The Labyrinth of Destiny (35 page)

Now Adesina began to feel a
different kind of strain. Ravi’s mind kept her anchored to reality, and this
new power lifted her up to the heavens. She could feel herself being stretched
between the two worlds. It felt as if she were being forced to climb a sheer
wall.

At first the sensation was only
uncomfortable, but as the woven path of
vyala
continued upward, Adesina
felt sweat beading on her forehead. Her muscles ached with effort.

It began to feel as though the
vyala
was being pulled from her, as if she had lost control and was no longer the one
sending it outward. Adesina experienced a stab of fear, and wondered if she had
made a mistake in trusting this unknown power.

Time seemed to stand still, even
though Adesina was painfully aware of its passing. She was exhausted, every
muscle trembling. She wanted to stop weaving the threads of
vyala
together, but she knew she had to keep going as long as the source of power had
hold of her.

“Please, let go of me,” she gasped
toward the heavens.

Patience, my child. Just a
little longer.

“I cannot keep going. I am too
weak,” Adesina pled.

A warmth and comfort filled her
heart.

You are stronger than you think.

Finally, Adesina felt the woven
pathway connect to a distant realm beyond the stars.

Raise your sword, Adesina. Open
the way.

With trembling arms, Adesina raised
Falcon high in the air. The blade burst into a swirling radiance of tangible
light, and it pained her eyes to look at it. She looked beyond to the stars,
which had suddenly become visible through the treetops.

Open the way.

Adesina brought Falcon down in a
slashing motion, carving a rectangle in the air. The lines the blade created
glowed for several moments before fading from the air.

Adesina felt the power release her.
She collapsed to her knees from exhaustion. Ravi was immediately by her side,
examining her with powers of his own.

“Are you hurt, Ma’eve?”

The anxiety in his voice roused
Adesina from her fatigue more than anything else could have.

“No,” she mumbled wearily, “I am
fine.”

Ravi sighed in relief and then
turned to look ahead.

“Look, Ma’eve.”

Adesina complied and lifted her
eyes to where Ravi had indicated.

Before, there had been nothing but
trees in front of them. Now, that was not the case. A doorway stood where none
had been before. It stood completely alone, on a small, raised dais.

The dais was made from stone that
already appeared to be worn with age. The door frame was made from the same
wood as the surrounding trees, but it had been intricately carved with ancient
designs. Adesina recognized runes and symbols that were associated with the
Immortals, but she wasn’t certain what any of them meant.

The door itself was also made of
wood, but it was stained black. In the center was carved the symbol of the
Serraf, which was covered in gold leaf—a sunburst encircled by two feathered
wings, and a pair of feline eyes set above as if watching over.

Adesina had seen such a door
before, but she could barely believe that one stood before her now.

“It cannot be…” she said slowly.

“It is,” affirmed Ravi. “You
created a new Threshold.”

“But
how
?” asked Adesina.
“How is that possible?”

Ravi gave a feline smile. “Anything
is possible with the help of the Creator.”

Adesina’s exhaustion made her
thoughts more sluggish than usual. “The Creator?”

“You reached out to the Creator in
order to accomplish what your instincts told you must be done.”

Adesina was stunned. The unknown
power that had spoken to her was the Creator?

Ravi’s expression was kind as he
studied her bewildered face. “The Serraf are the Keepers of the Thresholds and
you are the Threshold Child. It stands to reason that you have the ability to
create a new one, with the help of the Creator.”

“Will it work?” asked Adesina in a
whisper. “Will it take the spirits of the Immortals to their new home?”

Ravi smiled. “Let us find out.”

Adesina slowly began to smile back.
“Yes, of course.”

She stood up and extended her hand
to the doorway, commanding it to open with her
vyala
. There was an
audible click and then light began to spill out of the other side of the
Threshold.

A joyful cry sounded in Adesina’s
mind from the silent voices of the spirits of the Immortals. Then, one by one,
they began to pass over.

Adesina sat on Torith at the edge
of the forest, watching the approach of the L’avan and Seharan armies. Ravi
stood next to the horse with his long tail waving slowly back and forth.

“There he is,” said the young queen
in a tone of anticipation.

L’iam seemed to have spotted her,
because he heeled Avab into a gallop and headed directly toward them.

As the L’avan king drew nearer, he
reined his horse sharply and flung himself out of his saddle. Adesina also
dismounted hastily, and the two of them ran to each other’s arms.

L’iam’s embrace was a crushing
force, but to Adesina it didn’t seem tight enough. He buried his face in her
hair and murmured, “I was so worried. We could all sense huge amounts of
vyala
being channeled in this direction, but we did not know what was happening.”

Adesina nodded. “I am sorry to have
worried you. I am safe.”

He released her only enough to look
at her face. “Are you hurt? What happened?”

She hesitated, trying to decide how
to explain what had happened. When she saw the concern on his face increase at
her silence, she hurried to say, “I am not hurt, my love. I just do not know
how to explain.”

