“Of course. Now those five people are the Governors of both worlds. They travel back and forth each month through my cave to rule over both lands and spread their lies. Over time, the citizens have even physically changed to adapt to the new environments.”
Eref thought about this. It explained a lot of things he’d wondered about his whole life, but he could still think of a few missing pieces. “Why do they lie to us? Why do they want us to stay apart?”
The Exile looked up. “They are sucking the life out of you, little by little. Think. The average lifespan of a Safe Person was a thousand years. What is the average lifespan of a Light Person?”
“Seventy. Maybe eighty, I guess.”
“The Moonstone allows the Governors almost unlimited power. One of those powers is the ability to lengthen their lives by stealing years from other people. They’ve been cutting your lives horribly short for hundreds of years so that they can live forever. It all starts at the Eighteener Entrance. From that moment on, your soul belongs to them, dwindling away so that the Governors can consume the time you will never use.”
“But what about you? You said you’re over a thousand years old.”
One of the fire dogs paced back and forth near the ocanroc, stopping once or twice to sniff. The helpless ocanroc whined.
“They’re keeping me alive, too. As a slave. My power has been thinned out to a bare minimum. Once a month I have to meet them at their offices to transfer them through my cave and help divide the stolen life they’ve stored in the Moonstone. Only I have the knowledge and skills to handle this procedure. It takes all of my remaining strength each month to do what they require.”
Eref’s head swam. There was too much to comprehend. It didn’t seem real. Finally, he focused on the immediate and asked, “What do you need me for?”
“I’ve been watching you. You’re smart. You see through their lies. But it wasn’t until the day you shut off the lights that I knew you were the one.”
“I was the what?”
“Even though the Governors have tried to keep all powers to themselves, it’s still here, lying dormant in the worlds, waiting to wake up. It has awakened in you. You have innate metaphysical ability within you.”
“No, I don’t,” Eref said. He’d never done anything remotely magical in his entire life. If he’d had special powers, he wouldn’t have let Balor go to the Eighteener Entrance. He wouldn’t have been sentenced to death by stoning.
“You do,” insisted the Exile. “Do you have any idea what it takes to power Light World? The sun comes and goes day and night, but your lights remain on constantly. This is the Governors’ design. It keeps you afraid of the dark and of Dark World. This in turn keeps your worlds from joining together and learning the truth. The light in Light World is kept on by immense metaphysical power.”
“But that’s not true,” Eref said. “There are switches. It’s just electric power from the Moonstone.”
Behind him, the fire dogs growled louder. The poor ocanroc must have finally died. Eref moved a little closer to the Exile to stay out of their way.
“The magic runs like electricity through wires. Switches act as breakers that can be shut off when certain buildings are empty. This conserves the Governors’ power. A person could easily pull a prank by flickering the lights in one room.”
“Yeah,” Eref said. “That’s all I did.”
“But that’s not all that happened, is it?”
“No. The entire world went dark. It was some kind of malfunction.”
“It was your power. That’s the only thing that could have interfered with the Governors’ magic. When you touched the switch, your magic ran through all currents and shut Light World down. You communicated with the Moonstone. That is your special ability. You can protect others by calling upon the power of the Moonstone.”
Eref almost laughed. This man had to be lying or insane. Eref couldn’t really have been responsible for what had happened that day. It had been merely an accident. Something had gone wrong. It wasn’t magic.
Violence erupted nearby in a vicious dog fight. The animals puffed out their fur and snarled and lunged and bit. Eref moved a few more feet to the side. It was not wise to interrupt hungry fire dogs.
“Would you like me to prove it?” The Exile struggled for a moment to stand and then hobbled toward Eref.
“Yes.”
He walked forward but didn’t stop at Eref. The Exile passed him and moved toward the fire dogs.
“Those dogs will kill you,” Eref warned.
“Not if you stop them.”
The larger of the two fire dogs turned and snarled at the Exile.
“Are you crazy? I can’t do that. Each one of these is stronger than five Light People.”
“I would like to help this ocanroc. There are some healing herbs in my pocket. Ocanrocs are helpful with my gardening.”
“It’s dead,” Eref said. “The dogs are going to eat it.”
“He’s not quite dead. I’m going to help him. Fire dogs eat plenty; there’s no need to let this poor animal die for their greed.”
Both fire dogs started to bark, baring their teeth at the Exile and Eref.
“They’ll kill you for it.”
“Help me save the ocanroc, Eref. In turn, I’ll help you save the world.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Use your power.” The Exile stepped closer. The larger dog bent its head down and growled.
Eref didn’t understand. The Exile could perform magic – Eref had seen him produce food out of nowhere –, but how could he think Eref capable of it?
Seemingly unafraid, the Exile walked between the fire dogs and bent over to touch the unconscious ocanroc. Not a second later, both dogs leapt on him, barking and biting. He fell to the ground on top of the ocanroc.
“Exile!”
“Come here, Eref! Pull me out!”
“I can’t! They’ll kill us both!”
