Arbiter (The Arbiter Chronicles Book 1) (19 page)

“Apologies, dear,” said Elrithea, smiling. She waved her hand, and her own plate automatically filled, the glass beside her filling with a dark, burgundy wine. “...As far as age is concerned, to me you are all children. The distinction comes from action, not years.”

Mika blinked in surprise, staring at Elrithea. Rae hid a smile at the look of complete shock on Mika’s face, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. The younger girl settled back into her seat, quieter this time as she picked at her food.

“…Think she just called you immature,” said Rae with a small smirk as she leaned forward, taking a little from the dishes that looked interesting and placing them on her plate. She wasn’t a picky eater by any means, but she also had never really been the type to stuff her face, even when the opportunity presented itself. She avoided the more exotic dishes, settling instead on the common staples Elrithea presented.

Cathel, as always, seemed completely at home. She envied him his ability to read an unfamiliar situation and act as though he belonged. Although she knew now that Cathel hated his time in Laria Tower, when she first met him, she wouldn’t have been able to guess that. It was a talent she did not possess.

Still, she had to admit, the food was good.

“Wine?” offered Elrthea, turning towards Rae and Cathel. Mika didn’t speak up this time, or ask to be included. Rae looked up at Cathel, and saw the mage give an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

“…No thank you,” she said.

Elrithea turned towards Cathel, who shook his head as well. “I respectfully decline, High Lord,” he said.

“Suit yourselves,” said Elrithea, summoning another glass for herself. “It is probably for the best. We have much to talk about this evening.”

“This evening?” asked Rae, turning towards the High Lord.

“Yes,” said Elrithea. “We must discuss the circumstances under which I will gift to you my Decadal Spell. That is why you came, isn’t it?”

“Well…yes,” said Rae.

“You seem disappointed, Arbiter,” said Elrithea, setting down her napkin and giving Rae a knowing look. “Are you not pressed for time? Did you not wish for a speedy resolution?”

Rae met Elrithea’s eyes. The High Lord seemed honest, but Rae had seen the subtlety with which she had put Mika down earlier. She didn’t doubt that Elrithea was capable of better tricks than that. The old man had referred to her as the queen of intangible things…

She looked away to mask her suspicion. “I’d honestly expected it to take longer. High Lord Alcian kept me for a week before she taught me her spell.”

“I am not my sister, I assure you,” said Elrithea. “I want nothing more than to see you quickly on your way to the next High Lord, so this madness can be dealt with.”

She eyed Elrithea again, trying to get any sense of falsehood from the High Lord. Elrithea watched her, the expression in her eyes almost hurt that Rae questioned her motives. Rae took a deep breath, nodding once as she looked back at her plate. This whole scenario didn’t feel right. Elrithea should
be doing more to test her as Arbiter. Alcian had said
that all the High Lords would, and although Elrithea seemed more relaxed than her sister, Rae doubted that she would forego a test entirely.

She wouldn’t just trust Elrithea's judgment on this. It was already clear that Elrithea hated Alcian.

She felt as if she was on the verge of discovering something—some great trick, or some great danger that they were walking into. But she also felt herself being pushed forward, powerless to stop it.

She had no choice. She had
to deal with Elrithea.

“…Of course, High Lord,” she said, finishing up her meal.

Elrithea rose gracefully from her seat. “Then if you are finished.” The three of them followed her to their feet, some more reluctantly than others. Elrithea smiled, stepping away from the table and waving her hand at the door on the far side of the room. It swung open into a dimly lit corridor.

“I would like the three of you to accompany me for a walk.”

As they stepped from the dining room to the threshold, Mika let out a quiet gasp, turning around to look at her reflection. Rae immediately cast her eyes to the ground, ignoring Cathel’s questioning look as she stepped closer to Elrithea. The hallway was lined with mirrors on both sides, the only non-reflective surface coming from the floor. She scowled as Elrithea cast her a knowing smile, leading them down the hallway.

As the High Lord walked, she spoke. “It takes a certain amount of courage to face the Thief. Courage that I hadn’t known was possessed by anyone in the Daylight Realm. It makes me wonder why you, of all people, had been targeted by him. Do you know, Arbiter?”

“…Because I could see him.” It was the only answer she had. For now, it would have to be good enough.

“And do you know why you could see him?” asked Elrithea, looking at Rae over her shoulder. The condescending smirk was back on her face again. Rae realized at that moment that she hated it.

“I don’t know,” said Rae. “I guess it’s because I’m Arbiter.”

Elrithea looked away, the smile still on her face as she led them down the corridor, looking very much like a wisp of shadow herself. “…Have you stopped to consider that your logic may be backwards, Arbiter?” she asked. “It is entirely possible that he hunts you because you are Arbiter, and you are Arbiter because you can see him.”

Rae frowned. “Why would seeing the Reaper make me the Arbiter? It’s not exactly the best qualification.”

