by Callie Kanno
Adesina’s heart skipped a beat.
If the demon continued to do that, the ceiling would collapse prematurely.
Ravi pretended to stumble, and the demon rushed forward to smash its aggravating foe.
Adesina waited until she felt Ravi transport himself across the room, then she activated the web of vyala she had put into place. There was a brief glint of light, and a deafening crack reverberated through the cavern.
Several enormous boulders dropped from the ceiling onto the lower half of the demon. It howled in pain, but Adesina could see that it was still alive. They had only immobilized their enemy temporarily.
The young L’avan queen was disappointed to see so little damage done to the demon. She was growing increasingly weary, and it appeared that this was a battle that they could not win.
How could one defeat an enemy that had the ability to regenerate?
She longed to rest in the forests of Pevothem, where vyala flowed freely between the earth and those that lived there.
Suddenly, a warm glow infused Adesina’s body, expanding her senses and invigorating her vyala. She felt more refreshed than she had since stepping foot on the land of Zonne. It was as though…
She evaluated herself more carefully. Had her vyala been replenished?
It had to be impossible. After all, Ravi had said that Zonne was land that had died from a lack of natural vyala. There was nothing from which she could draw power to replenish her own.
And yet, it was clear that Adesina’s magic was growing.
Her eyes turned once more to the glowing blade of her Blood Sword, and she began to understand.
The weapon must serve as some sort of repository for her vyala. She had been sharing energy with it for weeks, and now it served as a well from which she could draw.
Adesina opened herself up to her Blood Sword and the flow of energy increased. However, something even more extraordinary began to happen.
Her mind blossomed, filling with hidden instincts and knowledge that she had never supposed was there. It was not like joining minds with another being, but rather, it was like connecting with… herself.
The demon’s outraged cries increased as it struggled to push away the boulders that had fallen on its lower body. It was only a matter of time until the demon was able to heal itself and renew its attacks.
Adesina was almost too distracted to notice the growing danger, but Ravi was not.
We must act quickly, Ma’eve, or it will be too late.
“Brace yourself, my friend,” she said softly to her guardian.
Within her mind, she reached out to Ravi’s vyala and drew it to her own. Then she did the same with the vyala stored in her Blood Sword. Her power swirled and expanded, creating palpable energy that whipped around her body.
She held out her sword—which shone with intense light—and pointed it at the twisted form of the demon.
“Fly, Falcon.”
It was as if the weapon had been waiting for the command.
The blade burst into magical flames that took the form of a falcon. The fire flew forward with astonishing speed and consumed the creature of darkness.
It happened so quickly, and yet, every minute detail was burned into Adesina’s sight.
The demon shrieked and held up all four arms in an effort to ward off the attack. The fiery falcon expanded in size, covering the monster and the rocks that held it in place. There was a blinding flash of light, and the entire area was destroyed.
All that remained was a blacked hole in the wall of the cavern.
Chapter Fifty-three: The Brink of Eternity
Adesina stood still for several moments.
She was stunned by what had just happened, and she was also exhausted. Her Blood Sword—newly named Falcon—had replenished her vyala, but her emotions and mental powers had been strained to the limit.
A flickering out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned to face the Threshold.
The brilliant light of the doorway was beginning to dim.
Adesina’s chest constricted with panic. “The Threshold is beginning to close. Does that mean…?”
Ravi didn’t speak his answer, but she could hear it in his thoughts.
L’iam is dying.
“What must I do?” she demanded.
Her guardian turned his bi-colored eyes on her. “Please, dear one—”
Adesina interrupted his gentle plea. “There is no time, Ravi. I have to save L’iam.”
“Perhaps there is another way.”
She shook her head. “You know that there is not. This is my truth, and I have accepted it.”
Ravi’s gaze glistened with tears, but he nodded. “Very well. Step onto the dais, into the light.”
Adesina moved forward, and Ravi kept next to her.
She held up a hand. “Stay here, my friend. You will be safe at this distance, I think.”
The Rashad spoke in a voice that trembled with emotion. “I have been by your side every day, Ma’eve. Do not turn me away now.”
Tears stung her own eyes, and she tried to blink them away.
“I do not know what will happen,” she admitted.
“Nor do I,” he replied, “but at least I will have done my duty. My place is with you.”
Adesina felt a surge of gratitude and love for her faithful guardian. She would have gone on alone, but she was glad to have his support.
Together they ascended the steps that led to the white marble platform. The runes and designs glowed with vyala, and the Threshold stood in the very center. Adesina walked towards the shining gateway and stepped into the light.
It was not as though she were trying to pass through the Threshold into the other realm. Rather, she entered into the mass of magic that formed the bridge between the two worlds.
Adesina shielded her eyes against the brilliance of the vyala in the center, and after a moment her eyes adjusted and she was able to see more clearly.
