by Iyanna Orr
“There is not much time for me to tell you everything you may need to know,” he said, and Chandler realized that the old me was talking to him. “On Earth, there is an army, suffering years of anger; waiting for you. They will be your army; the men you need to have the numbers to defeat Drake. There are also men who have been expecting my arrival, but my time in this world is short. You must convince them to trust you.” There was a dull but firm slam that echoed into the room with us. Chandler turned to look at the door, and the man’s breathing picked up again.
“My time is almost upon us. When you reach the mountains, you will have to prove yourself, whether through battle or magic. Make certain that you are tested by your magic; it is the only thing that will be able to save you. Now, you must leave. Go back,” he said urgently.
“Go back to where? How did I get here?”
“You have much to learn, nephew,” he said, and there was a smile on his face as he raised a bloodied hand and muttered in a language Chandler couldn’t distinguish. The room disappeared, and he woke up.
Chapter 6 – Monsil
Chandler opened his eyes and sat straight up. The empty room in front of him made him frown as he blinked his heavy eyelids and struggled to his feet. He bounced haltingly on his injured ankle and then took a step in the direction of the cell door. The guards weren’t there anymore, and the hall was lit with torches, casting shadows that disappeared down the hall. Raised voices were echoing back to him, but Chandler couldn’t make out what was being said. He turned away from the door, his stopping when he saw Rory leaning against a wall and staring at the dirty stone.
“What happened? Where’s Dane?”
“Once they caught me, they didn’t seem to care about the dog,” Rory sighed. “Wherever he is is far better than being in here. They’d been waiting for us to run, so we were all caught and dragged back here.”
“Where are they?”
“The guards came and took them about ten minutes ago.” Rory nodded his head toward the bars. “They’ve been arguing out there ever since.”
Chandler caught sight of the bag lying at Rory’s feet. He went over to it and pulled out the book, flipping it open. At first sight, it was written in a language that Chandler could never hope to read, but then the unfamiliar lettering began to rearrange itself on the page. Surprise, he blinked, and when his eyes landed back on it, the words were back to normal.
“You didn’t have that before, did you?” Rory asked crouching down next to Chandler and gazing at the page. Chandler shook his head. “Where did you get it?” Chandler hesitated as he started to tell Rory. Would he believe that Chandler had a dream about the book and that it had just been there when he woke up? Considering everything that had been happening to them during the week, Chandler thought he would. But the sound of keys entering the lock of the cell door rang to them. He slammed the book closed, holding it between tight fingers as the door slip open. The guard waiting on the other side gestured them out. As Chandler went, he waited for chains to be clamped around them, but the guard only started leading the way without looking back. Rory and Chandler exchanged glances as they followed but said nothing.
When they stepped into a large chamber, Chandler's eyes drifted up. Mixed among the stone surrounding them was dirt packed tightly between sizable fragments of rock. Roots, dead or alive, were just barely traceable among the deep brown of the soil. Tight at the top of the room, where the curved ceiling joined together in a bowl, was a large winding turbine Chandler could feel sucking out the fine dust hanging over their heads. His wings shuffled against his back, still contained, before they settled.
As Chandler’s eyes turned down to the congregation waiting for them, he became aware of the hissing whispers that followed him as he walked to Max’s side. Michael, on her other side, was holding his hands in fists as he fought to keep from removing his swords from his back. Both of their fiery gazes rested on a man who stood across the room from them. He seemed to be the leader, as the crowd looked to him as silence fell.
“How is it you two were able to get off-planet while the rest of us were left here to fend for ourselves?” he asked, and Chandler knew they were stepping into the argument that had been going since the Dukes had been brought here from the cell.
“We don’t know,” Michael answered. Despite the lie, his voice was calm. “What we do know is that we were put onto a shuttle and flown off of the planet. We landed on Earth, and Max told me she believed we landed there for a reason.”
The man’s hand came up to point in Chandler’s direction. “And he’s the reason? Based on what grounds?”
“Because of the prophecy that was delivered when we were born.”
The room went quiet, and Chandler suddenly realized that it wasn’t Drake who was behind their capture. These were the Monsilian people… or what was left of them. The ones who’d survived the destruction was brought to their planet. He looked around the room, seeing in people’s eyes what must have been the day their home was taken from them. In them was horror, fear, curiosity, and hope that was building even as the standoff continued in the middle of the room. Those eyes turned to him, watching, waiting. Twelve hours ago, Chandler hadn’t known that he was born for a reason, let alone the purpose fate seemed to have given him.
The book suddenly grew warm in his hands, and he looked down at it. It was slowly burning, obliterating the worn cover to reveal a word printed on the front of it. Chandler looked up at the man across from me as the animal skin fell from the book.
“What is a bestiary?” he asked in the silence.
“The Bestiary?” the man whispered, though the sound carried in the cave. The sneer melted from his face, and Chandler felt Max turn beside him to look down at the book. “Where did you get that?” His eyes turned down toward it.
“I don’t know. I think I got it from a dream.”
