The Crystal Bridge (The Lost Shards Book 1) (25 page)

“Then let me take the trials. I am ready. I will pass and then you must listen and see what I have seen.”

“Must we listen? Must we see? Are you strong enough to force us?”

Evandrel swallowed back his anger. “That is not what I meant, Eldest.”

The old woman laughed, a long cackle. “I know that, Evandrel da’a Losel, but I like to have a moment of fun with the initiates before they face death. You need not beg us to give you the trials. They have already begun.”

The trees creaked and cracked around him as the Grove leaned in, leaves slipping between him and the setting sun. The elderly Keitane lifted her arms and the darkness deepened as all the trees throughout the Grove and beyond turned their leaves to block the light. “Come along then. And call me Thyra. You could be dead in a few minutes. Might as well stop with all this Eldest nonsense.”

He followed Thyra into the Grove, past the sacred trees that were a part of every Keitane, brothers and sisters in a way. Thyra nodded to each one as she passed in greeting. Evandrel did the same. She went deep into the Grove where Evandrel had never gone and then stopped before a dark, twisted stone formation at what Evandrel guessed would be the center of the Grove.

Black spires of oily stone reached up and out of the ground in a roiling mass that in the dying light looked to slither and slide over one another. The formation sent chills down Evandrel’s spine. Hate, fear, sorrow, shame, and pain rolled through his body as he looked upon it, these emotions emanating from the cold rock in waves he could almost see. Evandrel fought for control.

“Wha…what is this?” His voice shook.

“This is where darkness entered our world a thousand years ago. Our brethren called it forth to cleanse the world of humanity, using the Sacred Grove’s power to aid them. This is the threshold of Rho, a small piece of a god frozen in stone forever.”

Evandrel had always had faith, but he now looked upon the embodiment of all his beliefs. “The legends are real then? The Sidra A’Tynine really called forth Rho?”

“Yes. Our dark brethren have waited in the North for us to forget their trespass against nature, against the Grove and the Prophets, but we will never forget. And apparently they wait no longer, but we are ready for them. We are Light Bringers and we will stop them when they try again.”

“You think they will try?”

“I do. I think they have begun.”

“Were you alive when they did this?”

The woman cackled again. “How old do you think I am, my boy, a thousand and forty?”

“Of course not. That was foolish of me.”

“Smartest thing you’ve said since you stepped through the gate. My grandmother told me stories. Her brother broke away with the Tyninians and murdered their father. Terrible times. We very nearly destroyed ourselves with our hatred.”

Evandrel reached out toward the formation. He stopped just short of touching it.

“You can touch it. I cannot say it is fully dead, but it will not hurt you. It serves as a reminder of what has come before and what we may face.”

Evandrel allowed his hand to move forward. The glossy cold stone seemed to reach out to meet his hand.
Cold, pain, darkness, hunger, hate so deep it burned, hate for humanity, for anything living beneath the light and air.
Evandrel ripped his hand away.

Thyra laughed again. “It cannot hurt you, but that does not make it pleasant. Turn your hate and anger away, Evandrel. It will not serve you well here.”

“You want me to just forgive the Tyninians who murdered our people and the humans who hunted us into hiding?”

The Eldest nodded. “Too many have passed the trials and still hold their hate close like a familiar childhood blanket. Your friend, Hasla is such.”

“I would be proud to be like Hasla.”

“Would you? Pride started all of this. We felt we were above humanity, and our pride spawned a desire to cleanse the world of humans at any cost. We allowed hate to blind us and we very nearly brought destruction down on our world and many other worlds I would guess. Think on it, please, if you survive the trials.”

“I will. Thank you, Eld—Thyra.”

“Thank you, Evandrel. You have brought a human unharmed into the heart of Ha’Freyne when I did not think such a thing possible of you or almost anyone else I know. I hope that your actions may break a terrible cycle. Are you ready?”

“Yes. I am.”

“Then you have until the shadows reach you. Create your light, young child, and become a Light Bringer. You will know when to begin.”

“Wait, Thyra. What shadows?”

She gave him a forsaken smile and then walked away, her light globe bobbing along behind her.

The sun must have set while they talked, leaving him in absolute darkness without her light, the seething stone at his back breathing hate and pain into the night air. He took a step away from it.

Lights winked to life at the edge of the Grove, a perfect circle. The globes illuminated the faces of the witnesses to his trials. Evandrel glanced around, looking for Hasla. He found her to his right and gave her a brave smile. She smiled back, but he saw fear in that smile.

What shadows? Cast by their lights? No, this should be more dangerous than that.

The Eldest broke into song, interrupting his concerns. The others joined in, one by one, and then the trees closest to the ring of Light Bringers shivered, shaking their papery leaves. Song, melancholy and sweet rolled through the Grove. Evandrel had only heard the trees’ music from a distance, pretending to sleep as a child while staying up each night hoping they would sing. The song of the Grove filled him with hope, love, light, pushing the dark voice of Rho at his back away.

Blue light leaked toward him from the edge of the Grove as one by one the trees caught the song and let loose their light. This left Evandrel in the darkest part of the Grove, shaded in the black stone of Rho.

He watched in fascination as the Eldest held up a ceramic vase. She unstoppered it and dumped the contents to the ground at her feet and then stepped back behind the circle of light.

