《Beyond the Riftveil [High Fantasy/Progression]》


 001: Whispers on the WInd

    The sun sank lazily into the horizon, bathing the fields in a warm amber glow. I glanced down at the norolillies at my feet, sprouting from the banks of the stream at the edge of Avenholme, my hometown.


    Most of the norolillies weren¡¯t quite ready to be harvested¡ªI could tell from the lack of yellow tinge at the edge of their leaves. Squatting down to pick the fully grown ones, a shimmer in the distance caught my eye.


    It was faint and gone as soon as I focused on it, like ripples settling on still water.


    Behind me, the laughter of children echoed off the hills. Further off, I could hear the faint call of a shepherd, corralling his flock. Avenholme was small, tucked away from the wider world, but it had a rhythm I¡¯d grown used to. Comforting.


    Still, my eyes flicked back to where the shimmer had been, further down the winding stream. On the other side of the clear, burbling water was the Sylris Glade, one of the dense forests surrounding Avenholme.


    As if magnetized, my gaze drifted to the Glade. I glanced up at the sun. I only had to return home with these norolillies in tow to be done with my responsibilities for the day. Surely I had time for a quick detour.


    Of course, one thing that Mom had beaten over my head was that I should not do exactly that.


    Any child raised in Avenholme knew that walking into the Glade was a surefire way to get eaten by a Veilborn¡ªif the bedtime stories were to be believed, anyway.


    Yet, the thrumming from the Glade always pulled at me, like a heartbeat calling me home. In its shadowed depths, I felt more alive than anywhere else¡ªa secret the rest of the village would never understand. The Glade drew me in in much the same way the boy¡¯s display of magic did. I didn¡¯t understand my unusual connection to these things, but they seemed to me to beat along with my own pulse.


    The village elders were not too fond of this, and the rest of the villagers were indifferent towards me at best.


    Some time in the Glade would clear my head, I decided¡ª


    Motion, further down the bank of the stream, drew my attention. A pillar of water danced for a brief moment above the stream, drawn up from the flow.


    I was mesmerized for a moment, then stood to get a better view, even as the water fell to splash back down into the stream. Standing on the bank near where the water spout had occurred, there was a boy standing there, his neck-length, bright red hair fluttering in the weak wind. Eleven or twelve maybe. I was sure I¡¯d seen him around the village before, but couldn¡¯t put a name to him.


    I couldn¡¯t see his face, but somehow his posture told me his brows were furrowed in concentration. Ten seconds passed as I wondered at what he was up to, the basket hanging from my arm forgotten. Twenty.


    I felt a rush. A pull. Something in the air, just beyond being visible, was swirling around the kid. The feel of it prickling my skin, even standing so many dozens of yards away, was intoxicating. I took a half-step forward without even realizing.


    As my foot hit the ground, another spout of water burst up from the stream in front of the boy, a pillar of sparkling, clear liquid. This time, I got a good look at it. One of the fish that had been swimming downstream got caught in the phenomena.


    Magic. And manipulating water? He must¡¯ve gotten his hands on a Tempest Shard somehow.


    It wasn¡¯t the first time I¡¯d seen someone lose themselves in Shard magic, but it never failed to send a pang of longing¡ªor maybe fear¡ªthrough me. I shook it off. No use chasing what I didn¡¯t have. One other thing Mom had beaten it over my head well enough was that little old me, from the pitifully unremarkable village of Avenholme, probably didn¡¯t have the aptitude to be a mage anyway¡ªand we certainly weren¡¯t going to put out for the exorbitant testing fees to find out.


    I felt a barbed twinge of envy that this boy had somehow discovered that little old him from Avenholm did in fact have the affinity to be a mage.


    I recalled the sputtering water spout.


    Maybe not a good mage, but¡ª


    I inhaled sharply, recalled to the moment, and glanced around to see if anyone else had seen what he¡¯d done. Satisfied that there were no other spectators, I cupped my hands to project my voice towards him. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t want the elders seeing that, do you?¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    If the elders saw him, there¡¯d be no explaining it away. They didn¡¯t care much for Shards, even less for the people who dared to use them. ¡®Devil powers from the devil realm,¡¯ they said. Even through my pang of envy, I didn¡¯t want this young kid to get caught up in all that trouble.


