by RJ Crayton
Akilah grinned. “Foul mouth on you,” she whispered.
“We have to find her,” I whispered back.
I started to turn and leave the room, but she grabbed my arm. She looked me in the eye. “Remember,” she said. “This is a moon temple, and ours is a sun temple. Generally, when we do magic, we use the light within us and we call on the sun.” She stared at me for a moment and then said. “I’m not sure how you knew moon magic or called upon it to get us in, but I have to remind you, if you do light magic here, Zygam will know we are here. If this is a trap, he will immediately find us.”
I nodded. I wasn’t sure how she knew that light magic would tip off Zygam to our presence, but I believed she was right. Something about that logic made sense. I wondered myself how I’d known the moon magic, but I didn’t want to delve too deeply into that thought at the moment. I wanted only to find my aunt. I would try to avoid any magic that announced our presence before we had found her.
We left the room we were in and followed no particular path. The corridors felt like a labyrinth, and I tried to simply go in the direction I felt Auntie would be. We passed no one in the torch-lit halls. I didn’t know if few people lived at this temple or if they were simply asleep, as I should have been. As I would have been if my dream, which was a vision of real-life events, hadn’t awoken me from my slumber.
The color of the walls was getting lighter, going from dark obsidian to a lighter gray. It reminded me of the moon on some nights. Nights when people would stop in the bakery and joke, “I can see that man in the moon, with his gray stubbly face.”
I realized we were ascending. We had been at the lowest level of the temple, but now the labyrinth of passageways was at an incline. We were rising steadily, heading toward the top. It was warmer here, too. The temple was built so that it paid homage to the moon, so the closer you got to the top, to the moon, the more sacred a part of the temple it was.
Of course. They wanted better magic. Zygam had to have taken Talitha closer to the moon to get more moon force to fuel her healing. They would be at the very top. That’s where Auntie was.
Only, these sloping hallways wouldn’t do it. We needed to get there quickly. There was only one answer to this problem and even though Akilah said to avoid magic, it seemed it best to simply do this. Zygam was with Auntie, I realized. There was no way to get Auntie without him knowing I was here. I had to face Zygam.
Somewhere deep within, I’d always known that was the answer. Akilah, I said in my mind. I’m sorry, but the only way to get to auntie is light magic. I’m opening a portal. I know it’s a trap, but my aunt must be saved. You’re welcome to return to Hakari Ahet, or you can follow me through.
I didn’t wait for a reply. I closed my eyes, thought of Auntie, took a deep breath, and let the magic fill me. I opened my eyes, stuck out my finger and poked the air. A shimmering, glowing portal opened, quickly expanding to full size. As I stepped inside, I felt Akilah grab my hand. This portal wasn’t like Akilah’s. It was a gentle breeze, a summer smell of fresh flowers, and then we popped out on the other side, hand in hand.
We arrived in a room that was all white and had images the different phases of the moon and twinkling stars carved into the smooth stone walls. Lying on the opposite side of the room, on a mattress on the floor and painted in white, was my aunt. I didn’t see anyone near her, so I ran over, kneeled next to her, and cupped one of her hands in mine. Her skin was cold to the touch and felt clammy.
I grimaced, afraid she was dead. I looked at her torso and felt a surge of joy when I saw her chest rise and file. She was definitely breathing. She was still alive. “Auntie,” I whispered.
“Kady,” I heard Akilah say, her voice uneven.
Then I heard another voice, cold, yet now familiar. Zygam. “I think she’s trying to tell you that you are not alone, sweet Dirah.”
Chapter 22 - Unlocked
I turned to see Zygam standing in the opposite corner of this small room. Akilah stood tall between him and me, her ketesh raised.
“I see you brought a friend,” Zygam said, a smile on his fair face as he walked closer to us. “Any friend of yours is a friend of mine.”
My angst about bringing Akilah reared up again. In my head, I asked Akilah to step aside. He won’t hurt me, I told her. Just step aside, fade into the background, and be ready if I need help, alright?
Akilah stepped aside, and I felt grateful.
My aunt’s skin was cool to the touch. I leaned down to her chest and could hear her faint heartbeat. To Zygam, I said, “What have you done to her?”
