by Oxford, Rain
Another demon prepared to attack me, so I readied myself to take it. It wasn’t that I wanted to be hurt; I just knew he wasn’t powerful enough to kill me. The balance was far greater than any demon, let alone this one.
“Stop!” Drake demanded beside me. The demon froze and his energy dispersed harmlessly.
Fire burst from Sen into one of the demons, incapacitating the enemy, but not destroying him. The demon still under Drake’s control remained immobile as his comrades created defensive shields around themselves.
The darkness inside me finally responded to the attack by drawing on my power, yet not actually doing anything else. Two of the demons dropped to their knees in an unwilling bow, one demon vanished, the demon under Drake’s control remained frozen, and the one that Sen attacked was still on the ground.
My shield over Drake disintegrated. “Cover your ears, Sen,” Drake said. Sen did as he was told, but I created a sound-proof shield around him to be safe. “Go back to where you came from,” the fae demanded. All of the demons disappeared.
“That wasn’t too bad,” Sen said as I let the shield over him disintegrate.
“It isn’t over,” I said, pointing to the wall where the bow was conspicuous in its absence.
“Shit!” Drake cursed. “I didn’t even see them take it. I sent them back where they came from… but those were demons, right? Did I send them back to Hell?”
“Worse. Demons are creatures of the void.” I could survive a few minutes in the outer “safe membrane” of the void, but not even the gods would survive further in.
“So what do we do?” Sen asked.
“We give up on the bow and find the rest of the weapons.” They both gaped at me. “There is no point in dying for it, and the balance has no power over the abyss.”
“What about Zeb? Can’t he go get it?” Drake asked.
I shook my head. That was something I would never ask of the Ancient.
Before I could ask the talisman where the next weapon was, people flooded into the room. These people differentiated themselves from others by wearing ceremonial white robes, which missed its intended effect of grandeur and instead made them appear two batons short of goofy. Then they pulled swords from the white sheaths at their sides, I reconsidered my first impression, for the swords were twice the length of practicality. These men were not fighters.
“You have stolen from us!” one of the men declared. His tone was surely meant to be indignant, yet it barely managed to be whiney. “You will be detained until you have returned what you took.”
“What are they saying?” Sen asked.
“It looks like they think we stole the bow.”
“Well, tell them we didn’t!” Drake said.
“That never does anyone any good,” I said, pulling on the power inside. I took Drake’s hand with my right and Sen’s with my left. I hated flashing, but it certainly made for a useful getaway. Light surrounded us, driving the Enep men back… and then it faded. “No! Not now!” I tried again to flash, but my energy became completely unresponsive.
“Get us out of here!” Sen demanded as the men pulled him away and secured white cuffs around his wrist.
“I’m trying!” One of the men tried to grab me and turn me around, so I bit him. He screamed and let me go, but I only let him go when I had the focus of everyone. Still trying to control my energy, I groaned when I felt Vretial summoning me to him. Drake broke free and grabbed my hand, but I knew he would be trapped here. “I’m sorry!”
The world around me vanished and I was suddenly standing in the Land of the Iadnah before Vretial. He looked as he normally did except for his impatient scowl. It seemed the last few days were as fun for the god as they were for me.
“Save my friends!”
“Demanding little brat, aren’t you. How many times will I have to put up with your insolence before you grow up?”
“You pulled me away while I was trying to save them!”
“You were failing to save them.”
“Help them.”
“No. It is in my best interest to let them both die. As for you, getting to your brother should be priority. You cannot win the war if the balance inside you is out of control. Even if the balance does destroy the demons, soon it will be unable to distinguish between friend or foe. I have tried drawing Samhail here with you, but it appears that he is stranded. Your father’s Ancient has been compromised, so he can only find you or your brother when your lives are truly endangered.”
“My powers keep failing.”
“Your balance has been disrupted. I have tried to send Mordon to Dylan without success. He is not stranded like your brother, as I can send him anywhere but to Dylan. Someone even more powerful than me is keeping Samhail away from you and Mordon from Dylan.”
“Is it Zherneboh?”
“It must be. Neither are in danger as far as I can tell.”
“What do I do?”
“Keep looking for the weapons and keep trying to get to your brother. Your family will prevail in the end… except for your father. He’s going to die.”
“He won’t die.”
“Bring me the mage staff.”
Before I could argue, he flashed me back to Enep, where I was alone. The men were gone, along with Sen and Drake. I knew the right thing to do was to find the weapons. Winning the war against demons was more important than two people… but they weren’t just two people. Sen was the closest thing Mordon had to a son and I told Stacy I would protect Drake.
Even people who were insignificant to me were important to someone. Why else would my dad fight so hard to keep the demons from taking over? Dad always people first, and he always expected people to do what was right, which is why they always did. Dad would never look at me again if I let my friends die.