    His reaction stuttered through three distinct phases.


    First, at the sound of my voice, he froze up. Moments passed, and he turned towards me, raising a hand to the back of his neck awkwardly as he registered my words. Then his eyes landed on me, and his eyes widened just enough to be perceptible, then narrowed, laser focused on me.


    ¡°And what do you know, weirdo?¡± he spat back, now walking towards me. I was too busy watching the water gurgle agitatedly in his wake to be exasperated¡ªwith each step he took, there was a faint disturbance in the stream, and that same sensation of the strange wind whipping around me.


    ¡°Now you¡¯re quiet?¡±


    I snapped back to the moment as he came within spitting distance of me. At the same time, the aberrations in the water¡¯s flow ceased, the stream returning to its tranquil state, save for the agitated motions of some fish.


    ¡°Look,¡± I said, giving a placid smile. I hoped it wad placid, anyway, and didn¡¯t betray my annoyance at this pipsqueak thinking even he could bully me around. ¡°I was just trying to warn you that if the elders¡ª¡°


    ¡°The elders?¡± he said incredulously. ¡°What do you care about the elders? They hate you,¡± he said, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.


    My eyebrow twitched. Feigning nonchalance, I crossed my arms, craning my neck to look pointedly over at where he¡¯s been casting magic just moments ago. ¡°Pretty sure they¡¯d have some choice words about you, too, if they saw you using magic.¡± Then, my curiosity winning out even as he turned red, ¡°where¡¯d you get a Shard anyway? And a Tempest?¡±


    His increasingly petulant expression told me he had no intention of answering me. He just stood there for a long moment, stewing, until I raised an eyebrow at him. A base provocation, I will admit.


    The flush on his face grew. His hand flew up, an accusing finger pointed up at me. ¡°You know what? They¡¯d still hate you more!¡± He stomped his foot in a way not quite fitting of his age, and I felt very much all at once like I was the one doing the bullying. ¡°My mom said¡ª¡°


    ¡°Leave my brother alone!¡±


    The boy faltered, his gaze drawn to the side, up the hill leading towards the village.


    I turned as well, to find my little sister, Lucinia, standing at the crest of the hill at my back, trying, and failing, to look imposing, her hands on her hips and her cheeks puffed out in what I¡¯m sure she thought was a cowing display of anger, her purple eyes narrowed.


    Her hair was a lighter shade of brown than my own. Reminiscent of our father, who had vanished two years prior, soon after the birth of our younger brother.


    I still sometimes would catch Mom staring out the window of our small home with a wistful look on her face. Waiting for Dad to come home after a day of logging.


    To his merit, the boy was nothing if not quick to recover. His head whipped back to me, the smirk returned to his face. Lucinia did not take kindly to being ignored, and began sauntering down the hill even as the boy went on. ¡°And you always make your little sister stand up for you! I¡¯d never show my face again if Redela had to defend me every day.¡±


    Lucinia had reached us now, and unceremoniously took the boy by his ear. I chuckled at the sight of my sister treating this kid, two or three years her senior, like she was his mom.


    ¡°Ow, ow, ow¡ª¡° he protested. ¡°Let me go¡ª¡°


    Lucinia did not, in fact, let go. ¡°Your mom told you to stop being mean to people, Frif,¡± she scolded, as if she and Frif¡¯s mom were good friends.


    ¡°Yeah, Frif. Stop being mean to people.¡± I should have acted my age, but I really couldn¡¯t resist.


    Frif¡¯s eyes turned back to me. ¡°You¡ª¡° he started, words seeming to fail to fully express the world shattering hatred he bore for me in that moment.


    To my surprise, I felt the prickling of the strange wind again, and the humor fell from my face. Lucinia must have sensed the shift, because she started looking back and forth between the two of us quizzically.


    ¡°Wait¡± I started, holding my hands up in a placating gesture.


    If his earlier display was any indication, his magic probably couldn¡¯t do much harm to anyone, but better safe than sorry. Perhaps more importantly, the Wardens might come take this kid if he started throwing magic around at people, no matter how half-baked, and neither he nor the village needed that kind of attention.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to upset you.¡± I realized as his brows lowered even further that those were probably the worst words I could have possibly chosen. ¡°You could get in a lot of trouble if you start¡ª¡°


    ¡°Shut up!¡± he yelled, cutting me off. Lucinia went back from glancing between us to staring at Frif.


