Empyreal

by Helsel, Spencer

  Alecto looked insulted, but bowed respectfully and, with apologetic smile to Dani, stepped back.

  “Novice Daniella,” Castus began, “I cannot speak for everyone on the Council, but I do not doubt the events as you tell them, but without cause we cannot charge those you suspect of this crime.”

  “So you just do nothing?” she demanded.

  “We will make inquiries.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  Castus frowned at her tone. “Elder Asaph will look into the matter and his Gatekeepers will stay vigilant around the Novice quarters. They will keep you safe.”

  “Keep me safe?” she asked. “Keep me safe? You mean keep me safe from people you won’t even question!” She couldn’t keep the indignation out of her voice. “You’re assigning an Elder who hates me to look into people who hate me.”

  From his side, Asaph started, “How dare you—!”

  “And you’re assigning Gatekeepers to protect me? Two of the men who attacked me were Gatekeepers!”

  Elder Asaph looked like he could crush a stone in his fist.

  “How am I supposed to stay safe? How am I supposed to live here if this is what happens? That can’t be your decision!”

  “That is enough!” Castus roared. Immediately, the chamber fell silent. Even Dani balked at his anger. “Our ways have not changed for millennia and cannot be curtailed for one individual. You became a part of this city; subject to its laws equally. Those laws govern this Council and govern you. You will abide by them or you will suffer the consequences. One of those laws is not questioning this Council or its decrees. The ruling about this matter is final. Do I make myself clear?”

  She could do nothing else, so she said nothing else.

  With a slow breath, Castus reminded her, “Your second trial begins in two days. Duels begin at Morning Lauds. All Novices report to the Training Grounds.”

  Mastema spoke for the first time. He hadn’t been much help here. “When will she know which Novice she faces?”

  Heman spoke up. “As an Arbiter, I must ask what you mean?”

  Mastema glanced sideways at Dani. Something was wrong. “Normally, the aeries match up their Novices, one against the other in single combat. She is one Novice. She will face one opponent. Which opponent?”

  Elder Heman looked pleased as he leaned forward. “The law states that one entire aerie faces another entire aerie. Novice Daniella is, true, one Novice, but she represents the Arn. In the past, if one aerie should not have the full twelve, some Novices fought more than one. It is the law. And the law requires she faces all twelve opponents.”

  “Twelve?” she asked. “I’m fighting twelve people?”

  “Of course. The law is clear. And, by lottery, you have been chosen to fight Corona.”

  “Corona? The ones from the Vale? I already fought them!”

  “Yes, you did.” His smile widened a fraction.

  Mastema had the presence of mind to ask, “The law also states that the aerie with the most undefeated Novices is declared the victor of the Trial. Should she lose one duel—”

  “She will fail her Trial.”

  Dani was done. She wasn’t going to stand there and watch Heman get any kind of pleasure telling her how unfairly he stacked the deck against her. She stormed out.

  “Novice Daniella!” Castus called. “You were not dismissed!”

  But she continued going and no one was stupid enough to stop her. ______________________

  “What are you doing?” Nathaniel asked when he found Dani in her house with a satchel filled of all belongings she could fit: money, food, leather canteens of water and an extra set of clothes. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. And like the day she became a Numen, she was running away.

  “I’m leaving.” She said, wiping tears from her cheeks. “I’m getting out of here.” “ Where are you going to go? You can’t leave Empyrean.” She stormed past him, satchel in hand. Nathaniel followed her out. “Dani! Wait!”

  “Leave me alone Nate!” “ Don’t try to play me off like that! Stop! You’re not making sense! I know somebody tried to trash your place but—!”

  “You think that’s all this is?” she screamed loud enough to make him back up. “You think that’s all?”

  “What is it, then?”

  She screamed through clenched teeth. “My God! Boys! I swear!” she shook her head furiously. “What do you think the other night was? Just a bunch of good ol’ boys on a panty raid? They nearly killed me! They almost killed Caesar! Almost every day I’ve been here it’s been punishment.” All her pent up rage spilled out. “I’m sick of it!”