I tried again to use my magic, and then sighed when it never responded. Without magic and without my brother, I had no way to protect myself. Xul would show up if my life was threatened, but if I was captured and imprisoned, he wouldn’t find me until after the war. I exited the room cautiously, expecting someone to pop out of nowhere and attack.
Most of the artifacts had been knocked over on their side or even onto the floor, so I had to sidestep broken glass and other delicate material. Although I adored most of the things I owned, like my immersion circulator and a nebula pillowcase, I knew my affection for these material goods were shallow. I liked flashy things that stood out because of their colors, textures, or just because everyone else wanted one. Aside from my violin, my most favorite treasure would hold my interest for a few weeks at the most, before I came across a new object to obsess over. I knew this, and I was okay with it.
I also knew that some of the items I was stepping over meant everything to these people. They weren’t toys to play with or show off but symbols of their struggles and their hope. The demons came here because of the bow, yet I felt like I should have done something more to help these people.
To my surprise, the orange-eyed woman stood in the wreckage, studying every fallen piece, as if they would abruptly regenerate and reappear on the stands and hooks. “I know you did not steal the bow,” she said.
“How do you know?”
“You are a child. We have been without children for so long that most of us have forgotten what they are like. Children had no place in the war, but they were punished anyway. I was still a child when the world was destroyed. I was hiding under my bed with my little sister, waiting to die because we knew the bombs were about to go off, and then I was here in this underground world.”
“What about the Arcani? I thought they could have children.”
“They hide away in their own city unless they come to arrest someone.”
“Is that who took my friends?” She nodded. “So they took my friends back to their city? Help me find them,” I begged. She looked at me. “I don’t need you to fight for me or get in trouble, just show me where their city is.”
“I need to clean up,” she said solemn
ly.
“Help me find them, and the minute my powers come back, I will return here and fix this all. I have the powers of a god; I can fix this.”
“What do you mean you have god powers?”
“My mother is Tiamat, god of Earth, and my father is Dylan Yatunus. My powers aren’t working right now because I’m not with my brother, but I know they’ll come back. I promise I will fix everything here if you help me.” I paused, and she was hesitant. I didn’t know the people of Enep well, but I knew their god.
If a population angered its god, the god could easily kill them all. The only reason for Regivus to apply a punishment that involves reliving their lives over and over is for them to learn a lesson. He wasn’t angry; he was being merciful.
“I’ll fix it either way, but please help me anyway. I have to save my friends. I just need a direction.”
She studied me for a minute, then finally nodded. “I will show you where the Arcani circle is, but I won’t go in. What is your name?”
“Ronez. I go by Ron.”
“I am Elwyn.”
I followed her out into the city. Appearance-wise, it looked like what Hail described Dios to be before they moved above ground; dark and depressed. The people went about their business without chatting with each other when they crossed paths and focusing on whatever they were digging up, fixing, or trading. There was no friendly conversation or color for decorative sake. Even the children were working… though I realized none of them were really children, merely people who were early on in one of their many lives.
I missed something. I looked back into a cluster of people, only to see nothing unusual, although I could have sworn I saw Mordon there a second before.
“This way,” Elwyn said softly.
She led me through dark tunnels, past different cities, and into even darker passageways. It was not an easy walk— or hike in some cases, but we eventually came upon a stone wall in a huge cavern. I realized then why she called it the Arcani circle and not the Arcani city. I had assumed it was a magic and rituals, but the wall actually formed a circle around the “city.” “What’s with all the walls? I’m starting to think people don’t want to see me,” I said aloud. The woman gave me a look, so I shrugged. “Thank you for showing me the way. I can break in from here.”
“You must be careful, or they will arrest you also.”
That was plan B. “I will be careful.” I made my way around the entire closure, not at all surprised to find no way in. The wall was over ten foot tall and too smooth to scale without tools. With my magic or Hail, it would have been a piece of cake, but I was without either.
I waited in the dark shadows for about an hour until someone finally came along. It was two older women dressed in white robes. As they neared, I swallowed my spit to wet my throat and then coughed. The women startled like unsuspecting ushiiku. Obviously I couldn’t pretend to be a person of Enep, but I could be absolutely adorable and vulnerable.
“Do you have any water?” I whispered, pretending to struggle as I stood.
One of the women stayed away, frightened, but the other rushed forward as if I was about to collapse. “You poor child. Yes, we have water. How did you get here? What world are you from, what is your name, and how old are you?” she asked, taking my arm to guide me towards the wall.
“I’m from Earth, my name is Ronez, and I am twelve.” I was small enough that, although I could never say I was older, I could easily pass for younger. “I got lost looking for my brother.”
“You should not let him in,” the other woman said to the one helping me. “We have no idea who he is.”
“He is a child— a real one. We need more people in the Arcani.”
Crap. I kept up my façade as the woman reached for the white wall. A four-foot-wide section abruptly separated by clean, straight lines, then the section slid into the sand below.
