“Can you explain to me how you used magic during the ritual?” Mel sucked in a breath right after she’d asked, willing Hanon to answer truthfully.
She heard him fidgeting and even though she could see neither of them Mel was sure Luthel was giving Hanon a weighted look.
“It’s just what I can do. What we can do,” Hanon said. “Hopefully, I can change my stars in Krazaa and none of this will be possible anymore.”
“I can’t do anything like that.” Mel shook her head. “I need metal imbued with dragon fire to create any magic, just like everyone else. But you… you just breathed ice yourself. How is that even possible?”
There was more shifting and Mel heard the tent’s canvas swish as Hanon kept fidgeting. She didn’t know why he was this uncomfortable answering questions about his abilities. But perhaps it had something to do with her coming from the valley. Perhaps he thought she’d tell people when she got back to Aldrion.
“I won’t tell anyone,” Mel added. “In case you’re worried. I just want to know for myself.”
“I understand,” Hanon said. “But these are not things I want to explain. They are gifts from the void, given to me out of gratitude and I’m supposed to return these gifts now. It's calling me to come to it. I owe the void service for having used these gifts all my life. Now I need to uphold my end of the bargain and give them back to the void.”
“Did you make some kind of deal with the entity as a kid?” Mel asked.
“No, no one makes deals with the void,” Hanon said. “The void chooses you as its servant. It’s an honor being chosen and I’ve turned my back as thank you.”
His voice was low, almost a whisper in the night and Mel felt a shiver run down her spine. He hadn’t asked for these gifts, but still he seemed reluctant to throw them away. Like he was proud deep down for having been chosen in the first place.
Mel let out a long sigh. She knew those feelings all too well. She’d been in his shoes. Proud to have been chosen with a great destiny, but brought down to her knees by the weight of those responsibilities. If it hadn’t been for the dragons and the cult, she wouldn’t even be here right now.
Mel swallowed hard. “I can hear the dragons speak to me. Or I don’t know if it is the dragons. But there are voices speaking to me. Back in Windbrook, the dragon cult told me I would hear the dragons speak in my mind, and later I did. But now I don’t know, with all you’ve told me about them and the fact that during the first ritual, I heard your voices sound just like some of the dragons' voices. I don’t know… it sounds crazy, but do you think it's them?”
“I hear them too,” Hanon said. “It’s not the dragons. It’s the void. It can speak through its worshippers sometimes. It can use our voices.”
“The dragons don’t have that kind of power,” Luthel said. “Even if they were still here. Which I don’t think is possible. They could never do things like that. They were horrifying, true, but only the eternals can speak into one's mind.”
“I expected it might be so,” Mel said. “Sometimes I feel like the void can listen in on my thoughts as well. I think I can trick it. Make the void believe we’re heading to Aldrion with Austin and Gabs.”
“Perhaps,” Luthel said. “But if you’re planning to trick the void. I’d be careful. Speak only words that are true. The eternals will know the difference. They will feel the vibrations of your heart and know.”
Mel sucked in a deep breath and leaned back against the canvas, stretching the fabric tight around her back. Somehow this had been easier, telling Luthel and Hanon in the dark about the voices. About what she was going through. Mel didn’t know if it was because the stakes were lower with them than with Austin and Gabs. Nothing really was on the line. Luthel and Hanon were barely her friends, more acquaintances bound together for a common destination and perhaps a common enemy.
Or if it was simply because she couldn’t see their faces and they couldn’t see hers. Perhaps what was easy about this moment was the darkness surrounding them and the howl of the wind outside. It made her feel like she was inside a cocoon of safety, waiting for real life to continue after the sun rose. Either way, she wanted to capitalize on these feelings of ease and talk about the things that plagued her.
“There’s something else I should tell you before we get to Krazaa,” Mel said. “Sometimes I can feel my body lose control. Like something takes over and my eyes get this dark tinge around the edges. My limbs won’t follow my commands and I can’t control what I do. It might be a problem if we encounter any shadows. I’m hoping that there might be answers in the city. Perhaps something that will cure me from this connection or a way to manage it. I don’t trust myself anymore.”
“You’ve been tainted then,” Luthel said. “I thought you might be. It happens to most of us when we spend too long in the wasteland.”
“What? Tainted, when?”
“I don’t know when it happened to you,” Luthel said. “I’m one of the lucky few who’ve never felt the smoke rise in my veins. I don’t know why I’ve been spared. Other than that I’m of little consequence to this world. Perhaps not important enough. But it’s common around here to let the void move you with its powers. To feel the loss of control and do things that weren’t conceivable to you before. Sometimes horrible things. But it is considered a blessing to have been moved like that.”
