Sapphire

Shawna gazed at the diamond goblet in her hand.

  “Not drinking?”

  She looked up at the dazzling, finely dressed, silver-skinned man seated at the other end of the ornate stone table. He grinned. Shafting sunlight through high castle windows glistened off his sharp white teeth. She quickly took a sip, the diamond trembling and tinkling against her less impressive teeth.

  “It’s good,” she said, grinning nervously before coughing.

  In fact, she thought Capella’s troll tea tasted like honey compared to the tincture Sirrush had served them. Her mouth was on fire. He laughed while everyone else stole quick glances at each other.

  After the battle, the dragon had morphed back into his human form, but not before terrifying the electric stripes off of Antares. He grabbed him by the tail like a snake snapping up a mouse. Antares yowled, swiping at the dragon’s massive jaw, but his claws harmlessly sparked off silver scales. The dragon threw him high into the air with a flick of his head, and snatched him again, before setting him back down. He then laughed, causing a small avalanche from the loud echoes, and introduced himself as Sirrush.

  Shawna was amazed at how delicate the dragon-man had been with his rows of razor sharp teeth longer than her leg. Antares was still twitching and sparking like a malfunctioning toy lion. Apparently, Sirrush had only done it to amuse himself for he was being quite cordial now in his human form. Antares had done nothing but glower at their host the entire time.

  After Sirrush introduced himself on the mountain, he had led them to his—castle? The grand structure lay before them after they had passed through a few secret pathways, and under, over, and through rocky cliffs to finally emerge into a beautiful valley.

  I thought dragons lived in caves, and were, well …dragons. She stared at the large, intricate, strange castle with waterfalls cascading down its sides. The water flowed from a single massive tower at the heart of the castle, some of it splashing a hundred feet or more to the ground below, while the rest was caught in strategically placed aqueducts. Little streams of water flowed to the outer edges of the castle walls and sprang from stone dragon heads.

  She wasn’t very surprised to see more dragon sculptures, dragon carvings, and even dragon-themed dinnerware put before them by a team of gorgeous women. Dragons, it seemed, were incredibly vain and Sirrush was no exception. They were now all seated around his table, that was, naturally, adorned with dragons, and staring at a rather bloody-looking meal. No one had taken a bite, not even Antares, though Shawna had caught him licking his lips.

  “Come now,” said Sirrush through a mouthful of raw meat. “Do not be rude. My harpies will be insulted. They spent hours killing, gutting, skinning, and preparing this elegant meal.” His pale blue eyes flashed.

  “Harpies?” Shawna whispered to Lula as she tried to chew on the almost raw meat.

  She looked at the beautiful dark-haired women seated around Sirrush. “I thought harpies were scary and ugly.”

  Before she could even blink, one of the women sitting nearest to her screeched like nails across slate, and giant bird wings erupted from her back. Her feet turned to talons, followed by a long snake-like tail. A demonic face, ugly enough to curdle blood, bubbled and replaced her angelic one. Orin choked on his food. She screeched once more, beating her great wings, then morphed back, smoothed her long hair and smiled sweetly at Shawna.

  “Yeah,” said Lula in a very high-pitched voice. “They are.”

  Orin was still coughing and choking on his food.

  “Please, Broga,” Sirrush said softly. “Do not frighten our guests, they will lose their appetite.” He patted a napkin to his mouth, took a sip of the fire-mead, and smacked his lips. “Ah, now, why don’t we adjourn to more comfortable premises. We have important matters to discuss, I believe.”

  Mira looked up from the grasses that had been brought for her. Shawna could tell their host could care less whether they actually ate the exceptional meal or not. It was all play-acting. This was not at all what she thought a dragon would be like. They followed him and the harpies down a long hallway full of tapestries, sculptures, huge iron doors, and finally entered the courtyard where the tower stood. There was no ground, only four long stone bridges stretching over a circular cavern and connecting to the tower, whose base disappeared into the ravine far below.

