Chapter 28
CHAPTER 28
“H arm?”
A low voice called my name, luring me from a dream world.
“Harmony?”
I yawned, opening my eyes to see Moll leaning over me, her eyes wide. “You’ve been asleep all morning. I was starting to get worried you wouldn’t wake up.”
I rose, glancing over to see Fetch on a makeshift perch a few yards away. “Has anything happened since I passed out?”
“The Speaker has been waiting for you to wake up, I think he has something to show you.”
By the time we got to The Speaker’s balloon, exhaustion had me weaving on my feet, despite Duncan’s offer to carry me. To my surprise, old Libby had been intact despite my worries, and our long journey aboard her passed in a haze as I drifted in and out of much-needed sleep. Last thing I remembered was landing somewhere in the dark, being in Duncan’s arms as he carried me from the balloon and set me down on a comfy feather bed before kissing my forehead and disappearing.
This comfy featherbed, in fact.
I rubbed at my temples, sucking the last bit of moisture out of my tongue. “Is there any water in here?”
Moll strode across the room, filling the glass from a bucket. “I actually made some lunch a while back, if you’re game for leftovers.”
We still hadn’t really spoken about what had happened between us, but that was alright by me for now. We needed to focus on surviving.
“Can’t believe you didn’t wake up from the cold on the way here,” Moll said, carrying over a plate for me. “It was brutal.”
“Worse than it is right now?” I asked, a slight shiver rolling through me. Legend had it that the closer you got to the edge of the world and the Shadow Abyss, the colder it got.
“Way worse,” she said, eyes bulging as she set the plate in front of me. “I was starting to wonder how we were going to manage once we got here. And then suddenly, once we reached the village, it was pretty much like back home. Cold, but bearable.”
We emerged from the tent a short while later, sending a nearby cluster of villagers into a flurry of nervous glances and pointed fingers.
“Where are we heading?” I asked, suppressing a wave of nausea as I suddenly became aware of the altitude.
Unlike The Hollow, this village was built high in the trees. Snow-dusted trees loomed in all directions, though most of their height lay beneath us. Branches mingled with sturdy, rustic homes on the broad, tree-top platform we stood upon. I ground my teeth as my eyes fixed on the shoddy, wooden bridge Moll was leading us toward.
“The Speaker lives in the Sky Tree.”
I hadn’t heard the name, but I knew what tree she meant immediately as I took in the enormous oak that towered above everything else in the area, her highest branches stretching all the way to the clouds. Stranger yet, it was the only tree that wasn’t bare for winter. Its leaves were a deep green, and twice the size of those of a normal oak.
“Great, straight across the bridge of death?”
Her smile was a flash. “Yeah, I thought you’d like it.”
I rubbed at my bleary eyes, taking in the sheer scale of what they had going on here. The Speaker wasn’t just running a little gang of upstarts, like the stories claimed. This was a full-fledged village in the trees, with hundreds of residents. How many of them were Whispers?
Moll took the lead as we neared the bridge, waving at a group of children as they stepped off it.
“Wanna play hide-and-seek again, Molly?” the girl at the front asked, coming to a stop. The upturned acorn cap she wore as a hat wobbled as she rubbed at her cold-reddened nose. She glanced at her hand, her face scrunching up in disgust as she wiped the snot directly onto her pants.
Moll winced, chuckling as she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to the girl before gently stroking the hat-covered hair. Probably the only spot that there wasn’t snot. “I can’t right now. We have important business with The Speaker.”
“Woah,” the girl said, eyes widening.
“Make sure you stay warm,” Moll said, patting her gently, her smile wistful. The children were all decked out in furs, but their reddened ears and noses made it clear that they had spent a lot of time outside.
“We are!” The girl gestured toward a chubby boy in the middle of her troupe. “Do it, Keegan!”
He looked down nervously as the other children all turned their attention on him, but nodded. “Sure, alright.”
I held in a gasp as tendrils of flame spurted from his upturned palms. The other children cheered with glee, leaning their heads toward it, just close enough to warm themselves.
“Did you see that?” I asked, turning to Moll.
“And that doesn’t even scratch the surface of it,” Moll said as we continued walking. “Almost everyone seems to be a Whisper of some sort.”
