The Clockwork Heart

by T Ariyanna

  The man turned and left with a great flourish. In an instant, his simple brown cloak turned to bright colors, adorned with oddly cut rocks that reflected the little light around them in a rainbow.

  With a wave of the king’s hand, the restraints holding him vanished, slithering off of his body. Cy tried to get to his feet, but a Kindling at his side grabbed him by the back of his neck. Cy froze at the grip that had him, but stared angrily after the old man. He faded into the darkness, a swarm of Kindling following close behind him. Once he was completely gone from sight, Cy whirled on the Kindling that was holding him.

  Before he could even get his legs out from under him, Cy’s vision was stolen from him. The Kindling dropped him to the ground. He pressed his hands to the back of his neck and was shocked to find a small puncture wound that refused to heal. Cy had always believed that the Kindlings only had influence over the natural world, and it terrified him that they could over power him in such a way.

  Nearby, he heard Gil’s whimpers and Kaitlyn’s strained breathing. He wasn’t the only one that had been blinded.

  A soft pink light was the first thing to break through the darkness. His vision returned slowly, but he blinked and the light was gone.

  “What the hell was that?” Cy asked as he shook the lingering feeling of the Kindling’s magic from his shoulders.

  Cy stood up, ignoring the stiffness in his neck. The rest of them were lying on the ground, in varying states of regaining their senses. Kaitlyn was the first to have recovered, and she sat on the ground, sulking. Her skin was clear of any sign of changing into a Kindling. Vyekrin was in her lap, still in his lizard form, and the concentration in her eyes said that they were speaking within their minds.

  Next was Jayr, being brought back to his senses by a sting from Wayonn. Jayr shot up with a start and rubbed a red spot on his arm, glaring at the scorpion.

  Gil was curled up on himself, hugging his knees to his chest. Cy was unsure when he had regained his sight, but he was staring at the luminous pollen that still hung in the air. His face was still twisted in fear. Though he had never said it, it was clear to see Gil was terrified of the dark, and Cy couldn’t blame him.

  “What do we do now that they won't help us?” Kaitlyn asked quietly. “They were our best shot, no offense.”

  “We go along with the plan just like before. We just have to hope these two are enough, and head home.”

  “How exactly do you expect us to get home from here? There’s no escape from these woods,” Jayr snapped, waving his arm toward the trees that still towered over them.

  “The ball…” Cy started, but Kaitlyn stopped him by holding it up. There was no smoke to be found in it, only the same pink light as before.

  “We need a Kindling, Cy, or else we're not getting out of here. The ball even says so.” Kaitlyn dropped the ball and it rolled along the ground. It came to rest in the middle of the group, and everyone stared at it in confusion.

  Cy crawled forward and scooped up the glass ball. He shook it violently, growling, “We don't need them! We need to leave. Stupid thing, take us back! We don't need a Kindling.”

  “Are you sure?” a small voice asked. Cy's head shot up, and a small pink light hovered in front of him for a moment before buzzing around him back towards the darkness. He turned quickly, afraid of losing the light. It stopped just inside of the cover of the trees.

  A girl emerged from the shadows, and the pink light landed on her shoulder in the form of a small, human-like creature, with pale pink skin and large, pitch black eyes. She wore leaves as a makeshift dress, which barely covered her body. Wings made of soft yellow petals fluttered on her back. She couldn't be more than six inches tall. A pixie.

  The Kindling girl stepped out from the shadows, revealing herself to be the one the king had been glaring at. She looked at the ground shyly, and brushed a lock of hair from her face. Cy thought he caught a glimpse of bright blue bulbs buried within the mess of vines atop her head.

  “I saw you before,” Cy said as an accusation. The girl nodded her head, but didn't speak. When Cy went to speak again, the pixie stepped off from the girl's shoulder and flew into Cy's face, her wings beating furiously.

  “You will treat my lady with respect, demon,” she hissed, but her small form made it very difficult to find her intimidating.

