by Kristen Pham
“I already ate,” Putrefus said, tossing the muffin to one of his friends. “So if I help you, what’s in it for me?”
Valerie turned to Cyrus, confused. “I thought we didn’t need an offering.”
“You don’t!” Sibyl burst out indignantly. She had been hovering a few yards behind the group, but now she pushed herself forward so that she was standing inches away from Putrefus. “It is our duty and privilege to help those in need.”
“I’m very busy. Why don’t you ask one of the lower level Oracles to deliver your prophecy?” Putrefus said, turning away disdainfully.
Before Valerie could react to Putrefus’s rejection, a sudden hush fell over the room. Everyone stopped what they were doing and fell to one knee with their hands over their hearts. To her surprise, even Putrefus grudgingly knelt.
Valerie followed the gaze of everyone in the room and saw an ancient woman in a red robe at the top of the staircase. Slowly, she descended, stair by stair. She moved as if each step took great effort, but when she reached the bottom, she spoke in a voice so booming that Valerie couldn’t fathom how it came out of her small frame.
“She’s here!” The woman announced, looking in Valerie’s direction. “At last, I can deliver my final prophecy.” She wound her way through the kneeling group and stopped in front of Valerie. Up close, Valerie could see that her darkly tanned face was covered in dozens of deep wrinkles. Her pure white hair hung to her waist. “I have waited for you. Your need called to me across the universe, across the centuries. I was so afraid you would not make it to this place to hear your prophecy until after I was gone.”
A murmur of astonishment rushed across the room. Valerie was mesmerized as she stared into the woman’s wide blue eyes, the widest she had ever seen. This couldn’t be anyone other than Pythia.
“Guess you weren’t too good to deliver Val’s prophecy after all. Turns out she was too good for you,” Kanti whispered to Putrefus. Putrefus grunted, but he didn’t reply.
Pythia clasped Valerie’s hands in her own and pulled her gently into the circles in the middle of the room. Then she sat on the stool in the center, sighing with relief as she rested. Only then did she release Valerie’s hands.
Valerie knelt before Pythia and looked up into her face. Pythia’s eyes darted around the room, as if she was watching a scene unfold before her eyes, trying to absorb every detail. Then, all of the frailty that Valerie had seen in the old woman dropped away, and before her stood not an old woman, but a force of nature, the Oracle. She exuded power, and it hummed inside of Valerie more strongly than she had ever felt before, causing her entire body to tremble. Pythia now sat board-straight, and her voice echoed as she spoke.
“Before your eyes, two destinies unfurl.
Both are full of adventure, love, and loss.
The path you choose will impact both of your worlds,
But be forewarned, each choice has a cost.
“The cry for help across the universe
Is your own brother’s frightened, desperate peal.
Answer his call to save a life that’s cursed.
A family divided now can heal.
“When sister and brother unite power,
Though war may rage with those who seek to rule,
The ones who wield fear will now cower,
Though they try to use you as their tool.
“When blood calls blood, answer its thrumming call.
Know that with one false step we all will fall.”
As Valerie listened, her heart seemed to expand in her chest. Did this mean Henry was her brother? That she wasn’t alone in the universe, as she had always thought? Terror and joy clashed inside of her as Valerie realized that she had one family member left after all, but he was in terrible danger.
But before she could process her emotions, she saw Pythia slump on her stool. She swayed, and Valerie leapt up and caught her before she crashed onto the floor. The hush in the temple disappeared in an uproar. The Conjurors rushed to the edge of the circle, but no one stepped inside the rings.
“Help! Someone help her!” Valerie cried in horror. Then she looked down at Pythia’s face and said softly, “I’m so sorry.”
“Do not fret, child,” she replied weakly, putting her hand on Valerie’s face. “I’m content. I foresaw what would happen if you never heard those words, and it was terrible. But I lived long enough to tell you, and the future of the Globe is in your hands now. I know you have it in you to follow the path that will save us all.”
Valerie realized that Cyrus and Kanti had ventured inside the circle and were now beside her. Kanti, like Valerie, was crying. Sibyl sped through the crowd, fluttering through the air at a speed that Valerie wouldn’t have believed she was capable of. In seconds, Sibyl was by Pythia’s side.
“Tell me what you need. Anything, and I will do it,” Sibyl said, her voice trembling.
Valerie looked down at the woman in her arms. Her blue eyes looked peaceful, and she smiled softly. “There is nothing to be done, my Sibyl. It was you who foresaw my end. Is this not how you pictured it?”
Sibyl gently took Pythia out of Valerie’s arms. She cradled her close. “This is how I saw it. With you in my arms,” she said, and tears spilled out of her eyes. “I can’t bear for you to go.”
“I’ll be waiting for you when your time comes, precious one.”
“I love you, Mother,” Sibyl replied.
With a faint smile on her lips, Pythia’s eyes fluttered closed. Sibyl released a melancholy wail that echoed off the walls. It was heartbreaking. “Pythia has departed us forever,” she said to the room, and her cry of pain was echoed by dozens of other voices. “The circle is broken. Enter and help me to prepare her for the beyond.”
