by Brandon Mull
“More,” Cole said. “Read my mind.”
“You’ve wondered about the sky. The Outskirts are not organized as a round planet like Earth. They are essentially flat, created entirely in the echolands. But the mortals we brought here all came from round worlds, so we wanted to give them days and nights. Vershaw oversaw the skies. He was the most artistic of us. He borrowed vistas from many of the different worlds that feed into the echolands, and added plenty of his own touches. Since the heavens were basically an elaborate simulation, he embraced the ruse, designing them without reliable patterns. It’s enough to drive an astronomer mad.”
“The sun felt real,” Cole said.
“It radiates a similar spectrum as your sun back home,” Dandalus said. “And the moons shed real light. But they are not actually true bodies floating in space. We faked it. The skies in the original echolands have always been as you see them here. Every now and then we allowed a duskday in the Outskirts to pay homage to the original sky.”
“Cool,” Cole said. “Keep going. I want to hear more.”
“I could ramble on for much too long,” Dandalus said. “Is there anything else specific you wish to know?”
Cole racked his brain for the best question. “What’s the meaning of life?”
Dandalus smiled. “You asked Aeronomatron this one. His answer didn’t satisfy you?”
“Not really.”
Dandalus scrunched his face. “There are different ways to explain it. Here is one. The purpose of existence is the education of the will. And the meaning of life is to learn to love the right things.”
“I like that,” Cole said. “What are the right things?”
“In short? Those things that bring lasting happiness to yourself and others.”
“Can you be more specific?” Cole said.
“The whole point involves discovering what those things are,” Dandalus said. “Many lessons must be lived to be understood. You’ll find that it doesn’t so much matter what happens as you live—what gives it all purpose and meaning is who you become. You’re doing a good job, Cole. An outstanding job for one so young. You’re heading in the right direction.”
“Thanks,” Cole said.
“I have enjoyed our conversation,” Dandalus said. “I miss interacting with others. Are you ready to learn where you can find Destiny?”
“Yes,” Cole said.
Dandalus glanced over his shoulder. “She’s in my house.” He raised his voice. “Tessa! We have a visitor.”
Destiny appeared in the doorway. “I was listening.”
CHAPTER
30
TESSA
Cole could find no words. He finally went with “Hi.”
“Hello,” she replied. “This is the boy you told me about?” she asked Dandalus.
“Yes,” Dandalus said. “He came here to help you.”
Cole just stared. The most powerful people in the world were looking for Destiny. Nobody had a clue where she was hiding. People had sacrificed to find her. The task seemed impossible. Cole had only dared to hope for information that might point him in the right direction.
And here she was. A young girl.
“I met your imprint in the Cave of Memory,” Cole said.
“Was I nice?” Tessa asked.
“I liked you,” Cole said. “I’ve been helping your sister Mira.”
Tessa brightened at the mention of her sister. “How is she?”
“Well, she got captured,” Cole said. “Honor too. Mira gave me the mission to find you.”
“Cole rode the Mare,” Dandalus said. “It saved him twice. I believe your power wanted him to locate you.”
“The Mare brought me here,” Tessa said.
“My only other visitor in the past two hundred years,” Dandalus said.
“Your own power brought you here?” Cole asked.
“I can’t control her,” Tessa said. “I didn’t know where we were going.”
“Would have been nice if the Mare had brought me here too,” Cole said.
“The Mare helped you,” Dandalus said. “Thanks to the Mare you met Durny and Harvan. Be grateful for that much. Destiny’s power is hard to understand.”
“I’ve started to get flashes of knowledge again,” Destiny said. “At first it was a relief to lose my power. Seeing too much took away a lot of my choices. It also made people hate me. But sometimes it’s nice to know what to do. To feel certain.”
“Do you know what her power is doing now?” Cole asked Dandalus.
“I can’t see the Mare,” Dandalus said. “I don’t think anybody can perceive Destiny’s power from a distance. It’s why nobody knows Destiny came here.”
“You knew the Mare helped me,” Cole said.
“Only thanks to your memories,” Dandalus explained.
“Right,” Cole said. He scowled. “I’ve searched for Tessa for a long time. But if nobody knows that she’s here, shouldn’t I leave her be? Where am I going to take her that’s safer than this place?”
“I’m supposed to leave,” Tessa said. “I’ve felt that much.”
“The Mare put you on a path to find Tessa,” Dandalus said. “Where were you planning to take her?”
“At first I wanted to reunite her with Mira,” Cole said. “Now that Mira is captured, I guess I would take Tessa back to her physical body, then go after Mira.”
“Sounds sensible,” Dandalus said. “She’ll be more vulnerable than she is here, but I can’t hide her forever. Nazeem is hunting too intently. Eventually, we’ll be found. And that would be unfortunate. I’m not meant to be discovered.”
“But what if Stafford or Nazeem capture Destiny?” Cole asked.
“That risk persists no matter where she goes,” Dandalus said. “The Mare brought Tessa here. And here she has remained until the Mare sent you to fetch her.”
“I really have felt urges to go,” Tessa said.
“I’ve had to restrain her from heading out alone,” Dandalus said.
