Edward

  I erect another wall of glass just as a new monster emerges from the massive tree in the center of the city. I am so exhausted. I want to make my family proud. I want to make up for my mistakes. But I feel like I can only make new ones. I haven’t visited the man in the glass pillar for a few days. I haven’t seen Mariah either. I spend all day, every day, defending the city from the monsters sent by the Radiant Woods. And defending the monsters from the city. Both require constant vigilance. My glass can keep them in, for a while. But the radiant tree is too large. I have to constantly replace it as it cracks, and different monsters beat against the sides.

  And that’s only half the problem. Because my glass is clear, and the monsters on the other side can be seen. Every crack can be heard. Every time a particularly large one throws its body into the side, it’s witnessed by someone. This city, so fresh from weeks of fear followed by mass tragedy and death . . . it’s afraid. Fear and loss lives in every dark corner of every home. People are afraid and they can see the monsters coming to kill them. I can’t convince them that these are people who can be saved. Even if I could, I doubt I could convince them it was worth the risk to try. People want to feel safe again. They don’t want to keep losing loved ones and to never have a life again. The fact is, the monsters are terrifying and deadly. And if they get loose, people will have to choose between killing them and dying themselves.

  The only reason anyone is letting me do things this way is because it’s safer than fighting. Because we can’t kill the monsters without getting killed ourselves. And because even if we do, more will come. So for now, people are agreeing to let me hold them back instead of fighting. But that’s it. They are allowing me to do it. But it’s not sustainable. I constantly have to maintain the glass, and so far no one has offered to help. The number of monsters on the other side is growing, and eventually there will be too many. I haven’t had more than a half hour of sleep for days. Eventually, I’m going to break down, and the glass wall will follow shortly after. There are other mages nearby, standing guard. But they are here to fight, not to help me. They are here, waiting for me to fail.

  And I am going to. Whenever I blink, my eyes fight to stay closed. Things fall from my hands if I lose focus for a moment. I’m running on mana alone, and I don’t have nearly enough to do that long term. Especially since I need to keep casting. I need help. I desperately need help or innocent people are going to die. That’s a certainty once this glass comes down. Whether it be the innocents on the inside, their minds robbed from them, or those on the outside, driven mad with fear. Someone innocent is going to die. I just have to make it a few more days. Dominic and Gilbert have promised help, but . . . this isn’t the only place this is happening. Every single community is under attack. Dominic is needed to help try and evacuate everyone to one community. And that’s not even considering the other cities.

  They are safe for now, while the Radiant Woods has a closer target. Maybe they’ll be safe forever, with the safe houses buried. These monsters aren’t supposed to survive outside the Radiant Woods at all. I don’t know what changed, but hopefully they still can’t, if they get too far. But if that’s not the case . . . Dominic won’t be able to help. I need help. I need to hold out until the evacuations are done, then volunteers from the communities can take over, at least for a few hours. I need to sleep. I just need to sleep. I close my eyes. Just a few minutes. Just a few minutes and I can get back to work.

  I sit down, letting my heavy eyelids fall. Darkness surrounds me like mud. I have worked hard. Maybe it won’t be so bad if I just . . . let what will happen happen. Henry’s face swims through my head like rippling water. His gentle smile. His relentless forgiveness. My cowardice, when I ran, letting him be taken instead. The image shimmers and is replaced by the man in the glass pillar. No. Not ‘the man’. My father. My father who I killed, because his pride and cowardice ate him alive. My father whose example I’d surely have followed. The child who ran from Henry would have grown to be the man in the glass. No.

  I will not be my father.

  Just as a sharp crack rings out through the ruined gallows around me, skipping across the rubble of this city's conflicts and clawing into the ears of the other mages, I force my eyes open. There is a massive monster. Three times my height and with a mallet of flesh and some kind of organic armor instead of a fist. It’s pointed at one end, like it was designed to break my glass. A spider-web of fractures and the sound ringing in my ears reveal it has already used this weapon once, and it’s swinging back to strike again. No. I will not let the victims of the woods and the people of Visenar meet. I will not let them hurt each other. I don’t care if I have to stay awake for weeks. I will not fail again. I will not run away again. I never got to prove to Henry that I was changed. But if I stop trying now that he’s gone, then I never did change. My brother is dead. He never knew for sure whether I’d run again, if I had to make the same choice again. But I won’t.

