Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
~ Shade ~
Before we leave, I use my portal ring and check in with Blake.
It’s hard pretending everything’s okay, but she’s distracted, and we keep the chat brief.
At one point, I think I see a massive wolf in the background, its fur dripping with blood, but when I question it, my friend quickly brushes it off and ends our chat soon after.
The reunion with Kenzie goes better than I expect. I think she’ll be angry to hear that I couldn’t save Leira, Jensen, and the other students, but I’m surprised when she smiles, tears blurring her eyes.
“I’m so sorry. You’re not mad?” I ask, fidgeting with my hands.
“Are you kidding?” She squeezes me tightly. “Because of you, I know Leira is alive, and that there’s a chance we can bring her back. You’ve given me hope, Shade. Thank you.”
We spend some teary-eyed time together, and I’m careful not to give her all the details of what the students have been through.
Then my mates and I leave academy grounds on our beasts, walking along a shadow pathway and exiting into a forest with hanging vines and ancient white trees.
Apparently, there’s some kind of barrier preventing us from creating a pathway directly to the oracle’s cave, but I’m glad we have to take the scenic route.
After being a prisoner in the Xalgrith realm, it’s nice strolling between the trees, and I breathe in deeply enjoying the scent of moss and damp wood.
There’s the faint smell of smoke on the air, and I’m about to ask the guys about it, when I’m distracted by the ghostly shapes that move around us, silently drifting through the trees.
“What’s the deal with them?” I ask Thane, indicating to a gray blur up ahead.
Thane follows my gaze, but the shape disappears.
I clear my throat. “I mean, I know they’re the lost and wandering souls of the dead, but how does that all work?”
Galen answers before Thane can. “When beings die in any of the realms, their souls end up here in Kiru. For most, the souls eventually transcend to a higher plane, but for some, they end up roaming these lands with no memory of who they are or where they came from, doomed to do so for eternity.”
“That’s so sad,” I say softly, and I think of two specific shadows.
“Hey Elgen and Tarlaz?” I whisper to my friends. “You said you have no memory from before you were at the academy.”
“That is correct,” Tarlaz replies.
I frown. “Do you think that maybe you were wandering souls who somehow got tied to the academy building during construction?” They look different to the lost souls around us in the forest, but I can’t shake this feeling that I’m onto something.
Both of the shadows are silent for a long moment.
“It is possible, yes,” Elgen finally rasps.
I mull on that. In my head, I’d conjured this fantasy that one day I would find them bodies and somehow transfer their souls. But truthfully, I don’t even know if that’s possible, and if they’re dead, maybe they’re meant to transcend or whatever.
I’m still thinking about it when the trees thicken, and a cave comes into view up ahead. We move to the entrance, and I peer into the darkness. It looks like something a bear or a sleeping dragon would crawl out of.
“Well, this looks positively inviting,” Elgen comments.
“Oh yes, absolutely charming,” Tarlaz agrees, and I’m not sure if the shadows are being sarcastic.
We dismount, leaving our animali at the entrance, and my mates surround me as we move through the cave system. The air is dank and musty, and I’m grateful that by bonding with Emorie, I now have excellent night vision.
There are three connected caves. The largest cave is filled with antique furniture that’s covered with a thick coating of dust. There’s an old fireplace which still holds a half-burned log, and a patterned carpet that crumbles when I stand on it.
Well, this is cozy. The second cave has a single bed with a broken bedframe, and the third cave is completely empty.
My mates watch me carefully as I explore each cave. When we come to the smallest one, I notice a shallow recess in the wall. “Was there something here?”
“It’s always been empty,” Galen replies. He points to the back of the cave. “That’s where I found the hidden bookshelf with the journals.”
I run my hands along the walls. I’m not really sure what I’m looking for.
Galen had said the bookshelf only appeared recently, so I guess I’m hoping we’ll find a clue or something that will tell us where the oracle went.
Galen suggested that the journals only appeared because it may have sensed me on him, and a small part of me wonders if he was right.
I move closer to where the secret bookshelf was positioned, hoping that something else might be revealed, but when nothing happens, I deflate a little. “I guess there really is nothing else in here.”
Sighing, I turn to leave, but Elgen stops me. “Wait, girl.”
“Did you see something?” I whip my head back around.
“No,” she replies, “But this feels peculiar. I have a strange feeling that there’s a door there.”
“A door?” I arch a brow, blinking at the smooth stone wall. “It doesn’t look like there’s anything there to me.”
“Yes, a door,” Tarlaz agrees, nodding emphatically. “I sense it, too.” He jumps down from my shoulder. The shadow can’t go far from me, but as he moves toward the wall, a cracking sound fills the air, and the cave begins to tremble.
“Guys, what is happening?” I blurt.
My mates are at my side in an instant, their shadows wrapping around me protectively, and I gape as a section of the wall shifts to the side revealing a dark passageway. It’s right where the bookcase had been.
A gust of air rushes into the cave, and I cough as I breathe in the dust, waving my hand in front of me. “Holy smokes! Do you think that’s been there the whole time?”
Galen’s brow creases. “Going by the breeze, I’m guessing this is another exit. One which the oracle went to great lengths to keep hidden.”
“But why would the oracle need a secret escape tunnel?” I question.
No one answers, and Galen enters the passageway first. Which suits me just fine, because I wasn’t about to volunteer. Raith goes next, and I follow him, seriously hoping that there aren’t any terrifying creatures waiting for us in the dark.
The tunnel bends and light appears up ahead.
“Okay, are we going to talk about how weird that was?” I say to Elgen and Tarlaz. “I mean, how did you guys even know this exit was here?”
“We could feel the magic,” Elgen replies. “Couldn’t you?”
