by Brindi Quinn
That wasn’t the ‘other way’ I’d been hoping for. Dying to save Nyte and everyone else, I could handle, but passing this curse onto a new pair? That was something I couldn’t swallow. That was something cruel.
“There isn’t another other way?” I asked.
“There is one other. To rejoin the world, restoring it to its original state.”
“To its original state?” It was just as Amano had said. “Won’t that be bad, though? Or could it be that the land really is meant to be whole? We spoke to an Elf that was around before the Great Div-”
The moon cut me off. “Let me ask you this,” it said. “Why do you think the Creator included the capability to gain knowledge when He designed His creations? Do you think He intended them to use it to innovate, or do you think He intended them to stifle it? Were new ideas meant to be hidden away, or were they meant to be cultivated?”
“Well, to be cultivated, I guess . . . . Look, I can see what your saying, but wasn’t magic a sacred gift? It’ll die out if mekanix is allowed to flourish, so I can’t imagine why that would be a good thing.”
If the moon couldn’t solve the riddle of magic versus mekanix, there was probably no one that could.
“You are correct,” it said. “Magic is a sacred gift. But so too is capacity for knowledge. That is as sacred of a gift as all gifts given by the Creator.”
“But,” – Darch spoke up from behind me – “according to Magir lore, knowledge was something stolen, not given.”
“Regardless of whether the knowledge itself was taken or given, the capability for knowledge was a gift. You believe that magic is pure, my daughter? Tell me your reasoning.”
“Well, I think we’re meant to rely on the Creator, and since magic’s distribution is completely an act of the Creator, something we can’t attain for ourselves, I think we’re meant to rely on it, too. Is that right?”
“Rely? That is an interesting way of putting it. It is natural for a child to rely on its parents until a certain point, but once the child has grown, is its purpose not to glorify its parents in its actions? Is it not to respect, honor, and trust its parents? Is it not to love its parents? If you think that the only thing for a child to do is to rely, you are not considering what it truly means to be a child.”
“I suppose.” I hadn’t really thought of it like that before. “So the ways of magic are to be left behind?”
“That is not something for me to decide. I am simply showing you another way. Those of creation are the ones who made the decision to separate, and those of creation are the ones who must make the decision again. Will you leave the old ways behind, or will you cling to what you know? As the chosen, the choice falls to you. However, know that whatever you chose, there will be repercussions. People will die either way.”
“People will die? But that’s what I’m fighting against!”
“Death is the natural goal of all things. Even the moons will die someday.”
So then, the trick was finding which way would save the most lives, both now and in the future. “If I choose to keep the land separate, is the only way by sacrificing either Nyte or me?”
“Yes.”
“And if I choose to let the land rejoin, is the only way through Illuma? Is the only way by destroying the coast? By letting Farellah and the other coastal villages be demolished under the mashing of land?”
“No.”
“Then what’s the other way?! Will you tell me?”
“If that was your only question, then you need not have come all this way. There is one amongst you who already knows the way.”
“There is?” I turned to scan the others. Nyte’s eyes were also filled with suspicion, and they were resting on Ardette.
“Hello again, witchy moon,” said Ardette, stepping forward.
“Hello, Daem. It has been a long time.”
“Yes, a many joyous years since we made that deal. Your form is different now, though. I suppose you aren’t able to change while locked in place? Hmph. After this is all over, you’ve got to stop making deals with the races. It never ends up the way you’d hope.”
“Ardette?” I said, shocked. He was talking to the moon like they were old friends. “What are you-?”
“Now isn’t the time, my pit. Dear witchy moon, is the only way through him and the star? There isn’t another?”
“There is no other. It is a good thing that I made that deal with you back then, or there would be no one to do it now, would there?”
“Suppose you’ve had this all planned from the beginning? That’s why you chose Aura as your daughter? Quite a sense of humor you’ve got.”
“Humor? You are aware that a being like me cannot express humor.”
“Because you’re beyond our frame of concept and all that jazz? Yes, I know. Still, the irony of it all is uncanny.”
“Irony does not exist,” responded the moon.
Ardette rolled his eyes. “I suppose you don’t believe in coincidence either?”
“In a world governed by destiny, there is no room for either.”
“So then, what are we to do? Free you? That’s the only way to defeat Lusafael and Illuma, isn’t it? Will you hold off ad’ai long enough for Aura to make her decision?”
“Ad’ai is here. I cannot change that fact.”
“Tch.” Ardette looked over his shoulder and haughtily shook his head at Darch. “Well then, we sure as hell aren’t freeing you, now are we?”
But we had to free the moon. We’d come all this way, and to move things forward, we had to free it.
“Wait,” I said, “is there a way to buy more time?”
“Buy? Yes. See, Daem? You must learn how to phrase your inquires better.”
“Piss off,” said Ardette.
Seriously? I fought to ignore the fact that he had just blatantly disrespected the moon, but it was too hard, and in the end I ended up swatting him in arm. What the heck, Ardette?! This is the moon!
“Please tell me,” I said, attempting to be respectful enough for the both of us. “How may we buy more?”
“It will require a sacrifice.”
