Authors: Rain Oxford
“You have stolen from us!” one of the men declared.
His tone was surely meant to be indignant, yet it barely managed to be whiney.
“You will be detained until you have returned what you took.”
“What are they saying?” Sen asked.
“It looks like they think we stole the bow.”
“Well, tell them we didn’t!” Drake said.
“That never does anyone any good,” I said, pulling on
the power inside. I took Drake’s hand with my right and Sen’s with my left. I
hated flashing, but it certainly made for a useful getaway. Light surrounded
us, driving the Enep men back… and then it faded. “No! Not now!” I tried again
to flash, but my energy became completely unresponsive.
“Get us out of here!” Sen demanded as the men pulled
him away and secured white cuffs around his wrist.
“I’m trying!” One of the men tried to grab me and
turn me around, so I bit him. He screamed and let me go, but I only let him go
when I had the focus of everyone. Still trying to control my energy, I groaned
when I felt Vretial summoning me to him. Drake broke free and grabbed my hand,
but I knew he would be trapped here. “I’m sorry!”
The world around me vanished and I was suddenly
standing in the Land of the Iadnah before Vretial. He looked as he normally did
except for his impatient scowl. It seemed the last few days were as fun for the
god as they were for me.
“Save my friends!”
“Demanding little brat, aren’t you. How many times
will I have to put up with your insolence before you grow up?”
“You pulled me away while I was trying to save them!”
“You were failing to save them.”
“Help them.”
“No. It is in my best interest to let them both die.
As for you, getting to your brother should be priority. You cannot win the war
if the balance inside you is out of control. Even if the balance does destroy
the demons, soon it will be unable to distinguish between friend or foe. I have
tried drawing Samhail here with you, but it appears that he is stranded. Your father’s
Ancient has been compromised, so he can only find you or your brother when your
lives are truly endangered.”
“My powers keep failing.”
“Your balance has been disrupted. I have tried to
send Mordon to Dylan without success. He is not stranded like your brother, as
I can send him anywhere but to Dylan. Someone even more powerful than me is
keeping Samhail away from you and Mordon from Dylan.”
“Is it Zherneboh?”
“It must be. Neither are in danger as far as I can
tell.”
“What do I do?”
“Keep looking for the weapons and keep trying to get
to your brother. Your family will prevail in the end… except for your father.
He’s going to die.”
“He won’t die.”
“Bring me the mage staff.”
Before I could argue, he flashed me back to Enep,
where I was alone. The men were gone, along with Sen and Drake. I knew the
right thing to do was to find the weapons. Winning the war against demons was
more important than two people… but they weren’t just two people. Sen was the
closest thing Mordon had to a son and I told Stacy I would protect Drake.
Even people who were insignificant to me were
important to someone. Why else would my dad fight so hard to keep the demons
from taking over? Dad always people first, and he always expected people to do
what was right, which is why they always did. Dad would never look at me again
if I let my friends die.
I tried again to use my magic, and then sighed when
it never responded. Without magic and without my brother, I had no way to
protect myself. Xul would show up if my life was threatened, but if I was
captured and imprisoned, he wouldn’t find me until after the war. I exited the
room cautiously, expecting someone to pop out of nowhere and attack.
Most of the artifacts had been knocked over on their
side or even onto the floor, so I had to sidestep broken glass and other
delicate material. Although I adored most of the things I owned, like my immersion
circulator and a nebula pillowcase, I knew my affection for these material
goods were shallow. I liked flashy things that stood out because of their
colors, textures, or just because everyone else wanted one. Aside from my
violin, my most favorite treasure would hold my interest for a few weeks at the
most, before I came across a new object to obsess over. I knew this, and I was
okay with it.
I also knew that some of the items I was stepping
over meant everything to these people. They weren’t toys to play with or show
off but symbols of their struggles and their hope. The demons came here because
of the bow, yet I felt like I should have done something more to help these
people.
To my surprise, the orange-eyed woman stood in the
wreckage, studying every fallen piece, as if they would abruptly regenerate and
reappear on the stands and hooks. “I know you did not steal the bow,” she said.
“How do you know?”
“You are a child. We have been without children for
so long that most of us have forgotten what they are like. Children had no
place in the war, but they were punished anyway. I was still a child when the
world was destroyed. I was hiding under my bed with my little sister, waiting
to die because we knew the bombs were about to go off, and then I was here in
this underground world.”
“What about the Arcani? I thought they could have
children.”
“They hide away in their own city unless they come to
arrest someone.”
“Is that who took my friends?” She nodded. “So they
took my friends back to their city? Help me find them,” I begged. She looked at
me. “I don’t need you to fight for me or get in trouble, just show me where
their city is.”
“I need to clean up,” she said solemnly.
“Help me find them, and the minute my powers come
back, I will return here and fix this all. I have the powers of a god; I can
fix this.”
“What do you mean you have god powers?”
“My mother is Tiamat, god of Earth, and my father is
Dylan Yatunus. My powers aren’t working right now because I’m not with my
brother, but I know they’ll come back. I promise I will fix everything here if
you help me.” I paused, and she was hesitant. I didn’t know the people of Enep
well, but I knew their god.
If a population angered its god, the god could easily
kill them all. The only reason for Regivus to apply a punishment that involves
reliving their lives over and over is for them to learn a lesson. He wasn’t
angry; he was being merciful.
“I’ll fix it either way, but please help me anyway. I
have to save my friends. I just need a direction.”
She studied me for a minute, then finally nodded. “I
will show you where the Arcani circle is, but I won’t go in. What is your
name?”
“Ronez. I go by Ron.”
“I am Elwyn.”
