The Rift War

by Alexandra Moody

  ‘Rhyn’s right,’ Kai said. ‘The best option is to close the rifts to the World of the Woods and reopen others in their place. We will need to start with the rift closest to the Brakys.’

  ‘Then we can shut the rift closest to the castellum, and the humans can stay in the World of the Woods,’ Rhyn added.

  It saddened Sloane to think that the Unfaih would no longer have access to the beautiful green world, but the dangers the Brakys posed far outweighed any benefit the Unfaih derived from Aeris.

  ‘Lorian, are you on board with this?’ Sloane turned to the elder, surprised he hadn’t spoken up to stop Rhyn and Kai’s plans.

  ‘I don’t think we have a choice,’ he said.

  ‘What if it doesn’t work? Sloane asked. ‘What if the energy can’t be transferred from one rift to another?’

  Rhyn’s eyes narrowed, and his expression hardened. ‘Then we will have to fight,’ he said.

  Sloane slowly nodded in response, glancing down at the two pieces of the Oblivion Stone on the table. It was hard to believe that so much of their hope rested on something so small.

  Rhyn lightly touched her arm, drawing her gaze up to meet his.

  ‘I need to speak with my father,’ he said, softly. ‘We need to start making plans if we’re going to go ahead with this. But I need to know, will you help us?’

  Sloane was surprised by his question. There was no doubt in her mind that she’d help the Unfaih with whatever course of action they decided upon. They needed more than her skills with a blade this time though. If what Lorian said was right, she was one of only a few people who could wield the Oblivion Stone to close the rift. They needed her if this was going to work.

  ‘Of course, I’ll help,’ she said. ‘Just tell me what I need to do.’

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The castellum was all too quiet as Sloane slowly made her way through the corridors leading away from Kai’s room. She didn’t come across any Unfaih as she walked, and the icy hallways were utterly silent. It almost felt like there was a storm coming their way and the castellum seemed unnaturally calm as it waited for it to hit.

  Rhyn had suggested she go and rest while there was still time, but that was the last thing Sloane wanted to do. She’d much rather have been in talks with Vas or journeying with Jack to the human settlement to retrieve the Captain’s communications records. She wanted to help the Unfaih prepare for what the Brakys and the Captain had planned, but there wasn’t a lot she could do until they had confirmed whether or not Ash was telling the truth.

  Instead, she headed for Allirie’s room. Sloane didn’t know if she’d have a chance to check on her friend again. Rhyn could give the order to leave the castellum at a moment’s notice, and she wanted to see Allirie before they went. She lightly knocked on her door when she reached it and was surprised to hear a call for her to enter come from within.

  Sloane eased the door open and smiled when she found Allirie sitting up in bed and staring brightly at her in return. Her skin still looked shockingly pale, and the rings under her eyes betrayed her exhaustion, but she seemed much more alert than she had been on Sloane’s previous visits.

  ‘You’re up,’ Sloane said. ‘How long have you been awake?’

  ‘I’ve been drifting in and out of sleep since last night,’ Allirie replied. Sloane was shocked by how weak her voice was and how much effort it seemed to take for Allirie to speak. Her words were merely a croak and held nothing of the confidence and strength that she usually projected.

  Sloane grabbed one of the chairs on the far side of the room and placed it down by Allirie’s bedside. ‘How are you feeling?’ she asked as she lowered herself into the chair.

  ‘I’ve had better days,’ Allirie replied.

  ‘I’ll bet,’ Sloane said. ‘Does Orelle know you’re up?’

  Allirie gave a small nod of her head. ‘Yes, she was here with me for most of the night. She says I’m recovering, but it may take a while before I’m back to normal.’

  Allirie looked annoyed at the prospect and Sloane could definitely relate. When you were used to being so active, it was hard to accept that your body couldn’t manage even basic activities.

  ‘How are you?’ Allirie asked. ‘Orelle told me that Rhyn gave you the Liftsal and that your mother was an Unfaih?’

  Allirie tried to sit up further in her bed, and her voice grew a little louder as she spoke. She was clearly as surprised as everyone else by the information, but the emotion seemed like a struggle for the injured warrior, and she sank back a little into the bed after she had finished speaking.

