Birth Stone

by Kate Kelley

  Lyra quirked an eyebrow. “So, because she had no magic, she was outcast by your family? But you couldn’t kill her right, or you wouldn’t have been able to pass on to your gods after death. So you forced her to live as a slave, is that right? But, honestly, leaving her to die in a tower is murder if you ask me.”

  “Be careful. I’ll be your Queen soon and I won’t forget your manner toward me. And as it stands, you are in my lands now. And Terrin is gone,” she said icily.

  Lyra watched her, weighing her options. She could blast her backward, and Oriel could make a run for it with Poppi. Persimmon might be able to get out too if she distracted Navi enough. She saw no guards, no other people at all here besides Navi. She didn’t even see evidence of Navi’s father, the King of Ursa.

  The moment she saw the hard glint in Navi’s eye, her red lips twitching, Lyra knew she had to act. She raised her aura, blasting Navi back against the door, causing her to rise in the air like a marionette doll before falling back down on the glass floor in a heap. Oriel hesitated and glanced sharply at Lyra.

  “GO!” she screamed at him. He hesitated a moment longer before he burst through the door with Poppi, letting it swing closed behind him. Lyra and Persimmon ran to the door, Persimmon slipping through just before it closed. A hand on her shoulder spun her around with incredible strength. A bony fist smashed into her jaw with a thud, sending her to the ground. She leapt up and charged Navi, who held a long dagger.

  Nope.

  She roundhouse kicked the arm holding the weapon, sending the knife flying across the foyer. Navi lunged with a scream, grabbing Lyra's throat with both hands. Lyra’s windpipe squeezed, closing off. She grasped Navi’s arms and kicked out, hitting her squarely in the chest, sending her sliding along the glass floor. Turning, Lyra grabbed the door knob.

  Icy pain hit Lyra square in the back, taking the breath from her lungs, and causing her to fall to her knees. Her nerves were on fire.

  She pushed her arm back to blast Navi when the pain increased, searing through her bones to every corner of her body. Her body was being torn apart, she was sure of it. A scream of agony ripped from her throat. She writhed and spasmed on the ground as electric blue aura encompassed her body. Minutes or hours passed, she didn’t know. She wished for death, but couldn’t form the words to beg.

  Abruptly the pain ceased, and Lyra rolled onto her side, vision swimming. Her body was throbbing, the aftershock of the pain ebbing and flowing with her heartbeat. She attempted to lift her upper body, but her muscles were too weak to do anything other than tremble feebly. Nausea roiled through her gut, and she vomited over the floor in waves. Once, twice, three times. It was mostly water, but the acid still stung her esophagus and nostrils on the way up.

  A strangled scream sounded, the source just outside of Lyra’s visual field. It sounded like Navi. She managed to roll onto her stomach and looked out. A black shape was twisting and turning on the floor, and as it came clearer into view, Lyra realized it was Navi. Her back was arched, her arms wide, her eyes were rolling into the back of her head. Lyra managed to sit up on her heels, her head clearing. She looked around Navi for the source of her attack, but found none. Navi still convulsed on the floor.

  I’m out of here.

  Lyra stood on shaky legs and shuffled toward the door. Some inexplicable guilt pricked her and she turned back to look at the woman one last time.

  That’s when she saw it. Navi’s dress was pulled up slightly, and what Lyra saw sent chills down her spine. Red, furry legs and a tail writhed under her dress. Wolf legs.

  The red wolf.

  Lyra hesitated. She should let her die, for the horror she put Poppi through, but…

  I can’t let someone get eaten alive, for gods sake.

  She cursed and turned back, aiming her aura toward the wolf and blasting it. Navi let out a howl of pain, her limbs spasming even more. Lyra severed her aura. The wolf stopped moving. Navi stilled as well, mouth open, panting, her eyes rolling toward Lyra.

  Lyra’s stomach dropped and a chill ripped up her scalp.

  Long, sharp canines gleamed white in Navi’s mouth, elongated past her bottom lip. Dark blood dripped from a corner of her painted lips. Her ice blue eyes bore into hers, homing in on her. There was something different about them now. The pupil was a slit elongated, and an inhuman, predatory gleam shone through.

