his tunic. He tossed it over. Kaden removed the cork-like stopper with a pop. The water tasted clean and crisp, colder than he expected and sweet and earthy like snow. Kaden resisted emptying the entire gourd, reluctantly leaving a few swallows for Evandrel. The ninja elf slipped it back into his tunic without a sip.
Kaden sighed loudly. Dang! I could’ve finished it. He isn’t even sweating. Freak of an elf. “So…three more days?” He leaned back against the trunk of a tree.
“Four, at least at these speeds. I will see what I can do to improve your speed and agility.”
Kaden sat up, instantly more alert. “Magic?”
Evandrel arched an eyebrow. “Some. Mostly more water and nourishment. You created your body when you arrived. I do not understand why you did not make some improvements.”
Kaden laughed. “It’s not like I get a drop down menu and I can pick and choose my attributes. This isn’t a video game.”
“Video? Never mind. I have too many of your foreign human words in my head as it is.”
“Okay. While we breathe a little, tell me more about how magic works.”
“It is my turn to ask you as to your knowledge of mysteries and hidden things now. What do you know of the world of the minuscule?”
“You mean cells or atoms?”
Evandrel sighed. “I do not know why I bother. What are cells and atoms?”
“Yeah. Sorry. Cells are the tiny parts that make up life, a thin membrane holding in the liquid and genetic stuff. Atoms are the smallest part of an element…like gold, silver, oxygen, and a whole bunch more whose names you aren’t going to know, at least not in my language.”
Evandrel looked at Kaden appraisingly once more. “You have shown yourself to be well educated once more. There are also things much smaller than an atom.”
“Yep, protons, neutrons, subatomic physics, quantum mechanics, quarks, and the like. Who would’ve guessed an elf knew about subatomic physics?”
“Yes. And who would have guessed a human knew anything about the laws of the Che’saalum, the elements and the miniscule. This is very surprising.”
“I’m a rather well read human. I have AP Biology and Chemistry classes this year. I’m a bit of a science geek.”
“AP? Geek? No, do not explain these. I do not want to know. So you know that the world of the very small, subatomic, is…what is a good word…chaotic?”
“Yes.”
“Magic works by speaking to these elements, allowing the chaos of the small to influence the laws of the large.”
Kaden leaned forward. “Hmmm. That’s more or less what I think happens with my wormholes. I’ve read a few books on theoretical physics. Didn’t get it all, but I’m pretty sure I’m bending the rules to open up a wormhole. Wait, did you say speak?”
“I did. That is what a Light Bringer does. We learn the language of the miniscule and speak to the elements. This is the basis of all magic.”
“Language? Okay, now you’re not making sense.”
“Am I not? You understand that the subatomic elements are volatile? You must know that at some level your brain and your body cross over into that region. Those of us with the gift learn to speak to the elements and influence them.”
“But…language? Atoms don’t talk. They’re not alive like cells.”
Evandrel frowned at him. “They do speak and they are alive, though not like cells. They vibrate with energy, spin, and fly. They link together and burst apart. They communicate with each other across great distances. You must learn to listen.”
“You’re telling me words create magic? Speak the magic words and I can fly? Abra freaking kadabra.”
“No. It is more than that. One must have a deep connection with the elements, a strong will, and a mastery of the language of the universe. These together create magic.”
“So I say the right words with force and anything is possible?”
“Not anything. There are limits, but words are power. You know this already. Deep down all creatures that speak know this, even humans.”
“Really. How’s that?”
“Ponder upon it. Words are just sounds. You take those sounds and hammer meaning into them. You apply them to things.” Evandrel waved a hand above him. “Sky, leaf, home. You define your world with them. Your perceptions build upon them like a tree upon roots. You cannot even think without them bouncing around your skull. You cannot feel without them swimming in your mind. Smooth, hot, rough, cold. They are nothing but sounds, and yet they are everything you know. Do you not see?”
“Maybe…”
“No maybe about it. You take these words and use them as you speak and write. Insubstantial sounds and yet they can be used to make someone happy, sad, smile, laugh, cry. You argue to prove a point. You lie to alter the truth. Words cut, hurt, heal, comfort. They do more than just define the world, they influence it.”
“Okay. I see where you’re going, but I still don’t see how this translates into magic.”
