Andriel didn’t pay Keoni any attention as he stormed after Ryley down the second hall. A few dents in the wall were really all the damage he’d done. She wanted to run and help Ryley, but every bit of her told her no. Caste had said directly to her to avoid the Quuarks, because if they took her in for testing, they’d mistake her for a Mir-Cognate.
And she wasn’t sure she wanted to be beat up by Ryley’s father.
Keoni left out the front door, pleading that things would get better. For now, she needed to find Qaye. She walked down the streets of Everton, looking around, when it occurred to her that they’d probably already gone back.
It was less than two minutes of a walk to get to her home. The sun was rising into midday, casting a short shadow along everything. Though it was only fall, the heat felt like it was beating down on her.
Keoni unlocked her door quickly, pulling out Kaedin’s Rune and pressing it to her forehead. She closed the door, panting.
Kaedin faded into view. “Tejh Sister?”
“Kaedin, I need your help.” Keoni started. Her first attempt at using the correct magic to open a Mir-Gate did not go well in the Physical World. “I need you to open a gate.”
Kaedin held their hands up. “I can’t do that.”
“Wha… why not?” Keoni tripped over her own words.
“This version of me is inside the Rune. I’d need to take control of your body, which is all disturbing. You wouldn’t like it.”
“That’s probably the best option we have here,” Keoni pointed out. “The faster I can get to Qaye, the better.”
“Not only would you find possession disturbing, but this Rune isn’t strong enough to handle it. You’re on your own, Sis.” Kaedin glanced around helplessly.
Keoni sat down, thinking. “Would it bring me harm if I tried a gate again?”
Kaedin sat down too. “Absolutely. Without Quujhok Qaye for safety, your gate would be too unstable.”
“Remind me again what happens with an unstable gate?”
Kaedin fidgeted. “If a Mir-Gate isn’t strong enough, it will start to fluctuate. It can turn into a vacuum, taking every object with it. These gates endanger even Mir-Cognates because, well, it could kill them.” They glanced at Keoni. “The dead forever way. There’s an unpredictable chance your Mir-Link could be so as an inch harmed, and from there, let Venge help you, there is no hope you’re surviving. Of course, you could make it through alive, but it’s a coin flip.”
Keoni had read too many books where that coin flip was always the main character’s favor. This was real life though.
“Well, let’s flip an actual coin and see.” Keoni was entirely joking. She stood up and strode across the living room over to one of her board games, where there were many coins used as currency for it.
“Tejh, that’s not a good idea,” Kaedin started, getting up. “I’m not letting a coin decide your fate.” They reached out to grab Keoni, but their hand went right through her wrist. They shuddered. “Keoni!”
Keoni couldn’t help but burst into giggles from Kaedin’s reaction. Kaedin frowned at her laughter. “Neh wannch, Tejh.” They said, “I’d never forgive myself if you died from my guidance.”
She stopped laughing. “Sorry.”
Kaedin tilted their head. “Do you have any other suggestions?”
Keoni rubbed her head. Ryley would know, the thought came to her. But he wasn’t here. Not yet. She shook her head in response to Kaedin’s inquiry.
Kaedin jolted suddenly, then held their head up. “Actually, I think I can open one by doing the whole ‘possess’ thing.”
Keoni didn’t question their change of heart. “Go ahead.”
“Touch the Rune to your head.” They ordered. Keoni followed, watching as Kaedin dissolved into the air. The atmosphere returned to normal.
Keoni’s hands were held in front of her. Not even five seconds later, she was suddenly creating a Mir-Gate.
Keoni gasped, mesmerized. Her body jumped in, closing the gate and landing straight in the Mirae.
Kaedin dropped her, and she fell onto the ground, her body cold. Keoni slowly moved her fingers before she got used to the feeling of moving again. She stood back up, scanning the blue horizon.
She immediately spotted Qaye and the Defender that’d rescued him. Keoni quickly ran over to both of them.
