“I did that for your own benefit, Zura. Don’t you see? Now you will never have a problem obeying my orders ever again.”
“Y-yes, Sky God,” Zura managed to whisper. “Thank you, Sky God. I apologize for forgetting your new title.”
“I will forgive you this once, but only because you are my advisor. And yet, the Informant is quite loyal to me, as well. She seems to follow my orders even better than you do! Come and look at her!”
Razakh sat down at a large chair in front of the console that ran along the wall and made some complex gestures over the screens. A moment later, a hexagonal space lit up and showed hundreds of tiny points of light making their way down a long, vertical passage. “She’s using her little friends to look for it for me! Such inventiveness. Zura, how can your pathetic service even compare to this one’s tenacity?”
“I don’t know, Sky God. I am doing everything I can. I did suggest we send a scout to the core. If we’d never done that—”
“I would have done that eventually, Zura! And soon the Kiss of Death will be in my hands.” Razakh boomed with laughter. “And do you know what I promised her? Venture to guess!”
“Her own system, Sky God?”
“No!” Razakh bellowed again. “Not even that! Merely her own world. Perhaps I’ll give her the prison world. After all, I wasn’t specific. She is tenacious, but would benefit from better negotiation tactics. Then again,” he glared back at Zura, “is it even necessary to negotiate with me, worm?”
“No, Sky God. You are Razakh, destined to be Grand Autarch of Aravinda itself. Your way is divine.” And Zura prostrated herself before him.
“You are lucky you reminded me why I suffer your presence so often. Now leave me! There is much to prepare before our rendezvous with the Informant.”
“Yes, Sky God.”
And Zura scrambled out of the upper room.
CHAPTER 27
A BLOOD-CURDLING CRY
The sound of hard rain on the rocky overhang grew more intense until Asha could sleep no longer. Gradually, she opened her eyes, emerging from a dreamworld that left her with images of Zahn and Mira floating around her mind, shrouded in grey clouds.
Her jacket was now kicked over to the far end of the bowl-like depression, and she wondered how much she’d tossed and turned in the night. Eventually, the rain passed, and Asha stepped out from under the rocky overhang and studied the overcast sky, still tinted in the blue light of the dawn. In this light, even the jumbled collection of boulders along the cliff were slightly bluish, except this time something was profoundly different. Her eyes were screaming to her that something was wrong, but her groggy mind took its time to make a deduction.
The lake was gone.
The change was so profound that Asha almost couldn’t believe it. Where the lake had been was now an enormous crevice that spanned her vision, reaching an incredible distance downward, deep into the island.
“How is that—”
A pinging sound interrupted her, and she looked down to her wrist. The wristcomm reported an intense energy source deep within the Rift. Asha also noticed that it indicated her latitude: 19.5° north of the planet’s equator.
“Hmm.”
She walked over to the edge and tried to see the bottom, but she could only see millennia of sedimentary layers, one on top of another, descending into darkness.
“Now that is a big hole.”
Asha checked the wristcomm to make sure it was still transmitting the homing signal. It was, but there was still no sign of Liila.
“Where are you, my little starship?”
Asha’s stomach growled, and she unwrapped the greenish bread and nibbled on it before scrambling over some of the angled slabs of rock. The entire shoreline, a sheer cliff in the absence of water, was broken and brittle, and she wondered what might have caused it. There were certainly plenty of places to hide, and she slipped into a narrow passage formed by slabs arching out of the ground at eccentric angles.
Soon, she was deep within a crevice that cut its way parallel to where the lake had once been. She had no idea where it led, but she had to find a passageway down into the island. She was Mira’s only chance.
The crevice widened into a passageway that led deeper into the rock, and within minutes she was in near darkness. A ringing filled her left ear, and she went to pop her ear with her pinky finger. Before she could, the ringing faded, and she used the wristcomm to light the way.
Ahead, she could only see the passageway curve out of sight to the right, and she pushed forward, the sound of her breath and the whistle of the wind at her back as her only companions.
After a few more minutes, the passage opened up into a wider tunnel that led into a creeping darkness that even her wristcomm couldn’t penetrate. For an instant, Asha thought she heard a scurrying noise behind her, but when she turned around and flashed a light at it, there was only a small collection of rocks beside the wall.
She heard a slinking sound, like a long coil being moved against bare stone. Asha felt for her resonator, once again remembering a story Tiika had told her when she first arrived on the island. A boy’s grandfather had gone into the caves, trying to capture one of the shadow creatures, and never came out alive. She hadn’t expected the cave to get this dark and was about to turn around when she heard an exhale that was not her own.
Asha looked at her wristcomm, but it could only detect a faint heat signature. Something was certainly there, and Asha could feel her heart beat faster. She followed the edge of the wall, training her resonator on where the sound had come from. The wristcomm’s limited light sliced through the darkness like a knife trying to slice through a mountain. It just wasn’t enough.
The slinking sound came again, this time from where she had just been standing, and lunged toward her. Asha screamed and fired toward the sound at maximum resonance.
A blood-curdling cry came from the darkness, and she dashed down the tunnel, running along the left wall. She ran as fast as she could, straining to hear if the creature was following her.
