Descent

by Charlotte McConaghy

  ‘Do it,’ she said, her own rage threatening to boil over.

  The prince’s eyes turned instantly from grey to red-hot flames. He stepped up to one of the pillars, and, with a mighty swing, smashed his sword into it. A scream of fury erupted from his lips as he hacked, breaking the marble more and more with each strike.

  There was a mighty crack, and the pillar crumbled. Sound exploded as the roof began to cave in, enormous pieces of stone smashing down around them.

  Fern ducked for cover, but Jane shouted at him over the racket, ‘Don’t bother moving! This is our dream, Fern! We can do whatever we want!’ With that she moved her hand, and with a flick of her wrist, the heavy falling marble flew in the opposite direction. With her hands she controlled the mighty pillars, flinging them out of harm’s way. Fern watched her, and then he turned his face upwards.

  Through the caving roof, they could see the sky. It was a sea of flames, an inferno above them, licking into the cavern. And out of the core of those flames came the fiery beasts of nightmare themselves, thousands upon thousands of Valkyries, swarming towards them as though the sky itself was falling down. All they could see were fiery wings.

  And this, they both knew, was what they’d been trying to find the whole time.

  ‘We have to get up there!’ Fern yelled. ‘We need to destroy the heart of them!’

  With sword in hand, he leapt onto one of the fallen pillars. They were surrounded by mountains of marble, stepping-stones into the sky, but the Valkyries were descending so fast, and Jane knew she would never be able to leap the distances that Fern could.

  ‘Come on, Jane!’ Fern screamed. ‘Just jump!’

  ‘I can’t!’

  ‘You can here!’

  Jane swore inwardly and ran to the pillar. Taking a breath she scrabbled upwards, cutting her hands on the sharp edges and skidding back to the ground, managing to twist her ankle in the process. ‘Dammit!’ She tried to focus, but they were swooping over her head now, the flames making her sweat, and the noise of it all was so deafening that she couldn’t concentrate on anything but the panic in her chest.

  ‘Come on, Jane!’ Fern screamed again. He was halfway up, holding onto the rock with one hand and using the other to hack through the air at the beasts. ‘I need you!’

  And it was that, right there, that gave her the strength to leap into the air, flying skyward and landing on a piece of rock that was at least ten metres high. She flew upwards, leaping from pillar to pillar, clutching at ledges and swinging herself up, athletic in ways she’d never been before.

  She made it to Fern’s side and he smiled at her, a wide, reckless smile, before he leapt off, leading the way upwards towards the fiery orb in the sky, the very thing that seemed to be creating the Valkyries.

  More people from the palace had emerged onto the roof to help them fight, but even with reinforcements, even with the dragon in the sky, even with the two unicorns attacking with their horns and their warrior riders, the Valkyries were winning. There were just too many. Every fighter had been wounded, each of them now bleeding. Nightmares would be unavoidable, even if they survived this fight, a feat that seemed impossible.

  Tzenna was standing over Luca, trying to stop him from being harmed further, and she realised as she did so that she’d been the one to bring him up here—it was her fault he’d been hurt. But there was no time for guilt, because there were too many creatures attacking. The other woman—Ria, her name seemed to be—had run to help protect Luca, as had the red-haired Captain, but even as the three of them fought, something miraculous happened. Luca stirred, regaining consciousness, and even though he was bleeding profusely, he dragged himself to his feet. Then he clutched his sword in his swollen hands and began to fight once more.

  Tzenna stared at him, and for a brief second he met her eyes and managed to nod in encouragement. And so, if he could fight in a state so close to death, she damn well could too.

  Just then Harry emerged from the indoor stairs, one arm hanging limply by his side. He tried to draw his bow and arrow, but realised with dismay that he couldn’t do it without his right arm. He hurried over to the group, joining them in their resistance.

  ‘Luca!’ Harry shouted over the noise of the dragon’s inferno.

  ‘I’m fine,’ Luca said faintly, still wielding his sword. Tzenna looked up into the sky to see the High Queen fell three Valkyries with one sweep of her sword, controlling her mount with only her knees and an amazing amount of confidence.

