by Abby Dewsnup
She seemed to smile slightly. “You have the seal of the High Prince upon you, and a Bond with the Death Bringer. Are you sure this is what you seek?”
I glanced at my companions, confused. “I’m sure. I’m not seeking anything else.”
“And at what cost?”
Her question made me hesitate, strung up on her words. “They have my brother up there. No cost is too great.”
She nodded. “As you wish. The doorway to the Light Kingdom is only opened with the sacrifice of the Creation. Because the Light Kingdom is another realm, another dimension of existence, one of you must enter such realm and allow me to craft you as I will. Another companion may then enter the Light Kingdom for a short time.”
“Why do you do it?” I asked abruptly. “Why do you need one of us?”
“The Light Kingdom does not belong on this earth. In order to open it, I must have a host body to act as a physical gateway. However, doing so will alter your magic, your home. Everything you know will vanish within you. So I recreate you, make you into something greater. The sacrifice is great, but never a loss.”
I finally understood that the Creation wasn’t evil, but merciful. I chewed on my lip and glanced at Roland. Could he really do it?
“And who will be your gateway?” She asked.
Roland stepped forward. I took a deep breath, waiting for him to touch the Stone.
“The sacrifice we give you is Anya of the Cave-Dwellers, suspected Light Bringer with a powerful aura. She is young but she is willing. The fight within her is like none I have ever seen.” He said, his voice ringing out through the cavern. “I believe she is who you seek.”
I turned to him, frozen, my mouth hitched open. “Roland?” I managed to ask, though I knew not what I meant. And then, pathetically, I said, “We agreed you would do it. I can’t — I need to find my brother.” The words were flat, disbelieving. As if I hadn’t just been sworn into the Oracle’s hands.
Roland never removed his eyes from the Oracle. I understood what the Dark One meant through her curse — I would be betrayed by one I call friend. And I knew, in that moment, that his betrayal ran much deeper than breaking away from his promise.
I closed my eyes, inhaling shakily. When I opened them again, I realization of all that was about to happen rested on my shoulders like the sky against the cliff sides. But I knew, deep down, that I wouldn’t have it any other way. James was my brother, my responsibility. I should be the one to free him.
And then, like a lone warrior in the battlefield, a voice rang out through the caves. “I would like to act as the gateway to the Light Kingdom. Take me, not Anya.”
My blood ran cold as ice. I turned around.
Jay stood knee-deep in water, his eyes bristling, his head raised in defiance. It had been a warm, foggy night when I stole his kiss. Now, deep beneath the Blue Light Districts, I was the girl who stole his life.
The Stones pulsed with light. The Creation was decided.
18
Creation
I reeled back, my staff splashing to the floor of the pond. Everything was happening too fast. I wanted to run to him, to pull him from the water and away from this fate.
And yet Roland stood in silence, a harrowing traitor. Warren had still flying, looking as if he wanted to lunge at the Bounty Hunter at any given moment. And Jay — grief — Jay’s eyes had yet to leave the Oracle.
“Roland, I don’t understand,” I gasped out. “Don’t make him do this, please. He needs to find Kye. Let them take me, not him.”
“He’s a Death Bringer, Anya,” Roland spat out. “There’s nothing else he can do.”
“A Death Bringer at her hands,” I cried, pointing a shaking finger at the Oracle. “He never meant for anything to happen. It should be me, take me instead.”
Jay grabbed my shoulders, staring at me with a soft, desperate gaze. “It’s okay,” he whispered, his voice thick. “Everything will be okay.”
“No.” I pulled away, anger boiling in my veins. “This is not what was supposed to happen. I was wrong, Jay. So wrong. The cost is too great.” I turned away from him, feeling his hand grasp my wrist, preventing me from rushing at Roland and decking him in the mouth with my bruised fist.
“There’s nothing you can do,” Jay cried.
I turned back to him, sliding my hand into his. The petals fell around us. Even the cave was crying. “There’s always something I can do. Remember when you saved the Skysailors? That should’ve been impossible, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t impossible because you were there.” The words fall from me much too fast, rushed and grieving.