  Nathaniel was taken aback.

  “Everyone here keeps on pretending this isn’t a big deal, but it is! I can’t stay here and wait until they’re allowed to do something worse to me!” Nathaniel tried to touch her, but she smacked his hand away. “Leave me alone!”

  “Dani, you’re my friend. I can’t let you just leave!”

  “Oh God Nathaniel, will you give it up!” she cried. “I can’t take it anymore. I can’t take the way you look at me, or the way you want to be around me, or the way you care about me. I’m not in love with you! Will you stop trying!”

  The look on his face nearly broke her heart. She never saw him look so betrayed.

  She pushed past him. “I have to go. Don’t follow me.”

  He didn’t. She left the Arn. She had no idea where she was going. She couldn’t leave Empyrean. It wasn’t like she could call a cab, but just like at Ricky’s house, she wasn’t staying either. She didn’t bother to go into Sanctuary Hills. She hadn’t spoken to Roxelana or Shea in some time. Instead, she walked away along the Vale cliff, hoping to put some distance between her and the rest of the supposed paradise.

  As soon as her house disappeared into the afternoon-bathed hills of green, Ethan appeared. He descended from the sky at a run, landing to catch up with her. “Dani!”

  “I’m tired of telling people to leave me alone, Ethan. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

  “Just stop!” he caught up to her, falling in step. He knew better than to get in her way. “What are you doing? Did you really walk out on the Council?”

  “I don’t care what those weasels say. I’m not listening to them insult me!”

  “Dani, they’re the Council.”

  “And that means what? You don’t understand. You weren’t there last night.”

  “Did you want me to be?”

  “I don’t need anyone to save me.” She growled.

  He didn’t have a reply. “Where are you going?”

  “I don’t know.” She walked ahead of him.

  “Are you going to take the second Trial?”

  “No.”

  “The Council won’t let you quit.”

  This was from a new voice. She stifled the urge to scream a ton of insults at the world and turned around. Standing next to Ethan was Mastema, the last person she wanted to see.

  Folding her arms, she asked, “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to see the unwise decision you made.”

  “Mastema, you’re not helping.” Ethan chided.

  “Do not tell me what will help her.” He shot back, and then glared with his dark eyes at his charge. “You are foolishly impudent.”

  “I don’t even know what that means.”

  “It means you are being insolent and—”

  “Oh for the love of God, I know what it means means!” she shouted. “I meant I don’t know what you expect of me! I’ve done everything I can to fit in, but I’m not like the others and they all know it! They remind me of it every day. Well, congrats, they got what they want.”

  “And you simply give in?”

  “Are you serious?” she stormed up to him, getting in his face. “Explain to me how doing everything I’ve done is giving in? You think I’m going to stay after all this crap? I’d rather be demon food.”

  She stalked away from him. Mastema was all demands. She d
idn’t care what Ethan told her about him; about how he showed his concern. She didn’t care. Not anymore.

  “You are making the wrong choice.”

  His words froze her. She wheeled on him again, hands balled into burning fists. “Excuse me?”

  Her Guardian stood stonefaced. “You are making the wrong choice. If you leave, they will be truly victorious over you.”

  Even Ethan was horrified. “Mastema—!”

  “Victorious?” She shrieked. “Victorious? You think I care about anything from those malignant, misogynistic monsters? You think I want to be a Numen anymore?”

  “You were born to be one, whether you want it or not.” Mastema told her. “It is your destiny.”

  “Screw destiny!”

  “Then live in exile.” He told her harshly. “No civilization, even a celestial one, can thrive without change. No change comes without a price, usually to those who wish to change it. I thought you would change it. I believed you stronger.”

  “Screw you!”