  I throw my mana into more glass, reinforcing and repairing what is already up. The monster hits it and the cracks spread. I reinforce. I repair. It hits it again. This repeats, and repeats, and repeats. Each time the crack widens a little further. It is breaking my defenses faster than I can put them up. I am running out of mana. I can’t keep going. But I will. I will keep casting until I am dead. I will save. Everyone. My fingers start to feel numb. The dark bubbles into my vision and my mana slows down like a pump from a drying well. I can’t keep going. I must. I push my mana with every shred of will I have. Another monster, identical to the last, emerges from the woods. The glass is going to break. My leg gives out, forcing me to one knee.

  My head is so heavy. I can’t keep fighting. I try to cast, but no glass appears. The crack doesn’t heal. The world begins to blur. No. I’m failing again. I’m losing. So many people are going to die. I am losing control of my limbs. My abused body is in full rebellion, demanding sleep I can’t afford. I’m growing delirious. A frantic music plays in my head, like a violin giving voice to anxiety and failure and desperation. All of these emotions are amplified, until a new aura surrounds me, unfamiliar mana filling the air.

  “You know,” a woman says, “I had a friend once. She would have said we need to just kill them. That we have no choice. That people will get hurt if we don’t. But you know what? I think you’re right. There has to be another way.” As she says this, a teal mana surrounds my glass before it can shatter. A breath later, a wall of ice, every bit as clear as the glass I’d created, takes its place. “Get some sleep. I’ve got this.

  Instead of sleeping immediately, I simply and quietly sob as the woman with the braids finally takes up the defense in my stead.

  Gilbert

  “Gilbert, I’m worried about you. You’ve barely spoken to any of us in weeks, and now that all of this is happening . . .” Julie trails off. I take a deep breath. I don’t have the emotional energy for her like I once did. We walk toward the portal to Sara’s hat shop and I have to keep my eyes on the Radiant Woods. There are hundreds of people following us, all vulnerable and exhausted. All hoping for safety.

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  “I know. I’m worried about everyone. Julie, this is terrifying, and heartbreaking, and I don’t know how to fix anything. I’m doing the best I can,” I answer. She shakes her head.

  “Gil, you don’t have to fix anything. It’s not on you to fix anything. You’re no royal mage. You barely have any mana at all. It’s not your job to save everyone. Those things . . . I saw what they can do, Gilbert. There is nothing you can do about them, trust me. Just . . . come back to us, please. We could use the company,” she begs. I look away from the colorful but nonsensical plants of the Radiant Woods toward Dominic, the man keeping all of us safe with his mana. As soon as he shows up anywhere, the attacks stop. He is too powerful for the woods to bother sending more monsters. It learned that a single day in. Every day he and I go to two or three communities and help them evacuate back to the towers. It’s too slow, but it’s the fastest we can go. He’s as exhausted as I am. But he is keeping everyone alive.

  “I’m sorry Julie. I like you. I like everyone, and I loved our time together but . . .” I pause as Dom looks back to check on the crowd and his eyes meet mine. “But I need something different now. I need to fight, and I need to be around people who will fight with me. I owe it to my brother. And I owe it to myself.” Julie winces, following my eyes up to Dominic. But she sighs and smiles at me.

  “Alright. I get it. Everyone’s gonna miss you, though,” she says. I return the soft smile.

  “Will they? You’re the only one up here talking to me, aren’t you?” I reply. She blushes sheepishly.

  “Right. Well. Everyone is scared. We didn’t know what to do when we got attacked. But, we do all care about you. Take care of yourself, alright. And uh, give my regards to Lord Dominic,” she replies. I nod. She puts one hand on my shoulder, patting it before turning around to find the rest of my previous paramours. That could have gone worse, as break-ups go. I keep walking and my smile even lasts a few steps. Shit. Where did everything go wrong? There is a sense of loss hanging over the group. Dom and I weren’t fast enough, and everyone here has lost someone since the monsters started attacking. And we are still a ways away from making it to complete safety.

  Even as we pass through the fault in reality that leads to the center of Sara’s hat shop. The exit is too far from the towers for the group to safely leave Dominic’s side. They could be attacked before they make it to the defenses we’ve got set up there. It would only slow us down to bring each individual group back to the towers. We have to drag everyone to each community we visit. And we have one more. One I am not excited to visit. Everyone wants to enjoy the quiet safety of the endless hat shop, but every second we waste is a second someone could be dying. Dominic quickly crosses to the next exit, and the rest of us follow.