After a while, she could hear nothing and slowed her pace slightly, straining to listen.
“ŽHAAA.”
The sound was strange, like a hiss but also like a breath. Asha remembered that this was what Tiika had called them, the Žha.
She fired into the expansive darkness again, but heard it scamper around, avoiding the resonance wave. In a sweeping motion, she moved the resonator back and forth, and it hissed before scurrying again. The creature growled, and Asha got the impression that whatever it was, it was far from defeated.
Asha ran again, struggling to navigate the rocky tunnel with only her wristcomm light. Far ahead, she could see a new light filtering in from the end of the wide hall.
Yet the hiss grew, and Asha could feel the creature right behind her now, gnashing at her heels with slimy appendages too terrible to comprehend.
Her heart felt like it was going to explode out of her chest, and still she pressed harder. Her wristcomm made another ping sound, but before she could look, her right foot slid on a slippery substance on the floor, slowing her down. She felt something squeeze her foot, and she tripped over herself, tumbling headfirst into the floor with only her arms to shield her fall.
Pain shot into her hands and danced throughout her body.
The small pebbles on the cavern floor impressed themselves into her forearms, and she craned her head enough to notice how close she was to the end of the tunnel, where it opened up into a much larger space.
She also thought she could see a familiar shape, but when she blinked, it was gone.
Behind, she heard the creature slink toward her again.
Just as she tried to roll over, she felt a cold, sticky substance flowing over her. With all of the force she could muster, she strained to move her arms, but they were firmly stuck onto the floor. She tried to move her legs, anything, but nothing would move, not even her mouth. She guessed that her nervous system had been attacked, and al
l she could do now was observe the light ahead and reflect on how close she had come to escape.
A feeling of anger filled Asha’s heart.
This is insane! We came with a divine purpose. We came to turn the tide of this war. It can’t end like this! It’s not meant to!
Asha pressed her eyes closed and called for help in every way she knew how.
To All that is of Service-to-Others, please. Please!
Asha held her breath, and waited for the end.
But the end was not yet.
A high pitched whine from far ahead echoed down the tunnel toward her, followed by a roaring sound that passed over her head and exploded behind her. Asha’s eyes shot open, and she heard another bloodcurdling cry and a slinking sound that faded into the distance. She wanted to look behind, but something still prevented her from moving.
A strange silence overtook the tunnel, and Asha studied the bright opening at the end of the hall but could still see nothing. A breeze blew through the tunnel, followed by a quiet thud just a few meters ahead of her.
Liila’s spherical shape flashed into existence over her, revealing just how perfect her cloak really was.
Liila! You found me! The homing signal.
Asha tried to speak but felt overcome with sleepiness.
Now that it was visible, Asha noticed Liila’s pearlescent surface was somewhat marred by purple streaks, and the room became blurry and washed out. Asha tried to speak, but consciousness left her far behind.
CHAPTER 28
COMING TO LIFE
By now, Vayuna had guided Zahn and Navika over astonishing chasms and resplendent archways. Sometimes he felt as if they were in the ocean itself, although Zahn couldn’t imagine how this was possible since the labyrinth was so far underground.
Their progress had only been impeded twice so far, both times by a squad of jellies communing in a large cluster. And both times, Vayuna had glowed a bright amber and rushed toward them, scaring them away.
All the while, Vayuna answered Zahn’s questions about the Vakragha. Vayuna was pleased at his curiosity. And as they glided over a patch of gangly, wormlike creatures feeding from ancient volcanic vents only a dozen meters below, Zahn finally got to the core question.
“So, if that’s all true, if the Vakragha species is the result of conscious choices to distort their true nature, then where did they originally come from? An even older civilization?”
“Affirmative. One of the first. One of the Cradles of Life.”
“You mean, one of the first places that had life in the galaxy?”
“Yes. As far as Vayuna has been able to gather, there were five original wellsprings.”
“Five wellsprings. And the Vakragha were born on one?”
“No.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“Just as your world descended from Vaari, the Vakragha descended from the keepers of the Fire of Life, those from the planet Agnira.”
Outside, Zahn noticed that they had reached a slight curve in the tunnel, and he saw a holographic path in the air indicating to the right.
“What about the other wellsprings? What were they called?”
“Uncertain. Do you have any other inquiries?”
“Yes. Are you somehow connected to the Radiant One?”
“Vayuna is aware of the one who reveals hidden strength, but does not collaborate with this entity.”
“Okay. Well, can you tell me more about this Great Reunion you mentioned?”
“There was once a time when your worlds behaved as brothers.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You shall understand soon enough. Vayuna has learned much in her quest, using the gate network to gather information from as many viable sources as possible. However, it is likely the Radiant One led you here for a task more urgent than unification.”
“You mean, someone may come here and attack Vaari?”
“Far beyond that, Zahn. The Vakragha are on the verge of recovering an incredibly powerful device, capable of returning to life those who have died. If they retrieve it, they will revive the Darkest, the greatest mastermind they ever produced. If the Darkest is revived, she would have the power to unite the Vakragha factions.”
