by Phoebe Nix
Karlol wrapped his arm around her neck, guiding her head toward him.
“Is anything I’m saying making any sense?” she asked.
“It’s accurate,” Karlol confirmed.
Until this moment, Karlol had had his doubts about Jocelyn being the savior. But the Oracle had chosen her. And Aela handpicked either the most corrupt of people to warn them against the consequences of their actions, or heroes destined to benefit the people of Vogel.
Karlol could feel Jocelyn’s quickened pulse as she trembled in his arms. The only time he had seen her in a state like this was after she had seen that recorded entry in the research center. He was going to set out for battle, and he had to find a way to tell Jocelyn the news without feeding her anxiety.
He gently pulled away from her, running his fingers through her hair before planting a peck on her head. “You should get some rest. We’ll resume our talk tomorrow.”
“But then I saw the future,” she added, her eyes completely spaced out, as though she had been hypnotized.
“What?” Karlol turned to her.
“Karlol, we have to go to the catacombs. There’s something there that will save us all. I’ll know the way if you just fly me there.”
Karlol slumped his weight back on the bed, letting out a confused laugh. “I really do think you need to rest.”
“Stop telling me that,” she snapped. “I know that ever since I came here you’ve been struggling to take me seriously. My actions haven’t exactly made it easier. I know I can be a little silly and clumsy sometimes, but I know what I’m talking about. Take me there.”
“I can’t,” Karlol replied tersely, propping his forehead in the palm of his hand.
“Because you don’t believe me? Because you don’t trust me?”
“Because there’s a war coming,” Karlol confessed, clamping his eyes shut, as though he expected a high pitched lecture.
“Are you fucking serious? And you’re just telling me this now?”
“It was decided yesterday,” Karlol explained. “My uncle fears that the humans will find a way to attack us here. They already have, and they nearly killed me. He wants the nip the threat in the bud before they encroach any further.”
Fear suddenly sunk into his bones as he recalled that he was several hours away from risking his life once again – only this time, he would be doing it willingly, which made it even worse. He had been avoiding Jocelyn all day, avoiding this very moment. He hated having to say goodbye to her, in the event he never lived to see her again.
He was as infuriated as he was confused. If she really was the savior, then it made little sense that he was forced to fight a battle that could end up with many of his people dead, including himself. He felt a jolt of pressure in his chest, like his heart was about to explode, his knee bobbing in a subconscious attempt to relieve his stress.
Although Jocelyn was silent, he could feel her eyes on him, her intermittent breaths streaming from her open mouth and stroking his skin. He feared looking at her lest he lose his composure.
“No,” she said after a long pause.
“I’m sorry?”
“No, you’re not going to war. I’m sorry, but you can’t. It’s irrational.”
“I can’t just not go, Jocelyn.” He finally turned to her, glancing in her eyes, then looking the other way as he continued to explain, “The King has already made up his mind.”
“It wasn’t the King’s idea,” she protested.
“But he approved it.”
“With influence. You can’t go. Not now I’m here. A woman falls from the stars,” Jocelyn derisively intoned, “and saves the planet if you let her. Isn’t that how the prophecy goes?”
“Not exactly,” Karlol murmured.
“You know what I mean, and you know that I’m here for a reason. It’s not a coincidence that I happen to be the same race as your enemy. Take me to the catacombs. There’s something there that will save us all.”
“What is it then?” Karlol snapped. “You keep saying that, but you never say what you actually saw that could save us.”
“I don’t know, Karlol. But I know you need to take me. I know we will find something extraordinary. Something that could put an end to all of this.”
“What? More dilapidated buildings with abandoned technology that you can toy with all day, while Vogels prepare for the war?”
“You really don’t believe I’m the savior at all, do you?” she climbed to her feet, turning to face him.
Her couldn’t bear the look of disappointment on her face. “I never said that,” he calmly replied.
“You didn’t have to,” she barked before storming out, slamming the door behind her.
The sudden realization that Jocelyn was trapped in a Palace in the sky struck her like a bolt of lightning in a rainstorm, and at that very moment, everything around her began to feel limiting and irritating. She squinted as she trudged through the hallway, the movement of the swaying flames of the torches bothering her. Her vision spun, but it wasn’t the bright light – just the feeling of inevitable doom.
That morning she had stressed over whether she should stay in the Palace or find a way home, but now it seemed she would be left with neither option. If Karlol went to war, she knew in her heart it would end with his death, and in turn, the fall of his Kingdom altogether. Jocelyn was sent to Lookar for a reason, and even Karlol was not going to get in her way.
She needed to find a way back to the catacombs and fast.
“Jocelyn!” Karlol called out from his bedroom. “We can talk about this.”
She didn’t bother looking behind her, and took the first swerve to the right, where Lore was turning the doorknob to her bedroom.
The woman threw her wings back, her hand slipping from the knob when she saw Jocelyn.
“Sounds like you and your new lover are not having the time of your lives anymore,” Lore said with a straight face.
