The World Shaker

by Abby Dewsnup

  “He’s a deserter,” I spat, trying to pull the Windwalker’s arm from my shoulders. “And you’ve just made the greatest mistake of your lives, capturing someone as powerful as I am.”

  “Yeah, she’s powerful,” Jay echoed.

  The Windwalker stopped his pacing of the deck. Many people went laughing around us, their eyebrows raised and wings bristling. “I’ve never heard of a Cave-Dweller possessing power. Come, show us what you can do,” he said in mock-enthusiasm.

  I yanked free of the one who held me and stood as tall as possible on the deck, which wasn’t really impressive at my five-foot-three standing. “I am the Solifeer,” I shouted. “The Sun-Bringer, the rising dawn. I came from the Caves to bring the Fringe to a new world, and I intend on finishing my quest.”

  I prayed our plan would work. I focused on creating the light marks across my skin once again, trying to look powerful in the silence that followed as the symbols refused to show themselves. Finally, Jay reached out and clasped my hand.

  Power pulsed between us. My skin erupted in the show of light, the familiar marks blossoming across my arms and legs as bright as they had the first time I had seen the sun. In place of glowing blue, the symbols now reflected the dripping sunset around us.

  The Windwalker took a step back, his wings flapping in sudden nervousness. “What is this magic?” he asked.

  The light was only growing stronger, and even after Jay released my hand, the symbols continued to gather in brightness. I took a step back, staring at my hands. My fingers were glowing red-hot, like steel within a furnace, and I couldn’t stop them. What am I?

  Regaining my composure, I threw my arms out and shouted, “I do not wish to alarm you, so I will not tell you about the terrible things that are about to happen. I have seen the future, and you Windwalkers must leave us now and never return. Or something like that.”

  I placed my hand on the railing, burning an imprint of my palm on the wood. That was all it took. The Windwalkers scrambled, hauling their heavy bags on their shoulders and taking flight into the air.

  I grinned. The Windwalker leader scowled, his giant wings flapping as he took flight. “If you are what you claim to be,” he said, raising his bronze sword. “Then you truly have powers beyond me. I pray for the Fringe and the curse that has befallen it with your beginning.”

  “Is that what your parents said when you were born?” I asked.

  In an instant he swung his blade down onto a rope, snapping it in half. The second mast on the highest deck swung through the air as the sail fluttered to the deck. The wood groaned, and I had only a second to react before the loose plank slammed into me. My feet left the ground as the world blurred into dozens of colors and voices, and I was hauled overboard.

  Jay shouted my name — once, twice. He raced across the deck to reach me.

  I grasped at the slick wood, my feet dangling in the open sky. I felt myself slipping, with nothing but forest hundreds of feet below me. My hands were smoking as I fought against the mast.

  “Anya,” Jay cried again. “Hold on —”

  The plank splintered from my weight. I watched in horror as the wood broke free of the mast and I fell in the endless blue sky.

  12

  Things Unseen

  The wind tore at my hair and cloak, and I plummeted in a dizzy array of green and blue, forest and sky. I grasped at open air, trying desperately to save myself. In the confusion I saw someone lunge from the Skysailor boat.

  And I was falling.

  Falling.

  Falling.

  My vision faded to black.

  It was here that I dreamt for the first time in the sunlight. I mean, I had dreamed as often as a regular person did, but this felt different, stained with light. And, for the first time, the marks on my skin didn’t fade, either.

  I opened my eyes. I stood knee-deep in glowing water, which lapped lazily against my skin. The sky was dark. Pink petals floated through the air, in the water. Everywhere I looked it seemed as if the flowers were fluttering in shapes through the sky and catching in my hair. The sky above glowed with stars. The world was quiet.

  I remember the world was quiet. I couldn’t forget it.

  In the distance, a single mountain rose up against the sky. It, too, glowed like the lapping water.

  My staff was strapped to my back, but my clothes were different. A necklace hung from my neck, which caught my dream-self’s attention. It was gold, and a foreign flag was engraved across the surface.

