Keoni had trouble reading today.
Her eyes kept glancing around without her permission. She felt too tense to do much else.
Ryley was restocking shelves again. He’d gotten in trouble at home, but it was a minor punishment. He hadn’t said anything to his mother about what happened. When Keoni asked why, his response was cryptic and sad. “My family could really use the reward for turning in a Mir-Cognate,” he had said. They hadn’t said much between them after that.
After another tense moment, Ryley returned to his desk and picked up his own book.
Keoni’s mind kept flashing back to what had happened. Who opened that Mir-Gate? What was harmed in the explosion? Who died? Were Kaedin and Caste okay?
She zoned out, only stopping to hear Ryley’s hooves coming towards her. She looked up at his brown eyes.
Without a word, Ryley handed Keoni a letter. She took it, opening it (since there was nothing written on the envelope) and pulling out the piece of parchment.
Meet me by the apple tree in the park by Moss Tavern.
“This was slipped inside one of our regular letters. I’m positive it’s Caste.”
Keoni smiled gently, her mind clearing. “Let’s go.”
They quickly traveled along the busy roads to reach Moss Tavern. From there, Ryley knew exactly which tree Caste was talking about.
They soon reached it, but no one was there.
“Look around,” Ryley said, peering across the park at anybody who would look anything like Caste. Keoni did the same, only seeing young children playing on the field while their parents chatted away.
Keoni’s ears moved to the branches of the tree before her head did. Someone was up there. She glanced up.
She’d entirely forgotten Caste had horns in the Physical World. He climbed down from the tree, shuddering. “You got my message.”
Ryley asked before Keoni could. “Why were you in a tree?”
He stared at his hands. “I’m not entirely sure. I think it’s a monkey thing. It’s also a great place to hide from people.”
“Sorry, we should catch up on everything else before asking stupid questions,” Ryley said.
Caste didn’t look up. “In a better hidden place if possible.”
Before Keoni could remark that it was his idea to meet here in the first place, they were already moving across the street to one of the alleyways between homes.
“First things first: I have most of my memory back,” Caste panted as he reached the hidden alley. “Everything suddenly ties together. I’d love to rant, but I’m afraid there’s something much more important.”
He itched the back of his head. “Qaye opened a portal to get both of you out of there. The Quuarks placed bombs around the runes in hopes of destroying them. That is the explosion that went off. Even though I was told not to use my magic, I did anyway to protect Qaye and myself, as we were in the middle. Everyone is fine, all the students are safe. But…” he trailed off. “Their plan succeeded.” He leaned up against the walls around them and still didn’t look up.
Ryley glanced at Keoni. She didn’t exactly know what Caste meant either. Suddenly, it clicked.
They were attacking not the students, but the Runes of Trin. The place considered holy and magical. They succeeded… The runes were gone.
“I’m so sorry, Caste,” Keoni whispered. It must have been horrible for him to witness.
Ryley seemed to piece it together too, as he nodded his sympathy towards the Cognate.
“I cannot grieve for long, and I already have anyway.” He finished. “They can be rebuilt with the magic now scattered along the Mirae, and the magic that leaked into the Physical world.”
“Furthermore and again, I have my memories back.” Caste added, moving on before either of them could ask why. “I’m grateful for that, as now I know the history behind the Quuarks and how I fought them before. Oh yeah, since they have officially declared war by attacking, that makes it morally right for me to send each one of them to Toyqr.”
“What does that mean?”
“Take a wild guess, Ryley.” Caste responded blandly, narrowing his eyes at him.
Keoni changed the subject before Ryley could actually start guessing. “Is Sa… Kaedin alright?”
“Yes. I said all the students were fine, which includes Kaedin. Unless…”
“Unless?” Keoni didn’t like how he finished that.
“Never mind.” Keoni wanted him to respond. Unless what? He was quiet for more than enough time to unsettle the group of three.
