The World Shaker

by Abby Dewsnup

  My hands flared to life, the fire spreading up my arms and feet, until the metal boiled off me. I advanced towards him.

  25

  Girl Burning

  Snow swirled around me in a frenzy. The blizzard had picked up its pace and was now threatening to eat my flames alive. I withheld. The inferno was growing, blazing beneath my feet and in my hands. In this moment I was more than ash.

  I had held off the flames inside me for years. For the first time I let them blaze to life, let them unknot from my chest and spread into the sky. The light in my skin was easy, given, beauty. This fire was new. This fire was me.

  The World Shaker’s men cornered me, keeping their distance from the fire, their bows drawn. I raised my arms and whipped the flames like a scarf in the sky. It circled the clearing, creating a heavy cloak of steam and smoke.

  “Anya,” Roland’s low voice said, his knife brandished in one hand. “Anya, he’s trying to bait you into action against him. Once you touch him, he is free to attack. And you won’t survive it.”

  “Who are you to speak?” I cried, clenching my burning hands into fists. “You asked me to trust you and I did, and look what has become of it.”

  Slowly, he lowered his knife to the sweltering ground. He straightened back up, his hands empty. “I never meant for any of this to happen to you.”

  I whipped the flames around me again, sending the men sprawling out on the snow. Warren and Kye remained locked in their metal prisons, watching me with wide, indescribable eyes.

  I turned back to Roland, who was crouched in the snow, his hands open. “You tried to end me, but I am still alive. That’s the thing about my life — I always survive.” I whipped around, raising my head to gaze at the World Shaker. “You have never seen a Solifeer like me, World Shaker. I’m not a warrior, nor a Sparrow. They call me a Raven, and for good reason.” I raised my hand, leveling it with his. “I grew up in the darkness, and I’m not afraid of you. On behalf of the Fringe, I declare war.”

  His malicious grin broadened. He raised his pale hand, intending to touch my flames, to begin an ancient war. The adrenaline coursing through my veins willed him to do so faster.

  Something pricked my skin. Instantly, the fire in my hand was snuffed out. The World Shaker’s hand met with my own, and nothing happened. My power was gone. I had not raised my fire against him, and the pact was not made.

  I pulled away and yanked the dart from my shoulder. I couldn’t call my power back — it was as if it had been turned off.

  The World Shaker cursed and shoved me to the side. I fell into the snowbank, still gasping from the shock of the disappearance of my power.

  “Your Highness,” the World Shaker shouted into the empty clearing, rolling his shoulders back in irritation. “Show yourself, you wretched tyrant. Face my men like the Prince you claim to be. Your magic tricks won’t work a second time.”

  I wanted to point out that the World Shaker’s men were sprawled out in the snow, coughing up smoke and batting out fires in their clothes. But I remained silent.

  The engine of the High Prince’s machine echoed through the gateway. I watched as a triangle of riders raced towards us through the darkness, their bikes streaming neon blue light. His staff was raised and crackling with lightning. My senses tingled at the sight of him, warning me of something unknown.

  Kye’s eyes found mine, and the realization hit me. This is what he saw. Slowly, Kye shook his head and ran a single finger across his throat. The message was clear. The High Prince hadn’t come as a friend.

  The World Shaker reached for me, but his hands fell through mine as if he was an apparition. He cursed again, the blizzard around us picking up its pace. The ground was shaking, threatening to split apart beneath our feet. But he couldn’t control it. I could see the faintest hint of fatigue across his chiseled face. The World Shaker had expended too much energy.

  The High Prince’s riders came to a thundering stop beneath the gateway. “Every single person beneath this gateway is under arrest on order of the High Prince!”

  Warren took flight into the air with Kye on his back. I could only watch as a volley of arrows were released from the Prince’s archers into the sky, splitting through Warren’s precious wings. One of them thudded deep into Kye’s shoulder, and his scream rang through the clearing as he fell into the snowbank. He didn’t stir again.

