“No!” screamed the witch. She reached to touch the Device and turn it on, but Lance, with his hand, drew his gunblade and fired a warning shot near her hand.
“Don’t even think about it,” he warned.
She stopped and smiled. “Too late,” she grinned.
A cry from Galis alerted them to the battle that had been raging on behind them. Turning, they saw Galis sever one vampire’s head at last then charge to the other. The last one held the pale, squirming figure of Max in its arms, its fangs buried deep in his neck, slurping his blood loudly. The barbarian planted his feet, and with perfect aim, fired a massive norcon bolt into the vampire’s head, safely freeing Max.
“Max!” Clare dashed to her bitten friend as he too fell to the ground. She took his pale face in her hands and lightly slapped him. “Are you okay?”
“He’ll be fine,” cooed the witch. “A fine addition to my army.” She grinned. “Max, say you love me and I’ll restore you.”
Max’s eyes were half-closed from weakness. He’d lost a lot of blood. “You’re crazy, Stella. You’ve totally lost it.”
“He’s right,” the oracle said. “An earthling cannot do anything to another earthling in Revary.”
“Then how do I save him?” Clare begged the glowing head.
“Save the elf,” was the only response.
At the mention of him, the Black Witch ran back to her post and slammed her hand onto the Device. Black lightning shot through the posts then through Yilith’s little body. With his cry, Galis leapt up, his sword raised and ready to strike the witch down.
“Save Yilith!” Clare commanded as she too stood and ran to the Device.
Lance took the prince in his arms and dashed out of the way as the black lightning flickered around the room threatening to electrify anyone in its way. With a cry, Galis severed the chains as the witch reached out to stop him.
“Don’t even think about it,” hissed Alice as she came up behind the witch with her scimitar drawn. She stopped dead in her tracks. “Clare,” Alice said over Stella’s shoulder. “We’ll be going now. Take care of business and come back to us, okay?”
“What?” Stella and Clare gasped at the same time. But Alice took Stella by the arms from behind, scimitar still poised at her throat, and leapt through the Mirror, shattering it. The tall cascade of glass exploded with the force of Alice’s jump and millions of pieces crashed to the floor. The black tendrils disappeared and a mighty crackle of thunder shook the entire castle.
“What was that?” Lance breathed into the sudden quiet.
“Alice’s will magically closed the gate,” the oracle said in awe. “Earthling magic.”
“No, that thunder,” he corrected him. “That wasn’t from the Mirror. That was underneath us.”
Clare leapt up and ran to Yilith. No one spoke. In the silence, Max’s breathing was raspy, his shoulders heaving. Gwen moaned and opened his eyes. Galis knelt by the prince and took his hand.
“Yilith.” Clare was crying again as she gathered the under elf into her arms. He was as pale as his white hair now and his lips were black with cold. “Yilith,” she called again. A strange sensation took hold of her insides then. Like an icy hand gripping her spine. She could feel the absence of life like a winter’s wind. “Yilith!” she screamed, shaking him.
Taking up the necklace again, she took out his scroll and read the charm rapidly in a choked voice. But this time, when she got to the end and the white mist floated toward the elf, it did not dissolve into him. It hovered a moment, then floated upward and vanished into nothingness.
“No, I saved you,” Clare moaned through her tears. “I brought you your soul’s power. You’ll be fine.” When again the elf did not reply, Clare crushed herself to him and wept loudly. “Why?” she screamed into the stone halls. “I did everything right!”
Max sat up at the sound of Clare’s distress and struggled to his feet. He clamped his hand over his wound and walked to her side. Something told him now was not the time for words. He put his other hand on her shoulder and felt her shaking. He didn’t know what to do so he waited. At least she knew he was there.
The oracle spoke first. His voice had lowered. “Sometimes, Clare, we do everything right and still it doesn’t work out. That’s when you have to change how you see the outcome. Perhaps what has happened was supposed to happen. You did do it right. You carried his soul with you. You gave it back. You saved him. He’s in the Other Plane now. The one above the Celestial Plane.”
