Palatinii Cycle

by G'vonni Avner

  Cyrus turned his head to Katie. “Have a seat. We should go over a few things before we take off to see my old friend.”

  Katie pulled a chair from another table and sat down.

  “We should leave here by tomorrow morning,” Cyrus said. “But note that as we leave this town, our journey will become increasingly dangerous. The Viscar Mountains are one of the most dangerous places on this planet. Most are so scared of them, they don’t even mention them.”

  “But we have to rescue my dad,” Katie said.

  “That’s right,” Cyrus replied. “But let’s talk about you.”

  “What about me?” she asked.

  “You, as the daughter of John Dimes, by blood, are a Palatinii. And our job is to protect Narque and keep its strength and balance in place. Disaster is about to hit and the nature of this world will be tipped over into chaos.”

  “That seems like a pretty big job,” Tyson said.

  “It is,” Cyrus replied. “And Katie is to be on the front line of it.”

  Katie looked struck. She knew that she had a big part in her world and she was ready to accept that but to hear someone other than her father telling her made it seem even more threatening, which in turn made it seem less real.

  “You need to learn how to use your abilities,” Cyrus said.

  “Who is supposed to teach me?”

  “Well, you are, of course!” Cyrus replied.

  “How am I supposed to teach myself something I don’t know,” Katie asked.

  “The greatest artist and philosophers did it all the time,” Cyrus replied. “This is no different. Usually, you would know the source of your power, but they raised you outside of this world. I can’t blame your father for that though. He made the right choice.” Cyrus lowered his voice.

  “What is the source of my power?” Katie asked.

  “Mavern,” Cyrus answered. “The spirit and essence of the oceans.”

  Katie touched her necklace and looked at the dolphin and spun it inside the ring. “This is Mavern,” she said.

  Cyrus nodded. “That’s right.”

  “Who is the source of your power?” Katie asked.

  “Pailath. The first and last griffin of Narque,” Cyrus answered. “Like us, there are twelve sources of power. Each a basic element of life on Narque.”

  “So are the spirits part of us? Or are we part of them?” Katie asked.

  “No, not at all,” Cyrus answered. “We can only harness the power of them. We are not their reincarnations or part of them.”

  “So how do you become one?” Tyson asked. “I mean, I’m just wondering how it happens.”

  Cyrus sighed. “Sadly I don’t have this answer for you,” he said. “I only know that if you are born with the necklace around your neck, it means that they have chosen you. Why or how this is, I do not know.”

  “If I die, then does someone else take my place?” Katie asked. “Yes and no,” Cyrus answered. “It is possible for more than one person to gather their power from the same essence while they are alive. It is rare, though. Also, if the spirit of the element doesn’t see anyone as worthy of their power, then none will be given. I should also tell you that you aren’t limited to the power which you harness from the spirit.”

  “What do you mean?” Tyson asked.

  “I can use light and manipulate it,” Cyrus said. “But if I wanted I could turn things into water, just like you.”

  Katie looked surprised.

  “I shouldn’t say that I could do it easily,” Cyrus corrected himself. “I could do it if I learned, but I am strongest with Pailath.”

  “So how does Sabrina get her power?” Katie asked. “Is she also one of us?”

  Cyrus sighed and looked down. “She gets her power from the one who calls herself Queen Nayara. The Queen is an abomination and has aberrated the elements of our world for her own purpose. I do not know how she accomplished this.”

  “So, they can probably do anything with their powers, right?” Katie asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Shouldn’t we do the same thing, then? So we can be just as strong?”

  “No!” Cyrus said, perhaps louder than he had meant. With a softer voice, he said, “What she is doing destroys our world slowly and has been turning it into something evil. Our world was created pure, and she is draining that away. We cannot do the same thing she is.”

  Katie sighed. “I understand.”

  They sat there for a minute before Cyrus said, “We should get going. We don’t want to disturb him too late.”

  Cyrus led Katie and Tyson through the town, passing many more stores and houses. Soon the streets opened into a round bazaar, with several small, shack-like shops and a few larger ones. The place was buzzing with excitement and talk. There was a noticeable difference in the way people acted here.

  “What is this place?” Tyson asked.

  “The town’s central shopping place, like an outdoor mall. This is where all the excitement comes if any comes at all.”

  “Didn’t we pass by many stores back there?” Katie asked.