  “Don’t harm the boy,” the High Prince spat, his machine revving as his fingers flexed against the handlebar. “And get the girl at all costs.”

  I had seconds to react. In the confusion, I raced past the World Shaker, yanking the staff free from my back. I whipped it out beside me and hooked the wood around the machine rider, sending him flying against the column. The machine spun out, but my staff was still embedded within the handlebar, and I was flung towards it. As if by some miracle, I found myself sitting at the helm, my hands clutching the handles as the engine hummed within the machine’s body.

  I glanced over my shoulder. Warren and Kye were surrounded by men, their hands bound with rope. Kye’s eyes were closed, his shoulder bleeding. My friends were trapped and outnumbered.

  Warren waved his arms at me. “Go, Anya,” he shouted desperately. “Run! We’ll be fine!”

  I waited for half a second longer, my chest constricting in grief. I’ll come back for them. I revved the engine, as I had seen the High Prince do, and felt the machine jerk to life. In an instant I was flying through the open gate and into the city, leaving the battlefield far behind.

  The world streaked past in fragments of neon light and darkness. I focused on the road ahead, swerving around other riders, willing my machine to go faster. I didn’t understand half the buttons on the console, and I was too focused on staying alive to examine them. I raced past the street that Roland’s honeycomb building sat on, trying to ignore the hanging lanterns and empty street. The necklace Jay had given me felt heavy against my collarbone.

  I tucked my head low against the handlebars as I dipped below the street and into a neon tunnel. My engine echoed off the walls, and was soon joined by the sound of others. I dared a glance over my shoulder, recognizing the High Prince’s sleek helmet as he raced through the entrance, flanked by two other riders. I gunned the machine, feeling it lurch with power as my speed picked up.

  I broke free of the tunnel and swerved onto a sidestreet. Signs hung from the buildings with the same moving phrase of There Is No Threat in purple lettering across the screen face. Night was falling, and the streets were vacant. I doubted anyone had been outside since the World Shaker laid claim on the city yesterday.

  Flanking the High Prince were two other riders. In one of their arms was Kye, the arrow still embedded deep within his shoulder. I mentally cursed the Prince. Kye needed medical attention, not to act as an incentive for me to slow down. He was losing too much blood.

  I streaked past a graffitied wall, where the word Revolution was spelled out in glowing letters. Next to it was a sloppy symbol, but I couldn’t make it out as I flew past the wall.

  The High Prince’s men vanished down two separate side streets. I gunned past the entrances, hearing their engines echo off the buildings next to me. Not wanting to risk getting cut-off in my chase, I turned down a thin alleyway. My machine slammed through a dozen stacked boxes, sending garbage flying behind us.

  “Take the boy back!” the High Prince shouted to an unseen figure. “If he dies, so do you — understood?”

  One of the riders fell away from the group. Now it was only the Prince, his second rider, and me on the desolate streets. I prayed that there would be an unexpected power outage or something equally useful to get the Prince off of my tail.

  Without warning, the second rider whipped around a corner. I braked hard, my machine smacking against a wall. I was thrown from the seat. The ground reared up incredibly fast. I skidded on the metal, flipping over and coming to a rest against the alley wall. Smoke from my machine stung my nose. The taste of blood was in my mouth.


  I heard the High Prince stop his machine and jump onto the ground. “Walk it off, Solifeer, ‘cause I’m not carrying you,” he said.

  I turned over on my back, wincing in pain. My arm felt broken, and I was certain my face was shredded open. My vision came in fragments. “Walk it… What?”

  I didn’t hear what he said next. I fled to the darkness, and the world became quiet.

  26

  There Once was the Night

  Two days later, I knelt before the High Prince’s throne. The room was tucked underground in a tunnel system below the city, but I hadn’t seen him take me there. The room had a vaulted ceiling and a familiarity to it, as it resembled the Caves I grew up in. Aside from this, the soldiers and strange lightning they used was foreign to me.