Caste stood there for several more moments before speaking again, breaking the deafening silence. “I’m going to try and fight back for my position with Ruka. If I can, I can lead Team Two into a Quuark infiltration.” He kept having spontaneous plans. Keoni was not good at that. “Keoni, I want you to try…” he stopped speaking, his eyes narrowed at her satchel. “What’s in your bag?”
“Nothing…?” Keoni glanced down at it, seeing nothing unusual inside. Just books, her adoption papers, and her wallet.
“I can see magic radiating off of something in your bag.”
Keoni dug around. Her hand hit a small object inside, and she pulled it out. It definitely wasn’t there before.
It was a small stone. On it, a small symbol was engraved. Caste came over to her shoulder to see.
“It says ‘Sis.’” Caste read. “And it is a rune. No idea how you got it, but I can show you how to use it.”
Keoni wanted to know what it was doing in her bag. “Sure,” she responded.
Caste guided her hands. “Press your thumb on the back here, and hold the word up onto your forehead. To exit, do the same thing.”
Keoni felt the smooth stone as she pressed the stone on the back with her thumb and raised it up to her forehead.
Immediately, a figure flickered in front of Keoni. Caste and Ryley both disappeared.
The figure was Kaedin, but their Physical form was the way Keoni remembered from so long ago. It was easier to think of that form as Samara.
Samara waved innocently. “I made this message for you, Keoni. I don’t want you to be left in the unknown, especially if I disappear.”
“Wha… what do you mean?” Keoni asked.
“I’m a Mir-Cognate. You might know this, you might not. But Tejh Ngo are what are called a host family. They are physical world dwellers, or Phys-Conidae, with high Spectrum Strength. They volunteer to host any Mir-Cognates who’s physical bodies have passed. Including mine. And well, because of this, you inherited a good deal of my magical ability.”
They walked to the left a little bit. “I’ve been studying for around 500 years a way of… let’s say… combining the elements of both light and dark magic. Usually when the two combine, it all explodes and everyone’s guts go everywhere.” They said this while gesturing with their hands.
“In fact, that’s… how I’ve died the past five times.” A small chuckle, probably funny to other Mir-Cognates, but not normal people.
“It’s a very risky experiment, which only my magic has, and that’s spread to you.”
Their eyes softened. “This rune is for you to learn how to use this magic, as it isn’t possible for you to separate the two. Just ask me when you need to learn. I can stay with you in the physical world and the Mirae. And I assume since you know how to use one, you know how to un-use it.”
Keoni glanced at the rune in her palm. “I can come back, right?” She asked. Samara answered with a firm nod.
She touched it again to her forehead, watching as Samara disappeared and Ryley and Caste faded back into view.
“I did nothing like that for my Tejh.” Caste commented.
“Could you see that?” Keoni asked him, as it sounded like he could.
“Hardly. It’s best to view runes in private though, because Cognates can see them.” Caste said. “I was around when Kaedin went to Qaye and asked for help with that. I also know that they’ve been experimenting with combining both arts of magic, as they came to me and asked about how I used dark magic.”
“What’s the difference between light and dark?” Ryley asked curiously.
“Light magic is only able to be used with little to no emotion. If someone gets too mad or even too happy they cannot use light magic. Dark, on the other hand, isn’t in any way evil. Dark magic just gets its name because it only takes away the surrounding light instead. Using dark magic is prohibited as to use it, you have to convey strong emotions. Many Cognates can become aggressive from using it. I personally am permitted to, because I can control myself and won’t go haywire.” He explained. “A lot of people don’t understand that you can feel strong emotions besides anger.”
Keoni didn’t quite understand how Samara was able to combine the two. They were polar opposites. But that was her magic, apparently. Soon, maybe, she’d learn how to actually use it.
“Keoni, would you like to try opening a gate this time around?” Caste offered.
Kaedin said she couldn’t open a Mir-Gate using the normal methods, right? “No thanks.” Keoni responded.
Caste shrugged. “Alright. I want to seal this as soon as I open it, so stay close.”