“Words are power. The right words at the right time and place influence the structure of the universe itself.”
“I’m sorry, this isn’t how my universe works.”
Evandrel put a hand to his chin and stared off into the distance for a moment. “That may be true. Different universes may very well have different laws. We have suspected as much. Though, they must be similar. Your world is too alike my own for them to be completely different. Have you not seen will and words do magic?”
“We definitely don’t have magic, not real magic, but I guess we have our own quirks. Mind over matter. Placebo effect. So, maybe this world has that times a thousand. Yeah. You think it. You say it. You make things happen. Interesting.”
“Yes. Here, let me show you.” Evandrel placed his hands above Kaden’s outstretched legs. “Do you wish to feel better and run faster?”
“Um, didn’t I say that a minute ago?”
Evandrel put his hands on Kaden’s shoulders. The Keitane’s eyes tightened. “No joking. This is important. Your will must align with mine for this to succeed.”
“Sorry. Yes, I wish to feel better and run faster.”
“Good.” Evandrel chanted away in his language of the miniscule for several minutes, his tone rising and falling in odd staccato rhythms.
Kaden didn’t see or feel anything happening. He opened his mouth to say so, but then warmth spread through his legs, unknotting the cramped muscles. Energy poured through his veins and he felt more awake, rested. “Wow and weird. I’m not sure if I like you having that much control over my body.”
Evandrel looked down and shook his head as he let go of Kaden’s shoulders. There was just a hint of dark circles under his eyes that had not been there a second earlier. “I understand your apprehension, but I do not have that much control over you. It is one of the limitations of magic. Will affects the outcome, including the will of others. If you did not want to be faster and feel better, you would not. I have merely sped up the natural process of healing, nothing drastic.”
“Drastic? Like give me horns, turn me into a toad, boil my insides?”
“Yes, those and more. I am sure the other toads would not approve in any case.”
Kaden laughed. “They’d be lucky to have me. So you really can’t hurt me?”
Evandrel raised an eyebrow. “You already know that I can, but with magic it is more difficult. I can do almost anything I like to myself, but it becomes more complicated with inanimate objects, and even thornier with other beings. You would have to want the same as my will, or my will would have to be strong enough to crush yours to dust and override it.”
Kaden gulped. “Okay…that doesn’t sound fun.”
“Do not worry. Unfo
rtunately, I do not have such a will. I can influence plants, but they are very close to the Keitane and align easily with my will. I have not met many who could influence the inanimate without taking it into their bodies,” he pointed at Kaden’s shirt, pants, and boots, “though I can with some effort. I have only met one who might be able to influence the wills of others, Thyra so’a Amara, the Eldest, our leader.”
“One’s enough. Are there other limits?”
Evandrel looked up into the trees. “It takes energy. A great feat of magic would leave me drained, exhausted, and vulnerable. There are also the Stones of Landfall.”
“Stones of what now?”
“Stones infused with the power of the Crystal Bridge when it collapsed and the Prophets first stepped onto Ealdar. These stones dissipate magic.” The Keitane’s tone turned hard. “Your kind folds the ore into steel and uses these weapons to hunt us.”
Kaden shook his head. “Not my kind, remember, but I am sorry, Evan. Didn’t mean to bring that stuff up again.”
Evandrel looked away. “As enlightening as this conversation may be, are you ready to continue our travels?”
“Yeah. I’m good. Can we keep it a touch slower though?”
Evandrel ignored him and sped off into the sun dappled forest, laughing as his green hair whipped behind him.
“Man, wait up! Didn’t you say something about more food and water?” Kaden raced after him, his legs feeling stronger than they had ever been.
Aren’s knees shook as she passed the Gates and moved deeper into the darkened room. She could make out pillars in the dim light and faces beyond them. There were thousands of sparks of light there, but these were too small to offer much light, leaving most of the huge room lost in shadow. She felt Kaden move further and further away from her, the sensation growing dim until she wasn’t sure if it had even been real. What am I doing here? I should’ve stayed in the clearing.
Dveldor moved forward at a faster pace, the tiny light at his waist bouncing as he walked, casting odd shadows. Aren felt certain she was going to trip. “Wait up, Dveldor. I can’t see.”
The Crystal Bridge (The Lost Shards Book 1) Page 18