It was as if she stood in a room of white light. There were no visible features, and the way she had entered disappeared.
She and Ravi stood alone.
“L’iam must be standing on a conduit somewhere,” reasoned Adesina, “just like the Serraf in my Dream that sacrificed her life to create this opening.”
In response to her words, a thick beam of light became distinguishable from the luminescence of the rest of the room, and L’iam could be seen standing in the middle of it.
Adesina felt her heart begin to race and she wished desperately to sprint into his arms. She started to run forward, but she found that she stayed in place regardless of her movements.
She called out to him in desperation. “L’iam! L’iam, it is me!”
There was no reaction on his face. It remained void of any sort of emotion or recognition. It appeared as if he was in some sort of trance.
Adesina yearned to be near him, and her heart felt as though it would burst.
Then, unexpectedly, she found herself standing in front of him. She reached out to touch him, but her fingers passed through his form. He was only an image—his body was far away.
“What should I do?” she asked Ravi. “His life is fading.”
The large feline shook his head slowly. “I am not certain, Ma’eve. My people have no knowledge of this kind of magic.”
Trust in yourself. You know the answer.
Adesina looked at Ravi, but he was just as puzzled as she. The thought had not come from either of them.
The young queen took a deep breath and cleared her mind.
There was one thing she did know, even if she was uncertain about everything else. She must restore L’iam’s lifeforce or he would die before she could figure out how to remove him from danger.
Her eyes swirled with gold as she connected to the pure energy of her vyala. She infused her husband with a surge of vyala, and the color returned to his pale face. She gave him as much as she could spare—probably more than what was safe for her.<
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As she did this, she noticed an unseen field that surrounded his spirit. It connected L’iam to the Threshold.
Using her magic, Adesina felt the boundaries of the field, trying to get a better understanding of it. She treated the problem like a Shimat puzzle, keeping her thoughts logical and her actions methodical. That would be the fastest way of achieving success.
There appeared to be three layers to the field.
Adesina addressed each one individually.
The first was the conduit itself. Once the runes were activated, they created the channel that directed the vyala to its ultimate destination. The runes could not be disabled from afar, but Adesina was certain that she could intercept the flow of energy.
She closed her eyes and imagined herself taking the place of L’iam. She mentally pulled him outside of the barrier and moved to stand where he had been.
Somehow, the magic responded to her desires, and the field began to weaken.
The second layer seemed to be originating from L’iam himself. A red haze surrounded his being, binding him to the task that had been given to him—to feed his vyala into the conduit.
A flash of insight told Adesina was the haze was.
It was the potion that Basha had forced him to take.
It is blood magic, explained the voice that was neither Adesina’s nor Ravi’s. It is a crude spell that was made from the blood you gave to your mentor when you were a student.
The potion that Faryl was supposed to undo.
Yet, the apothecary was not here. How could she break him of its influence without Faryl’s aid?
It was created from your blood. You are the source of its power.
That thought gave Adesina pause.
“If I am the source of its power,” she mused aloud, “then I should be able to stop it.”
Ravi frowned thoughtfully. “That seems reasonable.”
“How?” Adesina asked the mysterious voice in her head.
There was no response.
“I suppose,” said Ravi slowly, “you will just have to follow your instincts. They have led you aright thus far.”
Adesina renewed her determination, shutting out all thoughts of doubt. She squared her shoulders and closed her eyes again.
In the L’avan race, purple eyes indicated the ability to focus one’s abilities above other L’avan. It was Adesina’s ability to focus her intentions with such intensity that enabled her to use all of the gifts of the L’avan.
She let go of everything else in her mind and directed all of her focus on this one task.
She mentally reached out to the red haze that swirled around L’iam’s body. It twisted away from her touch, as if she caused it pain.
It is my blood, she reminded herself. It is a part of me.
She focused her intention of separating the blood from the other ingredients of the potion. The blood was hers, and she was going to reclaim it. It was her right to reclaim it.
Miniscule red particles began to separate from the haze and float towards Adesina—at first slowly, but then with increasing speed. When the last of the blood returned to its owner, the remaining ingredients drifted to the ground like dust.
The field weakened even further.
There was one more layer that tied L’iam to his life-draining prison. Something less tangible. Something that originated from… Adesina.
She looked deep within herself, searching for that last element that kept her husband in danger. She was shocked at what she found.
Fear.
How could she be afraid? Hadn’t she already accepted the truth that had been shown to her? It was her fate to die at the Threshold, and she had no intention of running away.
Yet she was still afraid.
Adesina lowered her head in shame. Her own cowardice was preventing her from saving her husband’s life.
There is nothing wrong with being afraid, said the mysterious voice. Fear is a part of all of us. However, the merciful Creator has given us something to help us overcome our fears.
Adesina didn’t need to ask what it was. She knew the answer, as if it were even more a part of her than her fears.
