by Kate Sander
As the elfish voice filled the air in his apartment and completely enthralled his hallucination, Carter closed his eyes and escaped to a dreamless sleep.
12
Tory
Tory's footsteps echoed in the empty halls, mocking her loneliness. The elation of being found by the monks had quickly reverted to the soul crushing loneliness to which she was accustomed.
"It's only been a few days," she muttered to no one. "Maybe someone will come and talk to you soon."
The monastery was vast, built of polished stone into the mountainside. She would never have found it without a guide, it so matched with the surrounding rock faces. But once through the doors, it opened onto a plateau, with plenty of sunshine and windows. It was warm, with vents to the earth's core making an almost tropical environment. Plants were growing in the windows and it created a spring like mood to the desolate and cold winter mountain top.
Tory was still exhausted from her trip. Missing a pinky finger but otherwise unscathed, she’d slept for a full day. Or two. She wasn’t sure how long. They'd allowed her to sleep and delivered hot broth to her door at regular intervals. Her stomach was unable to process any real food from the years of starvation. The broth, though almost clear, still made her stomach heave when she'd first tasted it.
"Tastes better than seal meat."
They weren't locking her in her room, but no one came to fetch her or offer her anything. She'd waited up this morning, trying to strike up a conversation with the monk who had dropped off her broth, but he'd sneaked it to her door while she went to the washroom.
She'd wandered up and down the halls, taking any staircase she felt like. The Remiel always went with her and she tossed it in the air and caught it while she walked.
"It's useless, you know that, right?" She said. "You dreamed that whole business with Roald and Malin. Hell, those two people probably don't even exist."
"Then how did you get the Remiel?" Her brain maggot asked.
"Dad gave it to me," she shrugged. She thought of the Remiel and continued to wander, not thinking about where she was going.
"You know that's not true," the maggot answered. "The Shaman gave it to you in your head, then it turned up in your hands."
"Shit like that doesn't happen," Tory snapped. "Magic isn't real. And it's not like I'm a Zoya, I can't just do shit."
"But you are a Zoya," a monk said from a doorway beside her.
Tory jumped so high she tossed the Remiel to the monk. The monk smiled and caught it with ease before it hit the ground.
"My name is Monk Oh," he said, holding her precious ruby out to her. "I am the one who found you in the mountains."
"I remember," Tory said. Her mouth was suddenly dry. She snatched the ruby out of his hand, and stared the monk down. He was younger than he had looked in the mountains. Bald head, dark copper skin that contrasted with bright green eyes. He looked no older than thirty-five in this light, which surprised her as he'd looked so old in the mountains.
"I'm sorry no one came to get you. It is our custom to allow guests to dictate when they are ready to come and speak."
"How long does that take?"
"Sometimes days, like yourself. Others, like me, stayed silent for years before I made the journey from my room, all those years ago when a monk found me. This view has always held my attention." He held the door open for her. "Would you like some answers?"
Tory nodded and followed him through the door. It led to a stone staircase, with only one direction: up.
Oh was bounding up the steps, taking them two at a time. Still weak from her years of isolation, Tory struggled to keep up with the lean monk.
Breathing hard, she followed him up the staircase. She was so far behind him, she could only hear his footsteps on the stairs above her. But she tried, her frail body frustrating her. Only a few years ago she would have outpaced him easily, but as weak as she was now, she could barely keep up.
The run felt like hours, when really it was only minutes. The stairs led to a wooden door. There was nowhere else to go. Puffing, barely able to breathe, she shouldered herself through the door.
The view made her breath catch. They were on the very top of the mountain, in an enclosed, circular room. Glass windows showed a beautiful mountain landscape. Snow and ice gradually turning to a lush, green forest below. They could see for hundreds of miles. The mountain was situated at the end of the range, and the lush forest was covered with a beautiful light fog.
In the center of the room was a large pool carved into the mountain top. Monk Oh was sitting on the edge with his feet dangling in the pool. He looked up at her and smiled when she entered.
