Black Crown

by Sarah Dalton

  “You are not Gods, and my name is Mae. I am the craft-born.”

  The Aelfen takes a step towards me. “I don’t know what that means.”

  I find myself moving away from him. Cas is on my right with his sword unsheathed.

  “Hurt her, and I will gut you,” Cas snarls.

  “Mae,” I turn to the left to find Sasha approaching. “Hold my hand. We can create lightning with the amulet.”

  “And mine.” I’m surprised to see Ellen standing tall and proud next to Sasha. I’d forgotten that she even had an amulet.

  Gwendolyn—the female Aelfen—drops down from her stone throne. Her long, black hair swings as she moves fluidly across to her peer. If I hadn’t been in such a dire situation, my jaw might have dropped at the sight of her beauty, but that soon changes to fear when she smiles and licks her lips. She has the same pointed teeth as the other Ancient creature. She fingers the fragment of Ember Stone around her neck, and eyes us hungrily.

  “Have you come to feed us, little one? Have you brought us a nice sacrifice?” she purrs.

  “We will not sacrifice anyone to you. You are not Gods. You are not immortal. The only thing keeping you alive is the Ember Stone, and that does not belong to you,” I snap.

  “The poor little human girl thinks she can take the stone from us, Gavin,” Gwendolyn says as she drapes an arm across his shoulders. With a cruel sneer, she opens her palm and a bolt of blue energy burst forth, hitting one of our fighters in the chest, and sending him flying through the air into the gateway. “Pity. Another impure one. Are there no pure hearts amongst you?”

  “The gateway is widening,” Sasha says. She grabs my hand and takes Ellen’s on her other side. “We need to act now.”

  I feel the power sizzle beneath my skin, and a burst of hot energy flows from me to Sasha. Lightning flies from both amulets, aiming straight for Gavin and Gwendolyn. But the two Aelfens are inhumanly fast. They duck from the blast, and shoot blue energy back. Cas pushes me away, taking a hit on his shoulder. The four of us crash against the stone floor in a heap.

  “Let me see,” I say urgently, gesturing to Cas’s shoulder.

  “It’s nothing.” But he winces when I pull back part of his shirt. The blue energy has opened a deep gash.

  We huddle behind the stone table facing the gateway. It has grown larger, expanding to almost a fifth of the room. Mushtan crawls towards us, his face drawn with fear.

  “I’ve lost two men to that… that hole. You must do something, Hada-Ya. You must close it.”

  “I don’t know how.” As I say the words, I have never felt so small, so helpless.

  “Use all of your power,” Cas says. “I believe in you.”

  Power won’t help.

  Only blood.

  The sacrifice of a pure heart.

  Or your world is doomed.

  “Shut up!” I scream.

  I can’t think with those whispers in my head. I can’t trust them. What if they are right? No, they’re lying, trying to make me help them grow stronger. They’re trying to trick me into killing my own people.

  “Don’t let them into your mind. Don’t allow them to control you,” Sasha says. She grips hold of her amulet as though it protects her. “Let’s try again. Maybe our combined powers can harm them.”

  “I need to heal Cas first—”

  “No,” Cas says, his eyes flashing. “You cannot drain your powers, not now.”

  There’s another crack, followed by the familiar marble dust falling to the ground. I peek from around the table to see another Aelfen drop to the floor and stand by his peers. Now there are three immortal Ancients with Ember Stone fragments.

  “We can’t beat them,” I whisper. “They’re too strong.”

  “What are you talking about? You’re the strongest person I know.” Cas finds my eyes and holds my gaze.

  I reach out and touch his face. “Why should I believe a pampered prince, eh?”

  He grins and our foreheads touch for a moment, before Sasha drags me to my feet. The three of us—me, Sasha, and Ellen—stand in a line. Sasha grips hold of me, her fingernails digging into my flesh.

  Gavin—the largest and meanest of the Aelfens—sneers at us, revealing his sharp fangs. He approaches with a swagger. He could be taking a stroll in the woods, or nipping to the bakers, not approaching a foe. I dig deep inside, searching for the power within. I need everything I have to beat the Ancients and to close the gateway once and for all. I gasp when a surge of power rushes through me, heating up my blood. Next to me, Sasha almost doubles over. When the power hits Ellen she falls to her knees.

