by S A Edwards
“Why would we look alike?” he asked.
“You’re twins, aren’t you?”
“We are brothers. I’m Lux, the Light Keeper, this is Umbra.” He nodded at his dark-haired sibling.
“The Dark Keeper,” I said.
“And who are you?” Umbra asked, curiosity and seriousness etched into his features.
Understandable. I would be wary, too, were I in his position. “I’m Clara.”
“Well, Clara, perhaps you can tell us why you came through the Void.”
I blinked. “How do you –”
“We’re Keepers. It’s our duty to know.”
Of course it was. “I’m here to find Charlie, my brother. He came through just before me.” Hope welled in my chest. If they could find me after arriving here, maybe they would know where he was. “He’s fifteen,” I added, “but he was possessed by another Keeper, a Dark Keeper from my world. He harnessed the power of the collision, and I banished them both through the Void. I just want to get him back.”
They exchanged glances.
“Look,” I said, “I know I’ve released Zantos into your world. I didn’t mean for that. In truth, no one knew where the Void led. Even the Keepers couldn’t see through it. But I couldn’t leave Charlie. Help me get him back, and I promise I’ll help to defeat Zantos.”
Lux approached and sat on the nearest rock. “Zantos is not a threat to this world.”
“What do you mean? Have you stopped him?” Images of Charlie lying hurt or worse plagued my mind. “Please tell me you haven’t hurt Charlie.” My voice shook.
“When one passes through a Void, there are two paths: one leading here, to the world, the other leading down to the Underworld. When Zantos, this Keeper,” – he gave me a questioning look, and I nodded – “when he passed through, the paths sensed his darkness and sent him below. He is trapped in the prison, unable to escape unless the Gate is opened.”
“And Charlie?”
“If, as you say, they were in the same body, the paths would not have allowed his goodness to release the darkness of the Keeper. He is down there, too.”
“No.” I grasped my arms. “He can’t be. He’s too good. Too pure. And I saw him when the Araña attacked. He helped me. He …” My fingers grew cold with terror.
Umbra clasped his hand on my shoulder. “He wasn’t there.”
I shifted away. “But then how –”
“His goodness. It is not confined to the prison as Zantos is. When he reaches out, he can communicate with you, but not for long.”
“Please,” I said. “You must help me get him out.”
“We cannot,” Lux said. “To open the Underworld Gate, we must use an extraordinary amount of power. For several minutes after, we would not be able to close it, and any Hellion within reach of the Gate could escape.”
“But you could put them back, right? You’re the Keepers.”
“Not without much effort, loss and casualty. We are sorry, Clara. Charlie cannot be released.”
My heart sank, and angry tears threatened to spill. This couldn’t be it. I couldn’t leave him down there. I wouldn’t. With or without their help, he would be free. There had to be a safe way. I just needed to find it.
“There are more pressing concerns right now,” Lux said.
I glared at him. “More pressing than my best friend suffering in a prison full of Hellions?”
Lux’s jaw clenched.
“Since you have arrived, something has affected the balance,” Umbra said. “The Gates are failing.”
I stared. “That’s not possible. They control everything to do with magic.”
“And yet, it is happening.”
A feeling of foreboding washed over me. “So, what does that mean?”
“It means everything must have an equal and opposite for peace to remain. Something is wrong. And with the Gates failing, there will be nothing to protect those of this world. Nothing to stop the Hellions gaining free reign over the land. Nothing to stop the bedlam.”
“All right, assuming you’re not mistaken, why are you telling me this?”
“Because you have all seven gifts.”
I started. They could sense that?
“Because you passed through the Void,” he added. “Because somehow, this is linked to the time you arrived here, and you could be the key to fixing it.”