The Defender glared at Keoni when she neared, a warning sign. Qaye was sitting on the ground, his shawl off his head and on his lap instead. Keoni had always wanted to know what they wore underneath their blankets, and it just happened to be a short-sleeved, snug shirt. He glanced up at what was distracting the other Mir-Cognate.
He let out a warm smile. “Htoch'ko u wkionx, Mefik,” He said. She backed away. He switched languages then said to Keoni: “Finally managed to open a Mir-Gate, I see.”
Keoni shrugged. “It wasn’t me. Speaking of which, what’s possession in Mirae terms?”
Qaye raised his brow. “Possesshun?” He asked. Keoni nodded. His pronunciation was close enough.
“Never heard of it. Are you sure you’re not dodging your credit?” He winced when the other Cognate touched his shoulder. Keoni just now noticed how dislocated it was. All from Andriel attacking him for nothing. And the Mir-Cognates are the aggressive ones.
“Very sure.” He yelped in pain when his shoulder was touched again.
She said something to Qaye in Miraen, to which he responded grumpily. She giggled, telling him something else.
“Looks like we’re off to Jefu.” Qaye finished. “That’s where Caste is, and where Mefik insists I should go and check on him.”
“Chea pigo htoko hee, chea zawween.” Mefik told him. “Unx i yun’h xe unchhtinv uzeah cheak ukqu. Hto tejmihup htoko yun.”
“Hkao,” Qaye sighed. “I could’ve gotten us there faster if Andriel hadn’t dislocated my assertive arm.” He said one more thing in Miraen to Mefik.
She then dropped Keoni through a Mir-Gate, one that was so much stronger than the one… Kaedin… had made earlier.
They reappeared moments later in a city very similar to Finx. It had the same dark gray tiles as a road and many buildings dotted around. Nobody really paid them any attention, which by this point Keoni was used to.
Mefik bowed, then vanished. Qaye took a look at his surroundings. “I don’t know what I’m looking for. Do you remember what place Caste was taken to?”
Keoni racked her brain. “Umm, Ooo-coohok…”
“That’s right, Oquokvonych Mir.”
Keoni decided not to comment on it.
He noticed her hesitation. “It can be abbreviated to Topmmir.” He said matter-of-factly. “If it helps.”
Keoni just shook her head in confusion and followed him down the street.
It took a bit longer to reach where they were going, but eventually, Qaye turned into one of the larger buildings. It had multiple stories, and Keoni could sense a lot of magic went into its architecture.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
He approached the person at the desk, quickly exchanging some words with them. Afterwards, they called out to someone who was standing nearby, asking them something.
It would really help to know what they’re saying, Keoni told herself. Inaccurate guessing would have to do.
The second Cognate ran down the first level hall, leaving the three of them behind.
“Err, Physcia pego,” Qaye finally said.
She nodded. “Why?”
“I’m too used to it right now.” Qaye shrugged with his good shoulder. “Are we clear?”
She glanced at her fingers. “You said you were in the Physical World? How long?”
He frowned. “Why is that important?”
She returned the frown. “Diseases.”
His face fell. It didn’t occur to Keoni that he would be vulnerable. “I see. Is she allowed to go on her own?”
“Yes. You can go too, I just have to run one quick wave through you to make sure you’re not a carrier.”
Keoni stood awkwardly as the Cognate held her hand in front of him, looking at a small light emitting from it. She held it to his heart, where it matched its beats.
“You may go,” she said with a quick bow. “Floor two, Kih will show you.”
Kih was standing by the hall, or at least that’s who Keoni assumed was Kih. Qaye joined them, following them down the hall. There were plenty of doors, though none had windows. They all had labels too, but only in Miraen, where one symbol could be an entire sentence.
“What about your arm?” Keoni asked Qaye, finally.
“Someone is coming to look at it.” He held his hands behind his back and continued walking. They followed Kih up a flight of stairs, then right to the first door in the long hallway. They bowed, soon leaving both of them to just open the door.
