by J E Reed
“With those consequences,” he indicated her arms, “I can’t imagine anyone would want it, but at least in your hands it won’t be abused.”
He leaned forward again, taking on a serious tone. “Before we discuss anything else, I need to ask a question. I offered your friend Reece the chance to stay with us, but he’s declined. I still plan to move forward with our original agreement in hopes that he’ll join in the future. Unless you tell me otherwise.”
“He’s a good man, just likes his own rules I guess. What exactly is your question?”
“Are you staying?”
She furrowed her brow. “Shouldn’t that be obvious?”
“I assumed, just needed to be sure.”
“I’ve found everyone I was searching for and if Reece is close by then there’s no reason for me to leave. At least here I can be of some help.”
“You’ll be a lot of help. You always have been, but I can’t let you do much until Palindrome gives you the clear. I’m not fond of being scolded.”
Kiuno laughed as she imagined Palindrome barging in and screaming at her friend while others stood off to one side, helpless in his defense.
“I’m not sure what I’ll be able to do. In just seven months there’s been more progress than I ever imagined possible. I can’t believe the organization you already have let alone the fact that we’re in the fifth realm.”
“Seven?” he asked.
Kiuno bit her lip as she thought back. “It might have been eight.”
“Kiuno, how long have you been here?”
Her heart quickened as she recalled the difference in seasons when she’d arrived in the first realm. “No more than eight months.”
“Strange. Most of us, including myself have been here at least fifteen. It makes me wonder. Do you remember hearing about strange disappearances?”
Kiuno shook her head. “Nothing. In fact, I remember messaging you that weekend. There’s no way you were here, I would have noticed eight months of not talking to you.”
K.J. stood and walked to the window. “I wonder if whoever brought us here had a way to hold people before transporting them to this reality.”
“You think we have other memories wiped along with our names?”
“It’s possible.”
“But what’s the point?”
“What do you do when you set up a game? You put your important pieces where they’ll be protected. If it’s strategy based, then some players might save their ace in the hole for last.” He looked pointedly at her. “And it seems you were the last to arrive.”
“How do you know there isn’t anyone new?”
He glanced back out the window. “I’ve sent my scouts to the first realm to check. Those staying behind have formed their own communities, but there haven’t been any newcomers.”
“Why me?”
“That’s the question isn’t it?”
Kiuno dropped her head in her hands.
“There’s a meeting next week between the five leaders in this realm. I was hoping you’d come.”
“Making me one of your officers again?”
K.J. laughed. “If you want to call it that. I need you to be a new face. Make them curious.”
“Throwing me to the wolves. You should be ashamed.”
K.J. smirked. “I might be if I didn’t believe you enjoyed the game.”
6: Relics
Realm: 5
Day: 230
Kiuno limped from the room and down the stairs. Voices floated up from the main dining hall and upon rounding the corner it seemed as though hundreds of faces sat waiting to bombard her.
Most had seated themselves at the wooden tables while others stood in small clusters having their own conversations. Her head spun with the hum in the air.
Kiuno scanned the sea of faces for Elite. Her eyes flicked from one human to the next and her breathing sped up with each passing second.
Kiuno took a step back in retreat. She couldn’t do this. Not—
Her heart skipped when someone grabbed her hand, but Kiuno turned to find Liam’s smiling face.
“Joining us?”
His hopeful expression calmed her racing nerves. She nodded.
He all but skipped his way through the crowd while dragging her along. She watched everyone the way a cat might when threatened, but her gaze returned to her young friend.
With the mud and fear wiped from his face, Liam looked like a normal twelve-year-old. She tried to think back, but the events of her time with him the last few months were a blur.
The cabin and a cold winter. The creatures. Finding Scorpios. Reece. Then the battle to save Elite. It wasn’t as though he’d had much time to be a kid.
A man bumped into her and Kiuno’s body tightened like a coil. She took a step back and prepared for an attack, but he turned with a smile on his face, laughing, and apologized.
Liam squeezed her hand and she forced a smile of her own. He continued to pull her through the throng. Her heart pounded, but two familiar faces melted all the stress from her shoulders.
“There she is.” Blue rose and wrapped her in a light hug. Despite his careful grip, she still yelped. “Guess those tattoos aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.”
“You’ve no idea.”
He glanced her over. “Well, at least you’re intact.”
Kiuno might have laughed if not for the recollection of severed limbs.
“So, what have you been up to?” Blue asked. “I haven’t seen you since they hid you away in that recovery room.”
“Nothing much yet. Feels like I’ve been thrown into an alternate universe.”
“Literally,” Blue said.
“And you guys?”
“K.J. has me running around the castle delivering sensitive information and orders.”
“Sounds fancy.”
“I enjoy working with people and Liam helps me keep things in check. We tried to put Liam in the kitchens, but he didn’t care for it much.” Blue playfully elbowed him and Liam swatted his arm away.
“Because it’s full of girls and they don’t leave me alone.”