“I let him restrain me,” Tessa said. “It wasn’t quite time. Now it is.”
Cole sighed. “Okay. I’ll do my best to protect you.”
“The Weaver’s Beacon will help,” Dandalus said. “Your enemies will struggle to find you in the echolands while you possess it.”
“Is there any other place I should go?” Cole asked. “Anything else I should do?”
“Stick to your plan,” Dandalus said. “Hide Tessa, then go after her sisters.”
“What about Nazeem?” Cole asked. “What if he breaks free?”
“I have heard reports that Nazeem expects to win his freedom,” Dandalus said. “I can’t directly interact with the echolands or the Outskirts anymore, but I see and hear plenty in the echolands. We made the Fallen Temple so secure! Powerful or not, I could not imagine how he could defeat our defenses. Until I saw your memories, Cole.”
“What was the clue?” Cole asked.
“Nazeem communicated with his followers in Junction using the Founding Stone,” Dandalus said. “It’s a brilliant loophole that I failed to anticipate. The Founding Stone is an object of considerable power. It connects to all physical material in the Outskirts. It was designed to be unbreakable, but shapecraft can thwart the most careful designs. My guess is one of Nazeem’s disciples used shapecraft to break off a piece of the Founding Stone and brought it to the Fallen Temple.”
“That makes sense,” Cole said. “Once I shared my power with the Founding Stone, your imprint got rid of Nazeem.”
Dandalus nodded. “When my imprint spoke with you, he downplayed the import of the Founding Stone. It’s safer not to let people know.”
“Can Nazeem use the Founding Stone to get free?” Tessa asked.
“Escape should still be virtually impossible,” Dandalus said. “But given the confidence he is showing, Nazeem must have found a way.”
“So we need to get the Founding Stone from him,” Cole said.
“It might disrupt his chance to esca
pe,” Dandalus said.
“I’ll tell my friends,” Cole said. “We’ll figure it out.”
“It won’t be easy,” Dandalus said sadly. “Inside his domain, Nazeem is enormously powerful.”
“Mira and Nori are in trouble because they came looking for me,” Tessa said. “We have to help them. We should go.”
“I need to get her back to the Temple of the Robust Sky,” Cole told Dandalus.
“A long journey,” Dandalus said. “I can calibrate the Weaver’s Beacon to draw you there.”
“Please,” Cole said, holding out the lantern.
“It is done,” Dandalus said, waving it away.
“Thanks,” Cole said.
“Once you’re gone, I will move on as well,” Dandalus said.
“Where?” Cole asked.
“My next hiding place must remain a secret. I have a few other sanctuaries that I can reach without succumbing to the call. People out in the world can’t know my location. Should you ever need to find me again, start with She Who Stands at the Summit.”
Tessa went and hugged Dandalus. “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll never forget you.”
Dandalus patted her head. “You have a power unlike anything I have beheld in all my days. Why Nazeem would seek to control something so untamable lies beyond my understanding. Perhaps his pride is too great to recognize the danger. But the reality remains that he wants you, Tessa. Take care.”
Cole and Tessa walked away from Dandalus and his little house. They passed through trees to the short grass and occasional bushes of the field beyond. The wall of cliffs rose in the distance.
“I usually run,” Cole said.
“I’d like that,” Tessa said. “I’ve kept still for so long.”
They set off across the grass.
“You really feel like you should leave?” Cole asked.
“Absolutely,” Tessa said with confidence
“How can you tell?”
“It’s hard to explain,” Tessa said. “It’s kind of like a persistent hunch. I know when I feel it.”
“You’re getting more of these feelings again?” Cole asked.
“Not like before,” Tessa said. “It used to happen many times a day. After Papa took my power it seemed like that type of knowing had ended. But it has started up again.”
They ran in silence. The wall of cliffs drew nearer.
“Do you know about the Pass of Visions?” Cole asked.
“Dandalus explained not to touch anybody,” Tessa said. “I came through on Thunder last time.”
“You call the horse Thunder?” Cole asked, surprised.
“That’s her name,” Tessa said.
“I call her Thunder too.”
“You probably felt it in her music.”
“The pass can be bad,” Cole said. “You’ll see things you really fear, and people you really love. It’s all phony. I even saw you.”
“Really?”
“You looked just like your imprint. You wanted my help.”
“It definitely wasn’t me.” Her head tipped upward. “What’s that?”
Cole looked up. A bunch of winged specks were soaring toward them out of the sky.
He came to a halt. A perplexing sense of unreality washed over him. This had already happened! This was how he had lost Harvan and Winston. It couldn’t be happening again. Here? Now?
“No way,” he murmured.
“What?”
Cole shook his head. “This is how Sando attacked us at the Farthest Mountain. There are more of them this time.” He counted eleven people.
“What should we do?”
Cole looked back. The trees that sheltered Dandalus were about as far away as the cliffs. Was there any chance of making it? They had to try. “We’re in serious trouble,” Cole said, drawing the Jumping Sword. “Run!”
They sprinted together back toward the trees. Cole kept glancing over his shoulder, watching as the winged men swooped closer. Five glided beyond them, landing in positions that blocked retreat to Dandalus. The other six came up short, blocking access to the pass.