“Ha!” Ardette folded his arms. “Of course it will.”
“A sacrifice? What sort of sacrifice?” said Darch.
“The sacrifice has already been determined.”
“Already been-? Oh, I get it.” Darch looked at the bird on his shoulder. “It’s you, huh? The Spirit of In-between is the sacrifice.”
“Yes,” said the moon. “From the moment the spirit decided to aid in this quest, he determined that his existence would come to end here. He sacrifices his soul for the sake of aiding you in the hopes that you will chose to right the mistake he made. In the hopes that you will use your emulator. Nosrac’s soul will be no more, but you will be given time. Once you return to your realm, you will be given until the following nightfall. One night of rest will pass before ad’ai’s night. After this period of rest, you will have the opportunity to proclaim your intent to me. Until the moment of ad’ai’s start, you may make your decision.
“However, the longer that you wait, the more chance there is that I will be locked again. Lusafael has already given up an eternity in Célesteen to lock me the first time, but there are still things for him to give up. Next time it could be his shine.”
“Or his spatial transcendence,” added Darch.
Great. So our time was still limited, but at least ad’ai wouldn’t be happening immediately. At least we had a few moments to breathe.
“There’s something I don’t understand, though” I said. “If we do decide to rejoin the land, won’t that just be giving Lusafael what he wants? Won’t it just be bringing about the demise of the races?”
“If Lusafael is the one to bring the land together, he will lay claim to the new world’s rule. He is the commander of the Feirgh because he was the one to lead them astray. He was the one to interfere with their walk to the afterlife by tempting them with empty notions of remaining eternal with
in the plane of the living. He is a master of the tongue. Deceit is his way. If leader, he will insinuate war and destruction among the races. Mekanix, just like magic, can be used for both good and evil.
“However, if you will be the one to bind the land, you may use the power stored in the Song of Salvation to end his existence. There is power within you enough to separate the world, but there is also power within you enough to kill an angel. However, you must do it before the land is rejoined. Once the land is rejoined, he will consume your sister and swallow her power. It will not be so easy then.”
“So I can either use the Song of Salvation to kill Lusafael, or I can use it to make the land split permanent. But not both, right?”
“That is how it is.”
“No!” Nyte pushed his way to the end of the spiron. “If Aura uses the Song to kill Lusafael, will it not kill her?!” He turned to me, pleading, and grabbed my shoulders. “Aura, no matter what, I must become your emulator! I will not allow you to die!”
“Calm down, would you?” said Ardette. “It takes far less magic to kill an angel than it does to split the world. As I told you before, it’s not like the pigs are omnipotent or something. It’s not like we’re attempting to kill the Creator, here.”
Nyte released his grip slightly. “Are you certain? It will not kill her to use the Song in such a way? If there is even the slightest chance-”
“It will not,” answered the moon.
A thought came to me.
“Well, can’t I just use the Song of Salvation to kill Lusafael and then do nothing? If we stop Lusafael, Illuma won’t have a chance, right? Can’t we just do nothing and let the world stay how it is?”
“I believe you are not clear on how ad’ai truly works,” said the moon.
That was probably true.
“Okay,” I said. “So what am I missing?”
The moon responded, “The Song of Salvation will be released from you on ad’ai. One way or another, it will force itself out of you. There is no other option. As chosen, you may choose to release it alone, or you may choose to release it with a sacrifice. If your emulator is the sacrifice, the Divisia will remain permanent. If you, yourself, are the sacrifice, the Divisia will be temporarily prolonged, and your sister will be unable to release the Song of Destruction.”
“Because I’ll be dead, and she needs to sacrifice me to gain it, right?”
“Correct.”
“I get all that, so what’s the-”
“Should you release the Song without a sacrifice, you will forfeit your role as Salvation. You will die at ad’ai’s end, and it will count as the Heart of Havoc’s sacrifice. She will forthwith gain the Song of Destruction.”
“What?! No way! Then what can we do?!”
“The Song of Destruction is a Song to put the land back together. If you can accomplish the task another way on your own before the end of ad’ai, the Song of Destruction will be rendered useless. The entire prophecy will be annulled, and you will not perish.”
I tried to keep everything straight.
“And I suppose you played a hand in placing all of these charming rules?” said Ardette in an unimpressed drone.
“You know well, Daem, that there is a delicate equilibrium within the structure of the world. All shifts in being must have consequences of equal value, for that is the only way that such shifts may occur. The string of time cannot be tipped too greatly without payment. Without equal sacrifice, the result would otherwise be chaos. And chaos, as you know, would lead to a second void. The world would be as it was before the Making, without form.”
There was silence while we let it all soak in.
Nyte and I could survive together if I used the Song to kill Lusafael, but that would mean bringing the land together. It was all left up to me, but I couldn’t make this decision selfishly. I couldn’t let it be just about Nyte. This was a decision I had to make with everyone in mind.
Creator, what should I do?
“Well, there’s no use standing around here, is there?” Ardette was first to speak up. “We’ve people waiting for us on the other side. Let’s free mother witch, and be done with it, shall we?”
