I raised my eyebrows. “You know about that, huh?”
“I didn’t before; a couple of your friends told me during our individual chats. I really can’t believe it. Like it’s not bad enough that Lena and her ambassadors think the characters I dream about are the only important people in the realm worth investing in; now they’re limiting how many of them there can be too? It’s ridiculous and insulting. And I hate that Lena didn’t tell me.” Liza firmly banged her fist on the railing of the library walkway. “She and I are going to have words about this, I assure you.”
Liza took a deep breath and composed herself. “Though I guess I understand,” she said, leaning against the railing and looking out at her sea of books forlornly. “And I definitely should’ve seen it coming. Lena and the rest of the higher-ups love order. They love tradition and continuity and keeping people in boxes. When I started writing protagonist books for a few children in Alderon, I knew Lena would never accept it. Allow the descendants of antagonists to be protagonists? It would unravel our realm’s entire belief system that everyone in Alderon deserves to be there, and that people don’t change.”
“But people do change,” I said. I hadn’t meant to interrupt, but the comment slid out of me matter-of-factly.
Liza turned her head and looked at me. A small smile crossed her lips. “Indeed,” she said. “But you know as well as I do that most people in Book don’t believe that. And the higher-ups encourage that form of thinking. It’s why they’ve been forging protagonist books and prophecies for princes and princesses I don’t dream about. Which I was aware of.”
“And you’re okay with that?” I asked.
“No. But again, I get it. Princes and princesses are seen as leaders in our realm; they have important roles to play in our future with or without my visions, particularly those who are next in line for their thrones. But based on the way we assign worth in our land, no one would ever bow to a leader who isn’t a protagonist. A common king or queen would never be taken seriously, and that could lead to kingdom instability, rebellions, rulers being overthrown, and many other consequences. So while I don’t approve of it ethically, I can understand. I do feel bad for all those poor protagonists that the higher-ups are pretending don’t exist, though.”
“What will you do?” I asked.
“I am going to talk—well, yell—at Lena about this. But I doubt she will listen to me. She hardly ever does. And she knows there’s not much I can do to protest. My magic has grown very powerful over the years and the dreams even plague me during the day. Sometimes I’ll just be going about my business and I’ll black out and fall into them without meaning to. Getting them out through my books and paintings offers such relief; it clears my head and soothes my subconscious, so I can’t really stop. And even if I could, Lena has other ways of making me cooperate.”
A shadow passed over Liza’s face and I was tempted to probe the matter further, but she kept talking.
“Still, even if the Scribes and the ambassadors and Lena throw out certain protagonist books, I’m not going to stop sending them. Just because the people who control the world have given up on what’s right and wrong for the sake of ease and order doesn’t mean I have to.”
Liza shook her head like I so often did whenever unpleasant thoughts consumed me. “Anyway, getting back on topic. If Nadia is targeting Natalie, then it is because one of her henchmen found the Scribes’ copy of Natalie’s book. Lena and I have actually suspected for some time that one of the Scribes might be taking bribes from antagonists, which is not unheard of considering the questionable morality that allows them to help the ambassadors forge and destroy books in the first place. But until now we didn’t have proof. Discovering that antagonist bunker beneath the Capitol Building finally gave Lena the authority to interrogate the Scribes.” The shadow crossed Liza’s face again. “I’m sure one of them will break soon.”
An unspoken thought passed between us. I knew what it was like to be questioned by Lena Lenore, and it wasn’t fun.
After a beat, Liza sighed once more and gestured for me to hand her the book I was holding. “While I have only dreamed of Natalie a couple of times, I did have a vision of her prologue prophecy a while back,” Liza explained. “And to answer your original question, that is what makes her so special.” Liza opened Natalie’s book and turned to the first page. Then she began to read:
“A girl of good but fragile of fate,
Her unnatural path forged by a queen’s hate.
Able to be broken until her 21st year,
The Birthday and Destiny Interval her Guardian feared.