  The deep rumble of waterfalls shooting up the tower’s sides was deafening. Up? The falls weren’t falling, they were rising. Amazed, Shawna looked down and saw there was nothing below them, just bottomless space into which the water vanished. She felt herself weaving, disoriented by the fathoms below. The columns of clear water shot upwards from nothingness. They arced like an umbrella through large slits at the ceiling and fell into the aqueducts, creating the falls outside. Orin put his hand on her arm.

  She looked around at him and felt solid stone beneath her feet again. Then felt even better when she saw Antares. He was scuttling along on his belly, ears flat, eyes wide, every hair on end like the ledge was suddenly going to crumble away. Sirrush was waiting for them across a narrow bridge at one of the tower’s tall doors. Another ledge surrounded the tower, giving access to all the other bridges leading off to sections of the castle, but they were going inside the tower.

  “Do come in,” he said. “I insist.” The door opened, and all that could be seen beyond it was a solid sheet of black rising water. He walked straight through it.

  “Nope,” shouted Lula into Shawna’s ear. “I choose life today.”

  Mira started walking across the unsupported stone bridge. Shawna and Lula looked at each other as she confidently walked right through the strange, rushing water and disappeared. They turned to look for the door they’d entered through, only to find Antares huddled miserably against the wall. He looked like he wasn’t going to budge until either the door reappeared, or the water disappeared.

  “We’ll go together,” said Orin.

  He offered his hand. It was amazing how quickly her fear dissipated when the thrill of touching him was in front of her. She put her hand into his.

  “You’re going?” shrieked Lula as Shawna shrugged and began walking onto the bridge with Orin.

  “We can’t just stand here,” Shawna yelled over the deafening noise, but then thought otherwise when she reached the liquid ebony wall beyond the door.

  She let his hand go and slowly reached her fingers forward. Lula was still hovering a few feet away yelling, but Shawna ignored her. Just as her fingertips were about to touch the roaring water, she closed her eyes and felt…nothing. She opened them. Her hand was through, but she felt absolutely nothing. Not a droplet of cool water touched her skin. Orin smiled at her, and they stepped through.

  “Nice of you to join us,” said Sirrush.

  Mira stood near him, looking like an obsidian statue molded from the dark waters. There was nothing but the faintly illuminated rising walls of water, a dark glassy surface beneath their feet, and silence. A golden streak blasted through the deluge and smacked straight into Mira’s nose, making her snort and toss her head in surprise.

  “I’m glad your nose is so soft,” said Lula, rubbing her head in a cloud of fairy dust.

  Mira snorted violently. Lula tumbled through the air, then righted herself and looked horrified as large boogers dripped off her wings and dress. Shawna laughed, then quickly stifled the invasive sound.

  “The Mirror of Acumen,” Sirrush said, sweeping his arms around the silently rising walls of water.

  Shawna looked up to see pure darkness reflected above. She looked down again and clutched onto Orin’s arm. He laid his hand over hers. It looked like they were standing on the black liquid. It rippled whenever they moved.

  “This,” Sirrush continued, “is where truth has been held for thousands of years. Events of the world sink into dark depths, sometimes to be forgotten, sometimes to be remembered, sometimes to be twisted.” He looked at Shawna, and flashed his disturbingly charming smile.

  Her nails dug into Orin?
??s arm.

  “Hey,” he whispered, loosening her death-grip. “It’s okay. We’re all here with you. This is what we came here for.” He looked into her eyes, and she nodded.

  “Watch,” said Mira. “Listen.”

  The liquid darkness below was turning into shifting shapes of light. Shawna gasped. The shapes became an image of treetops rushing past as if they were flying rapidly above the canopy. Sirrush’s deep voice echoed in her ears.

  “Hundreds of years ago there were many of them.” The trees turned into a wide plain, and she saw black shapes moving as one across its vastness; they were unicorns, millions of them. “Your world was once ruled by factions of powerful sorcerers from another realm.” He was staring at Shawna, but she averted her eyes. “Each family continuously fought for dominance over all the realms, and for the secrets to each other’s powers. War was a constant for many generations.”

  The unicorn herds vanished to a succession of battlefields, burning villages, and fallen bodies. She gaped at the miraculous vision beneath their feet. Sirrush looked down, and she glanced up at him.

