All Light Will Fall (23 page)

I stopped running. Only a fool would have kept running. I
remembered now. I remembered it all. He was gone, lost, a stranger. All of him.

I fell to my knees, and suddenly, the world turned, and the
trees crumbled to black. Everything faded. Everything changed, spinning into
shapes. A blur of darkness swept the stillness, and I found myself waking up
from the dream.

I was somewhere else again, lost in a yellow tall of trees.
That land of frost had died, just as the dream had died. And just as the dream,
the sun was rising, and that shimmer of light touched the yellow woods,
breathing softy against that body of nature.

For a long time, I didn’t move. I simply stared up into the
falling light and blinked. The pain had numbed. But still there was blood
running warm from the open wound in my side. I could smell the iron rot of my
flesh. And I remembered it all too suddenly. The flash of death. The red and
white snow. Ellis.

He was gone now, so far gone that no truth, or light or,
manner of awakening could save him. That was perhaps my greatest pain. Ellis,
my friend and my brother, was beyond my reach. That he had left me to die and
to rot in the winter of that faraway land.

It was so cruel for it to be this way, for me to return home
without him. I wondered if my leaving him would be as cruel and cowardly as my
father had been. I wondered if I could abandon him, leave him to his own
suffering, his own freewill, and his own fate of live or die. A part of me
wasn’t sure. But a part of me was selfish, content with that degree of
ignorance. I should have been ashamed to face away from him, from truth. But I
was not like Ellis. My desires were not in the truth. They were in the grave.

There was a snap and crackle between the trees. Then out
from the yellow woods came a herd of deer-like creatures. Each of their colored
scales were ablaze in the light.

I kept still as they passed. They moved with poise, with one
leg rising and the other falling softly behind the next. Their hoofs shone with
a gleaming silver, their deciduous horns bright as bronze. They were the
shining nobles of the forest as they went.

They kept a slow and graceful rhythm, their heads to the sky
without so much as a glance in my direction. For a moment, I thought perhaps I
was in a dream again and that they simply could not see me. But one of them
happened to look my way, slowly, and almost eerily as if it had read my
thoughts. It came to me, veering from the agile march of the others with a
startling fearlessness. I noticed then that it was wounded, one of its hind
legs cut deeply by some savage predator.

As it came, I didn’t move. My body tensed. The pain in my
ribs returned. I would die soon without a shot of halos. The blood wouldn’t
stop, and although the wound had closed a little, the healing was progressing
too slowly. My flesh was torn and twisted, and I could see the bone of my rib
protruding through the open gash. Will, and only my will, was keeping me alive.

The creature came closer, determined and unafraid. I could
smell the piney scent of an earlier rain lingering over its hide. It made a
sound suddenly, deep from its throat, and eased its head to the side, his
bright eye staring at me. And there seemed to be a supernatural knowledge in
that glowing white haze, like the eye of God was staring straight at me through
the blink of this docile creature.

He rocked the silver of its hoof and turned beside me to the
trees. Then he rose up, his back stretching, his one good leg standing strong
as he plucked a fruit from the tree to eat. I watched him, and slowly I began
to notice something, something impossible, so impossible I was sure death had
taken me without my knowing.

The creature’s wound had healed. The glossy leg was now
fresh and as strong as all the others.

The creature made a sound again, and with its silver hoofs,
knocked three times against the trees, and the fruit fell, glittering gold in
the grass. The creature came down then, and turned without another look my way,
disappearing with the last of the herd.

I stared down at the fruit and reached out to it with all my
strength. I picked it up and held it. It was like light in my hand, and I could
feel it moving, beating like a heart of energy. I brought it to my lips and
ate. It was tasteless almost, but still saturated with flavor. It was like
water in a way. Not sweet. Not bitter. Not sour or salty. And as I ate, I could
feel it, the broken seams of my body winding together, my skin returning to
that brilliant honey glow.