Mel shivered. “Why? Who would ever call that a blessing?”
“Well, it is to us anyway.”
“Is there some way I can remove the taint?” Mel asked.
“I don’t know. Usually it’s not a problem. Eventually it seems to disappear on its own. Or perhaps the void just releases you from its grip after you’ve served your purpose. But it’s temporary.”
“Why do you think it happened to me?” Mel asked.
“It’s when we invite the void inside that it changes us,” Hanon said, his voice low. “I’m tainted too.”
Mel swallowed hard. “Are you sure it’s the void?”
“Yes, who did you think it was?” Luthel said, taking charge over the conversation once more.
“I’m not sure. But it can’t be the void. I mean, when I was in Aldrion, it was when it first happened. It helped me kill the dragon that was attacking the city. It helped me kill one of its own.”
Luthel was quiet for a beat, seeming to think this over. “I’m positive it’s the void. But I’m not sure why it would kill one of its own. It has to have been for a reason.”
“The dragon stones.” Mel sat up in the tent. “It was the dragon who made them flicker out then. When I killed it with the help of the void, the dragon fire in the stones vanished.”
“Are you sure that’s when they were emptied? Couldn’t it just have been a coincidence?” Luthel asked.
“Yes, I mean, no. I’m sure it was related. Now I’m really sure. I mean, the void wanted them to flicker out. It wanted Aldrion weakened at any cost. I can see that now.” Mel’s hands went up to her head, and she rested her face in her palms. “I played right into its hands. How could I have been so dumb?”
For a moment, quiet filled the tent, but then Luthel let out a long sigh. The confidence that was always present in his voice seemed to waiver. “I wished it wasn’t so.”
Mel didn’t say anything at first, letting the quiet stretch between them. But then curiosity took over. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing,” Luthel said, his voice sounding like gravel in his mouth. “It can’t be like you think. We will find answers in Krazaa that will prove you wrong.”
An icy chill went down Mel’s spine. What had she said that was so wrong? She knew the dragon stones had flickered out when she’d killed the dragon. Why didn’t Luthel want to believe that?
There was a quiet that spread around the tent after that. Luthel refused to say anything more and Mel thought Hanon might have drifted off to sleep. She sat with her own thoughts for a while and felt embarrassment flare up in her chest. She hadn’t known. But still, shouldn’t she have sensed something was wrong with the dragon?
It was probably not a real dragon like Luthel kept insisting. It was something else, conjured from the horrors of the void. But it had been effective in lowering Aldrion’s defenses, making sure the city wouldn’t stand against a drawn out war when its magic was gone.
She still didn’t know if Hanon and Luthel thought she could cure the taint that ran inside her veins and filled her head with mind controlling worms. But she kept her hope inside her heart, like a small flame that she desperately refused to let flicker out. She didn’t need more than this to go forth to Krazaa. She’d find something there, she was sure of it.
But most of all she wanted to fix her previous mistakes now and save Aldrion before it was too late. She needed to find a way to make the dragon stones glow once more.
In her mind, voices stirred to life. “Come to me.”
Mel sat up straight, her back stiffening as the small hairs on her arms rose. The void was here. It was in her mind.
“Surrender,” a young voice said.
Mel didn’t think the void was focusing on her, especially right now. The words were what they usually said. Words she’d heard the void worshipers chant during the rituals. Perhaps it was speaking through the voices of the village, but she didn’t recognize this voice in particular.
Mel tried speaking back in her mind. “Where?”
“Come to me,” she heard again.
She tried something else. “I’m still in the wasteland.”
This time, she got a different reply. “I’ll find you. You belong to me.”
Okay, so the void was listening. Now she only needed to tell them she was going to Aldrion. But without lying. This was going to be difficult. “Aldrion is weak. I need to help them.”
“Come to me,” the same voice said, but in a harsher tone this time.
“I’m traveling with my friends. We’re going to stand against you,” Mel said, hoping this would be enough for the void to think she was going to Aldrion first.
The voice didn’t say anything more, but Mel felt the worm slither around at the back of her skull and her mind panicked. She tried to lift her hand to shake Luthel and Hanon awake, but her limbs didn’t want to move. She tried to scream to wake them up, but her lips were sealed shut.
For a moment she just sat there, stiff, unable to move at all. But then the horror started and her body moved as by a force unseen from her. It walked out of the tent into the howling winds of the wasteland. The cold bit at her skin, but she couldn’t shield herself. She took a few steps toward the south. Her feet sank down into wet sand and an icy chill traveled up from her bare skin.