Elrithea smiled. “Why indeed? But let us assume you are right, and that your line of thought is correct. Then tell me this…” She held up one finger, looking back at Rae. “Why are you Arbiter?”

Rae stared. Of all the questions the High Lord could have asked, she wasn’t expecting that one. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I assumed it was just random.”

“It is never random,” said Elrithea. “When you go to see the Sisters, they will question you. If you do not have an answer for them, that is where you will die. But we shall see soon, if your becoming Arbiter was happenstance or fate.” Elrithea walked forward, the smile still on her face.

“Understand this well.”

Rae stared as the High Lord seemed to fade further and further into the distance, the corridor stretching on no matter how fast she walked to catch up with her. Elrithea continued to walk at the same speed, but somehow, she seemed to get farther and farther away, the corridor beginning to stretch and fold into itself. Her eyes widened, Elrithea’s voice echoing in the rapidly changing corridor.

“…I do not bow to happenstance.”

Behind her, Mika let out a scream. Rae’s eyes widened, and she whipped around, her hand going to the knife Alcian had given her. Too late, she realized her mistake.

Her reflection looked back at her, wide-eyed, from Elrithea’s mirror.

Rae jerked her head, attempting to look away, but it was too late. Her eyes landed on another mirror suddenly, one that hadn’t been there the first time she looked. The hallway was filled with her reflections, and they were all staring at her, surrounding her on all sides. She felt herself drawn to them, felt them pulling her in…

The last thing she felt was the sensation of the mirror glass parting like water as she slipped through it, falling down into its depths.

#

The sound of the ceiling fan’s slow rotation cut into her dreams, shaking her out of her sleep. Rae stirred, one hand sliding underneath her face and pressing up against the carpet as the other tightened its grip on the cool plastic object in her hand. She groaned, opening her eyes as her fingers splayed out on the slightly bristly carpet beneath her. She looked around, blinking as she took in her surroundings.

She was in a bare room with white walls containing a bed, a bookshelf, and a desk. Several textbooks lay strewn about the room, along with crumpled up pieces of paper and post-it-notes to remind her of homework assignments. One shelf was occupied almost completely by books, some from her small collection and others from library books she had yet to return. A simple calendar hung on one wall, reminding her in large red letters that she had a test coming up in just a few days.

She trailed her eyes to her hand, eyeing the plastic controller inside of it. Rae shifted her hand slightly, moving the controller back and forth. She ran a hand through her hair, rubbing at her eyes as she looked at the calendar again. It was the 18th of April, one full day before the day she thought Nathan had been injured and she had been sent to the Twilight Realm.

…The Twilight Realm…?

She looked at the calendar again. Sure enough, the 18th was the last day that had been marked out. Now that she thought of it, the details of the supposed 19th of April were quickly fading away.

What had happened back then…? 

…A dream…?

Her eyes drifted to the clock beside her bed. It was two in the afternoon, and she knew that she didn’t have another class until six on Wednesdays. She stared down at the video game controller in her hand one more time.

Had she fallen asleep again…?

She sat up, passing her hand over her face once as she looked up at the TV in front of her. Faint music emanated from it, a soft tune that reminded her the game was still running. The television displayed a familiar scene, a black screen that depicted a broken film reel with a glowing orb off to the center. Her eyes fixed on the words, scrawled onto the screen in ominous white text.

GAME OVER

Game…

…Over.

Rae stared at the screen in front of her, the memories of her time in the Twilight Realm coming back. No. It wasn’t a dream. She could remember it clearly—the month she had spent there and the time she had spent with Mika and Cathel. There was no way that something so expansive, something so detailed, could be explained by something as simple and fleeting as a dream.

It had been real. And yet she was here. In her own world, in her own apartment, waking up on the floor after playing video games. Had she even played any video games on April 18? She couldn’t remember.

April 18…

The day before that final day.

She got to her feet suddenly, throwing the controller down onto the ground. No. This couldn’t be possible. This scene couldn’t be real.

It was all a trick. A trick from Elrithea’s mind.

Rae reached over and grabbed her shoes from underneath her bed, slipping the sneakers onto her feet. She tied her black hair back into a ponytail, grabbing her keys off the shelf near the door before rushing out of the room. She took off at a run down the apartment hallway, taking the steps two at a time before bursting out into the city streets.

Her arm went up, shielding her eyes against the glare of the sun as she looked away. The sound of cars honking at each other assaulted her ears, the vehicles speeding past her as she stood on the sidewalk. On all sides, she could hear the chatter of people as they moved past her, the same sounds she heard every day at her university. People. Walking, chatting, talking, living their lives, worrying about tests and football games and whatever else people her age worried about.