Relief washed over his face, but it
was instantly replaced by curiosity. “Were you successful in transferring the
forest spirits?”

“Yes,” Adesina began, but then she
paused.

Ravi spoke up. “The Creator formed
a connection with her, and together they made a new Threshold through which the
spirits could travel to their new home.”

L’iam’s eyes widened in shock.

Adesina felt uncomfortable under
his gaze. Ravi had made it seem so simple and so impressive. Yet, there was
more to it than that. Adesina wanted to explain it to her husband fully—to share
with him how she had felt and how it had changed her.

Perhaps now wasn’t the time for
that.

There was work to be done, and
little time to do it. Also, Adesina wasn’t even sure of her own feelings at the
moment. They would have time to talk later, and she could share with him all of
the things that were pent up inside of her.

Adesina gave an uncertain smile.
“There is more to it than that,” she said, giving Ravi a wry glance, “but we
will have to talk later, I suppose.”

L’iam studied her eyes for a moment
before giving her a quick kiss and nodding. “Yes, we will talk later.”

“The important thing right now is
that the forest is safe for the army to enter,” Adesina went on. “We need to
begin preparations to face our enemies here.”

By this time, the other leaders of
the army had arrived. Z’eki and Me’da rode at the front of the group, followed
by Ri’sel, E’nes, Hestia, and the Immortals.

All eyes were turned to Adesina,
filled with questions that were unspoken.

“We can proceed with our plans,”
confirmed the L’avan queen.

Several heads nodded in
satisfaction.

“Very well,” said Z’eki in his
typically energetic voice. “We shall begin immediately.”

L’iam began delegating
responsibilities. “Ri’sel, Z’eki, and Me’da, you three will oversee the
fortifications of the land where the main army will be making a stand. Adesina,
you need to tend to the advance force.”

Ruon shook his oval head. “No. We
need to speak to Adesina alone.”

L’iam was clearly surprised by the
Laithur’s insistence, but he spoke with respect. “Of course. E’nes will begin
preparations until Adesina is free to take over.”

E’nes nodded willingly, but Adesina
frowned at her fellow Immortals. What was so important that it couldn’t wait
until war preparations were underway?

“Hestia,” L’iam continued, “I would
like you to lead the Healers and the wounded through the forest to the refugee
camp. The refugees need to be warned what is going to be happening here, and
they need to move back to the Rashad grasslands. The Healers can set up camp at
the far edge of the forest.”

More instructions were being
issued, but Adesina didn’t have a chance to listen to them. Ruon, Sitara, and
Riel began walking into the woods, and it was indicated that she and Ravi
needed to follow.

Without being told where to go, the
three experienced Immortals walked directly to where the new Threshold was
located. They stood at the base of the dais and gazed up at it with wonder.

“What have you done?” asked Ruon
quietly. His tone was not accusatory, but cautious.

“I made a new Threshold,” answered
Adesina as simply as possible.

“We can see that,” responded
Sitara. “How is that possible? No Serraf has ever had the power to create a
Threshold. We are merely the keepers of them, not their creators.”

“More importantly,” interrupted
Ruon, “why did you do it? Thresholds are dangerous things.”

Adesina had never felt the weight
of so much disapproval before, even when she was a student among the Shimat.

“I made it so that the spirits of
the Immortals could pass on to a new world,” she explained.

This caused even more alarm among
her companions.

“Do you even know where you sent
them?” demanded Ruon.

“I chose the world carefully,” said
Adesina, feeling rather defensive.

Sitara placed a hand on her arm.
“There is no certainty in that. Thresholds can connect to any realm, and it is
not a simple thing to forge a path to a specific one.”

Adesina shook her head. “This
Threshold only leads to one world.”

Riel frowned. “That is not
possible.”

“It is true,” affirmed Ravi.

“The spirits of the Immortals
needed a new world where they could continue with their purpose without being
hindered by the loss of their bodies,” explained Adesina. “I connected this
Threshold to the realm where they could do that.”

“How can you be certain?” asked
Ruon.

Adesina could do nothing but shrug.
“I just
am
.”

“It is not possible,” repeated
Riel. “Thresholds are merely doorways, they are not fixed paths. Moreover, it
took several Serraf to create a connection to another world during the Great
Wars. How could you do such a thing by yourself?”

“I had help,” explained Adesina.

Three sets of eyes stared at her.

“What kind of help?” demanded the
Laithur.

“Help from the Creator,” answered
Ravi after a pause.

Adesina felt foolish making such
claims, but she was glad that Ravi was brave enough to speak the truth.

She expected them to be
incredulous, but she was wrong. Instead, their faces were filled with awe.

“The Creator instructed you?”
Sitara asked with a voice that was tinged with longing.

“It was more than instructions,”
said Adesina. “I was wrapped in a blanket of power, and an incredible amount of
vyala
was channeled through me. You are right to say that no Serraf
could create a Threshold on her own. I could not have done it alone. It was
through
me that the Creator made this Threshold, and it is completely unique. It leads
to one realm alone, and the connection is constant.”