  Lyra stumbled backward. She'd seen those eyes before.

  She didn’t hesitate this time. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her out of the door and back toward the icy portal. A wall of heavy winds and snow met her outside, pushing against her as she ran and whipping cruelly at her face.

  Was that hail?

  She ignored the pain as she ran blindly into the white blizzard, and prayed to Gaia that she could find the portal, and that the monster she left behind didn’t follow her.

  Chapter 30

  Lyra’s legs and face burned with an icy fire as she ran through the ghostly white world. She couldn’t hear anything except the howl of the wind and the crunch of her boots in the snow. She wouldn’t know if anyone--or anything--chased her until it was upon her, attacking her. It was like she was running through an endless snow globe, around and around, and never getting anywhere. She couldn’t dwell on that, or she’d be tempted to turn around, and she couldn’t afford to slow down. Attempting to clear her head, she heaved a breath in, and out. In and out. Her breaths matched the stomps of her feet. Her lips and throat, dry and numb. Her eyelashes crunched with every blink and she supposed they were frozen and coated with snow.

  Think of something good.

  She was grateful Terrin had given her his coat. Yes. It kept her warm.

  She ran. Thud, thud, thud.

  That didn’t mean, however, she’d ever forgive him for not standing up to Navi. She wouldn’t be in this damn mess if it weren’t for him. He should have stood up to her and helped her and Oriel get Poppi to safety. He was disgusting. A royal, who cared only for himself, just like the rest of them.

  The good thoughts had failed her, so let the anger fuel her forward, letting her aura rise inside and warm her body.

  No longer able to make out evergreens on her sides, she knew that she was out of the path to the castle. That meant she needed to turn right. She knew the glacial walls should be about fifty feet in front of her, and the portal one hundred feet beyond that. If only this godsforsaken snow would stop, she would be able to see. She had to be almost there. Just one foot in front of the next.

  Smack! She ran right into a hard wall, knocking her back into three feet of snow. When she touched her cheek, her hand came away wet and warm. She must be bleeding, but it was hard to see. A fullness began over her left eye, a dull ache spreading to the back of her head. Her vision dimmed in that eye. It was swelling shut. Fat tears dripped from the eye, freezing before they reached her chin.

  Wonderful. Well, at least I know I’m at the glacier walls.

  She jumped up, trailing her hands on the wall as she waded through the snow beside it. Absence of wall let her hand fall through air and snow. She caught herself before she ended up on the ground again.

  The opening.

  She rushed through, squinting forward with her remaining eye. It was so dark. The starlight was covered in snow clouds. The late moonlight reflected off the frozen ground, so she could only make out faint, light gray lines of shadow, indicating objects.

  The roar of the storm filled her ears until all that was left was a ringing. Her pants were frozen stiff. She couldn’t feel her legs, or her face.

  If she spent a half hour more in this, she would not survive. She’d be frozen, as hard and as still as the ice around her.

  She searched for her aura, which was buried deep inside her, and tugged it up. It flickered, then died out.

  What the hell? No!

  She tried again. Flickered, lit. It warmed her faintly, but just enough to spur her forward.

  A keening howl pierced the storm, sending her heart into he
r throat.

  Navi.

  She ran blindly now, hands extended, praying to Gaia that she would let her find the portal. Her hand caught something sharp, the dull pain piercing her numb hand.

  She rushed forward, rubbing her good eye, until she saw it. A glint here, another glint there. Long, spindly--icicles! She was at the portal. Diving in, something sharp grazed her cheek and thudded next to her boot.

  An icicle must have fallen. Lyra looked up, the tips of razor sharp icicles staring back at her, wobbling faintly. She was sure one of those could impale her easily.

  The howl sounded again, much closer this time. Lyra ran to the back of the cave. It was ice white.

  What? Where's the obsidian? I need obsidian to travel.

  She whirled in circles, meeting nothing but ice and snow.

  There should be black stone here!

  Letting out a scream of frustration, Lyra smacked her hands on the ice cave’s wall and closed her eyes, praying to transport. She stayed put.