Blue laughed. “I’ve never heard that complaint from a young man before.”
Liam’s cheeks heated. “Not like that. They’re annoying.”
Kiuno smiled. “He’s too mature for the young ones.”
Blue chuckled and Maltack shifted, catching her attention. Her eyes darted to the floral design snaking from the back of his hands to the center of his forearms. He tried to slip them from her view.
“I hurt you?”
He sighed and placed his marked arms back on the table. “You needed K.J.’s help and I had to shield him.”
“But, how did that hurt you?”
Blue wrapped one arm around Maltack’s shoulder. “Because this boy has enough determination to make us all feel lazy.”
Maltack gave an uncomfortable smile. “I couldn’t let him die. You’d never forgive yourself.”
Kiuno glanced at the marks that ran heavy along her arms. A twisted reminder of the hell she’d unleashed. “Thank you.”
Blue waved his arms. “Don’t get all heavy on us. It’s been bad enough with all of them hovering over you. Where’s the fun?”
“All right, all right. Does Palindrome have you on lockdown too?” Kiuno asked.
Maltack shook his head. “Not as much as she wants. I helped with the injured after the fight, so she has me working with the healers. She’s also teaching me how to manipulate deeper tissues, but I think organs are a specialty only she can master.”
The kitchen doors flew open and a buzz of excitement spread through the hall. The smell of cooked meat floated through the air and her stomach growled in anticipation as plates rushed past. They dug in without prompting.
Meat, bread, potatoes. Her mouth salivated as she looked at more food than she’d ever seen in one place. Kiuno grabbed a roll and relished in the flavor that burst across her palate.
After gorging herself on everything she c
ould reach, Kiuno sat back and placed a hand on her stomach.
Blue stood first. “Well, I guess this is where we part ways.” He nodded toward her. “Where will you be?”
She picked at the last bit of food on her plate. “I haven’t been assigned anything yet, but K.J. is taking me to a meeting with the other leads next week.”
“Ah, a big shot now,” Blue teased.
“Yeah, yeah.” She waved him off.
“Come on kid.”
Liam stood and gave Kiuno a playful wave before bounding behind Blue.
“I have something to show you,” Maltack said. He stood and she followed, leaving the clattering, crowded hall behind. She searched the faces once again as they exited the castle and strode along a dirt path.
Maltack opened a wooden door and gestured her inside. The smell of dusty pages met her senses as she scanned the room. Leather-bound books sat crammed upon shelves that stretched to the low ceiling.
Maltack grabbed two candles, lit them with his fingertip and handed her one before he headed down a narrow set of spiral stairs. She followed, still scanning the shelves. It seemed so odd to have a library in a place like this.
Maltack paused at a desk where a small journal sat upon the surface.
“Palindrome showed me this place after the battle. She said I might learn something from the medical texts, but then I found this.” He pointed to the journal.
Kiuno joined him in an adjacent chair and he continued. “The books from the first realms didn’t give us much detail, but this one lists everything we’ve seen and more.” He flipped a few pages and turned the book toward her. “And there’s a detailed map of the first four realms as well.”
“I bet that made it easy to find stragglers.”
“Most, but it’s been difficult to convince them beyond the third realm. They’re afraid.”
“And rightfully so.” She shivered, thinking of the chirping creatures from the fourth realm. “They’ll come, eventually.”
She glanced back to the book and flipped through a few pages. “What have you learned?”
“The magic isn’t as intricate a system as I feared. It’s like a muscle in the body. Some people have it and some don’t. When we flex that muscle, the elements answer.
“This book also details more monsters than I can count, including Nikita’s kind.” He flipped toward the back and pointed to a large winged lion with the caption ‘Felinian’ at the top.
“Each species has a name?”
He nodded and Kiuno scanned the page. “Thirty-foot wingspan?”
“According to Jim, she’s not even a year old. She’s grown a lot in the short time we’ve been with them. Who knows how big she’ll be come winter?”
Maltack flipped all the way to the back. “But, right now, I think we should concern ourselves with these.”
Kiuno followed his finger to five objects sketched on the page. “Relics?”
Maltack nodded. “And none sound good.” His finger hovered over the first. A sphere depicted in the palm of a hand. “It says this one suppresses magic of all kinds within a ten-foot radius. Even yours.”
Kiuno chewed on her lip. “Not sure I like that one.” How many times had her magic saved them from a dire situation?
“I don’t either. After the fight there’s been talk of the lightning user among us and it won’t be long before everyone figures it out.”
Maltack pointed to the second. A diamond-shaped jewel depicted within a user’s wrist. “This one is far more sinister. It attaches to your body and embeds itself in the user’s system causing them to act upon their darkest desires.”
“Why would anyone want that?”
“It gives them control over the monsters.”
Kiuno grimaced. “Giving up your morals for power? Wouldn’t a person’s reason distort?”
“It would, along with slowly killing you. The longer one uses it, the harder the jewel is to extract.”
“All right, noted. Find this relic and bury it as far underground as we can.”