“You saved them, Anya.” He offered me a small smile. “And I know you can retrieve my brother. You can save them all.”
He watched me with bated breath, his eyes glowing in the darkness. I wished I could tell him to stay where he is, to let me save him as he had saved me so many times before. Jay is wrong. I thought. I can’t save anyone.
I closed my eyes, gasping from the weight of what was about to happen. “I’ll find you when you wake up. I don’t care if you’re working for the High Prince, or living as a dragon tamer. I’ll find you.”
Jay’s eyes were sad as he said, “I don’t think the universe offers a third chance at life, Anya. But if it does, then I can promise you that I’ll be back. I won’t forget my girl that easily.”
“Will it hurt?” The words fell from my lips before I could stop them, scarcely more than a whisper.
“It’s okay.” Jay bent over to kiss my forehead, his trembling hands on my shoulders. He pulled away, his blue eyes meeting with mine. “It’s okay, Anya. It won’t hurt. The only thing I can feel is you.”
He turned away from me, wading through the icy water slowly and deliberately, his back tense and arms loose at his sides.
His hand rose like the birds, inches away from the Oracle Stone.
He is the dawn, the edge of a blade. He is everything I cannot explain. He is my Bond.
And he is not going to make it. His eyes are what I notice the most, the blue of the ocean. How they will shutter closed like the window to the skeleton buildings in this next moment. I wasn’t sure if the Oracle would spare him. The idea of it nearly sent me rushing to his side, begging for him not to do it. The cost was too great. I had been wrong earlier. The cost was too great.
His hand met with the Stone, and the world was plunged into burning, blazing light. I fell to my knees as the heat seared through me. Jay did the same, stifling gasps. I made out the silhouette of his body, could see the light tearing through him with all the magnificence of a hundred suns. His expression was the same, unsaid words still balancing on his lips.
Through the light, I became aware of three things.
One, that Jay was a Death Bringer, and I, a Light Bringer.
But our Bond was stronger than both.
And we would go through the Creation together.
19
The Solifeer
There is a stillness in the air, a quiet that pressed against my closed eyelids. I had never felt such a silence, the sort that stifles you from sleep and sends a ringing through your ears. Despite this, I did not stir, allowing my bones a single moment of restfulness before I woke.
I opened my eyes a crack, blinking in the sudden light. Beneath my arms were flowers, yellow and glaring. They spanned on for miles, stretching out before me in an endless meadow. The sky was blue and arid. In the distance, a bird chirped.
I laid there for a long while, feeling the breeze catch at my hair and dust over my face. Worry nagged at the back of my head but I ignored it, laying spread-eagle in the meadow and drinking in the sights, the smells.
Will it hurt?
Jay’s sacrifice came flooding back. I pushed myself from the dirt, leaning against my knees and pressing my hand against my temple. Grief, I had forgotten about the Oracle’s cave. Where was I? Protruding from the sprouting flowers were remnants of rock houses, pieces of life. The ruins looked ancient, a memory of something
I had never seen. I was certain that I had never been to such a place as this before.
“Anya?”
I scrambled to face the voice, my heart beating like a madman’s. A woman with long, dark hair and sharp eyes stood in the meadow. She wore a scarlet robe draped over a thin breastplate and black pants. Strapped to her belt was a hanging sword and a dozen other blades. Despite this, her face was warm, smiling. The feature that caught my attention the most were her wings. Sleek, gilded feathers sprouted from her backs. Her hands reached for mine, and I rose to my feet.
“Who are you?” I asked, betraying my confidence with a wobble in my voice.
She raised her chin, a momentary act of pride, as she said, “I am Elmar Adgella, the Warrior Queen of the South who brought ten thousand ships across the stretch of Dorna in my youth. But now I am the guardian of Lucent, the gatekeeper. And you are at my gate.”
I glanced around the empty field. “I don’t see a gate. Where are we?”