    Man, this kid had a temper on him.


    What happened next went so quickly I hardly had time to process it.


    I felt the strange wind whipping itself into a frenzy, and for a moment I wondered what sad display of magic Frif would put on for us. Only for a moment though. For the briefest of intervals, I could¡¯ve sworn I could see the currents of the force making my skin tingle. From Frif¡¯s outstretched finger, it coiled towards me, then swirled around my body. The stream gave the faintest of burbles, then a bubble popped on the surface.


    The wind felt like razors¡ªbut with the flat of the blade pressed to my skin, posing no threat. It buzzed, and I felt it turn sharp, but only after it lifted from me, turning on Frif like a dog growling at a stranger. I saw the faintest flicker of my own confusion mirrored on his face before the wind rushed at him, and his eyes rolled back.


    With my own legs frozen to the spot, and Lucinia unable to do anything to keep the older boy from falling to the ground, Frif crumpled, his legs folding under his body like a puppet cut from its strings.

 002: Panopticon

    ¡°So, he¡­ fell over?¡± the village physician drawled, an eyebrow raised. Her bright green scrubs stood out against the drab brown background of the medical tent. She gestured with an arm toward an empty, olive green cot. I could tell she didn¡¯t believe me. Maybe this would be the piece of evidence the elders needed to finally put me on trial for spellcraft.


    Breathing hard from running all the way there, I glanced back at the sliver of fading light coming through the thin line of the tent¡¯s entrance. I¡¯d send Lucinia to tell Mom what¡¯d happened, and the entire way to the tent I¡¯d been trying to think of how to explain Frif¡¯s unconscious state. I hadn¡¯t come up with much, and the medic¡¯s disbelieving gaze was making me even more nervous. Legs shaking almost imperceptibly, I stepped towards the cot, careful not to trip on any of the uneven parts of the ground.


    ¡°Mhm,¡± I answered, realizing that I¡¯d lapsed into silence a few beats too long. I hoped she thought it was just because I was out of breath. I set Frif down on the cot. ¡°I saw him while I was out harvesting norolillies. He just¡­ fainted?¡± I said as I stepped back, letting the medic take her place at Frif¡¯s side.


    She pressed her fingers against his neck, then his wrist, checking his pulse.


    I breathed deep, some of the remaining tension in my chest dwindling further as I watched the steady rise and fall of the boy¡¯s chest.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask his parents if he has any underlying conditions¡­¡± the woman murmured, her tone distracted. Her eyes flitted up to me, vaguely suspicious, before she returned to checking Frif¡¯s vitals.


    I shifted my weight from foot to foot, unsure if I should leave. Then she looked back up at me, meeting my eyes this time.


    ¡°Well?¡± she said pointedly. ¡°What are you waiting around for?¡±


    I opened my mouth, then closed it, then opened it again like a gaping fish. Finally, I turned and left, the canvas of the tent rushing against my face felt like cold fingers as I exited. I brushed off the sensation, and started walking. The amber light was fading quickly now, shadows settling over the buildings and trees nearby.


    I¡¯d been standing there waiting for her to ask me about the strange wind, I realized. Or the Shard Frif had gotten somehow¡ªbut there was no way for her to know about the strange sensations I felt sometimes, and the Shard would be absorbed into Frif¡¯s body by now, imperceptible to non-mages.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Despite my heart¡¯s slowing pace, my mind still raced. I thought back to Frif¡¯s magic¡ªit had turned on him¡­ seemingly unwilling to hurt me? But could magic have a will? And what about me would make it do that? I wasn¡¯t a mage, and I certainly didn¡¯t have any conscious control over his spell. I thought of the Glade¡ªof the thrumming I felt whenever I was near it. The magic had felt the same. I could sense magic, somehow? But that didn¡¯t¡ª


    I let out a long exhale, trying to stop the train of thought from spiraling unproductively, the motion of my legs carrying me forward feeling distant. Mechanical. It was always like this in the village¡ªfearing I¡¯d one day be exposed for something I didn¡¯t even know anything about.