I heard a sound not too far away in the woods. I was on my
feet before I could think, climbing high into the trees. They came softly,
deftly, prancing along the low of the forest. I peered down at them and knew in
a second what they were—hunters. Their weapons ready. Their bodies beautified
in disguise. They were trailing that earlier herd of beats no doubt. They came
to a steady halt just below the tree.

“What is it?” one asked.

The other held her hand up, her skin dark as red, her hair
bright as gold. “Do you not smell that?” she asked the others. She adjusted her
weapon, skimming across the forest.

“
Nai
. Should we not keep moving, The’essa
-chal
?
We will lose the herd.”

The girl ignored her, stepping close to the fallen fruit on
the ground. Then she gasped, kneeling in the grass. “Look at this,” she said.
The girls hesitated then circled around her.

“Well, this is new.”

She reached down and touched my blood with her fingers. “An
igle
this far to the east. They must be getting bolder.”

“Or more foolish,” the other snapped. “
Aieti
will not
stand for this much longer. Not if they keep continuing towards the mainland.”

“This has gone on long enough. Pillaging our villages.
Digging up our land. Why does
Aieti
not end them! Return the peace?”

The taller of the Meridian stood up. She was silent for a
moment. The young girls looked to her for a guiding answer.

“Because his mercy is too great,” she whispered. She sounded
as if she were in pain.

“Why should he have mercy on them?!”

“Quiet, Rumi. You disturb the forest,” the youngest
whispered.

“I don’t understand it!”

“And you will never understand it,” the blonde said. Her
voice was strong and demanding, silencing the girl. “You are not our
Aieti
.
You know nothing of his burden, so silence yourself of your judgments.”

“It is true,” the other said. “Did you not hear of the clash
between
Aieti
and his father? He travels north as we speak, all the way
to the beaches of Peradú for war. Then it is back to Isaya to deal with the
hai’ek
once again.”

They were silent for a moment, until the lead huntress
turned back from the tree. “Let us go, children. We have lost enough ground as
it is.”

“But teacher,” Rumi said, “what about the
igle
?”

I held my breath. They knew where I was hiding. I had
wondered if they knew, but hardly expected it. And as I was now, I was in no
condition to fight.

“Let the
igle
be,” the Meridian demanded. “Kurios has
much to do with her yet.”

I heard them vanish into the forest, my body shaking at what
the Meridian had said. How could she have known me to such an extent? What
power did she hold that granted her to say such things?

From the moment I first encountered Uway, I had suspected
that there were others of his kind who possessed such power. But that creature
knew me without seeing me, without even hearing the sound of my voice.

But then I remembered how she had bent down and touched my
blood on the grass with that mighty wind in her voice. The’essa was her name,
and just like Uway Levíí, I would never forget it.

Uway Levíí—the mention of him still haunted me. And of
course the relic of his I had yet to return. I suppose now was the time. The
hunters had said he was heading north to the beaches of Peradú. I decided to
follow him. If it was as they had said, and he was returning to Vatieria, I had
no other alternative. Without a guide, the wilderness would consume me, and I
would never see home again. So I would follow him, and I would find him. The
keeper of the Meridian, Uway Levíí.

I traveled north for miles. The stars led me. I didn’t know
where I was going. The beaches of Peradú were impossible to find. But where
would I go but through these valleys of white? What could I do but stumble
onward towards that crystal crown of the moon? I knew no direction. I was a
blind spirit lost, and there was no question to what I had lost.

Suddenly there was a rustle in the wind. They had sensed me,
long before I knew they were coming. And like a flash of light, they surrounded
me, their weapons drawn, their colored eyes holding fast to the object in my
hand. Uway’s relic glistened, holy as the light of the sun. No one moved. They
knew that any step closer and I would shatter the jewel in my hand.

It was not about vengeance, however, and I saw that they
knew that. But what they did not see, and could hardly come to understand, was
my being there, why I had risked my life and my pride to show myself before
them once again.

“I will only speak to Uway Levíí,” I told them.

“And he is listening,” a voice said.

