The Spirus

by JB Trepagnier

  “I still don’t want to choose and Oris knows this. If I don’t die when this is over, I’m going back to Idric.”

  Both Esylle and Volaris erupted on her at once, making her headache worse. They forgot all about her night as Volaris waved his hands telling her she must choose or let them choose for her. Esylle was talking into her other ear about how she wouldn’t let her go back there and that her place was with Esylle and Leodos. Soryn felt awful and she just wanted Leodos to come back with whatever he said he could give her to make her feel better. If Volaris and Esylle didn’t stop planning her life for her, she knew she was going to have to leave again. They both grabbed her when she tried to stand up and she could feel the fire in her rising. Volaris had to let go of her, but Esylle held on to her.

  “If you don’t want me taking your fire away, sit down and calm yourself,” she warned. She could feel Esylle tugging at the heat flowing through her veins and sat back down. She was about to say something not very nice to Esylle when Leodos finally appeared and began making a fire. He looked at all three of their tense faces and asked what was wrong. Esylle tried to explain.

  “Go easy on her,” Leodos said, which surprised Soryn since he always yelled at her. “That wasn’t just any spirits I gave her. It was Demon Rage. I’m sure she feels awful right now. I’m not sure which of us feels worse.”

  She gagged and thought she might vomit again when Volaris and Esylle got upset that Leodos had not taken the flask away earlier when he gave her whatever Demon Rage was. It tasted good when Soryn was drinking it and it made her feel warm, even without being angry or making the heart flower. She liked the way it made her feel at the time, but Leodos told her she was paying for it now. If this was how you felt after drinking spirits, she decided she didn’t want to drink them again. Volaris and Esylle stopped talking and shot her concerned looks while she dry heaved. She was sure if there was any food in her stomach, she would have gotten sick again. Esylle started putting her hands all over Soryn’s face and she tried to slap them away, but she didn’t want to risk Esylle taking her fire again.

  Leodos brought her a mug full of dark liquid. She didn’t want to make him feel any worse, but she had to ask him what this was going to do to her before she drank it.

  “It will settle your stomach and make your head stop hurting. I’ve spent this entire journey trying to protect you and the one who harmed you was me.”

  She was still unsure about it, but she moved over and leaned into his chest like they had done in the forest. “I feel bad now, but you didn’t harm me. I don’t know how many other ways to tell you that you didn’t. This drink is already making me feel better.” She wasn’t lying to make him feel better. Her stomach had calmed as soon as she swallowed the hot liquid and her head was already starting to feel better.

  He put his arm around her and held her tightly. “I never thought our situations would be reversed and you would be the one trying to calm me.”

  “I don’t want to talk about what happened last night anymore. I don’t want to keep saying you didn’t hurt me. I don’t feel hurt at all and I’m not upset about anything except constantly being asked about what happened between me and Oris.”

  She saw Volaris open his mouth and Leodos stopped him. “You know you can’t make her do anything. She’s not going to talk about what happened no matter how much you press her. You may get an answer about last night if you ask Oris.”

  Volaris

  Volaris didn’t know what Leodos gave the girl, but they were finally able to start walking again shortly after she finished the drink. Volaris wanted a moment alone with Oris to make sure he hadn’t talked her into doing something she knew she wasn’t supposed to do while she was not thinking clearly. Terros and the other Theran were keeping him away from everyone. They were walking with Oris in the center, where no one could get to him. Volaris knew if he tried, Terros would keep him away.

  Sono was walking with Volaris and not speaking. Volaris could tell he was upset and wondering what happened. The girl refused to discuss it and kept insisting she was not harmed in any way, but Volaris thought she might just not understand. She insisted she understood and nearly burned him when he tried to prevent her from disappearing again. Esylle was able to threaten her in a way that made her sit back down and not leave. Maybe whatever Esylle could do to her to get that reaction and their lessons was the trick to getting her to stay and do what she needed to do.

  “I know he hurt her,” Sono finally said. “They wouldn’t be protecting him the way they are if he didn’t. I told her no when she kissed me. He waited until she was drunk and took her away where we couldn’t stop him.”

  “She won’t talk about what happened, but she insists she wasn’t hurt. I wouldn’t linger on what happened last night. It’s just upsetting you.”

  “He doesn’t love her the way I do!”

  “You’re all in love with her. That’s the problem. Whatever happened last night, she still doesn’t want to choose and still plans on leaving when this is over.”

  “She says she doesn’t want to choose and plans on leaving, but I don’t think she’s really thought about it. She’s convinced herself she’s not supposed to survive. She only says that because it’s better than the alternative in her head.”

  Volaris was about to say something to try to make his son feel better when Voxis flew in front of him and transformed. “Inanos is just through that clearing. We keep trying to open the door, but we think only she can open it and we want to be there when she does.”

  Volaris looked at Sono. “I’m going to try to prepare her for what she must do. You should walk with me. You put her at ease.”