  But then something remarkable happens. The two girls shoot upright, and their spines straighten. A jolt of white power bursts from their amulets. It hits Gavin right in the centre of his chest. The force pushes him off his feet, sending him flying back until he hits the far wall away from us and slides down to the ground. Gwendolyn watches with a twisted expression of terror on her face, as Gavin slumps on the floor, completely lifeless.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven – The Gateway to the Gods

  Before Gwendolyn can react, the three of us duck back beneath the stone table. Sasha and Ellen both pant and clutch their amulets.

  “That was…,” Ellen begins.

  “…incredible,” Sasha finishes. The two girls lock eyes. I clear my throat to get their attention back.

  “We actually hurt him,” I say. “That’s a good thing. At least we know that they aren’t impossible to harm. Now we need to figure out how to kill them.”

  “Getting rid of those Ember Stones fragments might be an idea,” Cas says. “If they really are the source of their immortality.”

  “How are we going to do that? We can’t get close enough,” I say.

  “Yes you can,” Mushtan interrupts. “You can trap them in the earth.”

  “Like you did the Mallahu,” Sasha encourages.

  “Won’t it affect the structure of the temple? You said not to use the craft down here.”

  “I think we’re beyond worrying about that, Hada-Ya,” Mushtan says.

  A blue ball of energy soars over our heads, towards the soldiers huddling away from the spreading black hole.

  “How dare you try to kill us?” demands Gwendolyn. I hear her stalking from one side to the other. “How dare you, you human scum? You are not fit to lick my shoes, to…”

  She continues on, but I focus on my powers instead. First, I turn quickly, getting a good idea of where she is, and then I think of the earth. I think of the soil beneath the stone and further down—past worms, and mites, and bugs—I think of the bones of my ancestors.

  “Strengthen me, Avery,” I whisper.

  I take a deep breath and glance back, watching Gwendolyn’s feet as she walks back and forth.

  “Vines,” I say, quietly.

  There’s the crack of more marble and I know I have to act fast. I imagine the thick vines of undergrowth breaking through the stone floor. This might be the desert, but in this temple anything is possible. I can manipulate the magic already here. This time, the crack comes from the breaking of the stone flags. Thick, green vines snake out from the broken stone, and slither across to the bare legs of the two Aelfens. They twist up their limbs, moving so fast, and holding them so tightly, that the Aelfens struggle fruitlessly against them. Gwendolyn breaks two of my vines, but they are soon replaced with more, rising up her body, clamping down on her arms.

  “You will not get away with this,” she hisses.

  More white marble dust filters down the side of the temple. I must act fast.

  “I’m coming with you,” Cas says.

  Before I can protest, he is on his feet and running towards the Sihrans. I swear under my breath and follow him. When face to face with them, I realise how tall and strong they are. My knees weaken for a moment, but then I see how stuck Gwendolyn is from my vines and am emboldened in my task.

  “Cut away the Ember Stone fragment and then get back,” I instruct Cas
. “Don’t try anything stupid.”

  “If you think you’re going to get out of here alive, you’re mistaken,” Gwendolyn sneers. “The gateway will not close without a pure sacrifice, and the Ember Stone won’t leave this temple either. Even if you succeed in killing us, your precious race is doomed.”

  “Why should I trust you?” I say.

  Her black eyes gleam with hatred. “Because none of us want to see the world destroyed. We want to rule it, and we cannot rule a world consumed by the gateway. It isn’t designed to remain open. It is designed to give a gift to the Gods. Without that gift it will destroy everything in the world. You might be able to kill us, but our spirits will live on, and one day we might come back here and rule again. Then I will squash you like a bug. None of that can happen without a pure sacrifice.”

  With a shaking hand, I rip the Ember Stone fragment from her neck, and back away, trying to ignore how her words have caused my blood to run cold. I believe her, and that frightens me more than her pointed teeth and energy balls. It frightens me, because it might mean someone in this room will have to die, and as the Gods require a pure sacrifice, I can only imagine that someone close to me is pure enough to appease them.