Zygam grimaced. “What I have done is nothing compared to what she has done herself.” He looked down at her, and said, “However, I promised if you came, I would release her, and I want you to know I keep my promises.”
Before I could react, he lifted his ketesh, and must have said a silent command. A gold symbol shot from the staff and rushed toward auntie. It looked like a half moon made of gold, and it landed on the center of her dress and then burst into millions of glittering gold flecks that spread out and covered her completely. I pulled back, shocked by what was happening. A moment later, the gold flecks disappeared, and she looked like Auntie. She was no longer painted white, but her yellow dress remained. Her olive skin was visible, but a bit pale. She opened her eyes wearily and looked at me. “Kady,” she croaked.
I leaned in, taking her hand again and said, “I’m here.”
“Not safe,” she whispered.
“Kadirah,” Zygam said, and I turned to him. “Stay here with me.”
As I looked in his eyes, I felt a pull toward him, one so strong I hadn’t expected it. It was mesmerizing. He spoke in my head now. Stay. It was like that first night; I felt a desire to be at this place. A desire to claim my birthright. A desire to trust Zygam. He was my alab and I needed to listen to him.
“Kady!” I heard Akilah screaming my name. I’m not sure how long she’d been saying it or even what I was doing. I had stood, left my aunt behind, and taken several steps toward Zygam.
I turned to see Akilah standing a few feet from me. “Don’t look at him,” she said adamantly. She was right. I turned away from him and ran back to my aunt.
“Shield,” Auntie said, her voice barely audible. I closed my eyes and concentrated. A second later, I could feel the shield. I could tell I was projecting it. I opened my eyes to see that a thin layer of shimmering air surrounded Auntie and me.
“I guess I was mistaken,” Zygam said. “Not all friends of Dirah’s are welcome here.”
Akilah! I looked up to see Zygam now faced her, and fear shot through me. I had only protected Auntie and me in the force field. Akilah was alone. I wasn’t sure if I could expand my shield to include her. I sent a thought to her. Leave. Port back to the temple.
Zygam turned to look at me. I almost connected with his eyes, but my instincts took over and I turned away. I looked at Auntie. Her eyes were open, but she was clearly frightened. I needed to get her out of here and away from Zygam. But I also had to keep Akilah safe. Akilah, you have to leave, I said in my mind again.
“You know,” Zygam said. “When you use telepathy inside a shield, it opens your mind to others, despite the shield.”
I swallowed hard. I’d made a mistake. I focused on Auntie. I wouldn’t communicate with Akilah again. I needed to block Zygam and definitely not look at him.
“Oh my,” Zygam said. “What have we here? Your mind is quite locked.”
I closed my eyes, gripped my auntie’s hand tighter, and focused on strengthening my shield.
“And not a pretty lock, either. But it’s very clear what’s behind the lock. The Talisman of Elpida. Your memories of the Talisman are gathered tightly in this haphazard, pathetic lock.” He laughed, cold and high. “Pylum did this, you know?” Zygam said.
I wanted to turn and look at him, to see his expression, but I feared what happened last time, that I would be pulled in. But what he said hadn’t made sense. Pylum hadn’t l
ocked my mind. Auntie had. Hadn’t she?
“You think Pylum is your friend,” Zygam said. “He’s not your friend. Pylum is using you. He wants to control the power of the Talisman, so he has locked your mind. He has locked your mind and lied to your face. You know in your heart you can’t trust him.”
I wished Zygam hadn’t been saying things I felt. I’d been concerned about Pylum since the moment he refused to help me rescue Auntie. But I also knew I couldn’t trust Zygam.
“I can help you,” he said. “I’ll start by unlocking your mind.” What? Could he? Part of me wanted him to. Part of me wanted to release the shield. I opened my eyes and looked down at Auntie, who was mouthing, “No.” I girded myself, tried to strengthen my shield. That’s when I heard the scream. Akilah’s scream.
I turned toward her in time to see the necklace she’d been wearing, the one with Pylum’s stone, ripped from her neck by magic and float in the air a few feet from her. Akilah grabbed her head with both hands, the pain obvious on her face. A moment later, both she and the necklace collapsed to the ground.
