The Labyrinth of Destiny

by Callie Kanno

  “Please tell me that you are not considering facing him,” pled L’iam, though his expression said he already knew the answer.

  Ravi, who could sense Adesina’s intentions, added, “At the very least, tell us that you do not plan to go alone.”

  “If I violate the terms of the meeting, what would stop him from doing the same?” reasoned Adesina quietly.

  “Nothing would stop him from violating the terms anyway,” argued L’iam.

  Adesina’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “I am not certain about that. It seems to me that he has his own code of honor, as twisted as it may seem to us. I believe that, in this case, he will follow the terms he has set.”

  Ravi shook his head instantly. “He set terms for you, but made none for himself. The Shimat are known to be liars and manipulators. You cannot trust anything Cha-sak says or does.”

  “Your guardian is correct,” said a voice approaching from behind.

  Adesina turned and saw her Immortal allies drawing near. Ruon was the one who had spoken.

  “However,” the Laithur continued, “there are laws that govern conflicts between Immortals. Cha-sak would be bound by them.”

  Adesina’s brow furrowed slightly. “Even if he does not know that I am now a Serraf?”

  Ruon inclined his head. “Even then.”

  Sitara seemed troubled by the entire situation. “I do not like it,” she said quietly. “The Shimat may be bound by the laws of conflict, but they have spent centuries finding their way around every rule and restriction. He may have discovered loopholes that we have not even considered.”

  “The alternative would be to ignore his summons and go forward with the battle,” said Riel, “which is not much different than what we were going to be doing anyway.”

  Ruon’s small eyes narrowed. “Except Cha-sak will be very angry at being ignored, and he will make it his personal task to make us pay for the insult.”

  “Is it possible that he wants a truce?” asked Adesina.

  None of the faces of her companions seemed very encouraging.

  Sitara was the one who answered. “The Shimat do not consider the loss of human life to be of any importance. To them, it would be like destroying a colony of ants. I do not think that Cha-sak is interested in sparing anyone.”

  Adesina’s frown deepened. “Then what could he hope to gain by talking to me?”

  She felt the strange pulse of power that occasionally emanated from Seer Stone on Ruon’s forehead. He was having a vision.

  Ruon’s face suddenly became void of any expression. Everything about him became perfectly neutral, and he closed his mouth firmly.

  “What did you See?” Adesina asked him.

  There was a glint of surprise in his eyes, but it vanished immediately. “Nothing that concerns you.”

  She knew that he was lying, and she wanted to shake him in frustration. “Please tell me anyway,” she said with exaggerated calm.

  Ruon turned to walk away. “I have given my opinion on this matter, and I now know the outcome. It is not needful for me to remain any longer.”

  “Ruon, wait,” called L’iam.

  The Laithur left with a determination that would not have borne challenge.

  Adesina felt a mad desire to fling a pebble at Ruon’s departing figure. She immediately dismissed it and turned her attention to the others.

  “Well,” she started briskly, “I suppose we can assume that I agree to the meeting.”

  “Not necessarily,” argued Ravi.

  Adesina looked around at the faces surrounding her, and her heart warmed at the thought of how much they each cared for her and supported her. She knew they would do almost anything for her, and she wanted to care for them in return.

  “I know that Cha-sak does not care about preserving lives,” she began slowly, “but I do. It matters to me when a soldier dies, even if that soldier is fighting with our enemies. If I can stop this fighting and save even one life, it is worth it to me.”

  “Adesina…” L’iam said in a warning voice.

  She hurried on before he could finish. “I am going to meet with Cha-sak.”

  Her voice was filled with determination, and she knew that they could see it on her face as well. One by one, they nodded—even if they didn’t agree with the decision.

  Darkness stole over the sky, bleeding across the blue like a disease. Adesina could feel the fear radiating from the humans as they watched the light disappear.

  Sitara looked upward with an indescribable expression on her face. She spoke with a voice that was stiff with emotion. “The Shimat were once Children of Light. They were so beautiful and so good. Now they bring Darkness wherever they go.” Her purple eyes shifted to lock onto Adesina’s. “Do not let him block out the Light.”

  There was so much meaning in Sitara’s words that Adesina felt momentarily daunted by such a trust placed upon her. She straightened her shoulders and gave a decisive nod to her mentor.

  Adesina lifted herself into the air with her vyala and glided toward the source of the darkness. She let her power flow from the core of her being, radiating outward as beams of light. She stood as a brilliant beacon in the sky, dispelling every shadow near to her.

  Cha-sak looked as though he was standing on a black platform in the air. The shadows around him roiled feverishly, as did the wisps of darkness that formed his figure. His red eyes glowed out from his featureless face, and Adesina felt cold under his gaze.

  She brought herself to a halt twenty feet in front of him. There was a stark division in the sky between his darkness and her light. It was a visible representation of the struggle between their powers as they each pressed against each other.

  “You came,” rasped Cha-sak in his chilling tone. “I thought your Immortal keepers would prevent you from assuming such risk.”

  “I am my own keeper,” Adesina replied tautly.