  Or maybe I am.

  I am the craft-born after all. Perhaps that makes me purer than others.

  A loud voice booms through my mind. NO.

  I whip around, trying to ascertain who or what it was. It was different to the whisperings I have heard since entering the Sihran temple. And there was something familiar about it.

  “Mae!” Cas grabs me and pulls me back behind the stone table as more marble cracks and two more Aelfens drop to the ground.

  A blue bolt of energy fires at us. We drop to the floor. I hold the Ember Stone fragment in my hand. My hook catches on the stone floor as we begin to slide. We scramble back up to a sitting position, but the gateway has pulled us closer. I stare at the gaping black hole, feeling its pull.

  “Mae, put the amulet on.” He passes me the Ember Stone fragment. “It will strengthen you. Put them both on.”

  I hesitate, staring down at the piece of black diamond. It shines in the bright light of the temple, each facet bouncing with sparkle. The power emanates from it, as though it seeps into my pores just by sitting in my hand. It’s an intimidating feeling that frightens me as much as intrigues me. As I pull the necklace over my head, darkness seeps over my tingling skin.

  “Concentrate,” Cas says. “Don’t let it take over. Control the power.”

  I inhale deeply and nod along to his words. Stay in control.

  “Let’s get to Sasha.” Cas starts to stand. “Your combined powers will be stronger with the Ember Stone.”

  We fight against the draw of the gateway as we try to get back to Sasha. The two new Aelfens are working on releasing the others from my vines. Each time they cut away, more grow. I can’t help but thank the Waerg Woods for the inspiration.

  There’s a cry behind me as another of Mushtan’s men is dragged into the gateway. Mushtan looks away, his face a ghost-like mask. He feels every loss, and I do too.

  “What is it like?” Sasha asks before taking my hand.

  “Dark,” I reply. “I think this is going to feel…”

  But as our fingers touch, the power rips through us, ten times as intense as before. Ellen gasps, and her amulet becomes a beacon for a bright, white shock of electricity. Sasha can only hold on as hers emits a light so strong, the rest of the group have to shield their eyes. I squint through the brightness as the power surges through the temple, shattering the marble statues. With each burst comes a spray of white dust.

  “No!” Gwendolyn screams as she watches her fellow Sihrans explode into tiny shards of marble. Blue energy flies from her eyes. She is consumed by rage. Our white light meets her power in the centre of the room. The blue energy wielded by the Sihran fizzles out like a candle flame. “You will never be able to use it. You’re not strong enough, human.”

  Our new power rips her from the ground and flings her across the room. Gwendolyn burns brighter than a funeral pyre in a pure white flame. I have to turn my head away. The scent of burned flesh drifts up from her ashes.

  “You will die for this.”

  The final Aelfen runs at us, moving inhumanly fast. He is upon us in a flash, pulling us apart and breaking the power. He lifts up his arm, revealing sharp talons, and pushes me down onto the stone floor, slashing at my face. The darkness seeps into me. I use wind to throw him away. The Aelfen falls back, crumbling in on himself. In one swift movement I’m back on my feet. But so is my attacker, and he runs at me, snarling. Cas steps between us, slashing with his sword, cutting into the Ancient’s fleshy chest. The sword sticks into its chest, but still the Ancient doesn’t die. It staggers back, staring at the sword, before extracting it and throwing it to the floor.

  “You cannot kill me. I am a God!” he roars.

  “Vines,” I whisper.

  Earth obeys, pushing the green reeds out from under the stones. They entwine his legs, snaking up his body. But the Ancient is not done with me. He tosses a ball of energy at me, but Cas throws me to the floor to avoid it. Now the Ancient is furious. Blue energy flies at us. He even aims at the soldiers hiding from the black hole, killing another of our group.

  “Sasha, Ellen!” I call them to me. The combined power seems to be the only thing that stops them.

  Sasha and Ellen pull each other up from the ground, weakened and slow. Treowe and Aliyah have to help them. All the time the Ancient struggles against my vines, breaking them bit by bit, strong with rage. The blue energy pulses from his eyes. I block it with a gust of wind that whips white marble dust into the air. The Ember Stone fragment delights at the use of power. It urges me to use more, to give in to its call. But I hold back.