It fit with what The Speaker had told us about Relyk’s persecution, but there was still something strange about actually seeing how commonplace magic was here. A blacksmith hummed a tune while reshaping suits of armor with a wave of his hand as we passed, and a Whisper botanist seemed to pull a whole new branch out of the heart of her tree, all just to hang a shirt out to dry in the winter wind.
The Speaker was outside when we arrived at the Sky Tree a short while later. He waved, dismissing the cluster of villagers he’d been speaking with as he headed our way. “Feeling rested, Harmony?”
“Much better, thank you.” I strode the rest of the way toward him, my stomach finally settling now that we were done crossing those damned wobbling bridges.
“I’ll leave you to it,” Moll said. “I’ve offered to help give some of the mamas a break to sleep while I rock a few wee ones.”
Before I could say so much as goodbye, she turned and was gone.
I tossed a wave off to Moll’s retreating back and followed The Speaker as he marched past one of the houses and right up to the trunk.
“So warm,” I commented, cocking my head at him. What Molly had said came back to me in a rush. The air here was nothing like the brisk winter bite at the edge of the village. I hadn’t paid attention as we walked, but, standing this close to him, it was extremely noticeable. “Your magic…is it giving off heat?”
“Not my magic. Hers,” he said, gesturing toward the tree. “It would be too cold to live this close to The Shadow Abyss if not for the Sky Tree. It was my father’s greatest triumph.”
“He planted it?”
“Not quite. When he arrived here with the first group of Whispers, it was here, just visible beneath the ice and snow. In spite of it all, the sapling had managed to beat the odds and survive. They imbued it with their magic, shaping it into what it is today. Enough for us to experience seasons, and grow crops. Best of all, it’s kept us safe from Relyk’s gaze. Until now, the scope of his search has been limited to the areas he considered to be habitable.”
“Amazing,” I whispered, reaching out a tentative hand. It was only then that I noticed a bit of writing that had been etched into the bark, barely visible in the heavy shadow of the tree’s massive canopy.
I squinted and walked around the tree until the rest of the scrawling text was visible.
The prophecy…
The day will come, so don't be late
She’s in The Hollow, to fulfill her fate
Fair of face, with boots of red
Her name is peace, A wizard's dread
Daughter, tinker, smuggler, spy
A falcon's heart, a jeweler's eye
She's the one who holds the key
To unlock the ring and set you free
Shine a light and steal the dark
Help her see, ignite the spark
She alone cannot succeed
She needs you all to complete the deed
Then prince and pauper, hand and hand
To finish the job, to heal the land
Only then can she hope to turn the page
Daughter, tinker, pirate, mage.
It was as if I was under water…the words blurred before my eyes, my ears felt full, my lungs heavy. How could this be?
I opened and closed my mouth, but no words came out.
The Speaker’s voice was uncharacteristically solemn as he spoke. “It appeared on the tree overnight more than two decades ago. No one knows how. Many even thought I had gone mad when I went to The Hollow.” He flashed a half-smile as he added, “Guess I proved them wrong.”
The day will come, don’t be late…
“You wasted more than two decades of your life waiting for me. That’s?—”
“Crazy. I know it must seem that way. And there were times I nearly faltered.”
I shook my head slowly, still reeling. “I’m trying to process it all, but it’s a lot.” While some of it made perfect sense, other bits eluded me. Daughter, tinker, pirate, mage? Daughter and tinker, yes, but… “And what do you think the part about igniting the spark means?”
“I’ll get to that in a moment,” he said, jabbing his finger toward a spot a few inches below the bottom. “But also to note, there’s something else strange about this tree.”
I leaned closer, craning my neck to see around him. My blood froze. A pulsing, all-too-familiar hole had been chewed into the bark below the prophecy. Blacker than black, it was a colorless, two-dimensional void, as if a hole had been torn into the fabric of reality itself. A wave of revulsion washed over me, as it had the previous times I’d seen it. There was something twisted and dark about it, almost profane.
“There was a hole like that in the shoebox that held the glass slippers. And then I saw one in the palace as well, when I went to save Billy.”
The Speaker locked eyes with me, his furrowed brow and downturned lips contrasting sharply with his ridiculous hat. “Do you know anything about what causes it?”
