by B. T. Narro
“No!” Leo said. “Even if there was, I don’t even know if Taesitry will hurt them or help them at this point.”
“I do not know how to destroy them!” KRenn yelled in a panic. “We have to get out of here before one of them absorbs the rest of this Artistry and grows in size.”
Leo found himself to be the closest to the door now. “I can do it.”
As Leo made his way over, KRenn backed himself against a wall, while Andar and Siki helped each other to the corner closest to Leo.
He pushed the door as hard as he could, barely managing to open it a crack. It was the best he could do, but he couldn’t hear a thing as wind screamed past his ears. He assumed the door was open enough to get the Artistry out, so Leo pulled it toward the exit. Sure enough, he felt great assistance in moving the Artistry out of the room, and soon there was none left to grab.
Leo let the door shut and had a breath of relief. The wind had been so loud, he seemed to be temporarily deaf save a loud ringing in his ears.
Andar looked to be yelling as he pointed at the rift nearest to him and Siki. It must’ve been slowly moving toward the other rift nearby, for both were about to touch.
KRenn seemed to be screaming as he waved his arm down. Siki and Andar crouched as they held onto each other. Terrified, Leo held onto the handle of the door.
The edges of the rifts tugged on each other, creating a sharp bend in the shape of the sphere. The image inside was blurred as both rifts shook violently. It sounded faintly like something was tearing, then suddenly there was a muffled boom that Leo figured was probably near deafening. A flash of light blinded Leo for a moment as wind picked his feet from the ground.
He held onto the door’s handle as the rift tried to suck him in. It pulled his head down, giving him an upside down look of the monstrous thing. It nearly reached the low ceiling, doubling in height and width. It sucked all other rifts toward it. One merged into it.
There was a flash of light, then another muffled boom. Leo feared the door handle would break off any moment. How was everyone else holding their ground?
They weren’t. Leo had no time to think of how to help as Andar and Siki tumbled toward the rift from one side of the room, KRenn flipping toward it from the other. Leo let go of the door handle and flew toward the rift. He got his feet on the ground and jumped off toward the rift. There was no stopping his brother from being sucked in, so Leo would join him.
But the moment Andar entered the rift, it violently collapsed. The opening was just wide enough for Siki to tumble in closely behind Andar before it shrank to nothing.
Leo flew past where the rift had been. The wall came at him fast. He turned to get his feet up, crouching as he hit and jumping off to land on his feet. He watched in horror as KRenn struck the opposite wall hard.
The other rifts collapsed and exploded into smaller rifts, then those quickly died out in the same fashion. Leo tried to jump into one after another, but all disappeared before he could get in.
Soon all was quiet. KRenn lay motionless on the other side of the room. Leo ran to him.
“KRenn! KRenn!”
The mage rolled onto his back. Leo checked him for injuries, surprisingly finding no blood. But there was a bump on the back of his head.
“Can you hear me?” Leo’s ears were ringing. He could barely hear his own voice.
KRenn had his mouth open as if groaning. Leo put his ear close but heard nothing.
Leo cursed as he adjusted his jaw and shook his ears in hopes of fixing the issue. It did nothing.
“KRenn, my brother and the princess were sucked in! We have to open another rift for them immediately. Can you hear me?” Leo put his ear close to KRenn’s mouth.
“I need a moment.”
Leo helped KRenn up. The ringing in Leo’s ears was finally dying down by then. He opened the door to their sealed room.
“Leo, wait.” KRenn put out his hand.
Leo ignored him, gathering Artistry for another portal. “We don’t have time to wait,” he said. “They could be dying.”
“They are either dead already or they are fine,” KRenn said.
Leo snapped at him, “How can you be sure? You were wrong about what would happen here, and now look what you’ve done!”
“There is no place for anger here,” KRenn scolded as he got to his feet and held his head. “We need to think carefully if we are to make the best decision. There is only one stone left.”
“We’re using it right now to get them back here.”
“It might not open to the same place, just give me a moment!” KRenn yelled. Then he held his head as he doubled over. “Ah, I need some time to recover before I can help you.”
“You’ve helped enough so far. I can do this myself.”
Leo pulled in Artistry from the rest of the palace. It took him much longer to accumulate the same amount that KRenn had pulled in earlier, but Leo finished soon enough. Hopefully, his brother and Siki were still alive, wherever they were. He looked around for the last testing stone, first glancing at the corner where it had been left.
It wasn’t there, so it must’ve been blown around…Leo’s heart dropped. Panic seized him as he started to look around wildly.
“Where is it?”
KRenn looked around with him. It just took a moment to realize that there were no stones left in this small room.
“Leo, it must’ve been sucked into one of the rifts.”
“No.”
“It did, Leo.”
“No!”
Leo knew KRenn was right, but he refused to accept it. He left the sealed room and searched through the small piles of rift stones. KRenn soon joined him.
“I’ve already sorted through them,” KRenn said sadly. “There were only three testing stones.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Leo must’ve investigated every rift stone at least five times. He’d held each close to his face to sense for Taesitry. If he was the only one who could feel it, then perhaps one of these other rift stones had some trapped within.