Without thinking, I dropped my force field and ran to her. She was on the ground, both hands still grabbing her head and moaning. I turned to Zygam. “What did you do to her?” I screamed.
“Unlocked her memories,” he said. Her memories? I glanced at her writhing in pain on the floor. Her mind? He’d been talking to her. I looked back at him, still not sure I was comprehending. He’d been talking about her, not me, when he’d said Pylum had locked a mind. I didn’t understand. Why would Pylum lock Akilah’s mind?
I wasn’t sure if I’d accidentally telepathically sent the question to Zygam, but he looked at me as if he’d heard me. He looked down at Akilah and spoke. “She’s important. That’s why Pylum has kept her close. That’s why he’s kept her away from me. She’s very much like you. Powerful.”
I stood up, my ketesh in my hand, my resolve final. “Stay away from her.”
He smiled. “I will not hurt her. Not now.”
“I’m taking Akilah and my aunt and I’m leaving.”
Zygam took in a deep breath. “I can’t let you do that.”
He was wrong. “You can’t stop me,” I told him, sure it was true. I felt a surge of protectiveness and power in that moment. I was going to fix things, to get them both safely out of here. It was my fault Zygam had taken them, but he wouldn’t hurt either of them. Not again.
I started to open a portal. And Zygam’s staff shot a golden symbol at me.
I put my hand up to stop it, and the symbol turned to ash and blew away in midair.
Zygam’s eyes widened with shock. He smiled at me. “Impressive,” he said. “You know, I taught you how to do that.”
I didn’t remember him teaching me that, but even if what he said were true, I didn’t care. “We are leaving — Akilah, my aunt, and me — right now, unless you’d like to see some more things you taught me.”
His smile faded, replaced by a hard line. “I am sorry, Kadirah, but I am going to have to hurt you, temporarily, for your own good.”
He shot another glyph at me, and this time, I somehow knew I didn’t have enough power to diffuse it.
I raised my own ketesh and said, “Ea-wad.”
A golden glyph in the shape of a boomerang appeared. It latched on to the glyph spiraling toward me, and changed its trajectory so it now barreled back toward him. He flung himself out of the way, just barely avoiding it.
The glyph hit the wall behind him with a bang that caused the stone to explode, sending bits of it flying. Zygam was hit by a chunk of stone from the blast and toppled over, clutching his side. I started toward Zygam with a plan to encapsulate him. I held out my ketesh and spoke a glyph that produced a golden symbol that resembled a net. It was heading toward him, when from behind me, a silver glyph whizzed by, slammed into mine, and disintegrated the golden net.
I turned to see Akilah walking toward me. Her eyes were filled with fury. “Do not hurt him,” she said.
“What?”
“You don’t understand what he’s trying to do, Kady,” she said to me.
My eyes widened as I realized that Akilah had decided to side with Zygam. I backed away from her, but also edged toward my aunt. “No, you don’t understand,” I said, my voice, soft, kind, friendly. She was my friend. I had to reason with her. “He’s done something to you. You’re not yourself.”
“That’s just it,” she said, and a smile washed over her lips. “I am completely myself now. Now that I know who I am. Now that Pylum isn’t keeping that knowledge from me.”
I moved closer to my aunt. I had to get out of here. I had to get Auntie away from here.
“Let Zygam help you unlock your mind,” Akilah said. “You don’t know what’s trapped in there until it’s unlocked.”
I shook my head. “I know that whatever it is, it won’t make me stay here, not with someone who did this to my aunt,” I said as I knelt beside Auntie and took her hand. This was it. I had to open a portal now. I concentrated, and it started to open. It grew wider and then a glyph shot from Akilah’s ketesh and erected a barrier between me and the portal.
Upset by Akilah’s barrier, I lost my concentration and the portal disappeared.
Akilah walked over to Zygam and extended her hand to help him up from where he’d fallen. He held his side but stood, slightly stooped, favoring the injury. She turned back to me. “We’re here to help you.”
