Dark Swan Ebook, page 23
I’d stabbed him?
He buckled back in pain. “Aether!” He put his hand to the injury—no blood. “That hurt like a—”
“You should’ve killed me when you had the chance,” I whispered, pressing the tip of my sword under his chin. Aether, he was perfect. “I’m trying to show you that you can’t trust anyone. You need to make the kill before they kill you.”
“Not everyone wants to kill you, Alecto.” Setizar stood, grabbing my right hand. “I certainly could never do it.”
Doubt flickered in my heart. What had I experienced before that made me think like that?
The scene changed. Before me was a dark forest, shrouded in mystery. A figure stood in a sliver of shadow, but her figure was someone I knew.
“Inanna.”
Her blood-red lips parted into a smile, flashing teeth akin to pure alabaster stones. Her eyes, her face, it was beautiful. She looked like the haunting spirit of a wavering home, bidding lonely travelers into her laced arms. “Well, Alecto… Whatever brought on this change?”
I lowered my weapon, angling my head. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”
The memory shattered with a blood-curdling scream. The Wraith crumbled down, its skin whiter than the snow around me. A hollow cry resounded as Tatum hissed through his teeth behind me. A crack of lightning split the sky, followed by a deafening screech.
I stumbled a step back—electricity streaking through my body as I looked at the broken figure of the Memory Wraith. Standing above it, with jowls dripping blood, was a creature strewn of my worst nightmares.
An ogarak.
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I jumped back, evading the teeth gnashing at my head. My wings spread behind me, though I quickly tucked them away.
The ogarak was on me. Hands gripping my wrists, hurdling us into a nearby tree. Pain tore into my back, splintering up my spine. Everything was upside down. A beat of my heart thrummed in my ear.
I had no weapons.
Setizar’s words echoed in my mind. You are a weapon—
Fire welled in my heart. Everything was slow… sedated. Nothing was pulsing. Nothing was moving. Time suspended.
Then it sped up, just as my fist erupted in flames. The ogarak flew backward, hurdling through the air. The smell of burning reptile pounded in my nose as I gasped.
The ogarak bounded toward me again, every sharp feature—every fang and claw—on display.
I closed my eyes.
A memory flashed; a shield made of fire, pillowing upward, like a wave crashing against the darkening skies.
The memory flooded into reality—a pulse of power extruding from my veins outward. The ogarak screamed as its body crashed into my shield and didn’t stop. Burning, melting flesh and all, the ogarak continued through my shield.
I tried harder, concentrating all my thoughts to keep it up. The harder I pressed my powers, the more the ogarak clawed and scraped.
One finger jabbed out, ripping into my skin and fracturing the shield. It disintegrated as blood swept down my arm. Pain, fiery hot and winter cold, squeezed into my skin. I inhaled; icy wind filled my lungs. The ogarak raised one claw over its head, bloodlust filling its eyes. No. This was not where I died.
I screamed, my wings unfurling from below my skin, and I vaulted into the sky. The creature’s claws narrowly missed me.
But I’d forgotten. The Ogarak also had wings.
A plume of dust and snow exploded from around its deathly carapace as it hurdled into the heavens, snatching my foot. I screamed. The dead weight of the creature dragged me downward. Fire and ice shattered around me as we continued to fall. My wings went limp.
I kicked at the ogarak. My heel dug into its claw, but didn’t do much good. Blood spurted from the wound I’d created, but he held tight until we were inches from the ground.
I cracked my wing against the cold snow. Everything was white. Tears stung my eyes. I couldn’t feel anything but pain. Pure, unadulterated pain.
There was no movement.
The ogarak wasn’t moving, either. Was it dead?
“Well this is messy.”
Inanna?
My bleary eyes couldn’t focus on anything. I only heard her voice through the crackling sound in my ears.
“You killed one of my creatures, Alecto...”
I wanted to throw my fist into her face. There were two people warring inside of me. One was Meris, the other… Alecto. But how? I still didn’t understand.
