by Davis Ashura
Serena sighed. “You’re almost there,” she said, sounding reluctant. “Another few months and I don’t see any mahavan easily overcoming you.”
“Ward says the same thing,” William said, “and Rukh thinks I’m as good as I’m going to get with a sword.” The idea of going back to Sinskrill left him simultaneously excited and terrified.
“Do you have a plan for how to get off Sinskrill with Travail?” Serena asked.
“I think so,” William said. “Or least I might.”
Serena eyed him in uncertainty. “You know Mr. Zeus won’t let you go until you have that part figured out.”
“I know,” William said.
Serena’s mien became mournful.
“What is it?” William asked.
“Do you ever get the sense that Lilith isn’t real?” she asked. “That it’s too perfect?”
William frowned, not sure what she meant.
“I have this fear that all of this will end up being some kind of broken dream,” Serena said, “that I’ll wake up one day in the Servitor’s Palace.”
William took one of her hands and squeezed it. “If you can feel me doing that, you know it’s real. You can’t feel in dreams.”
“Not in a normal one, but in some you can,” Serena said, slipping her hand free. Her face became serious, and she took a deep breath as if she needed to gather her courage. “I had a dream last night. Isha contacted me.”
William stiffened. Adam Paradiso, the author of much of his and Jake’s suffering. While Serena still had warm feelings toward the man, William hated him. In fact, other than the Servitor, there was no one in all of Sinskrill—maybe the entire world—who he despised more.
William set aside his anger, though. He needed information. “How did he reach you? I thought only those who love one another can share dreams.”
“Isha raised me as a father would a daughter,” Serena answered. “I know you hate him, but I still think of him that way.”
William scowled, feeling betrayed by Serena’s words. How could she love someone who had hurt him so badly? “What did he tell you?” he asked, trying not to snap at her.
“Isha has touched the Spear,” she answered, “and he says that in three years the anchor line between the Servitor’s Palace and Seminal will open up. That’s when Lord Shet will return to Earth, and Isha is terrified. So is the Servitor. They saw what Shet did to Seminal.”
William’s anger gave way to further confusion. “I thought Shet was chained up.”
“Yes, but ‘was’ is the important qualifier,” Serena said. “He no longer is. He’s free. The chains broke early, and Isha says he has returned life to the remaining titans on Seminal.”
William’s eyes widened in horror. “There’s more than one like him?”
“Seven,” Serena said. “Demigods instead of true gods, but with Shet’s help they’re powerful enough to easily enslave both Seminal and Earth.”
“Just great,” William said. For the past two years he’d focused only on freeing Fiona and Travail. As a result, he’d put Shet on the back burner.
He could no longer do so. None of them could. Shet was coming, and they had to find a way to stop him.
“But we still have three years before the anchor line opens?” William asked.
“As far as I know,” Serena replied. “But what difference does it make? Once it opens and Shet crosses, he’ll destroy us.”
“Then we have to figure out a way to close the anchor line before that happens,” William replied.
Serena held a skeptical air. “No one knows how to do that.”
“Not yet, but ever since Australia, Mr. Zeus has been researching it.” He didn’t bother mentioning that Mr. Zeus’ investigations had found nothing of use.
“But—”
“One problem at a time,” William said. “Shet’s important, but for now let’s focus on getting Fiona and Travail free from Sinskrill. After that we can figure out everything else.”
Serena didn’t respond. Instead, she stared out over Lilith Bay, a wistful smile on her face. “I hope you’re right, but even if you aren’t, this place has been a lovely dream.”
“We’ll make this dream real,” William promised, “but until then, we need to gather our people together and figure out our next step.”
“Anyone home?” William called when he and Serena arrived at Mr. Zeus’ place. With night settling on the island, the lights inside were on, but he couldn’t hear or see anyone moving about.
“Out back,” Jason shouted.
Serena’s eyes darted about in obvious curiosity and nervousness while they made their way through the house. “You know, I’ve only been past Mr. Zeus’ front door five times in the past two years.”