None had even a tiny amount of Taesitry for him to use.
“There must be another way to open a rift!” Leo yelled at KRenn.
“Taesitry is the only way, Leo. Unless of course you manage to trap an immense amount of Artistry in that room, and there is an equal amount of Esitry in the same location in the dark realm. But that would only open a rift between the realms. I believe the rift you opened was not to the dark realm.”
“Then where did it lead?”
“There’s no way for me to know.”
“Can’t you figure it out!”
KRenn held the back of his head with a grimace. “Perhaps with a bit of rest.”
Leo barely suppressed the urge to shove KRenn to the ground. “This is your fault!”
“I realize that. I apologize.”
“That’s it? You apologize? They could be dead!”
“I did not predict these portals would inhale with such force. I still cannot determine why they are different than a normal rift.” KRenn put his hand over his chin as he glanced down. “Perhaps because they are not a gateway across realms. Yes, I think that’s it. The force of one opening must be powerful because of the pressure it puts on a single realm.”
“So they are still in our world?” Leo asked. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, though there are places in this world that are dangerous for all mankind. We must destroy the great rift quickly and search for another testing stone.”
“We are not doing anything to the great rift until we get them back here.”
“That is not—”
Leo heard marching outside the palace. He ran to the nearest window for a look. Thousands of troops were headed west, past the palace. Most were helmetless, human.
What is Mavrim’s army doing marching away from the rift? Leo left KRenn alone in the palace. Maybe someone in the army had a testing stone or at least knew where one was. Unfortunately, they were valuable, so if someone had
n’t parted with a stone before, they were unlikely to now. Leo still had to try, though, for he had no other options.
Soon he was running along the ranks of men, none of whom Leo knew personally. “Does anyone have a testing stone?” he shouted. “We need another if we’ll have any chance of destroying the rift!” It was a lie, but he didn’t care. He just had to find someone who knew of one, then Leo would figure out how to get it.
He shouted as he ran along the border of the enormous army. Many people asked him what happened with KRenn, but he didn’t take the time to reply. None seemed to have a stone or knew where one was. Eventually, Leo made it to the front where he saw Prince Gavval leading these soldiers back west.
“Sir, KRenn says we need another testing stone if we are to have any hope of destroying the rift,” Leo lied again. He could be punished severely for lying to the prince, but he didn’t worry about that right now. He had to get his brother and the Analyte princess back.
“All the rift stones we know of have been delivered to the palace.” The prince stared ahead as he walked. He didn’t seem to care much about the rift, to Leo’s surprise. Wasn’t he the one who’d sent word to his father that the rift needed to be destroyed now? It’s why twenty-five thousand human troops had come here in the first place, and now it looked as if all of them were leaving. Leo glanced around for the commander of the army, Jarrel Marks, figuring he would be near the front with the prince. But Leo couldn’t find him.
“Where are you taking all your men?” Leo asked.
The prince hardly glanced at him. “We have to return to the west to protect the cities. We’ve received word of barbarian attacks.” He appeared annoyed to be speaking to someone so far below his rank. He looked over his shoulder, then gestured for someone to approach.
This man looked even meaner than the prince as he stepped between Leo and the king’s son.
“What do you need, soldier?” the man asked Leo as he glared.
“Where have the barbarians attacked?”
“They’ve taken Jatn and the capital and are spreading to other, smaller cities.”
Leo was terrified for Rygen and his aunt. The barbarians have already taken Jatn. What did that mean? Did they kill everyone there?
Leo’s heart stilled as he remembered hearing what barbarians did to women when they pillaged a city. Leo’s aunt was much older than Leo but still a beautiful woman…and Rygen was very beautiful…and very young.
He took a few minutes to find his thoughts through the terror. Of all the times the barbarians could attack, what kind of horrible luck…wait. It wasn’t luck at all. They’d seen half of the human army marching east and decided to strike.
Please be all right, Rygen and Yune. Leo didn’t know what to do. It took weeks to travel back to Jatn from here, and his brother needed his help. He couldn’t go with the army.
As much as Leo wanted the prince to return with what looked to be nearly the entire army that had come here, it seemed strange to completely abandon the Analytes at this time.
“What about the attack on the rift beast?” Leo asked this man who spoke for the prince.
“Destroying the kasigerr is up to the king and the commander now. They have enough troops.”
Did they really, though? That beast was gigantic, and so many troops were here…marching back.
Something wasn’t right about this. It was especially strange that Jarrel Marks would stay with the remaining human troops. He had shown even less interest in destroying the rift than the prince had.
But what could Leo hope for, that they would turn around and leave Jatn and the capital to the barbarians? No.
“Please hurry to Jatn as fast as you can,” Leo encouraged. He would have to figure out another way to get a testing stone.
But there was no reply from this man loyal to the prince. Gavval pretended to ignore Leo as well as they marched. Could it be possible that they didn’t care about Jatn as much as Leo did?
Of course they don’t, he realized. Even though it was practically on the way to the capital from here, they will probably leave it for last. Jatn was controlled by the guilds within the city, specifically the Farmers’ Guild. They paid taxes, sure, but the king—or in this case—the prince, did not benefit as greatly from the poor city of Jatn as they did the capital.