“Can you explain to me how you used magic during the ritual?” Mel sucked in a breath right after she’d asked, willing Hanon to answer truthfully.
She heard him fidgeting and even though she could see neither of them Mel was sure Luthel was giving Hanon a weighted look.
“It’s just what I can do. What we can do,” Hanon said. “Hopefully, I can change my stars in Krazaa and none of this will be possible anymore.”
“I can’t do anything like that.” Mel shook her head. “I need metal imbued with dragon fire to create any magic, just like everyone else. But you… you just breathed ice yourself. How is that even possible?”
There was more shifting and Mel heard the tent’s canvas swish as Hanon kept fidgeting. She didn’t know why he was this uncomfortable answering questions about his abilities. But perhaps it had something to do with her coming from the valley. Perhaps he thought she’d tell people when she got back to Aldrion.
“I won’t tell anyone,” Mel added. “In case you’re worried. I just want to know for myself.”
“I understand,” Hanon said. “But these are not things I want to explain. They are gifts from the void, given to me out of gratitude and I’m supposed to return these gifts now. It's calling me to come to it. I owe the void service for having used these gifts all my life. Now I need to uphold my end of the bargain and give them back to the void.”
“Did you make some kind of deal with the entity as a kid?” Mel asked.
“No, no one makes deals with the void,” Hanon said. “The void chooses you as its servant. It’s an honor being chosen and I’ve turned my back as thank you.”
His voice was low, almost a whisper in the night and Mel felt a shiver run down her spine. He hadn’t asked for these gifts, but still he seemed reluctant to throw them away. Like he was proud deep down for having been chosen in the first place.
Mel let out a long sigh. She knew those feelings all too well. She’d been in his shoes. Proud to have been chosen with a great destiny, but brought down to her knees by the weight of those responsibilities. If it hadn’t been for the dragons and the cult, she wouldn’t even be here right now.
Mel swallowed hard. “I can hear the dragons speak to me. Or I don’t know if it is the dragons. But there are voices speaking to me. Back in Windbrook, the dragon cult told me I would hear the dragons speak in my mind, and later I did. But now I don’t know, with all you’ve told me about them and the fact that during the first ritual, I heard your voices sound just like some of the dragons' voices. I don’t know… it sounds crazy, but do you think it's them?”
“I hear them too,” Hanon said. “It’s not the dragons. It’s the void. It can speak through its worshippers sometimes. It can use our voices.”
“The dragons don’t have that kind of power,” Luthel said. “Even if they were still here. Which I don’t think is possible. They could never do things like that. They were horrifying, true, but only the eternals can speak into one's mind.”
“I expected it might be so,” Mel said. “Sometimes I feel like the void can listen in on my thoughts as well. I think I can trick it. Make the void believe we’re heading to Aldrion with Austin and Gabs.”
“Perhaps,” Luthel said. “But if you’re planning to trick the void. I’d be careful. Speak only words that are true. The eternals will know the difference. They will feel the vibrations of your heart and know.”
Mel sucked in a deep breath and leaned back against the canvas, stretching the fabric tight around her back. Somehow this had been easier, telling Luthel and Hanon in the dark about the voices. About what she was going through. Mel didn’t know if it was because the stakes were lower with them than with Austin and Gabs. Nothing really was on the line. Luthel and Hanon were barely her friends, more acquaintances bound together for a common destination and perhaps a common enemy.
Or if it was simply because she couldn’t see their faces and they couldn’t see hers. Perhaps what was easy about this moment was the darkness surrounding them and the howl of the wind outside. It made her feel like she was inside a cocoon of safety, waiting for real life to continue after the sun rose. Either way, she wanted to capitalize on these feelings of ease and talk about the things that plagued her.
“There’s something else I should tell you before we get to Krazaa,” Mel said. “Sometimes I can feel my body lose control. Like something takes over and my eyes get this dark tinge around the edges. My limbs won’t follow my commands and I can’t control what I do. It might be a problem if we encounter any shadows. I’m hoping that there might be answers in the city. Perhaps something that will cure me from this connection or a way to manage it. I don’t trust myself anymore.”
“You’ve been tainted then,” Luthel said. “I thought you might be. It happens to most of us when we spend too long in the wasteland.”
“What? Tainted, when?”
“I don’t know when it happened to you,” Luthel said. “I’m one of the lucky few who’ve never felt the smoke rise in my veins. I don’t know why I’ve been spared. Other than that I’m of little consequence to this world. Perhaps not important enough. But it’s common around here to let the void move you with its powers. To feel the loss of control and do things that weren’t conceivable to you before. Sometimes horrible things. But it is considered a blessing to have been moved like that.”