Ryley huddled close to him and Keoni. Instantly, Keoni fell into the floor. There was no big exercise to get a portal opened. As she fell, the gap immediately closed above her and she landed softly on the ground of Limbo. Her first question was: Were we stopped again? But nobody approached them in the blank space.
“Rule number one of Limbo: there’s no gravity.” Caste said matter-of-factly. He had turned into the glowing-pale-green misty fox again. On cue, he started floating. “Just think about defying it and it will happen.”
Keoni obeyed, not trying to think about how it was possible. Her feet lifted off the ground and she joined Caste midair. Ryley did the same, watching. His face showed his fascination.
They kept floating up for about a minute, until Caste somehow landed on a new surface. Keoni followed, surprised that she was standing on solid ground again.
“This would place us near Ruka’s quarters in Finx.” Caste informed both of them. “Two things: one, don’t stare at anyone if they are not speaking to you. They’ll see it as a sign of aggression. You have to remember we are a different species. And secondly, even if you know nothing about the Mirae, pretend you do.”
The first one was oddly specific, but Keoni could see why. Caste always seemed uncomfortable when she looked at him while it was quiet. She’d barely taken note until now.
Another portal opened below them, and Keoni dropped through, landing on a wet stone pathway. Around her was a city that resembled her own hometown, but it was in the Mirae.
And in the sky.
The clouds were very close to the surface, and it was already drizzling lightly. The path of tiles was wet, and… dark gray. It was weird seeing a normal-looking color in the Mirae for once. There weren’t many Cognates out on the street. Keoni had to remind herself that it was night here. Not many should be out.
Caste seemed to know where he was going, as he immediately glanced at a sign (In a different language,) and started walking through the rain along the sidewalk. He didn’t seem to mind the rain at all. Ryley did. He was shivering in less than a minute and was sopping wet. Ryley wasn’t one to complain, but he looked like he was on the verge of objecting to the weather.
They didn’t have to walk far. Caste took a turn and immediately stopped at one of the larger buildings. A green blob formed into his hand, then shaped itself into a key. He inserted it, a perfect fit, and turned the handle open.
They entered the simple but elaborate main room. There were many decorations Keoni hadn’t seen before, but there was some flora from the Mirae. She’d almost memorized what all of them were called. Bfuuion, if she could remember this one, it was all written in a rough translation to her alphabet.
“Tunxj ftoko i yun joo htoqu!!” Someone barked at them. Around six Mir-Cognates suddenly appeared, surrounding them. “Ixonhiwch cheakjopw un-'' The one who was speaking, stopped. Her jaw dropped. “Kaste?”
She pounced on him, the emotion in the room changing entirely. She had put him in a headlock, ruffling the fur on the top of his head. The group surrounded him, exclaiming things in their own language. Caste was not enjoying the scalp massage, however.
Ryley smiled from beside her. “I think he has friends here.”
Caste finally stood up from the huddle and hushed the group while fixing the fur on his head. “Yupqu xefn, i'pp koyeanh quch vkouh jhekch puhok.” He glanced around the room. “Ij Ruka ukeanx?”
“Right here,” Someone responded, thankfully in the language Keoni could make sense of.
Everyone dropped to their knees and said in unison: “Quujhok.” Even Caste.
“As you were, all of you.” Clearly she was a leader. She was quite old too. Keoni hadn’t seen any wrinkles on any Cognate before. This was definitely the first. She was also a fox, like Caste, and now that Keoni looked, there was another fox in the room. She would ponder about that later. “Let us speak Physcia so everyone can understand one another.”
Ryley whispered next to her. “I’m positive that’s Master Ruka.” Keoni had zoned out during one of his lectures, and didn’t know who he was talking about.
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She seemed important though.
“Caste, you were taken seven whole years ago. How have you returned?” She addressed him, lifting him off the ground again gently.
“I um… fought my way out, Quujhok.”
“As expected.” She responded. “And I assume your memory has been restored, also.”
“For the most part, Quujhok. There are hazy parts of my mind I’m yet to figure out for myself. And lastly, I’m convinced more than ever that we have to rescue everyone.”
