The Edge of Nothing_The Lex Chronicles_Book 1

by Crystal Crawford

  Lex pulled out of Nigel’s grasp and nodded, remembering the certainty he’d had about his age when he’d first awoken in Dalton.

  “Thought so,” said Nigel, backing up a step. “After all, that’s when the anomaly occurred which forced me to reset the protocol. I tweaked it later to include a separate algorithm for you and each of the others, just in case, but you were nearby when I did the initial reset. It must have locked in your bio-data for that moment in time then pieced you back together when you exploded, which is fascinating, actually, because I never expected the protocol to result in any kind of corporeal–”

  “Wait,” Lex interrupted. “When I exploded?”

  “Yes, didn’t I already say that? As you died, you sent out a burst of dark energy for who-knows-what-reason, then you exploded. I’d only just activated the LEX Protocol, so I’d say you survived by about a nanosecond or so. How’s that for good timing?”

  Lex thought about the battle at Alowen, the dark whisper he’d felt. “Dark energy?” he asked.

  “Your birthright power,” Nigel answered. “Every Ancient has one. Yours was dark energy, power over death.”

  Lex blinked. “What?”

  “Death-powers,” Nigel said. “That’s what you had. Have? Had. I mean… unless you still have them. Do you?”

  Lex ignored the question, because he had one of his own. “If I had power over death, then… why did I die?”

  Nigel laughed. “It wasn’t like that. You couldn’t stop death. You could cause it. To others. Or maybe to yourself, though I’m fairly sure you never tried. It was more a transfer of energy. You could drain others to charge yourself up. I never did figure out quite what you were charging up for, but draining your enemies turned out to be excruciatingly painful to them and usually resulted in them collapsing unconscious or dying, so that was fairly useful. But you could only target a few at a time. Fortunately, you had palace battle training, so you always just killed the rest the ordinary way.”

  “Oh,” Lex said, his mind swimming.

  “Anyway,” Nigel said, “when Jana began to completely destabilize, we–”

  “Wait,” Lex said. Something startling had just occurred to him. “You said she destabilized from passing through the Worldforce when she used the portal, right?”

  “Yes,” Nigel said, stretching the word into three syllables.

  “What if someone else came through, like a normal human? What would it do to them?”

  “What it did to me, of course,” Nigel said. He shuddered. “I do not recommend it.”

  Oh no, Lex thought.

  Nigel studied Lex’s face, then said slowly. “Why do you ask? Has another come through?”

  “Yes,” Lex said, his heart sinking. “I think so.”

  Nigel jumped up and began to pace. “This is not good, not good at all,” he said. “The Worldforce here in Arameth is already unstable from the last breach, and another Earthborn coming through could be disastrous. Not to mention the impact it could have on the person. Did this person seem to be in pain at all? Unhinged? Suffering?”

  “No,” Lex said. “Well, not mostly. But she was… electric. I mean, there was an energy about her, like touching a frayed wire.”

  “That’s… odd,” said Nigel. “But probably also terrible. Why did she come here? Did she reveal her purposes to you?”

  “She said she came here by accident.”

  Nigel shook his head. “Impossible. She would have to be working with The Gatekeepers. It takes one who possesses the power of the Ancients to even activate the console, and they monitor the full lineage.”

  “Daughter of power,” Lex murmured. He turned to Nigel. “It’s what the Aiacs called her.”

  Nigel went still. “What is her name?” he asked.

  “Amelia,” Lex said.

  Nigel stared. “Are you certain?”

  “Yes,” Lex said. “At least, I think so. She’s lied to me before, but I think she was honest about that.”

  “Huh,” Nigel said, shrugging. “There goes that theory. In any case, she could be in great danger. We must find her immediately.”

  The door to the room burst open.

  Acarius barreled in, glanced around, and stopped on Nigel. His eyes went wide. “You!” he shouted.

  Nigel leaned toward Lex and raised one hand in front of his mouth, as though to keep Acarius from reading his lips. “We had a bit of a misunderstanding a few years ago,” he whispered loudly to Lex.