I had an enormous choice to make, and I had no idea which way was right. But one thing was certain, standing around was only giving Illuma and Lusafael more time to work out whatever it was they were going to do.
“Okay.” I nodded to Ardette.
To the moon he said, “I trust you’ll be able to grant us safe passage to the place of the Splitting, oh great mother?”
“I will. I will offer a way. It will not be without struggle, but it will lead you to the place that you seek.”
“Struggle? Fantastic.” Ardette sighed. “It can never be easy, can it?”
“How do we free you?” I asked.
“Use the Song given unto you by the Creator.”
“The Song of Healing?”
“That is the one. However, if used on your own, it will be the last time you use it.”
“What?! Why?”
“To free a moon requires too much power. It requires-”
“A sacrifice,” finished Ardette. “What a surprise. So sweet Aura must lose her Song? Well, we can’t have that, now can we?”
Darch’s chin was in his hand. “You said ‘on her own’, but what if she were to use an emulator? What would happen then?”
An emulator? That was a weird suggestion. We don’t even have the pendant right now, so what’s the point of asking something like that?
“She will keep her Song,” said the moon, “but the emulator will sacrifice some of himself. His power will not decrease, but he will lose a portion of his corra capacity. The effects of this are that his stamina will become less, he will need to rejuvenate more often, and he will tire when without my light. What will you do, my daughter?”
“I will . . .”
In freeing the moon, I’d lose my Song. I didn’t want to, but it had to be done, and I’d rather it be this way than have to from Nyte. As long as he was okay, I didn’t mind.
Truthfully, I was glad the pendant was still in Rend’s possession. It meant that this wasn’t even up for discussion.
“Okay,” I said. “I’m prepared to lose my Son-”
“No, Aura,” said Nyte. “I will not allow something such as that. Darch, I will have the pendant now.” He reached out his hand expectantly.
“Sure thing, Nytie!”
“The pendant?” I said. “But we don’t have-”
But before my eyes, Darch pulled the cursed object from his pocket and handed it off to Nyte.
“Huh?” I was confused. “No . . . Where did that come from? I thought Rend-”
“My, my, you aren’t very perceptive, are you, my pit? Think dear Rend had a change of heart? Think she enjoys cuddling up with nitwit Magirs?”
I was so stupid. So incredibly stupid! How was I so bad at figuring these things out?!
“You mean when she hugged him?” I whispered, losing color at the thought of Nyte sacrificing a part of himself.
“Bingo. What a smart little pit you are.”
Nyte started to lift the familiar necklace. It caught the moon’s light and sent off an ominous shine.
“Nyte, no! You’ll lose some of your stamina!”
I silently willed him to throw the wretched thing off the side of the spiron, but he disobeyed me entirely, and with a mouth of contentment, dropped the familiar necklace around his neck.
“What?” He laughed. “You do not honestly think that my stamina is as important as your Song, do you?”
“Of course I do!”
“This is not something for you to decide, and you do not have a choice. The moment I touch you, you will have no choice but to use me. Let me serve my purpose for you. Do not fight it.” He reached forward to bring a hand below my chin, but I leaned away from him, narrowly avoiding his touch.
Like hell I wouldn’t fight!
There’s no way! I won’t take your . . . your .
. .
But he was right. It was already taking effect. I could sense the warmth writhing beneath his skin, taunting and seductive. With everything in me, I desired him.
I can’t help it. I need it. I need it more than anything.
“Oohp!” said Darch. “Is it time?” The feather man had just lit from his shoulder. Glittering, it flapped into the air high above us.
Hands tight – for fear of letting them extend themselves to Nyte on their own – I watched the bird go. I tried to wrap my head around the fact that the Spirit of In-between was actually going to give its soul for this cause. It was sad for so many reasons, but most of all because, after sticking around for so long, it wouldn’t even get to see how all of this ended. I wouldn’t get to see if its wrongs would be righted.
This was our last encounter. What could I say to it? It had brought Kantú into Farellah. It had led me this far. It had offered its protection. It had watched over us with good intentions. It had been an ally, and even though it wasn’t really dying – as it was already dead – this was still goodbye.
I looked down at my wrist. The feather tattoo there would always be a reminder of the Spirit’s aid. It would always be a symbol of Nosrac’s sacrifice.
“Thank you,” I said in hushed reverence. “I’m sure Kantú will miss you. I hope you finally find rest. Just leave everything to me.”
Even though I’ll probably disappoint you. But that was something I couldn’t voice. Speaking things aloud always gave them more power, and I felt guilty enough as it was.
“Goodbye, Elder Nosrac!” Darch waved a happy-go-lucky wave as the bird disappeared against the glowing moon.
“All right, my captivating captor,” said Nyte. “Are you ready?”
Before I could put up the fight I’d well intended, Nyte wrapped his arms around me and landed a gentle kiss on my lips. With the emulator pendant back in place around his neck, that savage part of me took over – that addicted monster that longed to consume him. I let it consume him now because I couldn’t fight it. It was too strong. It was too convincing in its argument that Nyte’s spirit existed solely for my hunger. My veins were alive, and I couldn’t stop that ecstasy.