“No. I thought the room was empty.”
We reach the end of the tunnel. The exit is half-hidden by vines, but Galen clears them away, and I happily move out into the sunlight. I’ve only taken a few steps from the tunnel when Elgen’s next words make me freeze.
“I recognize this place,” she says softly, and it’s the first time I’ve ever heard her sound afraid. “Oh Tarlaz.”
The forest turns to shades of gray and white, and the land changes around me.
I’m standing in the same place, but the trees are different and bell-shaped flowers bloom near the exit of the tunnel.
I turn to ask my guys what’s happening, but they’re not here, and it takes me a startling moment to realize I’m seeing a memory, but it’s not one of mine.
“This is one of your memories, isn’t it Elgen?” I ask tentatively.
“Yes,” she rasps. “Somehow, being here has triggered me to remember this moment, and I suppose that by being linked, you also get to witness.”
“Not only Elgen’s memory,” Tarlaz adds. “I too find this familiar.”
“Both of you?” I reply. “But how can that be?”
“Quiet,” Elgen hisses. “Someone’s coming.”
I stand silently, and we watch transfixed as a figure moves from the secret tunnel, brushing aside the vines that cover the exit, and moving out into the forest. They’re wearing a long black cloak that conceals their head, and the only feature I can make out is their bony, clawed hands. Is that the oracle?
The cloaked figure strides forward, but before they reach the trees, they stop abruptly, twisting their head to the side like they’ve heard something.
Shadows pool in front of them, and Queen Krosia steps into view, clicking her tongue.
She’s wearing a less extravagant set of armor, but otherwise she looks the same.
“Oh darling, you didn’t really think you could run from me, did you?” she taunts, cruelty flashing in her eyes. “I would have thought the wise and powerful oracle wouldn’t be afraid of anything,” she mocks.
So, it’s the oracle… I clench my jaw, because I get the feeling this isn’t going to be a fun memory. What is Queen Krosia doing? A sickening feeling washes over me, and I wonder if I’m about to find out just why no one has seen the oracle in so long.
“We’ve told you all we can,” the oracle rattles in an ancient voice, and bumps prickle on my skin. I know that voice… Elgen.
Queen Krosia scoffs, and shadows twist around her arms. “Yes, well see I don’t accept that.
I was the first to be chosen to come here.
The first to take the oath and accept your little prophecy, and I am the most powerful warrior.
I deserve the power you’re withholding from me.
I deserve to be the shadow queen.” She narrows her eyes.
“And yet, you flee into the forest like some kind of thief, trying to take what’s mine. ”
The oracle doesn’t flinch. Not even when the queen’s shadows begin slithering across the ground, circling them.
“You were selected, yes,” the oracle agrees.
“As were the other originals, but power can affect people in different ways. It is unfortunate Lady Fate did not foresee how it would change you. To give you what I have would not serve the realms. The power would consume you, and you would destroy this land. Your role was never to be queen. You’re here to help to protect this land like the others, and when the time is right, the goddess will come to save us all. ”
Fury burns in Queen Krosia’s eyes. “I won’t wait for another to claim this power and take what’s mine,” she seethes. “With the power you hold added to my own magic, I could easily rid us of the Xalgrith. I could rule all.”
“With this power you would rule nothing but ashes,” the oracle replies. “Understand your place, child. There is a delicate balance in Kiru that must be respected. This realm is tied to all others. You must not—”
The oracle doesn’t finish. I gasp in surprise, gaping at the blade now protruding from the oracle’s chest. It’s a familiar shadow blade that my bestie, Blake, now has in her possession.
Blood stains the oracle’s black cloak, and the oracle staggers backward a step.
Queen Krosia’s lips curve into a sinister smile.
“Oh, you didn’t think you’d hidden that from me, did you?
A blade capable of killing immortals with ease.
” She tsks. “I wonder what the other originals would think if they knew you were concealing such a weapon? I imagine you were quite concerned when you discovered it was missing from your cave.”
The oracle’s voice is strained when they answer, “This blade was never supposed to be used.”
Queen Krosia sighs. “Yes well, like I said, I’m not interested in waiting for another to take what’s rightfully mine. I’m the only one strong enough to absorb your magic. Bestow it upon me, and I might even let you live.”
Blood continues to soak the oracle’s robes. “My task was to call for help from Lady Fate. So that we may have warriors to protect this realm until a shadow goddess is revealed. We will not be the reason the realms fall, and our death will not change that which is prophesied.”
The queen’s face reddens. “Give. Me. The. Power!” she screams. Her shadows reach for the blade in the oracle’s chest, but the oracle grabs it first.
The oracle turns their head, facing my direction, and a chill runs down my spine. Even though I know it’s impossible because this is a memory, I could swear the oracle is looking straight at me.
“Stand as one, our forgotten, lost warriors,” the oracle whispers. “For without you, there will be no times at all.” In one quick movement, the oracle wrenches out the dagger and slices the blade across their throat.
The queen screams in a rage, but the oracle falls to the ground, the blade slipping from their clawed hand and dropping to the grass.
I stop breathing as the oracle’s body begins to glow.
The queen stops cursing, and she smiles, stretching her arms over the body. “It’s not how I expected it to happen, but no matter if the result is the same,” she mutters to herself.
The glow moves from the oracle, forming a ball of power that rises above the oracle’s body.
It lifts higher into the air, but just before it touches Queen Krosia’s palms, it splits into two.
The glowing light dims, the two shapes turning black, and they fly into the trees faster than Queen Krosia can catch them.
“No!” the queen screams, but it’s too late.
The power is gone and all that’s left of the oracle is a pile of bloody robes.
Krosia’s anguished cry is the last thing I hear as the memory fades.