  Cy leaned back and tried to swat the creature away. Kaitlyn came up behind him and snatched his hand out of the air. “Be nice!” she hushed. She turned to the pixie, whose face was flushed a darker pink in frustration. “I'm sorry. He doesn't get along well with others. What's your name?”

  Kaitlyn looked to the Kindling girl, but she looked away from Kaitlyn's gaze. The pixie spoke for her. “This is my Lady Adoette, princess and daughter to the King. I am her faithful servant, Noma. My Lady does not speak, so I am her voice. If you wish to have any dealings with her, you will go through me.” The pixie put her hands on her hips as she hovered in the air.

  “Why are you here?” Jayr finally spoke up, and his voice was even ruder than Cy’s had been. Kaitlyn shot him a steely look, and he shrunk away from her.

  “My Lady has decided to help you, despite my begging and protests,” Noma stated. “She does not agree with the King's ruling, and has chosen to betray him. My Lady believes that he is the selfish one, for being so worried about his own kingdom that he is so unwilling to help others. He foolishly believes that the war will leave him be if he acts as though it does not exist. Were he to turn his back on the rest of the world, he shall receive no aid in return when he needs it most.my Lady does not wish to see her people abandoned, so she is doing what she can to gain allies. She was determined to help you even if I had not come along, but I am bound to her and will follow her into hell if I must. Even if it gets us banished, or worse.”

  “Banished?” Cy said, still processing all of the information.

  “Yes. Once the King has discovered our treachery, we will surely be banished. As long as he does not send a party for our heads, that is.”

  “Would he really kill his own daughter?” Kaitlyn asked.

  Noma looked back at Adoette questioningly, and the Kindling nodded once to her. “The King is a cruel man that hates all others, barely sparing his own kind from his hatred. He deems them impure, and claims that they do nothing but taint the land. Kindling are creatures of nature, and we are tasked with protecting it. The King lies in wait for the day that the rest of the world is destroyed so that he might salvage the ruins for himself, all in the excuse of preserving nature.”

  “He sounds pretty harsh. How can we be sure you’re on our side?” Cy asked.

  Adoette stepped out from the trees, the bright light accenting every crack in the bark that was her skin. Her eyes grew wide and the corners of her mouth dropped in a deep frown. Bright blue tears rolled slowly along the rough bark.

  Noma flew closer and smacked Cy in the middle of his forehead, but he didn’t feel a thing. “My Lady is the one that brought you into these woods! Ever since your entrance into our land, she has been begging the king to join you. How dare you accuse her of malicious intent!”

  “That’s even more of a reason to be suspicious. We didn’t ask to be brought into the woods, we would have come when we were ready,” Jayr said, standing up.

  Adoette was looking desperately between the four of them while Noma buzzed annoyingly close to Cy’s face. He blew a puff of purple smoke at her, and the pixie backed away, coughing. While Noma recovered, Adoette ran to Kaitlyn. She grasped the other girl’s hands and pulled Kaitlyn to her feet. They stood frozen for a moment before Adoette slowly placed Kaitlyn’s hand on her cheek.

  At Kaitlyn’s touch, the bark began chipping and falling from Adoette’s face, revealing perfectly smooth, red skin.

  “My Lady is willing to forsake her entire being as a Kindling in order to gain your trust. She is borrowing your friend’s ability to make the transformation, without even knowing if she will be able to change back,” Noma explained, no
w standing on Cy’s shoulder without care or concern. There was a deep sadness in the pixie’s voice that complimented the pain on Adoette’s face as she changed.

  Cy stood abruptly, causing Noma to stumble from her perch. He marched over to the two girls, and snatched Kaitlyn’s hand from Adoette’s face. The Kindling turned to him with a questioning gaze. More than half of her face and her neck had been stripped bare of bark, her right eye now normal with a green iris. Her lips were thin and her hair had changed to thick locks of knotted green hair.

  “There’s no need to go that far,” Cy said softly. He released Kaitlyn’s hand, and continued, “As long as you can get us out of here, I’ll trust you. Can you change her back, Kaitlyn?”

  Kaitlyn raised her hand to touch Adoette’s cheek again, but the girl backed away, shaking her head furiously. She held her hand out for Noma, and the pixie landed dutifully in her palm.