She kept her eyes on the ground, suddenly afraid to look. Rae took a deep breath before hesitantly raising her eyes towards the crowd of people. In the Twilight Realm, it had been different. Even with Varra, even with Cathel, even with Mika, she hadn’t been able to see it.

But now, every single person around her had a slight golden aura surrounding them. Every single person that brushed past her trailed motes of gold light behind them, faint streams of brilliance.

And as she watched in shock, every single one of those gold lights faded away, changing from brilliant gold to midnight black.

Her hands shook, her mouth going dry as she stared at the auras that surrounded the people around her. Black marks. All of them. But that couldn’t be. The Reaper couldn’t target all of them. Maybe one or two, but certainly not all. This couldn’t be real. This had to be a dream.

She wet her lips with her tongue, jamming her hands into the pockets of her jeans as she took a deep breath and lowered her eyes to the ground, trying to control the racing of her heart and get herself to breathe. It was a dream, she told herself. Only a dream.

She felt the cold on the back of her neck that usually warned her of the Reaper’s passing and she quickly looked up, her eyes moving frantically through the crowds as she tried to catch sight of him—a swish of black fabric, or sunlight gleaming against the curve of a scythe, or a set of cool gray eyes. But she saw nothing. Nothing but a crowd of people passing her by on all sides as though they were water, and she was a stubborn rock in the river.

She shook her head, looking around at the people. They moved around her, but they ignored her completely. Rae took a deep breath, trying to see past the black marks and what they represented as she studied their faces. There was something off about them. For some reason, they all seemed to look similar to her, like someone had copied the same person and pasted them into the world multiple times, with a few slight edits here and there.

They looked…

They looked like the crowd in a video game. Countless NPCs that all looked the same…

Slowly, she lowered her hands, feeling her heartbeat beginning to settle. She stared at them, trying to calm herself down long enough to think.

She’d been playing a video game earlier, when she first woke up in this strange copy of her own world. What was Elrithea trying to say?

That the game was over before it even began?

Her eyes widened as she caught sight of someone, and she turned her head. A girl was walking down the street, her back turned towards Rae as she laughed with her friend. Unlike the others, she was unique. She wasn’t simply the same face, pasted onto different outlines and bodies. But what was even more surprising was that Rae recognized her, not from her own world, but from the world she had seen in the Twilight Realm.

Varra.

She looked around, her eyes fixing on the faces around her again. They were there, she realized. Hidden in the crowd, there were several unique figures, and they were all people that she knew. Her family, the energetic apprentice from the Tower, the friends she had made in high school that had long since been taken by the Reaper, the foster home that had taken her in, the teacher from elementary school that had died…

They were all there.

And if they were there, then that meant…

Cathel.

She had to find Cathel.

Not knowing where she was going, and not even knowing whether or not this was real, she ran past the crowds of people, heading towards the fountain outside of her school library. If Cathel was going to be anywhere in this world, he would be there. And if anyone would know what to do in this situation, it would be Cathel.

She found him standing by the fountain, looking around restlessly. He looked different, dressed in the attire of her world, but there was no mistaking Cathel Alvain. She took a deep breath, feeling her heart swell with relief as she ran up to him, putting her hand on his arm.

“Cathel!” she called, pulling him to face her. He turned, his eyes widening as he looked down at her. Rae took several deep breaths, resting her hands on her knees. He stared at her. She realized that she must look like a sight, with her long black hair falling out of its ponytail and her face stained with sweat, but if he wanted to comment on her appearance, he could do so later. There were more important things to think about now. Rae straightened up, about to tell him so, when Cathel stepped away from her and asked the four most chilling words that she had heard since she woke here.

“…Do I know you?”

Rae froze. “It’s…It’s Cathel…right?”

He frowned at her. “Yes. But who are you?”

“I’m Rae…” she said tentatively. “Rae Miller?”

Cathel's frown deepened. “I’ve never met you before in my life.” He slid his hands into the pockets of his jacket, looking away from her. “Sorry for the misunderstanding. I’d stay and talk, but I’m waiting for someone.”

“…Waiting for someone?” asked Rae, looking around.

“Yeah.” He scanned the crowd, using it as an excuse to subtly step away from her. Rae simply stared at him, her eyes wide as Cathel’s expression lit up in a soft smile.

A girl stepped out of the crowd, heading over to Cathel. She looked older in this dream, but there was no mistaking Mika’s joyful exuberance, her blue eyes shining as she ran up to Cathel and linked her arm with his. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said. “Ready to go?”

Cathel grinned at her, his eyes growing warm. “Yeah. Come on. There’s this place I know you’ll like…”

Rae watched as the two of them walked away, frozen in place. As they walked, Mika leaned forward, and even though she whispered, Rae heard it as clearly as if the other girl had shouted the words.

“Who’s that girl…? She’s kind of weird…”

No.

This couldn’t be happening.

She’d been so sure…so sure that Cathel would have all the answers. He always did.