  Another howl pierced the air. Lyra began to shake violently, smacking her hands on the cave walls in desperation. Two more icicles spiked the ground near her feet.

  Even just a little bit of obsidian would work!

  An idea sprouted in her mind.

  My ring. My ring has obsidian.

  She didn’t think this was how a ground portal worked, but it was worth a shot. She had nothing else to lose.

  Her aura was dim in her center. It was barely alive. She was close to hypothermia. She wouldn’t stand a chance against a bloodthirsty, giant wolf.

  With shaking, frigid hands, Lyra reached into her coat and put her fingers inside the pocket of her vest. It took two tries to pinch her fingers around the gold of the ring, her fingers too stiff to obey her brain. She pulled it out and shoved it onto her stiff, left ring finger. Euphoria hit her. Sunshine. Happiness.

  She fell to her knees and looked up.

  “Gaia, take me to Alec. Please. Take me to my brother,” she sobbed, her teeth clattering hardly letting her get the words out. She pictured that cliff in Thane mountain, the one from her first vision, the one Alec disappeared over.

  A growl reverberated around the cave. A darkened, giant form stood just outside the alcove, beastly lips pulled back to reveal razor sharp teeth. A feral energy wafted through the air as giant black claws swiped toward her. A scream tore from her throat.

  And everything went black.

  Chapter 31

  Lyra woke, her body a throbbing pulp of useless, thawed meat. She tried to move her fingers. She could feel them. They were no longer frozen.

  That’s a good sign.

  She wiggled her toes. She could feel those too. Rough stone scraped along her palms as she used them to prop herself up. Her vision tilted but her left eye was able to open, if only a little.

  Also a good sign.

  She stared into a steady sheet of rain, cool mist riding the air toward her. An orangey pink glow bloomed from the distant horizon.

  Sunrise.

  She stared out of the mouth of a cave, taking in the peaks of ashy mountain and manifold palette of autumn leaves cresting the forests. Birds flew in the far distance, like tiny black handkerchiefs darting in the wind. From the looks of it, she was at a high altitude. Creeping forward on her knees she emerged from the cave, the soft rain tapping icy drops on her scalp.

  A narrow cliff, rising at a slightly upward angle jutted before her. She crawled forward further until she was close to the edge, and lowered to her stomach, peering down into the valley below. A wide river the color of clay, torrential and angry, rushed through the landscape. Her vision flashed before her eyes again. She saw Alec’s blue eyes before her, and she reached her hand down, clutching air as he vanished before her.

  This was it. The Eclipsa portal.

  Lyra backed away from the edge slowly, scooting backward with her hands. Her right hand slipped, scattering tiny rock pieces over the edge. Her stomach dropped and she caught her breath, backing farther away until she was back in the cave.

  The sun rose completely into the sky now, a heavy orange ball. Her stomach grumbled, her throat burned with draught. She needed food and water. She wondered what it would be like to sip a nice black tea again.

  Where the hell are they?

  Oriel and Terrin were supposed to be here, even before she arrived. It was dawn. She had slept here overnight. They should have been here by now.

  Maybe they were waiting for me at the eyeball portal.

  Come to think of it, Lyra was unsure how she even got here. The portal was devoid of obsidian, and she had used her ring to somehow transport herself--but she should have transported to the glamoured hot spring, Gaia’s Eye, not to this location. That didn’t make any sense.

  At least Navi didn’t follow. Maybe she was unable to, since the obsidian was gone.

  Her head buzzed.

  Her legs felt waterlogged. A slight sheen of sweat welled onto her forehead and back, in between her breasts and legs. Unused to the feeling, she realized latently that she was much too warm. Muggy air pillowed her skin as she removed her cloak. She took her boots off, then slowly peeled the dank socks and pants off. The rain was heavier now. She wouldn’t be drying these in the sun anytime soon. Her underwear were damp, but they would have to do.

  Unless I could make a fire.

  The thought occurred to her, even though Terrin had never taught her to make fire.

  The bastard didn’t teach me to transport by myself, either; yet here I am.

