by Chris Miller
“Caw! Caw!”
The solitary raven turned toward us and was soon joined by more of them on all sides.
“Those are no birds!” I shouted. “It’s Tonomis. We can’t let him find us. Go back! Go back!”
We started to run the other direction, making it back around our previous curve before something like a lightning bolt flashed across our path. We skidded to a stop. The orange light cracked loudly; then sizzling, it fell limp to the ground. A lone figure stepped into view—Desi!
“What’s this?” she taunted, twirling her weapons playfully in front of her. “Leaving so soon? But the night is young…and I’ve so enjoyed playing with you. How about we have a little fun first?”
She started marching straight at us, snapping one angry whip after the other, laughing at the fear she instilled. With nowhere else to turn, I prepared to do battle with the evil Vicess.
“Ahhh!” Mom called out fearfully. I felt a gust of wind as the passage behind me filled with a flurry of a hundred wings. I whirled around just as the angry flock took its imposing shape, a step behind me.
“Get down!” Vogler’s voice bellowed. He didn’t give me a choice, throwing me to the ground and firing his silver gun at Desi in a single motion.
Desi successfully deflected the round with her shield whip and scrambled down a side passage for cover.
“Looks like you could use a friend about now,” Vogler said stoically. “Let’s get you out of here!”
Mom and Emily looked wide-eyed at the intimidating black man they’d only seen as a detective on the news. Sensing this was no time for introductions, we hurried to follow our new-found bodyguard through the Maze. He kept a keen eye trained behind us, while directing us with mission-driven efficiency until we reached a dead end.
“This is it,” Vogler said, nodding toward the wall.
“It’s what?” Emily started to ask, but then became quiet when the milky light of the coming vision began to appear.
The transformation didn’t intrigue me as much as the man standing next to me. A man, or being, I had completely misjudged. As intimidating as he was, I felt compelled to speak to him.
“So…you’re a Watcher.”
“Yes.”
“But you’re not Tonomis.”
He pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow. “No.”
“And all this time you’ve been trying to protect me from him and Desi?”
He didn’t need to answer that. And he didn’t.
The last question was the hardest to ask. “My friend Trista….”
“Is waiting for you,” Vogler interrupted, pointing toward the vision that was coming into focus now.
Emily squealed with delight, recognizing her best friend, and started babbling to Mom about what it might mean that we were seeing Triss, flying on the back of a giant parakeet. It was a Thunderbird, but who cared? As quickly as the picture had come into focus, it blurred again, this time from my own tears.
He had saved her! I suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to hug the man, which I did.
Vogler took it like a man, a rather big man who didn’t have much practice with hugs. He cleared his throat. “You’ve still got a mission to complete…Mr. Brown,” Vogler reminded me in his cool manner.
Mom and Emily had already instinctively touched the vision, their bodies wavering between physical and light. The full vision now included an intense aerial battle between many Shadow and Codebearers, besides Trista. The sky was an ominous gray. It wasn’t exactly an inviting picture. It was a darker part of the Author’s plan, but one I knew I could face. I reached my hand out to touch it as well. As the vision exited me out of the Eye of Ends, I heard Vogler’s parting words:
“Even the dark things will become like light if you learn to see with the Author’s eyes.”
Chapter 30
Like a Moth to the Flame
If there had been anything to hold onto, I would definitely have had a white-knuckled grip on it. My body felt small and stretched thin as I was carried, along with Mom and Emily, in the black current that had engulfed us. Helpless and blind, except for the occasional glimpse of some fractured image flickering between the beating wings, we rode the chariot of Vogler’s winged forms through the Eye’s vision at a terrifying speed, propelled onward toward our impending doom. There was nothing I could do now to stop it. Oddly enough, I didn’t want to.
