57. Chapter Fifty-Seven #2
“Look at this. Right here.” I pointed to one of the notes and Ryker leaned over.
“This is what I didn’t understand but after hearing Daegel recite some of these words, in the manner that he did, I think he was…
summoning this magic to do something specific.
Because he said some of these other words and it did something entirely different from his magic.
And this one here specifically says something like assimilation. ”
“Assimilation of what? Why is that significant?”
“It’s what Vicria said. She said that the Glaev absorbs the energy of life. And remember when I said that there was that thing about some kind of reserve?”
“Yeah. It’s like his own personal power reserves. She confirmed that. That Daegel could only do so much damage at one time and wanted maximum spiritual life dependent upon how much he had,” he said with a nod while jotting a few things down himself.
“Yes but I don’t think that’s all of it. I think he has only a certain amount of reserve for his magic but I also think that the energy being absorbed is assimilated somewhere…else.”
“For what? And what about the prism? That stops the dark magic from being wielded. So we could do to him what we did to Vicria.” He leaned forward.
“I don’t know what the energy would be stored for or how. And I don’t think a physical diamond was what the book was actually talking about and Vicria wasn’t even the wielder so really it was all pointless.”
“Good to know,” he mumbled.
“I think the jeweled prism was translated incorrectly. When I read with Mal, we came across what we thought was a conduit but there was also something about adaptation. I think it was referring to that.” I shrugged.
“With your energy…it seems to be something that truly affects Daegel, hurts him even. And there’s something else too.” I lifted my eyes to him. “I think you can reverse the Glaev.”
The side of my mouth lifted in a smirk. He was coming to the same conclusion that I had earlier when I realized that my magic, my energy, was like the opposite of dark magic, just in a different form.
“How much do you know about energy?” I asked, leaning in closer.
“Not much I suppose. Just that energy is in everything.”
“Exactly. And it isn’t something that can ever be destroyed either.
” It was times like these that I was thankful that I had lived among Scholars and spent countless hours learning from them.
“Energy can take every form you can possibly think of, and it will change from one form to another. The Glaev, dark magic, is just a form of energy that is consuming other types of energy. And I think that’s what Daegel wants me for.
To adapt my form of energy to create more Glaev and assimilate more of the life energy to the reserve he’s building up with it.
But,” I paused and took his hand with a smile.
“I think that I can use my energy to shift the Glaev to another form so that it isn’t decimating the land anymore. ”
“Kya, this could change everything. Our world won’t be dying anymore,” he said with a bright smile before grabbing my face and kissing me.
I pulled back and chuckled before my face fell. “It could. But Daegel has to be stopped first. ”
“I already sent for Arra and the Vaavi. They’ll find him. And I’m betting they could use the help of a couple of Roav too, but we’ll have to wait out this storm first.”
I looked to the gems embedded in the walls, shining against the soft light of the fire. “He called me Diamond.”
Ryker released a heavy breath. “Yeah.”
“And with Vicria, when she started talking about the diamond he was looking for, you begged for me to stop.” I continued to gaze at the walls.
“Yeah,” he said again.
I turned to look at him. “You knew that the Diamond was me. Before she even said it.”
“I did.” His face remained neutral.
“How did you know that?” I asked softly, shaking my head.
He hesitated, glancing away for several moments before sighing and looking back at me. “Because your name means Diamond.”
We spent the rest of the day waiting out the storm in the cave.
Ryker and Mavris watched as I experimented with my energy.
Though I didn’t admit it out loud, it was fun.
I was able to do things and find energy in places I never thought about.
The sound of the waterfall crashing into the river, the force of the wind at the mouth of the cave, the heat emanating from the flames in the hearth. Which led me to an idea.
I sent out my tendrils of swirling energy to the crackling logs and watched as the flames began to die out, but I continued to push it further.
We all gasped as we watched the logs turn from black to brown.
But still I pushed. I wanted to see just how far it could go.
Small twigs began to sprout, and I couldn’t help the wide grin that spread across my face as little green leaves grew at the ends.
“Life,” Ryker breathed. “You can restore life.”
By the time it was dark outside, Mavris had gone to rest, still not fully recovered from using so much energy on me the night before.
The storm had died out and Ryker and I decided to wait until morning to return to Voara.
Thoughts of Odarum came back to me. And though I was utterly spent from using so much magic throughout the day, I wanted to clear my head.
I went back to the mouth of the cave and lay on my back with my head resting at the edge of the cliff, watching the stars appear in the inky black sky. Ryker joined me, and I held his hand in mine. We were so high up on the mountain that I felt like we could just reach out and touch the sky.
“This is what you would do back in Ilrek right? On the ledge in Morah?” he asked as we gazed up at the twinkling lights above.
I smiled. “Yeah. I used to do it all the time. One of the Scholars taught me about the constellations, and I would spend hours and hours finding them in the sky. More just out of fascination than anything.”
“Can you show me some of them?” He pulled my hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it before resting it against his chest.
“Really?” I asked enthusiastically. Malina and Nikan never had much interest in it and I was happy to finally share it with someone, especially my mate.
“Of course.”
“Well that one there, the one that looks like two squares laid over each other,” I pointed up to a cluster with my other hand. “That’s Onvera, The Crates of Time.”
He hummed and nodded as I continued.
“And that one there, that’s Braegia, the Warrior of Night.”
“Oh, I like that one.”
I giggled. “And this squiggly one that goes across the sky is Xala, the River of—”
…what has a river that does not flow…
The task of the Trial came rushing back to me as did Kleio’s words.
…seek the truth…restore the balance…
Her task for me.
…what light brings to life yet dies in the darkness…
“A shadow,” I whispered.
“Hmm?” Ryker said.
I leaned over and pressed my head to Ryker’s, sending him my thoughts so that he may also understand.
…where the land meets the sky…
The mountain.
…The Glaev—Is not what it seems…
…only its death will bring forth the path…
Darkness. Night.
…How do I find it? You already know…
The riddle.
I pulled back from him, and we sat up as my thoughts and memories continued to pour into his mind. Ryker gasped when he finally understood. Kleio had provided me with everything I needed to complete her task. I looked back to the sky and followed where the river constellation led.
“What direction is that?” I asked.
“Southeast. It leads right to…” He sighed. “Right to the Rip.”