    A woman opened the door of a thatched house nearby. She lit a lamp hanging from the roof beside the door with a firesteel, then cupped her hands over her mouth and called for her children. Her voice carried up and down the nearby hills, reverberating and echoing all around, and not long after there were similar calls all around the village, and the mostly silent valley was suddenly alive with noise, dozens of parents calling their children home¡ªsome scolding them for whatever they¡¯d gotten up to that day.


    I tried to push any thoughts about magic from my mind. I imagined one of the people milling around the village seeing the thoughts written on my face and running to tell the elders that I¡¯d finally done it. I thought of anything else. The distant sound of running water. The small children running home with mud on their faces. My thoughts landed on dinner and stuck there, my stomach rumbling in agreement.


    That¡¯s right, I thought. Nothing would come of this¡ªFrif would be up in a few hour like nothing happened, and we¡¯d all move on. I could continue living my perfectly normal life.


    Repeating thoughts like these all the way home, I has mostly calmed down by the time I got home.


    When my house came into view, Mom was standing in the front door, head swiveling around, wringing her hands.


    Looking for me.


    I told myself it was just because I was running late, but the slight widening of her eyes as they met mine said otherwise.

 003: Home Is Where the Heart Is

    I¡¯d hoped that my worry was unfounded. That I¡¯d been seeing things.


    ¡°Lucinia told me what happened,¡± Mom said, lowering Blaise into his rickety crib, roughly crafted by Dad¡¯s novice hands before his disappearance. As she turned, I saw the worry lines, of age beginning to show, on her face, deepened further by her own anxiety. Even more concerned was that she was scratching at the back of one of her hands¡ªsomething she only did when something was troubling her terribly. ¡°Was that boy alright? Frif?¡±


    ¡°The nurse said he¡¯d been okay with some rest. Nothing serious,¡± I said, picking idly at the wooden table. Lucinia had been sent off to bed as well, and I hadn¡¯t moved from my seat at the table after dinner. It was as if I were stuck in a swamp of Mom¡¯s worry and attention. I tried to keep my breath level, breathing how she¡¯d always taught me.


    ¡®Level, like the undisturbed surface of a pond.¡¯


    I didn¡¯t think Lucinia had seen enough to know that Frif had somehow gotten a shard, but the way Mom was furtively glancing around had me on edge.


    She sat at the table across from me, glancing over her shoulder at Blaise¡¯s crib. The candle on the table cast shadows over her face, making the worry lines even deeper. ¡°Can you tell me exactly what happened, Kaelion?¡±


    And so I did. Mom was the only one in the village who knew about the odd sensations I¡¯d felt since I was a child¡ªshe¡¯d been the one that taught me to keep quiet about them. As I described what I had felt, the¡­force turning from be back onto Frif, she was silent, but the muscles in her face tensed.


    ¡°And then I took him to the medical tent and¡­ that¡¯s about it,¡± I said, trailing off aimlessly. The words had come tumbling out of me faster than I could think, and I hadn¡¯t even considered that I would need to stop talking at some point.


    The room was silent for a long time, Mom¡¯s gaze alternating between staring off at some distant point over my shoulder, beyond the window, and fixing on me intently.


    Finally, she sighed. A heaving sigh that brought her shoulders almost up to her ears before she let out the deep breath. Then she stood, walked over to the window above the sink, and pressed a hand to the glass. Thinking about Dad.


    ¡°I knew we shouldn¡¯t have stayed here¡­¡± she said, almost too quiet for me to hear.


    I¡¯d always suspected she knew more about this strangeness inside me than she had let on, but it never seemed a good idea to ask. As long as I did as she said, keeping it hidden away, we could carry on with our lives, undisturbed. That¡¯s what I¡¯d thought for so long. But now, at those words, I couldn¡¯t help my curiosity from welling up. I stood from my chair.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Mom. Do you know what¡ª¡°


    ¡°Not now,¡± she said, heaving another sigh, this one impossibly even deeper than the last. I flinched at the sharpness in her voice, whatever I was going to say forgotten. ¡°And we thought it would be safer for you here. What fools we were.¡±


    I stood there, dumbstruck, trying to parse her words, but nothing made any sense. Safer for me? Safer how? From what? My blood was rushing in my ears again, and I grew lightheaded. I had to stabilize myself using the table. And rising above the sea of all my other thoughts, I wondered how much she knew about me. About why I sometimes felt the things I did.


