Secret of Words

by Allyson Huber

  “I’m fine,” I muttered, but I had a headache, my ribs hurt, and my stomach was churning. I couldn’t believe I had just stabbed the Shadow Bringer with a sword. Earlier, when I took out that kitchen knife, I had only withdrawn it to intimidate the guy. It was a form of self-defense that I probably would’ve never used. But I had actually stabbed the Shadow Bringer.

  “Natalie got kicked in the ribs,” Emilie said meaningfully.

  Shay checked my ribs, but proclaimed nothing was broken. “Well, you seem perfectly fine. You’ve done a great job, Natalie. You should be proud of yourself, coming here on such short notice.”

  Shay smiled at me, but I didn’t smile back. She wasn’t giving credit to Emilie and honestly, Emilie was the one who really should get the praise. My face burned, remembering how easily the Shadow Bringer had disarmed me over and over again while I was trying to help Emilie.

  Emilie didn’t seem to notice my embarrassment. “She has a lot of potentials, that’s for sure.” Shay glanced towards the glowing orbs providing us with light and a troubled frown spread across her smooth skin.

  “Emilie, you have also done extremely well. This was your first recruit mission and an unexpectedly challenging one at that and I will make sure to tell James. There’s no time to lose, however. We need to get to Sybra before any more Shadow Bringers join us. I’ll transport us to the gates.”

  I was a bit overwhelmed, realizing in a rush that Aughmortor was actually a real place. Emilie’s story was true, unbelievably so. I was standing on a parallel universe and somewhere in this world was my mother. Thinking about my mother gave me mixed feelings, but I tried to stay positive. I will find out about you, mother. Whether you are dead or not. I will figure out who you were and what you were.

  I vowed to myself that I would continue searching for the answers to my questions involving her. I just prayed that she was still alive to give them to me. Most of all, I wanted to meet her after ten years. To show her how I had changed. Where had she been all this time? My thoughts fell irrevocably on what the Shadow Bringer had earlier said.

  But you’re simply a recruit that doesn’t know anything about true power or this world. I could show it to you, Natalie. I can tell you want to feel power by the look on your face. I could show you true power. Just think about it.

  What if my mother had been a Shadow Bringer? What if that was the reason why no one had a record of her? The thought forced my hands to curl into fists. I wouldn’t let my own future be clouded by her or my better judgment. I had to take in all I could of Aughmortor instead of trying to dwell on the possibilities. Thrilling chills crept up my arms. I wanted to be the best Ones of Within member I could. But that was ambition, wasn’t it?

  Don’t try to take more out of the necklace than it shows. All of the necklaces are full of secrets.

  What if Emilie was wrong? What if the necklace wasn’t full of secrets? What if it was as straightforward as it seemed? Emilie grabbed my arm, shaking it and jolting me abruptly from my thoughts.

  “You believed enough to bring us to Aughmortor.” Emilie smiled at me, trying to pull me from my dark thoughts.

  “Truthfully, I probably wouldn’t have believed you if the Shadow Bringer hadn’t attacked me earlier.” I admitting, giving the Shadow Bringer an appraising glance.

  An overwhelming sense of pleasure swept away my disturbing thoughts. It was strange how much I had wanted their stories to be true. As I turned to Shay, I could still see that apprehensive expression on her face. She must’ve seen the look on my face when I was thinking about my mother and the necklace. Shay’s mouth opened to say something, but then her lips shut with a snap. She averted her gaze to the Shadow Bringer on the floor, still struggling with the knots keeping his arms and legs pinned together.

  “I have informed James we’re coming. Just stay still as I transport us all there.” Shay said finally.

  The Shadow Bringer turned away and didn’t seem to care what we were doing. I couldn’t help feeling a bit of pity for him. I wasn’t sure what the Ones of Within would do with him, but I hoped that they let him go after they got information from him. While he scared me, I still didn’t want any harm to come to him at my expense. I turned to Emilie.

  “You said that there were four other recruits?”

  “Two of them arrived yesterday, but I’m not sure about the third,” Emilie replied.

