by Elina Vale
Shea Ziragh slowly walked into the ruined house. Her dark red cloak fluttered in the wind, her blond curls waving behind her back. Her eyes were ablaze. “There you are! I’ve been looking for you. One minute I can scout you, the next I can’t. What sort of magic are you using to block me?"
"Stop this madness!" Shri screamed. “The Mairas are not your enemies!” She jumped up, opening her fountain and reaching for her magic.
"How dare you challenge me?” Shea snapped. “Soon, I will wed your father. I will be your new mother, your High Mistress!”
“Not if I can stop you!”
“We have many things to discuss.” She wiped a strand of hair from her face and smiled. "I have very important plans for you and your father.”
Reaching for the streams of her magic, Shri raised the log that pinned Roxana and hurled it at Shea like a javelin.
Shea simply swiped it away with a swing of her arm. "Don’t waste your energy, little girl. I am so much more powerful than you are. The vagrants of this city can't stop me. I don’t care about them; I came for you, and I will kill however many it takes to convince you to follow me. Come with me willingly, and I will spare the rest of this city."
"Don't go with her!" Roxana screamed, digging her way out of the debris.
The High Mistress lifted her arms and thrust a fireball toward Roxana, but Shri dipped into her fountain, creating a shield of ice in front of her injured friend. The fireball smashed against it, fading away. Shri gathered a shaky breath. She wasn’t practiced enough to challenge Shea. Merely creating the ice shield had worn her out.
She crouched beside Roxana. “I’m going to lure here away from here.”
"I’m almost free,” Roxana gasped.
“Get yourself to safety.”
Shea let out a happy laugh as Shri sprinted from the rubble. “You can run, but you can't escape!”
Ropes of air coiled around Shri’s legs, pulling her to the ground.
Floating over to where Shri had fallen, Shea said, “I have an offer for you, my dear.” An arrow hissed toward her from the ruins, but she diverted it with a flick of her wrist.
Shri struggled against the ropes, but they were too tight.
“Let’s go somewhere more private, shall we?” With a simple snap of her fingers, Shea created a portal. She lifted Shri by the collar and tossed her through.
Emerging on the other side, Shri rolled over the ground and jumped up. Shea had taken her to the top of the cliff: the same place where she had seen her great-grandfather murdered. The city burned below, black smoke smothering the sky.
“Look,” Shea said. “I don’t want to harm you.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I have come to ask you to join me in the Spike.”
“Why would I ever join you?” Shri asked, keeping a close eye on her every movement.
“Come with me,” Shea said. “You may not be able to see it yet, but we are destined to be together!”
“Then hear my demands,” Shri said.
“Speak.”
“Release the people in the Pit. Let my father go.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t do that.”
“The ripping...” Shri said, taking small steps sideways, crouching in a battle position. “It must end.”
“The ripping is important! With it, we can weed the bad seeds away and leave the good ones. Don’t you think that rapists, murderers, muggers deserve that?”
“Nobody does.” Shri said. “If you won’t grant me a single thing I ask for, why should I give myself over to you?”
“Because we are alike. We are the black and the white and we must work together.”
“Never!”
“I’m tired of playing,” Shea said and lifted her hand, red taking over her eyes again. “You will come with me!” Her voice echoed from the depths of the ground.
Shri reached under her tunic and grasped the wand. The last time she had used the ripping because of it. But this was the High Mistress herself. The Heart of Senatai... But dare I use it? No. I can’t! Releasing the wand and drawing as much power as she could from her Fountain, she thrust her magic towards Shea. The massive, luminous wave that followed should have knocked Shea over the cliff, but it only staggered her. She swiped her arm, tossing her own wave back at Shri. The energy threw Shri against the face of the boulder behind her.
Wheezing, she crawled on all fours away from the rock. Her head spun. Shea is too powerful, she realized. I need to use the Heart... but how?
“No, must help Papa...” she gasped.
“Yes. I have your father,” Shea smiled. “He is waiting for me in my bed.”