  “You tried to kill me!” Acarius yelled. He stormed toward them.

  Nigel straightened and dropped his hand, meeting Acarius’ glare. “The prophecy said the one to save Arameth would have to die and be reborn. How was I to know you weren’t the right one? If I recall, you’re the one who said you were to be the ‘prophesied son,’ or whatever nonsense.”

  “’Son of prophecy,’ and I know you know what it’s called. But don’t try to distract me. You tried to kill me!”

  Nigel shrugged. “In my defense, I thought you’d come back to life. Besides, you aren’t dead. Look, here you are!”

  Acarius glared at him, then his eyes fell on the console in Lex’s lap. “Wait. What did you do?”

  Nigel held up his hands. “Don’t ask me,” he said, nodding toward Lex. “He’s the one who came back from the dead.”

  Acarius narrowed his eyes.

  Lex looked between them, then set the console down on the floor and stood. His mind felt claustrophobic, too many thoughts crowding in on him. “Acarius, I… did you know?”

  Acarius’ stern face melted into something like remorse. “Yes. I’m sorry, Lex. I wasn’t sure at first, and then once you told me about the glimpses, I realized… but I thought it best to wait until you were ready to know. I didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

  Lex glanced at Nigel. He clearly hadn’t shared that concern. Lex’s head spun with all the memories suddenly poured into it, his own past and the pasts of others. He had a whole previous life, and somehow it all led to this, to him being brought back as Lex… how was he supposed to process that? What did it even mean?

  Acarius moved toward him. “Listen, I–“ He paused. “I really am sorry. Marcus and I… you and I… we were best friends. I would never do anything to harm you. I know I lied, but I was trying to protect you. I’m sorry.”

  Lex wanted to be mad, but… would he have been able to handle the truth sooner? He wasn’t sure. Maybe it really had been for the best. He looked at Acarius. “Please don’t lie to me again.”

  “Never again,” Acarius answered. “I promise. I hope you can still trust me.”

  Lex didn’t know Acarius well, but somewhere deep in him, Marcus did. He nodded, and Acarius’ concerned face relaxed into a smile.

  “I know you must have a lot of questions,” Acarius said. “Maybe we could–”

  Lex cut him off. “Thanks. I definitely want to talk about some things later. But right now, please, tell me what happened after I was taken. Where’s Amelia?” He had plenty of questions, and hopefully he could sort through them later, but what Nigel said about Amelia was making him anxious.

  Acarius looked surprised, but didn’t argue. “She’s with Lytira. After you got knocked out, we rushed over just in time to see an Aiac swoop down and grab you. I jumped on Mare to go after you, but Amelia was acting strangely, muttering about monsters. She started shaking. We thought the Aiac taking you had pushed her over the edge. Lytira put her on a horse and took her down to Alta, where our friends from Merik’esh headed after things there went south. I came here, after you.” He put his hand on Lex’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Lex, I’m sure she’s fine. It’s probably just shock. Those who aren’t used to battle seem to get it the worst. But Zenora is in Alta – the healer from Merik’esh. She’ll be able to help her.”

  “I don’t think it’s shock,” Nigel said.

  “Why not?” Acarius asked.

  Lex turned to him. “She’s–”
/>   The door burst open again and Lytira skidded into the room, panting. Her eyes took in everything at once, then she turned to Lex. “It’s Amelia,” she said. “Hurry.” She ran back out through the door.

  Lex spun to follow her, but Nigel grabbed his arm. “Wait, Lex,” he said. “In the void, did you see Lily? Was she there?”

  Lex’s heart squeezed at the desperation in Nigel’s eyes. “No,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

  “Right,” Nigel said. “No matter. Now come on, we need to help Amelia!” He gestured toward the door.

  “Lex,” Acarius called warily from out in the stairwell, dragging his name out, “you may want to hurry…”

  Lex ran through the doorway.

  CHAPTER 14

  Lex raced down the stairs behind Acarius and out into the inn’s dining area. It was empty of patrons. Lytira knelt on the floor between the tables, her hand propping up Amelia’s head.

  Amelia was on the floor, seizing.