  ‘We’re not going to last long at this rate!’ Bayard yelled, wiping his brow. ‘Ria—can you not sing to them?’

  Ria paled to the colour of parchment. She seemed to freeze.

  ‘No,’ she whispered.

  ‘Why not?’ Luca exclaimed angrily. Tzenna looked at him, surprised by the vehemence of his reply. She had no idea what he was talking about.

  ‘I can’t!’ Ria said, shaking her head.

  ‘Duck!’ Harry yelled and all five of them ducked low to the ground as a set of talons flew past.

  ‘You can’t or you won’t?’ Luca asked.

  ‘I can’t!’ she yelled. ‘You have no idea what you are asking! I can’t open the conduit—it could do too much damage.’

  ‘It helped last time,’ Bayard tried more gently.

  Ria shook her head.

  ‘Duck!’ Harry yelled again, and again they ducked.

  ‘If I had not been cut off, I could have killed us all— everyone, not just our enemies,’ Ria snapped.

  ‘Then you’ll have to be strong enough to stop yourself!’ Luca growled. Tzenna laid a hand on his arm, silently willing him to calm down. He glanced at her and moderated his tone. ‘You have to at least try.’

  Ria shook her head again. ‘No.’

  ‘Guys, we don’t really have time to be discussing this right now— duck!’

  This time the Valkyrie flew so low that they had to scramble out of the way, throwing themselves to the ground. Tzenna jolted her neck and snapped her jaw shut painfully, scraping the skin on her hands and knees. Quickly she was back on her feet, reaching for her sword and swinging it wildly above her head.

  Looking up, she felt herself grow cold. The light of the two moons had disappeared completely, obscured by the sudden surge of new Valkyries. There were so many that they blotted out the sky.

  ‘Keep fighting!’ she heard Harry yell, his voice impassioned and strong, and Tzenna felt her own strength grow. She had been alone her whole life. Until this last day. They might die here, but at least they would be fighting, and at least they were together. She looked at Luca and he returned her look, helping her ever more with what was in his eyes.

  It felt like he was blind. He knew how to fight, and fight well. But hiding in that cabin, underneath the safety of walls and a roof, with no way to see his enemies properly, was starting to seem very cowardly to Altor.

  Casting a final look at the two bodies on the bed, the Black Prince left his eye-hole and went to the front door. Slowly he drew his sword from its scabbard and felt the familiar, perfect weight of it in his hand.

  Restless and angry and pointless, his life was. A waste.

  Until he’d met Jane and Fern. Until he’d met the High Queen, Elixia.

  Altor slipped from the door of the cabin, making sure to wedge it shut behind him. Then he climbed swiftly onto the roof, all the while being swooped by hundreds of shadowy beasts, until he was finally in a position from where he could fight.

  His sword was a blur then, moving faster than it had ever had cause to move. They came at him, from every angle, and it seemed an impossible task to withstand them all.

  But the Black Prince smiled, his lips curling into a dark sneer, because he knew what the creatures truly looked like. Shadows would never frighten him.

  You could look into the sky and feel your heart breaking. You could think back over your life and regret things past, regret wasted time, regret words not said. But if you just turned your head, Harry realised, and looked at
the people here with you, fighting so valiantly, you could also be thankful for such a worthy ending. You could consider yourself lucky for being a part of their lives, for being a part of this struggle—you could feel lucky simply because of the fact that you were strong enough to fight back.

  Bowing his head and holding his sword in his uninjured hand, he ran to Luca, placing a hand briefly on his best friend’s arm.

  ‘Dude—you’re making me look bad, fighting like that,’ Luca told him with a flash of one of his old smiles, nodding his head towards Tzenna. ‘I’m trying to impress a girl!’

  Harry couldn’t help but laugh. ‘You’re making us all look bad, fighting all torn up like that!’ he shot back. ‘Trust me, you’ve impressed her just by being conscious.’

