Chapter 13

  Starfall

  Ari stood on the shifting surface of the false sea. The void above was lit by stars. Silvery lines bridged the shimmering points, drawing them into constellations that came to life, and danced across the sky. Some had shapes familiar to her, birds and beasts, human beings. Others had twisting, writhing forms, neither beast, nor bird or man. Their reflections swam across the sea’s undulating face. Ari frowned. Her reflection was absent. The sea beneath her feet was dark and fathomless.

  A sudden flash drew her eye from the false water. One of the countless stars arced down from the sky, a golden sun with a flaming tail. Its warmth washed over her as it drifted a few feet above her head. Ari reached out, stretching her fingers as far as they could reach, just brushing their tips against the fiery star. On contact it burst apart into a cloud of sparks. Ari stumbled back in surprise and tripped. As she fell the sparks pulled together and formed a massive dragon with blazing wings and one searing, white eye. It’s tail caught her just before she hit the water and lifted her back onto her feet.

  The dragon spoke with a warm, grandfatherly voice. “Hello, Ari.”

  “H-hi” she said, her voice strangled by awe. The dragon’s prescience wasn’t threatening, but intense, and heavy. Its power pressed against her skin like a wave of heat from a towering bonfire. “Who are you? How do you know my name?”

  “I know many things and my eye sees far. I am Hazeon, Sun King, Celestial Clanfather of dragonkind,” he said, head held high, a crown of white-hot stars flashing above his brow, making his ivory horns glow.

  Ari said nothing. This was a god. Should she kneel? How should she address him?

  “I’ve been watching you since you crossed the veil from Earth,” Hazeon said, his voice silencing her frantic thoughts. “You’ve done well to make it this far, despite how poorly prepared you were for the journey. I deem you worthy of my guidance and gifts.”

  “Oh, uh, thank you?” Ari said, confused. Sure, she’d managed to survive thus far, but only because she had help along the way. She couldn’t see what made her worthy of the god’s interest, but was intrigued by his offer nonetheless.

  “I can see you’re questioning my choice. Worry not, what you lack in skill, you make up for in potential. I will guide you to it, but first, you must shed your human shell, and embrace the truth of your blood,” Hazeon said.

  “My blood is human too,” Ari said.

  The golden dragon cocked his head to the side.

  “For now, that is true,” he said.

  Ari frowned. What did he mean by that? Before she could ask, he spoke again.

  “There is a gate ahead of you on the false waves, an arch of red stone on a white sand beach. Beyond this gate you will find the realm of Taraga. Find the glass gate. It will bring you to Taitamar.”

  Ari nodded. “How do I find the gate?”

  “It is hidden among the sands. Your companions will help you find the way, but be wary, great danger lies ahead, and follows close behind you.”

  Hazeon drifted closer, his wings encircling her. and extended a gleaming claw. He touched the tip of it to her sternum. A star, molten and electric, ignited within her chest, humming with strength. Fire raced through her. It was magic, more than she’d ever felt before. The rush of it was almost painful in its intensity.

  “Call on my light and it will come to hand as a blade. This will suffice until you have claws of your own,” Hazeon said.

  Before Ari could respond, Hazeon’s flaming body brightened, his light consuming everything. “I will be with you. Call on me if you have need.”

  Ari blinked. Hazeon’s light was gone. She was awake and something was wrong. Hannah was yelling.

  “Wake up, we’ve got trouble!”

  “What, where?” Ari asked, scanning the waves for the source of danger and finding nothing.

  “Up there,” Hannah said, summoning her staff and using it to point at the starry void above. Ari squinted, unable to see it at first. Then the blackness shifted. A head with a flat, obsidian disk for a face emerged from the sky like it was rising from dark water. It fixed them with an eyeless gaze, its aura falling over them. It felt like someone cranked up the gravity and lowered the temperature at the same time. Icy menace radiated from the mask, paralyzing in its intensity. Four arms slipped from the void, twisting like ribbons of smoke as they reached out for her and Hannah.

  “What the hell is that thing?” Ari asked.

  “Void titan,” Hannah said. “Hold tight, we need to get out of here, fast.”

