Girl of Myth and Legend (11 page)

‘And then they came here,’ I say, ‘to see if I was real.’

‘We think so.’

‘The attack was inexcusable, my Lady,’ says O’Sah, ‘and I hope you can forgive us for putting you in danger like that.’

I wave my hands. ‘No need to apologise. And everyone else, are they OK?’

‘There were no significant casualties,’ says Sersu.

‘I’m guessing everyone knows about me now,’ I say, and when everyone gives me a questionable look, I continue with, ‘They attacked me even though I was wearing that cape. Why would rebels attack some girl? The other soldiers must’ve questioned it.’

‘No, my Lady,’ says O’Sah. ‘Not that it’s any of the soldiers’ business, but for the sake of precaution we told them the attack was meant for one of us Council members, not you, and as far as they are concerned, you’re a dignitary from the Sun Rocks.’

Before I can ask any more questions, Magen come in to serve breakfast, and though it’s not pancakes or cereal, I’m happy to see it isn’t too out of this world: bacon, sausage and eggs, or at least they kind of
look
like that.

‘Introduce yourself,’ I hear a Throne say from across the table. The boy next to him glances at me. He’s probably about twelve years old. I’m disappointed he’s a kid; it’d be nice to have someone around my own age. Then again, maybe someone as childish as me will help me relax around here.

‘Um, hi,’ he says. ‘I’m Jacob.’

‘Hi Jacob,’ I say. ‘I’m—’

‘The Pulsar.’

‘Leonie,’ I correct.

‘Oh, right.’ His cheeks are a little flushed.

‘Are you from the human realm, too?’ He has a certain ‘human realmness’ about him.

He nods, not meeting my gaze. I guess the Thrones have told him about me and made him feel intimidated.

‘We should go around the temples together sometime, Jacob,’ I say. ‘We’re probably never going to see this place again once we go to the Imperium, so we should make the most out of our stay.’

A smile breaks on his face. ‘Yeah. I’d like that.’

Once I’ve finished my breakfast, O’Sah and Dad take me outside the temple. There’s a hint of blue sky above the dark clouds, a little of the sun’s light breaking through. The snow falls without wind, straight and gently. I like to think I adapt to changes quickly, so it’s not surprising to me that I’m already unfazed by the grand temple and the grounds surrounding it. Still, though, there’s an excitement in me, hard to contain and impossible to ignore. Magic is all around me, and there are so many things to discover.

The wind blusters against me, cold and unkind. I’m glad I dressed for snow, and I think how Pegasus will enjoy coming out here, if he can.
Don’t worry, boy,
I think.
I’ll sneak you out soon.

I notice a group of soldiers heading down the side of the temple. A man walking with them is dressed so exquisitely he looks like a peacock. He’s holding something, a large cup with two handles. No, not a cup, it looks more like an urn.

‘Who’s that?’ I ask.

‘Ah, he’s the ilwion, my Lady,’ replies O’Sah, ‘the keeper.’

‘Keeper of what?’

‘The Temples of Elswyr aren’t just famous for their location or history. This temple in particular holds all sorts of treasures, both terrible and wonderful. He may not look it, but the ilwion is quite powerful. He protects the artefacts from thieves and people who seek to destroy them.’

‘Can I have a look at them?’ I ask.

‘I’m afraid not, my Lady. No one is allowed to look at them without good reason.’

‘What’s so important about that urn then?’ I ask. ‘The one he’s holding. Or is that all hush-hush too?’

‘Ah. It’s been scheduled to come here for some time now. It’s been brought here from a temple near the Dator Isles.’

‘But what does it do?’

‘Nothing significant, my Lady.’ But the way he looks away from me tells me otherwise.

He takes us to the gazebo we passed by last night, and I run inside to the railings, peering over. Below me is nothing but a decent into darkness.

‘Wow. What a drop!’ I say.

I hear O’Sah and Dad come inside the gazebo, and I turn to them.

‘What are we doing today?’ I ask. ‘Are we travelling? Can we see the haunted Dator Isles? Or is that too far away? Oh, wait, we have to stay in the Temples’ vicinity, don’t we? Well, can we have a look around? Can we—?’

‘Actually, my Lady,’ says O’Sah, already looking exasperat-ed, ‘we, we being the Council and I,’ I try not to roll my eyes, ‘thought it best you take the day to conserve your energy.’

‘To relax?’

‘Precisely.’