  Luca’s expression cleared as he looked at his friend. ‘I’ve got too much to lose to let a little scratch bring me down.’

  And Harry knew exactly what he meant. They both looked into the sky at Anna, still circling on her mighty dragon.

  The end of the world, and all he wanted was to be with his five best friends.

  And one other thing. A nameless woman’s face sprang to his mind’s eye. One string not tied, then. One piece of information still missing.

  Fern reached the top of the tallest pillar, slicing his sword through the fiery wings and talons that surrounded him. He could hardly see through them to look for Jane, but then her own sword hacked through, killing several Valkyries at once, and she came to stand next to him.

  It was like being in the heart of a hurricane. The screams and shrieks of the beasts filled their ears, and the fury of the wind being created by their wings blasted against them, threatening to blow them back down to the ground that was now so far it seemed like another world away.

  Jane could see nothing but fire all around her, and just then a set of talons raked against her cheek, slashing it open. There were gashes all over both of them, wounds that were unavoidable as they climbed.

  ‘We’re as high as we can get!’ Jane screamed over the deafening noise. Their attackers never abated, a broiling mass that was always closing in.

  ‘It’s not far now—I can see it just beyond!’ Fern yelled back, pointing upwards. That’s when she glimpsed it. The core. A huge orb of fire, not unlike a sun, and from within it more creatures came.

  ‘Take my hand!’ she called. Fern glanced sideways at her, and then transferred his sword to his other hand, clasping hers with strength and urgency.

  ‘ Now jump!’

  And even though it would mean leaping into a furnace of death, they jumped.

  Together the two of them leapt upwards, flying through the air simply because they needed to be able to, straight through the thousands of Valkyries whose bodies burned and tore upon the contact.

  Then Jane and Fern, each with their free hand, stabbed their long swords straight into the heart of the Valkyrie core.

  There was a mighty explosion of noise, an eclipse of destruction, sending them soaring backwards through the sky and into oblivion.

  Jane closed her eyes. What seemed like an eternity later she opened them, and when she did, everything was white, still, and silent.

  The sudden glare was painful. She sank to her knees, trembling, and then realised that her hand was still within Fern’s. He didn’t let go.

  It took a very long moment for her to realise that they were in a circular room, its walls, ceiling and floor all the same, bright, impossible white.

  Slowly Fern stood and helped her to her feet. Without words, the two of them walked to the walls, searching for a handle or even just a crack.

  There was nothing.

  A terrible sense of foreboding fell upon them both. The room was completely empty. It reminded Jane of the mental institutions on Earth that she had seen only in films. A chill ran down her spine.

  Jane sank down with her back against the wall, exhausted, hopeless. Neither had any idea what to do, and were too weary to even talk.

  ‘We did it,’ she said softly. ‘We did what we came to do. The Valkyries are destroyed. So why wasn’t it enough?’

  Fern was silent.

  ‘Haven’t we faced all of our fears? The satyr said we would find our way out if we faced our fears. Haven’t we done enough?’

  ‘Maybe not,’ he replied suddenly.

  Jane fell silent. Something struck her, cold, painful and much worse than anything they had been through so far.

  What if her greatest fear was letting go of Fern? What if she’d ignored it, blindly believing that they could get through anything? Maybe they’d never get out of here until she just allowed herself to accept that it was over.

  A lot of men feared falling in love, he’d been told. Feared being stuck with the one woman for their whole lives. Think on that, his mother and sister had told him, when it comes time for you to settle down, to do what’s right for your kingdom. It’s a man’s responsibility—start a family, leave an heir. Show people you can do the right thing. Set an example.

  But it was more for Prince Fern. It was more than a simple fear of having only one woman.

  He was good at almost everything he did, a beacon of hope and pride for his people, and things were expected of him. He was a symbol, he could do no wrong. He was their Bright Prince.

  Through all of that he had clutched, desperately, with slipping fingers, to the simple idea of who he was. He had tried to keep a little part of himself simply his, a secret. He was a boy—a man—who could live up to all the other expectations, who could fight a god, who could wield a sword to protect his people ... a man who could do all these things and more, but who could not— might not—be a good enough man to love someone properly.