"It is quite the hike to get up here. The water is quite warm. If you decided to become a monk here it'd be your job to fill the pool with warm water every day. Takes years to master the stairs, but it creates discipline."
Tory was trying to catch her breath, and had to resort to resting her hands on her knees. You'd think with all the time outside and walking she'd be better at this.
"Now," Monk Oh said. "What do you know about the Remiel?"
"Nothing," Tory said through deep breaths. "My old town's Shaman gave it to me in a dream. I had another dream where two Zoya were attacking me. The Remiel got me out of there. But I doubt it was anything but a vision. I'm pretty sure my father just sneaked it into my pocket when I was passed out..."
"You know that's not true," Monk Oh said. "We don't have time for you to ramble, or to lie to yourself. Your Shaman gave it to you. It was not a dream, as you said. He managed to cross the plain from the spirit world to this world to give it to you. No easy task."
"How do you know that?"
"There are more powers to Zoya than just speed and strength. Many Zoya have powers of the mind. Mine is to cross planes. I have talked to your Shaman in the spirit world, as well as your father. They are the ones who told me you'd be coming."
"You're... you're a Zoya?" Tory said. Even after being told she was the daughter of a Zoya, the familiar fear and disgust rose in her chest at the word.
"Your fear is deeply engrained," he said. "Your best friend was a Zoya, no?"
"Senka? Yeah, yeah she was. But she was different, she wasn't crazy."
"Ah, so all Zoya are crazy?"
"I don't think you start that way," Tory said. "But I think you end up that way. There's a reason why normal people fear them. They have power. Power brings crazy."
"Actually quite an astute observation," Monk Oh said. "I can assure you I'm not crazy. You, however, have been talking to that ghost Black Eyes for more than three years. Talking to a ghost would be defined as crazy, no?"
"Got me there," Tory said. She went and sat down beside the monk, hanging her blistered feet into the warm water.
"So, ask me your burning question," he said.
"What is the Remiel?"
"Ah. I cannot show you the beginning of the Remiel. But I can show you its destruction. We must start at the end to understand the beginning."
"It's not destroyed," Tory said.
"Ah, but it is," Monk Oh said. "The Remiel used to be much larger. It was destroyed. That is the largest piece, yes, but there are shattered remnants scattered throughout the world. All bringing the soul of Cass to their wearer. Even if it was just a tiny piece."
"Who is Cass? Black Eyes said I was Cass reborn."
The monk withdrew a small flask out of his inner robes. "Drink this," he said, "and watch the end of Cass and the Remiel. An end you're doomed to repeat."
"Lovely," Tory said. "But I've learned my lesson about taking drinks from men I don't know. Didn't end well for me the last time."
"You want to use the Remiel like you did in your dream, no?"
Tory nodded.
"This is ayahuasca. This herb will let you access the part of your brain that you need in order to use the Remiel to its potential. You only need to drink it once. You will venture into a dark place and see the past. But we will take care of you throughout this. After you come
through, you will be able to unlock the power of the Remiel."
Tory sighed, took the flask and drank deeply, bitter herb running down her throat.
"I guess I just proved myself right," Tory said, blinking heavily. "Even the promise of power makes you do crazy things."
She faded into the vision.
Her feet pounded up the rocky outcrop. The thunder rumbled overhead and mixed with the sound of the ocean, made her head ring causing confusion in the dark. Feet slipping on the wet rock, she went down on her stomach hard, losing her breath.
"Keep going," she muttered to herself. The yells of the men of the village reached her and spurred her to her feet. The sun was setting and the pounding rain was making it hard to see. She needed to make the crest of the cliff. Only then could she lose the villagers in the forest.
Dogs barked and howled and Cass scrambled up the hill. The world erupted into a blinding white light, illuminating for an instant the steep trail in front of her. Another crash of thunder overhead. Cass shivered, the pounding rain chilling her to her core.
The mantra repeated through her head, making her move faster. "Get to the top, then you'll be safe. Get to the top, then you'll be safe..."
She crested the hill and the cliff loomed in front of her, an eighty foot drop into the crashing, churning sea. To her right was the safety of the forest.
A blinding flash of light.