  My wounds were bandaged, my face half-covered in ghastly tissues to keep the bleeding at bay. Warren and Kye were already confined in these tunnels. I spent the time on a sweltering cot, asking for an audience with the Prince.

  He visited only once, and for scarcely more than a minute. Something in me seemed to pain him. He never came when I was awake after that. This is where my suspicion began, and I was certain he was going to kill me. The guilt was on his shoulders.

  It was only today they had dragged me down the tunnel and into his desolate throne room. The walls were plastered with posters of his reign, propaganda for the streets. I understood, now, why he had told me revolution had built his monarchy. He had never led the people, only incited them into action.

  “Speak,” he ordered, flicking a piece of lint from his impeccable shirt. I didn’t like the way his guards stared me down, waiting for me to make a move against him. I grew aware of how unprotected my throat was.

  “How is Kye?” I asked, my voice raw and unused.

  “Alive,” he said. “The boy will live.”

  “And what of the World Shaker?”

  The High Prince sighed. “He’s returned to the capitol building in the Green Light District. He intends on weeding me and my men from our stronghold. Do you understand what his command could mean for the rest of the Fringe?”

  “Well,” I ventured, “Your cities control all trade units, and I imagine that a World Shaker in charge of the central providence in the Fringe would be bad.”

  “Very bad,” he hissed. “But you and that bloody Sparrow boy cared none of it when you entered my city, intent on seeking out the Oracle. I should never have allowed you access in my desperation.”

  I rose from my knees, staring at my reflection in his helmet. “Do you know where Jay is?” I managed to ask, trying not to grasp onto the sliver of hope now dangling before me in his greedy hands.

  He leaned forward in his glorified throne, a sinister feeling leaching from his stoic, concealed being. “He is with me, yes, within city. What does his demise matter to you?”

  I was so happy I had to fight back tears. “He underwent the Creation, and I’m worried for him. Can I see him?”

  It was obvious this was the wrong answer. “You are weak; weaker than any Solifeer before you,” he spat. “You should focus on the World Shaker you have awoken in place of a boy your powers could kill in an instant. You have yet to understand your role.”

  “Then teach me! Give me the means of destroying the World Shaker,” I replied. His words stung, but I shrugged them off. “Killing me won’t do any good. I need a teacher. We can be allies.”

  “Allies.” He laughed, a sound that was foreign against his grim words. “I have created a monster, and now it speaks of friendship. There is a rot invading my city, girl. Speak of peace once more and I will slash you beneath my blade.”

  “Speaking of peace is the only way to defeat an evil,” I spat. My hands clenched into fists at my side. “I can’t fight him until I am trained — it’s a universal grace. I don’t see your reasoning. Why would you bandage my wounds if you want me dead?”

  He cocked his head to the side and thrummed his gloved fingers against the armrest of the chair. “Because I’m not going to kill you yet. I can use you to bring the World Shaker to me. He believes you are the only one to defeat him, and I will prove him wrong.” He lowered his chin, his unseen face level with my mine. “And then I will kill you and put an end to this raging sun curse that has become you. Your life, left unchecked, could prove as dangerous as the three World Shakers in the Fringe.”

  Anger boiled in my veins. “Have you ever thought to consider that others say the same about you? You’re just as bad as the Oracle creating her Death Bringers. Your Glass Cages are an abomination!”

  He growled low in his throat. His hand, dangling from the armrest, twitched to reveal a concealed dagger. “Young girls should not speak of things they don’t understand.”

  “Then explain,” I cried. “The Dark House is unnatural. No one should have the power to force a person to become a monster. Especially through the use of magic you don’t have control over.”

  He let out a guffawing laugh. “Do not be so hasty in your condemnations, Solifeer. I have seen the anger in you. You proved that in the clearing, when you very nearly sparked a war with the World Shaker.”