“Why?” Her question was not aggressive or demanding in any way, nor was it arrogant. It was someone seeking a solid answer.
“I was tortured to work for the Quuarks, Quujhok. I refused, but they inflicted pains on me I would not like to describe with excruciating details.”
“Simple details?” Someone in the group asked in the same, innocent-and-not-arrogant way.
“Uhmm. Beatings, daily, isolation from the Mirae, starvation, electrocution, burning, near… what’s the word? Xkefninv?”
“Drowning,” someone else translated.
“Yes, thank you.”
Keoni clenched her teeth. He did not describe that to her, and she was glad he didn’t.
“I wish only for my suffering to not be in vain, Quujhok.”
Without hesitation, she said: “I will speak with the council and hear their feedback. My bias hasn’t changed, and I believe if you were to show the memory of what’s happened to them, it might be worthwhile on the path to their convincing.”
“Thank you, Quujhok. I will speak to a Dreamer about transferring something for you. Meanwhile, I’d like to challenge myself back into team one.”
She nodded. “You know very well the rules, but I will allow you to. In the morning, you may challenge the head of team six, and surpass teams ten through seven, so you don’t kill my students.”
A few of them laughed at her comment. “I appreciate it, Quujhok.”
“As for your accompaniments, please do explain.” She motioned towards Ryley and Keoni. Keoni straightened herself out, though nobody actually looked at her.
“This is Keoni and her friend Ryley. They both sheltered me willingly in the Physical World while I was too weak to make it back here. Keoni is a Tejh sister from when Kaedin was last reborn. She inherited a lot of Kaedin’s abilities.”
“Your hospitality is well appreciated, Keoni and Ryley.” Ruka addressed them directly. Keoni suddenly felt important.
“All of you are excused now. Caste, unfortunately I can’t house you, as you aren’t on any team at the moment. I will see you in the morning.”
“See you, Quujhok.” Caste said. The rest of the Cognates dispersed, saying things to Caste as they passed him.
Caste rejoined Ryley and Keoni. “There you have it.” He remarked.
“It’s weird to see you bow to someone,” Ryley teased. Caste just laughed it off.
“I’ve addressed her as such for thousands of years. Since she challenged for her position. She was a close friend to Trin and inherited some of his power. Quujhok Ruka since then has perfected the art of combat. Everyone you just saw here also protects her, as she is a world leader.”
“Thousands of years? You were alive when Trin was?” Ryley asked.
“...yes?” He responded. “All of us were, along with Venge.” It was weird to think that they were speaking to someone who’d been alive since the beginning of time.
He changed the subject. “You should probably return back to the Physical World until morning. Your absence will be noticed while it’s day there. I can come get you when it’s time, or Qaye can.”
“Of course, Cwoo-jzock.” Ryley joked.
Caste rolled his eyes. “I don’t need that title from you, as butchered as it is. Now shoo.” He opened a portal beneath them, following behind as he took them right back to Keoni’s house. His movement was quick, and he landed them perfectly there.
As he returned and the portal sealed, Keoni couldn’t help but look forward to his challenge.
. . .
Qaye sat next to Keoni and Ryley, tucking his tail under him. “I think you’ll be entertained by this,” he said.
A small, blue sand-filled arena was below them. Keoni could probably sprint its distance in five seconds. Ruka and the other Cognates from earlier were all gathered on the opposite side, waiting patiently for them to begin.
“The rules are simple: they fight with magic until one Cognate is either too weak, a step away from death, or dark and light collide. It’s Master Ruka’s decision when it ends, and she judges the overall battle and chooses who wins. Winner takes the loser’s place on the teams, and the loser usually moves down. Since Caste is coming from nothing, this is just to see if he earns a place on team six. If he does, he stays, nobody moves. Once he moves to team seven, let's say, wins, he takes the spot and pushes the person he just battled to team six. There’s a lot more complications tied to this, but basically he has to win this one.”