Rae couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. All she could do was stare as the crowd rose up, swallowing Mika and Cathel into its depths.

#

Sunset found her sitting on a bench on one of the main campus walkways, staring as cars zoomed past on the road across from her. She watched as people continued to pass her, the sun’s fading light casting long shadows on the campus grounds. She felt sick to her stomach. She knew that this world wasn’t real, but she didn’t know how she was supposed to get out of it. Her magic worked, but it seemed like she was the only one aware of its effects, and no matter what she did with it, it did not affect anything she threw it against in this world. It was as though she didn’t have it, as though she were back to normal. She had tried to go to her class, in the hope that that might provide her with some sort of clue, but her name had disappeared from the roll, and her professor had said that there was ever anyone by the name Rae Miller in that class in the first place.

She felt like a ghost, a phantom in her own world. No one knew her, no one saw her, no one cared about her.

There was a time when she would have given everything to feel that way, to not have to worry about anyone getting attached so that no one could be targeted by the Reaper. There was a time when trying to achieve that had been her whole world.

She hated it now.

Rae took a deep breath, feeling the cold stone of the bench underneath her. She felt tears begin to gather in her eyes again, and she took a deep breath. She hadn’t cried since her parents died. She wouldn’t cry here, now, and for what?

Because Cathel didn’t remember her?

Cathel didn’t know who she was?

Cathel couldn’t help her?

That was a good thing, right? It was wrong of her to become so dependent on Cathel. Cathel had no responsibility towards her. He had no reason to care. She needed to learn to let him go, because otherwise, she was just going to drag him down with her.

Cathel should leave her alone.

This was how things should be.

Rae felt moisture on her cheeks, and she drew in a shaky breath, brushing her fingertips against the side of her face. They came away wet and she stared down at her hands, her vision beginning to blur. She drew in another breath and felt the wetness grow, droplets of water trailing from her eyes down her cheek and over her chin, before forming dark spots on the light blue fabric of her jeans as she sat there. She tried to stop, but the more she tried to stop, the more the tears fell, until at last she was doubled over on the bench, her arms hugging herself tightly as her body trembled. She didn’t sob, she didn’t make any sound.

But the tears continued to fall.

She couldn’t do it, she realized.

She couldn’t let him go.

Neither him, nor Mika…She couldn’t do this alone.

This vision where no one cared about her, this vision where no one saw her or gave her a second glance, this vision that was supposed to be her paradise, her haven of solitude…

This was hell.

She wanted…no, she needed them back. She needed them by her side. They were her friends, and she would do anything…

“Anything, Arbiter?” asked a feminine voice from behind her.

Rae’s eyes widened, and she looked over her shoulder. Elrithea stood there, her attire having changed from her black gown to a black business suit, black skirt, and heels, with her hair tied up in a loose bun. She pulled the sunglasses off her face with one delicate hand, folding them up and exposing her bright gold eyes. Rae tensed, immediately jumping off the bench and wiping at her eyes.

“How did you know that?” she asked.

“You are in my realm, Arbiter,” said Elrithea, “And when you are in my realm, I see all.”

“What have you done to my friends?” asked Rae, using the word willingly for the first time.

Elrithea made a dismissive gesture, like she was flicking dirt off of her fingertips. “They face their own trials. The Cathel Alvain and Mikaela James that you see here are mere illusions, products of your mind.”

Their own trials…? Rae’s eyes narrowed, and she felt for her Source, her hands beginning to glow with a faint light. “What have you done to them?”

“I have done nothing,” said Elrithea, staring at her. She didn’t move, showing no signs of reacting to Rae’s display of force. “What they do, they inflict on themselves, in the same way that you are trapped in a prison of your own making. This is your test, Arbiter. I am watching to see what you will do.”

The light around Rae’s hands flared brighter, signaling how serious she was. “…This is my test,” she said. “Not theirs. You leave them out of this.”

Elrithea’s eyes traveled towards Rae’s hand, and she raised an eyebrow. “My sister’s magic? Really? Do you really think such a paltry effort will harm me? I am Elrithea, High Lord in my own right. It will take more than Alcian's party tricks to defeat me. But if you really want to free your friends…then I’d suggest you turn your strength elsewhere.”

Rae paused, slowly unclenching her fists. “What?”

Elrithea's smile widened into a smirk. “You know what today is. There is a reason your mind chose to recreate this day. You know what tomorrow is.”

Realization dawned on her. “The 19th of April…”

She saw it again in her mind. Nate, shouting as he ran up to her. The mugger, raising the gun in his hand almost automatically. A single, deafening crack. The smell of gunpowder.

And Nate, falling, falling, falling…

“Exactly,” said Elrithea. “My mirrors reveal your deepest fear. What is your fear, Arbiter? What monster will you have to fight tomorrow? What evil haunts the far corners of your mind…?”