by Alana Grerig
She thought of Sapphire, who had given up her life so that she might succeed - such a waste. She thought of all her friends back up in the tower and of her twin Eli. She had only just found him. Now she would never get to know him. The sound of screaming reached her. The shrill voices were coming from beneath her. I can’t look. I can’t bear to see who or what is down there, she thought as images of her mother filled her mind. How she would miss her.
The descent seemed to last forever. Eve closed her eyes and allowed Caleb’s face to fill her mind’s eye. We never got to share our first kiss, she thought sadly. The screaming was getting louder; it would be over soon. Reaching into the neck of her shirt, Eve gripped the comforting weight of the Aurora Stone and waited to die.
The inhabitants of the pits watched in horror as a young girl fell towards them. They hoped she was already dead, because if she hit the ground alive, she would be forever trapped here with them. At least the dead had peace. Suddenly, another body could be seen falling. This one appeared to be facing the ground. Then, before their very eyes, the second person shimmered and changed into a large barn owl. Keeping its wings pinned to its sides, the owl sped downward towards the girl, closing the gap second by second.
The screaming from below was replaced by complete silence; Eve was sure she must have died. Suddenly she felt the warm body and the steady beating of wings. I must be dead. Sapphire is with me! Opening their special connection, Eve reached out to her friend.
Sapphire, I have failed. We are both dead, and the stone lies around the neck of my broken body. I am so sorry that your sacrifice was in vain.
I never figured you as a quitter, Evangeline. It does not become you.
Eve opened her eyes in shock. Eli?
Yes, yes, it’s me. I must say, I quite enjoy this form. I make almost no sound, and my vision is excellent. But enough about me. We have to get back up there; you have a prophecy to fulfil, friends to save, evil to defeat… you get the idea.
Eve laughed, I have never heard you say so much, Brother.
A ripple passed through Eli. Yes, well, when I am scared to death, I talk far too much. Please, can you hold on? We need to hurry.
Eve carefully turned herself over so she was sitting astride her brother’s golden back, gripping with her knees as he pointed his head upwards and flew back towards the tower window.
Eve arrived just in time to see Winter pull the cloak off her enemy. What she saw was even worse than the images she had witnessed in limbo. Nimayaorin was unidentifiable as the creature he had once been; he didn’t resemble anything Eve had ever seen. The years of dark magic, hatred, and cruelty had eaten away at him. The result was the twisted, mutilated being before her.
Turning his scarlet eyes on her, Nimayaorin stretched his lipless maw into what, for him, passed as a smile, his razor-sharp teeth and blackened gums fully exposed.
“Wow, you really are gross,” Winter stated, her quivering voice betraying her as she spoke. It highlighted the fear that gripped her. The abomination that stood before Winter ignored her completely. Instead, he addressed Eve.
“I see you have a nasty habit of avoiding death. Well… I guess if something is worth doing…”
Eve had no time to react. He directed a curse at her, and she had no way of protecting herself. Caleb, thankfully, was waiting for an opportunity to do this creature some damage. He cast a counter curse, knocking the creature back into the copper doors. Once his balance was off, Caleb quickly ran to Eve and cast a protective bubble around her. Turing back to face Nimayaorin, Caleb sent a volley of curses at the creature, who, to his utter amazement, brushed them off as if they were nothing.
“What are they teaching you these days? If you are going to curse someone, boy, you need to mean it, body and soul!” Nimayaorin tsked. As he propelled himself forward with lightning speed and gripped both Caleb and Eve by the throat, the protection spell shattered. “It may interest you to know that the whole of your realm is under my control. As we speak, they are marching towards Hermoria. They will kill each other until not one of them has his soul intact, then the void will take them.”
Jericho, Winter, and a now elfin-shaped Eli could only stand and watch as the creature smashed Caleb’s head off the marble wall and dropped him. He crumpled like a rag doll, blood oozing from a large gash on his crown. Nimayaorin positioned Eve in front of the copper doors and began to read the ancient message inscribed there.