I shook my head. “I just know that to step through it would mean death. Of that I’m certain. At first I thought it was Relyk’s doing, but now I’m not so sure…”
“Agree. This isn’t Relyk’s work. The magic feels different. Perhaps just as dark, but somehow not of this world.” The Speaker frowned. “It reminds me of the Shadow Abyss, as if some dark force has pricked holes through our world, letting in the darkness beyond.”
I nodded slowly, suppressing a shiver. “Terrible.”
“Finding a way to fight back against it will be our next battle, once Relyk is defeated.” He shook his head as if to clear it of such thoughts. “These strange holes in our world will have to remain a mystery for now, because we need to focus on getting you ready to step fully into your destiny.” He waved toward the house we’d passed a moment earlier. “Come inside, and I’ll tell you everything I know.”
The Speaker opened the door, and I was thrown by how similar it looked to the one I’d slept in. “Is this your home?”
“It is. Though I haven’t been here in so long it hardly feels that way.” He strode over to the large rocking chair in the corner of the room, groaning as he dropped into it. “Feel free to sit wherever you like.”
I made my way over to a box made of wood with a down-filled cushion laid across the top of it and sat, wishing I had something to do with my hands.
The Speaker pulled a small, wooden box from his pocket, holding it out into the light of his table lamp. “It took us years to track it down, but we believe this is the item the prophecy is referring to.”
He pulled open the box, revealing a tiny, innocuous looking jeweler’s loupe with a tiny light attached at the top. I stared down at it, hoping my skepticism didn’t show on my face. It was finely polished, but looked no different from the dozens I’d seen in my time as a tinkerer.
“What does it do?”
“I wish I knew.” He slid it across the table. “That’s for you to figure out. The prophecy calls you a jeweler, and I’m supposed to provide the light to illuminate the dark. I can feel the magic in it, but nothing we’ve tried has made it work.”
I lifted it from the box, and then held it to one eye, depressing the tiny button to light the bulb. Then, I held my breath and stared down at the veins in my hand. They looked no different than they would’ve if I’d used any old loupe…
I lifted my head with a frown. “I know the prophecy suggests that I can unlock its power, but I’ve got to be honest. I don’t know the first thing about magic.”
The Speaker squinted, his eyes fixing on Fetch for a long moment. “Then why do I sense it, even now. That bird… you have a special connection with him, yes?”
“I’ve had him since I was a girl, we?—”
He shook a dismissive hand, silencing me. “You’re very powerful, Harmony. Surely there had to have been signs. Perhaps you’ve been blocked somehow?”
“A Whisper?”
He frowned. “Yes…but not. Your magic is like nothing I’ve sensed before.”
I let his words set in, wanting to deny them, but I couldn’t. “There have been some moments, recently…” I trailed off as a series of memories replayed in my mind. With Fetch, with the locks at The Hoof and Saddle, in the falcon channels, even in the creation of the easy lockpick. It should have been obvious. And maybe if I hadn’t been constantly waiting to get discovered and hanged it would’ve been. Some part of me had surely known, and had chosen not to think it through or put a name to it. Had I known that one more thing would’ve pushed me over the edge and rendered me useless…
I looked back up, meeting The Speaker’s eyes.
“Okay. I accept that possibly I’m a Whisper of some sort. I still don’t see how that solves our issue with the loupe. How could I expect to succeed where you have failed?”
My breath caught as he lurched forward in his chair, the veins in his forehead bulging.
“You, falcon, come to me!” he commanded, raising his forearm as if giving Fetch a place to perch. I glanced to my shoulder and Fetch stirred slightly, cocking his head at me as he clicked his beak. But he didn’t make a move.
The Speaker leaned back in his chair, his normal, kind expression returning to his face. “That’s how, Harmony. Because my power may eclipse that of any Whisper alive, but that doesn’t mean that I can do anything they can do. I gave it everything I had to use my magic and call him to me, but your connection was simply too strong. Most Whispers are highly specialized, and their talents are honed over a lifetime. But mine is different. In certain things I excel, and in others I have but a taste of what the best Whispers are capable of. Perhaps if I studied these last twenty-five years, and took the time necessary to learn, I could have reached some semblance of the same mastery, but, alas, our time in this world is limited…and I chose to wait for you instead. The prophecy calls you a jeweler, and a tinker, among other things.” He pulled the emerald ring from his pinky, tossing it roughly onto the wooden table between us. “The loupe isn’t for inspecting hands, Harmony…it’s for this.”