  Control.

  It is the familiar voice from before. A sense of calm spreads through me, and the scent of sweet honeysuckle tickles my nostrils. I could almost be back in Halts-Walden tending the garden with Father. Next to me, Sasha’s hand slips into mine, and I see Ellen line up with her. The power surges through us once more. Sasha nods to me, her blue eyes lined with dark circles. Her face is drawn and pale.

  “This must be the last time,” I say.

  Sasha’s amulet shines white, and the last jet of light explodes, hitting the final Sihran in the chest. He’s thrown back. A terrible screaming comes from him as his body burns in the air, spreading his ashes all over the temple, like a layer of white snow. Sasha breaks from my hand and collapses on the ground. I rip the two amulets from my neck, and try to quell the wave of nausea in my stomach.

  “We did it,” Sasha says.

  I drop to my knees next to her. Her breath rasps in and out. She grips hold of Ellen, the two of them drawing strength from each other.

  “We did it,” I say softly.

  “It is not over, Hada-Ya.” Mushtan helps me back onto my feet. “The gateway is still open, and it is getting bigger.”

  I push the two Ember Stone fragments into the pocket of my tunic. I turn back to the black hole, taking a step forward. “I think I know what to do.”

  NO! screams that familiar voice.

  “It requires a sacrifice.” I take another step closer.

  The black hole changes from a dull black to a swirling red the colour of blood. It is waiting for its pure hearted sacrifice, and nothing else will do.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight – The Red Fall

  Casimir

  The white dust of broken marble settles at our feet. Suddenly the temple seems quiet—too quiet. There is unrest growing in the breast of my lover, and little does she know that I can feel it. Mae is about to make a choice that I must stop her from making. She takes two steps towards the gateway, and I watch as it changes from a flat black hole, to a swirling circle of red, blood-like fluid.

  “Mae…”

  She ignores me. She is muttering to herself and walking slowly. I shoot a glance towards Mushtan to see him frowning and staring at
Mae’s hip. That’s where the Ember Stone amulets are. He’s wondering whether he can get to them before Mae steps too close to the gateway.

  Thud thud thud goes my heart. Panic sets in, and I feel the old me rooting to the spot, too cowardly to act. I cannot stand here and watch her do this.

  The red swirl grows, and soon Mae will be by its edge. Thud thud thud. This is it. I cannot let her do this. I run. I take a leap, throwing myself ahead of her. But as my feet touch the red swirl there is resistance to my descent. I’m hooked onto a sharp object. My shirt is caught in Mae’s hook, and she clutches my hand with hers. She is on the floor, with her eyes wet with tears. I try to wrench my fingers from hers, but she holds me fast.

  “Let me do this,” I say, pleading her with my eyes. “The world can be changed by Mae Waylander. It cannot be changed by me.”

  “You’re wrong.” Her chin trembles. It’s the second time I’ve watched her heart break; the second time I’ve witnessed the depth of her love.

  “No, I’m not.”

  Mae pulls me towards her, but the gateway is greedy. I sink lower. Mae’s eyes widen with terror.

  “Let me go,” I say.

  “No.”

  “Please.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You’re the only one who can stop him.”

  She swallows, and fat tears roll down her cheeks. I long to wipe them away. I long to kiss her one more time, to hold her in my arms, my vulnerable, broken, strong, and courageous Mae. She is worth a hundred of me, and the world knows it. This is the right thing to do.

  It is the right thing to do. The prince is right.

  The low, booming voice echoes through the temple. Mae lifts her head to the fake clouds above her.

  “Avery?” she says, a little louder than a whisper.

  I told you this destiny would bring loss.

  “Not him,” she pleads. “Not him.”

  “Mae, look at me,” I say.

  She shakes her head. My hand is already slipping slightly from her grip. She tries to tighten her hold, but the gateway is too strong. Finally, she looks at me, and I memorise her face: the soft skin, deep set brown eyes and full lips; the short chin, wide cheekbones and thick eyebrows. The face she has always thought plain, and yet it is extraordinary in the way imperfect faces are.