  “Yes, we did. But these here have a wider variety of merchandise and have more exotic things, as this is where all the imported goods come to.”

  Cyrus let Tyson and Katie take a quick detour to explore a bit. They saw all sorts of jewelry, most of it familiar and basic looking, except for a few that had strange stones with intriguing designs etched into them. There was one store that sold leaves. Katie wanted to ask Cyrus about it but figured she would learn another day if it was important. For a few more minutes they walked around the different shops. Cyrus led them further off into the town. Katie could make out the town’s gates as they approached them. This made Katie think they had walked almost to the other side of town.

  Instead of walking the path that led to the gates, Cyrus pulled them off onto a narrower path that led to one house. The house looked old and stood some ways away from everything else.

  Before they reached the door, Cyrus said, “Listen closely,” he spoke quietly. “You are about to meet Hammond.”

  “Who is Hammond?” Tyson asked, but Cyrus told him to be quiet.

  “Hammond is the father of a well-known channeler. A channeler is someone who can contact the spirits of the deceased. His daughter’s name was Serena. Be careful not to mention her or his family because he will throw us out. He knows things, and we need his answers.”

  “What happened to them?” Katie whispered.

  “Serena disappeared five years ago. She was only fourteen. She ventured out into the woods towards a shrine. Local legend says that the woods are only dangerous because of what is inside the shrine. Centuries ago there used to be a town there, but everyone in it disappeared. The only thing that remained was the shrine and soon the woods grew over the land.”

  Cyrus stopped talking as they reached the house. He took a step towards the door, but it creaked open before he could knock. A middle-aged man was standing in the doorway, though his beard and hair were gray and looked older than his face.

  “Cyrus,” he said in a deep, slow voice. “I heard what you were talking about.”

  He didn’t seem angry but wearier than he had just a moment ago when he opened the door.

  “I apologize,” Cyrus said. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I only wanted to warn them.”

  Hammond didn’t seem to have heard him. He didn’t react at all except to jerk his head and ask, “Who are they?”

  “Tyson Everties,” said Tyson before Cyrus could answer. He held out his hand, but Hammond didn’t take it.

  He nodded once and looked at Katie. “And you?”

  “I’m Katie Dimes,” she answered, strengthening her voice in contrast to how she felt.

  “The daughter of John Dimes,” he said.

  “Correct.”

  Hammond stared at her for a second and then said to the three of them, “Come in.”

  He walked inside, and Katie, Tyson, and Cyrus followed, closing the door
behind them.

  “Make yourselves comfortable,” Hammond said, sitting on a large, dusty cushion.

  The house was small. There were a few rooms in the back, which they couldn’t see. They were in the living room. There were cushions on the floor, and they all looked cleaner than the one Hammond sat in.

  After they had sat down, Hammond spoke. “I suppose I should finish telling you the story of my daughter. Or correct it.”

  None of them answered. Katie briefly turned her head to look at Cyrus, but he was staring at Hammond.

  “Those who built this town did so in the belief that one day, whatever lived in the shrine would come after them. This is why the walls were built. It is said that the spirits of the people of the old town would want revenge and that they would come after the citizens of Ilon. We have been safe so far, except for the three disappearances, since the town was built. We got a glimpse of what lies hidden in the woods, and what the shrine holds when seven spirits broke into the town.”

  Tyson let out a breath.

  Hammond ignored him. “Most of the buildings were destroyed, but everyone was otherwise unharmed except one person who went missing.”

  “Was that your daughter?” Katie asked.

  Tyson and Cyrus looked at each other like she was trying to commit suicide.

  “No, the incident I speak of now happened a long time ago. That was the first person who went missing. The person who was taken was a young boy who lived with his mother. She passed a few years later and soon his disappearance was forgotten about. Later a traveler came to Ilon. He had never been here before and he headed straight to the woods to do some hunting. That night his screams were heard, but not for long before the entire night fell silent. In the morning, we found a necklace he had purchased the previous day on the ground.”

  Katie’s eyes widened, but this time she didn’t speak.

  “Fast forward to five years ago, when my daughter thought she could handle the spirits. Serena was a channeler, as you heard, and she talked to many spirits of old inhabitants of the town and relayed the confessions and messages that they had to the living. One day she contacted the traveler who had been killed. He told her that there was only one malevolent spirit, a female who caused the evil. If this is true, I do not know,” he paused.