  Hannah gave a sharp series of quacks on the duck call. When the frightened foul didn’t immediately respond, she kicked her heels into its sides. The duck squawked and reared back, flapping its wings, kicking up a frothy trail as it lurched forward, paddling furiously.

  “Does a giant monster have to attack every five minutes? Is there a quota?” Ari wondered aloud as she gripped the ducks feathers for dear life.

  The titan’s skeletal hands scraped the false water where they’d just been. The arms bent and twisted to chase them, streaming parallel above the waves, fingers snatching at the duck’s tail feathers. The bird’s distress intensified. It flapped its wings in vain, unable to take off, but desperate to try. Then the titan got a fist full of feathers and ripped them out. The duck bucked. Hannah clutched the saddle horn, keeping her seat, but Ari was thrown.

  Time seemed to slow down as she tumbled toward the false sea, the scenery spiraling, stars streaming in bright lines. Hannah shouted something. One of the Entity’s arms snaked forward, talon fingers grasping for her. Dark water rose to swallow her.

  Something bright zipped past Ari’s eyes. A bolt of starlight shot toward the sea and burst into the form of a bear. Boreal roared, eyes blazing with silver fire. Ari landed on his back, the impact knocked the air from her lungs. She coughed and sucked in a breath. Buzzing magic tickled her fingers as she clutched the bear’s shimmering fur. Had he glowed this brightly before? He seemed more solid, stronger, like he was in his element in this place.

  “Boreal! You’re ba--ack!” Ari was cut off as the bear bounded forward, dodging two of the titan’s hands as they charged in to smash the pair. Boreal rounded on them with blazing claws, cutting the offending limbs into tattered ribbons. He fell back to the sea, the water under his paws holding just as firm as solid ground.

  “Always in trouble,” Boreal chided, shaking his big head.

  “Hey, it's not my fault everything wants to kill me,” Ari said.

  The bear sneezed.

  Nearby Hannah had gotten the duck under control and was fending off the remaining arms with her staff, firing bolts of magic into the shadowy flesh, bursting it apart. The tattered limbs frayed into loose smoke that fled back to the void above. The titan’s head began quaking and jerking from side to side, neck twisting unnaturally. The sense of malice increased. Then an explosive bellow radiated from the mask, a wave of force that slammed into the girls. Hannah’s staff winked out as she and Ari slumped against the necks of their respective mounts, unconscious.

  Boreal shook off the sonic attack, returning it with a roar of his own. The titan responded with eight new arms, four tipped by vicious talons, four more with crushing claws. Boreal surged with silver fire as the hail of hands descended. He leaped into the air, landed on a claw, and bounded to another just in time to avoid a vicious swipe from taloned fingers. His next jump threw his rider. Ari woke in mid air. Before she could even contemplate screaming, she crashed back into her seat on his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on with all she had as he raced along the surging arms, sky and sea trading places in a dizzying swirl. When the bear launched himself free from the swarm, the arms were caught in a tangled knot, writhing in vain, claws swiping at empty air.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Boreal dropped gracefully to the surface of the sea and padded over to the duck's side. Ari reached over to nudge Hannah awake, feeling the spell the titan cast on her like invisible cobwebs. She narrowed her eyes, almost able to see them. She grabbed a handful and ripped it away. Hannah’s copper eyes flashed open and she lurched upright.

  “Shit. How long was I out?”

  “Not long. Come on, let's go,” Ari insisted.

  Hannah nodded, glanced at the tangled arms above, and then took in the glowing bear Ari was riding.

  “You’re Boreal, right? I’m Hannah. I’ve never met an astral guardian before,” she said.

  The bear nodded his greeting, his focus on their enemy.

  “He isn’t much of a talker,” Ari said, patting his neck.

  “Enough chatting. There is gate,” Boreal said, waving a paw in the direction of a distant island. Ari squinted, making out a beach of silvery-white sand, broken by jagged red rocks that formed an arch. It was the island Hazeon told her about.

  “It wasn’t just a dream,” she whispered.