“The veneer Setizar put on you was impressive. I had no idea.” The crunch of bones resounded and I screamed. My wing! Aether, my wing!
“Oh, you look as though you are in pain,” Inanna cooed. “Unfortunately, this is just the beginning. You broke a law of Yamira. You’re bound to the magic. Never, ever attack one of my creatures.”
Rage boiled in my stomach. “It attacked me.”
“Impossible. It would never do that.” Her smile was feral. I couldn’t take my eyes off the way her lips angled into a red, scythe-like curve.
“You ordered it to attack me, didn’t you?” I hissed, pain climbing through my bones once again. “You wanted this to happen.”
“Oh?” She shrugged, her dark dress bleeding into shadows. “It’s a shame. I used to like you before you betrayed me. Don’t you remember that?” She knelt beside me, her hand grasping my chin and tilting it up.
“What are you talking about?”
She released me, recoiling and pressing her fingers together as if she’d touched something utterly putrid. “Lost some memories, have you?” The way she said it told me she knew about my loss of memory; about everything. “You and me? We were going to remake Yamira. We were going to tear down the useless laws and backwards thoughts of the Lords and rulers. But then, you betrayed me. You fell in love.” Her laugh was thin and hollow. “You befriended the others, getting in their heads, but then? When you met Setizar? You fell. You fell like someone had clipped your wings mid-flight. His docile, weak nature won you. I saw it happen. He wouldn’t hurt a fly, and so you turned to them. You worked with—” She clenched her fists, anger blooming red splotches on her cheeks. “You undid everything!” She pulled her veil off her face, and horror streaked through me.
Scars marred the top half of her forehead and brows, while one eye was beautiful—a gorgeous blend of amber and red—the other was white with a raging, angry scar across the lid.
Red.
So much red—and screams.
I did that to her?
“We were going to make Yamira a better place. A place where creatures wouldn’t fear one another. But you taught me one thing.” She pulled out a knife, pressing it against my neck. “The strong survive. You shouldn’t bother looking after others. It’s useless.”
“Inanna—”
She pressed harder. The blade bit into my skin. “I don’t want to hear it. You will come now to Redrim and pay for what you have done. And you better pray to the Aether that you survive.”
I swallowed.
“No.”
Setizar?
We turned. He stood in the middle of the icy forest, his clothes in disarray, as if he had been through a storm coming here.
Just behind him was Cerie, her golden eyes illuminating the darkness.
“If one is willing to take the punishment, the sin against the law will be given to them, freeing the offender. You abide by this rule, Inanna. Do not pretend you don’t know it.”
My heart shattered. “No.”
Setizar looked at me, a wry smile forming on his lips. “Don’t fight me on this, please.”
“I won’t let you.” I groaned, pushing Inanna off me and standing beside him. My wing was limp and mauled, leaving a trail of blood in the snow. “I can’t.”
“She’s right,” Inanna cut in. “I won’t let you take her place.”
“It’s a law, Inanna. You created it.” Setizar looped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer. “I will take her place. I will take the punishment. She walks free.”
Inanna’s fingers curled into a fist. “You’re out of your mind.”
His grip tightened around me, tugging me so close that there was no separation between us. “I most definitely am.”
Inanna’s good eye narrowed. “Fine. You have two minutes while I make the preparations to hold a jinni.” She stopped, a black abyss forming between two trees. “Don’t run. You know the consequences.”
“Indeed.” Setizar watched as she vanished, then turned back to me. His eyes softened. Everything about him seemed unsettled. “Meris—”
“I remember,” I said. “I—I don’t know everything, but I remember enough. Enough to apologize.”
He shook his head, fingers trailing down my broken wing. “You’re hurt.”
“It’s my fault for running away.” I shivered as his thumb glided over my broken bone, mending it. “I should have stayed.”
“You were overwhelmed. I used to do the same thing when I first met you, if you remember.” He smiled, a red flush covering his face.