  I closed my eyes for half a second, a sick feeling spreading in my stomach. Something told me the Prince meant every word he said. “I made a reckless decision. I won’t do that again, not with a teacher.” I strayed away from the topic of the Glass Cages, not wanting to get the Prince angry. “And I thank you for whatever it is you did to end my flames and keep the World Shaker at bay. But if you truly intend on killing me, let me see Jay. Let me see him one last time.”

  “He’s a deserter, a wretched Death Bringer. I’ve ordered his execution at dawn,” the Prince said with a dismissal wave of his hands. His words were edged with malice and something else — as if he was waiting to see how I would react to his proclamation.

  Anger and desperation flushed my cheeks. My hands were burning, my eyes welled with unexpected tears. “Please,” I breathed. “I will do all you ask of me. Spare him. I beg of you.”

  The High Prince’s guards pulled me off him and kicked my legs out from under me. I landed hard, still staring at his unseen eyes. My pitiful reflection stared back.

  “Speak.” The Prince leaned forward in his throne, unwavering, a perched predator in his domain. “Speak of how much you loved the Sparrow, how he saved you from the Oracle. Beg for his life.”

  “Spare him, please,” I repeated, my words shaking as I was. “You talk of fairness, and yet you won’t even clear a man who is forced to repent of his parent’s decisions. And now he must repent of mine. Make him your servant, or kill me in his place. Anything.” Hot tears pricked my eyes now. “What else do you do you want from me?”

  He reached out a single, gloved hand and grasped my jaw. He pulled me closer, his riding helmet inches from my face. I closed my eyes and tried to keep my heart steady. “Perhaps you will make a substantial Solifeer after all,” he whispered. “To be the Solifeer is to be their sacrifice. Can you do that, Anya? Can you lay down your life for a people you scarcely know?”

  I closed my eyes, my breath fogging the mirrored glass of his helmet. I let my hands uncurl, releasing my anger. “Only if you teach me,” I whispered.

  He pulled away. With a start I realized he was reaching for his helmet, unclasping it in a single, fluid motion. “You know, you and I both have something in common,” he said, his hands hovering over the metallic screen that shielded his face. “When a person passes through the Oracle’s Creation, or my Glass Cages, they are reborn again. They come back.”

  Slowly, he pulled the helmet from his head, shaking his hair loose as he raised his face to my own. I couldn’t understand who was sitting before me, the shock of it sending a tremor through my entire being. He said, “But they come back wrong. That is the price we both paid for resurrection.”

  My breath came in shuddering gasps. I stared up at him, a fevered chill balanced on my lips, as if my words were covered in frost, stuck in my throat. Finally, I managed to whisper, �
�Jay?”

  His eyes were blue — the same glowing blue that I remembered — and filled with a strange indifference, as if he could kiss me or snap my neck, and each action would feel equally pleasurable. He smiled, the scar on his temple glaringly white in the firelight. “But see, Anya, I promised you I would keep you safe. I sacrificed myself for you. I can’t remember a thing before I became this vigilante except for you. And I think it’s your turn to sacrifice your life for the Fringe, is it not?” He pulled away, neon light pooling in the palms of his hands. A lock of brown hair fell across his face. “And I intend to hold you to that promise.”

  End of Book One

  Don’t Miss What’s Next!

  The World Shaker Book Two

  The Time Keep

  Anya’s hunt for the Light Kingdom has ensnared her in the center of the World Shaker’s reign. Following the disappearance of her companion Jay, the High Prince has revealed his identity and plunged her further into the secrets of the Fringe. Aided by newfound powers, Anya and her new friends Kye and Warren are to seek out a teacher that will unveil the secrets of the Solifeer.

  Coming Soon

  About the Author

  Abby Dewsnup lives in Utah with her family. Having grown up brewing potions and casting spells, she believes magic is an essential part to reality. She will be studying English in the fall while in college, where she hopes to expand her horizon in writing. She is excited for the upcoming release of The World Shaker’s second installment, the Time Keep.

  Find her on Instagram at @abby_dewsnup