  She looked like she was feeling much better than when Leodos helped her into the clearing and seemed to be relaxed now that no one was bringing up her night. Volaris noticed that Esylle was still tense and was giving her concerned looks. When he told her Inanos was just up ahead and she may get her answers soon, he was surprised when she looked uncomfortable, not happy. He remembered what Sono had told him and didn’t know what to say to relax her. He still didn’t know why she appeared this way and if one of the answers she would get there would be that she went back to where she came from. He knew it would upset Sono if she did not stay in this form.

  When they finally made it through the clearing, he could tell that Voxis and Ventis had spent the last few days clearing vines from the large door that was carved into the side of the mountain. He called to everyone that this was Inanos and she may be the only one who could open the door. He advised everyone to stay back and let her try, just in case in took her Tempris abilities and they couldn’t be near her. He watched her approach the door. The door was at least thirty feet high and carved into the stone in the mountain. She looked so small next to this huge door.

  “I think your lessons is how she will get the door open,” he told Esylle.

  “What if it harms her? I’m still not convinced she wasn’t last night.”

  “You’ve watched her heal herself,” Volaris said, trying to make her feel better.

  He watched as the girl placed both of her hands on the doors. He had to hold Esylle back when she cried out in pain. She didn’t seem to be able to remove her hands from the door and he watched as her hands turned into claws and it also looked like her arms were being ripped by them. It took two men from the Farkhi to hold Leodos back when the girl began to panic and try to remove her hands from the doors. Her back seemed to be mutating before their eyes as it began to bubble up. The girl was crying out in pain and Volaris watched as two large, white wings ripped out of her back. They were stained with blood and he could tell it was hurting her. Esylle was screaming at someone to go get her, but Volaris didn’t know if they could stop what was started. He didn’t know if coming here was a mistake and these doors were killing her.

  He watched as slits appeared on her neck like fish gills and she began to gulp for air like she couldn’t breathe. Esylle was in a full-blown panic, screaming for s
omeone to stop this. Two more Farkhi men had to join in to hold Leodos back as he was screaming this was killing her. Volaris looked out at his people and the rest of the tribes and they were all looking on in horror. No one knew if this was supposed to happen or if she was dying here now like she had before.

  The girl burst into flames, but unlike before, he could see her skin blistering like any of the non-Tempris tribe members would do if they got too close to her when she was upset. He didn’t know if he should let Esylle go to her or if the fire coming off of the girl would burn Esylle too. If it did, Esylle didn’t heal like Soryn. He watched in horror as the wings burned off her back and the gills on her neck blistered off. The flame reached as high as the top of the door, then she collapsed.

  Volaris and Sono ran to check on her. Esylle and Leodos managed to get loose and ran to her. He noticed Frog had come as well. She was lying on the ground with her skin red and blistered, but she was still breathing. Now that the gills on her neck were gone, she seemed to be able to breathe again.

  “Father, the door!” Sono exclaimed, pointing. When Volaris looked up, the doors had opened enough for them to fit through and possibly open further.

  “Why should we let you bring her in there? You saw what those doors did to her. She’s not supposed to burn like this!” Esylle yelled.

  “We need to get her inside and have food waiting when she wakes up,” Leodos said. “You saw how much it took for her to open these doors. There’s something important inside.” He scooped her up and Volaris called everyone to come inside.

  They hadn’t been in there in so long, he didn’t know what to expect. There was a long corridor and a throne at the end. It had to have belonged to her before. It was dark in Inanos. There were no windows because it was carved into the cliff. He watched as Esylle flung out her hands and lit every single torch and candle in the room. There were stone arches along the corridor that looked like they led to other rooms. Everyone slowly started spilling into the corridor and looking around. Now that it was lit, Volaris could see that there were frescos on the wall. He could see that some of them must be of Essos, playing with the toys created for him as a child. His footsteps echoed as he walked along the stone. He was looking for one painting of the Spirus. He wanted to see if there was a resemblance in the paintings to the girl Leodos was holding. He didn’t have any luck. All of the frescos on the wall were of Essos as he grew into a man.

  “We need to find her a bed and make food for when she wakes up,” Leodos said. “She’ll wake up when she’s ready like she always does,” he told Esylle. Esylle was still wringing her hands and looking like she wanted to yell at anyone for not stopping this.

  Volaris instructed everyone to find food and a place to sleep, now that they were here. He watched Leodos disappear with Esylle and couldn’t stop Sono from going with them. As he wandered around, he found an open space with sky above where food had previously been grown. The garden was overgrown, but there were still fruit and vegetables on the vine that Soryn could eat. He began to gather things and wandered off to find a place to cook them.

  Esylle

  Esylle never wanted to see anything like what she had seen outside those doors. They had initially not wanted to come here because they said she died here before. Esylle was starting to think coming here was a huge mistake and had no idea why Belisarus called it out to her during her fire message. They wandered around halls with Esylle lighting torches until Leodos kicked open a door that had a large bed and servant’s quarters. Esylle didn’t mind sleeping in the servant’s quarters to be near her. She still worried she had somehow made fire that burned her like this.

  Sono rushed over and wiped dust off the bed as Leodos set her down. Esylle knew she couldn’t touch her because she didn’t want to hurt her, but she laid in bed next to her. She knew Soryn could heal herself and had watched as the claw marks closed up after she fought the bear, but that was nothing like what she had witnessed at the doors. Sono found chairs and brought them for him and Leodos to sit.