“That’s the first I’ve heard of this. What device is this? And why didn’t Oonak tell me?”
“All sources I’ve found refer to the device as The Kiss of Life.”
“But that sounds really positive.”
“It is a tool, Zahn, nothing more. It has no inherent polarity, and thus can be used for service-to-others or service-to-self.”
They reached the end of the tunnel and emerged into a natural hollow space in the rock, mostly filled with water. As they glided over the surface, Zahn couldn’t tell how deep it was or even how large the chamber was. Yet the path they had been given directed them under.
“Navika, can you still hear me? Can you shine a light on this situation? I know your sonar is giving me an accurate picture of the shape of things, but I’d like to see it with my own eyes.”
Navika’s voice echoed within his mind once more.
“I’d recommend against it.”
“Just for a minute. And didn’t Oonak make me acting captain before he disappeared? Please, do it.”
“As you wish.”
A blue beam of light shot down from the front of the ship, piercing the primordial darkness and became a deeper blue with depth. The light lent an alien ambiance to the scene, and they slipped below the surface of the water with barely a sound.
What Zahn saw underneath stunned him to silence.
The chamber was truly enormous, and Zahn noticed that the waypoint directed them to fly to the far end of the room, on the other end of a wide chasm. Even with Navika’s sonar imaging, he couldn’t begin to see to the bottom, and at the far reaches of the room, he thought he saw something stirring within the perfect darkness.
Yet Navika indicated no other sign of life.
Zahn rubbed his chin. “Vayuna, where we began, I saw so much life beyond the window. Why can’t I see it here?”
“It is all around you, Avanian. Yet for the moment, you have blinded it.”
“Blinded it? Navika, turn off the light! And hold here.”
Darkness flooded the chamber once more, and Zahn trained his eyes on his surroundings.
On the edge of his vision, he saw a flicker. Then on the far end of the chamber he thought he saw warm colors. As his eyes adjusted, he realized that the entire chamber was coming to life, and he noticed that Vayuna was already waiting for them at the far end of the room.
Tiny budding flowers were perched on every horizontal surface imaginable, and they were opening up, radiating a soft pink light onto everything around them. After a minute, their brightness was so palpable that Zahn felt as if he might be able to navigate from their light alone, and he resumed their course, instructing Navika to document them in detail as they passed over to the far side of the room.
When they reached Vayuna, who was waiting by an opening at the far end, Zahn noticed that a round face was carved into the rock beside the opening. Its eyes were closed, and it looked serene and peaceful.
“Who do you think it is?”
“Unknown. The face doesn’t match anything in my records. I would hypothesize that it is the face of an ancient Vaari leader. Also, the passage ahead is so narrow that it will strain the limits of my navigational abilities. It will slow our progress.”
“Interesting. Perhaps Vayuna knows.” Zahn cleared his throat. “Vayuna, whose face is this? Is it important?”
“That is the Face of Vaari, holder of the Water of Life.”
“You mean Vaari was a real person?”
“Not a person as you may think of it, but a spirit. Each world has a life force all its own, Zahn. This life force created many wondrous entities, including this galaxy’s first coral reef.”
“So when you say Avani and Sumanas are sibling words, both descended from Vaari, you mean t
hat in a spiritual sense?”
“Vayuna has seen it written that ‘only within spirit do the eternal truths lie’. However Vayuna did not mean this in a spiritual sense.”
Zahn reflected on this as he watched how close the walls were to the ship. The wall was just a few centimeters from the hull, but Vayuna’s octahedral shape somehow passed through easily.
“Vayuna, you said that the Vakragha descended from the Fire of Life, which was on Agnira. Does that mean they have a sibling world, too?”
“Yes. The Vakragha knew of their sibling world even before they chose the service-to-self path, and once they grew powerful, they used this knowledge to try to take that which was most precious.”
“What was that?”
“You know.”
Outside, Zahn could have sworn that they passed a small patch of sapphires embedded into the tunnel wall.
“What do you mean? What is most precious?”
“You now possess it. Reflect, Avanian.”
A look of shock filled Zahn’s face. “The Tulari? But we found it on the planet Taarakalis.” He searched his mind. “They tried to take it from Taarakalis?”
“Indeed.”
“But that would mean Taarakalis is their sibling world, and they ruined it. It’s a desolate world now; we were there.”
“Yes.”
“But, how was it still there? Why didn’t they just take it? All we encountered were those three guardians.”
“The gravity fissures that the Vakragha use to consume worlds cannot grow near a Chintamani stone that is linked to a planet, so they were unable to take Taarakalis as they had taken so many others. Even so, there was a great battle and much of the surface of the planet was scarred.”
“What happened? Where did all the Taarakani people go? There was almost no one there when we landed.”
“As far as Vayuna has been able to gather, during the Battle of Taarakalis, the Vakragha became frustrated that their weapons would not work as expected near the planet. After so much time, the Tulari had coupled with the gravity field of that world, and even their smaller gravity wells would not form with potency. In a rage, the Darkest devised a plan to kill as many of the Taarakani as possible.”
The Island on the Edge of Forever (The Epic of Aravinda Book 2) Page 17