It posed a problem, certainly. If the Hellions here were anything like those back home, the failing Gates and their release would cause chaos throughout the land. Deadly chaos. But any distraction now would take me away from rescuing Charlie. If what they said was true, I couldn’t leave him in the Underworld. He’d never last in there. “Why should I help you with anything when you’re willing to leave Charlie in that awful place?” I asked. “Fixing the balance isn’t my job. It’s yours. Rescuing Charlie is mine. Besides, surely you’re capable of keeping it under control for the time being. At least until I get him out. It shouldn’t take long. And then you could help me come up with a better solution.”
Lux rubbed his face with a weary expression. “There is no other solution. Please, consider it. Too many lives are at stake. The Gates cannot be allowed to fail.” Light brightened the area around him, shadow closed in on Umbra, and then they vanished.
4
Silent, I stood by the river, the words of the Keepers racing through my mind. How much did they know about me? They knew I held all seven gifts, but I had kept that to myself. Had they seen my whole life story when I stepped through the Void? It seemed unlikely, or they wouldn’t have asked about Charlie.
Then there was Charlie, trapped in the Underworld. An impossibility I had no idea how to fix. How could I save him from there? I didn’t even know where the Gate was and if the Keepers refused to open it, how would I get him out?
I clenched my shaking fists. The Keepers had some nerve, expecting my help when they would do nothing for Charlie. Since when did a Keeper leave an innocent to suffer? Did they only care about the wellbeing of those from this world? Charlie was just as important.
I stormed back up the path. Images of Charlie suffering in the Underworld, being hunted by the Hellions and unable to protect himself, clung to my consciousness.
“Reach out to me, Charlie,” I whispered. “Let me speak to you.” I paused, surveying the shadowy clearing with care.
He didn’t emerge.
“Clara?” Amicus sat in the door of the nearest shelter, his eyes fixed on me. He lay aside a pile of clothes he had folded, muscles rippling. “You okay?”
I let my gaze stray across the underbrush again, stomach sinking at the lack of Charlie’s presence.
“Want to talk about it?” he asked.
Something about spilling my pain to a stranger filled me with unease. “Not really.”
He cocked his head. “You need to talk about it. Come in. I can’t help you if you don’t.” He stood and slipped back into the candlelight, his light hair reflecting the flame of the candles on a table.
I sighed. Stranger or not, he was the only one who knew I came from the Void. Except the Keepers. The only one willing to help me. And the one with more knowledge of this place than I. He seemed more trustworthy than Kyne, at least. There was something about him. Something different. And it wasn’t as though I had anything to hide. Except my gifts, but I didn’t have to mention those.
I followed him inside the tent, furnished similarly to my own. Lit by only two candles, a wooden table with a little fruit on a platter stood to one side, and a couple of chairs were pulled out from a mat on the floor. Within minutes I explained my situation, pacing back and forth before the door.
“I see the problem.” His forefingers tapped on his chin, and his gaze focused off in the distance. “On the one hand, I agree with the Keepers. Opening the Gate to the Underworld would be catastrophic, but I also agree that leaving Charlie there is not ideal.”
“Not ideal? That’s what you get out of this?” I gripped the table edge. “We have no i
dea what he’s going through. What nightmares he’s facing.”
“Exactly. So, we shouldn’t assume the worst. Keep a clear head. We’ll figure this out. And then the next time he reaches out –”
“I’ll tell him I’m going to rescue him.”
“Something to that effect.”
I dropped into a chair. “I can’t bear the thought of being up here, safe and free, whilst he’s down there.”
“I know.”
The fabric by the entrance flapped, and Kyne stepped into view. “Quite the predicament you’ve got there. And the Gates are failing, you say? Do either of you have a plan?”
I straightened and fought against a scowl. “You’ve been listening to us all this time?”
“My dear Celeste –”
“I’m Clara –”
“If you want to have a private conversation, don’t do it beneath a sheet of fabric.”
I flashed him an irritated grimace.
“I suggest,” Kyne said, “that we go to the Underworld Gate.”
“You know where it is?” I asked.