“A dream?” The man’s glare came back as his face turned to Chandler. “You received the only Bestiary in existence from a dream?” Chandler’s eyes narrowed, and he held onto the book tightly.
“That’s exactly what I just said.”
“How could an insolent little Nephalem get his hands on the Bestiary?” the man asked of no one. Chandler just watched him as his eyes flickered from himself to the book in his hands. “You need to turn that over to the people who know how to use it, boy.”
“Go to hell,” Chandler snapped back at him. “Who are you, anyway?”
“I am Gideon, the last remaining vessel of the Elders.”
“I’m skeptical about your claims, Gideon,” Michael hissed. “If it were up to me, I would cut the truth with you right now. The last I heard, the Monsilian people had decided against a leader with absolute power. Yet, you stand here claiming them as property.” A rustle went through the surrounding crowd, and Michael’s lips turned up slightly. Max put a hand on his arm, and that single touch removed the smirk. An impassive look settled over his face, and a man stepped out from the crowd.
This new citizen crossed the space that separated the four of them from the people and held his hand out to Chandler. He studied the man, taking in the dirt settled into the crevices of his shirt and the loose fit of his pants. His feet were bare, like the others, but they were deeply scarred and encrusted with the dark dirt that covered the walls and floors.
Chandler took his hand and shook.
“I’m Damian,” the man informed him. His eyes wandered over Rory at Chandler’s side and then to Max and Michael on his other side. A smile tugged at the tired lines on his face. “It’s good to see you two again.”
“I could say the same to you, Damian,” Michael said, smiling.
“I want to invite you to stay with my family,” Damian went on. He curled his hands together in front of him nervously as if he, too, could feel the heavy gazes of the crowd on them. “I don’t know how long you’ll be here, but I know your father would have appreciated the gesture.” Chandler looked to Max and Michael, but they were watching eac
h other, having some silent conversation. Then, Max looked at Damian and smiled.
They walked out of the large room and emerged in something that could have very well been a lost city. Towers, buildings, and houses were built of the same stone as the room they’d just left. Walking along the streets, there were no vehicles or polluting machines. Animals roamed freely, having no definite home among the people. Patches of vegetation grew along the road, probably the crops they lived on. Nobody seemed to be bothered by all the walking, but the roads probably stretched for miles.
When they reached Damian’s home, there was a woman and a girl waiting. When they moved closer to them, Damian introduced them, to Rory and Chandler, as his wife, Claudia, and his daughter, Nimue. His daughter gazed at them closely before she offered to show them around.
The Monsil houses were nothing more than the essentials. There were couches in the family rooms, fire pits in the kitchen for cooking and a water system Chandler didn’t understand. The outhouses were located around the back of each house and were surrounded by flowers with heavy, but sweet, odors. Nimue explained that the outhouses were just about the only things that were created using the magic of the people. The flower indigenous to Monsil, and that was what kept the smell from overwhelming everything.
When they finished looking at the house, Nimue took them to see some of the more popular shops and people around town. They didn’t go far from the Petersen house, but they met some Monsilians who were pretending not to spy as they walked. By the time they got back, the candles in the chandeliers lighting the town had been dimmed, and it was time for bed. Max and Michael volunteered to take the family room while Rory and Chandler were given cot mattresses to set up in the library.
They were lying on the floor, eyes wide open and gazing up at the dimly lit ceiling. Every room in the house was high, and it was rare to catch a glimpse of a fully lit ceiling. The room was lit, though, by the fireplace on the other side of a grand bookcase.
“What are we doing here?” Rory asked sometime after they’d settled. “We’ve been dragged into something we know nothing about. The last thing I expected was to be carted off to some place that definitely isn’t Earth. We should be on our way to my grandparents’ house; calling my parents and telling them not to worry.”
“None of this makes sense to me either,” Chandler said. “When we got in that car, this is far from where I thought we’d be. I didn’t even think stuff like this existed. But this feels right. Being here, nothing has ever felt as natural as knowing there are all these other worlds out here.”
“This place is a wasteland, Chandler. These people are barely surviving down here. If this Drake ever found out they were hiding down here, he’d just come back and finish what he started. It sounds to me that you’re better off on Earth.”
“And that’s why I should stay. I can help them.”
“You’re just a kid. What could you do?”
“I don’t know, but I could try. Whatever this is, it feels like home. Here, I’m not the only abnormal one.”
“This can’t be your home just because you’re not all human,” Rory argued. “You heard Max, just like I did. What you are isn’t supposed to exist. By what Gideon thinks of you, I doubt curiosity would keep their minds from remembering that you’re an abomination. Whether or not you want to admit it, you don’t belong here, and they don’t want you here.”
Chandler stayed silent as the burning logs crackled in the fireplace.
“I’m not supposed to exist. So what? That doesn’t mean I don’t have a place somewhere.”
“That’s not what I mean.” Rory sighed. “It means that you make yourself a home, and you’ve already done that in Washington.”
“Whatever I had when we were in Washington is over, Rory. Everybody back there thinks I’m dead.”
“Layla and Chris know you’re alive. They still care about you, and you just can’t leave them behind. What about your parents?”
