by J B Cantwell
I lit my hands and ran to the back of the cave. There I found a little hole, just big enough for me to scoot my body inside.
I waited.
If Phalen was out there, he wasn't letting himself be known. I had no way of telling which dangers I would face if I were to leave this hidden place. I knew Phalen could easily light up the entire valley if he wanted to. But somehow I doubted that he would chase me. He had stood in the darkness watching as his brother taught me the little that he knew of magic. Then, when he'd finally let himself be seen, he'd tossed his brother's body from the mountaintop like a bin of garbage.
I wrestled with myself in the darkness of the tiny cave. I was terrified, but I knew I wouldn't be able to win any battles from inside the mountain.
I chose bravery over cowardice then, but the truth was I had no real choice at all.
So, after over an hour, I emerged from the shadows. I tentatively took a couple of measured steps from the cave, but I saw nothing. I knew he was out there, I just didn't know where.
Would he attack me again? Or would he crawl home, defeated?
I stood silently and didn't move an inch, watching, waiting.
He didn't come.
I needed to get moving, but I had lost a friend, and my heart was broken.
Soon, that heartache was replaced by something else, something new.
Anger.
Let him come.
I was done with hiding.
I turned away from the cave, staff at the ready, and began a long walk alone through the dark.
I had always intended to visit the bull Keeper, but now I found I needed to. At the bull, I would be able to replenish the Light I'd lost in my fall. And I hoped he had some guidance to offer in this darkened world I had become so familiar with.
I only walked during the day, when at least there was the tiniest hint of light in the sky. I had no way of keeping time other than to look at the clouds above. I recalled a time when Grandmother had taken an old watch that had belonged to my grandfather and sold it in the market. Those had been desperate times, and she'd had little choice. I was only a little kid when that happened, but I remembered it very clearly, the empty feeling in my stomach.
Now, though, I wished I had that watch just so I can keep track of things, like whether I'd eaten or slept. Before Phalen had come for me, I had stashed two small loaves of bread in my pack, hoping that I would be able to figure out how to do the spell on my own. Because, of course, if I could master it, I would never go hungry again. I imagined the look I might see on my grandmother's face if I were to bring home a feast that I could replicate at any moment. Endless oranges. Hearty bread. Maybe even candy. All the things we couldn’t afford.
I remembered when I’d met the young sorcerer, Connell, from Eagleview. He'd been just a few years older than me. It was before he went on his journey into the mountains, and he told me he had met somebody in the kingdom who had multiplied his food for him. He, himself, had not been able to learn that particular spell. He’d been expecting, like me, to be able to survive on Light alone until he reached his destination. I wondered; was he dead? He’d been gone for so long, and I had never seen him again. Was he someone else Torin sought to murder?
The answers to these questions didn't await me in the mountains, for there was no one I could talk to whom I could trust. Besides, it was probably only information that Torin, himself, knew.
After a couple of days passed, my caution faded. I hadn’t seen any hint of Phalen or anybody else. I kept trying to remind myself of the danger I was in, but now that the crisis had passed and I had so far to travel, I was starting to let my guard down.
My feet were beginning to hurt by the time the third day ended. Walking on stones was not easy on the body, not even if I'd had the highest quality boots.
Well, I'll get stronger.
Yes. Strength was something I would need in abundance in the years to come. I thought of Malcolm and his hard, strong arms as he'd picked me up and carried me for days. Would I be able to do that kind of thing? Maybe. But I supposed I would be able to do most anything if I had enough Light. Because wasn't that what it was all for? Power?
I thought about my attempts to possess Bevyn's mind. That was, to me, the ultimate power one could hold over another. And despite my willing attempts to learn it, the thought still disgusted me.
I imagined Torin must've been very frustrated, unable to reenter the lands which he, himself, had ruined. Here in these black mountains awaited Keeper after Keeper, their basins of light full to the top. And he could have none of it.
While I walked out in the open, I wasn’t so brash as to light my hands or the staff, tempting as it was. But at the end of my fourth day, I rounded the corner and saw the one thing that could make my heart sing.
The bull.
A climb awaited me, but I had little worry about that. I had discovered on my way down the mountain how to control my descent, and now my ability to adhere to the stone would help me as I climbed as well. Like a spider crawling up a wall, I felt certain I could take on even the steepest peak with relative ease.
The bull's eyes shone brightly through the night, and I didn't dare stop again for fear that at last I would be discovered by Torin's Wicks.
I could imagine that they were following me now, though I had no proof. I didn't understand why I hadn’t been attacked in recent days. Perhaps Phalen had decided that I was no real threat to his father, that all of the attention on me had been wasted.
I tried not to let doubt creep in, and I kept my gaze upon the top of that mountain. I wondered if the bull knew I was coming. Surely he did. Would he allow me to take his Light freely? Not that I could take much anymore with nowhere to store it.
I would take what I could to keep myself alive, and maybe there would be enough to share with people upon my arrival on the other side of the mountains.