Vogler’s words echoed loudly in my head, “Even the dark things will become like light if you learn to see with the Author’s eyes.” Those words challenged me, daring me to hope beyond the fear-filled future. They dared me to stand and fight in spite of the odds. The longer I flew in the wake of this mysterious Watcher, the more I felt as if his strength and resolve were becoming my own.
Then we landed and the good feelings were gone.
A blast of wind and rain pelted my face as Vogler’s wings dispersed to reform his body, leaving us struggling to maintain our footing aboard the violently pitching deck of a Resistance Sky Ship. The wide deck of the elite attack vessel was alive with crew members, rushing about to keep the ship airborne amidst the brewing storm. Some were firing weapons out into the angry gray sky. All around us, the howling winds were pierced with the screams of a raging battle being fought between Codebearers and Shadow. Turning, I found the distant axis of the swirling storm just as I’d expected: a wild, red column of fire shooting up from a distant shard. The vision was here. The future was now.
“We’ve got them on the run now…hold her steady and keep the pressure on. The battle is ours,” a confident voice shouted from the helm of the ship. The commanding voice carrying easily over the chaos of the fight belonged to none other than young Philan. He was dressed in full Codebearer armor and looked every bit the part of the commanding captain he had become. I was amazed at how quickly this faithful young man had risen through the ranks. It seemed like only yesterday he was a nine-year-old boy, challenging me to a foot race at the training rounds. Now, here he was a man of twenty years (Solandrian time) and already the commander of the Codebearer’s Resistance, a position he had been given by Aviad himself. He led with authority and power and his men respected him. He was not afraid.
“Philan!” I shouted, racing up the stairs in excitement to see my friend again.
“Hunter! Is that you?” he asked in shock. “I was told you were coming but…how in the world did you get on our ship?”
“I had help,” I said, glancing back to introduce Vogler but he was already gone.
Philan’s eyes were focused on my mother and sister who were being blasted by the rain. Handing the helm over to his second in command, he quickly brushed past me to greet them. “This is no condition for two lovely ladies to be left in.”
After quick introductions Philan chided me for leaving my family in the elements. The look of delight in Emily’s eyes betrayed an obvious attraction to the chivalrous young man, but before any further conversation could be exchanged, the Sky Ship shook abruptly to one side and began to drop. Philan steadied himself against a railing in time to catch Emily and keep her from falling over.
“She’s losing air, Captain!” a deck hand shouted. “Raptling off the port side.”
Philan looked up at the balloon overhead and spotted the trouble immediately. A small dragon-like creature with two legs and a forked tail had collided with the balloon, managing to tear a hole in the side with its razor-sharp teeth.
“Archers, get that thing before it sends us to the Void!” Philan shouted, pushing Emily back to her feet and pulling his Veritas Sword out in an attempt to regain order on his ship. Before any of the archers on deck could steady themselves enough to take aim, a mighty Thunderbird with a Codebearer riding it dropped from the sky and pried the Raptling off of the vessel with its talons, shaking it like a ragdoll. I immediately recognized Faith, the Thunderbird that had carried me across the Void in my f
irst Solandrian adventure. With a vicious toss Faith flung the Raptling into the air and her rider fired a well-aimed arrow into the creature, dissolving it into a black mist before it knew what had hit it.
With the threat removed, two of Philan’s men scaled the ropes and set to work, mending the tear in the balloon, while the other deckhands released the counterweights to return the Sky Ship to its rightful course. The repairs were made quickly and the ship was back in action. The Thunderbird rider who had saved the day circled back around and landed on the deck, dismounting and removing a hood to reveal the blonde locks of hair beneath it.
“Triss…is that really you?” Emily shouted excitedly, rushing over to greet her best friend and pummeling her with questions. “I can’t believe you’re here! How did you learn to fly like that? You never told me you could shoot an arrow. You wouldn’t believe what we’ve been through….”
I was thrilled to see Trista again, but as usual my sister was hogging all her attention. The barrage of questions Emily was throwing at Trista would keep her busy for a very long time. I just smiled from a distance, grateful to know that Trista was safe. Then, while Emily was right in the middle of one of her questions, Trista broke away and strode across the deck to where I stood.