  “The sun is weeping.”

  I turned around to meet the gaze of Jay, who sat cross legged in the water. He didn’t seem to mind the chill. “Jay? Where are we?” I asked, my voice sounding raw and unused.

  “The sun is weeping,” he repeated, his eyes leaving my face as his fingers played with the flower petals in the water.

  “The sun isn’t out,” I said, scanning the night sky.

  Jay leveled his gaze with mine. “That is because it weeps.”

  “You aren’t making any sense.” I tried to walk to him, but my feet felt frozen in place, unable to move. “Why are we here?”

  “The birds have gone silent,” he said, his voice eerie. “The sun is weeping and the birds are gone.”

  I took a deep breath. “Why are they gone?” I finally asked.

  “The birds are silent because the flowers have died.”

  A chill ran down the length of my spine. Another petal caught in my hair, and dozens more pooled around my feet. I flicked it away, my skin crawling. I couldn’t move, couldn’t step away from the gathering petals.

  I wanted to run, to grab his hand and take off into the night. A darkness hung in the air, and the silence was stifling, causing beads of sweat to run down my neck.

  “Jay, let’s go back,” I gasped out.

  He offered me his hand, and I strained to grab it. Our fingers brushed, and Jay’s form melted away, vanishing in a flock of noiseless birds.

  The birds flew up into the sky, their brown feathers bleeding into the night. I fell to my knees in the water, grabbing at the dirt and clay beneath it. My heart was pounding.

  The birds have gone silent.

  And Jay, his hands rising like wings against mine.

  The raven girl and her sparrow.

  Was there ever any difference?

  I gasped for breath. Strong arms were beneath me, and I saw Warren’s face above mine. His metal wings heaved with the effort of carrying us both.

  “You saved my life,” I said, my head still spinning.

  “Yeah, only because the Bounty Hunter pushed me off the raft.” Warren grinned, a loose curl falling across his eyes. “Only joking. I can’t let the girl who scared the living daylights out of my father die. How did you do that, by the way? The light thingy on your skin, I mean.”

  “I don’t know.” I looked down at my arms, where the light marks had vanished. My hands were cool, no longer smoking, nor glowing red. I breathed a sigh of relief. “But it’s been happening for a while now. I’m just glad I was able to stop it.”

  “Well, whatever it was, it worked. After my father booted you off the ship my folks scattered back to camp in the dragon skeleton. They didn’t even try to find me.”

  “And that’s a good thing?” I asked. My ears were still ringing slightly, and my ribs felt as if someone had beat them with a staff. Warren’s face came in and out of focus.

  “Better than what was going to happen. My people don’t forgive.” He said it with a light heart, but I could see the pain behind his eyes. “My mother will be disappointed, but then again, she wasn’t doing anything to keep my neck off the post.”

  “Harsh,” I muttered.

  “That’s okay,” Warren grinned crookedly. “My people understand machines better than they understand people, if I’m being honest. And I’m no exception.”

  The burning Skysailor ship drew nearer. Jay was leaning over the railing, worry plain across his face. When he saw Warren and me he relaxed and ran a refl
exive hand through his hair.

  The imagine of him sitting cross legged in the water washed over me. His hands, how they had vanished within a flock of birds. And most importantly, the silence — could it have meant something? Or was I only having adrenaline-and-altitude-induced hallucinations?

  “What do you know, Anya can fly after all,” Jay said when we landed on the deck. “Are you alright?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said as Warren set me down. I grabbed the railing and focused on my breathing, still recovering from the shock.

  “Maybe making jokes about a Windwalker’s birth isn’t the greatest thing to do,” Jay said lightly.

  Around us, her crew rushed to put out the fire now spreading up the sail.

  “But we thank you nonetheless.” The Captain’s bindings were gone, and she looked at me with approval. “We’ve sent a rescue letter to the rest of our fleet, and they’re expected to come to aid within the next day or so.”