Gwen tried to push himself up, but fell back down. He was weak from the weeks spent under the influence of the corruption. Lance stood and pulled him up before walking him to Yilith. Galis followed. All three knelt down and Gwen put his hand on the elf’s head. Tears brimmed up in his eyes, which were inundated with pain.
“He was such a silent one.” The prince’s voice was croaky and raspy. “Hardly ever spoke, but he was always there. We came a long way together, my friend. From the Nether, we came together. We spent many days and long journeys together. You taught me more about myself than any tutor ever has. I would have been a great king, thanks to you.” He sniffed and covered his face out of shame for his tears.
Galis put a strong arm around the prince’s shoulders and his other hand on the elf’s head next to Gwen’s. “Braver than most barbarians for the way you stood up to your people,” he said quietly.
After only a few moments more, the oracle spoke again. “We must move on,” he said. “This darkness is not undone and this land holds on only by a thread. We should do as the Golden Son instructed and find the Umbra’s greatest servant. I do not know what will happen if Revary is utterly destroyed and you are still here.”
Clare squeezed Yilith’s body one more time. “No.” Her voice showed no signs of having been weeping only a second before. “We find Zealnis and make her pay for what she did to Stella. She would have never done this if Zealnis had not planted the seed in her mind.”
“That sorceress cannot harm earthlings!” the oracle said stubbornly. “That seed was planted in Stella in your world, not Revary. This Umbra has power there too. When will you listen? This is not about Revary, but about your home. It is your Earth that is in danger!”
Gwen let his hand fall from his face where a dangerous scowl now rested. “It is because of this sorceress that my kingdom has fallen. She must be made to pay.”
Standing up, Clare took Yilith and marched to the door. “Let’s go. We’ll bury him, then find this blue and green sorceress. She’ll lead us to Greylheim.”
Chapter 23
The Sundered Planes
After burying Yilith near Folkvar, Clare was finally able to take notice of the landscape and sky above them. The clouds were all pure black in a smearing, grey sky and only half the sun remained. The other half had crumbled away, small embers still dripping down in hot clumps. The air was dry, bitter, and growing cold.
When Max moved the last of the dirt over the elf, they stood around the two graves quietly. It was the kind of silence that only comes outside when winter or a great storm is just around the corner. Clare’s eyes were fixed on the two graves, but around them, she saw the grass was still long and lush, but it was paling to a faded green. There were no bird sounds, no singing insects, and no lapping waters. There was a great absence of everything.
“Shall we take the ship?” Gwen asked. He had strapped on his old sword and had donned his royal blue cape with a gold clasp again.
Clare nodded and led the party onboard. Lance took the helm again and floated them away from the decaying Mirror Castle. Once they were sailing, he noticed some of the crew were missing and what was left seemed dazed and dreamlike. They moved with no intent and their eyes were fixed forward, staring into nothing.
“What will you do?” the oracle asked Clare from Max’s belt. “Where will you go?”
She frowned over the edge of the ship and squinted into the distance. “We’ll find the Gate to the Nether. Stella opened it and no doubt
this plane is being flooded with the people from that place. I want to try to stop it.”
Even Max, who had not spent as much time in Revary and knew little of the lore, thought this was not the right idea. “Don’t you think we should follow what the Golden Son said? We need to confront the dragon. You said that just moments ago. What’s changed?”
“Revarians are dying,” she said with a measured tone. “And it’s my fault.”
“We would never blame you,” Gwen said quickly. “It was Zealnis who no doubt poisoned my mother’s mind. It is she who demands my attention now. She is the spreader of Umbra’s existence. Without her, Calimorden may still be standing.”
Clare nodded. “Find the Nether Gate,” she shouted up to Lance. “We start there. We’ll find her.”
A few more moments of quiet sailing lapsed. The others couldn’t help but notice the crew as well. They were doing their tasks, but they seemed strangely listless while doing it. One squirrel was standing as still as the mast near the stairs that led below deck. Then, with slow movements, he began to take up rope, candles, steam meters, and bottles of the precious chemicals that kept the engines running. Galis watched him uneasily.