I followed her out into the city. Appearance-wise, it
looked like what Hail described Dios to be before they moved above ground; dark
and depressed. The people went about their business without chatting with each
other when they crossed paths and focusing on whatever they were digging up,
fixing, or trading. There was no friendly conversation or color for decorative
sake. Even the children were working… though I realized none of them were
really children, merely people who were early on in one of their many lives.
I missed something.
I looked back into a
cluster of people, only to see nothing unusual, although I could have sworn I
saw Mordon there a second before.
“This way,” Elwyn said softly.
She led me through dark tunnels, past different
cities, and into even darker passageways. It was not an easy walk— or hike in
some cases, but we eventually came upon a stone wall in a huge cavern. I
realized then why she called it the Arcani circle and not the Arcani city. I
had assumed it was a magic and rituals, but the wall actually formed a circle
around the “city.” “What’s with all the walls? I’m starting to think people
don’t want to see me,” I said aloud. The woman gave me a look, so I shrugged.
“Thank you for showing me the way. I can break in from here.”
“You must be careful, or they will arrest you also.”
That was plan B. “I will be careful.” I made my way
around the entire closure, not at all surprised to find no way in. The wall was
over ten foot tall and too smooth to scale without tools. With my magic or
Hail, it would have been a piece of cake, but I was without either.
I waited in the dark shadows for about an hour until
someone finally came along. It was two older women dressed in white robes. As
they neared, I swallowed my spit to wet my throat and then coughed. The women
startled like unsuspecting ushiiku. Obviously I couldn’t pretend to be a person
of Enep, but I could be absolutely adorable and vulnerable.
“Do you have any water?” I whispered, pretending to
struggle as I stood.
One of the women stayed away, frightened, but the
other rushed forward as if I was about to collapse. “You poor child. Yes, we
have water. How did you get here? What world are you from, what is your name,
and how old are you?” she asked, taking my arm to guide me towards the wall.
“I’m from Earth, my name is Ronez, and I am twelve.”
I was small enough that, although I could never say I was older, I could easily
pass for younger. “I got lost looking for my brother.”
“You should not let him in,” the other woman said to
the one helping me. “We have no idea who he is.”
“He is a child— a real one. We need more people in
the Arcani.”
Crap
. I kept up my façade as the woman reached
for the white wall. A four-foot-wide section abruptly separated by clean,
straight lines, then the section slid into the sand below.
What remained was a doorway in the wall into an
intriguing community. Most of the people here wore white robes, but a few wore
muted shades of blue, tan, or green. There was another wall before me, about
twelve foot away, which was rounded, but there were doorways already in it.
Through those doorways, I could see more walls. It was like a round maze.
Creepy
.
The woman led me through several doorways. I was very
impressed with what I saw. Décor, though drab in color and texture, consisted
of exquisitely detailed etches in metal on furniture, smooth, glass-like busts
of people, and abstract patterns drawn on the white walls. There were books
everywhere, along with crystal balls, magical jewelry, and ritual items. More
walls were built in to section off areas.
Everything was much cleaner than anywhere else, as if
these people worked very hard to pretend they were not living underground. This
suggested more than anything that these people believed themselves to be better
than the rest of the population, since they were not cursed.
Had I pretended to be a regular person from Enep and
changed my appearance, which was what I would have done had my powers worked,
the woman probably would have shooed me away. As the woman pulled me along,
several people we passed reached out to touch my hair, as if they just couldn’t
help themselves.
Maybe if my hair wasn’t quite so blue…
We arrived at what was obviously a bedroom, which
disturbed me as there was no door or even a curtain. The bed was little more
than a cot with a dark brown blanket and pillow. A small bookshelf on the left
wall, filled with books and magic artifacts, was the only form of self-expression.
I shuddered, which the caring woman mistook as just a shiver, so she sat me on
her bed.
“Get him some water,” she told the other woman. The
skeptical woman frowned at me, as if she could see through my lie, before
turning and leaving. The caring woman patted my shoulders and chest. “Are you
hurt anywhere?”
“Just hungry. I haven’t eaten in a few days.”
“Why did you not say so?”
“I don’t want to be a bother,” I said demurely. I was
really bad at playing shy, but my mother wasn’t, so I tried to mimic her act.
“I will get you some food. Just lie down and rest,”
she said and then left.
I waited for a moment, listening for anyone nearby,
and got up. With no idea which way to go, I cautiously walked closer to the
center of town. I tried once again to access my magic, but although my own
energy didn’t respond, I sensed someone else’s sizing me up. I knew that aura.
Regivus…
Please, Regivus, help me out here.
My surroundings changed from white walls to… white
walls. The difference was that the white walls in this room that the god
favored emitted light. Regivus stood in front of me.
When my father first met the god, Regivus was happily
willing to kill my father. After Vretial, Regivus was the oldest god. He was
also the next most insane in my opinion. To the gods and my family, Regivus was
extremely strict and unforgiving, but also very wise and reasonable. He and Mom
fought more often than not. In fact, Dad was usually the only one brave enough
to break them up. To everyone else, including his people, Regivus was entirely
demanding and unmerciful.
“Why are you on Enep without your brother?” he asked
by way of greeting. His tone told me he wasn’t pleased.
“Because I’m your nephew and you love me,” I
answered.
“You are definitely Dylan’s son. I know the balance
inside you is supposed to keep the universe from falling apart, but I also
believe what Vretial says. Without your brother, the balance inside you is
destructive. Just your presence is damaging the magic of my world.”
“And I will be off your world as soon as I save my
friends.”
“I cannot send you back. Another hour and the
punishment on my people will disintegrate.”
“How? I’m not doing anything.”
“Immortality is harmful to the balance, and what I
have done is worse than immortality. I understand this isn’t your fault, but
you cannot control the balance.”
“Would it be so bad for the curse to end? Don’t you
think they’ve learned their lesson?”