by Linda Palmer
Chapter Twenty-Five
Banished
Screaming, I rushed to the edge and dropped to my stomach. I scooted forward just enough that I could peer down into it and saw nothing but the blackness of infinity. Yet I felt so much more.
Life.
Jor's life? "Jor! Jor!"
I heard a triumphant laugh so evil that my skin crawled. The sense of life in the void instantly died. Sobbing hysterically, I rolled onto my back with my hands covering my face. "I did this. Me."
The laugh retreated into indistinct voices once again. Caught up in my nightmare, I didn't realize at first that they belonged to real people this time. But they got louder and more distinct, which made me look around. Sairons were spilling into the cavern, Cadrow, Mandaus, and Lucianis among them. Rocc stood there, too. The cave felt normal, which told me the evil was gone now.
Cadrow approached, eyes flashing. "What happened here? Where is Jor?"
"He fell." I got up and pointed into the chasm. "We've got to help him."
Rocc sucked in a shocked breath. "You pushed him." His eyes widened in disbelief. "You pushed him, Alleana. I see it in your mind."
"As we all do." Cadrow's voice trembled with suppressed emotion and shook me to the core.
But it was Rocc’s condemnation that hurt the worst. "I don’t even know you anymore."
His revulsion hit me like a punch to the gut. I grabbed his arm and tried to pull him toward the chasm. "Listen to me. You've got to save Jor." I turned to the Sairons next. "Now. Please." Why didn't they spring to his rescue? They had powers Ionians could only dream of, and it wasn't too late.
"You think we can bring back life after you've ended it?" I'd never seen a Sairon elder so angry. Some of the younger ones, not nearly as skilled at masking their emotions, stared daggers at me. Others murmured among themselves; some sobbed aloud.
"But I didn't," I said. "He’s in there. You can get him out if you hurry."
"No life can exist in the Gilmarden Void." Cadrow's voice had never sounded so cold, but I saw tears in his eyes—tears for the loss of Jor. Abruptly he placed his hand on the top of my head. "Alleana M’Orrean, you leave us no choice but to ban you from Balmythra.
"Desecration of our most solemn ceremony was bad enough, but to actually take a life...that can never be forgiven." He removed his hand to turn from me and look mournfully into the Void. "We'll call a council of the glowing ones at once. Quinius Rocc M'Aristo, you must leave this place. I know you aren't as wicked as your half-sister, but you're still half Ionian, and we have to decide what to do with you and your people now."
Rocc nodded and turned his back on me.
"Rocc, wait!" Frantic, I approached Cadrow. "You can’t banish my people."
But Cadrow wasn't going to negotiate. "It's done, Guardian. And the Nodyrans are being removed as we speak." He motioned to two of the Sairons. "Barnos, Devrow, take her."
I threw out my hands to keep them back. "But I can’t leave here. What about Jor...and my parents?"
"Enough of this!" Red-faced, Cadrow actually shouted at me.
Shocked, I let Barnos and Devrow close in before I took a step backward toward the yawning abyss. "But what if I open my mind to you? You know you'll see the truth there."
"I've searched there already, and the stench of the Dagonel is strong. Foolish child. We have far too much experience with our enemy's wicked ways to be tricked by you." He flicked his hand in my direction. Barnos and Devrow each grabbed one of my arms.
Before the scream left my throat, I was back at the brook. The air shimmered suspiciously in the morning sun, sure indication that the Stream lay nearby and had just been utilized by someone. I twisted free of my captors and spun to my left just in time to see Matt and all the others appear, guarded by stony-faced Sairons.
I opened my mouth to call out to my friend, but he vanished into the Stream before my eyes. The others quickly followed. I turned to Devrow in desperation, fully intending to reason with him, but never got the chance before he pushed me closer to the rent in the atmosphere.
I dug in my heels, determined to resist, until I sensed the anguish of a fellow Ionian. Guessing that Rocc had just shared my situation and knowing how fast bad news traveled, I let Devrow shove me into the Stream.