  Lyra scanned the shallow cave. It was empty, save for some scattered driftwood in the far left corner. Some of the pieces were singed black, but most of it was useable. She arranged them in a pyramid shape, the way she’d seen Terrin do countless times. She stuffed some dry wood shavings underneath in the middle.

  Taking a deep breath, she extended her right arm, igniting her aura within. For a moment she thought it wouldn’t ignite, but that familiar flicker of warmth filled her. It was weak, but it was there. She pushed it forward, through her arm and into her palm. She couldn’t just blast it like she usually did. That would cause the wood to just scatter and hit the back wall of the cave. Her magic then wasn’t fire--it was simply a force of energy.

  How do I summon fire?

  Lyra closed her eyes in concentration. She imagined the low burn of embers from her palm. Her palms warmed, bursting with electricity. She opened her eyes. Her palm was on fire. Summoning her magic, she pushed, and the embers flew to the kindling, instantly setting it on fire. It roared high for a second, and Lyra had to block her face from the heat; then it shrank to a small, steady burn.

  She smiled, the muscles in her face pushing the tender bruise on her cheek, and winced. Laying the wet pants by the fire and warming her hands, she sat close, allowing her underwear and shirt to dry in the heat. Her stomach growled. No plant life around. No creatures.

  She was warm here at least. Curling her legs in, she set her chin on her knees and stared at the view of the outside, now flickering with distant lightning. The sun was hiding behind a blanket of gray clouds that filled the entirety of the sky. She waited.

  Hunger soured her stomach, soon the only thing she could think about. The gnawing in her gut drained her, and she teetered between asleep and awake. She didn’t know how long she sat there, but she was vaguely aware that her clothes were now dry, and that the rain outside had turned violent, the wind cold again. She backed up to the wall of the cave to distance herself from the gusts of wind and rain. Her mind faded out again.

  A scuffling sound brought her out of slumber.

  An animal? Small enough to smash with a rock and cook over the fire? A mouse, perhaps.

  She licked her lips and opened her eyes a crack. A low sound reverberated through the cave, bouncing off the walls. Lyra’s heart lurched. Navi?

  She stood, her heart pounding, her aura ready.

  A man’s hand gripped the rock of the cliff from the right side. An arm. A head full of ha
ir, a chest.

  Terrin.

  Relief sank deep into her bones. She ran toward him and stopped before the open rain. She wasn’t ready to be cold and wet again just yet. Terrin looked up, thunder on his brow fading to surprise as took her in, eyes snagging on her swollen eye and bruised face.

  “Lyra.” His voice was soft, muffled in the roar of the rain. Another arm was clutching the stone. Terrin whipped around and pulled the person up.

  Persons.

  Poppi was wrapped around Oriel’s back, tied to him with rope. He saw Lyra and relief washed over his face. He stepped into the cave and melted to his knees in front of the fire. His normally warm skin was paling. Terrin released the rope keeping Poppi tied to Oriel’s back and gently set her on the floor of the cave. Lyra stood, watching them huddle around the fire. They could have been mirages. They were here, all together. Safe.

  Terrin stood and crossed to her, stopping a foot away. An odd expression crossed his face.

  “How did you get here?” he asked, guarded. Lyra stared at him.

  “I transported.”

  “How?” he asked.

  Lyra thought for a moment, shrugging. “Same way you did.”

  “You’re lying,” he said softly, “the obsidian was gone when you got there.”

  “How do you know that?” Lyra asked, “did you remove it?”

  A crease marked Terrin’s forehead. “Of course not. It was rapidly receding when i transported. I was barely able to transition. After I made sure Oriel, Poppi, and Persimmon had safely crossed through, I tried to pass back through Gaia’s Eye to get back to you, but the hot spring had reformed. The portal was closed. I almost jumped into the hot spring, but Oriel held me back.” He clicked his jaw shut, as if he hadn’t meant to admit the last part.

  Lyra simply stared at him. Her stomach emitted a low groan. It wasn’t even growling anymore. Terrin’s eyes flicked over her body before grabbing his satchel and pulling out a large piece of bread and an apple. He might as well have pulled out a steak. Lyra’s mouth salivated as he handed them to her, and she wasted no time, biting into the bread with ferocity.