  “Silence!” Shay ordered.

  Her words quieted us as she started spewing out Jakost. The wind started to pick up around me and whipped at my hair as the words started getting louder. The lateness of the night was starting to take a toll on me; and I was getting tired since it had been a long day. Suddenly, I was moving in a circle, a tight circle, and my legs were moving faster and faster than they had ever moved before. The shadowed surroundings blurred in front of me as they flew by.

  For a few moments, I entered a world of white blankness. I stared at the never-ending light, recognizing that Shay’s magic was transporting us. It was different than the transportation from Earth to Aughmortor. We weren’t dropping from the sky and I could keep my eyes open even though it made me a little dizzy. The blank surroundings were peaceful and quiet; there wasn’t a single noise or object in the desolate place. Still, there was something ominous about the blankness. The white was so still I almost believed for a split second that I would be trapped here for eternity.

  The whiteness disappeared and left me in front of a huge, ornate iron gate with the words Sybra engraved in the top. I couldn’t find any locks or chains holding that gate’s doors together, but I suspected it couldn’t be opened. Somehow, I could feel a mystical quality about the gates. There was something more to them than their elegant appearance. Did someone have to let us in? Beside me, Emilie and Shay appeared. Finally, the hurt Shadow Bringer joined us with a sullen expression on his face, still held securely by Shay’s ropes. Emilie walked over to me looking a bit dazed from the transportation. The strings of white light wrapped around the ornate iron entwining of the gate, helping us see amongst the darkness. I looked eagerly through the gates of Sybra, looking for anything that might tell me what to look forward to, but I couldn’t see anything.

  “You won’t be able to see anything yet…” Emilie began.

  “As I’m sure you know, we’ve been transported to the gates of Sybra. In a few seconds, the gatekeeper, Stellah, will ask for information about the purpose of our visit and our names. He can automatically tell if we are speaking the truth or not. If we are, he’ll let us into Sybra.” Shay said, putting a hand lightly on my shoulder.

  “How will he be able to tell if we are lying?” I asked.

  “Stellah is one of the most trusted members of Ones of Within. His job is one of the most important ones we’ve ever had. His Vatra gives him the ability to tell if a person is lying or not. If a person comes upon the gates and they aren’t telling the truth, Stellah won’t let them in.” Shay replied.

  “Where is Stellah?”

  “Just beyond the gates are his gatehouse. It can’t be viewed until we’re inside. I’m sure you noticed that you could only see darkness past the doors right now. A strong curse holds these gates. If someone tries to break through by force, the curse will attack the person. They’ll be impaired forever until they die.” Shay touched the iron gates, causing my heart to beat faster for a second, but nothing happened, and she withdrew her fingers.

  “How does he sleep? I mean, it has to be late.” I yawned, wondering what time it was. I was tired, so it was kind of hard to focus on all of these details even though I recognized how important they were.

  “Usually, he won’t let anyone in past nine, but we’re an exception. However, on some occasions, he uses special magic or potions to keep himself awake. It helps his body believe he has been fully rested. Usually when Stellah crashes from lack of sleep, James will find a substitute.” Emilie said, shrugging her small shoulders.

  “Sounds like one hell of a job,” I said sarcastically.

&
nbsp; “Whose there?” A man’s voice asked. Stellah’s, presumably. I could tell from the business-like manner of his voice that Stellah took his job seriously. Emilie put a finger on her lips and pointed at Shay.

  “This is Shay and Emilie from the Ones of Within as well as our new recruit, Natalie Quinn, and the mysterious, unnamed Shadow Bringer, Emilie and Natalie brought down only a few minutes ago. He’s tied up and hardly dangerous,” Shay replied calmly, in a self-assured tone. I knew she’d probably talked to Stellah on many occasions. Maybe, that’s why there was an ironic edge to her tone when she had spoken of the Shadow Bringer. The Shadow Bringer glared at Shay before meeting my eyes. I turned away quickly, not wanting Emilie to notice my attention was getting distracted by the Shadow Bringer. The next minutes passed as we waited for Stellah to reply.