  “With all due respect, Captain, we need to get to the Light Districts as soon as possible,” I interrupted. “Roland is waiting for us below deck. If we can take a few provisions and a map we’ll be out of here within the hour.”

  The Captain closed her eyes and sighed. “In all honesty, Anya, the Glass Trader did not permit me to let you two out of my sight. There were three of you to begin, weren’t there?”

  “Lynx took your second raft, probably in the night,” Jay said, his voice tinged with sorrow. “We don’t know why, or where she went. I just hope she took provisions.”

  “I suppose we each have our own journeys to take, though I mourn for the loss of your crew member. The question you should be asking is what power Anya possesses, and why you can charge it with your touch.”

  Jay and I exchanged a glance. “We’ve been wondering ever since we discovered it, but we can’t make sense of it. Nothing like this ever happened in the Caves,” I said.

  The Captain smiled again. “Perhaps the Light Districts will offer you an answer in more than one way. You can gather as many provisions as you feel you will need, and then be on your way. A Skysailors’ blessing on you both.”

  “A Skysailor blessing?” I asked. “For what?”

  “So you never forget the skies. Go, be on your way.” The Captain waved us off. “And tell Roland he’s still a thorn in my side, but I hope he writes soon.”

  Jay shrugged and I followed him below deck, where we began to load up on bags of dried vegetables and meat. “How do you think the Captain knows Roland?” I asked as I heaved a bag on my shoulder. “Could they have been together — like together, together?”

  “What, like you and I?” Jay asked with a crooked grin. “Partners on a quest?”

  “No like, romantic partners,” I replied, smacking his shoulder. The action sent a wave of pain through my injured shoulder and I grit my teeth, refusing to put my bag down.

  He shrugged again. “Do you need help with that? You did just save an entire ship, almighty Solifeer. And you nearly died.”

  “I’m okay, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about, before Roland and Warren come,” I said. “I had a dream as I was falling, but it feels different. Like it meant something.”

  Jay set his provisions bag on the ground. “Like a vision?”

  “Yes, but,” I shook my head. “I’m not a Spirit Master like in Coppice, or a bloody Solifeer — whatever that is. Why would I be having visions?”

  “You also didn’t have strange markings across your skin before a few days ago, either. I say you just roll with it until we can figure out what is happening to you in the Light Kingdom. What was your vision about?”

  I took a deep breath, debating on whether or not I should tell him the full dream. “Well, I was in an open place, and water reached my knees. Everything was glowing, like the jungles. And there were these flower petals falling all around us. You were there, too, only you were different, saying strange things.” I said.

  “What did I say?” Jay asked, tensing up.

  “You told me the sun is weeping because the flowers are dead. Then you said the birds were all gone, before turning into a flock yourself and taking off into the night.” I shrugged.

  I saw fear flash across Jay’s gaze for a fleeting second. “What kind of birds were they?”

  I hesitated. “I’m not —”

  “What kind of birds were they?” Jay repeated in a low, firm voice. “What did I become?”

  “A sparrow,” I said in a coarse whisper. “A flock of sparrows.”

  I had never seen such resolute worry on Jay’s face before. He began to roll up his right sleeve, his fingers trembling as he did so. He looked as if he very much wished he could take flight, right then and there. “I have something I need to tell you,” he said. “I should’ve told you from the start.”

  “You idiots coming or what?” Roland’s voice interrupted our conversation. I could see his raft through the splintered hole in the ship, where he and Warren were waiting. “We don’t have all day.”

  I glanced at Jay. “Will you tell me later?” I asked, breathless from the sheer thought of the secret that he was hiding behind his teeth.

  He rolled his shirt back down, his face pale. “When we’re alone. But Anya, promise me one thing.”

  I could feel every nerve and bone in my body as he spoke. “What is it?” I whispered.

  The words fell from his lips like rain. He ran a trembling hand through his hair as he said, “Promise me you will still look at me the same way you do now, even when I tell you. Okay?”

  “And how do I look at you?” I asked.

  He smiled briefly. “With sunlight. But that’s how you look at everyone.”