  “Let’s go,” Hannah said. She placed her hand on the back of the duck’s neck. Ari glanced over in time to see a glowing square filled with strange markings appear around her hand. Ari didn’t recognize the runes, but looking at them made her eyes feel strange. It was then she finally noticed that the duck wasn’t just unconscious. Something about it had changed. It looked less real, less alive, like a sculpture rather than a real bird. The light around Hannah’s hand spread through it in geometric lines. Dull eyes sparked, feathers filled out, suddenly soft instead of stiff. It lifted its head and tossed it, shaking off the remnants of the titan’s spell. It gave a frantic quack and swam toward the gate. Ari watched it go, wondering what she’d just seen.

  The titan wasn’t done with them yet. With a moan of frustration the monster tore its tangled arms apart, limbs turning to smoke, reforming. Twelve arms poured from the sky, racing after the fleeing four. Boreal’s claws and Hannah’s searing bolts of magic took out the first two that bore down on them. The group swerved to avoid the next pair of hands. They crashed into the false sea between Hannah and Boreal. A wave rippled from the point of impact, pushing them further apart.

  Desperate to do something besides hug Boreal’s neck, Ari sat up and dug for her magic. The moment she reached for it, it came, surging from her core in a burning wave. Teeth grit against the sudden, searing pain, Ari raised her right hand and released the building storm inside. Something more lightning than fire erupted from her palm, ripping through three of the titan’s surging arms. The titan’s mask rattled. Ari felt the sleep spell hit her again, but the star inside her chest burned it away, the heat of it wrapping around her in a protective cloak of flame.

  “Wow, what was that? I thought you didn’t know any magic?” Hannah said. She’d resisted the titan’s spell with a raised shield of solid magic that covered both her and the strange duck. Ari thought it looked like a giant soap bubble floating on the sea.

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. Her palm still crackled with golden light. She stared at it. Was this the gift Hazeon gave her? Ari felt a prickling surge of confidence and strength. Wherever this power came from, it was real, and it was hers. “But at least I can do something.”

  Gripping the light, Ari closed her eyes. In the dark she saw the world drawn in glowing lines. She could see the magic in her hand. The golden dragon whispered the way, his voice echoing in her mind. She shaped the magic with her intent, forging it into a blade of gilded fire that sat solidly in her hand, even when she opened her eyes a moment later.

  The titan keened and sent its grasping claws to tear the girls apart. Ari glanced over at Hannah and her strange bird. It was slower than Boreal and didn’t seem able to defend itself. Turning her gaze to the far away island, she realized the gate was dormant. Someone would need to ignite it before they could pass through.

  “Head for the gate and get it open! We’ll hold the titan off!” Ari yelled, brandishing her burning sword at the descending horde of arms. Boreal roared, his starlight glow intensifying as Ari’s magic bled between them. They charged in to meet the titan’s attack head on.

  “Hey, wait! Ari, you need to slow down!” Hannah called after them.

  The blood and adrenaline pounding in Ari’s ears drowned out the warning. She swung at the nearest hand, her blade licking out like a tongue of fire, severing it at the wrist. Another hand plowed through the first as it turned to smoke. Ari swung again, slicing it down the middle, the drag almost pulling her off Boreal’s back. She held on with her knees, keeping her seat even as Boreal bounded forward and ripped through the next arm with fang and claw. Another wave of magic surged from her core, lancing out of the golden sword’s tip to blast the Titan’s face, leaving spiderweb cracks in the obsidian surface.

  The titan’s scream of pain slammed into her ears. She gave a cry of her own, shaking off the spell woven into the scream in time to see hundreds of claws, hands, and spinney tentacles pour down from the void in a torrent. Boreal swerved, weaving to avoid the arms that smashed into the sea in their wake. Ari slashed at a few of the pursuing limbs, but the sheer amount of them was too much, all they could do was run back the way they came.

  Hannah was nearly to the island. She turned when the titan screamed, eyes widening with horror as the night rained down. Ari and Boreal were running for their lives. She kicked the duck’s sides with her heels, spurring it into one last burst of speed. The bird, shaking with exhaustion, the spell that held it together pushed to its limit, gave a wavering quack and hit the beach. Hannah fell to the sand as her faithful foul crumbled into clay dust.

  “Sorry buddy. I’ll rebuild you later,” Hannah called over her shoulder as she got to her feet and ran for the gate. She reached the stone arch and pressed a hand to it, feeling the sleeping magic within, and setting it alight with a flicker of her own. A vortex of light filled the gate and a foreign breeze brushed her skin. It was hot and dry, carrying the scent of sand baked by the summer sun.