Sure enough, Sando stood among the six. He shrugged out of his glider and raised both hands. “A word, young sir! Do not run and we will not pursue. Allow us a moment of your time?”
Cole faced him. Destiny stood beside him. There was no place to run.
“What are you doing here?” Cole asked.
“Same as you,” Sando said. “Looking for Destiny. Hello, Tessa.”
She said nothing.
Cole scowled. “How did you find me?”
Sando chuckled softly. “I’m not new at this. I have my methods.”
“Can you follow the beacon?” Cole asked.
“The beacon cannot be traced,” Sando said. “Should I tell you, giver of silver? Why not? Consider it my offering to you. A debt repaid. I gave Desmond a message from Honor to Destiny. It was a real message that I offered to deliver for Honor after we captured her. I told Desmond that if he gave the message to you, Cole, I would keep Honor out of the Fallen Temple. She would go to Gamat Rue instead, where he might have a chance to rescue her. Desmond suspected I had ulterior motives, of course, but risked the small favor to protect his princess.”
“The message let you follow me,” Cole said.
“Message?” Tessa asked.
“I forgot to give it to you,” Cole said. “I was excited to find you. I have it. I would have remembered.”
“You have not delivered it yet?” Sando scolded, wagging a finger. “Naughty errand boy!”
“You knew we would go to Deepwell?” Cole asked.
“I believed so, yes,” Sando said. “You came across at the Temple of the Robust Sky. I expected you would have the same information as Honor, and that is where she went. I am one of Nazeem’s chief officers. I ordered the guards at Deepwell to offer minimum resistance. I wanted you to free Desmond, so he would give you the message. The Mare rescued you twice, Cole. I believed you would lead me to Destiny. Congratulations, young sir. You have now delivered to me not one, but two princesses! Perhaps you should be a chief officer for Nazeem!”
“I’m so sorry,” Cole groaned. His gut twisted with shame and frustration. Sando was right.
“I felt it was time to leave,” Tessa said, sounding puzzled. “Maybe it was to protect Dandalus.”
“Let’s keep this simple,” Sando said. “Come with us.”
Cole looked and listened. Now would be a really good time for the Mare to return. The horse had bailed him out when he was cornered before. Now he was with Destiny! It was like a hundred times more important!
But he heard no whinny, no hoofbeats, no thrilling music.
Without warning, Tessa started running. Not toward Dandalus. Not toward the cliffs. She took off toward the nearer of the two channels. The narrower one.
Cole followed her. Was she hoping to get around the shapecrafters and make it back to Dandalus? The shapecrafters blocking the way ran with them. Tessa would have to sprint quite a bit faster than the shapecrafters to get around them. But the opposite was happening. The fastest shapecrafters were pulling ahead of them.
“Don’t flee,” Sando called, running as well. “Why waste the effort? We have you. This is over. Why draw it out?”
“You want to make it to Dandalus?” Cole asked Tessa.
“If we can,” she said. “Maybe you can use that sword?”
Cole liked the idea. If he attacked violently enough, maybe he could do for Tessa what Harvan had done for him. Maybe he could buy her time to make it back to Dandalus. Once she was inside his sanctuary, he should be able to protect her. Maybe they could flee together to one of his other hiding places.
Still running toward the channel, Cole veered toward the shapecrafters who were blocking the way to Dandalus. They veered toward him as well.
“I’ll slow them down,” Cole told Tessa quietly. “You run through the opening.”
The channel was getting closer. They were running out of room. H
e needed to engage the shapecrafters before he and Tessa ended up pinned against the slipstream.
Mustering all his fear and desperation, Cole pointed the Jumping Sword at the nearest shapecrafter. “Away!” he shouted. The sword failed to pull him.
Instead of jumping, Cole charged the nearest shapecrafter and whacked him on the chest. The blade didn’t cut deeply, but the man stumbled, and so Cole swung at the next closest shapecrafter, who slowed to avoid the blow.
“No, no, no!” Sando shouted. “The girl! Stop the girl!”
Cole looked back at Destiny and realized what was happening. She hadn’t followed Cole’s lead. She wasn’t trying to dash through the gap he created. She was almost to the slipstream, running hard, showing no sign of slowing or turning.
“Tessa, no!” Cole yelled. This was all wrong! This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen!
Cole raced after her. The shapecrafters did too. But they had concentrated on keeping her from getting around them. They had meant to corral her. They had driven her toward the slipstream to pin her against a dead end.
Except she was going to use it as an exit.
Cole hoped she might be bluffing. Maybe Tessa would try to use the threat of jumping in to get Sando to back down.
Nobody was going to arrive in time to stop her.
Her death would also destroy her power. Thunder was about to stop existing. Perhaps violently.
“Stop her!” Sando screamed.
Two of the shapecrafters had slowed to chant and gesture. They were trying to freeze her.
Tessa never slowed.
“Tell my sisters I love them!” she shouted as she sprang into the slipstream.
CHAPTER
31
POWER
No!” Cole bellowed.
This was not happening.
His job was to find Destiny. It was what Mira had most wanted. It was vital to the rebellion.