Elmar followed my gaze, her eyes sweeping over the horizon. “No, I suppose there isn’t one. We saw you coming and didn’t want to alarm you when you passed through.”
My head was spinning. “Passed through where, exactly?” The stillness and peace around me grew unbearable. I wanted to run, to return to the Oracle and beg for Jay back.
Jay.
“This is the Light Kingdom, isn’t it?” I asked. “But that doesn’t make sense. I know you, we learned about you in secondary school. There was a song and everything. You’re ancient.”
She dipped her head, her wise eyes crinkling at the corner in humor. “Ancient, yes. My husband sent a poisonous viper into my bedchamber, killing me, and reigned a tyrant for the years that followed. I found a home in the Lucent.”
A deep, agonized sigh escaped my lungs. I wanted to sink to my knees and bury myself in the flower field, let my bones rest for a millennium. I knew what she was saying, but my mind refused to let it settle. The Elders of the Caves would never send us to the grave. There must be a mistake. “Are you telling me that the Light Kingdom is only for the dead?”
“The Otherworld, yes. Those who seek it will find it, in the end. This is why one mustn’t waste their lives chasing after stories, or am I wrong?” She pulled her sword free and stuck it in the dirt. “Come, walk with me. I believe you have questions that I can answer.”
We began to walk down the sloping hill. The breeze carried scents I had never experienced before. If not for the task at hand, I could’ve closed my eyes and drifted away with the wind.
“The Elders of my Caves said that your people would know what to do about the Stygian ghosts. They’ve invaded the dark, and people are disappearing,” I said, shoving my hands deep in my pockets. “What are we to do?”
Elmar held up her hand, silencing me. “That is not why you have come, sol. I feel your question within you, the one you have been afraid to speak. This is the question I will answer.”
I looked down at my bare feet, at the soil staining the hem of my pants. Who was I to assume I was anything but Anya the Cave-Dweller, the thief, the expendable? And yet, Elmar waited in silence, her dark hair billowing around her shoulders. She was expectant. Despite myself, I gave in. “What am I?” I managed to whisper. “Why is my skin marked with light?”
Elmar smiled. “You only needed to ask, Anya. It has been waiting within you for years, patient in becoming, a slow burning flame. Here, let us start from the beginning. The very beginning.”
Without warning, the meadow around us vanished. In place of a ground beneath my feet a galaxy of stars swirled around us. The night sky stretched on for as far as I could see.
“The Light Kingdom is the Otherworld, and there is only one other being equivalent to our existence,” Elmar began to say. She waved her hand, and the constellations began to materialize in the sky around us. One took the form of a hulking dragon, and the other two shaped into hunters, each equipped with a bow. They came to life, faceless and huge in the sky. “A World Shaker is a disease, a being from the dawn of time who feeds on chaos, deprivation, and fear. They enter different planets like a leech, sucking away at the wickedness within them. In time, the planet is a shell, it’s marrow and life gone.”
“If the planet is so wicked, then aren’t the World Shakers justified in what they do?” I asked.
“Are you so worn that you do not believe in the redemption of a people? Is there not always light against the darkness?” Elmar replied, a softness entering her eyes.
“Fair enough.” A sick feeling spread in the pit of my stomach. “Who created these things?”
Elmar pursed her lips. “Our Oracle is a woman of great power and ancient magic. Only she is capable of creating such a creature. It may have been unintentional.”
“And you’re telling me one of those things has chosen the Fringe? That it’s in the Light Districts?”
Elmar nodded slowly. “Not one but three World Shakers have latched onto the Fringe. In order to encourage chaos, each World Shaker will utilize ancient magic to create fear. A primary example of this is your Stygian Ghosts, the manifestation of darkness. They are a product of the World Shaker.”
“And they can only go away once the World Shaker is gone, right?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level. I stared up at the starry-creatures, taking in their mass, how they sent a chill down my spine.