Love.
A warm feeling began to expand within her chest, and she was able to lift her head again.
Yes, it was love that overcame fear.
She would not deny that she was afraid of death, but her love for L’iam was greater than anything else. It was her love for her husband that supported her in the face of her terrible truth.
Her eyes turned to L’iam’s face—still expressionless in its trance—and her heart overflowed with love. He had given up so much for her, and yet he had always insisted that it was nothing at all. He had worked and sacrificed to be everything that she needed. Now, it was her turn to sacrifice for his sake.
She did not even have to think about what needed to happen in order to free him from the spell that bound him. It all happened on its own.
The strength of her love broke L’iam free from his prison, and life returned to his dull eyes.
He looked around in confusion, finally locking his gaze on his wife.
“Adesina,” he whispered in relief.
Her returning smile trembled with emotion.
“I love you, L’iam.”
The field of magic was centered on her now. The Threshold was powered by her lifeforce, and it was up to her to seal it once more. One demon had already escaped into the world of mortals, and she could not allow any more to follow.
Adesina closed her eyes once more and used the last of her vyala to pull the Threshold closed.
As she did so, a strange sensation spread throughout her body. Fire seemed to course through her veins, but the burning was not painful. It was as though her flesh was being transformed to something stronger—something greater.
She felt herself shaking uncontrollably, and her mind felt incredibly compressed. Adesina automatically pushed outward, striving to keep herself from being crushed. When she was released from the pressure, it was like breaking free from a cocoon.
Was this what it felt like to die?
She was quickly losing consciousness, and she looked over to where the Threshold stood.
Adesina could see the light dimming, and she knew that the Threshold was closing.
There, she thought to herself as she drifted into darkness. They are safe.
***
It felt as though Adesina had been floating for an eternity.
She felt blissfully light, without any cares or concerns to hold her down. She had done her part, and she believed that she had done it well.
Now she could sleep in peace.
Not yet, my child. Your purpose has not been fulfilled.
The gentle words pulled her back to the world of the living. She sorrowed to take up her burden again, but she did not hesitate to obey the benevolent voice.
“Ma’eve?”
Adesina opened her eyes.
Where was she?
She appeared to be in a cave, but not the one where she had been standing before. The walls were bare of scenic carvings, and there was no dais made from white marble. Sunlight could be seen streaming in from the cavern opening, only a short distance from where Adesina laid.
Ravi sat next to her, staring at her with undisguised anxiety.
Adesina sat up slowly, holding a hand to her dizzy head. “What happened?”
Her guardian hesitated before answering. “You died.”
“What?”
“You died,” he repeated. “I could feel it through our Joining.”
Adesina frowned. “If I died, then how am I alive right now?”
Ravi shook his head. “I do not know. All I know is that your life drained away completely, and then you were filled with…something else.”
His voice was peculiar, and she leaned forward in concern. “What do you mean, Ravi?”
He struggled to find the right words. “You were transformed.”
Adesina’s memories
came rushing back, and she recalled the converting fire that had seared her entire body. She turned her attention inward, and she realized that she felt incredible.
She was much stronger than before—much more powerful.
Ravi was still trying to explain what he had experienced through their Joining. “I do not know how to describe it. I have only ever felt such a thing from your Dream, when we were in the presence of—”
“The Serraf,” finished Adesina faintly.
Her guardian nodded slowly. “Yes.”
Footsteps could be heard approaching, and a silhouette appeared at the entrance of the cave.
Adesina sprang to her feet with more speed and grace than she had ever possessed.
“Who is there?” she demanded.
The figure came into view, and Adesina recognized her immediately. She had long, wavy hair and eyes that were a metallic purple with flecks of gold. Her face was unearthly in its beauty, and her full form was robed in a simple gown of white. She was accompanied by a Rashad with black fur and golden eyes.
It was Sitara, the leader of the Serraf.
Her musical voice sounded with the confidence and authority of a herald.
“Welcome, She Who Was Born on the Threshold. We have been waiting for you.”
Glossary
Note: Names that contain an apostrophe (e.g. L’iam) should be said with a brief pause where the apostrophe is placed.
A’asil (AY-ahsil): a L’avan soldier who often worked closely with L’iam. He was in the search party that first discovered Adesina outside the High City, and he competed against her in a knife-throwing contest. He was among the first casualties when L’iam was kidnapped by the Shimat. His L’avan gifts included manipulation of light (illusion) and manipulation of gravity.
Adesina (adeh-SEE-na): Queen of the L’avan, and wife to L’iam. She was raised and trained by the Shimat, but left the organization when she discovered their true purpose. She is daughter of Me’shan and E’rian, and sister to E’nes. It is believed that she is the Threshold Child, a key figure in the prophecy concerning the future of the L’avan. She has the ability to use all of the magical gifts of the L’avan, rather than just one or two.