“Hey there,” Trista said as she neared. “Did ya miss me?”
“You have no idea,” I said. “I’m so glad you’re safe!”
“Me too,” Trista said with a smirk. Then without any warning, she leaned in and pulled me into a giant hug. I savored the moment, wrapping my arms around her in return and letting my cheek rest against the top of her head. When I looked up, Mom winked her approval from across the deck. I rolled my eyes and let her gloat in the fact that she had seen this coming. With all the chaos around us, it was good just to be still; I didn’t want the moment to end but finally Trista pulled away again.
“So, I guess you saved your family after all,” Trista said, looking back toward a confused Emily and my overly happy mother.
“All except Dad,” I answered. I told her about my father’s connection to Belac and how Tonomis had overtaken him in the Eye of Ends.
“Where is he now?” Trista asked.
My eyes searched the skyline but I saw no sign of the monstrous figure we’d seen obliterating the shards in the vision. It appeared the ultimate destruction had not begun…yet. An explosion of extreme emotion hit me—both of dread and hope—ratcheting my stomach into an impossibly tight knot.
“I’m not sure he even is anymore,” I answered sadly. “Even if some part does remain, I don’t see how we could ever save him. We might not even be able to save Solandria.”
“What do you mean?”
Before I could explain, Philan stepped in.
“Sorry to interrupt, Hunter, but there’s someone in the captain’s quarters who wants to meet with you. I was told to take you to him as soon as you arrived.”
From Philan’s reverent demeanor, I knew immediately who “he” was. Trista gave me a knowing look and turned her attention to assisting Mom and Emily to safer quarters. Falling into step behind Philan, I willingly followed him to the Sky Ship’s command quarters. The door opened, revealing a noble figure standing in front of the room’s rear windows, overlooking the surrounding battle.
“Hello, Hunter,” came the man’s warm, familiar voice, though he had not yet turned to see me. Apparently, no announcements were required. Not that this was surprising, considering who I knew him to be.
Though I recognized him, he looked younger and stronger than when I had last seen him. No longer was his appearance that of a helpless prisoner or a feeble old man in a bookshop. No, Aviad now stood dressed in warrior’s armor and ready to do battle. He was the very picture of a mighty leader. “Aviad,” I said in reverence, bowing my head as he finally turned his face to me.
He smiled broadly through his neatly trimmed beard. His unmistakable blue eyes sparkled with ageless life; yet, there was something new in their regal depths—a deep sorrow.
As he held my gaze, a million unsaid thoughts and emotions passed effortlessly between us. If I had held out any hope that the end vision might somehow be averted, our silent exchange completely erased that.
“Yes, I could stop it,” Aviad finally spoke in answer to my silent pleas. “You must understand, Hunter, that I wanted to spare your father from this end even more than you have. But I cannot. Even more, I desire the Author’s way above all. What you have seen of the vision in your father’s drawings cannot be changed, for this is what the Author has written. The Titan rises even now to destroy everything in its path.” Aviad closed his eyes and in that silence I heard one shout, followed by another and another as the crew outside raised the alarm of a new threat growing up out of the Void. Neither Aviad nor I needed to look to know what was transpiring beyond the cabin walls.
I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but it would not ease.
Stepping closer, Aviad put his arm around me and spoke with deep passion. “Do not let this knowledge steal away your courage, great warrior! For you know as I do, that the Author’s ways are always good…no matter what comes.”
I knew what he said was true. I had seen the Author’s careful handiwork in my own life. It was the Author who rescued me from my enslavement to the Shadow. He provided Aviad, who gave his own life to rescue me from my desire for the Bloodstone.
The stakes were greater this time—the fate of the entire world rested on the outcome of this battle! Still, at the heart of it all was the Bloodstone and another man—my father. A thought suddenly came to me.