    She¡¯d said something else, I realized. But the words had made so sense. I hadn¡¯t really heard them. ¡°Huh?¡± I said.


    ¡°I said we leave tomorrow morning,¡± she repeated, turning to face me.


    ¡°Wha¡ª¡° I stammered. Even if I wasn¡¯t very welcome here, Avenholme was my home. Our home. To hear we were leaving, just like that, sent me reeling. ¡°What do you mean we¡¯re leaving? What about Lucinia? Her friends? What about Dad¡ª¡°


    ¡°Kaelion, you know as well as I that your father probably isn¡¯t coming back.¡± She grazed the counter behind her with her finger as she stepped forward. ¡°Our staying here is probably why he¡¯s gone now in the first place,¡± she said. There was a sad smile, tinged with bitterness, on her face.


    What was that supposed to mean? Us being in our home was why Dad was gone? ¡°I don¡¯t¡ª I don¡¯t understand,¡± I said, unable to form any other words, my confusion was so great. A thousand questions careened around my head, reverberating around my skull and making me feel sick. Making the floor seem to tilt, as if the world would fall out from under me at any moment. I¡¯d been worried on my way home, but now I realized I hadn¡¯t been worried enough.


    Mom met my eyes, that contradictory expression still on her face. ¡°I know, honey,¡± she said. She swept over me and drew me into a hug. ¡°But it¡¯ll just make it harder for you if I explain it all now,¡± she said. I could feel her heart beating almost as fast as my own. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll tell you everything, but after we leave this village, alright? Just trust me, please.¡±


    A faint agitation had been building in my chest at the abruptness of all this, exacerbated by my desire for answers. But as Mom softly spoke, even greater than the sincerity in her voice was a tremor of fear. My own annoyance suddenly seemed very childish, and it drained from me like water from a tub. And left in the dregs was the real emotion upon which it had been building¡ªfear, the same as Mom, even if for different reasons.


    I nodded, and she squeezed me closer.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she said, her voice cracking. Then, straightening, she added. ¡°We¡¯ll be off tomorrow just as soon as I can sell off the tonics and poultices I make from those norolillies.¡±


    Though my legs still shook and my pulse still pounded, I nodded again, my incessant internal questions and theories unabated. But they would have to wait, I told myself. There would be time for all of that later.


    As if in mocking response to this thought, I felt a prickle run over my skin, just before a distorted crash resounded from somewhere outside.

 004: Shadows in the Glass

    The noise pierced my ears, like the sound of glass shattering, but deeper, and as if heard from a great distance.


    Mom and I both froze, a little more than a foot from one another, our eyes locked. If the tingling feeling running over my skin were any indication, whatever had made that noise was closer than it had sounded.


    And was probably magical in nature. A Veilborn?


    We heard Lucinia before we saw her. She scampered back into the main area of the house, her bare feet pattering over the wooden floors.


    ¡°What was that?¡± she choked out, eyes darting between Mom and me. The eyebrows over her wide eyes furrowed for a moment, detecting the lingering tension. Neither of us could answer her question. Not only because we didn¡¯t know the answer, but also because the sight outside the window shocked us into silence.


    Faster than one could breath, the world outside was cast in a dark purple shade, like we were looking at it through stained glass. There was the clattering and clanging of the emergency alarm bell, and I thought I smelled smoke from somewhere as the ground began to rumble subtly from the sudden stamping of many panicked pairs of feet.


    Blaise, riled from his sleep, started wailing. Mom drifted over to his crib, worry etched onto her face even as she lifted him up to try to comfort him.


    My eyes stayed stuck to the window. Outside, a small, swirling, black vortex formed in the air. I watched in frozen bewilderment as it drifted lazily to the ground, then began to pulse,   pulling itself along the dirt like a snail with each writhing motion, devouring all in its path. In the apparition¡¯s wake, the ground became a marred trail, the color of charcoal with hints of amethyst. The vortex grew with every pebble and planter box it absorbed, until it was the size of a footstool.


