by Elina Vale
Shea let out another roar, and the spell of ripping burst through Eavan’s shields. Eavan’s grip on her Fountain loosened as the hateful power of the ripping washed through her.
She fell to her knees.
“Oh, thank the Star!” Shea gasped. “I finally possess the magic of the great Eavan Firestone! Oh, how delicious! So pure... So full of light. How many more years will her lifeforce bring me? Ahhh, I just love it!”
Eavan’s heartbeat slowed, and the vibrant colors of the world faded from her sight. With one final pop inside her soul, the Fountain vanished. She fell onto the cold tiles.
Her magic was gone.
Shea placed her boot on top of Eavan’s cheek and laughed. “I wish old Aldemar could see me now! Firestone, the most powerful senatai of our time, defeated with but a spell! She is nothing now but a ghost.”
Slowly, Eavan’s sense of identity withered away, and she felt nothing but the will of the Black Star.
CHAPTER 25
SOLIGE HAD VANISHED, leaving Shri standing in the cottage with no weapons except the wand in her hand.
“Please, Jogen,” she begged, taking one step to her left. “There is more at stake than you realize!”
Jogen laughed. “Yes, there is: my life! When I was on the mainland, she discovered me. Shea Ziragh. Just before we met you. She offered me two choices: either be ripped or become her willing servant. I preferred the latter.”
“I don’t know what she told you, but...”
“She told me to find you and keep an eye on you until I could get word back to her. When Mahox removed your ma’tera bracelet on the ship, she found you, and she sent those senatai to attack our ship. I thought my job was done, but you managed to avoid capture. Once we were off the ship, I knew if I could get hold of you and take you back to the Mistress, she’d reward me greatly! I merely had to wait until you wandered off on your own, and then it was a simple matter to follow you.”
"Jogen, there are other ways! Shea is not a goddess.”
“Oh, but she is,” Jogen said. “I have seen her power. We are as dust beneath her heels. None of us stand a chance against her; not you, not the senatai, and not the Mairas. When she makes her move, I will be on the winning side. She has power! So much power!”
“There are things that Shea doesn’t know! Help me, and I’ll find a way to break her control over you!”
“All you’re going to do is give me that stick and come with me back through the pond. When we are on the other side, you will create a magical door to the mainland. I will deliver you and the wand to Shea, and then she will know me as her most loyal supporter!”
“Do you think she values anyone but herself?” Shri took a step backward. The only thing behind her was the door to Emba, and she refused to let Jogen step into that holy place. “I don’t know how to create a traveling portal. Don’t you remember? I’m a trainee who can’t use her magic properly!”
“Then we will flee this island by ship. Either way, Shea will get what she wants.”
“Let’s talk about this, Jogen.” Shri snuck a tad to her left, toward the table. The kitchen knife was on it. If she could get her hands on the knife, she could defend herself. She had no idea what his magical dagger could do, but she had no choice. “A dagger won’t help you if I use magic.”
“This dagger keeps me safe from monsters like you, inhuman beings wielding unnatural forces.”
“Well,” Shri said, taking the last step toward the table. “Then it’s good I have something other than magic!”
Shri snatched the knife and flung it at Jogen. It bit into his shoulder. He grunted, but simply pulled the blade out and came at her. Shri tried to strike his face, but he blocked it with his hand. She dropped down, swooshing under his arm and rushing towards the door, but Jogen snatched her by the ankle and dragged her to the floor. She twisted around and kicked him in the nose. As he stumbled backward, Shri pulled herself up and raced out of the cottage.
She had run a short distance when an excruciating pain in her calf brought her down. Crying out, she fell onto the grass. Jogen’s magical dagger protruded from her leg, sending pain up the entire limb.
He stalked calmly towards her. “Now, was that smart? She never said I had to deliver you in one piece.” His eyes gleamed. “You will do as I say, and from now on, you will address me as Master.”
He opened his belt.
