Ten #2
“Until the count is true,” it murmurs before slipping away, its trailing blue dust the only evidence that it was even here.
I keep my eyes on the Mother Shard as we walk and climb, using her as a reference point, but she doesn't seem to get any closer no matter how far we go. I tell myself I’m just exhausted. The golden oval in her centre follows us, shifting as we move.
Marissa’s teeth chatter despite the heat. “I miss the Embrace,” she whimpers.
I keep silent. My mouth is so dry my tongue is stuck to my teeth, and when I swallow it makes a rancid sucking noise. I remember the Mother Shard’s voice from the dream.
You are holy fire.
I almost laugh.
“Look,” Marissa says, pointing with a trembling finger. “Another Mana Echo.”
I follow her gaze. A woman stands above on the ledge, her eyes wide with fear. An unseen force slams her into the stone. Her limbs flail. Her bones break.
Then her limp body slides away, and the image begins again.
“What’s happening to her?” Marissa asks softly, confusion replacing her initial horror.
“I’m not sure,” I say. “Air Mana, maybe?”
“It does sort of look like that,” Callen says.
“This place is going to kill us,” Marissa whispers to no one in particular.
“I’m going to keep you safe,” I say. “I promise.”
Callen doesn't say anything else, just sets his jaw and starts walking again.
We follow him through the rocks, and for a long time no one speaks. The sun never seems to move, hanging overhead like a punishment. Eventually, Marissa lets out a deep, weary sigh.
“If we can find other Offerings, maybe we can work together?” she suggests.
Callen barks a bitter laugh. “Why would we do that? The whole point is for everyone to kill each other. There is no ‘together’ here.”
Marissa visibly shrinks, but I give her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
“He’s wrong,” I say. “Some of the other Offerings were talking about alliances.”
Callen stops and turns on me. “You really believe that?”
I look at him. His eyes are dark and hollow. “Yes,” I say. “If we can find—”
He cuts me off. “Then you’re a fool.”
He turns and marches off.
Marissa looks to me, her eyes filling with tears.
“Please don’t fight,” she pleads. “We have to stick together.”
I nod, but my chest constricts and I can barely breathe. I taste blood in the back of my throat from biting my gums.
We walk in silence, following Callen’s trail through the dark grey maze of rocks. Part of me thinks we should hide until the strongest Offerings slaughter each other. But even thinking it makes me feel sick.
I wonder where Kael is right now. Whether he is dying in the sun somewhere, unable to take another step.
Somehow, I doubt that.
Marissa stumbles, but this time I catch her. We sink to the ground together, and I gather her into my arms. She shakes with every breath, her skin hot and cold all at once. I rock her, whispering softly into her hair.
In the distance, the golden oval on the Mother Shard shifts, aligning itself with us, fixed squarely on our position.
I look at it, and for a moment, I think I see an eye—ancient and powerful.
The enormous crashing noise comes again, this time much closer.
The world lurches beneath us.
Callen stumbles and catches himself against the rocks, hissing as a sharp edge slices open his palm.
Water cascades from the high rocks to our left, drenching us in cold spray as it meets the ground.
Above us, stark against the bright blue sky, a spiralling flow of incandescent golden-red light careens through the air towards the Mother Shard. When it collides with the shimmering golden oval, that ancient eye seems to blink, but sideways, like a book closing. Yet it doesn’t reopen.
What I thought was the eye of the Mother Shard is, in fact, a zero.
And now it is the number one.
I huddle with Marissa on the rocks, my gaze fixed on the distant one carved into the Mother Shard.
One of us is already dead.
Sixteen to go.
We decide to walk in the opposite direction of the noise. Callen strides a few feet ahead; his eyes fixed on the horizon, jaw clenched hard enough to crack teeth.
The sun hangs at its peak, and the air feels thick with the stench of salt and sweat. The blazing, golden number one lingers to our left, a reminder of a wound—a scar defiling the beauty of the Mother Shard.
I gently tap Marissa on the shoulder, but she jumps and swings an arm out, catching me on the chin.
I cough, taken aback. Her eyes widen, and her hands fly to cover her mouth.
“I’m so sorry,” she exclaims. “I didn’t mean to. My mind was elsewhere.”
“It’s fine,” I say. “No harm done.”
Callen doesn’t even look over.
“We need to keep moving,” he says, but his voice is hoarse.
Marissa blinks, reorienting herself. “For how long?”
He shrugs, his shoulders tense. “Does it even matter? As long as it’s away from whatever just killed one of us.”
His eyes flick towards the Mother Shard, before he quickly looks away again.
Marissa looks exhausted, and I don’t feel much better myself. Callen seems to grow more distant with every step. He barely answers Marissa’s questions, just shrugs or gives one-word responses. After a while, I risk one of my own:
“Who do you think it was?”
Callen’s expression darkens, but Marissa answers first: “I hope it wasn’t one of the Waterborn girls, they were so kind to me.”
Callen laughs, but it’s not out of humour. “It will be all of us in the end. We’re already dead. The Mother Shard just hasn’t counted us yet.”
I want to scream at him or break something. Instead, I keep moving, forcing my feet to take another step.
The heat grows steadily worse. The horizon seems to warp and bend with the heat, and our uniforms are soaked through with sweat.
We stop for a break behind a large boulder that offers some shade. Marissa sinks to the ground, cradling her bloodied hands. I tear a small strip from my shirt and try to bandage her fingers.
Callen just stands there, hands on hips, staring at nothing. Every muscle is taut, like he’s bracing for a fight.
“What’s wrong with you?” I finally snap. “You’ve been pissed at me since we woke up here?”
He turns, and there is fury in his eyes. “Not everything is about you, Luceris.” He says my name with disgust, spitting it out as if it were poison. “I’m just done with this. I’m done with you.”
Marissa’s eyes dart between us, small and frightened.
“What does that mean?” I say, rising to my feet.
Callen takes a step forward, getting in my face. “It means I don’t trust you. You lied about everything. You said you couldn't channel. You fucking lied to me!”
“I was scared.” I snap, louder than I mean to. “I’ve been hiding my whole life.”
He purses his lips and clicks his tongue. “That’s just not good enough. And you haven’t been hiding at all. You’ve been involved in just about every fight since we got here.”
He cocks his head, spreading his arms as if daring me to deny it. “You always end up at the centre of it. That Shadowborn can’t stop circling you. I see the way you look at him.”
Marissa flinches, her face going pale.
I try to stay calm. “Kael is dangerous, but he’s not—”
I stop, unsure what Kael really is.
Callen leans in, the corner of his mouth curling. “Kael, is it? Well... he’s not what? Not what you want?”
Marissa stutters, trying to break us apart as tears fill her eyes. “Please—stop this—”
But he ignores her. “I’ve seen you with him. I’ve seen the way he touches you. It’s disgusting.”
My stomach drops.
“What are you talking about?”
He sneers. “Don’t play dumb with me now. I know what you are. I should have known from the start.”
I ball my fists, and my nails cut into my palms. “How is that any of your business?”