True love taken and magic stands still,
From the heart shaken by the reaper’s martyr will.
Three heroes and a savior trapped—their worlds forsaken,
The only escape—The Sorrowing Old Man awakened.
New titans shall rise as old ways fall,
A struggle in Time to decide it all.
Three worlds in Eternity where judgment awaits,
Vulnerable to the girl who can open its Gate.”
Liza closed the book. “Now do you see?”
The words swirled in my head. Some made sense but others didn’t.
“The Eternity Gate . . .” I thought out loud. “Liza, what is it? That’s what Natalie’s prologue prophecy is referring to at the end, isn’t it—the Eternity Gate? I saw it referenced in her file, and Arian has mentioned it a few times too.”
Liza walked over to the shelves behind me and slid Natalie’s book back into place.
“Personally, I don’t believe that’s what the prophecy is referring to, Crisa. The Eternity Gate is nothing but legend. People believe in its existence the way others might believe in religion—solely based on faith. Which means that no one, no matter how desperate, is likely to ever find it.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” I challenged. “After all, the Author was always just a legend, but my friends and I were just desperate enough to find you.”
“Crisa, I don’t think—”
“Liza, please,” I said. “I need to know. You of all people should understand why.”
Liza seemed reluctant, but after a moment she conceded.
“All right, Crisa,” she said. “But recognize this. When I was a girl, the elders used to tell us the story of the Eternity Gate. That was over a century and a half ago. Since then its existence has been forgotten and suppressed. So my understanding of the Eternity Gate is a mixture of folklore and gossip that could very well be based on nothing. Understand?”
I nodded.
“Okay then,” she said, swallowing her better judgment. “The story goes that there is a mysterious place outside the realms, not just Book or Earth but all of them. It exists somewhere between time and space and is responsible for maintaining balance within the universe. This place is called ‘Eternity,’ and its immortal protectors regulate every realm by making sure no singular world’s good-to-dark-magic ratio throws off the equilibrium of the rest.
“You never have to worry about good magic getting out of control. There simply isn’t enough of it, and it takes a long time to build. But dark magic grows and spreads quickly. So if one world’s dark magic ever exceeded the allowed limit, it would threaten to consume everything like a virus—not just that realm, but the others too.
“As such, if the dark magic of any one world ever crosses that tipping point, the protectors of Eternity re-evaluate the world’s place in the universe. They decide whether or not it is worth saving. And they do this by means of a judgment period, during which they observe the world and its populace. If in that time the people of the world prove that their capacity for good can outweigh their capacity for darkness, the protectors will return the realm to its magic equilibrium. But if during this period the people of the realm exhibit more darkness than good, the protectors will respond by tossing the realm into the void and eliminating it, cleansing the universe of its impurity forever.
“In order to make this judgme
nt and see a world in raw and clear context, the protectors must open their ‘Eternity Gate,’ the gate that separates them from us. When they do, there is supposed to be a massive fluctuation in every realm’s magical state, like a powerful energy surge that causes all existing forms of normal magic to power down for as long as the gate is open.”
“Like hitting a big reset button,” I said.
“Exactly,” Liza affirmed. “That is why I imagine Nadia and her people are so adamant about ruining Natalie’s life. If they believe she has the ability to open the Eternity Gate, then they have to turn her three core belief systems to darkness. If they succeed, based on her prophecy, this would theoretically cause her to produce enough dark magic to throw off Earth’s magic equilibrium. Then the Eternity Gate would open and the power surge would temporarily shut off all normal magic in our realm.”
“Like the In and Out Spell around Alderon,” I gasped, making the connection. “All the antagonists, the monsters—Nadia’s entire kingdom would be free to invade Book.”