  Lex rushed toward Amelia, but before he could reach her she took one heaving breath, then went still. Lex dropped to his knees beside her. “Is she–” He placed his fingers on her face beneath her nose. She was breathing. She was also fire-hot. He yanked his fingers away and turned to Acarius. “What does she need? What do we do?”

  Acarius shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  Lytira turned toward Acarius. “This isn’t like Jana,” she said. “When Amelia seized, it threw both of us off the horse. I mean, threw us, like we’d been struck by lightning. It was a full minute before I could even push myself off the ground to get to her, and by then she was like this. She goes still, then every few minutes there’s another attack. We didn’t even make it to Alta, but I don’t think Zenora would have been able to help with this, anyway.”

  “There has to be something we can do,” Lex shouted. “Anything!”

  Acarius clenched his jaw. “Lyt,” he said, turning to Lytira, “I think–”

  “No,” she said firmly. “No. Absolutely not.”

  She and Acarius stared at each other for a moment, then Lytira’s shoulders slumped. “Ugh,” she groaned, throwing her head back. “You’re right. It’s the best chance we’ve got.”

  Lex looked between them. “What is?” he asked.

  “Zeriphath,” Lytira said, “the home of my people. They have the best healers in the land for… this sort of thing. Not that there’s ever been one quite like this, but still, they may know what to do to help her.”

  “I thought your people were at Alowen,” Lex said.

  Lytira shook her head. “That was my clan of choice, the one I joined when I came of age. But Zeriphath is my birth-clan.” She sighed. “Father will not be pleased to see me.”

  Lex bit down on his question, feeling it was not the right time.

  “Let’s go then,” Acarius said. “I have a feeling Amelia’s only going to get worse if we wait, and Zeriphath is not close by.” He knelt down and reached for Amelia, to help Lex lift her.

  “I’ve got her,” Lex said. He slid his arms beneath Amelia's neck and knees and stood. She was heavier than she looked, but not too much for him to carry.

  “Mare’s outside, and Lytira’s horse should be, too,” Acarius said. “Let’s go.”

  “Wait,” said Lytira, reaching out to him. “On my way to Alta, I passed a group from Merik’esh, some of ours. They’d heard something about your sisters.”

  Acarius stilled. “What was it?”

  “They all made it to the agreed place, but there were problems getting there. Someone was hurt. Not badly, but they sent a message for you to come as soon as you could.”

  Acarius’ eyes fell closed. “Did they say if Liz was still with them?” he asked.

  Lytira nodded. “She is.”

  He sighed and opened his eyes. “Then they’ll be alright for another few days. I’ll go to them after we get Lex and Amelia to Zeriphath.”

  “Are you sure?” Lytira asked. “I could take Lex and Amelia by myself.”

  Acarius gave her a sad smile. “I know you could,” he said. “But I would never ask you to. Let’s go.”

  He pushed open the inn door and strode out, with Lytira right behind him.

  Lex followed, holding Amelia in his arms.

  “I’ll meet you at the stable,” Lytira said once outside. “I’m going to grab some supplies.”

  When they reached the stable behind the inn, Lex glanced around. “Wait, where’s Nigel?”

  Acarius shrugged. “He tends to come and go whenever it’s most convenient for him. Anyway, he can take care of himself, but we don't have time to hunt all over the city for him. We need to go."

  Lex nodded and let Acarius help him lift Amelia onto one of the horses. Lex mounted behind her, and Acarius climbed onto Mare.

  Lytira appeared in the stable door, two huge bundles in tied-up tablecloths slung over her back. She handed one to Acarius, which he balanced in front of him on Mare. Lytira strode to a nearby horse and secured her load to the back of its saddle. “I sure hope they don’t mind me borrowing you,” she cooed to the horse. “You’re a beauty. Perhaps I won’t return you.”

  Lex glanced at her.

  She met his gaze. “I didn’t mean that, of course,” she said, “though we probably won’t return these.” She patted the bulging tablecloth and then swung herself up into the saddle just in front of it. “After all, we are going through The Fallows. We’ll need all the supplies we can carry. But I left payment for them.”