  “One family, however, discovered a dangerous secret that ended the wars forever.”

  A vision of a large town swept past to rest on a magnificent castle upon a hill overlooking a valley. Their view swooped down to three women standing on the balcony of a tall tower. All Shawna could see were the tops of their hooded heads. Below, thousands of people surrounded the castle. At first she thought the castle was under siege, and then she realized everyone was either cheering or crying.

  “Three sisters had discovered the power unicorns held.”

  Shawna’s eyes narrowed. Within the hand of the middle sister was a single glowing silver spike.

  Unicorn horn! She covered her mouth and looked up at Mira, who was standing perfectly still, transfixed on the scene unfolding beneath.

  “The unicorn holds more magic, more power, than any living thing in the world, and once your kind realized what could be done with such powers…the unicorns were massacred.”

  Shawna felt faint when the image swept over countless bodies of slain unicorns, their horns gone. The entire land was soaked with blood.

  “The family made sure they were the only ones that held this tremendous power. They were able to overthrow every sorcerer that opposed their rule. With their supremacy, the wars were stopped, the ill cured, famine vanished, and human kind seemed to know true peace for the first time.”

  Shawna now saw peaceful village after village of happy people going about their daily lives.

  “But at a cost. This epoch of peace and power was the beginning of an end.”

  The liquid mirror began to darken. She jumped and stepped backwards. Red glowing eyes were appearing and looking up at them. Molochs materialized, snarling and snapping up at their feet, as if they were standing over a glass cage.

  “Such power cannot be taken without consequence. The magic of unicorns is nearly limitless. It balances and binds the very world we live in.”

  Shawna didn’t realize how hard she was gripping Orin’s arm until he pried her off and weaved his fingers into hers. She was too horrified to even notice as images raced and flashed below of complete destruction and death. Molochs swarmed the villages, decimating everything and everyone. A view of a massive army, led by one of the sisters, emerged. There was another flash, and not one soldier was still alive, at least not as they had been. Their lipless hissing, and their bloody eyes made Shawna shiver. Even the earth itself was an arid desert. Emaciated shapes blanketed the land for miles, moving like a black tidal wave.

  “The power your ancestry stole led to our world’s destruction.”

  “Stop,” Shawna whispered. “I don’t want to know any more.” She shook her head, revolted by the devastation beneath her.

  “Stop?” said Sirrush, his grin not touching his eyes. “Your flesh and blood did not stop.”

  She wanted to look away, but the images below trapped her. The molochs were replaced by the three sisters on a mountain top, standing before an enormous stone arch.

  Sirrush went on. “They tried to mend what they had done, but it was too late. In desperation they called upon the unicorn lord, Lesath.”

  Light from within the arch was licking the edges of the gigantic stones.

  “After many years of genocide, Lesath and only one other fled to their realm and sealed it. Yet, even after all humanity had done, he was still willing to listen; still willing to forgive and mend their wrongs.” A large gleaming black horn, flashing with points of gold light, began to appear from the archway.

  “However,” Sirrush said slowly. “The souls of man”—his eyes snared Shawna’s own—“and of woman, are not so easily forgiven. One of the sisters was cunning, power-mad, convinced she was above any power in existence. How could she not believe it, having been immortal for ages from the unicorn’s power.”

  Brilliant light erupted like billowing smoke from the massive arch, and a piercing neighing scream echoed across the mountain range. Shawna shut her eyes. When she opened them again the sisters and the unicorn were gone, only the dark arch upon the mountaintop stood with the stars.

  “She betrayed Lesath, betrayed even her own people, and ultimately every living creature in this world.”

  Sirrush had paused, his chiseled face seemed ancient and worn like the mountain.

  “Those that brought this devastation had sealed the world’s fate. Unless what your kin has done can be reversed, all sentient life will soon be destroyed.”

  From a bird’s eye view, Sirrush’s castle swam into focus.

  “The molochs are a monstrosity, an…emptiness, created by your kind’s intentions. It has cursed all of us.”

  She felt like she was falling into the endless crevasse surrounding the tower.

  “Do you understand?” he said.