“You’re lying! You will let my father, and all the innocent people, go!” she commanded.
Shea laughed. “Why would I do that? I have them right where I want them. And you will join me!”
Shri backed away, uncertain of how she going to fend off the attack. She reached for her Fountain.
Shea's head snapped towards the city. “Doria?” A desperate howl broke from her lips. “Doria? What have they done to you?”
Quickly, Shea ceased her howling and opened her eyes. She lowered her hands, leveling a malicious smile at Shri through her tears. “If she’s dead, I’ll rip every one of your precious Pit folk.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Shri said, backing away.
“Wouldn’t I?” Shea laughed. “You think the woman who killed you mother would hesitate to destroy everything you love?”
Shri froze. “W-What?”
“That feeble-minded creature is gone,” Shea said. “She was an insubstantial meal, and you should be happy that I did away with her. She did nothing but hold your family back from their true potential.”
Tears spilling down her cheeks, Shri clutched her chest. “Mother...”
"Join me, Shri! I can give you power beyond your wildest imaginings!”
Gazing at her throw hateful, tear-filled eyes, Shri ordered, “Bring me my father. And Bring me Susu. Then maybe we’ll talk. I could join you.”
“Summerhaze is dead!” Shea cried. “She blead to death in my chambers. Your precious little friend without legs is gone, just like your pathetic mother!”
“No!” Shri cried. “You’re lying!”
Everyone dies because of me.
“She got it into her head to save you, and so she died!” Shea shouted, circling around her. “You’re running out of people to rescue, Shri! Join me before anymore die!”
No. Shri corrected her thoughts. Not because of me. Because of her. Anger started to rise inside her. The beast must be slayed. It was Shri’s task. She had the Heart.
“Come with me to the Spike and I will spare you father’s life,” Shea said. “I will become a Moongale as well.”
“Papa would never want that!” Shri felt the magic sizzling in her veins. “I’m not a Moongale. I’m a Moon-Storm. And if it’s the last I do, I will have your head!”
Shri lifted her arms, but Shea’s energy wave hit her faster. The earth exploded under her, tossing her high into the air. She flew ten feet away and came down hard, crying in pain as she rolled down the hill, clutching the Heart in her hand.
The world turned black for a moment.
She opened her eyes, gasping for air.
Susu is dead. I betrayed her.
Tears burned in Shri’s eyes. She couldn’t breathe. Her world was collapsing around her. She hurt everywhere: her hand, her head, and her heart. Shea Ziragh stood atop the hill, eyes burning like the hearts of the Underworld. Shri’s right hand was bleeding. She reached for the Heart, and her bloody fingers cramped around it. Blood from some wound in her head obscured her vision. Ignoring all the pain, she wobbled up. A raw wind hurled from the north, flapping Shri’s open coat, but the chill was nothing compared to the icy rage exploding inside her.
Rising to her feet, Shri pulled the wand out from under her tunic and brandished it before Shea.
Shea’s eyes widened. “You... But you have the Die
n!” She stumbled. “I need it! GIVE IT TO ME!”
The rage burned in Shri’s mind and the Heart flashed in her hand, answering to her thoughts. When she reached her mind towards it, she could feel it reflecting her anger, repeating it, magnifying it. Her eyes lit with a brilliant white light.
The power called for her.
She channeled her magic through the wand. The energy surged in. It was wild, almost too much to hold on to. Her muscles burned, stiff as rock. She felt more powerful than ever. Tears ran down her cheeks, mixing with the blood that covered her face. Though the magic took the pain away, she was close to exploding from all the energy building inside her. Her hair swirled around her face like a nest of snakes, slithering in the air.
As she raised her arms, the wind escalated and began to swirl around her, faster and faster, and soon a roaring vortex formed around her. Sparkling magic exploded in a prism of colors, and the stones were ripped from the very ground at her feet.
Shea placed her hand over her chest, protecting the Black Star. “Karama...” she muttered. “Karama, you were right!” In an instant, a traveling gate opened behind her. “This can’t happen!” she cried, fleeing into the portal. “Not like this, not now!”