“You have more strength than I do,” the Exile shouted. “Your powers can hold them off!”
Eref felt stunned. He couldn’t move. It wasn’t possible.
The fire dogs clambered on the Exile’s back, tearing at his arms and neck.
“Eref!”
With a deep breath, Eref dove down to the Exile and grabbed his arm. Suddenly, both fire dogs fell back. Yelping, they ran away in opposite directions.
A tiny shadow came from Eref’s palm. It felt the same as the light he and Caer had shared in the jungle, but here it was a gentle darkness.
The Exile looked up with a smile. “Excellent,” he said, standing with the injured ocanroc in his arms. Blood ran freely from the Exile’s shoulder, but Eref watched in awe as the wound healed up before his eyes.
Eref stared, amazed. “Am I doing this?”
“It’s your ability to protect.” The Exile pulled some leaves and stones out of his pocket and rubbed them over the ocanroc’s wounds. Within moments, it opened its eyes and breathed normally.
“But how do I do it?”
“You haven’t learned to control your power yet. But now you’ve learned it exists. The rest should come soon.”
Eref pulled his hands from the Exile and looked at them in wonder. “What else can I do?”
“Your hands have the power to save people in danger. Don’t rely on it to reverse death—no one has that kind of power. But you are able to protect the living.”
“How was I protecting others by shutting off the lights in Light World?”
The Exile looked very serious. “It is your destiny. There is only one thing you will need that power for.”
“What will I have to do?”
The Exile put the healed ocanroc on the ground. It nuzzled his ankles sleepily and sat in the ground at his side, utterly tamed.
Next, the Exile fished around in his pants pocket and brought something out. After a few cautious glances around, he ushered Eref closer to the mouth of the cave, ocanroc following obediently, and showed him
a tiny ring with a light blue jewel.
With a voice like the breath of wind, the Exile whispered, “The Moonstone.”
Eref couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “How did you get this?”
The Exile dropped it into Eref’s hand. Unlike the warm shadow from his palms, this ring felt cool to the touch. Its stone seemed to swirl with the clear color of a morning sky.
“Aren’t the Governors supposed to keep this locked up?”
“Every twenty-eight days, I’m required to meet with the Governors to transfer life to them from this ring. The Moonstone is kept in a special case that only they and I know how to open. Access requires breaking through a series of riddles. After your stoning was scheduled, I knew I had to get to work. It was time to take back the Safety.”
Eref could barely breathe. He was holding the most valuable item in all of Light World. “You stole the Moonstone?”
“Yes.”
Eref shook his head and extended his hand. “Then you can get your power back. You can stop the Governors.”
“No,” the Exile said, rejected the ring. “My magic is still bound, and I can’t control very much anymore, especially at my age. You are different.”
“Won’t they come here looking for it? Don’t they know you have it?”
The Exile smiled. “Never underestimate the paralyzing effect of fear in powerful people.”
“They’re afraid of you?”
“Possibly,” he said. “They’re definitely scared of this cave. Every time they come through, they fall silent and become very rigid. A few close their eyes. I think this place reminds them of their vulnerability.”
“What is their vulnerability?”
“When your life depends on the power of one stone, every part of you is vulnerable,” the Exile said with a hint of victory in his expression. “The very thing that keeps them alive can end them in the blink of an eye.”
“But… what am I supposed to do with it?” Eref held the ring in his hand, unsure how to feel. Part of him was transfixed by its beauty. The other part of him wanted to get it as far away as possible. If Eref was a high-priority case for the Governors, he could only imagine what they were doing right now to locate the Moonstone.
A glimmer shone in the Exile’s eyes. “You have an unknown metaphysical energy. I opened that hole in the ground to save you from the stoning. It took all of my power to do that.”
“What do you mean? How can your power run out?”
“As I said, they’re keeping me alive. I should have been dead hundreds of years ago, if nature had been allowed to take its course. I get only a limited amount of energy every month, and that is supposed to be used to transfer life from the Moonstone to them when we meet.”
“But instead you used it to save me?”
“Exactly. No one else has the ability you do. When your execution date was set, I knew that I had to give up my power to keep you alive.”
Eref couldn’t believe this stranger had risked so much for him. “What did you do when it came time to transfer the life to the Governors?”
“I was admitted to the Shade a week ago for my monthly duties, but this time I obviously didn’t have the energy to perform the life transfer. I’d already used it on you. So instead of being caught, I took the ring and left.”
“Just left?”
“There are several hours when I’m alone with the Moonstone to prepare the ceremony. It was easy to escape. I’ve never had a reason to steal it before now.”
This was too much. The Exile had placed everything on him. Eref didn’t think he could handle the responsibility.
“But what do you need me to do?” He felt more and more apprehensive. What if he wasn’t the right one for the job, after all?
“Take the ring and use it to defeat the Governors. Protect it just by holding it, and you will bring back the Safety.”
“How?”
“Do you know that shadow you created just now? And the light that appeared when you held onto Caer?”
“I was helping Caer. But I don’t know how it happened,” he said. “It was different with her. When we let go, the light continued. In her hand and mine.”