What remained was a doorway in the wall into an intriguing community. Most of the people here wore white robes, but a few wore muted shades of blue, tan, or green. There was another wall before me, about twelve foot away, which was rounded, but there were doorways already in it. Through those doorways, I could see more walls. It was like a round maze.
Creepy.
The woman led me through several doorways. I was very impressed with what I saw. Décor, though drab in color and texture, consisted of exquisitely detailed etches in metal on furniture, smooth, glass-like busts of people, and abstract patterns drawn on the white walls. There were books everywhere, along with crystal balls, magical jewelry, and ritual items. More walls were built in to section off areas.
Everything was much cleaner than anywhere else, as if these people worked very hard to pretend they were not living underground. This suggested more than anything that these people believed themselves to be better than the rest of the population, since they were not cursed.
Had I pretended to be a regular person from Enep and changed my appearance, which was what I would have done had my powers worked, the woman probably would have shooed me away. As the woman pulled me along, several people we passed reached out to touch my hair, as if they just couldn’t help themselves. Maybe if my hair wasn’t quite so blue…
We arrived at what was obviously a bedroom, which disturbed me as there was no door or even a curtain. The bed was little more than a cot with a dark brown blanket and pillow. A small bookshelf on the left wall, filled with books and magic artifacts, was the only form of self-expression. I shuddered, which the caring woman mistook as just a shiver, so she sat me on her bed.
“Get him some water,” she told the other woman. The skeptical woman frowned at me, as if she could see through my lie, before turning and leaving. The caring woman patted my shoulders and chest. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Just hungry. I haven’t eaten in a few days.”
“Why did you not say so?”
“I don’t want to be a bother,” I said demurely. I was really bad at playing shy, but my mother wasn’t, so I tried to mimic her act.
“I will get you some food. Just lie down and rest,” she said and then left.
I waited for a moment, listening for anyone nearby, and got up. With no idea which way to go, I cautiously walked closer to the center of town. I tried once again to access my magic, but although my own energy didn’t respond, I sensed someone else’s sizing me up. I knew that aura. Regivus… Please, Regivus, help me out here.
My surroundings changed from white walls to… white walls. The difference was that the white walls in this room that the god favored emitted light. Regivus stood in front of me.
When my father first met the god, Regivus was happily willing to kill my father. After Vretial, Regivus was the oldest god. He was also the next most insane in my opinion. To the gods and my family, Regivus was extremely strict and unforgiving, but also very wise and reasonable. He and Mom fought more often than not. In fact, Dad was usually the only one brave enough to break them up. To everyone else, including his people, Regivus was entirely demanding and unmerciful.
“Why are you on Enep without your brother?” he asked by way of greeting. His tone told me he wasn’t pleased.
“Because I’m your nephew and you love me,” I answered.
“You are definitely Dylan’s son. I know the balance inside you is supposed to keep the universe from falling apart, but I also believe what Vretial says. Without your brother, the balance inside you is destructive. Just your presence is damaging the magic of my world.”
“And I will be off your world as soon as I save my friends.”
“I cannot send you back. Another hour and the punishment on my people will disintegrate.”
“How? I’m not doing anything.”
“Immortality is harmful to the balance, and what I have done is worse than immortality. I understand this isn’t your fault, but you cannot control the balance.”
“Would it be so bad for the curse to end? Don’t you think they’ve learned their lesson?”
“Yo
u have no idea, child. Imagine having six billion children, who will not ever stop trying to kill each other no matter what you do. I chose to punish my children. Avoli faced the same issue, except he chose to stand back and let them kill each other off. I didn’t know that at the time, or I would have stopped it. Now that I know, I am glad that Vretial took Avoli’s world.”
“Do you trust Vretial? He wants me to give him the mage staff, which I know is evil.”
“Evil is subjective. Your brother calls Vretial the dark god, but without him, Dylan wouldn’t be where he is now. While my older brother is selfish and manipulative, he is very clever. He knows how to get what he wants. So the question you should be asking is what does he want?”
“He… wants power?”
“No, that’s you. Vretial would have killed Dylan the moment he was free from the balance.”
“He wants Hail and me as his Noquodi?”
“He would have tried to win your father over early in Dylan’s life. Does he want to kill your father?”
“Not right now.”
“Then I would give him the staff. Now, would you rather me send you to your father or your uncle? I would send you to your brother, but there is something keeping the two of you away from each other. Also, your mother seems to be in the middle of something as well.”
“I want you to send me back to Enep. My friends are locked up by the Arcani. I can’t just leave them there.”
He sighed. “I will send you back and give you one hour. No longer.”
“Thank you.”
“I know everyone compares you to your father, but that isn’t a bad thing. I wanted to kill your father because I thought he was bad for my sister. Before I could, however, I saw something in him that made me give him a chance, and I never regretted it. I will give you the same chance because Dylan is a good man and you are his son. Soon, you will have to decide what kind of person you are.”
“What made you give Dad a chance?”