“NO!” Shri yelled and hurled the swirling energy at Shea, but the gate closed, and the storm of colors raged on the empty cliff.
Shri trembled under the sizzling magical energy. She lifted her face towards the sky, letting the cooling rain wake her from her magical turmoil. She mentally disconnected from the Heart and released the magic. The vortex of magic died.
Collapsing to her knees, Shri let the wand fall into the grass. Nausea seized her, forcing her to vomit the rotten taste of magic into the dirt. Shri’s hands cramped on the yellow grass. The pain returned. Squeezing her eyes shut, all she could see was the faces of her loved ones.
Mother. Sister. Dead.
How much more would she lose to the Black Star? How much she would lose to magic?
Raising her face to the clouds, Shri cried out to the storm.
CHAPTER 32
IT WAS FINALLY MORNING. Shri stood atop the cliff looking over the city. The terrors of the night had passed along with the storm. Mist rose from the sea, wrapping the city in a comforting cloud. The fires from the attack were extinguished, and luckily, the damage wasn’t as bad as Shri feared. Many families had lost their homes, but those could be rebuilt. There were dozens of casualties, however. Each was too much, and Shri bore all of them on her conscience. After all, Mahox had been right; Shea had come here because of Shri.
The city would survive. The neighbors had gathered the homeless. These people were tough. They had learned to survive on this island.
Someone approached her.
“You haven’t slept at all,” Javid said.
“I can’t.” Shri turned to face him. “I need to think.”
Javid nodded and lowered his gaze.
Shri sensed his pain. She had to ask. “What’s wrong? Something is bothering you. On and off, you seem to drift away.”
"No,” he said, “it’s nothing.”
“I thought about you a lot,” she said, “after the Run. I... missed you. I wanted to see you, but I couldn’t get back to Ironflare.”
“Shri, I’m not... I’m not what I was when you met me.” His eyes were so full of agony that Shri's heart clutched. “I have done things. Terrible things.”
The pain in his voice brought Shri’s memories out as well, but she wasn’t ready to open up. Not to him, not yet. Clearing her throat, she crossed her arms over her chest. “We all have. It’s fine.”
Javid let out a gruff laugh. “Fine? No, it’s not fine.”
She turned her back to avert Javid’s observant gaze. Learning about Mother and Susu... It had nearly defeated Shri. After the fight, Javid had found Shri sobbing in the rain at the top of that rocky hill. He had helped her back to the city, where she had been healed, and the tears eventually stopped, but all that was left was cold rage. Shri questioned every decision she had made since choosing to enter the Gate Run. She had participated because she wanted to save Susu. To get her out of the Pit, to give her a life worth living. Somewhere outside those dark walls, they were going to visit all the places they dreamt of.
And now, she was dead.
She couldn’t let Summerhaze’s death be in vain. Or Mother’s. There was so much to do. So many people to help. Shri had to form a plan, follow it, and end Shea Ziragh for good. Even if she ruined herself in the process. Looking down at the majestic ships, she imagined how many soldiers they could carry to Ironflare. With them, she would force peace and defend the slaves of the Pit. But she understood what it meant: she would get more people killed. Mairas would die for her. It bothered her, but she hardened her resolve. Like so many had said, people die in wars. But the innocent ones in the city of Ironflare had been locked up, used, violated. Shri would end the abuse.
“Talk to me, please,” Javid said. "I can see that I’m not the only one struggling with something."
His hand on her shoulder felt comforting, but Shri shrugged it off. “I need to talk to these people. I need to decide...”
She rubbed her face. She was exhausted.
“Get some sleep first.” Javid gently placed his fingers on her cheek, examining her eyes.
The fear of losing people pierced her heart. Shri pushed his hand away. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“I can't love you or anyone else. That’s not my path. There are so many people I need to help, and we’ve already lost so many allies.” Shri stopped to count her losses, and suddenly she remembered Eavan Firestone. The senatai had taught her so much. “Wait,” she muttered. “Eavan.”