“That was an ancient magic only two people can make together. When you needed to protect each other, you and Caer both used your strength to heal your wounds and heighten your senses. You worked together to call upon your power for a stronger light. Caer couldn’t have done that with Vul or me or anyone but you. It’s your special power that initiates the magic. Only you can control the light and shadow.”
“And that is what I need to stop the Governors? I just have to protect this ring from them?”
“In a sense. But it will be different when you protect the Moonstone,” the Exile said.
“Different?”
The Exile looked Eref straight in the eyes. “I’m sorry, Eref. This is the part you won’t like.”
As if there was any part of this that Eref liked. “What do you mean? You’ve given me the Moonstone, which you stole, and you’ve told me I have to use it to bring down the Governors and revive an extinct world. What else is there?”
His heart banged inside of him, and he felt so nervous he was almost angry. Blood pumped furiously through his veins as he looked at this old man who was asking him to save the world. No one could save the world alone. That was impossible.
“When you protect the Moonstone, it will not be as simple as when you protected me or Caer.”
“Why? What will happen?” Eref looked at the ring in his hand. Shining, silent, and serious. He waited for an answer. When none came, he looked back at the Exile. “What will happen when I protect the Moonstone?”
The Exile frowned. “I am sorry, Eref. You will die.”
Chapter Thirteen
Training
Eref’s blood suddenly felt cold even in the warmth of Light World.
“It’s your purpose,” the Exile said with a somber face as if it were already decided, as if Eref were already gone.
He had to be joking. Maybe the Exile meant it figuratively. Maybe he meant that Eref’s life would never be the same again, or something. The way Eref thought of Balor as “dead.”
“I know you’re afraid, but—”
“I’m not afraid,” Eref snapped. “I just don’t understand. What do you mean, I’ll die?”
“I mean you won’t live through it.”
He had to be hearing this wrong. “You want me to kill myself?”
“If you choose to look at it that way.”
Eref was incredulous. “How else am I supposed to look at it?”
“You will die to save the world. It’s a little different, I think.”
“Well, I don’t think!” he shouted at the old man. “There has to be another way! I’m not going to die for some stupid ring and a story about an imaginary world.”
The Exile looked at Eref and said, very matter-of-factly, “If you think about it, you should be dead already. What difference will it make?”
That was enough. Eref strode as fast as he could back through the cave. He ignored the Exile’s calls. This had been a waste of time. He needed to get Caer and tell her it was time to leave.
“Eref,” the Exile said behind him. The old man could hobble more quickly than made sense. Eref hated metaphysics, whatever they were.
“Leave me alone.”
“Don’t run away.”
He whirled around. “Why shouldn’t I? I don’t know you, and here you are telling me to go on a suicide mission to ‘save the world.’”
The Exile caught up with him and faced him with a look of confidence. He even smiled, which Eref found particularly offensive, given the current topic. “You will make the right decision in the end.”
“Yeah. I’m deciding to live. It sounds pretty right to me.” He turned and headed for Caer again.
“Think about it, Eref, before you decide,” the Exile called after him. “Think of all the people you could save with that gem you hold.”
Eref looked down and realized he still had the ring in his hand. “Take it back,” he said, tossing it into the dirt of the cave. “I don’t want it.”
The Exile didn’t react. He kept his eyes on Eref. “This is our chance to change everything. Only you can do it.”
“It’s not happening,” Eref said. “Thanks for the food.”
The Exile hobbled after him. “Wait, Eref. I still need to train you for the maze of riddles in the Shade.”
“You don’t need to do anything at all,” Eref said. “We’re leaving.”
But when he got to the middle of the cave, he saw something that stopped him in his tracks.
“Hello, Eref.”
His jaw dropped. There, in the cave, stood his old friend, Balor. Bleeding, broken, and pale.
“Balor—”
“Don’t come any closer,” Balor said, “or I’ll kill her.” He limped aside to reveal Caer, bound and gagged on the mattress. She looked up at Eref with wide, horrified eyes.
“Caer!”
“Don’t go near him, Eref,” the Exile said from behind him.
This was his best friend. But he looked....
“What are you doing here, Balor?”
“I’ve come to kill the traitor.”
“What?”
“He’s not himself anymore.” The Exile walked so that he stood between Eref and Balor. “It’s part of the plan I was just describing to you. To ensure their own immortality, the Governors have taken his soul.”
Caer made a frantic sound from under her gag.
“No,” Eref said. There stood his best friend from childhood, madness in his eyes and a mixture of mud, grass, and blood on his clothes. Near Balor lay Caer, her arms and legs tied together with vines, and a ball of cloth stuffed into her mouth.
“Get out of my way,” Eref said. He pushed past the old man and ran across the cave to his friend.
“Eref, don’t—” The Exile’s voice was firm.
But Eref didn’t listen to the Exile. His glance darted from Balor to Caer and back to Balor again.
“Let her go.”
“Gladly,” Balor said with an evil grin. “Fight me for her.”
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