Mel shivered. “Why? Who would ever call that a blessing?”
“Well, it is to us anyway.”
“Is there some way I can remove the taint?” Mel asked.
“I don’t know. Usually it’s not a problem. Eventually it seems to disappear on its own. Or perhaps the void just releases you from its grip after you’ve served your purpose. But it’s temporary.”
“Why do you think it happened to me?” Mel asked.
“It’s when we invite the void inside that it changes us,” Hanon said, his voice low. “I’m tainted too.”
Mel swallowed hard. “Are you sure it’s the void?”
“Yes, who did you think it was?” Luthel said, taking charge over the conversation once more.
“I’m not sure. But it can’t be the void. I mean, when I was in Aldrion, it was when it first happened. It helped me kill the dragon that was attacking the city. It helped me kill one of its own.”
Luthel was quiet for a beat, seeming to think this over. “I’m positive it’s the void. But I’m not sure why it would kill one of its own. It has to have been for a reason.”
“The dragon stones.” Mel sat up in the tent. “It was the dragon who made them flicker out then. When I killed it with the help of the void, the dragon fire in the stones vanished.”
“Are you sure that’s when they were emptied? Couldn’t it just have been a coincidence?” Luthel asked.
“Yes, I mean, no. I’m sure it was related. Now I’m really sure. I mean, the void wanted them to flicker out. It wanted Aldrion weakened at any cost. I can see that now.” Mel’s hands went up to her head, and she rested her face in her palms. “I played right into its hands. How could I have been so dumb?”
For a moment, quiet filled the tent, but then Luthel let out a long sigh. The confidence that was always present in his voice seemed to waiver. “I wished it wasn’t so.”
Mel didn’t say anything at first, letting the quiet stretch between them. But then curiosity took over. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing,” Luthel said, his voice sounding like gravel in his mouth. “It can’t be like you think. We will find answers in Krazaa that will prove you wrong.”
An icy chill went down Mel’s spine. What had she said that was so wrong? She knew the dragon stones had flickered out when she’d killed the dragon. Why didn’t Luthel want to believe that?
There was a quiet that spread around the tent after that. Luthel refused to say anything more and Mel thought Hanon might have drifted off to sleep. She sat with her own thoughts for a while and felt embarrassment flare up in her chest. She hadn’t known. But still, shouldn’t she have sensed something was wrong with the dragon?
It was probably not a real dragon like Luthel kept insisting. It was something else, conjured from the horrors of the void. But it had been effective in lowering Aldrion’s defenses, making sure the city wouldn’t stand against a drawn out war when its magic was gone.
She still didn’t know if Hanon and Luthel thought she could cure the taint that ran inside her veins and filled her head with mind controlling worms. But she kept her hope inside her heart, like a small flame that she desperately refused to let flicker out. She didn’t need more than this to go forth to Krazaa. She’d find something there, she was sure of it.
But most of all she wanted to fix her previous mistakes now and save Aldrion before it was too late. She needed to find a way to make the dragon stones glow once more.
In her mind, voices stirred to life. “Come to me.”
Mel sat up straight, her back stiffening as the small hairs on her arms rose. The void was here. It was in her mind.
“Surrender,” a young voice said.
Mel didn’t think the void was focusing on her, especially right now. The words were what they usually said. Words she’d heard the void worshipers chant during the rituals. Perhaps it was speaking through the voices of the village, but she didn’t recognize this voice in particular.
Mel tried speaking back in her mind. “Where?”
“Come to me,” she heard again.
She tried something else. “I’m still in the wasteland.”
This time, she got a different reply. “I’ll find you. You belong to me.”
Okay, so the void was listening. Now she only needed to tell them she was going to Aldrion. But without lying. This was going to be difficult. “Aldrion is weak. I need to help them.”
“Come to me,” the same voice said, but in a harsher tone this time.
“I’m traveling with my friends. We’re going to stand against you,” Mel said, hoping this would be enough for the void to think she was going to Aldrion first.
The voice didn’t say anything more, but Mel felt the worm slither around at the back of her skull and her mind panicked. She tried to lift her hand to shake Luthel and Hanon awake, but her limbs didn’t want to move. She tried to scream to wake them up, but her lips were sealed shut.
For a moment she just sat there, stiff, unable to move at all. But then the horror started and her body moved as by a force unseen from her. It walked out of the tent into the howling winds of the wasteland. The cold bit at her skin, but she couldn’t shield herself. She took a few steps toward the south. Her feet sank down into wet sand and an icy chill traveled up from her bare skin.