“What lies behind these doors must forever remain locked away from the worlds.
Kept hidden from the dark forces that shall rise up and wish to destroy and conquer.
Only the light can destroy its contents. Only the Light Carrier’s blood and the stone of the morning can forever seal this Evil within this tomb.
If it should be opened, the stone bathed in the Light Carrier’s blood must be cast into the void, or Darkness will be the victor over the realms, and the void shall swallow the sun.”
“Rather poetic, don’t you think? It is my favourite story,” Nimayaorin added, his voice smooth and eloquent despite his disfigurements. Reaching out with his claws, he slashed Eve’s cheek and watched as beads of blood pearled on the surface of her lily-white skin. His tongue snaked out of his own accord, wanting to taste. Remembering that she carried tainted blood, he managed to stop himself.
Gripping Eve, roughly he pressed her bloodied cheek to the cold copper door. Suddenly, the doors began to glow, the inscriptions outlined with light. As each section was illuminated, more details were revealed. A recess that Eve had not noticed before became all she could see. It was the exact shape of the stone hanging around her neck.
That is where I must place the stone to end this, she thought fervently. Reaching into her shirt, she gripped the cage the Stone was housed in and pulled it apart, her fingernails ripping in the process. Holding it tight, she slowly removed her hand that was clutching the stone from beneath her shirt and waited. She would only get one shot at this. Nimayaorin was still delivering his soliloquy, his attention not directed at her. With all her strength, Eve threw herself at the other door and reached for the recess. She almost had it when, suddenly, pain lanced through her broken wrist once more. It had gone mercifully numb, but now it felt like hot pokers had replaced her marrow. Screaming in pain, she slumped against the doors, the stone still gripped in her good hand.
Nimayaorin released her broken limb from his claws and dropped Eve to the ground. She had barely made contact with the floor when he kicked her, sending her skidding across the floor, the wind knocked out of her. “Nice try, but you are no match for me. I will have my revenge.” Turning to the glowing doors, he extended a claw and slashed his palm, placing his own defiled blood over Eve’s.
Nothing happened for a moment, but then the doors began to vibrate. The images glowed and turned darker, as if the light had burned too hot and scorched the metal. Then, there came a series of loud clicks; each one sounded like a death knell. Jericho was at Eve’s side when she had regained her breath, but her arm was badly broken. He didn’t know what else to do at that moment, so he held her close. Winter knew that Caleb wouldn’t be out for long. His halfling status enabled him to heal at an accelerated rate. As she watched, she saw his colour return and his eyelids flicker. Quickly leaning forwards, she whispered in a low tone.
“Stay down until I give the word.”
Eli was rooted to the spot. This was not how it was meant to be. However, something told him it wasn’t over yet, so he, like the others, waited.
There was a groan, and then the doors flew open. The temperature instantly dropped. Even from the other side of the hall, it was clear that the vault was empty. It was completely black inside, so dark that the dimensions were indeterminable.
“YESSSSSS!” Nimayaorin hissed, raising his skeletal arms over his scarred head. “The void shall devour all. Even as I speak, chaos reigns across Orea!” Moving away from the doors, he muttered in a guttural language, and a large orb appeared. The scene within it was one
of bloodshed and death. Witch fought with elf. Demons could be seen slaughtering anyone whom they came across. “I shall build a new world, a world built on power! A world that thrives on blood and pain. No one shall feel joy or love again!” As he spoke, the oily blackness began to seep out of the confines of the vault.
Eve knew they must do something before it reached them. She could already feel a slight pulling at her soul. She opened her mind’s eye and was shocked to discover that, whatever the void was, it was soulless.
Eli, can you hear me? She opened their connection and hoped that he could, despite being in his elfin form.
Yes, what should we do? I am assuming you have a plan… well hoping actually.
Calm yourself, Brother; I know what we must do. But we need Caleb. Can you signal to him without being seen?