Leo wished there was something he could do to change that, but he knew no amount of arguing would make a difference. He would have to help Rygen himself as soon as he created a way for his brother and Siki to return.
Hopefully the useless KRenn had thought of something by now. Leo wanted to find his father, but the capital was a few miles away. Darren probably already knew about the barbarians anyway and would do everything he could, and it wasn’t as if he would know how to get Andar back.
Leo started to run back toward the palace. If the army was passing by Jatn, perhaps Leo could at least convince one of them to get a letter to Rygen. The other two letters were pointless now. They would not reach Rygen, for no sane Analyte messenger would deliver them after seeing that the city was taken. Leo had hope he could convince a soldier to bring a message to Rygen, though. If only he had more time to write everything he needed to tell her. He sprinted as fast as he could.
Leo slowed inadvertently as he realized something. He shouldn’t put all the blame on KRenn in his letter. Leo had a feeling something would go wrong, but he had trusted that KRenn knew better than he did.
This would be the last time Leo trusted someone else when every part of him spoke against that thought.
Leo quickly tired as he sped up the long hill that the palace was built upon. He was sweating as he made it inside. He rushed through the palace, nearly knocking over a couple of confused servants. He made it to the writing room where Siki had brought him and his brother, grabbed a small note, and scribbled Rygen’s address on it. He didn’t have enough time to write down everything he wanted to say to her.
Dear Rygen,
I made a terrible mistake. Andar’s gone, and it’s our fault. I don’t know where he is or if he’s even still alive. I’m here in Analyte land with half of Mavrim’s army. We came here to destroy the rift. Everything seemed like it would be fine when Mavrim revealed himself and declared peace with the rebels. It was so we could all fight an enormous beast that lives in the rift, but KRenn Trange came back and everything has gone wrong since.
I can’t tell if any of this makes sense. There’s no time to explain better.
I don’t know what’s happening in Jatn during this time, but I’ve heard of terrible things. If you cannot come here where you will be safe, then I will find you as soon as possible, but first I have to find my brother.
--- Leo Quim
Leo didn’t know where KRenn was in the palace. He would find out after he returned. Leo sprinted out of the palace and down the hill so fast that he nearly fell halfway down. It took a considerable amount of effort and time to catch up to the army, but he made it.
He ran around the marching troops as he yelled the name of everyone who he’d trained with. One by one, he went through the somewhat short list of names, hoping at least one of them was here.
Finally, Edward came out of the ranks. “Leo, I thought I heard you! What—?”
“Can you get this to Rygen when you’re near Jatn? Please, it’s very important!”
“Rygen, the girl you’ve talked about so much?”
“Yes. Her address is written on the envelope.”
Edward was two years older than Andar, making him nineteen. But he and Leo had always gotten along well, except of course after the first time they’d met and Edward thought he and Andar were there to steal from him. Leo hardly could recall that version of his friend.
Edward had a round face, friendly in nature. He was of average height, though he was a bit thicker around his midsection than Leo, who was lean with muscle.
“So long as we make a stop in Jatn,” Edward said as he accepted the envelope, “then I’ll try my best to get it t
o her.”
Leo frowned at Edward.
“Leo, I can’t promise anything else.”
“Please, Edward. She needs your help, and she needs to know what happened…and why I can’t be there with you to help her.”
“I don’t need a letter to tell her what happened with the rift.” But upon seeing Leo’s dire expression, Edward’s face fell. “What’s wrong? What happened in the palace with KRenn?”
“It’s in the letter. You can read it, just make sure to get it to her and help her. Please.”
“I will do everything I can. I promise that.”
Leo couldn’t ask for more. He had to return to KRenn and figure out how to get his brother back.
“Thank you,” Leo said. “Goodbye and good luck!”
“Goodbye!” Edward called as Leo turned and sprinted.
After a moment, Leo looked back to see Edward rejoining the army. Their trainer, Farns, came out of the group to meet Edward, who said something as he pointed at Leo. Farns raised his hand as if to say goodbye to Leo, so Leo did the same back, then turned and focused on speed.
It was an even longer run to and up the hill now. Leo was about to collapse by the time he finally entered the palace. He took a few moments to catch his breath before he ran through the palace.
“KRenn! Where are you? KRenn!”
Servants came to Leo and gestured for him to follow them. They brought him to the same large room with a dais on one end where Leo had first met the Analyte king and princess. It was the same place where Andar’s trespassing was revealed. He’d called out Jarrel Marks for the inept commander that he was, and then Jarrel had punched him in the face. Leo had never seen his brother hit like that before and had immediately been overcome with anger, especially considering Andar’s arms had been held back by two officers. It had happened too fast for either of them to create a link that might’ve stopped the blow.
Why would Jarrel Marks not go back with the prince?
It was Mavrim who cared most about destroying this rift, and at least he was still here, Leo reminded himself to alleviate his worry. It was not up to Leo to predict the actions of the commander. My father is still there with the king and will make sure order is kept.