Riel’s eyes shone with emotion.
“You truly are the Child of the Threshold.”

Sitara nodded in agreement. “You
have been honored above all other Serraf. Such close contact with the Creator
is not a common thing, Adesina.”

Adesina’s gaze turned instinctively
to Ruon, and she saw a strange expression in his glittering black eyes. It was
something like…

Hope.

All he said was, “I was right to
tie my fate to yours.”

Without another word, Ruon turned
and walked away.

Adesina and Ravi exchanged looks,
but said nothing. It was nigh unto impossible to guess what was going through
the mind of the Laithur, and they did not venture opinions on the matter.

Sitara gave Adesina a quick hug and
a golden smile. “You are a beacon in the darkness.”

“Thank you,” stammered Adesina.

Sitara and Riel also walked away,
leaving the young queen and her guardian alone by the Threshold.

There were several moments of
silence before Ravi said, “Well, back to work.”

Adesina couldn’t help but laugh at
his mundane words. She greatly appreciated his ability to make her feel normal
again. It was uncomfortable to be the focus of such admiration, especially from
Immortals.

The L’avan queen returned to the
army to find that work had already begun. Each group of soldiers had been given
an assignment, and the forest was bustling with activity.

Forest warfare was very different
from the battles that were fought on open fields. They could employ tactics
that used their smaller numbers as an advantage. When fighting in grasslands,
the threat of being overrun by their enemies had been great. In a forest, they
could find safety behind fortifications and fight on their own terms.

Trees were being felled and
stripped, and the logs were hauled to build protective walls. Other trees were
being fitted with platforms where archers could be positioned.

Adesina walked past all of these
preparations toward the edge of the woods where the enemy would be entering.
There, E’nes was hard at work with his group of dedicated soldiers. Their task
was to make it as difficult as possible for their enemies to enter the forest
at all.

E’nes gave a strained grin as she
approached. His strength and attention was mostly focused on rolling a small boulder
out of the trench that was being dug.

“Did you get in trouble with your
teachers?” he asked teasingly.

“I talked my way out of it,” she
joked back.

“Good,” E’nes grunted as the
boulder finally moved out of the way. He brushed off his hands and acted as
though he was going to leave. “That means you can take over here.”

“Yes, I can,” agreed Adesina.
“Since I am now in charge, I am instructing you to finish what you have
started.”

E’nes grumbled in a good-natured
sort of way and continued with digging the trench.

The L’avan had been instructed to
reserve their
vyala
for battle, but Adesina was under no such
restrictions. She could recover much faster than they could, and so she
immediately called forth her powers to aid in the work that was to be done.

Her
vyala
swirled blue and
orange before her eyes as she gently lifted swaths of dirt and rock into the
air and moved them over to the piles of excess. Several of the working soldiers
stared at her in envy as they toiled with their hands, but they all seemed
grateful that she was making their work easier.

Kendan had helped to design the
defenses for the forest before he had left on his mission, and Adesina
appreciated his input now that the plans were taking shape. He and L’iam
actually made quite a formidable team when they put their minds together, for
the L’avan king had made several suggestions as well.

Adesina felt it was a pity that the
two men were unlikely to ever become friends. With their joint determination
and their unique perspectives they could accomplish great things.
Unfortunately, each man viewed the other as being his direct opposite. Perhaps
it was true, perhaps it wasn’t. Either way, Adesina didn’t think that their
differences were insurmountable.

With a small sigh, she turned her
thoughts back to the task at hand.

The trenches would extend all along
the edge of the forest. Some of the trenches would be hidden and some not. Some
would have wooden pikes fixed at the bottom, and others would simply make it
easier for Adesina’s soldiers to attack the enemies who fell inside.

The trenches were the second
hindrance the Shimat army would encounter.

The first hindrance was being set
up along the grasslands leading up to the woods. A separate, narrower trench
was being dug and filled with wood and kindling. When the time came, the L’avan
would set the contents of that trench aflame. The hope was that it would slow
the enemy army while L’avan and Seharan archers thinned their numbers.

Adesina found herself shaking her
head as she thought of the many lines of defense and attack. She was sick with
all of the bloodshed, and she hated that she was planning for more.

When she had been a student of the
Shimat, she had thought that battle was a glorious thing. She had dreamed of
the rush of soldiers and the gleam of weapons, and she had thought it a pity
that as a Shimat she would never take part in such battles. After all, Shimat
typically accomplished things by manipulating others into doing their bidding.
There was very little direct involvement, if possible.

Now Adesina had experienced all
that war could offer, and it made her soul weary. There was no glory, only
sorrow and pain.

If Adesina had her way, she would
rid the world of war forever.

Feeling a surge of determination,
she used her
vyala
to lift up more earth and stones, starting another
trench that could save the lives of some of her soldiers.