“Gwen, I understand your hate of this sorceress,” he said quietly. “My people are long dead as well. But to save what is left of our world, we should heed the Son’s instructions and face only the dragon. He is the greatest servant of Umbra and is the key to its undoing.”
Gwen glared up at the tall barbarian who had been his companion. His dark eyes flashed. “I know the evils of this dragon. It was he who took the star from me! I know the vile ways of Umbra. I was its prisoner in the Nether for a year, I was its servant in the shape of a beast, I was forced by its urging to capture and give the woman I loved to the great dragon!”
He was screaming in Galis’ face now. Unable to stop himself, he cried out and turned away. Moved by compassion, Galis followed just a few steps behind.
“I know this. I understand your pain.”
“How can you?” the prince spat in anger. “You did not love her and you did not see your kingdom fall.”
Shaking his head, Galis’ face fell. “I did not. I never saw my home again after I was captured by the norcan and watched my mentor killed and devoured. But I wish I had.”
“You could hold that terrible image in your head for eternity?” Gwen laughed harshly. “Why would you want that? You do not really know.”
Clare watched the familiar scene play out before her eyes. Friends fighting, not understanding. Galis was trying to help, just as she had offered her friendship to Stella so many times. Stella threw that friendship away and had trodden on it. Clare couldn’t watch it happen again.
“We’ll find Zealnis,” she said quickly. All eyes fixed on her. “Gwen, Galis is right. He understands. Listen to him and don’t throw that comradeship away.” She looked up at her two remaining friends on the ship’s deck. “Let’s find her.”
As Lance began to pull the Exorcist into a turn, the oracle sighed and attempted to shake his head.
“Silly earthling. I’ve tried it this way. When will you listen to me?”
“When will I need to?” Clare sighed as well. She immediately took back her immature words when she saw the look on Max’s face. He was concerned as well, but he hadn’t said anything. Her eyes flickered to the bite on his neck and she considered the possibility of him turning into a vampire. In Revary, that could happen. But then would he still be earthling? No doubt his earthling powers were keeping him human, but could that ever be reversed?
“Listen to me now,” the oracle instructed somberly. “All of you. It was my task long ago to save Revary. That is the name I gave this place. When it is saved, a new name will need to be given.”
“You?” Lance asked. “I have a hard time seeing you as a hero type.”
“You too, football star. Don’t you see?” He waited.
Max spoke up. “You were an earthling. I remember the story the Son told us.”
“Thank you, creepy child!” The oracle smiled slightly. “I was. I came here with my best friend and met the Golden Daughter, just as you met the Golden Son. Every once in a while, she regenerates to help the earthling on their quest. She was wonderful.”
The earthlings exchanged confused glances.
“The Golden Son used to be a girl?” Galis asked, confused and a little shaken. “How?”
A smile spread the oracle’s face and his eyes were distant. It looked strange to see him happy. “Revary depends on the earthling hero. For me, the Golden Daughter was like a queen. I came here with Elisa, my best friend. We had adventures together and when it came time for my ultimate quest, I failed. We had one great friend here. Her name was Chel.”
“Chel?” Max and Clare said together.
“From the book?” Lance asked.
The oracle laughed out loud. “Yes! I had Elisa bring it home. You’ve seen it?”
Clare’s heart skipped a beat. “You.” Her mouth fell open. “I knew it was you! Professor LeGrand said his grandfather…” she was tripping over her own words. “I saw your picture in his study. You were with Elisa and she was pregnant.”
The smile faded slowly from the oracle’s face. He blinked once. “Yes. That was the last time I saw her. You see, Revary is a beautiful place. But it demands sacrifice sometimes of earthlings who become too involved in it and do not consider their own home. We were trapped and the only way to go home was to open an earthling gate. We could leave through that, but to keep it open, an earthling must stay. To hold the door, so to speak. But that takes away the last of the earthling that you are. You become Revarian.”