  “Until My Lady is certain that she has gained all your complete trust, she wishes to stay this way. She hopes you will understand.”

  Cy looked among the other members. Gil and Kaitlyn nodded Jayr stayed silent, which was better than protesting. “We do. My name is Cyllorian, and this is Kaitlyn.” Cy began the introductions, clasping a hand on Kaitlyn's shoulder. He ignored the way she jumped at his touch, writing it off as nervousness around the Kindling. “The Droll is Gil, and the Draken is Jayr. We have two dragons with us, Vyekrin for Kaitlyn, and Wayonn for Jayr.”

  Gil and Jayr gave short, awkward waves. Kaitlyn held up Vyekrin in her hands, and the dragon posed with pride. Wayonn scuttled forward on his six legs, clipping his pincers together in greeting. Adoette waved in return. Noma flew to each dragon in turn, and curtseyed to them midair, then returned to Adoette’s shoulder.

  “Shall we?” Cy asked, inviting Adoette to lead the way out of the woods. She smiled widely and skipped away from them. She waved them on after her, and they delved into the depths of the Kindling woods.

  As they walked, Adoette brushed her hands along the trees, and they lit up under her touch. With a Kindling as an escort, Cy could understand how the woods were beautiful and alluring. Everything danced in Adoette’s presence, and many small creatures skittered out from their hiding places. Flowers bloomed before their very eyes, and a breeze followed them, creating a symphony out of every leaf and branch.

  Though they had wandered on their own for hours before, Adoette led them to the edge of the woods within minutes. They stepped into the open air of night, but their relief was short lived. Just outside of the Kindling Woods, the walls of Centric were waiting.

  Adoette turned happily and swung a small bag made of thick leaves out from behind her. She pulled a scroll made from a pale leaf and unfurled it excitedly to show a small purple house with a heart shaped window in the door.

  “Where is that?” Jayr snapped, pushing his way from the back of the group to look at the scroll. Adoette pointed at the wall, and they all turned in dismay.

  “Centric. How the hell do we get in there?” Cy asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

  Adoette grabbed his hand and pulled him to the wall. She pressed her palm to the stone and closed her eyes. Cy stared at her a moment, and she opened one eye to watch him. Noma fluttered between them, and she sighed dramatically.

  “She would like you to help her with your magic.”

  Cy looked down at the etching of the lightning bolt in his left palm. He’d never been left handed before, but ever since Arion, he felt compelled to do things as Arion had. He would've blamed it on muscle memory, if he had any muscles of his own.

  “My magic?” he finally said aloud, flexing his fingers.

  “You are a Mage, aren't you?” Noma asked, baiting him with the question.

  Reluctantly, Cy answered, “I'm a demon. Everyone knows that.”

  “But you have magic.”

  “Technically. It’s borrowed.”

  “Good enough for me. Put your hand over Lady Adoette's, but only as long as necessary. Don't try anything, demon.”

  Adoette looked at Noma, scolding her with her eyes, but Noma acted as though she didn't see. Cy shrugged and place his hand over Adoette's. She closed her eyes, and he did the same.

  Door.

  The word ran through his head, and his eyes shot open. He looked at Adoette in astonishment, but she was otherwise unphased. As he stared at her, a bright light erupted from the wall. The stones crumbled to pieces in the center, and pulled away at the edges, forming a doorway. Beyond was the calm, empty streets of Centric, completely unaware that it was about to get a band of uninvited guests.

  Once there was nothing left under their hands, Cy and Adoette pulled away. She smiled at him and he looked away, slightly embarrassed.

  Adoette stepped into the doorway, but Jayr cut her off. “Don't you think we should make some sort of plan? You said this was Centric, right? We can't afford to be caught. I say we should split up and meet at the house at different times.”

  “No way. We're not splitting up now. What if something happens? We have no way to communicate if we don't stick together,” Cy said.

  “It'll look too suspicious for this big and diverse group to just be wandering around Centric, given that none of our races really get along, and you know it. We don't have another choice. I'll go with Kaitlyn and Gil. You can go with Adoette and Noma, since they seem to like you more.”