Shri slowly wrapped her fingers around the dagger on her leg. The hilt burned her hand, as though it recognized the touch of a senatai. Her flesh sizzled, and she fought the urge to cry out. Biting her teeth together, she pulled the dagger out of her leg and tossed it as far away as she could. Stumbling to her feet, she took the Heart of Senatai into her hand and dove into her Fountain.
Jogen stopped and his eyes grew wide. He looked in the direction Shri had tossed the magic-blocking dagger.
“You really should have kept that dagger for yourself. I’ve had enough of this.” Shri’s eyes blazed, and the wand in her hand responded by bursting with bright white light. Her anger throbbed inside. She was faintly aware that she should rein in her emotions, but she was beyond caring. All the sadness, all the pain, everything that had happened to her after she had left the Pit escalated to this moment.
"I didn’t ask for this!” she cried, intoxicated by the rush of magic. “I asked only for the power to help my family!” Even the rotten taste in her magic didn’t deter her. “I never wanted the pain, the sadness, or the blood! And now, I want it to be over! ALL OF IT!"
She let the magic fly. White glitter floated from her fingers, slithering through the air toward Jogen. He lifted his hands in front of his face, but it helped nothing. The white powder gleamed in the moonlight, surging into Jogen’s mouth, ears, and nose. He started to scream. Shri felt a beautiful rush of magic and power, growing brighter and brighter. The world around her was ablaze with colors. She drank in the energy with great joy.
Then the truth hit her.
What am I doing?
With a sharp gasp, she cut off the magic. She fell to her knees, staring at her shaking hands and the wand she clutched. Her stomach churned. Desperation brought tears to her eyes.
Jogen crouched on his knees, and even in the dim light of the moon, Shri saw that he had lost all of his color. He was but a grey shadow of himself.
He was a ghost.
I’ve RIPPED him.
Shri vomited into the grass.
Jogen sat silent, kneeling in the meadows. Wind waving his hair, he stared at Shri, emotionless. She collapsed onto her back and cried out.
How could I have done this?
Her heart clenched.
I am the same as Shea Ziragh. I am my enemy. My enemy is me.
She stared helplessly at the moon, hoping it would take her pain away. Rivers of tears soaked her cheeks. The booming pain in her gut grew harder.
Evil. I am evil. A monster.
Jogen had been right. Magic was unnatural. Wrong.
How can I ever look another human in the eye? Eavan was right to be suspicious about me. She was right that I needed to learn control. I’ve failed.
She gazed into the night sky to see a shooting star cross the heavens.
She had killed Dago in the Gate Run, and it was in self-defense. She had killed the senatai who attacked her and Teron back on Senatai Island, and it was in defense of him. And she had slaughtered the one in Glasswater, but again, in defense.
Now, she had ripped Jogen. He wanted to rape her, to violate her against her will and then deliver her into the hands of her enemy. Once more, she had been forced to act in the name of self-preservation.
How does one rip a human being in self-defense?
She laughed bitterly.
I’m not a killer. Not in my heart. No matter what these senatai and warriors and kings do to me, whatever plots they suck me into, all I’ve ever wanted was freedom. Freedom from suffering for me and my family. I will not allow them to destroy my soul. I WILL NOT ALLOW THEM TO MAKE ME I
NTO A WEAPON!
Her heart felt black, so broken that she suspected nothing would ever mend it. Jogen stirred beside her, along with the memories of everyone who had died at her whim.
They already have.
Father was captive in the Spike. Susu’s legs were gone; was she even alive? Javid was inside the Spike... if he had survived the wound he had received during the Run. Teron was somewhere, studying his obsessions.
Slowly, the sobbing ended. Shri sat up, wiping her tears away.
Teron.
Wasn’t Teron building a spell to reverse the ripping? If his theories were true, he could mend Jogen with that spell. It was Shri’s only chance at redemption. Stumbling to her feet, she decided that she had to save Jogen, no matter what evil he had done.
There was much to do. She couldn’t stay here and weep her heart out. Everything was up to her.
“Come on, Jogen,” Shri said. “It’s time to go home.”