A huge, lumbering outline of a man was in front of her.
Elated, Cass wiped her eyes, trying to see her love more clearly.
"Jolan!" she called ecstatically. "Jolan, you came!"
He covered the distance in two large strides and wrapped her in a bear hug, spinning her around in a circle. "Of course I came, my love."
"We need to go," Cass said hurriedly. "The Remiel, it's burning. They are coming for me. They've named me Zoya, or outsider. They think I caused the famine!"
"Darling I know," Jolan said firmly. "I know. I tried to put them right but they wouldn't listen."
Cass grabbed his hand to lead him to the forest. Jolan held firm, grabbing her wrist. A dog howled. Closer this time.
"They're coming," Cass said. "Jolan we have to hurry."
"Do you have it?" Jolan asked. "That stone you're always looking into. Do you have it?"
"Of course I have it," Cass said. She tried to turn away from her lover but he held her wrist. "Jolan, let go. We need to get to the forest."
"Give it to me," Jolan said. Thunder crashed.
"What? No. You couldn't control it anyway. Jolan, we don't have time for this. Let me go."
He cocked his head to the side and twisted her arm, hard.
"GIVE ME THE STONE!"
"No!" Cass said in pain. "Jolan, this isn't you. Let go! You can't use it even if you tried."
"Oh, I could use it," Jolan said. "I've watched you, every night, use it to see the future. You've predicted things, down to the minute. You've won wars with that thing. Of course you caused the famine. You're the most powerful being in the world. But it's all because of that stone. GIVE IT TO ME!"
Cass worked the Remiel from her pocket. Relief flooded her heart when she was able to grab it with her free hand.
"NO!" She yelled and held it up in front of her.
Energy exploded out of the stone in a blinding red light, sending them both flying away from each other. Cass landed hard in the dirt, closer to the cliff. The wind knocked out of her, the ruby the size of her fist left her hand. Her head swam and rain poured on her face. Lightning struck the forest close to them, causing her eyes to blur. She covered her head and rolled on to her side in the fetal position.
Thunder clapped again.
She felt Jolan's hand grab her wrist and start to drag her.
"No!" she coughed weakly, clawing at Jolan's hand. "Jolan, please."
"Give it to me," he said, grunting with the effort of pulling her through the mud.
Cass clawed at the ground, trying to slow him down. "I don't have it. I dropped it."
"Then you will die anyway."
Jolan reached the edge of the cliff. Cass could hear the ocean slam against the rocks below. She dug in harder and her hand came across a smooth stone in the mud.
The Remiel. It had almost gone over the cliff and Jolan, in the dark, had stepped right over it.
She clasped on to it, suddenly so tired. Her lover, the only man she'd ever trusted, was going to kill her. All for this stupid stone.
Her decision was made.
Jolan stopped at the edge to readjust his grip.
"Don't do this," she said. "I love you."
Jolan smiled. "I know you did."
He threw her over the cliff.
The Remiel left her hand and fell with her. Cass fell backwards, almost in slow motion. She saw the look of horror cross Jolan's face as he realized what he did. Not for her, no, but for the stone. The stone she poured her heart and soul into. The stone she used as a vehicle for her power.
The Remiel hit the rocks and shattered, pieces swept away by the raging currents.
Cass hit the ocean and was dead in seconds, her head smashing against the rocks, and the swirling waters carrying her out to sea.
Tory launched herself upright, gasping to breathe.
"Calmly," Monk Oh said beside her. "Calmly, Tory. You're safe." He grabbed her arm lightly, steering her to the pool. They'd put her on a comfortable cot beside the pool. A monk had brought a light broth for her and tea and another had made sure the water was a perfect temperature. Oh led her to the edge of the pool, helping her lower her frail body into the warm waters. The sun was setting over the mountain and the room was getting dark, despite the fire burning in a hearth.
Tory sat in the pool fully clothed. The extreme nausea subsided. Oh brought her a warm cup of tea and she drank it greedily, trying to get the bitter taste of the herb out of her mouth.