  “No way in hell am I separating from Kaitlyn. You should know that. Besides, why would you of all people want to go with Gil? You're not making any sense, Draken,” Cy spat.

  While they were arguing, Adoette grabbed Kaitlyn’s hand and pulled her into Centric, giggling. Cy dove in after them, Gil and Jayr on their heels. They chased the girls until they reached a small house that looked old and rotting. Cy couldn’t believe a place like it actually existed in Centric.

  Though Adoette had been waiting for them to catch up, as soon as they were in sight, she pulled Kaitlyn into the house. Cy followed immediately, nearly ripping the door from its hinges as he went.

  The house was full of items filling up every possible inch of space. Clothing hung from the ceiling with maps and magic scrolls covered the walls. Rugs were stacked on top of each other, making the floor uneven. Charms and jewels spilled from a large ornate chest in the corner, glittering in the multi colored lights that flickered from varying sizes of candles. The most abundant item, though, were packs and bags overflowing with spoiled rations and unnamed treasures.

  Adoette hopped to the side of the room and held up two bags made of water proof material from the Droll, one of which had Kaitlyn’s blue ribbon tied to the strap. “All belongings taken by the Kindling from foolish travelers are teleported here upon entry to the woods. Since you are lucky enough to have escaped our grasp, you may have them returned to you,” Noma explained.

  Adoette passed their bags back to them, and Cy checked the contents. Everything was accounted for, and he let out a deep sigh. While he was lost in relief, Adoette shoved a large black cloak into his hands. He looked up to find her wearing a similar robe with a large brimmed hat. She winked at him and pulled the hat further down on her head.

  “Late night wanderers aren’t uncommon in Centric. So as long as no one can tell what we are, we don’t have to split up. These will shield us from unwanted attention.” Noma spoke for Adoette, and she glanced at Jayr. He reluctantly put on the cloak that he was handed, and pulled the hood to cover his scowl.

  Cy glared at the Draken, waiting for him to object. Though he had been so adamant before, he didn’t dare speak up now. He wandered sullenly out of the house. Gil and Kaitlyn followed shortly after, Gil talking in hushed tones as he described what he knew of Centric to Kaitlyn.

  Cy watched them through the door, Jayr’s previous attitude worrying him. He quickly threw on his cloak and smoothed it out over his rough frame. He turned to follow the others outside, but Noma was flitting an inch from his face, blocking his path.

  “What the hell is your problem, bug?”
he yelled.

  She stomped her foot in the air and headbutted his cheek. She hurt herself more with her attack, and fell through the air. Adoette caught her easily, and held the pixie up to her face.

  Noma jumped up suddenly, clutching Adoette's fingers. Her voice became painfully high pitched when she spoke. “I am not a bug, you hear me! Not!”

  “Maybe not, but I could squash you like one,” Cy hissed, bringing his face closer to the pixie. She gasped, and Adoette pulled Noma away from him quickly.

  The terror on her face filled him with guilt, and he took a step back. “Sorry. How about we just go into Centric now? I don’t want to give Jayr the opportunity to run off on his own.”

  Adoette ran out to join Gil and Kaitlyn who were running from streetlamp to streetlamp, bathing themselves in the varying colors that bled into the streets. Owls and bats filled the night sky. They moved elegantly and with a purpose. Cy stepped into the doorway to watch them.

  Adoette was pulling the two by the wrists to look at each house along the street. Each was built completely different from its neighbors. From stained glass windows to no windows at all, and large, sloped roofs to flat or dome topped houses. Their sizes and even building material varied between wood, stone and metal. The three of them seemed to have endless interest in the magical city at the heart of Lontorra.

  Not Cy. He ignored it all, hating the memories he had of Centric. This was where he had lost Arion: where he had first lost himself. He wanted to just go straight through, towards home, but it was impossible now. He couldn’t even be sure if he had a home to return to anymore.

  Cyllorian

  “For the last time, we are not lost!” Cy growled.