  He didn’t know if he was the kind of man who had a heart big enough to love a woman the way she deserved, without fault or fear, without withholding or hiding, only generously, boldly.

  Therefore he could not allow himself to get too attached to anyone in case he was not the bright, shining thing they all expected. In case he made a mistake, and someone got hurt.

  Could he not have one single part of himself that was free to do as he chose? He could be the person they wanted him to be, if only they would leave him this small thing. Allow him, in just this one part, not to be enough.

  And so it had gone for the first twenty years of his life. They’d allowed him to wander and dream and adventure all on his own. It had seemed to work. He’d been happy.

  Until the day he’d come across a girl—not so different from the million he’d met—lying halfway up a cliff, and he’d had his whole world smashed by the simple act of her opening her big brown eyes and meeting his gaze.

  All his fears came true. He hurt her, time and time again. Because he was not a good enough man.

  Sitting in that room so white it hurt his eyes, in such close proximity to her, his heart beat fearfully like it did every time he looked at her, even now, all this time later.

  Fern rose slowly to his feet.

  He was trapped within his own mind, and the only possible way out was to face his fears. And something finally occurred to him, so obvious it may as well have been a slap in the face.

  Jane saw him stand and, frowning, did the same.

  ‘Are you okay?’ she asked. But they weren’t the words he was hearing.

  Stop hurting me now and just be with me.

  Stop telling me you love me and love me!

  The answer was staring at him. Gently he took her hands.

  ‘Fern?’

  With the weight of every insecurity he had about himself, Prince Fern sank to one knee, and he looked up at her startled expression, feeling the warmth from his heart spread through his whole body. The brightness of the room seemed to dim against his eyes, making it easier to bear.

  ‘Jane,’ he said clearly. ‘We’ve come a very long way. Loved each other a very long time. The one honesty in my heart is that you are my only true weakness. The deepest fear inside me is that I won’t be able to protect you fore
ver, and that I’ll never be good enough to be the kind of man that doesn’t hurt you. I’ve always resisted love because it’s what everyone wants from me. It’s the only thing I could withhold from them, and I thought ... I thought I’d be losing myself if I gave in.’

  Fern closed his eyes, shaking his head.

  ‘I’ve been so foolish, Jane,’ he whispered. ‘I never realised that loving someone, truly loving someone makes it easier to know yourself, to find yourself. To be ... better.’

  Jane felt light-headed. Her heart wasn’t slowing down.

  ‘So I’m taking my future in my hands—I’m deciding my own destiny,’ Fern went on, his voice growing steadier. ‘I’m going to try not to be so scared, even if I’ve ruined things too much for you to be able to say yes. It doesn’t matter what your answer is—I think we’ll be set free either way, because the only thing that matters is that we’re deciding for ourselves, deciding not to be frightened. I’m offering you something, giving you an oath, because you make me a better man. Even if you don’t accept it ... well, I’ll love you anyway, Jane. The only thing left now is for you to decide your own fate.’

  Jane couldn’t breathe properly. The change was too sudden, from the man who was always shying away from her, always running, to this.

  He smiled now, gently, because he was Fern, and he would always be smiling. ‘Will you marry me, Jane, and help me, every day, to be worthy of you?’ The words spilled from him as if from the mouth of a man who had been deeply hungry all his life. As if, only now, he was finding the one thing that could sustain him and keep him alive, and put a desperate halt to his depravity.

  Jane froze. There was a moment, a beat that her heart skipped, and within that fraction of a second two paths stretched out before her, both as frightening as the other.

  His eyes seemed more grey and more familiar now than they ever had before.

  And as she answered, her voice shaking, unable to believe what was coming out of her mouth, the nightmare crumbled down around them, shattering into a thousand tiny pieces on the floor, and the two of them woke at exactly the same time into a new world.

  On the roof, those fighting reached the very last reserves of their strength, each one of them wounded and weary and losing hope.