“It’ll be fine,” William said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. “You don’t have to be nervous.”
“Wouldn’t you be?”
“Nobody hates you any more.”
“That doesn’t mean they like me.”
“You’re making a mountain out of a molehill,” William told her, although privately he thought she might be right. Jake, Daniel, and Lien liked Serena well enough, even Mr. Zeus did, but for whatever reason, Jason only tolerated her.
They entered the courtyard in the back and discovered the group of people William had asked to meet with them: Mr. Zeus, Afa, Jake, Ms. Sioned, and Jason.
All were gathered around the lit firepit next to the pond. The gurgling of the small waterfall at the back of the garden could be heard above the crackling flames. Several landscape lights highlighted a few shrubs, but otherwise, the only illumination came from the fire, as twisting smoke dispersed into the air.
“Serena,” Mr. Zeus greeted with an inviting smile. “It’s good to see you again. Both of you have a seat.” He pointed to a pair of chairs.
William’s worry eased a bit. “Thanks for meeting with us,” he said, sliding into one of the unoccupied chairs.
“What’s this about?” Afa asked.
“William thought I should tell you something,” Serena said. “Isha—my Isha—dreamed to me last night.”
Silence followed her statement.
“How?” Jake blurted. “I thought you were blocked from dreaming to people.”
“She is,” Ms. Sioned said. “She can’t send out dreams but she can receive them.” Ms. Sioned smiled at Serena. “Sile says ‘hello,’ by the way. He also offers his gratitude for all your help with the spring plantings.”
“My pleasure,” Serena replied. She feigned careless courage, but William saw the tension in her carriage as she stepped farther into the courtyard. She edged forward with the tight-limbed motion of a cat in a strange alley before sitting next to William.
“Sile also asks you to seriously consider his offer of working with him in partnership next year,” Ms. Sioned said. “Bar thinks you should take it up as well.”
William gazed at the old raha’asra, sensing something about her words. They hadn’t been meant for Serena’s ears alone.
Sure enough, Mr. Zeus wore surprise on his face. “Sile wants to partner with you, and Bar Duba supports his offer?”
Serena nodded.
“I see,” he said. He stared at Jason, who flushed.
“You need to hear what Adam told her,” William said.
Serena explained the message Isha had sent.
“Shet and Seminal,” Mr. Zeus said, making the names sound like a curse.
“They’re real,” Serena insisted.
“I want to believe you,” Mr. Zeus said. “I’ve even investigated how to close an anchor line, but nothing in our histories confirms that Shet still lives. All our records say he was killed by Shokan and Sira.”
“Defeated,” Serena said. “Sinskrill’s histories say Shet left for Seminal of his own accord, but Arylyn’s say he was defeated. They don’t say he was killed.”
Jason grumbled under his breath.
William rolled his eyes, tired of Jason’s ongoing skepticism
. “Shet’s real,” he said to Jason, “and we need a better plan than sitting around doing nothing when he arrives to burn Lilith to the ground.”
Jason glared at him.
Mr. Zeus took off his glasses, sighed, and rubbed his eyes. “Your past hinders your present,” he told Serena. “Not enough influential people believe you. Unless you have a way to convince them that you speak the truth, nothing will change.”
“Because nothing needs to change,” Jason muttered.
“Life is change,” Ms. Sioned chided.
“There is a way to make her speak the truth,” Afa said. “It’s something only a raha’asra can create.”
“What’s this?” Mr. Zeus asked Afa. “You’ve never spoken of something like this before.”
“I thought of it when William and Jake showed me how to drain lorasra,” Afa said. “It made me realize that we can adjust a governor so it completely blocks someone from accessing lorasra. They’d essentially be rendered normal. We could then place a braid of truth-telling on them and prevent them from lying.”
“You have a governor like that?” Jason asked.
Afa nodded. “A first attempt, but it works.”
“I’ll wear it,” Serena quickly agreed, although her face had gone pale.