Chapter 25
The city was in chaos for the rest of the day as the members of the Oracle prepared for Pythia’s funeral. Valerie and her friends would have left, but Sibyl asked them to stay, saying that it was what her mother would have wanted.
Guilt lay heavy on Valerie’s heart, and the tiny pocket of joy that she had found her brother only made her feel like a worse person. Her tongue was like lead, and she couldn’t bring herself to talk about what had happened, even with her friends. So they stayed in their tent most of the day, saying little to each other.
As the sun began to set, the flap on their tent was pushed aside, and Azra looked inside. With a sob, Valerie rushed over and wrapped her arms around her neck, weeping into her mane. “It’s my fault. My prophecy killed her. I took too much from her, and I drove her away, like I eventually drive everyone in my life away.”
No, no, child, that is not true. It is like the room inside the Great Pyramid that crumbled behind you when you were launched into space. Pythia was waiting for you. If she hadn’t needed to deliver your prophecy, she would have died long ago.
“How do you know?” Valerie said tearfully.
I knew Pythia well. I know how hard she struggled to hold on to life when death was calling to her for her next adventure. You can’t take responsibility for nature taking its course. And though I will miss my friend, I am happy that she is at peace at last. And it was you who gave her that peace. The weight on her heart that Valerie thought would never disappear seemed to ease slightly, and her breathing calmed. Say goodbye to her tonight, and when you do, let go of your guilt as well.
“How did you know to come here?” Cyrus asked.
I sensed all of her power released into the universe. Chern bent space and created a door for me so that I could be here tonight to say goodbye.
“Chern?” Kanti said with disbelief. “I didn’t even know he had a power.”
Yes, he can bend the laws of physics, and was kind enough to use his power to allow me to say goodbye to an old friend.
In the distance, Valerie heard the sound of bells that seemed to be moving closer. Come, it is time for the ceremony to begin.
They left the tent and saw Conjurors walking down the street in a long line. Most
wore the long robes of the Oracle, but some, like Azra, were Conjurors from other cities who had sensed Pythia’s passing and had come for the funeral.
At the front of the procession, six Oracles, each wearing a different color robe, carried a platform that held Pythia’s body. Sibyl fluttered above her mother, her face now calm. She saw Azra and nodded to her. Azra returned the greeting, and Valerie saw tears standing in her eyes. The procession reached the pool, where light from torches flickered on the water. The Oracles placed the platform on the pool, and Azra moved closer, her hooves making no sound. Valerie and her friends followed.
Azra made her way through the crowd, and as she did, her words filled the minds of everyone who had gathered to say goodbye to Pythia.
Pythia was my oldest friend. She was by my side when we first imagined this world. Her sense of honor and capacity to love have been my inspiration, and I often think of her when I make difficult choices. She was a powerful, wonderful person who valued integrity above all.
She accomplished so much in her life. But the memory that is closest to my heart has nothing to do with her power as an Oracle. When we first came to this world, my husband died. I lost the love of my life, and also became the last of my kind, with no chance of ever having a child of my own. Pythia stayed with me for many years as I worked through my grief. She helped me to see that devoting my life to shaping the Globe would give me purpose and be my legacy when I die. Without her love and guidance, I don’t think I could have survived. I will carry the memory of her in my heart forever.
When Azra had finished, one of the Oracles who had held Pythia’s platform began to speak, telling a story about how Pythia had comforted her when she first came to the Roaming City as a novice. One after another, the Conjurors shared stories about Pythia, some profound, some funny, all showing what a loving and ethical person she was. It was many hours later when the last person shared her story. Then quiet fell over the group.
After a long pause, Sibyl spoke. “My mother was ready to leave. She had taught us all she knew about prophesying, and she left us with her code of honor to guide us in our future. We honor her memory by keeping that code alive.” Then she fluttered over to her mother and kissed her softly on the cheek. “Farewell, dear Mother.”
The crowd began to hum softly, and Valerie joined in. The platform holding Pythia began to rise higher and higher in the sky. When it reached the top of the pillars, it paused. The tears in Valerie’s eyes spilled over.
She looked up, and the twinkling stars seemed to welcome Pythia. She was leaving the Globe, but her journey wasn’t over. And then, Valerie let her go. The platform vanished.
To her surprise, Valerie was able to sleep that night. She woke up the next morning feeling emotionally exhausted, but without the despair of the day before that had made her feel so hollow inside. She even let herself bask in the knowledge that after years of thinking she was completely on her own, now she had a brother.
Who was in trouble, she reminded herself, and her contentment vanished. She wanted to jump up right then and go rescue him, but she’d have to find him first. Her determination steeled into resolve. She wouldn’t let anything happen to him—ever.
Then a second realization hit her, and her excitement grew. How had she not thought of it before? She gently shook Kanti awake. Her friend cracked one eye, looking grumpy.
“I’m sorry to wake you. But I have to know. Henry’s parents—my parents—what are they like?”
Kanti sat up and put a hand on Valerie’s shoulder. Hesitantly, her eyes full of worry, she said, “Val, Henry’s adopted.”