I can try, but I think he is still knocked out. Eli closed the connection and uttered Winter’s name under his breath. He knew she would hear him. Looking over, Winter wiggled her eyebrows, silently communicating that she had heard, and she silently inquired as to what he wanted her to do.
Eli glanced at Nimayaorin. He was deeply absorbed in his own rapture to notice much else, but he didn’t fancy attracting the demon's attention at such a critical moment. Instead, he simply mouthed.
We need Caleb.
Nodding, Winter leaned forward and touched Caleb’s hand. Within seconds, both he and Winter were with the rest of the group. Eve quickly explained what they had to do.
“We need to combine our powers to defeat him, once and for all,” she whispered looking pointedly at Eli and Caleb. “I am pretty confident that the two of you can use me as a conductor, and we know that Eli amplifies my powers, so this is what we are going to do…”
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Eli asked, his palms sweating.
“No, but we have to hope. It’s all we have left,” Eve replied. Nodding in agreement, the trio slowly stood. Eli and Caleb moved to Eve’s sides but remained two steps behind her. They then each held her shoulders with one hand and had gripped each other by the wrist behind her back. Eve lifted her hand, clutching the Aurora Stone to her bloodied cheek and smearing its perfect surface with blood. I really hope this works! she thought.
Closing her eyes, she asked the others to begin channelling their power into her. The heady rush of pure energy was enough to knock her off her feet, but knowing this really was their last chance, was all that kept her standing. When she opened her eyes, she saw her skin was once again glowing, as it had been on her return from limbo. Her vision was a mixture of her usual sight and her soul-based sight, her sixth sense. The room was a fire with colour and light. Lifting the stone to chest height, she opened her hand and watched in wonder as the stone absorbed her blood and was now all the colours of the dawn. The morning stone: Aurora.
Nimayaorin spun around. He had felt the spike in power and wondered what little parlour trick the children were going to try and distract him with. Could they not see he had already won? In a few moments, the void would fully awaken, and all hell would break loose. However, what he saw held him to the spot. The light was blinding. Raising his arms to shield his eyes, he tried to see past the glare.
“You are of the darkness, the blackest of night.
You are the monster that goes bump in the night.
Darkness only has limited power.
It cannot survive where there is light.”
Eve’s chanting made his blood turn to ice in his veins. How was it possible? This was old, older than magic, older than time itself. How had she invoked the ancients?
She has the stone!
It was as the chant finished for the third time that Nimayaorin felt the power of the light hit him. It burned like righteous fire through his veins, killing the corruption and filling him with hope. It sickened him. He stumbled, the light of Aurora consuming him as it had done all those years ago. How he wished they had killed him then. After all, they had taken everything from him. Skin blistering, Nimayaorin stumbled again, his feet becoming entangled in his discarded cloak.
“NOOOOO!”
With his anguished protest still hanging in the air, he tumbled into the void.
“Is it over?” Winter asked tentatively. She wasn’t sure if it was safe to approach the three of them. After a few moments, Eve’s glow became less, and Caleb and Eli let go, breaking their trifecta.
“Yes, Nimayaorin is gone forever, but the void is still open,” Caleb said. His voice was strained from the effort of what they had just achieved. “We need to close the vault and lock it with the Stone.”
Jericho was the first to reach the doors. He might not know much about magic, but brute force was something he excelled in. Reaching across, he gripped both doors and pulled them towards himself. His biceps bulged and sweat began to dampen his fur. Try as he might, the doors didn’t move an inch.
“Maybe if we all try - Caleb and Eli on one door Jericho, and myself on the other - Eve can be ready to insert the stone and then…”
“No,” Eve said, cutting Winter off mid flow.” That won’t work. The void is activated. The only way to stop it now is if I jump into it with the Stone.”
“Well, that isn’t happening, not after everything you have been through. I only just found you! Please let us try!” Eli begged, his eyes pooling with tears. Eve smiled at her twin, and, stowing the stone in her pocket, she put her good arm around him.
“It is the only way, Brother,” she replied, her own tears spilling silently down her face. Caleb was not going to let her die. He swiftly moved to her side, reached into the pocket, and took the stone, immediately moving away from her towards the doors. Eve turned to him, her eyes beseeching.
