The Island on the Edge of Forever (The Epic of Aravinda Book 2) (16 page)

“I’ll keep that in mind. But wait, if you’re only observing, then why are you helping me?”

“Because the balance needs a minor adjustment.”

Vayuna pulsed in brightness.

“And there is more you ought to understand, such as the ghosts that inhabit this planet.”

“Ghosts? We haven’t seen any ghosts. Just ice.”

“Beware of the ghosts and all those who cling to the past. They believe they are still alive, and they have no idea of what they do.”

“Who are they? Will they try to attack us?”

“They will not, although they may be a distraction to what you seek. After so many millennia of isolation, they still do not accept their fate. Yet with help, perhaps there is a chance.”

“A chance.” Zahn grew frustrated with this line of thought. “But why did the Radiant One lead us here? And what does Vaari have to do with Avani?”

“Heritage, traveller.”

There was a long pause as Zahn considered this.

“What do you mean?”

“Yet your ship is not matched to you. From where does it hail?”

“He’s from a planet called Sumanas, I think.”

“Brilliant! What was foreseen has come to pass at last.”

“Foreseen?”

“Reunification of long-lost siblings. And then, a Great Reunion may occur.”

“What are you talking about?”

“As I said, Vaari is your heritage, Zahn.”

Upon hearing that, a wave of déjà vu washed over him, but he said nothing.

“Welcome, Zahn. It seems this world has been waiting for you.”

Vayuna brightened again, and the entire room lit up this time. Zahn saw the low table beside Vayuna reflect her glow, and he noticed that the windows ran down as far as he could see, curving to the right, as if they were on the edge of a massive disc.

“Great,” Zahn thought. “A freezing, abandoned world is happy to have me. Just what I always wanted.”

The feeling of a chill breeze left him, and a familiar, crisp voice filled his mind.

“Whatever that entity is, she knows exactly how to invade my systems. I’m sorry, Zahn. I did everything I could to keep her from taking control, but she got to you anyway.”

“Yeah,” Zahn said, still studying the amber crystal ahead of them. “But it’s safe. She’s helped us before, and since the Radiant Figure led us to her, I’m inclined to trust what she says.”

“Nothing is safe, Zahn. All are various levels of risk. And I think I’m losing—”

Once again, he felt the chill breeze, having the strangest feeling that two voices were inside his head at once. One was the familiar crispness of Navika’s personality, and the other was the airy feeling of Vayuna’s presence.

“Vayuna is impressed with the tenacity of your starship. But after some reflection, it is decided that you must follow Vayuna to where you will be needed most. We embark on a journey through the vast underground labyrinth ahead.”

“A labyrinth?”

“To a sacred chamber roughly one hundred klicks below the surface of this planet. The labyrinth is the only way to reach where you will be needed most. Vayuna believes it is why the Radiant One led you here. You would be wise to follow, if you want to protect those you love.”

Vayuna glided over to an opening in the far wall, her octahedral shape soon disappearing down the narrow passage. The feeling of her chill faded somewhat, but still lingered as a faint influence.

This time, Navika spoke.

“Vayuna is relating a set of new coordinates. Looks like she wasn’t kidding. Only a true labyrinth would require such an intricate series of waypoints. Who does she think she is, anyway? Constantly interrupting our—”

Vayuna’s voice returned.

“We are proceeding into the labyrinth now. As this transpires, Vayuna feels that it would be skillful to relate to you more about your perceived enemy, so that you are more able to understand their heritage and character. With this information, you may come to a new perspective that will be helpful to the balance.”

Zahn pursed his lips. He wished that Vayuna wouldn’t override Navika so quickly. Still, he didn’t want to jeopardize his chances of learning more about the Vakragha.

“All right. Why not start at the beginning?” Zahn took a deep breath. “Where did the Vakragha come from, anyway?”

CHAPTER
25

A GRADIENT OF SAPPHIRE BLUE

As the path snaked along the edge of the ridge, the overgrowth became thicker and thicker. After hours of following the narrow path, Asha reached a swampy area with tall, indigo grasses and watery sinkholes everywhere. The only sign that she was still on the path was another pillar at the entrance of the swamp, shorter than the first but still undeniably put there for a purpose.

After walking around the pillar to examine it, she found no markings of any kind. She looked at the overgrown mossy field beyond and wished for a machete. Lakshmi had given her the impression that this was a maintained path, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

She walked up to the edge of the field, examined the wall of grass, and closed her eyes. For a few moments, she meditated in silence, focusing on her breath, until it hit her.

“Wait, I have a resonator now!”

She pulled out her resonator, set it to thirteen percent, and shot an invisible beam of sound to the grass ahead of her.

Like a flower wilting away, the blades of tall grass melted over in seconds, softly rustling as they withered. A surge of excitement ran through Asha’s veins, and she moved swiftly as the resonator leveled the grass.

“This is fun!” Asha smiled as she wiped out another chunk of grass ahead. “I’ll never use a machete again.”