Maltack pointed to a third. A lightning bolt hanging on a necklace. “This one allows the user to use lightning, just like you and I’m sure it’ll be the most sought-after relic.”
“So, the people who saw the magic on the field might not know whether I’m the lightning user or have the relic.”
“Correct, which means they’ll want to find out.”
“And the last two?”
“The Transference Crystal and the Memory Stone.”
“And those are?”
“The crystal allows one to jump to any realm and the stone places memories inside a body.”
“Like a dead body?”
“It doesn’t specify.”
“Great. Are all these objects in this realm?” she asked.
“I assume so.” He flipped to the final page. “And this is all we know about the coming realms.”
Venture on as carefully as you can,
for the other levels are nothing but brutal land.
The jungles will test you,
the monsters will crawl.
Dreams will caress you,
and paradise will be your downfall.
Barren terrain will be your next test,
one frozen with ice, the other surely hexed.
Fight till the end and do not disappoint,
for there’s nothing you’ve faced quite like Chronopoint.
“That’s not cryptic or anything.” Kiuno leaned back in her chair.
“It’s all we have.” Maltack closed the book and stood. “Palindrome wanted to see me after lunch, so I guess we can speculate later.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Not any harder than you.” He smiled then headed up the stairs, leaving her alone in the vast library.
She sat in the chair for several moments, staring at the little book before standing. The events of the day had already left her drained. Both mentally and physically.
Her legs ached as she climbed the tiny staircase and exited to the warm sun hitting her face. People still ran from place to place but all ignored her in their passing.
Anxiety crawled like a viper in the pit of her stomach. How long was that going to last?
Kiuno followed the path toward the outer training yard in search of Elite. Several groups still worked with one another, but where Silver had been a smaller group had taken his place. They used sparring swords to face off against their opponents.
When the metal clashed, her mind jolted and she pivoted to the outer gate house.
The crowds thinned and when she walked through the gate a fresh breeze ruffled her hair in greeting. No one stood out here except the guards at the gate. She headed toward the only tree in the immediate area.
It wasn’t overly tall but provided a nice bit of shade from the hot sun. Pink blooms lined the ground and branches. It gave off a gentle fragrance that lured her to settle against the trunk and fade away.
~~~
KIUNO JOLTED when a guard shook her. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you, but I didn’t think you’d want to be locked out.” He pointed to the gate and the last of those walking through it. Dusk had settled. Kiuno rubbed her eyes. She must have been more tired than she thought.
Kiuno followed him through the gate and the heavy doors swung shut. Metal scraped against stone as four portcullises dropped into place. People still lined the area, but now they sat around campfires, relaxing as the world turned to night.
With sore legs, Kiuno ascended the stairs to their room, expecting to find Elite waiting, but it was empty. She walked back down the stairs to search the dining hall, but none of the faces were the one she sought.
Despite her rest, exhaustion still hit her hard. She tried to calm her racing heart. Elite was with Silver and everyone knew how much her cousin loved to chat. He was fine. She chewed on her lip. He was fine.
Instead of pacing—which she really couldn’t do—Kiuno asked directions to the roof hoping to
quiet her racing thoughts.
Once again, she climbed the stairs and it felt like a thousand years melted from her shoulders when the cool night breeze hit her face. The stagnant air in the castle suffocated her and their small window did little to relieve the feeling. For months she’d slept beneath the open sky with the stars as her light.
She sighed, leaning against the stone tower. The sun sank in a streaked display of purple and orange and stars dotted the sky one by one. Out here the moonlight was her fireplace and her friends the wall. If only they didn’t have so much to worry about beyond the real one.
Their happiness brought Kiuno joy, but she’d miss their constant companionship. In the castle, they’d be separated, just like they’d been back home.
What were each of them doing and what would her own contribution add? It seemed K.J. planned to use her in diplomacy, but did she possess the skills to help?
Kiuno took a long breath and rested her chin on her hands as she scanned the area. Long months of worry and suffering had led her to this moment, but the fight was far from over. Now, something entirely new was about to unfold in a world she knew nothing about.
This was the front line.
“Couldn’t sleep?” She jumped and turned to find K.J. in the doorway.
“Elite isn’t back yet, so I came out for some air.”
He moved to stand beside her, leaning against the cool stone. “You’ll get used to sleeping under a roof again.”
Would she? She looked out at the various fires and the men standing along the wall. Memories of flashing fire and burnt flesh flickered through her mind’s eye.
“Did I really kill all those people?”
He didn’t turn, instead focusing his gaze over the grounds as he looked between posts. “Do you regret saving Elite?”
“Of course not.”
“Then don’t regret what you had to do. You came, despite me telling you not to and in doing so minimized casualties on our side.” His voice softened. “When we get home, I’ll help you through it. But for now, it’s better not to think about it.”
Silence surrounded them as she tried to absorb his words. He’d experienced war. Is this how they handled it?
“You don’t know what the hollows are, do you?”