No. He couldn’t be sent to Redrim to be punished. I wouldn’t allow it. No one should be going. This was a trap. “I can’t let you take my place.”
Setizar cupped my face, looking into my eyes. “It’s the law until the curse is undone. You must undo the curse. Find Jack and Libby. They will help you once you retrieve the Box.” His eyes slid over mine again, as if he was taking me in one last time. “Once the Box is opened, you will be able to bless the seasons again, and we will tear down Redrim and its horrors for good, just like we planned.”
“We… planned?”
His smile fluttered between sorrow and joy. “You will remember, given time. Jack or Libby will fill you in completely. Just hurry. When the portal opens, go into the human realm and do what you must.”
The portal. So he knew? Despite it all, he knew my plan?
“Come with me.”
“I would die.” He narrowed his gaze “Since it was my magic which was taken, I will become unraveled and turn to dust before your eyes in the human realm. Why do you think I haven’t ventured there?”
My heart was breaking and twisting, torn in a thousand different directions. I couldn’t do this to him. I couldn’t leave him with Inanna. I’d seen the little torture she inflicted on him—and she enjoyed it! I couldn’t let that happen again. “Setizar—”
“Go.” He released me from his hold. “Go, and go quick.”
Cerie rested a hand on my shoulder, pulling me further from Setizar. “No! I can’t leave him. I can fight Inanna!”
“Meris,” Cerie murmured. “You aren’t restored enough to fight Inanna. Give it time.”
“We don’t have time.” I shook her hand off. “He doesn’t have time!”
Setizar stiffened. He wasn’t a fighter. He wasn’t born a warrior. He was doing this for me—for everyone. “I love you, remember that. No matter who you are, or what you decide to call yourself, I will never stop loving you.”
Two portals opened, one on the right of Setizar, one to the left of me. Dark as night beside him, bright as a sunny day beside me. Inanna stepped out of the abyss.
“Setizar I—”
A hand pulled at me, yanking me left. Blazing yellow sunlight rolled over me, and I shut my eyes. My body felt shattered—warped and gnarled like a puzzle put together wrong—as I re-entered Inder; my veins froze with magic and power. My mind was a mess of confusion and nerves as I steadied myself again. Somehow, the jump between worlds left my mind utterly upside down, like a bat hooked to the ceiling of a cave.
I breathed in and out, rolling my shoulders. The world around me was drenched in green and golden light, somehow so muted compared to the world I was in just a moment prior. Pink and purple flowers popped up around me, lacking the luster of the ones in Yamira.
It struck me like a blow to my face. “No.” I stood, spinning around and facing Cerie. “You didn’t let me finish!”
“We had to leave. Inanna appeared.”
I crumbled, my skin prickling from the sudden heat. My insides were cold and frigid. “I didn’t get to tell him… tell him I love him too.”
Cerie leaned down beside me, her blue skin changing hue. Everything about her dulled as she became utterly human. Her white hair dripped to blonde, her skin became the shade of desert sands, and her horn vanished like mist over a morning lake. Her eyes, however, remained that same magical sun-lit gold. “Meris, you will see him again. We don’t have much time. If we stay here for too long we will forget all that had to do with magic. We must conserve the magic you have. Don’t use it all up, or you will risk forgetting everything.”
I nodded, tears still rolling down my cheeks. When I looked back up, more than just Cerie and I stood in the meadow.
PART FIVE
RETURN TO INDER
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Soldiers.
More than a dozen of them stood around us with armor made of dragon scales, layered in a serpentine fashion. Their bronze helmets glinted in the early sunlight, with a different animal motif atop each spire. In their hands were spears, each pointed at me.
“State your name,” one growled, pointing his finger at me.
“Well,” Cerie breathed. “This isn’t good.”
The men looked at her. “State your name.”
I stood. “Meris Vahla.”
The guards looked at each other. Something in their demeanor seemed uneasy. Perhaps it was because two women were sitting in their field, in ballgowns, and one had a heavy wool coat on in the middle of summer. “We must bring you to the governor.”