After a few minutes, she was at the edge of the field where the forest became thicker. Yet beyond the small patch of forest, she noticed that the trees abruptly stopped.

The ground made a familiar crunching sound as she stepped back onto the forest floor, littered with small twigs and indigo shrubs. For some reason, she felt that she should approach as quietly as possible, as if this were a holy place.

Once she finally reached the last few trees, she stopped to bask in the sky, gloriously painted with the last colors of the sunset. Her eyes beheld the full scope of where she was: on the edge of a cliff overlooking a large lake with the most pristine water she had ever seen. In the distance, the gibbous moon was lower in the sky now. Yet the lake was strange to her, appearing like a long, watery gash into the landscape.

There was no doubting it.

This was the Rift.

Asha stared at the water, transfixed. Yet despite its almost perfect clarity, she still couldn’t see to the bottom—only the layers of rock along the edge that grew darker with depth.

Clearly, this lake wasn’t formed through ordinary means. Something geologically intense had happened here. Exactly what, Asha could only begin to guess.

Far in the distance, she saw a striking bird fly in a wide arc over the lake. Its plumage was mostly green, but it had a golden tail feather that was longer than its body, shimmering like a ray of morning sunlight. She heard a familiar warbling call radiate out from the creature. Could it be true? Could this be the bird she’d been hearing the whole time? How could she have been so close to such a stunning creature and not seen it?

Asha glanced around, looking for a way down. Nearby, she noticed a steep passage that led under a boulder. Without any apprehension, she followed it and found herself in darkness once more, except for a small point of light at the end. She wondered if she was getting sloppy, entering caves without examining them first, but the thought of Mira pushed her onward.

When she emerged from the narrow tunnel, she was on another well-worn path in the middle of the forest. She looked back and considered the path, wondering how often it was used.

Night was falling upon the forest, and a rush of urgency filled her heart. She sprinted down the well-worn path that was strangely straight as it etched through the wilderness. Where she found overgrowth in her way, she didn’t hesitate to use her resonator to clear it; and she moved through the azure forest with impressive speed, until at last she was on the edge of the lake, cut into the landscape as if by a blade. The low, swollen moon reflected on its calm surface, and she basked in the beauty of the view.

A chill breeze kicked up, and she shivered. There was no sign of the golden-tailed bird anywhere.

By now, the last traces of orange had left the sky, and Asha walked over to the jagged edge of the lake. A sheer edge dropped off into the water, and below she could see only a darkening gradient of sapphire blue, filled with an ageless mystery that she couldn’t begin to comprehend.

“The Rift,” she whispered. “So, down there is the source of the island’s power. I guess she meant the lake itself is the entrance? I wish Liila were here. A starship would make this so much easier.”

A wave of sleepiness came over her, and she yawned, noticing that the brightest stars already shone above her. She considered exploring further, but her feet ached from the walk.

The Žha creatures crossed her mind. Both Tiika and the boy Rajan had agreed that they were deadly, and Asha didn’t like the idea of exploring so far from the village at night. Back by the coast, someone might hear her if she called out for help, but she hadn’t seen anyone else out here at all, besides Lakshmi.

As the sky darkened to a deep violet, Asha scrambled along the rocks that bordered the lake, a jumbled collection of angled slabs and boulders. If she could find a suitable rocky overhang, she would be protected from the rain as she slept.

Asha found a shelf that created an overhang just big enough to keep her dry for the night, and she put her jacket down onto the bare rock for padding.

“Too bad this isn’t a patch of sand. Wait a minute!”

Asha got up, picked up her jacket, and set the resonator to a higher setting. Within moments, she had melted part of the rock, creating a smooth glass surface.

“No, no, no.” She tried another setting, but that only made a rough pattern on the glass. Trying a weaker setting made some rock particles chip off, but it was slow. In the end, she melted the rock back to glass, but this time she melted it into a bowl shape so she could snuggle into it. Now it felt much more comfortable, and she began to drift off.

In her last moments of consciousness, something Lakshmi had said came back to her. “May the Goddess of Foreverness smile upon your dreamland.”

That was a good thought, and with that in mind, she entered the land of dreams and descended into a sleep that was filled with far-off birdsongs and bizarre cooings, deep into the night. Yet these haunting sounds would only last until the early morning, when the storm would reach her.

CHAPTER
26

RAZAKH THE SKY GOD

A scrambling sound echoed throughout the command deck as Zura ran along the narrow cables, over a collection of vertical spikes, and up into the porthole in the ceiling that led to the Autarch’s upper room. She held her breath as she swung up into the room and hoped that he was still asleep.

Absolute darkness.

Despite being a smaller member of the Vakragha legion, Zura was strong for her size and held several long canisters in a pack on her back. Yet she couldn’t see in such darkness, and had to blink twice to activate her suit’s infrared filter before finding a good place to set the canisters down. The heat vision lent most of the objects a haunting crimson halo, and she studied her surroundings: a sharp metal console embedded along one edge of the room, bits of old carapace littered on the floor, and the skulls of various species mounted onto the walls.