“And the people charged with protecting us from them—the Fairy Godmothers—would be powerless to stop them,” Liza added. “People with Pure Magic—like you, me, and the dark-hearted witches and warlocks of Alderon—will not be affected. Our magic is bonded to us and can’t be removed. But everyone else with normal magic like the Godmothers will temporarily lose their powers.” Liza stopped and tried to write off the seriousness of her statement with a casual shrug. “But again, Crisa, this is just theoretical.”
“Liza, with all due respect, how can you possibly believe that?”
“I believe that because I have spent countless decades seeing incredible things in my head from multiple worlds, and I have never seen anything that would lead me to believe Eternity is real. It is simply an old tale.”
“Liza, everything about Book is based on old tales. My entire life my friends and I have been taught that we are reflections of the classic fairytales that came before us. And while I’ve never believed we should limit ourselves to their precedent, I know that it’s an important part of our origins. With everything that the antagonists have done and are willing to do, as well everything you’ve told me, I have to believe Eternity is real. For goodness’ sake, your own prophecy references it.”
“Supposedly references it,” Liza corrected. “For all we know, that prophecy could mean something entirely different. I already explained to you that my prophecies may have multiple interpretations.”
“Nadia’s actions don’t have multiple interpretations, and neither do her plans,” I countered. “The antagonists are acting under the assumption that the Eternity Gate is real and Natalie is going to open it. Which means it would be foolish for us to proceed without believing the same thing. You’ve been isolated in the Indexlands a long time, but I’ve seen what the antagonists are capable of—not just in my head, but firsthand. So I know with certainty that something is happening and that we need to do something about it.”
I paced across the library floor, frustrated. “I just wish there was some way for me to warn Natalie. If I could, then maybe it wouldn’t matter what the antagonists are planning because she could be one step ahead.”
Liza bit her lip. There was a torn expression on her face. “Actually,” she replied softly, “there might be a way.”
I perked up. “Really? What is it?”
“You’re able to dream about Natalie because your Pure Magic is honing in on her magic potential on Earth, right? Well, using that same rationale, you can train yourself to send telepathic messages to others who are as powerfully linked to the realm’s magic as you are. I’ve done it a few times myself, but only recently have I really been putting effort into it.”
“The dreams where I saw and heard you . . .”
She nodded. “It took a lot of power and training, but a while back I was able to teach myself to communicate with certain people through their dreams. I haven’t done it in a long time. Typically only people with Pure Magic can connect to the realm’s magic that way, so my options for who to contact have been pretty limited. But theoretically, if Natalie is powerful enough, it might be possible to reach her when she is asleep. When we are dreaming, our minds are most connected to the magic field.”
“That’s awesome!” I exclaimed.
“Yes and no. It worked when I tried to reach you. It definitely got easier the more magic you used because you were emanating greater power for me to hone in on. But that hasn’t always been the case. When I first tried to send dream messages, the amount of strength and control it required almost burned me out several times.”
“What do you mean, burned you out?”
“Despite the potential of our powers, Crisa, we all have limits. For us, Magic Exhaustion and Magic Burn Out are two of the greatest. The former occurs when we use a lot of magic over a short period of time. We exhaust our abilities temporarily and they typically take about twenty-fours to reboot.”
So Blue was right. I couldn’t use my magic on Lucky earlier because I was recharging.
“Magic Burn Out, however, has a more permanent consequence. If you use more magic that you are capable of, then the power can literally burn out your system and you die.”
“Well, that’s not great.” I rolled my eyes.
“No, it’s not. It’s been almost a century since the last time I nearly succumbed to Magic Burn Out. The stronger I’ve become over the years, the more I am capable of. But even if that weren’t the case, and I’d faced that risk when trying to contact you, I still would have done it. I dreamed that eventually Arian would capture you and take you back to Nadia, and that when he did your only hope for escape would be your magic. But I wasn’t sure if you would figure out your power in time. So since I’d foreseen that a realization of your powers was linked to touching a dragon from your past, I did my best to warn you, even if I didn’t know the specifics.”