“You stayed,” Max said. He wasn’t asking. It was obvious in his last moments, this oracle that had once been an earthling like them, had made the selfless choice and stayed so the one he loved could go home.
“I begged her to take the book and tell our story,” the oracle finished. “I suppose she must have.”
Clare shook her head in wonder. “I don’t know. Alexander had it, but he didn’t know anything about it.”
“Ah.” The oracle’s face fell a little more. “Well, some of us are not meant to be known. But, Clare,” he looked up at her. “You can still make the right choice. You can finish this off and complete your story and mine!”
It was obvious what the oracle had said was passing through Clare’s mind. Her face was a mixture of confusion, sadness, and longing. She could be the hero. She could finish something great she hadn’t even started. She could tell this story for generations.
“But I still do not understand,” Galis interrupted her thoughts. “How are our worlds connected? The things the Golden Son said still haunt my mind. All this talk of stories and darkness do not make sense to me.”
“Well, you’re a stupid barbarian, what do you expect?” The oracle had returned to his normal, annoying voice.
“Gate ahead!” shouted the lookout in the crow’s nest. “No doubt it’s the Nether, but something’s wrong.”
The party ran to the side of the ship and leaned over to see. Clare recognized the mountain range, but only just. Where the gate had once come up out of the mountains there was now a gaping hole. The land was falling in on itself, the mountains tumbling slowly in like eroding land. Masses of living beings stood still near the edge.
“Are we too late?” Gwen panicked.
Looking harder, the hole in the Surface Plane was easily wide enough to fit half of the kingdom of Calimorden into it like a ball into a basket. Black clouds over it were raining fallen stars and lightning into the hole.
“The people,” Max gasped, his blue eyes widening. “They’re not coming out of the Nether!”
The great masses of Revarians—norcans, humans, elves, creatures from the Sky Plane, witches, centaurs, birds, merfolk crawling on their bellies, stranger creatures none had ever seen—all were rushing in lines toward the great opening!
“What are they doing?” Clare gasped, clutching her ha
ir. “Why are they all leaping into the Nether?”
“There!” Lance pointed. He had been looking through his telescope and had spotted Zealnis near the edge. “She has that fairy with her,” he said. “Looks like she’s making plans to jump. We may be able to stop her.”
“Go!” Clare shouted.
Lance swung the helm and diverted the Exorcist in a downward lurch toward the hole and the masses of suicidal Revarians. Everyone had to clutch the railings or the ropes to save their lives as the ship plunged down at an alarming rate.
“Remind me never to drive with him when we get back,” Clare gasped to Max.
In a few seconds, the ship was mere yards away from the hole to the Nether. Looking down, they could see the flaming world Clare had first landed in. The images of monsters and the near fatal escape all came back to her. She shuddered at the smell that wafted up in strong waves of heat to contrast with the chill air of the dying sun.
“Zealnis!” Clare shouted as she tossed down a rope ladder. “Stop where you are.”
The sorceress was just a shadow now of the bright green and blue colors she had donned. Now her clothes were tatters, her hair looked like it had been shorn off with blunt knives, and her skin was dry and bleeding. Her face showed signs of heavy weeping.
“Look at the cities.” Gwen pointed around them. “They too have been drawn to this Gate?”
“All the planes have sundered, my prince,” Zealnis said. She sounded as though she had a cold. “The Black Witch has done it. With her great powers, Umbra was able to kill the Gate Keepers and bring all cities of Revary to this one spot. See there the Sky Plane’s villages.” She pointed to a group of Victorian style steam-powered houses and shops that did look as if they were being pulled by their sides. “And there the stars are falling too. Already dead. Already corpses from the Astral Plane. All the planes are here to be pulled under. Deeper still than this.”
“What do you mean?” Clare demanded. She had to shout over the roar of dazed Revarians who were now beginning to edge closer to the hole. “Why does Umbra want the Nether opened like this?”
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