I shook my head. Neither of them wanted to help me right now. I was feeling desperate and uncertain. That’s when I spotted Akilah’s necklace. It was just a few inches from my aunt’s head. I leaned over Auntie, and stroked her head. Then I reached for the necklace, hoping it was decently surreptitious.
Akilah laughed. “You’re terrible at stealth, Kady. But go ahead and call Pylum. I have a few choice words to say to him.”
I swallowed. She’d said to do it, which should have instantly given me pause. But as I held the necklace in my hand, it felt warm. It felt familiar. Everything about the stone felt right. I looked down at Auntie, who nodded ever so slightly. Then I looked up at Akilah, clutched my aunt’s hand tighter, raised the stone to my lips, and whispered, “Pylum.”
Chapter 23 - The Key
The last thing I saw was the look of shock and anger on both Akilah’s and Zygam’s faces as I was pulled into a vortex with my aunt. It was somewhat violent and stormy, and then Auntie and I were spit out in Pylum’s office.
He was standing on a ladder near the top of the tall ceiling when we appeared on his floor. He stepped off the ladder and somehow floated down to land beside us. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Akilah,” I said, but then I didn’t know how to explain. My aunt clutched my hand tighter.
Pylum looked at her. “I’ve sent for help, Tali,” he said to her. “The healers will be here in a moment.”
I looked at him and thought of what Zygam said. He’d locked Akilah’s mind. Though Zygam had called him a hack, who had been pathetic at locking it. “Why did you lock Akilah’s mind?”
“I can’t explain all that right now,” he said. At that moment, the doors burst open, and a healers came in.
“She’s been in stasis,” Pylum said. “And subject to moon magic. She seems very ill.”
The healers, Master Yaritza and her assistant Amira, nodded. Amira, a petite woman with brown hair she liked to streak with purple, unfolded a stretcher and used magic to levitate my aunt onto it. Master Yaritza, her auburn hair tied in a bun, looked at Auntie with pursed lips. She then closed her eyes in concentration, reached out, and touched Auntie’s skin with two fingers. She pulled them away quickly.
“She’s incredibly weak,” Yaritza said, shaking her fingers.
I’d not seen Master Yaritza helping an actual sick person, but it appeared from my brief observation that Yaritza’s mere touch could help her determine a patient’s level of illness.
“
I think with some rest and nourishment, Talitha will be fine. Stasis usually allows nourishment needs to be fulfilled, but much of her problem seems to be malnourishment.”
I glared at Pylum, who had promised Auntie would be fine with Zygam, but then turned to the healer. “He didn’t feed her?”
Master Yaritza looked back at me uncertain. “I don’t know. Normally the spell is done so the body doesn’t require nourishment. It’s truly in stasis. It doesn’t age or grow or require nutrients or expel waste. The body is in a state that will stay the same as long as they are under. But if the person resists stasis, it can cause problems. That’s why stasis is generally only used by healers, and as a last resort, when we think we can get the curative potion we need with a bit more time. But again, a lot can go wrong.”
I thought back to my dream. Auntie had been resisting. For me. I felt a wave of guilt.
Master Yaritza patted my shoulder, and stood. The stretcher with Auntie on it levitated as she rose. I stood, too, and started to follow behind. She turned to me and said. “I need a few minutes to administer some potions and examine her fully. Why don’t you come down to the healing room in about ten minutes?”
I wanted to protest. I’d been without Auntie for too long. But Pylum spoke. “Of course, Master Yaritza. I’ll bring her down then.”
The healers left with my aunt, and I turned on Pylum. “Why did you lock Akilah’s mind?”
“First, I need to know what happened,” he said. I didn’t want to speak.
The idea of trying to recount everything for him felt oppressive. Before I knew it, the crystal ball in his office had levitated to the center of the room and into my hand. Pylum smiled at this. “It seems perhaps your aunt released her hold on your magic,” he said.
It hadn’t occurred to me until he said it, but it seemed to be true. Everything magical in me was no longer trapped where I couldn’t get to it. But I still hadn’t had a flood of memories. I looked into the crystal ball, then closed my eyes and thought about everything that happened. The images began to appear in the little ball. I didn’t open my eyes to look. I just knew they were there.