If I made it.
Just as I began to ascend the rock faces, the whispers started, and for the first time, I realized the possibility that they were only in my mind.
In all the days I'd spent with Bevyn, I hadn't heard a single whisper. But now that I was alone, I was haunted once more and cursed by this place.
The whispers rang loud and clear, but I stuck my hands to the face of the rock and crawled anyway. I found that the more focused I was on climbing, the quieter the whispers became, but every time I stopped, their foreign words rang out in my brain, taunting me.
The bull was so close, right up there, waiting.
I had to move forward because there certainly was nothing worth seeing behind me. Nothing back there at all but death.
Upon the top of this mountain stood hope.
I sat on a ledge for a while and pulled water. I had nowhere to put it, so I drink it deeply, not knowing when I might be able to stop again. It was the cleanest and freshest water I could hope for, pulled from solid rock. And when I turned to make the final leg of my ascent, I was surprised to find that suddenly I was full of energy.
Excitement.
I climbed with new vigor, eager to hear anything the bull would have to say.
When I finally reached the top, however, it was not as I’d thought it would be. The bull hung his head low, and at first, I thought he was looking at me, lowering his head so that he could see me clearly.
But this was not the case. Beneath his great form, his light was slowly draining away. It reminded me of the spring back in Bevyn's cave. I wondered if it was draining into the mountain to be claimed by another.
My excitement faded away.
"Bree of Eagleview, you have arrived at last." His voice was deep, booming, but his eyes, though bright, were sad.
"At last?" I asked.
"I have been waiting a very long time," he said. "It has been many, many long years."
"How is that possible? I'm only seventeen."
"Time works differently for us," he said. "It has been nearly a thousand years since the sky was scorched by the evil one. He i
s a soul-crushing monster, caring only for his own power, his own wealth, his own control. And yet, you mustn't fear his army. They are merely his puppets."
I moved my gaze from his face and down once again to the shrinking pool of light.
"What is happening to you? Who did this?"
"Oh, I have been pilfered from for a long, long time. But recently, those who called themselves Torin's sons have discovered a way to collect my Light without me giving it freely."
"Does that change things? I mean, is the Light weaker when it's stolen like this?"
The great beast before me shook his head like a dog shaking off water. Like the horse, he was not made of stone but real live flesh and bone. I wondered how long the tortoise and the antelopes had been stolen from. Long enough to turn them into solid rock.
"We do not have time for this," he said. "Quickly, you must take all of the Light you can carry while you still have the chance. Those you meet below will require trading for you to gain their trust."
"Those below?"
The idea of meeting further people in this place made me feel a little sick.
"Whom will I meet? I have already seen Phalen and Bevyn. Who awaits me?"
"You must not wait any longer," he said. "Take it now while you still can. I fear I will be destroyed at any moment, a feeling I have never felt before.”
I did as he said, rushing to the pool beneath him. I could see now where his fear was coming from, for much of it had drained away already. I dug through my pack, got out the flask and the last unbroken vial, and dunked both of them into what was left of the Light.
"You should drink," he said softly. "Take as much as you can now while you still have the chance. In my honor, if you will. The time for my destruction has arrived."
"Destruction? What are you talking…"
"I cannot keep supplying the enemy with Light, but I am hurt, and I am unable to stop the flow. My brothers and sisters, some of them turn to stone at the end. It is their way of protecting the tiny heartbeat of light that continues to live inside them, though their spirits are broken."
I stepped away from the pool and went back over to where I could see his mighty head.
"Is there no other hope for you? You would have me destroy you?"
"You have Torin's staff, I see."
I looked at the staff in my hand, but this time, on hearing that it had been a tool of my greatest enemy, I did not cast it away. Perhaps I would have a chance to make my own weapons, something more powerful than my knives, more powerful, even, than this staff. But that day wasn't today.
"It's only until I can find something that suits me better," I said.
"You must use it against me. Use it to destroy me now, before they take everything from me. I have no desire to become stone."
"But you could do so much," I said.
"My own destruction is the best gift I can give to the war ahead. They must not be permitted to take any more from me. Even now, you are in great danger, for they are not far away."
"But if I destroy you…"
I tried to imagine a world in which that was possible. Had I come far enough in my training that I could do something so incredible? So terrible?
"If you do it, the enemy will no longer have access to my magic," he said.
Was this true?
I backed away, careful not to go too close to the edge of the precipice. Now I held the staff up, though I was unsure of where to point it. I was tired from days of travel and from the sheer terror that had come and gone as I'd walked through the valleys to make it here.
"I don't know if I can do it," I said. It was the truth. How could I strike him down, even with my concerns he might be an enemy?
"You should drink first," he said. "They will come for me soon enough, just as they will come for you. Better to be strong, to gather strength, while you still can."
I unstoppered the flask.
"After you deal a final blow to me, after you fight the evil ones who will come, you should do as you planned at the beginning and move your way across these mountains. Danger awaits you no matter where you run, no matter where you hide."