  “She had to sleep through the night last time. I don’t know how long she would need for this. You should get some rest,” Leodos told her.

  “After what I just saw? It was like every gift she had was turning against her. She couldn’t breathe and you saw those wings rip out of her back. I’ve watched her transform before and it never looks that painful!”

  “Transforming is never like that. It’s not painful. It feels a little like someone is shaking you and you can feel yourself shrinking. When my wings appear, they don’t rip from my back the way we saw today. Maybe this was a trial for her and that’s why it hurt her this way.”

  “Coming here was a mistake. If she died here before, how do you know she didn’t manage to free herself before the doors killed her?”

  “The door opened because of her. Even though it hurt her, she did what she was supposed to do. You’re going to have to prepare yourself for the fact that some of the things she’s here to do may hurt her. Maybe that’s why she heals the way she does. It was hard for me to watch her at the door too,” Sono said.

  She propped herself on her hand and looked down at the girl. Her hair was knotted from fighting against the door, so she didn’t stroke it. She put her hand on her chest and her heart was beating hard and fast. Esylle wasn’t surprised after what she just went through. She moved her hand to her stomach and the girl was breathing as if she was sleeping. Esylle felt a little better and didn’t know how long she would need to sleep this time. She still thought they should get Lisana out of there. She didn’t like what Sono had told her, that she might have to watch her be hurt several times while she was doing what she was supposed to do.

  Volaris found them and told them he found a garden with food she could eat and a kitchen to cook for her when she woke up. When he informed Sono he found chambers for them, he argued that he wanted to stay here with Lisana. He said he would sleep in the chair. Leodos told Esylle what had gone on when he pulled him from her and she knew he cared for her and did not object. When Leodos said he would leave to find his own, Esylle got out of the bed and stopped him. She whispered in his ear asking if he could stay here with her.

  She didn’t know how she could have forgotten Frog was in the room. He told them he would sleep next to her as they always had done. They would have a full room, but they would make do. The Farkhi brought up food and they all ate, but it was getting late and Lisana had not woken yet. Esylle checked on her, but did not touch her because of her burned skin. It was time to sleep and she didn’t know how she would.

  She retired to the servant’s chambers with Leodos and climbed into bed with him. She rested her head on his chest and snuggled into him. “I’ve been wanting a night alone with you since I found out your feelings, but I can’t enjoy it like I want with her in the next room like that.”

  He wrapped his arm around her a kissed the top of her head. “We’ve been fussing at her for days that she can’t mate until she’s chosen and is wed. After all the fussing we’ve been doing towards her, we shouldn’t do the same thing until we wed.”

  “We are much older than she is and we know how we feel about each other. She’s young and doesn’t know who or what she wants. You know why everyone tells her she can’t.”

  “I think you know why we can’t either. It would just confuse her even more, no matter how much she wants us together.”

  “If I wasn’t so worried about her, I’d want to now. I’ve always wondered why it was like with you.”

  “Don’t tempt me. If we are going to be wed, we are going to do it properly. We will give her the wedding she always wanted to see from her stories. Maybe she will surprise us and actually choose one of these boys and wed the same day. I know she says she doesn’t want to and wants to go back to Idric, but I think she’s just being stubborn because there’s things she likes in all three of those boys and she doesn’t want to hurt any of them.”

  “What are we going to do if she keeps her word and goes back
? I don’t want to lose her again so soon after finding her again.”

  “We’ll find a way to keep her here with us. We will find the right words to say or something will happen that makes her want to stay. We should get some rest,” he said, blowing out the candle.

  Sono

  Sono tried to sleep in the chair he had brought out by the bed. The room was full and there was no place else for him to sleep. He even tried to see if sleeping as an eagle was more comfortable. He woke up with his neck bent back and every bone in his body hurting. He was the first one awake and walked to the bed to check on her. She was still sleeping and her strange friend was snoring next to her. It was still early and might be awhile before everyone woke, so he went out of the room to get food brought to them. He left instructions for preparing food for Soryn in case she woke up.

  The food came up right as Esylle and Leodos came out of the servant’s quarters. They both went to check on her and seemed concerned she did not wake with the smell of food. He heard them speak that she had awoken shortly after breakfast after the bear. Leodos tried to make Esylle feel better by telling her she expended more energy with the door than she had with the bear and may just need to sleep longer. Sono went and leaned against the wall while they got into a slight argument. He had never seen them argue before and he had seen the same looks Soryn noticed. Esylle kept insisting they should get Soryn out of Inanos because she still thought it was dangerous for her and Leodos thought there were answers for her here. He tried to tell her the same thing Sono did. Esylle may have to watch her be hurt several times before this was all over, but she always seemed to heal herself.

  “You don’t have to like it and I know it’s hard on you to see her hurt, but maybe it’s what is supposed to happen. I was trying to get to her to pull her from the door too, but they were holding me back. It wouldn’t have opened if that wasn’t supposed to happen, no matter how awful it was to watch nor how much it hurt her.