  When it’s my turn I close my eyes and hold my breath. I hate this part. But there is no point in waiting. I take a step forward and onto the path to the Kingdom of Endings. The moment air kisses my skin I can smell the blood. Someone is screaming, and we are forced to move from walking to running. Even so, there are many of us and we can’t move quickly. It’s agonizing, listening to the sounds of violence. Tasting it in the air. Being too slow to stop it. Don’t think about it, Gil. Don’t think about it, Gil. Even after we clear the Radiant Woods, it takes agonizingly long to make it through the mundane forest and to the inhabited area. When we do, I almost vomit.

  It’s the worst I have seen so far. Every other community has at least managed to fight. But this one, despite having more mages with more mana than most other communities, doesn’t look like they fought back at all. There are dozens of bodies, mangled and discarded. The monsters are already fleeing as Dominic makes it to the center of town, but it’s too late. Tree roots erupt from the ground in all directions. They ignore soil and cobblestone alike, binding every single monster and holding them in place.

  “Shit,” he whispers as I catch up with him. “I should have known this would happen.” I don’t quite understand what he means, but I don’t have the stomach to ask.

  “Is there anyone left?” I whisper instead.

  “Yeah. Yeah I think so,” he says. I don’t know how he can tell, but it’s a relief nevertheless. “Everyone,” he shouts. “It’s safe! You can come out now!” It’s silent for a long while after he says this. But eventually, there is a racket from the largest building in town, and a door opens. It’s just a hesitant crack at first, then it swings open and a furious man in silk clothes comes marching out.

  “About time!” he shouts. “We’ve been calling for help for days!”

  “We came as fast as we could, but everyone needed help, not just you, I’m sorry,” Dom replies quietly.

  “Yes yes, well the important thing is you’re here now. Now if you could help me start cleaning this up and letting everyone know it’s safe to come out . . “ he trails off as the first of the group following us emerges from the forest. He frowns as the crowd behind us grows larger and larger. “Well, isn’t this something? We won’t be able to take in any refugees, I’m afraid. The kingdom simply isn’t large enough. You’ll have to find somewhere else for everyone who can’t help defend the kingdom.”

  Dom and I just stare at him for a moment, neither of us quite able to process what he said. He is tapping his foot in impatience by the time I speak up. “We aren’t bringing anyone here, we came to bring you back to the mountain settlement. It’s the easiest to defend, and that’s where everyone else is now,” I explain. The man scoffs.

  “How dare you? We are not abandoning our kingdom,” he gasps. “We need your help defending it, and that’s what I’ll expect you to do!” I’m a little surprised he is speaking to Dom this way, but I guess not everyone in the town has been to Visenar. Still, even if they don’t recognize him, his mana level is clear. If anyone was hanging onto hierarchy based on that, it should be the Kingdom of Endings, right?

  “We can’t defend two places at once,” Dom replies calmly. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to come with us.”

  “I’m not asking you to defend two places at once, I’m asking you to defend the Kingdom of Ending!” he sneers. I am not in the mood for this and we are in a hurry. I take a deep breath.

  “We are bringing anyone who wants safety with us. But we are leaving. I’m sorry, I know this is your home. But we will not be defending it for you. We would protect everyone if we could. But we can’t,” I say. He crosses his arms.

  “You know you are speaking to Queen Lillith’s fiancé right now, yes?” he asks. “You will do as your future king tells you.” Again I am left speechless. What is he talking about? Lily’s fiancé?

  “No you’re not?” I say, the question behind the statement clear.

  “I am. After the stewards were killed, we had an election. An idea I believe my love herself has written about. I won by a landslide. As the chosen king of the kingdom, I am of course engaged to marry the queen,” he challenges.

  “Lily doesn’t even like– It’s only been a few weeks since–” I cut myself off and take a deep breath. That doesn’t matter. I let the air out and compose myself. I am surrounded by carnage, destroyed homes, and mutated victims struggling to free themselves from magic tree roots. This man is not my main concern. “Alright. We are going to gather anyone who wants to come with us, then we are leaving. Come with us or don’t. We won’t force you. But we aren’t staying. And if you want my advice? Drop the fiancé bullshit. The last man who declared himself my sister’s fiancé lost his head even worse than you are right now.”

  I march away from him, ignoring his self-important ranting. There are people who need help, and they deserve our attention.