Again, Elmar nodded. “Many moons ago, the Lucents and the Oracle combined power to select twelve Starbreathers. These men would serve as guardians of the sky, an attempt to send the World Shakers from our world. The council of Starbreathers fought bravely, day by day. In time, it became clear their efforts were in vain. After the three World Shakers descended from the night, these men formed a council. It is through this council that our greatest chance would come to light.”
“The Solifeer,” I breathed. “They’re supposed to be a child of a Starbreather, right?”
“Precisely. The Oracle discovered this untapped potential, what could become of their offspring through her hands. She had seen the creation of the Solifeer, and the fall of the Solifeer, in numerous worlds, and desired that the Fringe have the same protection. A Solifeer is the sole figure who could reason with a World Shaker.”
“How do you know this?” I asked.
She waved her hand again. A scene unfolded before us — a billowing throne room, scarlet curtains draped over golden windows. Perched over the railing, her eyes closed and hands thrown out against the sunlight, was a girl much younger than me. Her blonde hair was loose, catching at the sun like rays stretching over the horizon line.
“This is Ravi, and she is the only other Solifeer we have record of.”
I took an involuntary step forward, tilting my head slightly as I studied her. It was mesmerizing, the way the light danced across her small frame. In the blink of an eye she turned her head to me, letting the curtains fall back to the ground and the window slide shut. Pieces of gold framed her face, curling around her jaw and set beneath her eyes. As I stared at her, she stared right back.
“She’s from another world?” I murmured.
“Another world, another lifetime. This is a memory,” Elmar said. “Ravi was too young when the World Shakers discovered her power. She was without training and strength. She wasn’t able to save her land. We are not about to make the same mistake with you.” There was an edge of sorrow in her voice.
I pulled away from the memory, the night sky overtaking us once more. “The same mistake? Have you found a Solifeer?”
Elmar leveled her gaze with mine. Behind her, another image began to appear. Twelve men sat around the table, each dressed in midnight blue cloaks inlaid with silver threading. A few of them were old, with beards that were as silver at the edging of their clothing. Among them, his dark hands placed calmly on the table and eyes glowing, was a man I had thought a ghost.
“Papa,” the name was unfamiliar on my lips. I hadn’t called him that in years. I forced tears from my eyes, knowing this was a memory. Despite
this, the sight of his smile and worn hands sent a sort of half-hope, half-rage through me.
“He was an astounding Starbreather, a high member of the council and renowned staff master. He fled to the Caves when your mother realized she was pregnant with you, giving up his title and riches in your name.”
I turned to her, unable to watch him any longer. “That seems a little rash,” I said.
“Ravi’s powers were realized too soon, and too soon did a World Shaker end her life. We understood that it would be safest for the baby to be kept in darkness until they were old enough to step towards the light and come into their birthright.”
“Hold on.” I ran a hand through my hair, trying to control my breathing. “Just because my father was a Starbreather doesn’t mean I’m some, some Solifeer. The legend says the Starbreather would also have to die, and I don’t think — I don’t know — if my father is dead.” No words had ever hurt more to speak. I nearly gasped in pain from the effort.
Elmar’s gaze softened. “I can feel their absence. It bleeds from you. Your father didn’t leave you because he wanted to, Anya. Never has anything greater been asked of him when the Oracle explained what he was to do. You began to smuggle light with your mother, and you became a Light Bringer. After that, your destiny was understood. There was no other way. You couldn’t stay in the Caves forever.”
“I’m not following,” I said. I’d always been a good liar.
“There are many ways for people to die, and your father’s leaving was enough to create a grave in your mind. And once your parents left, you began. It was that first morning in the sunlight that your power became yours, the first moment you laid eyes on the horizon. You are ready now.”
“You’re saying that I’m the Solifeer?” The three words that would be my downfall fell from me like ash, vanishing into the night sky, across the Starbreather that was my father, entwining with Ravi’s glowing hands. What a horrifying thought — the weight of the sun in my fingers. What a monumental victory. Everything that I was came shattering down. It was impossibly hard not to sink to my knees and scream into the night.