“The Author allowed you to save my life once,” I said boldly. “Why not my father now? Is there anything I can do to help him see you, so you can give him a new heart like you did for me?”
Upon hearing my words, Aviad’s eyes lit up. “Spoken like a true son. Come, I have something to show you.”
Following Aviad’s lead, I walked across the room to where a full-length mirror hung on the wall.
“Do you recognize this mark?” Aviad asked, pulling down his shirt collar just enough to reveal the glowing, golden mark of a three-tongued flame alive beneath his skin. I did recognize it—the mark of the Flame, the same one given to the Seven, including Trista, from the prophecy of the Consuming Fire.
“This mark,” Aviad continued, “is the sign of the power of the Author’s Code of Life living in its bearer. I have borne this mark from the very day the Author wrote me into his story. It reveals his power in me. You have seen the Seven marked with it when the prophecy of the Consuming Fire was fulfilled. But what you have not seen until today is this….”
Aviad reached over to my own shirt collar and pulled it down. I blinked. There, burning beneath my skin was the golden light of the Flame!
“You see, Hunter, when the Author rewrote you, he prepared you to receive his mark. The Author’s Code of Life is at work within you and all true Codebearers—ready to work through you as it has through me. You are the Author’s son—with all the rights and privileges that title entails.”
I couldn’t get over the thought of being the Author’s son anymore than I could pull my eyes away from the mark alive within me. The longer I looked, the stronger its light seemed to become.
“And you will certainly need his power to do what I am sending you to do,” Aviad added.
Those last words snapped me back to attention. “What do you mean, ‘sending me’?”
Before he could answer, the door to the cabin flew open and a breathless Philan stood before us. “Something big is happening out there! We need your help!”
Without saying a word, Aviad calmly followed his concerned commander out onto the deck. The faces of the crew we passed were marked with panic. Knowing what they had seen, I didn’t blame them.
We didn’t have to look far. Though it was still a great distance off, the massive form of the Shadow Titan filled much
of the skyline. Its enormous body seemed to move in slow motion as it lumbered closer to one of the distant shards. A cry went out among the shipmates as it raised a fist to the sky and brought it crashing down on the shard with deadly force.
“Grab hold!” Commander Philan shouted, not a moment too soon. A shockwave of the shard’s explosion rocked the Sky Ships across the battlefield, sending everyone, both Shadow and Resistance, into instant chaos. Even the sky seemed to panic, striking out with purple lightning bolts at random.
By now, Trista, Mom and Emily had returned to the deck to witness the cause of the commotion. Their faces were wet, and not just from the rain. They knew who was behind the Titan, and they knew what was coming.
“What is this that has come upon us?” Philan asked Aviad. “How can we do battle against something so great?”
Aviad turned away from his fearless commander and looked directly into my eyes.
“You have told me how much you want to save your father, but how far are you really willing to go?”
The intensity of his piercing stare communicated that my answer could not to be given lightly. What was the true measure of my devotion? I rubbed the place over my chest where the mark had been revealed to me and considered Aviad’s words. You are the Author’s son, with all the rights and privileges. If that were true, as I believed, then….
“How far can I go?” I finally blurted out.
Aviad smiled. “How far did I go for you?”
Turning to Philan, Aviad gave the urgent command. “Hurry! Prepare a Thunderbird for flight. Hunter leaves immediately.”
“But…” I began to protest, “I don’t even know what I’m going to do!”
Aviad slapped my leg, and I felt an object in my front pocket. “You’ve been given exactly what is needed for such a time as this: our greatest weapon.” I’d completely forgotten the little bottle Hope had given me.
“A seed?” I asked, amazed that it could ever be described as a weapon. I hadn’t given the Author’s seemingly insignificant gift a second thought until now. I suddenly felt more than embarrassed, remembering how Hope had expressed the need for me to be listening to the Author to know its purpose.