My heart fluttered. “Governor?”
They nodded, one grabbing my arm, the other grabbing Cerie’s. “You’re in Yeodo. Do you not know where you are?”
“Sirs, me and my dear friend were robbed!” Cerie squeaked as the man tightened his grip. “I’m glad you found us.”
The men looked less skeptical and more confused at that. “Well,” one said, scratching his neck. “Come along. We’re a few miles away.” He looked at my arm, the wound from where the ogarak attacked. “What happened?”
“As my friend said,” I lifted my head. “We were attacked.”
The soldiers nodded. “We will find you aid quickly and get you out of the sun.”
–– ☾ ––
The countryside was stunning, in its own non-magic way. Everything was so green, contrasting against the purple mountains in the far distance. The guards surrounded us, heavy armor clanking with every step.
“Meris,” Cerie whispered, her fingers drawing an idle circle on my wrist where the bracelet still rested. I could barely hear her voice over the clanking armor. “I have no clue what to do in this world.”
“That’s the least of our concerns,” I whispered, patting her arm. “I have to find the Box and return to the portal before the full moon ends.”
She nodded, looking at the loud guards.
“But how will we find it?”
Cerie’s grin was shudderingly beautiful as she pulled something from the folds of her coat. “You need to do some studying.”
I stifled my gasp of surprise as she placed the codex in my hands. The ornate cover glinted in the daylight. “What am I looking for?”
“A way to find magical objects in a world without magic.” Cerie slipped her arm around me, guiding me away from one of the soldiers who was getting a little too close for comfort.
Tatum’s voice filled my mind, tapping on the walls of my nerves. “You must be careful here, Meris."
I nodded, keeping close to Cerie. The hollow clank clank of armor grated against my nerves.
We traveled for what seemed like forever until the city, all pale cream stone, came into view. Just along the outskirts of the capital was a road, which we walked down.
It was late afternoon, and the sun had drifted so low beyond the mountains that the land below was washed in a pale orange light.
Tatum’s figure appeared. “Look, Meris.” He pointed his finger in the direction of a house. Wherever they planned for us to go, I hadn’t expected this. It looked like the Palace of Ka’zor from Yeodian legends. The cream stucco walls pillared up to the orange bricks, mingled with red and blue ceramic tiles. Along the sides of the building were designs of creatures. One was a man whose legs were made of mist, his arms and neck bound in chains, bowing before the figure of a woman. A mermaid and a pirate clung to each other, lips pressed in a kiss as bubbles peppered the surrounding painting. Fire painted the portrait of wings above the fifth window; a figure wrapped in shadow and night presented the sultana with a small orb of light.
There were many others of the same style.
“Where are we?”
Tatum looked at me, a nervousness surfacing in his gaze. “I thought that would be obvious? We are at the Ka’zor.”
I swallowed. But that was impossible, was it? The Ka’zor wasn’t for just anyone to walk into.
“Of course not. You’re special,” he said, weaving his fingers around my wrist. His touch was cold, rolling up and down my spine in gentle, soothing waves. He leaned down, his lips brushing against my ear as he added, “The governor, I’m sure, wants to know everything. If you make yourselves as small as possible, he won't bother you. You just need enough time to perform whatever location spell is needed for the Box.”
I nodded.
The shell-lined pathway leading up to the Ka’zor crunched below our feet. What were these images? What did they mean?
“History. Look closely… the Yeodians love to display every moment in history here on the walls of the Ka’zor.” He sighed. “If I remember correctly, there are more inside.”
I didn’t know if I wanted to see more of these. I stepped on the pavement, looking at the ground. The entire route leading to the portico was made of shattered marble. Hues of turquoise, red, orange, and yellow speckled the ground. The doors opened, leading into a massive foyer. As Tatum said, the paintings continued inside. I gazed at the mythical creatures, the statues, and the small images. The chained mist-man was everywhere. “What is that?” I asked, pointing to him.