William squeezed her hand in support.
Afa clapped his hands in delight. “Excellent. Let me fetch it.” He rose and prepared to hobble off to his home.
Jake stood. “Tell me where it is and I’ll get it.”
“On my desk. It looks like any other governor.”
“Be back in a bit.” Jake dashed off.
“It’s really silly of you to distrust her so,” Ms. Sioned addressed Jason while they waited.
“Not now, Sioned,” Mr. Zeus said.
“When you find she’s been telling you the truth all along, I expect an improvement in your attitude and behavior toward her.”
Jason squirmed in his chair, but he didn’t respond.
Minutes later, Jake returned with the governor and passed it to Serena.
“Remember to buckle the straps around your neck,” Afa advised.
As soon as Serena had the governor fitted and connected around her head and neck, she groaned. “I hate this thing. It feels like I’ve got the flu.”
William understood her discomfort. Lorasra divided around her as if she was a boulder in a stream, and she had no access to it.
Afa made a pleased noise. “It works.”
Mr. Zeus grunted. “I’ll place the braid,” he said. He wove quickly and made a flicking motion.
An ivory band shot with Earth-green settled on the crown of Serena’s head, and she gasped.
“Tell us how you learned about Seminal,” Mr. Zeus said.
Serena explained about touching the unprotected Spear and sourcing her lorethasra. She told of how it transported her mind to a place of legend, where elves ruled sylvan realms, dwarves and gnomes battled for control of caves buried in mountains, and—
“Wait,” Jason said. “Dwarves are peaceful. They can’t fight anyone.” He wore a triumphant expression.
“She saw what she saw,” William said. “She can’t lie about it with the braid Mr. Zeus placed on her.”
“It’s true,” Mr. Zeus said.
“Then she’s mistaken,” Jason said. “The Spear gave her false visions and made her believe something that isn’t true.”
“I also saw Shet,” Serena said. “I saw lorasra billow off him like smoke from a forest set ablaze. It’s the same lorasra that flows into Sinskrill and other saha’asras, like the one in Australia. Only a god can create that much lorasra.”
“Two years ago, Shet promised to return to Earth in five years,” William said. “Adam dreamed to her and confirmed that number.”
“Then maybe the Spear gives false images to everyone,” Jason said.
“Why would it?” William asked. “And what harm is there in figuring out a way to stop an apocalypse?”
Jason had no answer. A thoughtful expression replaced his earlier one of certainty.
“I can’t take this any more,” Serena said. Her face had grown pale and sickly. She unbuckled the governor and lifted it off, sighing with relief.
“I think the Village Council should lift the block on Serena’s ability to dream back,” William said. “We need to learn everything we can about Shet.”
Serena paced along the hallway outside the small chamber within the Municipal Center of Arylyn, where the Village Council met. The building was as nondescript as the rest of Lilith was lovely. From the outside it resembled a jail rather than a place of governance. Four windowless walls made up the exterior, and the interior held a similarly boring decor with a color palette limited to tans. Tan walls, a tan ceiling, and tan wooden flooring. In addition, other than the Council’s meeting chamber, a few bathrooms, and this one hallway, the building held no other rooms.
Perhaps the uninspired design was related to the nature of Arylyn’s politics. In the Far Beyond, libertarians would have considered Lilith heavenly. The government was intentionally ineffectual and limited, but somehow it worked. As a result, there had never been any need for large municipal buildings full of bureaucrats passing endless rules and regulations.
“One bureaucrat is a necessity, two are a nuisance,” was a popular saying on Arylyn.
“You’re wearing a hole in the floor,” William said.
Serena grimaced. Anxiety had birthed a flock of butterflies in her stomach. She didn’t think she’d ever been this nervous before, not even when confronted by the danger of Kohl Obsidian.
“Sit down.” William patted the bench on which he sat, the only furniture in the hallway.
Serena took a seat next to him. “I wish they’d hurry up,” she said. “The not knowing is killing me.”