  “Exile yourself to the Vale. Run to the Dalles. No Earthborn will follow you there. You will be safe in your cowardice until what you run from comes for you.” He leveled his steely gaze on her. “You run because you are afraid, but by running you guarantee your fate.”

  Then her Guardian vanished.

  He left Ethan and Dani alone. She couldn’t believe he said that to her, or the hole that it left in her chest.

  “Dani…” Ethan’s voice was soft. He didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry.”

  Tears stung her eyes. She shook her head. “Leave me alone, Ethan.”

  “I’m not leaving you alone.”

  “Why?” she asked, streaks of pain running down her cheeks. “Why do you care so much?”

  He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She could see he wanted to say something. She didn’t know why he couldn’t, but she knew what it was. She knew for a while, but couldn’t bring herself to say anything either.

  “Please,” she begged, “I can’t do this with you.”

  “Do what?” he faked like he didn’t know. “Dani, please, don’t leave.”

  “I can’t do this.” She repeated and fled.

  Tears ran down her cheeks. Mastema’s words echoed in her mind. Run to the Dalles. No Earthborn will follow you there. She crested the hill. The entrance to the Vale lay below.

  As if knowing what she wanted, the switchbacks appeared. Dani ran downhill and without a second thought, descended into the most dangerous place in Empyrean. Even that was better than the supposed paradise of the Numen.

  ______________________

  Dani kept running until she was under the canopy of trees and muggy confines of the Vale. She ran until the only sounds were bird calls and the patter of creatures in the underbrush. Only then did she stop to take a breath.

  She cried her heart to pieces. The fear, the anger; she sobbed against a tree. She ran away and knew why, but it didn’t make it any easier. She was leaving everything and everyone. Again.

  It was running from Ricky’s all over again : a world of unknown before her and a world she knew behind her.

  Dani trudged on, hiking towards the river until she reached the water’s edge. She couldn’t cross it, but didn’t want to, either. There wasn’t anything across the river she needed to reach, or downriver for that matter. So she went up.

  Ethan told her no one went to the source of the Crystalline River. Numen couldn’t fly in the mist for some reason. If anyone came looking for her, it would be the best place to hide.

  The hike was initially easy. The constant conditioning made the going better, but the slopes got steeper and steeper as she ascended. The rushing river turned to intense rapids, even more voracious than the ones downstream. Then the rapids turned to falls. Difficult now, she found a path and made her way up slowly.

  The falls formed the mist that hung thickly in the air around Dani as she climbed over jagged rocks and slippery stone, obscuring her vision. It matted her hair to her head and soaked through her clothes. Light spilled through in rainbows, creating beautiful illusions around her. She almost tumbled over the side of the rock-face. Footing was nearly impossible.

  And then she broke from the mist, climbing to the top. She pulled herself up and when she could see, she barely believed her eyes.

  A sheer-cliff valley bowled into the rock. A column of water gushed over a falls, so wide the spray sent clouds across the rim of the Empyrean’s crater. But the water didn’t descend from the cliffs. It descended from the sky. Water appeared in mid-air and washed down onto the rocks as if born out of nothing. The spray obscured the magical spring from below.

  It was the source of Crystalline River, but how was that possible?

  Dani sat on the lip of the gorge, marveling at one of the most stunning things she’d ever seen. It was peaceful. For once, she felt safe. All it took was fleeing paradise to find it.

  It wasn’t until the sun dipped low that she realized she needed a place to sleep. She brought blankets, but nothing to create a shelter. She spotted a small cave through the falls. It was reachable.

  It took some time to climb down to it, but she found a way down that wasn’t fear-inducing. She reached the mouth of the cave as the sun cast the gorge in shadow. Deep into the crater of Empyrean’s mountain, the falls perfectly covered the entrance. If anyone came for her, they might miss it.

  Darkness set in over the Dalles. What little light there was glimmering off the water backlit the cave in a water-splashed eerie glow. She brought a torch, which she assembled and lit.