  ‘Who knew Orelle was such a gossip?’ Sloane asked, with a smile. ‘It’s all been a bit of a shock, but I’m fine. Adjusting to my new Unfaih strength after drinking the Liftsal has been interesting, that’s for sure. I guess we have a little bit more in common now.’

  ‘I guess so.’ Allirie smiled. ‘What else have I missed?’

  Sloane began to tell Allirie everything that had happened, from the moment she woke up after her father had attacked her in the Liftsal caves. She talked about the Braky attack at the human settlement and the new alliance with Captain Denton. Sloane retold Esther’s story and the history of her mother and father. She explained what they had learned about the Oblivion Stone and the Captain’s plans to lead thousands of humans into the Brakys’ poisonous claws. The only thing Sloane didn’t mention was how her relationship with Rhyn had changed.

  She felt like it was still too soon to be admitting to the world what was happening between her and Rhyn. She could barely admit it to herself, and she wasn’t sure how Allirie would take the news.

  The warrior woman’s eyes were wide as Sloane went from one story to another. She seemed to be growing more alert the more Sloane talked. It was clear that Allirie was growing frustrated with her weakened state and that she desperately wanted to help.

  ‘Do you think there will be a battle against the Brakys?’ Allirie asked.

  ‘We’re trying to avoid that,’ Sloane responded. ‘If we can alter the rifts so that they no longer lead to the World of the Woods, the creatures will be cut off from the humans. They won’t be able to grow their army into an unstoppable force.’

  Allirie was quiet as she considered the situation. ‘When will you leave for the rift?’ she asked.

  ‘As soon as we can confirm whether Ash was telling the truth about the Captain’s plans,’ Sloane replied.

  Allirie sighed and looked down at her lap. ‘I won’t be able to help, will I?’

  Sloane reached out and lightly rested her hand on top of Allirie’s. ‘You’ve done enough already. You saved the human settlement from a massacre when you warned us that the Brakys had gotten through the rift.’

  Allirie glanced up at Sloane with a look of disappointment in her eyes. ‘It wasn’t enough. I should have stopped them from ever getting past me.’

  Sloane let out a breath but didn’t say a word. Allirie was like Sloane in so many ways, and she knew that no matter what she said, Allirie would still berate herself for not being able to stop the Brakys that night. It didn’t matter that there was no way Allirie could have defeated so many of the creatures; she still felt as though she had failed.

  The two of them were silent for a while. Allirie’s eyes were clouded with thought as she stared at the far wall of the room. It was hard to know what she was thinking, but Sloane suspected she was still considering the fight she had lost. Eventually, her gaze hardened and she turned back to Sloane, her eyes filled with far more fire than they had contained before.

  ‘If I can’t come with you, I still want to help,’ Allirie said. She nodded towards the table next to the door. ‘I want you to take my sword.’

  Sloane’s mouth dropped open, and she turned to look at the sword that lay on the table. She’d seen Allirie fighting with the weapon before, and it was a thing of beauty. The blade lit up in the brightest orange flames, and the deathly blows she struck with it were as much down to Allirie’s incredible skill a
s the sword’s serious power.

  ‘I can’t take your sword,’ Sloane whispered, turning to look Allirie in the eyes.

  ‘You can and you will,’ Allirie responded. ‘Don’t make me get out of bed so I can shove it in your hands.’

  Sloane let out a light laugh and climbed from her chair to go and retrieve the blade. She pulled it from its sheath in one swift movement. It was far lighter than she had expected, and as she gave it a practice swing through the air, Sloane could really appreciate how perfectly weighted it was.

  She returned to the bed and sat down, placing the sword across her lap. She wanted to use the blade, but she also hated the thought of leaving Allirie behind without it.

  ‘I still don’t think I can take it,’ Sloane responded. ‘It doesn’t feel right.’

  Allirie waved her comment away with one hand. ‘It does to me. Besides, you’ll only be borrowing it. I will obviously want it back when you return,’ she added with a wink.