‘Hmm. All right.’

‘But there
are
a few things we have to discuss first.’

‘Like what?’

‘First of all: kytaen.’

I remember how Harriad had mentioned that word when he was whispering something to O’Sah.

‘What is that exactly?’ I ask.

‘Kytaen have served the Chosen since the creation of the Imperium,’ says O’Sah. ‘We moulded them for one purpose: to protect us against our enemies as a shield. Only Thrones and Pulsar have them.’

‘So you have one?’ I ask.

‘Certainly.’

‘What is it, like, an animal?’

‘In a sense. It has two forms: an elemental-like form and a human form.’

I try to imagine Pegasus with a human form. ‘Let me see yours then,’ I say to O’Sah. ‘Where is it?’

‘Actually, my Lady, all of the Thrones left them here at one of the temples, just so you weren’t unnecessarily shocked.’

‘But I
want
to see them.’

‘All in good time. Besides, you’ll be receiving your own kytaen tomorrow.’

‘Wait, I will?’

‘Of course. It’s all being arranged. After meeting the selected kytaen, you’ll then be soul-bound and—’

‘OK, seriously, you keep dropping words that are meaningless to me,’ I say. ‘What the hell is a… soul-bound?’

‘A soul-binding is an ancient ritual that ties the soul of a kytaen to that of a Chosen,’ says O’Sah, in his textbook way. ‘A kytaen can only soul-bind to one Chosen until their death, and vice versa. It’s simple, really: imagine splitting the soul from two bodies and then joining them together.’

‘Yeah, that sounds very simple,’ I say.

‘The two will be able to read each other’s feelings,’ he continues, ‘know each other’s minds, and though they remain two separate entities, the kytaen will remain with the Chosen and protect them, the magic created by the binding compelling them to do so.’

‘That’s… uncomfortably intimate.’

He looks at me as if he doesn’t understand what I mean. Well, of course he doesn’t. He knows everything about this world and I’m like the new player who has just logged onto the game for the first time.

‘Are you all right?’ Dad asks.

‘Yeah, suuure, I’m
great
. I’m totally OK with the idea of attaching my soul to a creature I’ve never heard about until today.’

‘It’s not as bad as you think,’ he says.

‘I don’t see
you
being joined at the hip by a kytaen thing, so I don’t see why I should have to.’

‘But I am.’

‘What’s that now?’

‘I have a kytaen.’

I narrow my eyes, thinking, and then they widen. ‘Pegasus?’

He laughs. ‘No,’ he says. ‘You haven’t even had him for long.’

‘You’re telling me that all this time you’ve had a kytaen?
All this time
?’

‘Yes.’

‘Since I was
born
?’

‘Even before that.’ He grins sheepishly.

‘Wha…?’ It’s about all I can come up with.

‘For me, it’s a bit different to most.’

‘What do you mean?’

He backs away. An outline of a shadow grows from him and towards me, forming into a different, more demonic shape, and I stumble back against the railings of the gazebo. It detaches itself from Dad.

There’s a
whoosh
from behind me and I know it’s not the wind. My back tingles, the hairs on my neck stand like they’ve been electrified, and I’m acutely aware that there’s something behind me, almost touching me, breathing me in. I swirl around in a full circle and then face Dad who is grinning, the shadow returning to him.

‘OK,’ I begin, ‘first of all, from visions of the future to
this
, I’m starting to think you enjoy scaring the crap out of me out, so yeah, stop with that. Secondly. What. The.
Hell
?’

‘I have a rare type of kytaen, a shadow kytaen. The way we bond is much more physical.’

‘
Ew
.’

‘How to explain this? A shadow kytaen becomes, in a way, the shadow of their keeper, and when the keeper chooses it to, the shadow will detach itself like it did just then.’

‘What, like Peter Pan?’

He ignores me. ‘It can be draining on the old energy reserve, though. Only downside for a shadow kytaen is that once bound, they can’t ever take on another form, so instead of being immortal, as kytaen are, when I die, it dies, too.’

I remember the shield that had formed in front of me when the rebels had attacked, a shadow-like shield. I mention it to Dad. ‘Was that your kytaen?’

He nods. ‘It was.’

I look at the floor where the shadow had appeared. ‘Can I have a kytaen like that?’

‘Shadow kytaen are rare these days,’ says O’Sah, ‘and they’re not considered strong. Your kytaen will be of a different element.’

‘Different element?’