  His red eyes narrowed with a look of condescension. “That is the mistaken belief of every mortal. You hold to the lie that you are independent and that you control your own destiny, but there are greater beings whose very existence shape your own.”

  Adesina raised an eyebrow. “I suppose you are speaking of yourself.”

  “Even among the Immortals, the Shimat are a force to be reckoned with,” Cha-sak said with insufferable pride. “To humans, we are gods.”

  A thought occurred to Adesina and she paused to consider it.

  Cha-sak didn’t know that she had become an Immortal. He kept referring to humans and mortals as if that was the grouping to which she belonged.

  She had told him herself that she was the Threshold Child, which implied—to those familiar with the prophecies—that she had ascended from her mortality to a higher plane. If he had not made that connection, it meant that he did not truly believe that she was the Threshold Child.

  Adesina tucked that information away to consider later. Her instincts told her that it would be important in the future.

  “I thought the Ancients were the gods,” Adesina said.

  “The Ancients are fools,” snapped Cha-sak. “They have wasted their powers on useless pursuits, and they left their servants to fend for themselves. They are so focused on their own little hobbies that they have not realized the true power they could hold in their hands.”

  “Yet, you have realized it,” asserted Adesina.

  “Yes,” confirmed Cha-sak. “I have seen the power that is in the universe, and I am not a fool. I will grasp as much as I can hold, and I will crush all who oppose me.”

  “Why have you asked me here?” inquired the L’avan queen. “It seems to me that you believe your triumph to be inevitable.”

  “It is inevitable,” said Cha-sak forcefully.

  “Then why?”

  “I am giving you the opportunity to join me before you are destroyed,” purred Cha-sak.

  Adesina almost laughed in shock. “What?”

  The demon went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “You have been surround
ed by those who walk in the Light. You do not know anything but what they have told you. The Light is for those too weak to face the Darkness. That is where true power lies! The Darkness is the greatest power of all.”

  Adesina shook her head. “Darkness is only the absence of Light. That does not make it powerful. It only makes it empty.”

  “Childish words,” spat Cha-sak in contempt. “You do not comprehend the forces at work.”

  “Explain it to me,” the young woman invited.

  The demon’s red eyes narrowed. “You think only of the tangible forms of light and dark, just as any child would. However, the true powers of Light and Darkness are the foundation for the universe itself. All that is, all that will be, exist only because of those two forces. The Ancients themselves would not exist if not for those powers. Light and Darkness are the source of vyala.”

  “It seems to me that you are saying the two powers are balanced. So why would I choose Darkness over Light?” asked Adesina.

  Cha-sak’s eyes took on a fanatic glow. “Because the balance of power is shifting, and soon one shall prevail over the other.”

  “What do you mean?”

  The demon gestured with his hands. “There were times appointed in prophecy, in words older than the universe, when the balance between the Light and Dark would become subject to change. If one prevails over the other, it will become the new balance of the universe. One of those prophesied times is approaching. The era of Darkness shall begin.”

  Adesina’s brow furrowed. “Why do you assume the Darkness will win?”

  Cha-sak spoke as if the answer were obvious. “Because the Darkness is more powerful than the Light. It always has been, but the balance of the universe has prevented it from taking control.”

  The demon’s logic didn’t make complete sense to Adesina.

  “I can think of some terrible times in the history of our world,” she argued. “You cannot tell me that times like that were balanced between Light and Dark.”

  “There are times when one power becomes more prevalent,” admitted the Shimat, “but there is always an opposing event to bring back that balance.”

  “Except, there will be a time when that will not happen,” clarified Adesina.

  “Yes,” exulted Cha-sak. “We are fast approaching the time when the balance can be changed for good.”

  “You said it was one of the times,” she pointed out. “Which means that even if Darkness prevails, a time will come when that balance can be shifted back.”

  Cha-sak lifted a finger. “It is easier to maintain a balance than to change it. Once the Darkness has hold of the universe, it would be nearly impossible for the Light to gain it back.”

  Adesina’s face became thoughtful. “So, it would be better for me to join you now than to fight for a losing cause.”

  The demon’s voice became tightly controlled, as if suppressing some strong emotion. “Yes.”

  The L’avan queen shook her head with a humorless smile. “The truth is that if I join you, the balance between Light and Dark will automatically shift. By abandoning the Light, I would enable the Darkness to win.”

  “You place too much value on yourself,” drawled the demon. “One person does not change the universe.”

  “That is where you are wrong,” she said quietly. “A single person can change everything.”

  Cha-sak did not acknowledge her words.

  “I am giving you the opportunity to save yourself and your loved ones from certain destruction. If you oppose me, I will not rest until I see every single one of you crushed beneath my feet. If you swear yourself to me, I will show mercy on your soldiers, your friends, your husband.”

  Adesina knew that he was trying to use her fears against her. She would gladly give her life if it meant that L’iam and those she loved would be safe. And if she had known less about the Shimat demons his tactic might have worked, but she had seen his ruthless nature and she knew that he was incapable of mercy.

  She straightened her back and lifted her chin in an expression of defiance.