  Satisfied with her new shelter, she found a place for her things away from the water. She lay the torch to one side, along with the extra oil and rags. She made bedding out of folded blankets and kept her food high to keep dry. She had enough for a couple of days, but eventually she’d need more. That was for another day.

  Darkness fell. In the distance she heard the blare of Vespers; the end of the day in Empyrean. The sound was so distant. She was safe for now.

  She ate a loaf of honeybread, drank from a canteen of water and ate a slice of beef she’d saved from rations. Elder Azariah taught some survival training, since even in the modern world they might get cut off from civilization. Dani was glad for it.

  With nothing better to do, she lay down to sleep. The torch was a comforting night light but the bed of blankets was hard. As she lay there, thinking how stupid she was to run—yet not regretting the decision—she wondered how long before someone came for her. Would she even survive until then? She tried to put it out of her mind, listening to the sounds of the crashing water on rocks. She let her eyes slip closed.

  But then they opened. She sat up. The sounds of the waterfall tried to lull her to sleep, but she knew she heard something. And as she listened, she heard it again.

  Someone was at the mouth of the cave.

  Chapter Thirty-One Dani stood slowly. She couldn’t see anything beyond the torchlight, but she heard someone. She quietly slipped out of her sleeping spot and slunk into the darkness. No way would she stand in the open.

  She didn’t call out. She wasn’t stupid. She kept her hands loose and ready for anything that might come at her. As she moved away from the light, her vision adjusted to the gloom.

  As she stepped gingerly down towards the mouth of the cave, all she could see were the luminescent, frothing falls in the moonlight. The roar of the water deafened her, but she listened for the sounds again.

  After a minute, she relaxed. She must have been paranoid. Then something collided with her.

  Dani screamed, lifted off her feet and thrown across the cave. She

  threw her arm out, not down, and avoided snapping her wrist to break her landing. She hit the ground and rolled, coming up, but whoever her invisible attacker was, he was fast. Someone struck her in the face.

  Dani fell, pain searing across her jaw. Immediately his weight sank down on her, but she was ready. As she felt him sink down, she rolled and th
rew him off. She heard a grunt of pain; a man’s voice.

  She stood, hands out in defensive posture, ready for another attack. Her mind scrolled through moves she’d learned, but they didn’t immediately come to mind. She didn’t need to think. She needed to do. Real fighting, Kleos told her, wasn’t about thinking of the moves. It was about making them as natural as breathing.

  When he came at her again, she could see his outline. He was taller, with a wide reach. She knew he was strong by his hold. She wouldn’t overpower him. He shoved her back against the cave wall. She struck out with her heel, connecting with his leg, but he didn’t let go.

  She was losing. Even as she raked his shins with her boots, even as she fought back with elbow-strikes at close range, she knew she was losing. He was too tall, too strong, and too experienced. She felt a foot strike at her ankle and he threw her sideways. Dani landed hard and tumbled down the slope to the falls.

  “No!” She tried to stop her slide. No luck. The throw tumbled her down into the falls. Water gushed around her and carried her the rest of the way.

  She swept out into darkness.

  Dani opened her mouth to scream but the torrents of water forced down her throat. She landed in the gushing rapids. Enveloped, pulled under, she flailed helplessly. The ice-like cold stole the warmth from her body.

  Dani tumbled, swam, tried to rise only to be thrown under again. The river sunk and then she went over another falls, bouncing off the surface of boulders down into oblivion. Cold dark waters came up to grab her.

  Her vision darkened. She had no air. She couldn’t kick anymore. Even as the waves smoothed out and she rose to the surface, she couldn’t fight anymore. The river swept her from the Dalles. Slowly, she slipped into the darkness.

  The last sensation she felt was a hand closing over her arm, pulling her towards the light.

  ______________________

  “She’s alive.” Said a voice. “Retrieve the Numen. Inform them their companion lives.”

  “She is not well. She will be disoriented when she wakes.” Said another, more familiar voice. “I should stay with her.”