Ghost-Jogen stood up and shambled towards Shri, his eyes staring dully forward, his face lifeless. Shri swallowed and pursed her lips together to prevent them from trembling. This would be her punishment. She would carry the knowledge of what she had done to Jogen until she found some way to reverse it.
She walked towards the forest path in front of her. The grassy hills had turned into dark and shadowy plains, and in Shri’s mind, they were filled with monsters. Images from the Gate Run flashed into her mind, the endless corridors in the stone-manor, the tunnels in the cave, the beasts in the jungle. The forest remained far, and Shri felt as though she would never reach it. The more she doubted, the farther the tree line seemed. Shaking off her misery, she shut her eyes and concentrated until the path came to her.
Glancing behind, she noticed that the ghost followed her obediently.
She was still squeezing the silvery wand in her hand. She needed to put it away to be able to swim through the pond’s secret hole. Tucking it under her waistband, she covered it with her shirt. Her eyes caught the glimmering markings on her arm, but she rolled the sleeve down to cover them. The meaning of them was clear to her; she had the right to make a claim on the throne of the Thunder Islands, but she would never want it. Could she actually do it? Could she persuade the Mairas to support her? And what would Tarinna Goldring do when she found out? The vision Shri had in Emba was clear: Herion Goldring had killed the clan leader Garmand Moon-Storm. What did that mean in this community? Shri knew nearly nothing about their laws. Maybe killing a leader was a legitimate way to gain power.
After traversing the darkening path, Shri arrived at the pond. The moon had vanished behind gloomy clouds. She could barely see in front of her, let alone see anything in the water. A crackle behind her startled her until she remembered the walking mark of her crime.
The ghost.
It swayed slightly when standing, but it didn’t show any understanding of what was happening. Shri remembered how it had felt when the High Master had almost ripped her. But she also remembered the thrill, the exquisite feeling of energy flowing through her from Jogen’s soul. She could almost understand how people like Aldemar and Shea became addicted to the sensation.
Jogen had slain many men. He was a traitor, a rapist, and a murderer. An evil man. But even a wicked man didn’t deserve to be ripped. Nobody did. Executed? Perhaps. But to be trapped between life and death, at the mercy of someone else’s whim, not even aware of one’s own existence?
That sort of magic could never happen again. Not to anyone. If it that meant destroying Shea and her wicked stone, then that would be Shri’s mission. Shaking all the gloomy thoughts from her mind, she cast an orb of light. Her goal in her mind, and without looking back, she stepped into the pond.
PART 3
CHAPTER 26
JAVID AND TERON WERE dressed as pike-holders. Earlier, they had taken down a couple of skinny-looking pikes, Javid striking them down with his magic. He tried not to wonder if they had survived or not. He had simply bound them down, gagged them, and tossed them into the darkest alley he could find. He wanted to tone down the voices inside that insisted those pikes were innocent, and he had to figure out how to let go of this constantly stinging guilt. Before the Gate Run, before the senatai and their magic, he had been good. He wasn't anymore. Now, he could never return home to his family; not when he had become this violent, obnoxious monster.
After dressing as pikes, he and Teron had gotten easily through the gates to the First Ring. The masks concealed their faces, and nobody seemed to care about two pike-holders returning to the Spike. When they made it into the tower, Javid led them down the stairs, then to a quiet side corridor. They took their masks off.
Javid fingered the pendant. Shea and Doria would clearly be on the lookout for his presence, magically scouting for him, but he was back in the tower and nobody had come for him.
Maybe it works.
"Now what?" Teron asked. "We need to find a ghost servant."
"We’re in the storage corridors,” Javid said, exploring his surroundings. “They come here all the time. All we need to do is stay hidden and wait for one to walk past us.” He peeked behind a corner but saw nobody. The tower was silent. It was past supper time, and all the senatai were probably in their rooms, practicing their skills or getting ready to sleep. Sneaking in to the Spike had been easy and Javid understood why. Shea was like a spider and the Spike her web; all who came in got stuck in it. Getting out was the hard part.