  “I am the Threshold Child—not because I wanted to be, but because I accepted the responsibility that was given to me. I did not choose this path because I thought it would be easy or that it would be without great personal sacrifice. I know what my future holds, just as I know that the Darkness will never prevail.”

  The wisps of shadow around Cha-sak’s dark figure began to swirl in the torrent of his wrath. His ruby eyes burned with hatred as he stared at Adesina.

  The young queen went on. “A single person can make a difference in the world, just as a single candle can keep the night at bay. As long as I draw breath, I will stand against you and all who would see Darkness conquer the Light.”

  Cha-sak’s fists clenched at his side, and he looked as though he might attack Adesina right then and there. She prepared her vyala to shield her at a moment’s notice, just in case.

  “Before we are done, you will see the blood of all those you love soak the ground. You will see the life fade from their eyes, and you will curse yourself for turning away the chance to save them.”

  “They would not thank me for saving them at the cost of all that is good in the universe,” pointed out the young queen.

  “You are a fool,” rasped the Shimat demon in loathing.

  Adesina smiled sadly. “There are far worse things to be.”

  Chapter Forty-Six: The Charge

  The Shimat army began moving forward as soon as the flames of the trench burned down. With the arrows of the Seharan archers rendered ineffective by Cha-sak’s shield, the hard work of the defending soldiers had done nothing but buy a bit of time.

  Adesina’s meeting with Cha-sak finished well before the Shimat army advanced. The demon had shown his displeasure by vaulting several attacks through the air toward Adesina’s allies. Sitara had stopped them with Ruon’s help, and then they could do nothing but wait.

  The waiting was now over.

  The Scepter of Cha-sak marched forward with their weapons drawn. There could be no sweeping charge when the battle was to take place in a forest, but they still moved forward with deadly purpose.

  Adesina waited until the first lines of soldiers entered the woods, then she called out, “Gold group.”

  Before this war, the L’avan with gold in their eyes had mostly been used as support—helping others to regain energy, or something along those lines. Now, after some instruction and heavy training, they had become a force to be reckoned with.

  The L’avan of the Gold group joined hands. Adesina could feel the flow of their vyala as they directed it toward their goal.

  They fed fat streams of power into the trees lining the edge of the forest. In moderation, this would have simply nourished the trees and helped them to grow. When done in extreme excess, as in this instance…

  The entire line of trees exploded violently, the trunks shattering and sending chips of wood flying through the air. The screams of soldiers caught by the blast were mingled with the cries from those who were peppered with the piercing pieces of wood.

  Hundreds of men died instantly, and hundreds more were gravely injured.

  The L’avan of the Gold group slumped forward, weakened after using so much of their vyala. Adesina pursed her lips together and frowned. She had underestimated how much vyala it would take to conduct one attack.

  “Gold group back,” she snapped.

  She felt angry, but mostly at herself. She was struggling to remember the limits of her fellow L’avan. Adesina always scaled back her expectations to accommodate her mortal companions, but apparently it had not been enough.

  You have done what you can, Ravi said soothingly through their Joining.

  “Well,” said L’iam, standing next to her, “I suppose we will have to revert to our usual tactics.”

  She gave her husband a strained smile and turned her eyes back to the approaching enemy.

  Much to the dismay of the royal advisors, L’iam and Adesina
had concluded that they would both be needed on the battlefield. Adesina would be in charge of the specialized L’avan division, and L’iam would be at the head of the regular army.

  L’iam turned to one of the messengers standing nearby. “General Ri’sel and Captain Leander are to advance with me. General Me’da, Captain Finlay, and Captain E’nes are to hold their forces in reserve. The Rashad are to keep the Shimat army from making any attempt to move around our forces.”

  The messenger ran off with the orders.

  Adesina had tried to convince Ravi to go with the Rashad during the battle. After all, he had the ability to transport to her side at a moment’s notice. She had argued that he would better serve everyone as the leader of the Rashad, and that he could keep an eye on her through their Joining.

  Ravi had only listened to her arguments because he had known that she was determined to say something. He had told her flatly that he would not leave her side that day, no matter the reason.

  So, Ravi’s brother Ruvim had been appointed the temporary leader of the Rashad. He would be the one making the decisions on how the Rashad could best serve their human allies.

  L’iam waited until he was certain his orders had been received and then signaled to Mar’sal. Mar’sal was acting as L’iam’s second in command within their division of soldiers. Mar’sal began issuing orders to the soldiers, rallying them into motion.

  “Please be safe,” whispered Adesina in a choked voice.

  L’iam gave her his most brilliant smile. “Of course, my love.”

  He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, then he assumed his place marching at the head of the L’avan and Seharan forces.

  Adesina and Ravi moved out of the way as row after row of defenders passed them.

  She looked over her shoulder and saw the reserve forces positioned behind the safety of log wall. The wall was low enough that the soldiers could look over the top and watch the battle with ease. She could see her brother over the barrier, frowning as he watched his friends march into danger. E’nes was too good of a soldier to ever consider disobeying the orders given to him, but Adesina could see that he wished he was marching with L’iam.