Valerie knew that had to be a possibility, but she was a little crushed. Her status as an orphan hadn’t changed after all. But she forced herself to shake off the thought. She had a brother, family, where yesterday she had none.
“It’s okay, I just had to know. Go back to sleep,” she said, and she left the tent before Kanti could say anything else. She refused to let her disappointment cloud the best revelation of her life.
Outside, Cyrus was watching the sunrise. She sat beside him.
“You said yesterday to Azra that you drive everyone away. But that’s not true. You never drove me away, and there is nothing you could ever do to make me stop being your friend. I thought you knew that.”
“But I did drive you away, by not believing in you. Even at the hospital, I thought you were imaginary and told you to leave me alone. It’s my fault that we weren’t friends for all those years.”
“I didn’t leave because of anything you did wrong. I left because I had to. There’s a Guild rule about when human children can no longer see their imaginary friends. Otherwise the child might be perceived as mentally unbalanced. Do you know how heartbreaking it was to leave you? You called for me all the time. I would have broken the rule and visited you anyway, but they threatened to take away the charm that protected you. Then I could never have visited you again.”
Valerie listened intently, and she had the strangest feeling in her chest, like her heart was expanding. Cyrus hadn’t abandoned her after all, like all of those foster parents who had promised that they would be there for her, but had disappeared from her life. He had always been her friend, even though she hadn’t known he was there.
“I really missed you,” Valerie murmured.
“Me, too. That’s why I used to visit you in your dreams sometimes, and we’d go on adventures, like the old days.”
“No wonder those dreams always seemed so real!”
A shadow flickered on the sand, and Valerie saw that Sibyl was approaching them with Azra by her side. She carried something in her arms. “I hope I’m not interrupting,” she said hesitantly.
“No, of course not,” Valerie said, and some of her guilt returned. “I-I’m so sorry for what happened.”
But Sibyl shook her head. “It wasn’t your fault. It was her time to leave us. I brought you this.”
Sibyl unrolled a scroll that she was carrying. Written in beautiful calligraphy was the prophecy that Pythia had delivered to Valerie. The words were written in gold, and the edges of the scroll were decorated with pictures.
“Oh, Sibyl, thank you.”
“What will happen here, now that Pythia’s gone?” Kanti asked, stepping quietly out of the tent.
Sibyl sighed. “A new leader will be elected. I hoped for a period of mourning, but Putrefus is campaigning already.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Kanti snorted in disgust. Valerie shook her head.
“He is very gifted in prophesying. Maybe he would be the best leader. But everyone will have a chance to weigh in. We have many choices before us. I believe the days ahead will be very busy, between prophesying for our visitors and selecting a new leader.”
“Good luck,” Valerie said, and she reached out to squeeze Sibyl’s hand. But Sibyl pulled her into a hug, whispering, “You are not to blame. I am grateful to you.” Then she released her and said, “I have a feeling I will see you three again.”
“Well, you are an Oracle, so if you have that feeling, I’m guessing we’ll see you soon,” Cyrus quipped.
Chapter 26
Kanti breathed a sigh of relief when Azra told them of a quicker way back to Silva—one that didn't require the use of the Arden rollercoaster system. Azra led Valerie, Cyrus, and Kanti into the desert, and no sooner had they left the outer boundaries of the Roaming City than it disappeared behind them. Valerie glanced over her shoulder for one last look at the city that had changed her life, and it had vanished. She wondered if she would ever return.
After walking a short distance, they reached a place where a rectangular patch of air, about the size of a door, flickered. It looked strangely out of place against the monotonous sand and sky that stretched as far as they could see. When they drew closer, Valerie could see through the flickering door into what looked like the blurry inside of a room with stone walls.
Azra stepped through the door, and Cyrus and Kanti followed her as if crossing thr
ough a place where space had been bent was the most natural thing in the world. But Valerie paused before stepping through. Was there any chance that she could get caught in there, trapped between two places? It was too late to ask Azra now.
“Come on, Val!” Cyrus called through the window, his voice sounding muffled.
She held her breath and stepped through. It was as if she was being pulled in two directions at once, and her vision swam. But seconds later she stepped into a room with vaulted ceilings, and walls were adorned with maps of the Globe.
The tension left Valerie’s muscles as she realized that she made it through safely. Azra noticed, and her eyes became apologetic. I should have explained to you that this was the door Chern had created for me so that I could travel to the Roaming City so quickly. It must have been rather nerve-wracking to step through without any warning. But you are safe in my office now, so you can relax.
“I’m sure it’s completely safe,” Valerie said as her eyes adjusted to the room. She noticed that, in addition to Azra, Cyrus, and Kanti, Chern also stood behind the desk, gnawing at his fingernails and looking even more anxious than he had when she first met him in the Guardians of the Boundary Guild.
“Well, that’s not precisely true. There’s always a chance that the threshold will collapse on itself with someone inside. The person would literally be torn to pieces,” Chern said.
Valerie’s stomach flipped, and she decided she was glad that she hadn’t learned that piece of information until it was too late.
One-in-a-billion chance of that happening, though, Azra added. It’s one of the safest ways to travel, though Chern here is the only living Conjuror who has the ability to bend space. Chern blushed at the compliment.