A buzzing sound emerged into Javid’s head. He tried to shake it off, but it only became louder and more constant. He hung his head as his mind filled with images of horrors; a jungle, a young woman’s face... a cave, a desert... gray eyes...
Shri!
Javid remembered.
He remembered who the other survivor was. It was Shri. And it hadn’t been Shea Ziragh who contained his memories, but someone else: a beautiful, dark-skinned, senatai. He recalled it all now. He had agreed to it. In order to keep Shri safe, he had agreed that the senatai should take his memories.
Shri...
Javid recalled her smile, her beautiful face, and her courage. She had pushed him through the last gate to save him because he had been stabbed and poisoned. In spite of her sacrifice, Shri had survived.
Joy caroused through him. Shri is alive!
"Hey," Teron said. "Are you okay?"
Javid opened his eyes. “Memories that were taken from me have just returned. I know who the other survivor of the Gate Run was!”
“What do you mean?” Teron asked. “I know of only one survivor, a young woman.”
Javid grabbed Teron by his shoulders and stared at him. “You know Shri?”
Teron nodded. “Do you?”
“How is she? Where is she?” Javid shot Teron with questions. “How did you meet her?”
“Shush,” Teron gestured him behind another corner. “She is... engaged in important matters.”
“Oh...” Javid’s eyes grew wide as all the pieces he had worked to reassemble fell into place. “Shri must be the one who killed the previous High Master! She’s the daughter of Merrilon Moongale. That’s why Shea desires him!”
How could he have forgotten Shri? An image, a memory from the Gate Run surged into his mind: Shri sitting with him in a cave, her face smiling from behind the flames of a bonfire... before Dago arrived and ruined it all. And when Shri had been forced to kill her childhood friend in that cold house, Javid had felt such closeness with her in that brief moment between the horrors. Only such a short time they had known each other, yet still he felt like he had always known her. “Someone took my memories away from me. All my memories of Shri and the Run.”
“Who? And why?”
“I don’t know her name. She was a senatai, dark-skinned and beautiful. Very powerful. Before I was discovered by the Spike senatai, she found me exiting the Run. I was hurt and poisoned, and she told me that she couldn’t take me with her because I was so severely injured. I never saw her again.”
Teron grew pale. “Eav
an. It must have been Eavan Firestone.” He set his hand over his mouth,
his eyes full of horror.
“What’s wrong?”
Teron’s shoulders slumped. “If Eavan was containing your memories, and now they’ve suddenly returned to you, it could mean that she’s dead. And if she is... Well, I’m afraid we may all be lost.”
At that moment, a powerful explosion from the upper level shook the tower. Javid and Teron looked at each other.
“I think we have to modify our plan,” Teron said.
“Do you think Eavan is up there? Do you think that they all are?” Javid asked, secretly hoping that Shri would be there as well.
Teron pushed up his sleeves, checking his backpack and counting his items. “I know Boa’s up there. And where Boa is, so too is Eavan. Let’s go!”
“Wait.” He grabbed Teron’s sleeve. “What about the ghost you need for your studies?”
Teron straightened his shoulders and pulled the pike-holder's mask back on. “Without Eavan and Boa, my studies don’t matter. We need to help them.”
He looked so brave and so sure of himself that Javid could not help but feel small at his side. Javid’s heart flinched with fear at the thought of facing Shea. “Shea... The High Mistress is not an ordinary senatai. She is a creature of great power, capable of untold evil.” He was overcome by the urge to escape. He could give the pendant back to Teron and flee, but what would that make him? He would be remembered as a coward who abandoned everything he cared about when things got heated. If there was a chance to help these others, he needed to take advantage of it. It was the only way he could reconcile the crimes he’d committed under Shea’s control. If, at the same time, he could help Shri, even better.
“You don’t have to come with me,” Teron said. “But I’m going on. If I had the chance to help and did nothing, how could I look into the eyes of my future grandsons and explain to them that I refused to stand up for my friends due to fear?”