“I really appreciate what you did, Liza, but if you were able to communicate with me through your dreams, that means you can do the same with Natalie, right?” I asked.
“Unfortunately I don’t think I can,” Liza replied. “I was able to do it with you because we both have Pure Magic and I have visions about you all the time, which strengthens our link. But my connection with Natalie isn’t anywhere near as strong. I’ve only dreamed about her a couple of times. But your friends SJ and Blue told me that you’ve been dreaming about Natalie for years. So I believe you would have the best chance, if not the only chance, of successfully reaching her.”
“Then show me how,” I said earnestly. “You can teach me to channel my magic the way you did yours so I can communicate with her.”
Liza looked down at the books on the lower level of the library. “The thing is, I don’t know if I should,” she said slowly. “It’s not just about Magic Burn Out. You could theoretically become strong enough to send dream messages without that being a risk, but it would take years of slow and steady practice. If I help you push yourself to reach that amount of power in the short time we have left before Natalie is supposed to open the Eternity Gate, it will require you to channel a lot of magic without holding back.”
“So?”
“So I had a vision a few nights ago of your time in Valor—the confrontation, the escape, and what happened in Nadia’s study.”
“What are you getting at?”
“I saw what you did to Arian, Crisa,” Liza said. “I know what you wanted to do to Arian.”
I flicked my eyes to the floor, a weird combination of shame and sternness simmering in my stomach. “Maybe it was necessary,” I said. “Maybe he deserved it.”
“Maybe. Or maybe that was the Pure Magic talking,” Liza countered. “You used extremely high doses of magic only minutes before confronting Arian. You pushed yourself too hard, too fast, and the power inside you began to flow without restraint. Because of that, even if it was just for a moment, you lost control. The Pure Magic consumed you and your actions because that’s how it works. It�
��s a sleeping monster that stirs every time you use your powers. The more free rein you give it, the more it takes over and the harder it becomes to control. If you push your magic enough, Crisa, you could lose control of it permanently. Then forget your fifty-fifty chance; the disease will corrupt you.”
“But Natalie—”
“Natalie is just one piece of the puzzle,” Liza interrupted. “You can’t focus solely on her well-being when there are other important factors at play. I have a lot of visions, Crisa, about a lot of people. So I’m forced to see the big picture. And what I’m telling you is that it’s in the realm’s best interest—and yours—not to pursue this. It is too risky to push your magic that hard.”
“But didn’t you say you were willing to risk the same thing with me? You said using that much power is dangerous and taxing—even for someone as adept at it as you. But you still put yourself through the threat of Magic Burn Out to reach me. And you saved me because of it.”
An awkward beat passed between us.
“Crisa,” Liza finally sighed. “I’m not going to force you to do anything or keep you from doing what you want; that’s not who I am. All I ask is that you think about it. You’ve got time. So give the matter some serious thought, okay?”
“Yeah, okay,” I conceded. Then I tilted my head in confusion. “What do you mean I’ve got time?”
“Well, Natalie hasn’t been born yet so even if you could get a message to her right now, there’d be no one to receive it.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Natalie hasn’t been born?”
I remembered Arian saying something about her not existing yet, but I’d never really understood what he’d meant. I just figured he’d been messing with me, as he so often did.
“Liza, that doesn’t make any sense,” I said. “I mean, you showed me her book and her prophecy.”
“Relax, Crisa,” Liza said calmly. “We see the future, right? Well, your visions of Natalie are just a really long-distance view. According to my inter-dimensional timelines, right now it is autumn in the Earth year 1999. And according to the few visions I’ve had of Natalie, she will be born in the next few weeks, at the start of winter 2000. So if all these great events surrounding her are meant to happen on her twenty-first birthday like my prophecy indicates, then with the Earth-to-Book time difference, that means her Key Destiny Interval will take place . . .” she furrowed her brow as she did a brief calculation in her head, “a little over a year from now.”
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