  Sloane felt much better knowing that she would only be borrowing the sword, but the thought of wielding Allirie’s weapon still left her feeling uneasy. ‘I won’t be able to make it burn like you do,’ Sloane said.

  ‘Of course you will,’ Allirie replied. ‘You just have to hold the grip with both hands and picture the flames rising from the blade. It’s all about willing your intention on the blade.’

  Allirie’s instructions reminded Sloane of the way she used the Oblivion Stone, but she didn’t know how to explain that to Allirie. ‘You always say something to it though; I’ve seen you before.’

  ‘It’s just a word I always use,’ Allirie responded. ‘It focuses my thoughts and helps me to get the blade working quickly in a fight. I find that without the word, it can take me a while to get my mind in the right space.’

  ‘What’s the word?’ Sloane asked.

  She could have sworn Allirie was starting to blush, but the warrior woman quickly shook her head in response. ‘The word doesn’t matter; it’s the intention,’ Allirie said. ‘You should try it.’

  Sloane frowned and looked down at the sword on her lap. She slowly drew the blade up and held it in her grasp. She closed her eyes and imagined the metal covered in flames.

  ‘Burn,’ she whispered.

  When Sloane opened her eyes the blade was still the same shiny metal it was before, and Allirie was laughing.

  ‘Burn?’ Allirie asked. ‘That’s hardly original.’

  Sloane scowled at her friend. ‘If you have a better word I’m all ears,’ Sloane replied.

  But Allirie shook her head. ‘No, you must use whatever works for you.’

  ‘It didn’t work though.’

  ‘I guess you’ll need to practice,’ Allirie said, with a shrug of her shoulders.

  Sloane let out a breath and slouched slightly into her chair as she lowered the blade once more. She was disappointed that the flames hadn’t appeared, but Sloane knew Allirie wouldn’t have trusted her with the sword if the warrior woman didn’t think Sloane was capable of using it.

  ‘Even if you can’t get the flames to materialise, the sword will still be helpful,’ Allirie replied.

  Sloane didn’t doubt that. The workmanship of the sword was unlike any other she’d ever seen. It was a beautiful weapon, and Sloane felt honoured to be entrusted with it. ‘Thank you, Allirie, I’ll take good care of it.’

  Allirie smiled before she slowly started to yawn. Her eyes began to droop lower, and it was clear how much their conversation had drained the energy from the injured warrior. She needed her rest, and Sloane didn’t want to deprive her of it anymore.

  ‘I should go and see if there’s any news,’ Sloane said, starting to rise.

  Allirie gave a tired nod and shuffled down further into the bed to make herself comfortable. ‘It was good to see you,’ Allirie responded. ‘If I don’t see you again before you leave for the rift, good luck.’

  Sloane smiled at her in thanks before turning to the door. She needed all the luck she could get if they were going to pull this off.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Jack and Elyx returned to the castellum just as evening was beginning to descend. Heavy snow had been failing for hours, and Jack looked to be struggling to keep pace with Elyx as they trudged through the fresh snow towards the castle gates.

  Sloane was sitting up on the castellum wall when she first caught sight of them. She had spent the entire afternoon up there trying to get some peace so she could practice making Allirie’s sword burst into flames. No matter how hard she focused on the blade though, she couldn’t get it to work.

  As soon as she spotted Jack and Elyx, Sloane sheathed the blade at her side and made her way along the top of the wall towards the steps that led back down to the courtyard. She hesitated when she reached the top of them. Looking down the stairs at the ground far below, she recalled Rhyn urging her to leap down from the wall to test her strength.

  For a moment she stood there considering the long drop. She’d spent enough time training to know that her body was drastically different to the way it was before she’d drunk the Liftsal. And Esther had confirmed that she was no longer the same person. But a part of her mind still struggled to accept her new reality. There was a voice in her head telling her she couldn’t leap from such a great height without being injured.

  She took a small step towards the edge of the wall as if she were about to jump, trying to fight the limitations within her mind. Her body jerked to a stop though when her feet reached the cusp of the drop, and no matter how much she tried to convince herself to leap, Sloane couldn’t take another step forwards.