‘There’s shadow, earth, air and fire,’ he replies.

‘Shadow is an element?’ I say.

‘There used to be more, like water and metal, but they’re what you would call extinct now.’

‘Why?’

‘We’ll talk about that in length later.’ He puts his best effort of a smile on. ‘Today, I highly suggest we look around the gardens. They’re quite wonderful in the snow.’

I do feel sorry for O’Sah. It’s so obvious he doesn’t want to be here. I bet it’s because he’s the youngest on the Council and he has to prove himself or something. I guess I’ll try and make it bearable for him by being well-behaved.

So, we do as he says and spend the day walking through the temple’s gardens. I’ve always loved scenery, and the statues dotted with snow and the strange plants peeking out from under a blanket of white look beautiful.

‘The Divinity was said to have loved this garden more than his own,’ says O’Sah.

‘The who?’ I ask.

‘Surely you—’ He stops, then says, ‘No, of course you wouldn’t know.’

I narrow my eyes at that. He makes it sound as if I
should
know and that I’m stupid for not knowing.

‘The institution of the Divinity has been around since the Imperium,’ he says. ‘I think it is similar to how the human realm has kings and queens. The Divinity reigns our people spiritually, whereas the Council’s duty is to be political leaders, to make the choices that are most productive for our people.’

‘Is the role of the Divinity passed down by family, then?’ I ask.

‘Yes. It’s been the same family since the role was conceived. Our current Divinity is Divinity Terrius.’

O’Sah looks up to the darkening sky, and then to my dad. ‘I assume she doesn’t know?’

‘Know what?’ I say.

Dad shakes his head. ‘No, she doesn’t.’

‘Then it’s crucial I explain to you about the night, my Lady,’ says O’Sah.

‘That it’s very dark?’ I say.

‘No. You see, the night works
differently
here than in the human realm,’ he continues. ‘Duwyn is a world of balance. Good and bad, light and dark—both must exist to keep the world in harmony.’

Oh God, he’s going to give me a Pocahontas speech.

‘Day brings with it wonder, stretching across the vast lands into a world of wonders, a beauty unparalleled. Envisage an endless Eden, with its vibrant colours, its delectably-flavoured fruit, its glistening rivers twisting across the landscape. Dream of flowing waterfalls bounding from the tops of mountains, of magnificent creatures that live and prowl and prey up there; where, in distant settlements, technology coexists with nature and awing architectures of tradition and worship are erected… a paradise.’

His voice grows dark. ‘But when the sun sleeps and gives way to the moons, the serpent slips silently into the deepening pockets of darkness, and it is then that the enchantment of this world dissolves into something perilous, when instead of dreams and wishes it is twisted into nightmares and curses. Those who dwell far from their safe havens will find themselves battling against the concealed dangers that lurk in the night, and will find no mercy in the chilling shadows. They are the fundamentals of which this world was formed, that neither good nor evil should ever rule, that the light would share with the darkness.’

I shiver without meaning to. ‘What are you saying?’

‘What I’m saying is under no circumstances must you go out into the night. What awaits you there is only a realm for disorder to flourish. Most cities and towns are protected from the night by barriers cast by a Chosen, and that is true for the Temples here, too. But if you were to stray from the Temples’ vicinity, you would not survive. Do you understand this, my Lady?’

I nod, though I don’t fully understand. I look at Dad. ‘And you’ve never been out there… unprotected?’

‘No, never.’

‘So if I wanted to explore outside the Temples…’

‘You would die.’

His gaze is firm and I gulp. ‘Good to know,’ I say.

‘It’s really not as bad as it sounds.’

‘Is that so?’ I mutter.

‘I lived my whole life never worried about it,’ Dad says, ‘so you shouldn’t either.’

O’Sah goes on to tell me the history of the temples, but to be honest I only pretend to listen. My head is too involved with the idea of a kytaen and a soul-binding and the night being physically alive and ready to
eat
me.

It’s around twilight when O’Sah’s distracted by a message he receives on his communication pad, and Dad and I can finally talk alone.

‘So,’ Dad says.

‘So,’ I say.

‘You all right? You’ve seemed a little distant for the last few hours.’

‘Oh, yeah… I guess.’

‘Are you nervous about tomorrow?’

‘A bit.’

‘Don’t be. You don’t need to be scared of kytaen, not at all.’

‘But—’

‘Remember when you were a little girl and you were afraid of the spider above your bed?’