“I’m guessing you don’t mean it in a literal sense,” William said with a smile.
“No, I do mean it literally,” Serena snapped. She knew William was only trying to be funny, but she wasn’t in the mood to laugh.
Zane Blood, a native-born magus and the councilor for Cliff Spirit, exited the Council’s meeting chamber. He was a middle-aged man of middling height and build, with sharp features, a balding pate, and an officious manner. Zane peered over the rim of his glasses and his eyes scanned up and down the hall as if searching for something. He frowned in clear annoyance before he finally noticed them sitting on the bench.
Zane harrumphed. “Come with me,” he said with a snap of his fingers. “We’re ready.”
He led them into the Council Chamber, a room every bit as boring as the rest of the building. Three hard benches with all the comfort of a pew faced a plain, rectangular table, behind which sat the councilors.
“Have a seat,” Mayor Care said to them, before focusing her attention on Serena. “We understand you wish to have your restrictions lifted.”
“I do,” Serena said. Her nervousness faded as action finally allowed an outlet for her energy.
“Why should we?” asked Bar Duba, the councilor for Cliff Air. He was a tall, stout man, and his Mediterranean-dark skin and hair indicated his lineage as native to Arylyn. His voice was surprisingly high-pitched for his heavy build. “You are a mahavan, after all.”
“I was a mahavan,” Serena corrected. “I stopped being one the moment I agreed to help William and Jake escape.”
“Weren’t you the one who captured them in the first place?” demanded Councilor Break Foliage of Cliff Fire. He was a weaselly man with a nasally voice, and also native-born.
Serena flushed in both embarrassment and annoyance, but she didn’t let the anger touch her voice. “An action for which I’m not proud,” she said in an even tone.
“And yet you’d likely do it again if the circumstances were similar?” asked Seema Choudary, a small, quiet Indian woman with a raspy voice, the councilor for Cliff Earth.
“No,” Serena said. “I’d ask for help rather than sell someone into slavery.”
“So you say,” replied Lucas Shaw, a tall, slender American who was originally from Charleston, South Carolina. He retained the accent of his blue-blood Southern forebears and represented Cliff Water.
“So Afa and Mr. Zeus say,” Serena replied. “You have their testimony on my behalf.”
Mayor Care shook some papers, but didn’t appear all too pleased. “We do, but we still have questions. Why should we trust you with this ability? Dreaming to a mahavan. How do we know you won’t give away Arylyn’s location?”
“That very question was given to me the second time I wore Afa’s governor,” Serena replied. “If you’ve read the testimony I presented, you already know my answer. I couldn’t lie when I wore the governor. I won’t tell anyone about Arylyn’s location.”
“Based on your teachings from Sinskrill, I accept that you truly believe that Lord Shet lives and that Seminal is real,” Councilor Duba said. “But do those instructions not strike you as merely a cautionary tale? A Dark Lord who will snatch up the naughty children of Sinskrill if they misbehave?”
“I know Shet’s real,” Serena said, “as do Afa and Mr. Zeus.” She gestured to the papers before Mayor Care. “They say as much in their testimony.”
“You keep bringing up Zeus and Afa like they’re talismans,” Councilor Shaw said. “We hold both of them in great esteem, but neither Zeus or Afa are nomasras that can banish our worries.”
“I hoped if you didn’t believe me, you’d believe them,” Serena said, “especially Mr. Zeus. He tolerates me, but I doubt he likes me much.”
“I’m not sure if I like you much either,” Councilor Blood said.
“Why not?” William asked. “You don’t know her.”
“You weren’t asked to attend this meeting, Mr. Wilde,” Mayor Care admonished.
“I’m here to offer support for Serena,” William said. “Besides which, all Council meetings are open, aren’t they?”
“Even though she kidnapped you to Sinskrill and exposed you to torture and torment?” Councilor Choudary asked.
“I understand why she did what she did,” William said, “and I’ve forgiven her for it.”
Councilor Foliage stroked his pointy chin. “What about your friend, Jake?”