  The Fallows. Memories from Marcus surged through him. “Why?” he asked.

  Lytira blinked at him. “Because it’s the only way to get there.” She shrugged. “Let’s hope we survive it.” She clicked her horse into motion and headed toward the stable doors.

  They rode through the hills and stopped by nightfall where the meadow met the desert. The Fallows spread out before them, a barren stretch of moonlit sand which seemed endless in every direction but the way they'd come. The night sky hung over The Fallows like a dark curtain, stars pricking through it like tiny, backlit holes. Nothing was visible on the other side of The Fallows – the other side was too far away.

  Lytira moved her horse next to Lex’s and pointed to the sky in the distance. “See the purple star?” she asked.

  Lex squinted. One star did look almost violet rather than pure white like the others. He nodded.

  “That’s the gain-star. It’s directly above Zeriphath. If we get separated, ride toward that star as quickly as you can. Understand?”

  “Why would we get separated?” Lex asked.

  She shrugged. “Just a precaution.” She turned to Acarius. “Ready?”

  “No,” he said. “I hate The Fallows.”

  Mare tossed her mane and whinnied.

  “Who doesn’t?” Lytira said. “But the only way through is… through. Let’s go.” She urged her horse onto the sand.

  Lex felt the night close down around him. He remembered The Fallows from Marcus’ ride – his own ride, he now realized. It hadn’t been pleasant. “I’ve been here before," he muttered. "I remember.”

  Acarius brought Mare up beside him. “Yes,” he said. “You were saving my life.”

  The memory flashed back – Mare kicking up sand as the two of them raced across The Fallows, dehydrated, exhausted, and moments from collapse. Yes – there was something on Mare's withers in front of him, strapped against her then held by Marcus’ own weight as they galloped. A hunched shape. A body. He had not remembered that part before.

  Lex looked down at Amelia, secured to his horse in front of him in the same way. Her brown hair spilled down over her face. Lex pushed it back, checking her breathing, which was still shallow but steady. As Lex remembered, riding with an unconscious body had been hard on both Marcus and Mare. Had it been hard on Acarius, too?

  He asked.

  “I had a few bruises, but I lived,” Acarius smiled at him. “This time we’ll go at as comforta
ble a pace as we can, but it’s best not to linger in The Fallows longer than we have to. Ready?”

  Here we go again, Lex thought. He nodded.

  Acarius led Mare out onto the sand, where Lytira waited. Lex followed.

  It seemed like they’d been riding at a steady gait for hours, yet the sun showed no sign of rising. Darkness spread in all directions, and Lex found himself checking often for the purple star to be sure they hadn’t veered off course.

  After an hour or two more, they slowed down to give the horses a reprieve, but Lytira and Acarius thought it best not to stop completely. They kept their horses at a walk for a while, the horses’ hooves struggling as they sank into the sand with each step.

  Lex glanced up to check the gain-star again. It was steady in the distance, far out across the sand. Lex blinked. The sand seemed to be shifting, bulging up in places then sinking back down again. Is it just my eyes playing tricks on me? he wondered. He focused ahead, only to have his eyes drawn back to the sand around him. The sand was definitely shifting; several bulges rose up then lowered just a few feet from him, as if the sand were beginning to boil. He stopped his horse.

  Acarius and Lytira rode ahead, not seeming to notice.

  “Guys,” Lex called out, his voice ringing through the hollow night. “Something’s weird.”

  The others halted and turned back toward him.

  Following Lex's gaze, Acarius tipped his face down toward the sand. His eyes went wide. “Lytira!” he yelled.

  Lytira snapped her face down toward the ground, then looked back at Lex and Acarius with wild eyes. “Go,” she said. “Go. Go!” She turned her horse in the direction of the purple star and kicked it into a gallop.

  Lex glanced down again, too curious not to, and realized the sand wasn’t bubbling up after all… something was rising from beneath it. All around them.

  Acarius looked back over his shoulder. “Lex!” he shouted. “Come on!”

  Lex shifted Amelia against his horse’s neck and leaned forward over her, kicking his horse into motion.