Qaye did so with his good arm. The handle creaked as he poked his head inside, Keoni following.
Two doctors were speaking to themselves in the corner, ignoring the other two as they walked in. Keoni just now realized why they were coming here.
Caste was unconscious on the bed in the room, a blanket pulled over him. His expression was troubled, but he seemed pretty healthy.
“We pulled that out of him.” One of the doctors said, pointing to a nearby table. On it was resting a large hunk of metal. Keoni took a closer look at it.
Quuark technology, she told herself, inspecting it. It had many stray wires sticking out, a steam exhaust tube sticking out the side, and artificial veins.
“It’s designed to power itself off of the host’s body and light magic, which then uses that power to electrocute its victim. Truly a crude design.”
Keoni shuddered. That was inside Caste.
The other doctor came up to Qaye, noticing his arm. “Emon,” They said.
Qaye winced before suddenly crying out loud, clutching his dislocated arm and curling up. His body morphed into its physical form, with the unexplained spots.
“Zohhok.” Their face showed their… envy? The doctor quickly started using magic around Qaye’s arm. They thought for a moment before ordering Qaye to do something.
Keoni was still trying to piece together what happened when she heard a loud shift, and something pop back into place.
Qaye’s arm was back in place. The Mir-Cogate helped him sit down and they continued to investigate Qaye’s arm.
The first doctor walked over to Caste, tracing a circle with light around his face and snapping, the exact thing Qaye had done to Andriel.
Caste jumped awake. He took a sharp breath in, then calmed down as he saw his surroundings. “Hospitalized by the Quuarks too, I see,” He grinned at Qaye, who was still in the corner watching wearily.
“How do you know this is a Quuark’s doing?” Qaye squinted at him.
Caste shrugged, pulling himself up slowly. “They’ve dislocated my arm just like that countless times. It’s a control tactic: disable your way of casting magic by harming the source. The second is to keep your arms away from each other, as that’s how you can conform objects to defend yourself.”
He finally acknowledged Keoni. “It’s good to see you again. Where’s Ryley?” He seemed to piece things together. “And what happened to you, Qaye?”
“His father is a member of the Quuarks. Qaye tried convincing him to quit. He figured out who Qaye was really quickly and attacked him.” Keoni explained. “I can only guess Ryley’s father is scolding him for speaking to a Mir-Cognate.”
Caste frowned. “Qaye, your physical body is at least three centuries old. That doesn’t line up.”
“Two centuries, sixty-four years, to be exact,” Qaye corrected him. “And I had a Rune which reversed the aging process enough for me to travel.”
Again, it was weird to think Qaye and Caste had already existed long before years were being counted. That means the last time Qaye died was over 264 years ago, she told herself. And Caste’s physical body is still in his mid-twenties. He’d said he was taken when he was seventeen, which was how old Keoni was now.
“Your next objective should be to get Ryley back.” Caste frowned. “You two are inseparable, whether you’re in a relationship or not.”
“We’re siblings, Caste.” She corrected him, though not aggressively. He didn’t know Keoni was adopted by Ryley’s family after her’s was taken.
“My bad. Either way, it’s not good if you just leave him there to listen to his father fill his head with water.” He glanced over at the doctor beside him, changing the subject. “Can I try to stand?”
“If you believe you are ready, then yes.”
Caste swung his legs around and sat on the edge, staring at the ground. Keoni started wondering if he’d lost feeling in his body when the device went off. The way he was limp earlier, her guess was yes.
He used the other Cognate for support as he lifted himself off. He grunted, putting his weight on the doctor.
Caste stood for just a moment before sitting back down. “Not yet,” He said. He muttered something in his own language.
“No swearing.” Qaye ordered him, leaving Keoni to try and guess what exactly Caste had muttered. “It’s a sign of weakness. And you definitely shouldn’t swear as a Defender.”