“Course I do. We’ll leave at first light and figure out how to get in on the way.”
“And that’s it?” My tone betrayed my scepticism. “We’ll just figure it out, just like that?”
“As Amicus said, keep a clear head. A calm mind is a focused mind.” He tapped his temple. “You’d be surprised how things turn out.” He flashed a smile and left.
I frowned after him. “Cryptic much?”
Amicus chuckled.
“So, what?” I said. “He figures because he leads everyone, he can just do as he wishes?”
Amicus’ eyes darkened. “He’s like that.”
“I don’t trust him.” Of course, it occurred to me that Kyne could be listening in even now. Again. But this time, I didn’t care. “Why does he keep calling me Celeste?” If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was a name from a past life, but this was a new world, and all my lives had been from home. With the same name.
“I’m sure he has his reasons,” Amicus said.
“It’s weird.”
“Perhaps.” He shifted over to the table and grabbed a handful of lemon-corn. The citrusy aroma strengthened when he plucked it and reminded me of the harvest fields back home. “You should get some rest,” he said. “We have a long journey ahead of us.”
“You’re coming, too?” At least that was one comforting thought. I’d much rather have Amicus’ company than Kyne’s.
“He’s not the type to go somewhere without the camp.”
“Everyone’s coming? Won’t that be dangerous?”
“Many of them are family, in a sense. They stick together.”
Great. More people to get hurt if something goes wrong. Enough have suffered already. “I still don’t understand how he intends to get the Gate open. If the Keepers won’t do it …”
A shout cut through the night air.
“Look out!” Amicus slammed into me, knocking me to the ground.
Blinding light surged through the shelter, shredding the fabric. A hard wind blasted against my skin and whooshed past my ears.
The silver light of the two moons beamed over the clearing, just visible past the white spots dancing before my eyes.
Amicus rolled off me and stood, gaze fixed on something in the distance.
I clambered to stand beside him, heart pounding. “What’s going on?”
The tent lay in a crumpled mess. Flames flickered over the fabric causing a strange, burning odour through the new heat.
Crowds of people flooded from the trees, flaming torches in their hands. A few held the strange weapons the sailors had attacked me with: glinting blades protruding from the crossbows.
One fired, and the blade coursed forward, burying itself in the chest of a Mage.
He dropped with a cry of pain.
An ache twanged within me. The Healer within me longed to help him.
“Mortals,” Amicus said. He shoved me toward the water. “Hide. Hurry.”
“Are you mad?” I couldn’t hide. Not while this was happening. “Why are they attacking us?” Didn’t Kyne say the Mortals killed Mage? I wouldn’t stand back and do nothing, although what could they possibly do against the power gathered here?
“This is no time for talk. Do as I say.” He lunged away, and lightning soared from his fingers, slashing through the weapon of a nearby Mortal.
Three raced for me. Two held bladed weapons.
On my silent command, fire billowed and climbed before them in an impenetrable wall. Searing heat drove them back, and orange light flickered over their faces, distorting their features.
One tightened his grip on his weapon.
Then the ground trembled, knocking me off balance. To my left, it grew, peaking in a mountainous hill.
Mortals fell from the steep sides and plunged into the swirling water created by Hanrel, the Healer. “Aye, not so confident now, are you?” he yelled.
Pain pierced my shoulder. I screamed. My knees buckled, the ground met my back, and my wall of flames diminished.
The three Mortals smiled and closed in on me. The sword almost glowed in the moonlight.
I struggled to sit and tugged the blade from my shoulder, releasing a flow of blood. I raised my hand, attempting to call the billowing clouds of my Dark gift.
Nothing happened.
I stared at my palm. “What –”
One of them raised the sword.
My heart leapt. “Wait, no –”
Pressure slammed against my back and propelled my attackers toward the trees. Leaves broke from the branches, whirling into the shadows. The Mortals crashed against the dirt. Their weapons shattered.