Everyone turned. Out of the crowd, Uway came forth in an
armor of jade and sterling silver, the shining plates casted by a work of blue
steel. His hands were gloved. I found myself strangely dissatisfied that they
were covered, that my eyes could not witness the might of those hands. He
reached out for the relic, and with the sound of thunder in his voice, he
spoke. “I believe that belongs to me.”

“It doesn’t yet,” I said. “My mr2. I want it back.”

The natives laughed, but when Uway looked their way, they
were silent again. “You have come all this way for a mere weapon,
hai’ek
?”
he questioned.

He had said it many times, and I had yet to know what it
meant, the name
hai’ek.
But it did not matter. I was no nameless
creature and having a name, I was determined to be regarded as nothing else.

“My name is Celeste,” I said. “And if I took your sword,
Uway Levíí, would you not fight for it back, or would you simply stand there as
you are now?” The natives were silent, shocked at the manner in which I had
spoken.

Uway Levíí was unmoved, as if he had expected it. And I knew
why. That moment we first fought had not been so simple for him. It was not his
strength, as he had plenty of power. It was his will. And as I thought back to
that moment, to the chain breaking and his divine fury, it was if he had not
tried to kill me at all. It was as if he were testing me, searching for
something in me that he, himself, could not understand.

“Very well,” he said suddenly. “Have Luna bring me the…” he
paused and looked at me, “Celeste’s possession.” The Meridian bowed then turned
into the trees. “You have such courage, Celeste. But I see the darkness has yet
to leave you. You seem so determined to nurture it.”

He was doing it again, flaunting his power before me,
speaking in riddles as a way to confuse me, or amaze me. I knew not which, nor
did I care. My fascination was over. He was my token home and nothing more. The
origin of his power was no longer of interest to me.

“If you will not come forth and say it, perhaps I shall
ask,” Uway said. “Tell me, why have you sought me, Celeste? And do speak
honestly.”

It wasn’t a demand. It was more of an invitation, and I
found no reason to hide the truth. And even if I did, there was no doubt that
Uway Levíí wouldn’t know. “I’m going home. Back to my world.”

“To never return?”

“To never return.”

Uway was silent, so I continued. “I heard that you were
returning to Isaya.”

Uway raised a brow. “Ah, got a little lost did you?” His
tone was almost teasing. “And what led you to believe that I would not slay
you?” he wondered. “Surely you are of greater intelligence.”

I sighed. “Yes, I am. But I don’t have the leisure to be so
cautious. You do not wish to fight, Uway Levíí. And if not fight me, then
release me. Show me the way to never return.”

He stared at me for a long time then said, “I have many
questions for you beforehand, of the halos you carry. You will answer them.
Then, and only then, will I release you.”

I thought for a moment and nodded. I would tell him about
halos, anything and everything. As far as I saw it, what ARTIKA had done was no
longer mine to bear. My knowledge, that forbidden flame, I would gladly give it
away. “We have an agreement then,” I said, and held out the relic for him to
take.

One of the Meridian moved forward for it, but Uway raised
his hand before he could reach me. “I shall do it,” he said. The Meridian
bowed, humbly moving aside.

Uway came to me swiftly. One second he was away from me, and
the next, he was standing tall above me, taller than I remembered.

He gently took the relic, and with a glow of his hand,
mended the brake in the chain.

“I have come with the
igle’s
possession,” a voice
said. Uway stepped back, taking the mr2 in his hand. I recognized him suddenly,
the Meridian who handed it to Uway. The one dark as ebony with his twilight
hair and his eyes as amethyst jewels. He seemed to recognize me as well, his
eyes widening in surprise.

Uway glanced back and forth between us. “You know of her?”
he asked in Hedai.

Luna nodded. “From the battle up north, near the red wood.”

Uway eyed me curiously. “Celeste is my captive. And knowing
of her, I place her in your care. Watch her vigilantly, Luna.”

The Meridian bowed. “I shall do so with honor,
Aieti
,”
he said.