“Are you okay Wail?” I crouch down in front of him, thoroughly scanning the cracks in his form, looking for anything that’s off. “Do you need more sand?”
The little stone ball shakes back and forth in the negative. It’s funny to watch, because when Lorraine mimics the movement its just her head that moves, but for Wail his entire body is one big shape.
“I’m sorry…I didn’t get to you earlier Wail.”
“Okay.” One rocky hand stump touches my arm and the other taps with a clunk against his torso. “Okay.”
I feel the smile stretch my lips. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Lueraine wraps her blue arms around him in another hug, her head tucking over top of him. I smile wider at the endearing sight and feel a sigh escape my lips.
I turn on my feet, looking back at the strange structure rising in the distance. It really does look like an upside down dome, partially buried in the mountain. But if I tilt my head, it nearly looks like the mountain is the palm of a hand, and the curving spires are fingers reaching up to the sky.
“Is that a city Lueraine?”
Lueraine stays huddled around Wail as she answers. Her voice is a light tinkling bell and I let it further relax me. “A long time ago,” she says. “Not anymore.”
I’m not sure if I feel good about that or not. My last two encounters with civilization haven’t gone well, present company withstanding. But…those days in the desert we’re…
I sigh. I have to meet more people if I want to find my family. I don’t even know where to go.
A thought occurs to me. “Lueraine. If I was a guardian, would they have imprisoned us?”
“Never. A [guardian] is above city authority. Even leaders between peoples would have to agree before trapping a [guardian].”
Authority. If I had authority, finding my family might be easier. The ability to access places and information without worrying about being taken captive by someone. “Do you know how to become a guardian Lueraine?”
The ice girl slowly lifted her head off of Wail’s and the white eyes squinted. “I don’t know exactly how, but there is a test if you go to one of the central cities.”
I considered that. I needed to take these two home, as per my promise to the bird, but I wondered if testing as a guardian should come even before that. A glance at Wail had the thought solidifying. He’d been prone on the ground mere minutes before, the energy sucked out of him. “Could the Jovlins follow us through the,” I wasn’t sure what word to use for the rippling circle, “portal?”
“No. No,” Wail answered. His stubby arms bounced up and down, jostling Lueraine out of her hug. “Ue are safe.”
“Good. That’s good.” I stumble to my feet, muscles burning, and shuffle around the portal. There’s more field on the other side, and a quick turn on my feet shows the expanse goes in every direction. We’re far out in the open, away from any cover, but…it could be to our advantage. We have a 360 degree view of our surroundings for an easy sighting of incoming enemies, much like my time in the desert. The main difference is that we also have a quick means of escape through the nearby portal. The only potential danger is if someone happens to come through and find us, but…hopefully it wouldn’t be any of the people after us. Which…has been nearly everyone we meet.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
I can’t help the sigh that escapes my lips. “How about we rest for now, and then we can talk about our next step.” I flop back on the ground, exhausted.
The sky above me is the same blue as when I first woke up in this place. It still feels slightly off, but I feel as if I’ve acclimated enough that it’s not as jarring as before.
I don’t know that I want to get used to it…to any of this. I want to go home, wherever home is.
There’s a warm wave in my chest when I think of that word. It’s soft and comforting and it soothes my mind. Home.
I turn my head to look at my two child companions. “Wail, do you know where your home is?”
“Yes. Shar shrom here. It is uarm, big and pretty.”
“Sounds nice.” Warm, big and pretty. A mountain maybe? No…I search for the word. A volcano? “What about you Lueraine.”
“My home is also far from here. It is cold, but I think it’s pretty too.”
I smile at the wistful look that crosses her face. It’s sort of heavy with desire, but also wrapped up in sadness. Huh… Would I look like that if I remembered home?
“What do you think about me becoming a guardian first?”
Lueraine perks up at that and her eyes drift over my stick and satchel. “It would be good. Safer.”
I nod at having my suspicions confirmed. “Is it a complicated matter, to get to a central city?”
The girl looks at Wail in question and the rock does a little hop. “Two times through.”
“Oh, okay.” I look back up at the sky and take a deep breath, relaxing my muscles. There’s a bit of a tremor in my arms but I ignore it. “How does that work exactly? And Lueraine, how did you get that…round thing to work, the one from my bag?”
“Energy.” She says it like it’s the answer to both of my questions. It reiterates how important is for me to get a handle on what I did with the cape.
I lift my fingers above my head, watching the clouds roll by behind them. I try to concentrate on the digits, poking around for that feeling. The fingers bend at the knuckle and I feel the contraction of muscles, the stretch of the skin. My eyes flutter closed and I try to go deeper, to reach into some part past the layers of skin and muscle.
After a minute a huff out a frustrated breath. “Is there some secret, to using energy?” I look back over at the children, my eyes flickering over their clearly non-human forms, and I wonder if anything they say will be useful.
Wail’s stubby arm taps against his chest with a click. “[Old land] say ue find it in the heart of our stone.”
I consider that. “…I’m not sure that applies to me.”
Lueraine runs blue fingers over her spikes of hair. They sway with the motion, like a roll of ocean waves. “I was taught that it’s a river of ice that swirls in my core.”
Again, I’m sure it applies, but there does appear to be something related to a core or center for each of them. Would that be true for me as well?
I try to remember the feeling from the tower, that sucking sensation. By now, the memory is fuzzy, and it’s hard to pinpoint where inside me the feeling came from. Should I just concentrate on my chest? I close my eyes again, reaching for the feeling.
For a few moments, nothing happens, all I feel is the slowing beat of my heart, but then…there’s a tendril, like a little wisp of something that immediately draws my attention. It feels cool even from a distance, and when I reach out with my mind there’s a shock, like I’ve…like I’ve stuck my finger in a socket. That thought derails me, devolving into a strange series of memories that are more confusing than illuminating, and I end up stuck in a cycle full of plusses and minuses.
It doesn’t make any sense, and by the time I’ve reoriented myself the cool tendril is gone.
…that’s…disappointing, to say the least. Extremely.
But this time, I won’t stand for it. I dive again, pinching my eyes closed and fighting back to the beat of my heart. It’s a little faster now, and in the edge of my consciousness I feel many of my muscles have tensed in concentration. I feel around, searching for the spark.
And there it is…
I don’t reach out this time. I just sort of…sit there, acclimating. The coolness of the tendril seeps out, filling the space. Still, I wait, letting it wash over my thoughts. Ah…it’s kind of nice actually, and with it comes a new memory — one that creeps through the crack of a door.
A still face. Open eyes. Fingernails caked in red.
Blood.