He turned his great head toward me until I was caught in the brightness of his eyes.
"But it has always been this way in your life," he said. "I cannot move my legs without destroying myself, but I can see, and I see you. I see the choices that lie before you, and both the fear and strength that lies within your heart. I could have chosen no one stronger to defend us, to defend this world."
I stood up a little straighter at this, and I felt a hint of bravery returning.
"Where is Torin?" I asked.
The bull shook his head. "Nobody knows, not even us Keepers. But he will come for you. He will come for all of us. You have seen the Wicks. They are only the beginning of his onslaught. Even now, he is building his army. They wait in the far north, though none have seen their master."
"Where should I go? I don't see my path clearly before me."
"You will find both friends and predators everywhere you go. I would tell you to trust no one, but that will not take you very far. Instead, my counsel is that you trust your heart. You will know."
"But I’ve already failed at that," I said, allowing desperation to make me question myself again. "I trusted Bevyn, at least until Phalen stole him out from under me."
"Bevyn has been here for many, many years. I suspect that you knew the true Bevyn. Was there a warning in your heart then? Before Phalen came along? You have now seen Phalen's mind and learned the truth about Bevyn. He was an innocent to be used by his father and brothers. He did not betray you."
My eyes welled up with tears as I thought about our time together, about his patience with my rough magic.
"Now, take my light and drink it," the bull went on. "For you will need the strength sooner than you think. They are not far away, and they will find you."
Finally, I did as the bull advised and drank deeply from the vial.
Immediately I felt a change within me, my strength returning, though perhaps not my judgment.
It was then that the bull above me broke through his bonds that chained him to the earth. He didn't need me to kill him after all. He'd found the power within himself to do the job on his own.
I knew this was the end of the bull, and as he moved away, all of his Light followed him. His skin and fur began to crack, sending bright light into the dark night, a beacon for everyone to see, for surely his glow was enough to light the entire range. Somewhere down in the depths of this place, I knew an uncertain future awaited me.
But now, I would need to fight my way out, find my way down this mountain and to another team of allies or enemies. I wouldn’t know which until true colors were brought to light.
Behind me I heard noises, little clicking sounds and soft screams.
A new villain.
I twisted around, wielding the staff, splitting the bodies of strange, slimy creatures who began climbing out of the darkness to fight me. Their slick, black bodies twisted and turned as they tried to avoid my blows, slithering across the summit like a snake might. But Bevyn's staff was as powerful as I'd suspected, and each movement of the wood meant that more of the creatures met their ends.
I thought of Bevyn through all of this. With every blast of the staff, I remembered the look of the gashes upon his back, the punishments of the father who'd refused him for so long.
Not again. Never again would Torin have the chance.
The bull buckled, and as his legs were ripped away from the ground, he began to fall down the mountainside. Realizing this, the creatures howled in despair, many of them jumping from the cliff to follow him down. I understood this; their master required Light, and this one brave Keeper had been supplying it for a long time. Centuries. Ages. What would happen to them now?
As he crashed to the ground below, and his body came apart into a million stones, I fled. Every creature that had stood at the top of the mountain followed him down into a dar
k abyss, but that didn't mean there weren't more to contend with. I fixed my eyes on the sky, and far up above, I saw them: Wicks.
I raced for the other side of the precipice. Even now, as the bull's destruction became complete and the rest of his Light drained away, the mountains that had been so dark before took on an eerie sort of glow, making them seem impossibly beautiful as they rose from their dark night.
But I couldn’t linger. As soon as I reached the other side, I got onto my stomach and lowered myself to the side of the mountain. The Wicks didn’t see my exit, only the bull's descent, and they followed him blindly to the ground.
This time I held tight to the rock and crawled as safely as I could down the other side. I knew if they realized what had happened, they would be on me in a second.
But they didn't know. Not yet.
I could hear wails echoing through the mountains, fearful and despairing.
I moved faster. I wondered where the light of the bull had been trickling to, but this was no time for exploration. Soon enough, though, I found an opening in the rock and stopped my descent, crawling inside. Despite my newfound energy, I didn't want to act foolishly. I slipped into the narrow hole, breathing hard.
Across. Just make it across the range.
I backed up as far as I could into the tiny space and kept my eyes on the entrance. The Light I'd had made my skin feel tingly, and I was desperate to flee, to run, to spend this new energy.
But I knew I couldn't.
It took hours for the beasts to finish their grieving and prayers that their wicked leader would let them survive such a failure. Eventually, it grew quiet as the light of the bull slowly went out.
I thought about what this would mean for the other Keepers. For all of us, really. But there was no Bevyn, no Malcolm anymore. Just me, and me alone, the only human witness to this Keeper's destruction.
I would do as the bull had said. I would trust in my heart and stand and fight with those who trusted in me. The idea hardened in my mind as I lay there, trying to evade discovery.