"Her love killed her," she said at last. It was dark out, Tory had been sitting in silence for hours, Oh waiting patiently beside her, a different monk taking water out of the pool and replacing it with warm water. "So he obviously never loved her."
"He did love her, at one time," Oh said. "But like you said before, power corrupts. He grew jealous of the stone and Cass pouring her love and soul into it. Jealousy turned to hatred."
"You're telling me that Ujarak will do the same to me?"
Oh nodded. "Yes. You look like Cass, and did you notice Jolan's striking resemblance to your own love? He will betray you for the stone. It's what happens."
Tory shook her head, "He won't," she said firmly.
Oh looked at her sadly, but didn't argue.
"Who was Cass anyway?"
"Cass was the first Zoya. She was the first to come from the other world to this one."
"And I'm her?"
"Not exactly. You are a descendant of her. You're the daughter of a woman Zoya, a rare occurrence as Zoya don't often live for nine months to bring a child into this world. Your mother was a Zoya and a direct descendent of Cass in the other world."
Tory processed the information.
"You've unlocked the part of your brain that uses the Remiel. Cass was the first Zoya, and you're destined to stop them. Time comes full circle."
13
Tomo
"What do you mean, they are looking for me?" Tomo asked Genkei. They were still kneeling around the table of Eito’s and Chuya's kitchen. Akira and Chuya were outside. Tomo could hear them in the garden, Akira's giggles reaching them over the soft chirps of birds in the trees. "Start from the beginning."
Genkei nodded. He was clearly still distressed. "We woke this morning at daylight, like any other morning. The village was calm and quiet. I went off into the woods to hunt for game to sell at my family’s butcher shop. When I came back," his voice broke. "I wasn't gone more than a few hours. When I came back, I knew something was wrong. The village should have been bustling with how nice the weather was. Instead there was nothing. No sound. Even the birds had grown silent. I sne
aked my way to the village square..." He took a moment to collect himself. Akira's shrieks of laughter, normally a joy to hear, grated on Tomo's nerves. They seemed so out of place that she didn't want to hear them at all.
"There were four of them in the center of the square. Ampulex. They were in the purple and black armour of the Ampulex generals. One was huge, a mountain of a man with a giant axe and horns in his helmet. A small one, she looked no more than a teenager, was speaking. The elders of our village were bound on their knees in front of them. 'Time's up,' the girl said to them. 'Tell me where the Empress of Blood is.' One of our elder women replied, 'She's dead. She died three years ago as she led Anzen's warriors in battle in a war that didn't need to be fought. A justified and deserved end, if you believe the stories of the deaths she caused.'" Genkei's face flushed as he relayed the words of the elder, and he shot Tomo an embarrassed look.
"She's not wrong," Tomo said. Akira had finally stopped laughing, letting Tomo think a little bit. "Please continue."
"The Ampulex girl killed her. They killed all of them. I think I must have made a noise during the execution because I heard a shout as I fled. I only just got away."
Silence outside.
"Wait, you mean they saw you watching?" Tomo said sharply.
Not even birds. Tomo got chills rushing down her back.
Silence. Complete silence.
Shit.
"Yes I believe so."
The window in the dining room shattered as the arrow flew through it and pierced Genkei's throat. He fell face first onto the table, spilling tea and shattering glasses. His blood pooled with the tea. With a gurgle of pain and surprise, Genkei died.
Tomo's hand was on the hilt of her sword and she was charging the door. Eito was close behind her. A scream, loud and long, had them skidding to a stop. The screech stopped as abruptly as it started and had Tomo and Eito exchanging a terrified look.
"Chuya!" Eito yelled, pushing past Tomo to the door.
"Wait-"
The door exploded inwards, shattering in a million pieces. Eito was tossed violently against the wall and crumpled to the floor. Tomo managed to hop out of the way as a man bigger than any she'd seen charged into the room. Dressed as Genkei said he would be, the giant man skidded to a stop and swung his giant axe right at Tomo's midsection. Tomo threw herself into a forward roll and the axe missed the top of her head by an inch. She drew her katana as she rolled and stood up swinging.