    In the growing, panicked throngs of people running this way and that, a man tripped. He fell into the vortex face first. I tore my eyes away just as the spray of dark crimson ripped out into the air, but the sound¡ªa grotesque, wet crack¡ªmade me shudder. The timber of the house groaned, and a stray ember outside the window caught my attention, even in my peripheral vision.


    I shook myself from my stationary shock, and found Lucinia staring, slack jawed, out the window. Her small hands trembled, and her lips quivered as if she wanted to cry but couldn¡¯t quite manage it.  As I moved towards her, I only hoped, from her height, she hadn¡¯t witnessed that man¡¯s death.


    Emptiness pervaded every corner of my mind¡ªI had no idea what to do, I realized. Looking at Mom, she wasn¡¯t in much better position.


    I shook Lucinia by her shoulders. ¡°We can¡¯t stay here,¡± I blurted to no one in particular. Stating the obvious. But the warning buzzing coursing through my blood felt like something greater than a gut feeling. The acrid smell of smoke grew stronger, screams sounding from every corner of the village.


    My words shook Mom from her stupor. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re right.¡± Her arms moved instinctively, cradling Blaise even as her gaze darted around the room. ¡°Luce, Kael,¡± she said, finding her bearings. She fixed us with the steadfast gaze I associated with her. ¡°Quickly,¡± she said, snatching up a cloth from the kitchen counter, balancing Blaise¡¯s crying form over her shoulder. She started to loop the cloth around him, securing him to her chest. ¡°Grab the essentials. Kaelion, make sure you get my medical satchel from my room. Go.¡± She snatched up a rucksack and tossed some bread in, then her limbs became a flurry. Or maybe it was my own eyes blurring.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Whatever the case, I spring into action, more than eager to have some direction. ¡°Come on, Luce,¡± I said, pulling her along with me as I walked, trying not to trip over my own feet. ¡°You heard Mom,¡± I said, trying to keep the quiver from my voice.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± she asked. She flinched at the distant sound of a scream.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I answered simply, shaking my head. ¡°Just grab what you need. Only what you need, though. Just stuff you can¡ª¡° Stuff you can run with, I almost said. I grit my teeth. ¡°Only things you can easily carry. Alright?¡±


    I grabbed my rucksack from our shared bedroom and stuffed a simple change of clothes into it. I was almost out of the room again before I remembered something else, turning back around. I swiped my journal and Dad¡¯s knife from under my bed¡ªone of the last remnants of him we had. From there, I gathered up Mom¡¯s satchel, a lantern, a fire starter, and few other things that seemed useful, though I hardly had the space to think about what that meant. Once it was full, I hefted the pack up over my shoulders. Something bit into my back, but there was no time to rearrange everything.


    Back in the main part of the house, Mom was just finishing with her own bag, securing the clasps as I stepped into few. Lucinia ambled out right after me, distracted enough that she walked into my back. I quickly turned and caught her arm to her from falling on her behind.


    ¡°Ready?¡± Mom asked as I pulled Lucinia to her feet.


    Only a few minutes had passed since we heard the first noise, but the overbearing smell of smoke and the constant bloodcurdling screams had made the short interval feel like an eternity. It seemed strange that I should have been worried about Frif just hours earlier.


    ¡°Mhm,¡± Lucinia said absently, while I only nodded, starting towards the door, where Mom was reaching for the handle.


    ¡°We¡¯ll make for Teithus. If the situation¡¯s bad enough,¡± Mom said, the second part added to try to ease our worries. ¡°It¡¯s about half a day by¡ª¡°


    I rushed forward, a torrent of adrenaline rushing through my veins. A black-purple hole had formed at the foot of the door, the wood curling away from the gap as if recoiling from a fire. The rot spread upward as I watched, in slow motion, as vortex identical to the one I¡¯d seen earlier wormed through the bottom of the door, eating away at the obstruction rather than giving it any thought.


    I reached for Mom¡¯s arm, and pulled her back just as the pulsating mass was about to reach the toe of her front foot. She yelped in surprise, but it was mostly drowned out by the roaring in my ears. I could almost feel my nerves fraying from the events of the day.