“Got it,” Ryley said. “What do I expect?”
“Let’s just say to not be scared of Caste when this is over.” Qaye smirked.
The first contender walked out. He was wearing a shawl and a black top and bottoms, which looked mighty comfortable.
“Hah, this will be interesting.” Qaye said. “That’s one of Caste’s students, back when he taught dark magic.”
Caste walked out next, in the same outfit.
“Both of you know how to play fair,” Ruka said as they both stopped at the same spot.
Both of them bowed to each other.
“That’s their way of apologizing for fighting.” Qaye explained.
“You may fight.” Ruka sat down.
Caste was still, his eyes locked on the other Cognate.
“That’s his name. Rouh.”
Rouh paced to Caste’s side, something starting to emerge in his hands.
“Caste is completely ready. If Rouh fires, he’s in big trouble.” Qaye leaned in.
On cue, something green exploded from his hands and curved around the arena, aiming right for Caste.
Suddenly, the orbs of green stopped, orbiting around Caste. Qaye muttered something Keoni couldn’t understand.
Rouh growled and lunged at Caste. Two daggers made with the same energy as the orbs shot from his hands, aiming for Caste’s neck.
Caste copied the daggers, then started swiping right back at Rouh. He backed up as he tried defending against Caste’s movement. Soon, he was pinned.
Ruka stood up. Was she about to call the battle?
Rouh shoved Caste off of him, his arms still emitting green.
The orbs around Caste slammed into Rouh, throwing him into the air. Caste leaped to his level and gave a strong kick in the gut.
The magic sent Rouh slamming into the wall. Caste inched towards him, the daggers still at hand.
“Rouh’s letting Caste win. He knows he can’t win either way.” Qaye said.
Rouh seemed to be weaker as Caste held the daggers crossed against his neck. That was definitely a near death.
Rouh smacked Caste away with his own knives, starting a duel. Both of them were now fencing back and forth.
Caste vanished. Rouh whipped around, looking for him.
He reappeared just a second later to Rouh’s back, wrapping his knife right onto Rouh’s neck, then pushed him to the ground, pinning him with his right leg. He still held the knife, and it was pointless.
“Jhem.” Ruka stood again. Caste immediately got off of Rouh and stood at attention. Rouh slowly got up, matching Caste’s position.
“Rouh, I called a timeout because you are becoming too angry. Please calm down and we will continue.”
Rouh took a few deep breaths. “I am calm, Quujhok.”
“You may continue.”
Caste moved first this time. A huge flash of the energy they were fighting with bolted across the arena and smashed into Rouh. Rouh stood quickly, returning the same attack.
Again, before it reached Caste, it stopped and hovered. Rouh glanced at it, seeming to panic as Caste advanced toward him.
Rouh landed a punch of the energy onto Caste. Caste fell onto the ground, but immediately stood up and threw something sharp. A shuriken, maybe?
Rouh ducked, but as he was ducking, Caste hit him with a hard jolt of magic. It caught Rouh by surprise, as he screamed.
Ruka stopped the battle again. “Caste, please calm yourself.”
Qaye whispered, “That’s going to toll his score.”
Caste took a few deep breaths. “I am calm, Quujhok.”
“You may continue,” she said again, sitting down.
Immediately, Rouh was thrown into another pin with Caste’s magic. He tried fighting, but eventually collapsed. Ruka stopped the fight again.
“Caste, you have earned your place in Team Six. If you wish to challenge Team Five, you may return in one hour.”
Caste dipped his head, coming towards Qaye, Keoni, and Ryley. He climbed over the wall, and Qaye stood up to greet him.
“Something is horribly wrong.” Caste immediately said. “I can feel it in each of my bones.”
“I noticed.” Qaye remarked. “How are your memories?”
“Fine, fine,” Caste responded, though he seemed distracted. “Seriously, the Mirae is trying to tell me something.”
“Still, you were kind of scary out there,” Ryley added.
“Thanks..?” Caste responded tiredly. “I can be scarier, but again, during that entire battle, my nokgoj were everywhere.”