In the far corner was a low grumbling sound, and Zura gasped, struggling not to breathe any louder.

“Don’t wake up,” she whispered as she set the canister down. “Sleep, Autarch. I don’t want to be here when—”

“Zura!” the autarch yelled. “Are you in here?! If it is anyone else, I will kill them where they stand.” The autarch bolted up and punched a black octagon embedded into the wall which filled the room with a sickly, green glow.

Before she could even speak, Razakh jumped up, grabbed Zura’s neck, and rammed her up against the wall.

“Zura, why do you keep doing this? How many times have I told you how dangerous it can be to approach unannounced?”

Zura wheezed.

“Exactly.” Razakh curled his index finger; and without even touching her, part of her carapace cracked along her shoulder. “This is what happens when you fail to enter properly. You know I never plan to twist space around my advisors, but you did interrupt a good dream.” Dark green blood oozed from her shoulder. “And Zura, you know how rare that is.”

Zura whimpered.

“Now, I’m—” Razakh sniffed. “What’s that smell? You brought some?” He dropped her, glanced around, and grabbed the open canister. “You are lucky you have come with this.”

From the canister, he pulled out two squawking agnihawks. Their orange and red feathers kicked up a little storm around them, and one by one, Razakh bit their heads off in two clean bites, filling the air with an explosion of blood and feathers.

Zura watched as he used his claws to slice deep into the bellies of the creatures, ripping out each of their hearts and chomping into them. The blood itself seemed to give him a perverse kind of high.

“Such an amusing organ, isn’t it?” Razakh called back as blood ran down his mouth.

She knew that her day could get even worse if she didn’t answer quickly, so she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Seems rather necessary for them, though, doesn’t it?”

Razakh swallowed. “Necessary? It is a weakness, Zura. A weakness we can exploit to our advantage.”

“Of course, my lord.”

Razakh shot her a quick glance and went back to his feast.

“Autarch,” Zura said, “do you think the Informant will come through for us?”

The autarch took a hawk leg and chewed it absentmindedly. “This one is full of lust for power. This one understands us.”

“Perhaps. But what of the null zone? Have you told her?”

Razakh shot her an accusatory glance. “Don’t be a fool, Zura. The null zone is of no concern to her, and of little importance. I will retrieve the artifact in either case. Her assistance will merely hasten our inevitable victory.” Razakh licked his claws and walked over to her. “The agnihawks were superb, Zura.” He pressed a claw into her new wound. “It would be a real tragedy if we ever ran out. If I were you, I would ensure that the squads continue to retrieve them.”

White-hot pain shot down Zura’s arm, and she struggled not to screech out. “Y-yes, sir. Of course.”

“No!” Razakh bellowed out. “From now on, you are to call me Razakh the Sky God. That is what I introduced myself as, you know. To reach that little… diva on her own level. And do you know what she did?”

“She believed you without hesitation?”

“OF COURSE SHE DID.” He bellowed. “And I am quite looking forward to meeting her. Aren’t you?”

“Yes, your unholiness.”

Razakh curled his finger above her shoulder again and flung his claw toward the wall. Although he never touched her, an unseen force caused a raw chunk of her carapace to rip off and slap onto the wall, and Zura cried out in exquisite pain.

“I did that for your own benefit, Zura. Don’t you see? Now you will never have a problem obeying my orders ever again.”

“Y-yes, Sky God,” Zura managed to whisper. “Thank you, Sky God. I apologize for forgetting your new title.”

“I will forgive you this once, but only because you are my advisor. And yet, the Informant is quite loyal to me, as well. She seems to follow my orders even better than you do! Come and look at her!”

Razakh sat down at a large chair in front of the console that ran along the wall and made some complex gestures over the screens. A moment later, a hexagonal space lit up and showed hundreds of tiny points of light making their way down a long, vertical passage. “She’s using her little friends to look for it for me! Such inventiveness. Zura, how can your pathetic service even compare to this one’s tenacity?”

“I don’t know, Sky God. I am doing everything I can. I
did
suggest we send a scout to the core. If we’d never done that—”

“I would have done that eventually, Zura! And soon the Kiss of Death will be in my hands.” Razakh boomed with laughter. “And do you know what I promised her? Venture to guess!”

“Her own system, Sky God?”

“No!” Razakh bellowed again. “Not even that! Merely her own world. Perhaps I’ll give her the prison world. After all, I wasn’t specific. She is tenacious, but would benefit from better negotiation tactics. Then again,” he glared back at Zura, “is it even necessary to negotiate with me, worm?”

“No, Sky God. You are Razakh, destined to be Grand Autarch of Aravinda itself. Your way is divine.” And Zura prostrated herself before him.

“You are lucky you reminded me why I suffer your presence so often. Now leave me! There is much to prepare before our rendezvous with the Informant.”

“Yes, Sky God.”

And Zura scrambled out of the upper room.