  “Serena then told me she would travel through the woods that night and she would go to the shrine to send the spirit away once and for all. I told her not to go, but the inhabitants of this town wanted her to, so in the dead of night she snuck out. Around four in the morning, a sudden breeze woke me. I saw the blue mist through my window and I went outside. The mist soon spread everywhere and I could barely see a thing.

  That’s when I heard my daughter’s screams and her pleas and calls for my help. I ran towards the gates as fast as I could, but the mist made it impossible to see where I was going. I was too late. When I had finally reached the gates, her screams stopped and once again I heard the eerily deadly silence that chilled the night,” his words echoed around the room.

  “I’m not sure why, but I held out my hand, and a few strands of her blonde hair fell into my hand. I closed my fingers around it and I knew that I would never see my daughter again.”

  Silence followed. Tyson was white with shock, Katie’s eyes swam with tears, but none fell. Cyrus’ eyes were wide with surprise, never having heard this story before.

  “That’s why no one talks to me, or about my family,” Hammond said. “Everyone in this town feels guilty about the death of my daughter. They act as if they were responsible.”

  “Do you feel like they are?” Katie asked.

  Hammond raised an eyebrow and looked at her. “I do not entirely blame them, though their excitement for her to go may have contributed to her decision to not listen to me. But I otherwise feel responsible.” He choked on his last few words.

  Tyson and Katie stared at him while Cyrus looked down at his lap. Katie didn’t know what to say. She could feel Hammond’s sorrow, but he never cried.

  “I chained her too much, didn’t give her much time to interact with other children. I didn’t let her do that because I was scared she would venture out to the shrine. I knew she was a channeler and figured that the spirits would draw her to it.”

  He spoke more firmly now. “It didn’t matter, in the end. My greatest fear had come true,” he said.

  Hammond looked at Katie and changed the subject. “You are part of the Palatinii, right? Like your father?”

  Katie looked back at him. She could feel Cyrus’ eyes digging into her mind, willing her to say that she was.

  “I am,” she answered.

  “So you’re going to help save our world, right? You will save us all.” It wasn’t much of a question.

  “Of course,” Katie answered.

  “Then I will help you by telling you what you came for,” he said. Cyrus made a small movement. Katie and Hammond looked at him.

  “Sorry,” Cyrus said, looking down.

  “I need you to promise me something,” Hammond said. “But promise me only after I give you the information that you seek.”

  Katie hesitated. She didn’t know what was about to come. She didn’t know if she would be doing the right thing, or walking into a trap that she couldn’t see, though it glared right in front of her eyes. But Katie knew that she didn’t have time to worry about that. “Of course,” Katie said.

  Tyson made an involuntary gasp which Katie ignored.

  Hammond cleared his throat. “Cyrus, listen closely, as I know this is why you came here.” He kept talking before Cyrus could answer. “Queen Nayara intends to get into the City of Oasi and unleash from within it a dark creature that holds the power to destroy the world and build it anew. Eons ago, this creature was trapped and locked deep within the Colinth Mountains so it could be forgotten and lie there forever. This is what Oasi protects, and this is why Oasi houses many of our world leaders. Their job is to protect it, but this is known to but a few.”

  Katie glanced at Cyrus and then back at Hammond. She wasn’t sure if that was why Cyrus wanted to come here, or if there was more to be said. Cyrus seemed satisfied, though.

  “So we have to go there first,” Katie asked, the question more directed to Cyrus rather than Hammond.

  “Yes, because if we don’t stop this, there won’t be a chance to save your father,” Cyrus answered her and then turned to Hammond and said, “Thank you.”

  Hammond nodded and then looked at Katie. “Are you ready for my request?”

  “Yes.”

  “When you have accomplished stopping Nayara and saving our world, I want you to find my daughter so I can see her one more time, and apologize.”

  Katie hesitated, but she had already made her promise. When she spoke, she spoke with certainty and sincerity. “I will.”

  8

  Of Dark Deeds and Fairy Tales

  Sabrina sat on one of the thirteen straight-backed chairs at a long table. She sat next to the Queen’s chair, which was at the head of the table and was occupied by no one less than Queen Nayara herself. Opposite Sabrina was Ariah. He was tall, lean, and dark-haired. His green eyes were unmoving as he waited, and though he was impatient, he showed no sign of it. Sabrina wasn’t scared of him but found him intimidating.