  “What is your purpose in Sybra?” Stellah asked finally.

  “We would like to bring Natalie into Sybra to meet the Ones of Within and to learn of her new life and home. Emilie and I would like to join our friends and family. The Shadow Bringer will be taken to the dungeons, most likely after James persuades him to share some information with us.”

  The gate doors swung open after another minute of waiting. Shay said a few quick words in Jakost and the Shadow Bringer started floating in the air beside us as we walked into Sybra. The gates closed behind us after we had barely gotten through the gates, startling me.

  “It’s important for the door to be shut quickly, just in case someone is hidden in the shadows waiting to dive through the gates while they’re open,” Emilie explained, “They wouldn’t get far anyway, but its a precautionary measure.”

  My first impression of Sybra was hard to comprehend. There were so many different things that attracted my attention. Firstly, it was much different from any city I had been to on Earth. A black iron fence encompassed the edges of the city or at least the parts I could see. An incredible amount of torches lined the streets and produced enough light to see clearly about the dark city.

  To the right, I assumed was Stellah’s gatehouse. The gatehouse was made of long planks of auburn wood and had a dome-shaped roof of copper metal. A brawny man with a thick beard of dark hair waved at us through a large glass window, smiling widely with a slightly goofy expression. Through the window, I could see tall rafters holding the roof intact. The gatehouse was massive compared to the ones on Earth. It looked more like a house or a small mansion.

  “How are you doing Stellah?” Shay asked warmly.

  “Stellah lives in his gatehouse. That’s why it’s so big. Only James and a few other Ones of Within members are allowed in there. I’ve never been into his house, but Shay probably has. There are a lot of magical charms that stop people from entering.” Emilie explained, looking at the gatehouse wistfully.

  A lot of the problems around here were fixed by magic, it seemed. I could tell Stellah was an important person just by the level of work spent on his gatehouse and towards his protection.

  “Hello, Shay, Emilie.” Stellah dipped his dark head good-naturally. “It’s nice to meet you, Natalie. Good luck, I hear they’ve planned a massive celebration for the recruits tonight.” In person, Stellah’s voice was huskier and his words were faintly slurred together.

  The last thing I needed was a celebration; I was tired enough as it was and about to fall asleep right in front of him. Instead of grimacing like I wanted to, I smiled unconvincingly at Stellah.

  “Nice to meet you too,” I replied.

  Emilie waved at him briefly before walking ahead.

  “None of us really know how his system works. I suspect he uses loudspeakers or some sort of magic to project his voice, but I’m not sure.”

  I noncommittally nodded in reply, before focusing on my surroundings again. There were long lines of wooden houses on the sides of the street with dome-like roofs. I could tell some of the buildings were stored by the brightly colored signs. None of the buildings were more than seven feet tall, and the roads were made of hard-packed dirt with signs of wear.

  In front of each of the houses were a few feet of the garden where shoots of beans and tomatoes grew; I recognized them vaguely because my mother used to have a garden when I was a kid. I remembered one day when I was pulling at the bean shoots in the dirt that my mother came running over, screaming, and grabbed me roughly by the arm. That was the last of playing in the garden, and I wouldn’t forget the terrifying expression on her face and her smoldering gaze that I withered underneath. While it was a bad memory, I had a lot of good memories planting with her and using our tomatoes to make homemade tomato soup. She loved the garden, I thought wistfully, but after she left my father let all the plants dry up. That was the end of gardening for us.

  Tonight, it was very quiet on the streets of Sybra, but a few people were sitting outside their houses, talking softly among each other. Most of the houses were dark and silent, proving that most of the town was asleep. There were no porches on the front of the houses either. Instead, the people sat in chairs or cross-legged on the ground.

  “The first time I came here, I was overwhelmed with the difference. Sybra is miles and miles long. The small gardens in front of the houses don’t provide food for the city. Most of the farms are outside of the city, protected from outsiders by magic. As you can see, the people here don’t use cars, or there’d be tire tracks on the ground,” Emilie bent, pointing at the dirt street “They don’t even use bicycles. People walk when they want to get somewhere or use magic or horses. There is a small population of people in Sybra who have proper teachings in magic, but that’s mostly just Ones of Within members. Most people here are content to live a nice, peaceful life, taking up a job that makes them happy and occupies time.”