  Growling softly under her breath at her weakness, she started to make her way down the stairs. She already knew she was stronger since drinking the Liftsal and she didn’t need to jump off the wall to prove it. But she hated that she had failed for a second time to overcome the mental barrier.

  Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, Jack and Elyx were making their way through the gates.

  ‘Did you get the records?’ Sloane asked.

  Jack nodded, but Elyx didn’t pause as he continued on to the castellum. His eyes were dark, and he didn’t acknowledge Sloane with any response.

  ‘Let me guess, you’re not bringing us good news,’ she said.

  Jack let out a long breath and crossed his arms over his chest. ‘Ash was telling the truth. There are a hundred more ships on the way to Aeris. Not even Denton had any idea they were coming. When he returned to the settlement after the battle with the Unfaih, he found the communications relay had been damaged. He hasn’t heard any word from Earth since then.’

  Sloane’s stomach dropped at the news. Her father must have sabotaged the system before the fight, though her thoughts were more troubled by the fact that so many humans were heading closer and closer to the Brakys as they spoke. She slowly shook her head. ‘I guess a part of me had hoped that Ash was lying,’ she said.

  ‘I think we were all hoping that,’ Jack replied.

  The two of them started walking towards the castellum together, following in Elyx’s footsteps. Now that Sloane knew Ash had been telling the truth about the Captain’s plans, she felt a sense of urgency flooding through her veins. It was time to put Rhyn and Kai’s ideas into motion, and she couldn’t help but feel nervous about what she had to do to help the Unfaih stop the Brakys and save the humans.

  ‘Did Denton give you any trouble?’ she asked as they walked.

  Jack shook his head. ‘No, he was more than happy to cooperate,’ he replied. ‘He’s very different to deal with than your father.’

  ‘How did he react when you told him about my father’s plans?’ Sloane asked.

  ‘He wasn’t happy, that’s for sure,’ Jack replied. ‘Denton wants to fight, and he’s readying his soldiers as we speak.’

  Sloane hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Rhyn and Kai seemed confident that she could close the rifts before the Brakys got another chance to clash with the humans. The creatures had already a
ttacked the settlement once though, so she felt like nothing was certain.

  ‘And there’s been no more sign of the Brakys at the camp?’ Sloane asked. 'Why do you think they haven’t attacked again?’

  Jack’s face was serious as he considered her question. ‘It’s been a week since they attacked,’ he said. ‘If your father is with them then perhaps they are waiting for the ships to arrive. But that just doesn’t seem like something rabid, unpredictable monsters would do.’

  ‘Don’t underestimate them,’ Sloane said, through gritted teeth. ‘The Original Braky has complete control over those creatures. And if they know about the ships, they’ll be waiting for them.’

  They fell silent as they entered the castellum. Elyx was just ahead of them, and they followed him as he headed towards Vas’ chambers. Rhyn had been in with his father all afternoon, and Sloane wondered how Vas had responded to the news about the Brakys and the Captain’s plans. The Unfaih king had no love for Sloane’s people, but even he couldn’t deny that his entire world would be in danger if thousands of humans were turned into Brakys.

  The guards didn’t stop Sloane or Jack as they followed Elyx into the king’s chambers. Vas was seated in the same place at the long table he had been the day before, with Rhyn seated at his right, resting his arms on the table before him. The two of them were in deep discussion, and Sloane was surprised to see Ash sitting on the other side of the table, opposite Rhyn, listening in.

  Her eyes drifted nervously to her brother, trying to figure out what he was doing there. Rhyn probably wanted more information about the Captain’s plans, but Sloane was still struggling to trust Ash, and she wasn’t sure if Rhyn should either. They may have confirmed that he was telling the truth about the ships, but it was impossible to know Ash’s real motivations, and there was every chance he was leading them into a trap.

  Rhyn’s gaze shifted to Sloane the moment she entered the room. His face was grave, but his eyes brightened a little when he saw her. ‘Did you get what we wanted?’ Rhyn asked, turning his focus to Elyx and then Jack.