Epilogue
The smell of brimstone burned her nostrils. Kara’s eyes snapped open, and she let out a gasp as she realized she was no longer in her bed on Vartik.
There was only one place in the universe that reeked of sulfur and smoke, its rock walls echoing with the screams of the innocent.
I’m on Dazimin. How did I get to Dazimin?
Kara tried to get her bearings, but it was too dim, too smoky for her to know where she was. Is the chamber large or small? Am I deep in the dungeons, or somewhere else? There was no way to know.
Kara started to walk forward, her hands out in front of her to catch herself against anything that might be lurking in the smoke. The last thing she remembered, she’d been lying in her bed, full of anxiety about the Crown Prince’s supposed negotiation.
Dawn had described Caleb writhing in pain, and Kara had been hard pressed not to reach out to him across the vast expanse of space to try and soothe him.
She’d tried it before but always with the help of Mayra. The oracle had some kind of link to Caleb, likely because of her unique powers, but the link was fragile, and Mayra hadn’t been able to reach him in several weeks.
As she lay in bed, Kara decided to try to reach Caleb on her own. Her powers of empathy could work over vast distances, but usually, it was relegated to her sensing another person’s feelings, not trying to influence their emotional state.
She’d closed her eyes and concentrated on the son of the Goddess of Light.
His form was sheer perfection, she knew that already, and his eyes would be the green of a verdant forest, just like his sister’s eyes.
His hair was blond, and he had dimples, although she’d never seen them. She just knew they existed.
Kara somehow “just knew” a lot of things about Caleb.
Like his favorite food being sandfish from Tako-B.
Or his pet peeve being the feeling when you have to sneeze but don’t.
She had some kind of connection to the man that she couldn’t explain, but it was there, deep inside her.
She felt like she could close her eyes and point to him in a crowd.
That was how strongly she was tied to him.
And she’d never met him.
Looks like I might get my chance now, she thought as she made her way carefully through the gloom. Her fingers touched something and she started, then realized it was a rock wall. Putting her shoulder to the wall, she picked a direction and walked, hoping to come to some kind of opening.
The smell of brimstone grew until she thought she’d choke, but she pushed on and realized that the smoke was thinning out. In the distance, twin flames burned, torches that flanked a pair of obsidian doors.
And stationed in front of those doors were two of the nastiest creatures she’d ever seen in her life.
At first, she’d assumed they were extensions of the rock around them, but then she realized that was only their outer shell.
Beady black eyes gleamed from hooded brows, and as they huffed the air around them, they exposed razor-sharp teeth.
A steady stream of drool ran from their mouths, dropping against the floor below them and dotting it with little puffs of smoke.
Countless pockmarks were scattered at their feet.
Acid. Their saliva is acid.
Sharp claws sprang from their hands and feet, and each had a barbed tail that was curled at their feet. As she got closer, she realized how massive these creatures really were. They would tower over her if she got up the courage to approach them.
Kanula demons.
The name sprang suddenly into her mind. She’d heard rumors of them, from Jazmine mostly. Their voices were the drone of a thousand bees, and they were fierce killing machines with natural armor that made them almost invincible.
If the Kanula were standing here, that could mean only one thing. Behind those doors was Caleb. He was imprisoned deep in the bowels of the palace complex, guarded by Kanula demons, the most fearsome foes that Hell had to offer.
I’ve got to reach him.
She had no idea how she’d gotten here, but she knew that she couldn’t be this close to Caleb and not go this final step. But she was no match for the Kanula. Was she?
Vartik powers were no slouch, so just maybe they would see her through. And if not, well, it wasn’t like she had much of a chance of getting home, especially since she had no idea how she’d even gotten here in the first place.
Right. Nothing to it but to do it.
Striding forward, she directly approached the door. She expected the Kanula to track her movements as she cleared the smoke, maybe even rush out and kill her where she stood. But they didn’t. They showed no reaction to her appearance at all.
Kara got as close as she dared, close enough that she could smell their fetid stench. She covered her mouth and nose, hoping to block out their foul odor, but still, they made no move toward her. Curious.
Stepping gingerly between them, she pushed against the door, hoping that she might be able to open it without attracting their attention.
Kara had no idea why they couldn’t see her, but she was willing to take any advantage she had, whether or not she understood it.
But if she opened the door, it was likely they’d notice that at least.
As she pressed, she held back a gasp when she realized her hand wasn’t opening the door. It was going through the door. No wonder they can’t see me. I’m in some kind of spirit form. A projection. Immaterial.
Closing her eyes, she walked forward, stepping entirely through the door.
When she opened her eyes, she almost cried out at what she saw.
The walls of the cavern around her were subsumed by a waterfall of lava that completely circled them, even covering up the door itself.
The heat was all-encompassing, and if she’d had her body with her, she would have been covered in sweat instantly.
In the center of the room, bound by chains to the floor, lay Caleb, his eyes shut, his face a rictus of pain.
Kara approached, realized that the lava kept the chains so hot, they were continually burning his body.
Bright brands of chain links covered his beautiful skin, and Kara had to bite back a sob.
She went down on her knees and gently lifted his head, cradling it in her lap. Caleb’s eyes opened, two brilliant green beams that bored into her soul. Kara gasped at the connection she felt at that moment.
Through cracked lips, Caleb whispered, “You’re finally here.”
“I am,” she said softly, brushing the hair back from his brow.
The question of how she could be immaterial to pass through the door but still have the ability to touch Caleb briefly flittered across her mind but it didn’t matter.
She was granted a few precious seconds with the man she loved, was given the chance to ease his suffering, even if just for a few moments.
She wasn’t going to waste time trying to understand the mechanics of her situation.
“You must listen,” he croaked, and Kara wished desperately for some water to wet his throat. “This negotiation… it’s all… a diversion. He’s buying time.”
The Crown Prince was buying time? One of the most powerful beings in the universe needed to buy time?
“He will use your light against you. His arcane rituals… will pervert Her light. You must…” Caleb struggled to continue, his voice becoming hoarse.
“Oh, my love,” she whispered, her heart breaking for him. She wept, her tears hitting his cheeks and making him flitch.
“Must turn… the dark.”
His eyes flashed at her, filled with agony as the lava around them flared in a massive eruption. Kara screamed as the room flooded in an instant, and suddenly, she fell to the floor, sobbing.
But it wasn’t the dungeon floor. It was the plush carpeted floor of her quarters in the Vartik royal palace. Kara hugged her knees as she wept, her entire body shaking.
I saw him. I touched him.
But it was all a dream? No.
Kara stood, wiping her eyes. “I’ve got to tell my brothers about this. I have to spread the warning.”
Turn the dark.
If only she knew what that meant.
THE END