Jocelyn walked over to her, glancing at her bedroom door. Lore nodded, pushing it open and inviting her inside with a wave of the hand. As soon as Lore followed, Jocelyn quickly slammed the door shut.
“You need to take me to the catacombs,” she demanded.
“As much as I am flattered by your sudden interest to socialize with me, I don’t believe the catacombs would make a great girl’s night out. Have you seen the waterfall?”
“I’m not trying to be your friend,” Jocelyn rasped, her voice thinned out from all the shouting. “I’m trying to save this city before it’s too late.”
“Come fight with us,” Lore derisively said.
Jocelyn walked over to the round table by the window, pulling out a chair and sinking into it, her eyes staring blankly.
Lore let out a sigh, and walked over to her. “So what do you want to do? Are you here because you want to vent?” She sat down on the chair across her, resting her elbows on the table and studying Jocelyn’s expressionless face.
“How can you be okay with this war?” Jocelyn chided, shaking her head.
“I’m not,” Lore replied briskly. “I think Fareej is out of his mind for even considering this. He knows well that our people can’t take another conflict, at least not yet. But it’s not in my hands.”
“Everyone keeps saying that, but if the King agreed to wage a war, he can be talked out of it,” Jocelyn protested.
Lore held Jocelyn’s steady gaze. She tried to conceal her emotions, but Jocelyn could clearly see the abject despair in her eyes, as though she had already made peace with the fact that she was flying to her death.
“Alright,” Lore shrugged. “What do you suggest we do then? Give me an alternative.”
“Catacombs,” Jocelyn repeated. “I need to go there before I can give you the answer you want.”
Lore scoffed. “You’re not making any sense.”
“I know I found my way here for a reason,” Jocelyn retorted. “It didn’t make sense when I fell from the fucking stars onto an entirely different planet, eit
her.”
Although Lore’s words were belittling, her nonverbal signals were, in a way, supportive. There was something she was trying to say, but likely couldn’t because she wasn’t allowed to. She kept glancing at the door, her nostrils flaring to check if anyone was close enough to eavesdrop.
“I can’t help you,” Lore said. “But I agree that your presence here will benefit us one way or the other. We just don’t know how yet.”
“Then why-”
Lore lifted a finger to hush her. “And if there’s something you think you should do, or somewhere you think you should go, then find a way. Even if it means begging everyone for a flight there. I can’t help you, but I won’t stop you.”
She rose from her seat, gesturing to the door.
Chapter 20
Jocelyn painstakingly resisted the urge to knock over the side tables adorning the hallway as she stomped her way to her bedroom. She wondered if Karlol would have listened to her if she had constructed her thoughts more eloquently.
The Oracle. I have to go back to the Oracle.
The spiral steps squeaked as she ascended into the musty darkness that cloaked the roof, running her way to the underground entrance that took her to the Air Room.
She knelt next to the door, gripping on the handle and using all her strength to pull it. It hammered with a bolt as she tried to force it open, but it seemed to be locked from the inside.
“Oracle?” she called out. “Are you still there?”
Letting out a huff, Jocelyn threw her head back before she climbed back to her feet and walked to the railing. The full moon hung high, clouded by a layer of mist, and the air was still. She closed her eyes and tucked her cloak tighter, taking in deep breaths to calm herself down. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, her fingers trembling on the railing the harder she tightened her grasp.
Time seemed to stop as she desperately tried to think of a way to get to the abandoned city before it was too late. She parted her eyelids, leaning over the railing to see how far she was from the ground.
She scoffed. There’s no way I could get down there without a pair of wings.
The light of a swinging lantern shone from a distance. She turned her gaze to the source and saw a silhouette approaching her with slow steps.
“What are you doing here at this time of night? Shouldn’t you be resting?” Fareej asked, his brows furrowed.
Jocelyn blinked blearily, confused as to how she could explain everything that had happened to the man who was responsible for her dilemma. Her throat was parched and her thoughts were tangled with knots of panic. She had never conversed with the man, but she had seen how impossible it was to reason with him.
Then again, she didn’t have much of a choice.
“You seem to be troubled,” he said. “Is there something I can do to help?”
Jocelyn resisted the urge to scoff. “I was just informed of the war, and it upsets and worries me.”
Fareej nodded, placing the lantern down. “You’re human after all, so I suppose it’s normal for a war waged against your kind to upset you.”
Jocelyn puckered her forehead. “What? No. That’s not what I meant. I’m worried about Karlol and everyone else flying into battle. I just feel like there’s another way to put an end to this conflict. If wars hadn’t worked in the past, I don’t see-”
“You don’t see how annihilating their species could put an end to the conflict that they started?” Fareej cut her off. “We have already tried peace treaties, and they still hunt us down. Sometimes they keep us like livestock in their prisons.”
Thin shafts of sunlight began to creep through the tree trunks and floating boulders, piercing through the darkness that enveloped them. Fareej picked up his lantern to blow out the flame. He was vehement in his arguments but, most importantly, he listened. And that was all Jocelyn needed right now.