“Did you lie about seeing a doctor, Caste?” Qaye asked suspiciously.
He shook his head. “No, I did go see one. They’re not malfunctioning.” He glanced down. “I think I just need to sit for a while. Perhaps it’ll clear up.”
Nobody noticed that Ruka had approached them, and joined them in the stands. “Caste.” She said, announcing her presence.
“Quujhok?”
“Is everything alright?” She asked, concerned.
“I’m not sure, Quujhok.”
“I sense you used fear as your emotion the whole battle. What are you afraid of?”
“I’m… not sure.” He responded. “I will improve next battle.”
She didn’t look too convinced. “Uj chea yun juch.” She left the four, vanishing and reappearing on the other side.
Qaye gave Caste another look. He didn’t see it as he too, vanished in a mist without a word.
“He’s right. Something is terribly wrong.” Qaye turned to Keoni. “But I can only sense it in his Physical body.”
Keoni didn’t know what to say. Only Qaye and Caste understood what was going on, and even then, they didn’t.
“Come.” Qaye said. Instantly, a portal opened beneath them.
Keoni fell in before she could object. But instead of ending in the Physical World, they were near the location of the Runes.
“How’d you do that?” Ryley squeaked. He’d noticed the instant travel too.
“Caste’s been the only one transporting you places. He’s better at combat than portals. I have free time and have perfected making them.” Qaye answered.
He paced across the field of pink grass, back to the Runes of Trin.
However, when they climbed over the hill, Keoni immediately saw a huge difference.
The many stones were all shattered and broken apart. A few people were looking around and through it, though Keoni didn’t know what for. She was surprised nobody was too upset at the wreck.
“A great loss this is, but we shouldn’t grieve.” It was like Qaye read her thoughts. “These stones can all be recycled and taken with people as individual Runes.” He approached the closest fallen stone, grabbing a nearby chunk. “Many have already been taken to the High Council’s Dreamers to be converted.”
He smashed the rock in two on the ground, leaving small chunks. He picked one up that wasn’t any bigger than his thumb. “This will do,” he said. He rubbed his hands on it, and immediately it started glowing pink instead of blue. Powder came off and blew away in the wind.
He withdrew a metal container from a bag Keoni just now noticed he had. Qaye glanced at the other broken stones, shrugged, and picked another up. Keoni had no idea what was going through his head when he turned to Ryley and looked at him, up and down. “Hmm.” He said, his face perplexed. “Htuh'pp xe.”
“What did you say?” Ryley asked.
“Oh, talking to myself.” He responded. He did the same powder thing to the other rock, then carried both the dusty stones across the field. Ryley and Keoni followed, though they had no idea what he was doing.
He reached the small pond Keoni had found earlier with the strange orange water. He dipped both the stones inside, shaking them out. Qaye lifted both of them out, and to Keoni's surprise, both stones were polished and perfectly round, and each had a tiny hole at one of the shorter edges.
He opened the container and pulled out a tiny, glowing pin. Carefully, he etched a word onto the first stone. The pin instantly punctured the stone’s surface, leaving the engraving clearly marked.
“This says ‘Peer’ which coincidentally means ‘See.’ Ryley, this stone will give you enough magical strength to not die in Limbo. And additionally, if I’m correct, will resist most negative effects of magic on you. A rough translation is ‘The wearer’s blood cannot be drawn by the evils of magic.’ This is a very rare type of Rune that only Physical dwellers can wear, so I’m trusting you with it.”
Qaye withdrew a tied brown string from his bag and laced it through the tiny hole, braiding the ends together and looping it around Ryley’s neck, being careful of his antlers.
He then took a gray string and laced it around the second Rune. “Keoni, this Rune should just enhance your overall performance in this world. You don’t have to activate it. As long as it’s on your person, it’ll be active.”
Qaye tied the string off behind Keoni, braiding the ends to look nicer. It sat comfortably around her neck.
She didn’t see any difference in the magic she’d been sensing. It’ll show, she was sure.