  She nodded slowly. It felt like invisible hands were suffocating her as she asked, “What did she do? The sister, how did she betray the unicorn lord and create the curse?” She couldn’t ask which sister it had been. She was sure she knew.

  He didn’t say anything for a few breaths, and she felt her heart couldn’t continue beating so rapidly for much longer. His eyes slid from hers to the stones at her neck. She raised her hand to cover them. They were growing warm.

  “The stones,” she exhaled, looking around at everyone, and resting on Mira.

  She stared at her horn.

  Though she had nothing to do with the horrible events, she suddenly felt like a murderer nonetheless.

  “What happened then?” Her voice was rising, and her breaths were becoming shallow.

  Sirrush glanced at the stones, then said, “Even though she only shattered the tip of his horn, he no longer could exist as he was. He hid the realms and their guardians, so no one could ever open them again.”

  “Except me.”

  “Except you.”

  “But, why?”

  Mira answered her this time. “Because of who you are.” She stepped towards her. “And because…I chose you.”

  “You chose me?” Shawna’s brow furrowed.

  Mira tucked her head as if thinking about how to begin. “When I stayed behind, I was the last of my kind. I knew the only way I would ever find them again, would be to transfer some of my own power to a human child, especially one of your lineage. And when Sirrush,”—she pointed her horn at him—“spoke of two such children that possibly had that power, I searched for them.”

  Orin was breathing heavily and stepped away when Mira looked at him, his fists clenched.

  “One I was unable to find.” She swung her head to Shawna. “The other I discovered just before one of the sisters did. Otherwise, I would have been too late for you as well.”

  “You.” Shawna flexed and un-flexed her fingers. “You gave me these powers?”

  “You already possess the powers I gave you. But you also possess the powers of your kind that
caused all this destruction. I made sure the power I passed to you would be enough to keep that darkness within you repressed.”

  “Darkness,” said Shawna, taking a deep breath. “You mean, choice.” Her eyes stayed fastened onto Mira’s.

  “I mean what I say,” Mira replied steadily. “Your will is still your own.”

  “Is it?”

  Tension filled the tower. Gold dust was clouding around Lula, and it was her sneeze that finally broke the silence.

  “It is,” said Mira. “You will understand when the time comes.”

  Shawna snorted, and glanced at Orin who seemed to have the same thoughts as her, but she thought it best to drop them for now.

  “What did you mean, ‘because of who I am?’ You said something about my lineage?”

  Mira’s tail twitched, and Shawna knew that meant that she was uncomfortable. “That is something to be revealed to you once we find the fourth realm, though I’m happy to see your listening skills have improved.”

  Shawna had been about to argue but caught Sirrush’s stare, and only nodded her head. “Right. Well, I’m really sorry…” She opened her hands towards the black liquid beneath them. “But you shouldn’t have chosen me. And you shouldn’t believe everything you hear.” She glared at Sirrush who grinned and winked back, only infuriating her more.

  “Yet,” said Mira. “Here you are.”

  They stared at one another for several moments, and Shawna knew what unspoken words hung between them.

  You can leave if you want.

  She knew she could leave all this if she truly wanted to, but they both knew why she wouldn’t; for once in her life, there were those that cared about her, were willing to give their lives for her.

  She relaxed her shoulders and watched the black ripples radiating out from everyone’s feet. “How did you survive the massacre?”

  “Capella protected me. Like you, I have a task: to bring you safely to the last realm.”

  Shawna’s skin crawled, and a shiver traced its cold fingers up her body. Why didn’t she completely believe Mira’s words?

  She turned back to Sirrush. “So, that’s why the molochs are after me. Because of what my family, my kind, did?”

  Sirrush folded his arms across his broad silver chest. “That, and because you’re perhaps the last hope for this world.” His sharp teeth glinted in his smile. “How ironic since your people were also the reason hope is now necessary. But hope is the last thing the molochs want.”

  In her mind’s eye, she saw thousands of slaughtered unicorns flooding the land with their blood. The vision morphed to a pair of fathomless fire-red eyes looking down at her from her bedroom windowsill. The moloch bared its fangs in a snarling-grin, and fear swallowed her.