“They’re not really my parents,” Chandler told him. “My real parents were killed; Drake a Zafrina replaced them. And it was all probably just a plan to get me here in the first place.”
“More dream stuff, right?” he asked. “Because I vividly remember you ranting about how you weren’t allowed to sleep. In fact, I yelled at you in the middle of a very crowded Oregon street.” Chandler rolled his eyes at his tone.
“I just misinterpreted a message. I thought I wasn’t supposed to sleep. Besides, it’s not like I went to sleep on purpose. I honestly can’t remember anything after telling you to go get the room at the hotel. And then when I wake up, you tell me it’s been three days.” Chandler sat up and looked over at Rory. “For an entire three days, I slept and watched where my life began. I watched my parents die. Everything that happened back then is important because the man I thought was my dad has killed me several times over the last three thousand years.”
“And all of this has to do with a prophecy engraved in their family mausoleum?” Rory shook his head and sat up, bringing a knee to his chest and wrapping his hands around it. “It just doesn’t make sense to me.”
“I don’t think it’s supposed to. You’re human, remember?” Chandler laughed. “You’re the one who’s supposed to be the star of the football team. Maybe if they hadn’t killed my real parents, you would be.”
“I like the life I have, Chandler, whether or not we’re stuck on a planet I know nothing about.” There was no humor there, and Chandler knew he was serious. “Blood or not, you’re my brother, and I’m gonna be here, watching out for you like I always have. Besides, if I’m all you’ve got at this point, then I need to make a good impression, right?” Rory settled back down and turned away. “Now, go to sleep.”
Chandler didn’t go to sleep. After Rory’s breaths had evened out, he got up from the cot and went to sit in one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. The book was sitting on the table, and he picked it up, staring at the new cover. The word “Bestiary” stared back up at me like a promise. Whatever this book was for, it must have been important. Chandler settled himself into the chair and opened it, coming to the first page. The edges were frayed and worn, but the inside was smooth and slightly discolored.
This time, the words were in English when he opened it. The page was filled with neat writing, but the thing that caught his attention was his name being the first word on the page. He scanned the writing for a moment, barely taking in the words. After mulling over the signed name, he returned to the top and read the letter.
Chandler,
When you finally read this letter, you may or may not know who I am. I’m not sure if you will find this before or after our meeting, but I will start from the beginning, just in case.
My name is Haakon Dickson. When I was nineteen years old, you visited me, borrowed my body and were supposed to make sure a man called Garrow died. While you succeeded, you received a power that you never knew the full extent of.
Garrow is not who he claims to be. When he took Drake in as a child, he knew exactly what he would grow up to become. He took him in because he knew that if he didn’t, Drake would have been taught by someone who would hold nothing back. When he gave you his power, he gave you all of it. This isn’t unheard of when it comes to sorcerers old in their age, but this is different because he was not just an ordinary sorcerer. Garrow is a fallen god, Chandler, kicked from his pedestal because he felt too deeply for lesser species. The power you now possess is ancient and more dangerous than anything Drake could ever imagine.
It’s been fifteen years since you left, and that is what I have been chasing all this time. Copelyn and I have hunted his story from dimension to dimension, and all we can tell you for sure is that the power will kill you if you cannot control it, especially since you’re already cursed.
You rarely acknowledge your shape-shifting curse, Chandler, but it will not be ignored when there is another power trying to take over. You will change, one day, and you will not be able to stop it. You will
become a completely different person, and you will hurt people. Your destiny has been written and rewritten so many times among the stars that your existence is no less than a miracle.
I don’t have much time. Copelyn thinks we’re being followed, so we must keep on the move. Just try to remember one thing when you change; remember who you are.
Haakon
Chandler reread the letter many times before he finally moved on to the next page. There were no more letters addressed to him specifically, but he read each entry and tried to remember the things the Bestiary told him. A lot of the time, he was reading about the girl, Haakon’s daughter, Copelyn. Everything he read showed him how she’d been raised a hunter, alongside Haakon. Chandler marveled at how he could keep his nightlife separate from the growing girl and read of Haakon’s guilt of introducing her to the dark world of other species when she grew too curious.
Haakon hadn’t just given his life to this book; he’d given it to Chandler.
When Damian went to wake them, he found Chandler a fourth of the way through the book. Chandler forced himself to stop reading and took the book out to show the rest of them. He already knew what the book meant to them, but he couldn’t wrap his head around why they worshiped it so much. Had they never seen what was inside? How did they know the book would be valuable without even seeing that the only thing contained within its pages was the pain of a man and his daughter?
It took only a minute to wake Rory, Max, and Michael, but Damian left Nimue and Claudia to sleep. They gathered around the dining table, and Damian lit the candles in the chandelier above their heads. The book was lying open on the table, the words illuminated. The flames cast shadows along the table and threw broken beams of light. After they all had settled into their seats, Chandler turned the book to face Damian, who sat across from him. Max leaned closer to get a look at it. A strange expression crossed her face as she grabbed it for closer inspection. Damian didn’t argue but sat back in his seat and gazed curiously at Chandler.