“If Caste gets better, I think he’ll find it entertaining to try to penetrate that new Rune, Ryley. That’s usually a rune used for practicing magic, anyway.” Qaye joked. “Right now though, I don’t think he’d be up for it.”
“Qaye, sorry! I forgot to say thank you.” Ryley winced.
“Don’t worry about it.” Qaye winked. “In the Mirae it’s not common etiquette.”
“It is in the Physical World,” Keoni responded quietly. “So thank you, Qaye.”
Qaye smiled softly and said nothing. Keoni guessed he didn’t know the response to a thank you.
He paced back. “If you want to kill time, go ahead. I’d like to stay here and gather any other Runes I can use. What would you guys like to do?”
Keoni actually wanted to go see if Caste was alright, but she sensed that wasn’t going to be an option. There was probably only one thing she could be interested in at any given time.
“Do you have any extra books?”
. . .
Keoni returned to her spot in the stands, already seeing the one new fighter. Obviously, Caste was fighting again. His posture seemed not as sharp and his expression was troubled.
“He’ll be fine,” Qaye said, although it seemed like he was reassuring himself more than either of them.
“He doesn’t look fine,” Ryley commented bluntly. “How normal is that?”
Qaye’s forehead was creased. “I haven’t watched one of these in hundreds of years, besides an hour ago. This is a topic I don’t know anything about, really.”
“I can hear your worrying comments from here, Houyt.” Caste snorted, moving his eyes to look at them.
“Good.” Qaye mumbled. “You must have an answer, then.”
His response was delayed. Caste folded his hands neatly behind his back and under his shawl, still not facing them. “No.”
Qaye snorted so loudly, Ruka heard him. She glanced in his direction, where he corrected his posture and gave her a respectful nod. Caste rolled his eyes, though his face was more amused than anything else. Ryley giggled from beside Keoni once Ruka had returned to her conversation with one of the Cognates next to her.
“It went away around thirty minutes ago, if that’s the answer you were looking for, Qaye.” Caste finally said. “I just think my body wasn’t ready for so much magic use.”
“Uh-huh. Are you sure about that?”
Before Caste could make another snarky comment, Ruka spoke.
“I ask that you both alternate between light and dark. You are now among my highest pupils, and your abilities must be put on full display. Remember, however, uncontained contact of light and dark will result in the disqualification of both parties.”
After her voice stopped echoing, Caste took a step forward and again bowed to his opponent, showing her a sign of apology and respect. She returned the bow.
“You may fight,” Ruka announced, sitting down.
It all happened in a split second. Caste charged up first, this time using orbs that glowed pink and blue. As they formed in his hands, his entire body jittered and collapsed. He shrieked vehemently, moving his hands to his spine and squinting his eyes shut. His body fell hard onto the dirt, it was clear he had no control.
Something horrible just happened to him, and his opponent seemed equally paralyzed.
In response, three Cognates came running out from the sides of the arena to him to help. They gathered around him, and he didn’t move.
Keoni held her breath. Qaye leaned closer to see what was going on. Ryley also seemed to hold his breath.
The figure of Caste flickered. The horns he had in the Physical World flashed on and off.
One of the people gathered around rubbed her hands together, generating magic. She slammed them onto Caste’s chest.
The magic slid into his body. A second later, he gasped loudly and opened his eyes.
“Oh, thank Trin,” Qaye sighed, leaning back and holding his hand to his heart. “He’s fine.”
The three lifted him gently off the ground. His body didn’t comply at all. Though his eyes were open, he was entirely limp.
Ruka joined them quickly, asking Caste if he knew anything of what happened. The words fell out of his mouth.
“Quuarks… torture… device…” Before he could finish, he fainted again.
“Take him to Oquokvonych Mir. Report anything you find to me.” Ruka ordered. It was the first order Keoni had actually heard from her.
“What happened to him?” Ryley asked, though it was clear Qaye didn’t know the answer. He was silent as Caste was carried out, still helpless.