  Hannah turned from the gate and dashed back to the shore, summoning her staff and firing off a round of six force bolts into the hands diving for Ari and Boreal. It seemed like the void itself was raining down on them, she couldn’t see the stars through the wall of limbs. Narrowing her eyes, she spotted a band of hands streaming toward her and the gate. Cursing, Hannah spun her staff above her head, gathering the ambient magic in the air, molding it, hardening it into a dome that covered her and the island. The claws raked against the shield, rendering the dome visible for a brief moment as the impacts radiated through it.

  Out on the water, Ari and Boreal wove through the maelstrom, the false waves churning under them as the titan’s hands missed their target and plunged into the sea. Ari slashed and slashed, her untrained muscles already burning with the exertion of keeping the hands at bay. Boreal was too focused on dodging to fight, but as long as he got them to the island, Ari was determined to manage on her own. Another pulse of magic from her center pushed back her exhaustion. She grit her teeth against the growing heat as it burned through every fiber of her being. There would be payback for using this much power, but she couldn’t stop, not if she wanted to survive. With a cry, she swung her sword in a wide arc, the blade wiping into a swarm of arms and claws bearing down in front of them. Boreal leaped through the smoke as they dissipated, dodging another claw with a grunt. They were getting faster.

  Hannah cursed as the titan diverted more of its attention to her and the gate she guarded. A storm of claws attacked her shield. The barrier shuddered under the repeated assault. Creating a second dome under the first, Hannah allowed the outer shield to break, the magic contained within exploding out, destroying the closest limbs. She released a breath. Ari and Boreal were almost to the island, she just needed to hold on a little longer.

  The Titan screamed once more and redirected its full attack to smash her shield. Hannah’s blood filled with ice. Ari cried out.

  “No! Boreal, run faster!”

  She tightened her grip as the bear burst forward with great speed, kicking up great gouts of water with each bound. He roared, eyes streaming white fire. Ari could feel the magic coursing through him, blazing under her hands. They tore across the false water, shredding the distance, yet they still weren’t fast enough. The titan bore down on Hannah. Everything outside her shield, every stone and shell, was pummeled to dust. Hannah bent under the strain of holding her barrier against the assault. Wispy cracks webbed across the dome of the shield.

  Ari knew they had mere seconds until the Titan smashed Hannah and the island to bits. All sound seemed to bleed away as dread choked her senses. She locked eyes on the beach beside Hannah’s feet and heard Hazeon’s voice slip through the static in her mind.

  “You are the needle. The space before you is cloth. Press through.”

  The blazing star inside Ari flared, thundering in time with her heartbeat, its magic sparking around her skin. Light enveloped her and Boreal. In a blink they landed on the beach. Hannah jumped, startled by their sudden appearance.

  “Get to the gate! Hurry!” she yelled.

  Ari didn’t respond. Hazeon’s whispered instructions moved her and Boreal into position as Hannah’s shield gave under the titan’s next attack. Everything slowed. Luminous fragments of the broken shield dotted the dark night that poured down to destroy them. Like the sun, Ari and Boreal rose to meet the gloom, leaping into the fray, golden fire fanning out in a wide ark as Ari swung the crackling blade clutched in her fist. Burning magic poured from her through the blade, tearing through the storm of limbs and grasping hands, and then her own flesh. It was as if her right forearm was being ripped apart from the inside. Her scream was drowned out by the Titan’s.

  Hannah watched Ari scythe through the titan’s assault. Saw the raw magic hit its mark and its wielder in turn. Boreal landed on the shore and padded over, Ari hunched forward on his back, clutching her right arm to her chest. Above them the Titan’s head jerked and twitched so rapidly that it blurred along the edges. Its menacing aura loomed over them, making the blackness of space look somehow darker. It wasn’t done with them yet. Already new hands were emerging from the void, pouring down like a tidal wave.

  “We must go,” Boreal said, nudging her side. Hannah nodded. They ran for the gate and jumped into the light, the Titan’s wrathful bellows echoing all around. Its shadowy claws lanced after them, only to pass through the empty arch as the gate crackled shut.