The dark mass that fell to the ground looked like molasses, but Evandrel let his mouth fall open as the dark liquid swirled and moved away from the light, breaking into pieces and shrieking like children in pain. The wailing cut to his heart and chilled his soul.
Shadows?

The shadows broke and stretched until Evandrel could count half a dozen of the creatures. He watched as they swam around the Grove, battering themselves against the circle of light, looking for weaknesses.

Their screams reached beyond the limits of hearing, their wails stinging Evandrel’s ears and mind. Hate, pain, sorrow, and fear bubbled back up inside him as the stone called out to them. The stone of Rho sang in his veins. Part of him wanted to reach out to the shadows, touch them, let them in.
It would be easy.

He pushed the thought away as a faint whisper reached him through the screams. “Hurry, Evandrel, hurry.” He looked up and caught Hasla’s eyes, her fear and urgency tangible in their depths.
Right. To work
.
I waited too long.

He knelt down and reached a hand into the soil, chanting to himself, calling out to the roots of the Grove and the elements beneath him.
Found it.
Roots snaked through the soil and lifted a vein of soft white sand to the surface. Evandrel spoke words of power to refine it further, pushing the organic bits away. He wanted his light to be as bright as possible, no imperfections.

He could hear the shadows spinning through the Grove around him, wailing and shrieking. He tracked them with part of his mind. They no longer battered themselves against the light, but circled around him, tightening their approach bit by bit.
They know I am here.
Evandrel could taste their hunger. Bile rose to his throat, but he fought back the fear.

The sand looked good. He shoved a handful into his mouth. Evandrel could create a light globe outside his body, but it would take more time, will, and energy. He rolled the gritty sand into his saliva with his tongue, speaking words in his mind to continue refining it and linking it together.

The sand warmed and coalesced into a rough globe. Evandrel pulled up other elements from the soil, metals that would transfer energy and turn it into light, compounds that would absorb light, movement, heat, and background energy from the air and carry it to the metals. He shoved these into his mouth as well.

He knew he did not have time to wait for the globe to absorb the light it needed from the sun, moons, and stars.
None to be found at the moment anyway
.
It needs an initial power source
. He reached deep into the earth and pulled out the minerals he would need. The shadows moved closer.

He watched in his mind as the component parts came together and he gathered heat from his body and light from the globes in the circle to power his creation.
I will make it
.

He reached up to his mouth to remove the globe, but an image of swirling golden light flitted into his mind, Kaden’s Egg.
The boy’s light reaches beyond the physical, bringing light to the mind and soul. I want that.

Evandrel glanced at the shadows
. No time, but I have to do this
. He reached out to his globe, showed it the images of Kaden’s Egg and taught it to do the same.
Do this. Shine into the minds and hearts of those around you
.
Please. Do this. Do it!
He felt his strength sap away as the globe complied.
I have to stay conscious long enough to activate it.

A chill ran across his left arm as a shadow slipped past.
It is not ready
. Something tore at his right shoulder, burning like daggers of ice. Tears filled his eyes and fear leaked into him from the wound like venom. He did not have the will left to resist it. Another shadowy claw ripped into his back, searching for his spine. The pain ripped a scream from his lips and he heard Hasla again. “Now, Evandrel, now! By the Prophet, please!”

Another shadow ripped into his left thigh, shredding cloth and skin. The pain pulling his thoughts away from the globe. He knew that others had died in the trials. He just had not known then how grisly their deaths would have been.
I will not be another
. His brain felt slow, numb, and far away as the shadows wrapped around him, ice stabbing into his skin. He reached up, pulled the glass ball from his mouth, and willed it to life with everything he had left.
I hope it is enough.

Golden swirls of light flooded the Grove with vibrant illumination. The globes at the edge of the circle appeared dull in comparison as his bobbed in the air before him. It burned through Evandrel’s body, pushing back the numbness, cold, and pain. The shadows unwound themselves from his body and fled, taking their infectious fear with them.

Their screams and wails rose higher in anguish as they crawled over one another to return to the vase the Eldest had left on the ground. The slowest one exploded into a screeching ball of fire before it could reach the safety of the ceramic, screaming and thrashing until Evandrel’s light reduced it to ash. Evandrel collapsed to the ground and closed his eyes, letting the comforting golden glow flow through him, visible even with his eyes closed like Kaden’s Egg had been
. I am a Light Bringer
.

Kaden ran his hand along the smooth silk that fluttered in the breeze.
Might as well be iron bars. I can’t go anywhere
. Joolis stood outside on a lace walkway that spiraled around the building and down to the forest floor far below. Kaden had pulled the silk back to glance around once and had nearly been speared for the trespass.

Hasla’s been gone too long. Is that good or bad?
She left him with food and drink and then hurried off to the trials without much explanation of what might become of him or Evandrel. She mentioned that many didn’t survive the trials, but refused to go into details.
Too sacred I guess.

Kaden sipped from a wooden flask. It tasted cool and sweet, like honeysuckle. Warmth crept through his veins and he found himself not caring as much about his fate. He nibbled at a handful of nuts, berries, and thin root vegetables that vaguely resembled carrots.
Not like they’re going to poison me. There are much easier ways to kill me.
He glanced out the window, a thinner patch in a silken wall.
I can’t believe I’m worried about that big elf. He hates me.