“I won’t let you die. I can’t go through that again, and you have sacrificed enough for all of us and for Orea. I will go in your place; your blood is already within the stone. The conditions have been met.”
Caleb swallowed back the tears that threatened, and, knowing this was to be his one and only chance, strode over to the girl he loved. Taking her in his arms, he gazed into her beautiful turbulent eyes. “You have my heart, Evangeline,” he whispered. Then, bending forward, he touched his lips to hers. It was bittersweet; their first kiss was also to be their last. Releasing her, he stroked her cheek.
“Give me a smile to take with me; this is going to be the ultimate adventure.” His shaky smile and bravado were poor covers for his fear and heartbreak. Eve gave her best smile and tried to step towards him. Caleb knew he would give in if she touched him again. Quickly he glanced at the others. “Take care of her… Ooof!”
Caleb doubled over, the wind knocked out of him. As he fell onto his side, he dropped the Aurora Stone. It lay on the ground, inches from his face, its orangey-pink colour changing to red and golds and back again before a huge paw swooped down and picked it up.
“That’s quite enough, Caleb. I will not allow you to do this. It will be my honour to undertake this task. Be brave, Eve, and tell our story to all of Orea!” With that, Jericho drew his short sword, and clutching the Stone close to his chest, he stepped back into the void. The last they saw of him was his face, a huge smile cast upon it, his sword arm erect, the blade held high. Just before he was completely consumed, they heard his fierce battle cry;
“For Orea!”
Epilogue
Eve would never forget the events of that day. Indeed, she would never forget any of it. After Jericho’s sacrifice, they had searched the fortress for a way to free the souls in the pits. Caleb managed to decipher an old text in Nimayaorin’s Book of Shadows, and the thousands of souls inhabiting the pits were able to pass onto the realm of the dead. Amongst them were Eve and Eli’s parents. Eli had insisted on cataloguing each soul so that their families could be informed and memorials held. It took weeks. By the time the last soul had passed on, Eli’s hand was sore, and his eyes burned from concentration. The final document was enormous - a complete account of every soul they had freed.
They half
expected to encounter demons willing to defend the fortress. Then, Winter realised why they hadn’t. Their lives were tied to the darkness, so once he was gone, they, too, perished. It was completely surreal to know that they had won. Winter wanted to leave the corpses to rot, but Eve said that, unlike the fallen creatures that lay strewn like macabre rag dolls all over the fortress, they were honourable, and, therefore, they would build a funeral pyre and cremate their fallen adversaries. Winter rolled her eyes and muttered something about a waste of time and how gross it was to lug about dead demons, but she made her way to the nearest one, hauled it over her shoulders, and turned to Eve with a fanged smile. “Where do you want it?” she asked sweetly
The huge funeral pyre burned for many days. Eve watched as the flames danced and thick acrid smoke billowed in dark, ominous plumes overhead. Though the scene was horrific - so many dead being burned - it gave them all a sense of peace. The enemy had been defeated, and now they could think about the future.
Before they left for the return journey home, Eve wanted to search for the box she had seen in her vision of the young man. After much searching, she finally found it locked away in a dusty room. Picking her way carefully across the broken furniture, she saw the box sitting on an upturned urn. Picking it up, she gently wiped the dust from the lid.
Caleb found her there a short while later. He had come to tell her that they had found the portal room and could head directly to any realm they wanted. He stopped short when he saw the box.
“What’s that?” he asked.
Eve looked over at her true love. How lucky she was to have him after all the trials they had been through. Both had been changed, and, yet, they remained the same in each other’s eyes. Maybe love truly was blind. Eve didn’t care. He completed her, and she was never letting him go.
“It’s a memory box,” she replied. Caleb knew whose memories were enclosed, and he wondered why Eve was still holding it.
“Please tell me you are not going to open it?” Caleb asked. He had had quite enough excitement to last him several lifetimes.