“I’m not denying how much they have made you suffer. I know how humans can be,” Jocelyn calmly said. “And I don’t know much about war strategies, but I think a last minute attack is not exactly a sound plan. I don’t know what you expect to happen, but it might end with losses on both sides.”
Fareej shook his head. “That would never happen. But we cannot stay silent any longer. Karlol was almost killed, they captured him and-”
“I know what happened. I was there. And yes, it was brutal and cruel, but an unplanned war isn’t the answer.”
Fareej’s eyes lurched to her face as he moved closer and leaned against the railing. The corners of his mouth lifted in a grin. “What were you doing by the Air Room door?”
Jocelyn’s heart sunk. How long has he been watching me?
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I was exploring and I saw a door. I was just curious.”
“You’ve done your share of exploration on the upper floor. How did you know which room I was referring to?” he chuckled.
Jocelyn scoffed. “Because,” she stammered. “It’s on the roof where there’s access to plenty of fresh air. It just made sense.”
“I can see it in your eyes that you have something to say, but you’re afraid,” Fareej paternally murmured. “It baffles me. We welcomed you here and showed you nothing but love and support. Do you think we would suddenly turn on you when you speak your mind?”
A knot of fear welled up in Jocelyn’s throat.
“It’s alright, Jocelyn,” Fareej comforted. “Whatever you say can stay between us.”
Jocelyn regarded the man wordlessly for a moment. His lips twitched as he smiled, and the way he looked back at her suggested he didn’t plan to leave her until she disclosed everything.
“The Oracle stopped me in the Air Room,” Jocelyn began. “She said something about fate holding two paths, that one of them needed my help.”
Fareej’s eyes widened. “Go on.”
“My nerves are still stiff because I saw everything, Fareej. I saw everything that your species went through. You were majestic creatures, beautiful and free, and they caged you, experimented on you. It was so painful to watch. Your ancestors have really suffered, and I can see why humans would be the last species you trust.”
“Aside from the humans that have settled on Lookar, it’s not them we fear right now.”
“Is it the other species who experimented on themselves until they became emotionless monsters?”
Fareej nodded. “The Swarm. This is why I insisted on the war to begin with. The humans we can fight, but the Swarm? If they come back to Lookar, they will either harvest these humans to make soldiers out of them, or provide them with the tools to wipe us off the planet.”
Jocelyn’s thumb swept across the engravings on the railing, her eyes gazing out into space as she began to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Although waging a war made much more sense, she knew her vision was meant to guide her down another path.
“I saw it all. But I also saw the future,” she tersely said.
“What of it?” Fareej briskly replied. He looked intrigued, yet impatient, as though there were something he was expecting to hear.
She wet her lips, clamping her eyes shut as she recalled the details of what she had seen. “I was taken to the catacombs, and I found a monolith there. And inside it, we found abandoned technology that could easily help us rule without killing the humans,” she explained. “At least, that’s what I think we could do.”
Fareej beamed. “Well, in that case. I think we need to fly you to the human city immediately.”
Jocelyn’s face fell in confusion. “Don’t you have a war to tend to?”
He shook his head. “Karlol will be leading the battalion. Now, forget about that. We must head to the catacombs before the battle. If your vision is true, this can save many lives!”
Jocelyn smiled, throwing herself at the man and embracing him. He was shocked by the gesture and bent his spine backwards, awkwardly patting her on the head before pulling himself away.
“Thank you,” she said in a dry whisper. “No one
else seems to believe me.”
Fareej beamed. “I was once in your shoes. Sometimes, people find the crystal-clear truth hard to believe because it’s easier to stay in the darkness.” He scanned her body, his eyes stopping at her sneakers. His eyes travelled back to her face. “Are you ready to go now?”
With a wide smile, Jocelyn nodded just as her stomach rumbled. She pressed her hands to her gut and cleared her throat. She opened her mouth, about to ask Fareej a question, but he cut her off with a cursory wave.
“I have food in my coat. We must leave now,” he urged, spreading his arms.
Jocelyn swathed her arms around his waist, clamping her eyes shut as Fareej launched into the air.
Chapter 21
It was a war waged on a whim.
As if the suddenness of it wasn’t shocking enough, the lack of strategy and how casually the Vogel army had received the news made it all the more awful. They were hours away from attacking the humans with a battalion of no more than two hundred Vogels. The strength of a Vogel was nothing compared to a Swarm, but they weren’t easy to defeat either.
A hundred or so of the winged folk would normally have been more than enough to annihilate the human race on the planet; now that the method of killing a Vogel had been made known, Karlol knew that today’s battle was not going to be as successful as the previous wars.
I’m hours away from fighting the humans, and I’m here drinking tea with my Father on the palace roof. Great.
Karlol tucked his wings back, doing stretches in his stone seat as he watched the rising sun sending elongated shadows of the trees across the cotton clouds. The King sat beside him, tasting his drink with a sip before he took a deeper swallow and let out a sigh.
“What was it you wanted to talk about?” Karlol asked as he watched his dad stoically take another sip from his tea.
The way his own father refused to look him in the eye was far from reassuring.