  I took a deep breath. “Let’s load up the provisions and be on our way, then.”

  He picked up his bags again, staring at me for a lingering moment. “Whatever you say, almighty Solifeer.”

  We reached the end of the hallway and threw the provisions into the raft. I lugged a barrel of water behind me, and Jay helped me load it into the raft. A lock of hair fell across his scarred temple, and I caught myself staring as light danced across his face.

  I suppose raft wasn’t the correct word for our getaway vehicle — it was closer to a fisherman’s boat, like the ships that sailed our underground ravines back home. Roland had rigged a sail to a small mast, and sleeping mats were splayed out across the wooden floor. I stumbled inside, almost running into Warren’s outstretched wings.

  “Have a good talk with the Captain, then?” Warren asked with a grin.

  “Do you even know where we’re going?” I asked him as I crossed my arms. “Do you have any idea how dangerous it is?”

  “You’re seeking out the Light Kingdom, I know that.” Warren grabbed an apple from the provisions bag and took a large bite out of it. “And you glow for no particular reason, which I assume is why you’re trying to find the Lucents. They know all about that.”

  “Actually, that isn’t the reason, but it isn’t a bad idea to ask them,” Jay interrupted as he stepped into the boat. “Our Caves are being overrun with Stygian ghosts. If we don’t find a way to get rid of them, our people are going to die.”

  Warren took another bite of his apple. “Have your people ever thought of leaving their cave and coming above ground? It would solve the entire problem.”

  Jay and I shared a familiar, exasperated glance. “We came above ground so they don’t have to. It’s just the way it is,” I said. “But once we get this boat headed towards the Blue Light District, I want to go over the plan again. I don’t want to miss any detail, especially about the Creation. You got that, Roland?”

  He gave a thumbs-up from behind the coaster rigging, where he was steering us away from the descending Skysailor ship. In the distance I could see an end to the dense jungles and the ocean bleeding into the green. To the left of the water was a barren shoreline that stretched on for miles, and I thought I saw a few villages wrapping around the countryside. The normality of the scenery
felt odd. All thoughts of dragon skeletons and cursed panthers were far behind us.

  My gaze settled on the ocean for a long time. I had never seen so far out into the world before, an interrupted spectacle of sea green and blue sky. The colors were familiar to me, though I knew not why. A warmth blossomed through my chest when I realized it was because I had already seen the ocean, not as waves crashing against a beach but within Jay’s eyes, and his gaze that remained as ever changing as the sea.

  I tore my eyes away from the waves as a blush crept up my cheeks.

  There must be countless secrets beneath the water — mermaids and sea-dragons. The thought of secrets brought me back to the pressing matter of Jay’s own secret, and what exactly he possessed beneath his sleeve. I decided to ask him later, after the sun had set and the others were fast asleep.

  “The raft is quicker than a fledged Skysailor ship. We should reach the Yellow Light District in two days, and from there it’s a day or two on foot to the Blue Light District,” Roland said. “Be on the lookout for bandits, or Windwalkers. Or dragons,” he added. “Anything that could swallow our boat whole, you know.”

  “Harsh,” Warren muttered. “We’ve got Anya — she could take down a dragon.”

  “Have you ever seen a dragon? I mean, a real life dragon, not a skeleton?” I asked, rolling my eyes. “I’m not even sure they exist anymore.”

  “I didn’t think cursed panthers existed, or the rain, for that matter,” Jay said with a shrug. “Anyway, the real question is what we’re going to do for two days on this boat?”

  I stood and pulled my staff from my back. “I want to stop in some of the villages whenever possible. I might not have the right currency, but maybe we’ll find kindness. In the meantime, we’ll train. I don’t want to encounter anymore trouble without being more prepared. Anyone care to join me?”

  Jay grinned. “Only if you want competition. I’d be happy to destroy the almighty Solifeer in combat.”

  “It’s settled then. You’re on, Jay. I may not be a Solifeer, but I sure as heck can beat you.” I raised my eyebrows. “What exactly is a Solifeer anyway?”