“What?”
“We need Eavan.”
“Eavan is a ghost.”
“I know,” Shri said, “but Eavan is the only one who might be able to guide us. She’s the only one who might know something about the Heart of the Senatai, about what Doh and Dien really mean.”
"What are they?”
“Two sides of the magic,” Shri said. “I don’t know much about it, but... I think the Black Star is the one.” Holding up the wand, she added, “And I think this is the other. How can we use it to defeat Shea? Eavan would know.”
"Unless there's some truth to Teron's theories, that ship has sailed.”
“I acted childish back at Senatai Island. Eavan tried to prepare me, but I refused to listen. Eavan and Boa both tried to help me. Now that we need them, they’re out of reach!” She gazed out to sea, imagining she could see across the leagues and straight into Ironflare. “Teron may be our only hope.”
Shri stared into Eavan’s eyes. The spark was gone. She stared back at Shri without recognition. Now that Eavan was a ghost, Shri had no one to turn to. If Eavan couldn't help her with the Heart of Senatai, who could? Javid said that he had witnessed the enormous twirl of magic she had unleashed against Shea, but Shri had no memory of it. The only thing she remembered was the pain of Susu’s death, and the horrible feeling the magic left her with.
“Have you found out anything new?” Shri asked Teron, who stood by the door of the room.
“There is a library in the castle, but they haven’t let me in,” he said.
“I’ll make sure you get in,” Shri whispered and stood up, turning her back to Eavan. She couldn’t look into those vacant eyes any longer. “Can you write a letter for me?”
Shri’s right hand had been damaged in the battle with Shea. A senatai had healed her, but her fingers were still stiff and recovering.
“To whom?” Teron asked, sitting down with a paper and a quill.
“To her,” Shri said.
Eavan turned her head towards Shri, but her eyes simply wiped over Shri without marking her.
Teron let out a long sigh.
“What is it?” Shri asked.
“You have a lot of trust in my capability to help her.”
Shri walked to him and put her hand on hi
s shoulder. “Of course I have. You will resolve this. I know you will.”
Teron patted her hand fondly and took up his quill.
Shri began, "Eavan: If you’re reading this, you’ve been cured. And if you are well, hear me out. I need your help. I don’t know what to do."
Shri waited for Teron to write the words down, and then continued.
“I have what I need, I think, to destroy the Black Star, but I don’t know how to use it. It is a small white wand. It’s the Heart of the Senatai. I found it. I channeled my magic through it when I was attacked in Emba, I-I...” Shri’s voice stuck in her throat, and she shivered. “I ripped someone with it.”
Teron paused, and his breathing ceased for a moment, but he relaxed again.
Shri continued, “I didn’t mean for it to happen, just as I didn’t intend any of the most powerful spells I’ve cast. But there is something wrong with my magic; I feel sick every time I cast a spell. I don’t know how to fix that. I need you Eavan. When Teron has cured you, please, come and find me. I have the Pendant of Absent, but I will be wherever Boa is. For the moment, he is the only one who can help me. Scout him and you’ll find me.”
Shri glanced at the gray, miserable creature that Eavan had become. “I promise that we will delay the attack. I will tie the King to his chair if I have to, but I will not allow him to go forward with his plan until we can be sure that the citizens of Ironflare are safe. The Mairas, the Warriors of the Sea, will help to get the people out. I hope.
“Winter has come. The winds and the ocean currents are too forceful to sail, I’m told. The ships cannot move until three weeks have passed. Even if I can convince Aigon to take the lead and...” Shri stroked her face and let out a small cry. “Damn it!” She pounded the desk with her fists, startling Teron. “I don’t know what I’m doing!”
“Relax, Shri.”
“All I want is to secure freedom for my people! I know nothing about thrones, wars, and armies! And Roxana–”
“Can I assume that the dictation has been interrupted ever since ‘Even if I can convince Aigon to take the lead, and...’?”