“You’re right,” Caste sighed. “It’s frustrating to be rendered useless.”
“You should take a break, Quujhok.” The doctor from beside him ordered. How is Caste a master? “Seek some therapy. You’ve had probably the toughest years of your existence.”
“I can’t rest while I know our kind is still having the toughest years of their lives.” Caste countered. “Perhaps after I know each of them are safe and the Quuark’s terrible conquer is over.”
“He never changes, does he?” Asked the Cognate. Qaye shook his head and smiled gently.
The Cognate fixing Qaye’s arm seemed to finish, as they settled back in their seat. Caste sighed again and sank down into bed. “I have to wait until next week to rechallenge. Once I do, I’m confident I won’t mess up.”
Keoni suddenly had a question pop into her mind, the same one Qaye didn’t have an answer to. “Caste, what’s possession in Mirae terms?”
“Forbidden. The practice has been cleansed out of everyone’s minds.”
But… how did he remember if…
Caste saw her perplexed face. “I’m kidding. When Venge died, she was able to ‘possess’ through Runes. It was an odd state a being could be in, and wasn’t widely accepted either. The Nexus holds a lot of the information now, as possession hasn’t been seen for thousands of years.”
“I’ve never heard anything like that when I browse,” Qaye mentioned. Keoni didn’t exactly know what he meant. He was a Dreamer, but Keoni hadn’t studied the Sects, which was how Finx and the neighboring area was run.
“Only Tivt Enipok Lann has access to it. He doesn’t want it to fall into corrupt hands, after the Hkesun Incident. And the term is Zexchtepl.”
“It’s weird to see a Defender and a Dreamer have a conversation and make sense of it.” One of the doctors joked. “Where did you get this information, anyway?”
Caste glanced at the ground. “I was a bodyguard for Tivt Enipok Lann for a very long time. I hear things.”
He didn’t really answer her question, but she felt like what she was digging into was a lot deeper. And Kaedin probably didn’t have an answer. “Thanks,” she said anyway.
“Qaye, here,” Caste reached for his neck and unfastened the Rune laced to it. “This is yours.”
Qaye stood up and held his hand out. Caste settled it into his palm. Qaye bowed.
Caste dipped his head in the same gesture, as he wasn’t standing.
“I’d say the Mirae World will have his paralysis corrected by morning. All the damage is in his Physical form, after all.” The Cognate said again. “You’re welcome to keep him entertained or head on out, either one.”
The other Cognate said something in Miraen. Keoni had gathered that they didn’t know Physcia.
Keoni wished she could tell somebody’s name just by looking at them. It would be much easier than just referring to him as a doctor. He thought for a moment on what they had said, then addressed Keoni. “You said you had a friend who visited here?”
“Choj,” She responded, which earned her an amused look from both Caste and Qaye.
“Hmmm. Qaye, what is his strength?”
“I’d guess around a hundred and fifty.” Qaye responded. “Why?”
The doctor clenched his teeth and took a breath in. “Qaye, were you by any chance, having a bit of Mino fever? About two weeks ago?”
Qaye nodded, still confused on where he was going.
“I’m afraid there's a high chance that your friend, Tejh, has Mino.”
Keoni didn’t know what Mino was. She glanced over at Caste, who groaned, muttering something in his own language.
The doctor gave her a worrying stare. “Mino is terminal to Physical dwellers.”
What?! Keoni calmed down. It was simply a theory of his. Nothing more. Ryley is not going to die.
Qaye winced. “Keoni, if Xey Miko is right, Ryley only has a day to live.”
Please. “Is there an antidote I can get to him?” She asked, desperately. She was prepared to open a Mir-Gate right here if it meant saving him.
Miko shook his head. “It’s an incredibly easy - yet so complicated - fix.” He answered. “A Mir-Cognate has to heal it from him, in Limbo. If he can’t be reached, then it kills him.”
All hypothetical, yet, Keoni had a gut feeling this danger was a reality.