Kyne stood over me, hands raised, eyes black.
My attackers fled but one of them fell, and a shout of agony fled his lips.
Kyne jerked his hand.
An ear-splitting crack cut over the sounds of battle, and his victim’s leg clicked out at an odd angle.
“Stop, stop,” I pleaded.
Kyne didn’t move, and the Mortal rose above the ground.
I stared at Kyne in horror. What kind of gift was this? I grabbed him. “Let him go. Stop it now.”
At last, his gaze flickered to me.
The Mortal dropped heavily and didn’t move again.
The black in Kyne’s eyes cleared, and he frowned. “You would have mercy on them? They would kill you given the chance.”
“This isn’t right. Not this way. This isn’t right.” I crawled to the Mortal, my shoulder throbbing. I tried to call on the water around us, searching for the connection, the threads of healing liquid but couldn’t sense it. There was nothing.
5
The Mortal lay still in front of me, his breathing even. His leg stuck out at an unnatural angle.
I grasped his tunic, aggravating my shoulder pain.
Kyne huffed. “Leave him. He isn’t worth your concern.”
I didn’t respond.
Kyne moved away.
Several Mage lay on the ground throughout the clearing. Abandoned blades lay scattered over the dirt. It seemed the Mortals had fled.
A few raindrops fell, and within moments, a heavy downpour cascaded to the mud.
Amicus approached through the chaos. His jaw tensed at the sight of my blood. “Why didn’t you hide?” he asked.
I turned away, desperate to connect with the water and heal my attacker. Why wasn’t it working?
“Clara. You don’t understand this world,” he said. “You don’t understand how it works. You must listen to me. Clara.” He grabbed my arms and twisted me to face him. “What are you doing?”
“I have to heal him, but I can’t …” I pulled back on my concentration, but the result remained the same. My teeth clenched. “Why isn’t it working?”
He blinked. “You’re a Healer, too?”
“A Refiner, Healer, Shade, Beast, Seeker, Preserver, Dark One. Oh, why won’t this work?” I punche
d the ground, cringing at the spike of pain. Mud splattered up my arm.
He frowned. “The blades are infused with magic. They suppress a Mage’s gift for a short time.”
“But why?”
“Because Mortals fear magic. They hunt Mage. Kill them.”
“And they fight magic with magic,” I said. “Very classy.”
“You’re frustrated.”
“You think?” I struggled to stand and leaned against a trunk for support. The bark dug into my back, and my shoulder stung where the blade had pierced it. I grimaced.
Amicus stood, eying my wound. “You’re in a new world. It will take time to adjust.”
“I don’t have time. The longer Charlie is trapped in the Underworld, the more danger he faces.” Not just from Zantos. From the other Hellions down there. “I have to get him out. Quickly.”
“Well, you can’t. The best chance he has is if you calm down and think clearly.”
I gritted my teeth. A wave of dizziness touched my mind.
Amicus slipped to my side. “You’re losing a lot of blood. Come on. Let’s get you to Hanrel.” He directed me across the clearing to where the elderly Mage worked. Water swirled around him, connecting several twisting balls by silver threads.
I gazed at them with longing.
We barely reached him when he turned to me, eyebrows raised. “There’s a lot more pain to you than meets the eye.” He glanced over my shoulder. “Can’t say much about the emotional stuff right this second, but that blade wound …” He directed one of the balls to my shoulder, and my pain faded.
I gave him a grateful nod and shuffled away. It seemed only yesterday I discovered one of the limits of being a Healer: I could heal others but not myself. Only right now, I couldn’t even heal others.
*
“Amicus.” I hurried toward the Mage. The heat of the morning set a layer of sweat across my back, and his hair seemed even lighter in the bright sunlight. The fabric tied around his wrist held moisture from the night’s rain, but it didn’t appear to bother him. He’d changed into fresh clothes, and I wondered why he hadn’t removed the cloth around his wrist.