  “People are very laidback here, and usually everyone gets along with each other. There’s only trouble sometimes in the Ones of Within because many of the new recruits grew up on Earth and Earth is very different from here.” Emilie finished.

  I continued to look around, processing Emilie’s words. I couldn’t imagine that people didn’t argue with each other here. That seemed unrealistic, but I had to see Sybra in the daytime to fully judge it. Shay joined us after a few minutes of talk with Stellah.

  “People don’t use things such as cell phones here, and they wear a large variety of clothes here that you probably have never considered wearing. The people of Sybra are against technology, and most believe it is harmful and not how people were meant to live. They also believe magic shouldn’t be used in substitution of work, but sometimes it is necessary.”

  I thought it was a good thing that people worked here and didn’t use technology to do things for them. That means that people here were hardworking. On Earth, it was all about creating the most efficient way of getting something done; robots, recordings, and machines were slowly taking out many jobs. While I was particularly attached to my phone and computer, I would have to get used to the differences in Aughmortor. I was pretty excited about the idea of magic though. Magic had endless potential, in my opinion, and could do a lot of the things that technology could.

  “There’s a shop in Sybra that’s used to sending messages to people or creatures in faraway towns. The shopkeeper knows magic, and for cheap prices, he’ll send a message to them. It is a way to get in touch with people without them having to carry a cell phone around. That’s just one example of how we get by without technology here.” Shay walked ahead, waving at a group of people talking together. They all stood abruptly and bowed their heads in unity.

  “Members of the Ones of Within are treated at the highest respect. So are the soldiers in the army. We are their protection, and without us, they would all die,” Shay said softly, her eyes turning cold. The people raised their heads and waved in return.

  “Welcome home!” One of them called to us.

  “May your hearts and minds rest in peace furthermore,” Shay said formally and dipped her own head.

  I turned to glance at the Shadow Bringer. He was trailing b
ehind us, his feet only a few inches above the ground. He looked ashamed, and I didn’t blame him. I wouldn’t be very proud if I was tied up in ropes and trailing behind my captors like a dog on a leash. The Shadow Bringer sent a vicious glare my way as though he knew what I had thought.

  “The Ones of Within and soldiers live in the largest building in Sybra. The building’s called the Kartica. There is also a large amount of land within its walls that’s used for training. Miles and miles of space,” Emilie said.

  “Do people ever train outside of Sybra?” I knew that Emilie had told me that Sybra was the only place where the people were absolutely safe, but I thought it might be interesting to explore Aughmortor outside of Sybra.

  “Not very often, but don’t think you will be in Sybra forever. The Ones of Within frequently sends out patrols of members to clear out any enemies near the city. If we can help it, we keep the Larta and monsters as far away from here as possible.”

  “Has anyone ever broken into the gates?” I asked.

  “Yes, there was an attempt once. But the doors shut before the person could get in. He hit the gates hard and was cursed immediately.”

  “What does this curse do?”

  “If you do foolishly attempt to enter the gates by force, the curse takes over your mind. When you carry this curse, you can’t think for yourself. People who have been cursed usually walk aimlessly about Aughmortor until a monster finds them as an easy kill for dinner. The curse tries to kill you,” Shay replied ominously.

  “What if it’s a mistake? What if you’re a Ones of Within member that’s being chased by the Larta, and you need to be let in?”

  “The curse can be removed by Stellah and a few others. If he recognizes it is a Ones of Within member, he’ll open the gates and use magic to bring the cursed One of Within members inside. Then he’ll remove the curse. However, if the gates don’t close in time, and someone gets in that shouldn’t, Stellah will kill him automatically, or he will summon the Ones of Within to take care of them. One person did get past the gates once, a member of the Larta. Stellah killed him in seconds.”