“That’s it? That’s the ring that will set us free?” I murmured in a hushed voice. The gemstone was raised, like half an egg, and the second I touched it, I knew it held magic. It fairly vibrated with energy.
I reopened the loupe, turning on the light and flicking one of the higher magnification lenses into place as I inspected the ring. I tilted it from side to side, searching for anything unusual.
“Well?” The Speaker asked, breaking my concentration. I held up a finger, reliving that moment in the Falcon chute. If I could just capture the essence of that moment…that perfect moment where everything clicked into place and I could see the path I needed to take, then maybe…
I squinted, tensing all of the muscles in my body in an attempt to draw on my latent magic, and still, nothing.
“The ring was passed down from my ancestors. It is said that the draught locked inside will give the drinker a power unlike any other. It won’t last long, but I am confident unlocking it is the key to winning our battle against Relyk.”
No pressure.
If only it really were locked. I was good at locks, but this was more of a puzzle…
I inspected it again, tilting the ring from side to side and watching the minuscule bubbles shift. “You’ve tried cracking it open, I’m sure.”
“Many times. Look at the metal. Not a scratch on it, right?”
It was just as he said. Vague fingerprints were visible in the lustrous gold, but it was as if it had been freshly forged, rather than having been passed through generations to get to this point.
“We will still make our stand without the draught…” said The Speaker. “There’s no better place or time to fight Relyk than now—he’s at his weakest with having kept the king alive for so long.”
I leaned across the table, pushing the ring back toward him, but he cocked an eyebrow, rather than moving to grab it.
“What do you want me to do with it? You’re the one who at least has a chance of unlocking it. Keep it with you. Hopefully you’ll come up with something before…”
Before Relyk and his army came and mowed us all down like weeds.
I nodded, withdrawing the ring and stuffing it into my pocket. It was the only ace up our sleeve. I needed to figure out how to play it or we were all dead.
The Speaker let out an exaggerated groan as he stood from his chair, his hand going to his lower back. “Let’s check with our lookout. Last we spoke he was trying to get a bead on Relyk’s position to see how much longer we have to prepare.”
He strode out from his humble cabin, and I followed, making our way to the other side of The Sky Tree’s platform. Fetch flinched as The Speaker let loose an unexpected whistle. There was a rustling overhead, and an older man appeared, deftly sliding down a thick vine from the highest branches of the mountain-sized tree.
My eyes strayed to the horizon as I watched, and my breath caught in my throat, the sight seeming just as shocking as the first time I’d seen it. On one side lay an expanse of bare winter forest, and to the other, toward the east there was nothing but a strange, inky blackness, as beautiful as it was horrifying. I glanced up, a chill shooting up my spine as I caught sight of the straight line where it made contact with the cloudy blue sky.
We were actually at the edge of the world.
The Shadow Abyss.
I was drawn to it, the sudden urge to throw myself off the edge catching me off guard.
“Speaker,” the older man said, but just like all of the other villagers, he did not bow.
“How long are we thinking?” The Speaker asked, adjusting his wizard's hat to sit more squarely on his head.
“He travels fast, maybe a day and a half away.” He turned, craning his neck as if trying to find a good angle through the branches, then waved The Speaker over. “Take a look.” The scout bent his hand into a circle, as if holding a looking glass, and pressed it to The Speaker’s eye.
A human telescope. Amazing.
The Speaker was grinning by the time he pulled away, and rubbing his hands together. “He is moving fast, as you said. We’ll have our work cut out for us,” he said. “This will be a rebellion for the ages.”
“Can I look?” I stepped over to the scout and he nodded, holding his hand out for me.
Balloons by the dozen flew over a seemingly endless horde of guards and foot soldiers. A single man sat in back, pulled along in some kind of chariot. I squinted, and the Whisper pulled his hand even tighter, leaving only a narrow slit for me to look through.
There he was.
The sorcerer Relyk, looking as fresh as the day I’d first met him, as if he’d never been weakened at all. His long, gray hair was full and back to its former glory, with no missing spots that I could see. Gone were his sorcerer’s garb, replaced by a courtly outfit. But most concerning of all?
The golden crown that sat perched on his head.
Relyk was king .