    The vortex paused, the entire lower half of of the door, and the surrounding wall, absorbed into its mass. I watched it grow just a bit as it sat there. For a moment, nobody moved. All three of us stared at the thing in horror. Confusion.


    I felt a concentrated pinprick on my skin. Then the vortex coiled jerkily, then pushed off the ground, leaping at me as if angry I deprived it of its meal.


    Taken off guard by the sudden motion, I pushed mom to the side, then raised my arm over my face, bracing myself against the black mass hurtling toward me. The image of the man from earlier, falling into the vortex, flashed through my mind, and panic gripped my chest. Foolish, I thought, cursing myself, but it was too late now. I hoped Mom, Lucinia, and Blaise would be able to escape whatever was happening outside without me. Not that my being there would have made much different. Maybe I could have used myself as a human shield against something that wouldn¡¯t go right through me, I mused wryly.


    ¡°Kael?¡±


    I opened my eyes hesitantly at the sound of Mom¡¯s voice, taken aback.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ alive?¡± I said. Then I properly looked around. Lowering my arm, I blinked. Surrounding me, a bright orange haze shimmered, rapidly fading away. My eyes fixed on the loose after-image of a large paw within the orange, losing its shape even as I looked at it. Beyond the particles of light, the mass of the vortex dispersed, falling harmlessly to the floor and settling there like a fine layer of ash.

 005: The Space Between Us and There

    We watched the light fade to nothing, then glanced at each other, mirroring one another¡¯s looks of confusion.


    ¡°Did you do that?¡± Lucinia asked from behind me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so?¡± I answered, unsure of myself, as I lowered my arm, swatting at the particles of light. Then, like a returning tide, the horrible sounds from beyond the walls came flooding back in, and the immediacy of our situation returned to me.


    Avenholme was burning. A dusky, reddish orange smog blotted out the sky, and the contaminated air rushed in through the newly formed hole in the wall¡ªalready, I could feel the soot settling in my lungs, making each breath heavier.


    Beyond the hole, disorganized mobs of villagers, some bloodied and dirt covered, crashed against each other like waves, bodies and limbs jostling. I recognized some of the faces of people being trampled under frenzied feet.


    ¡°Good heavens¡­¡± Mom said, looking out at the hellish scene. Then, looking back over her shoulder, and stepping toward what had been the front door, ¡°stay close to me, you two.¡±


    A steep heel towered over the back of our house, so moving away from the chaos wasn¡¯t an option. Instead, we moved through the village, sticking to side paths wherever possible, Mom and Blaise in front, Lucinia in the middle, and me bringing up the rear. I¡¯d withdrawn Dad¡¯s knife from the side pocket of my bag, and was clutching it in my pocket so tightly I could feel my knuckles going white. Against a Veilborn, it wouldn¡¯t be much use, but the blade brought me comfort.


    I choked on a cloud of smoke as we moved through it. Looking around at the burning buildings, I knew this would be the end of Avenholme¡ªeven on their fastest mounts, Shardseekers from Teithus wouldn¡¯t arrive for about forty minutes, and that was assuming they departed as soon as they noticed the disturbance.


    Ahead of me, next to Lucinia¡¯s crouched form, a piece of lumbar toppled over, its support burned away by the raging fires. I managed to catch it just before it hit her head. I cursed as I tossed it aside, shaking my hand from the intense heat. Lucinia tossed a concerned looked back at me, but I shook my head, smiling. Or at least, I gave what I thought was a smile.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost out now, just a little farther,¡± Mom said. ¡°Stay close, now.¡± Blaise¡¯s wails, from where he was clutching to her chest, has mostly died down, becoming little more than intermittent snivels¡ªhe had tired himself out, I supposed.


    From the alleyway where we were crouched, we looked ahead¡ªonly a water well and one row of houses separated us from the world outside the village. I lost myself to marveling for a moment at how the sky beyond that line of homes seemed to undisturbed. Indifferent to the disaster taking place here.


    We waited for a break in the foot traffic of the scrambling villagers, mostly flowing out of the village now that we had come so close to the edge. Some, though, were calling out for their families or friends. I watched as an ember caught on Ms. Ohur¡¯s dress. She was immolated on the spot.


    Mom took both Lucinia and my hands.


    ¡°Three,¡± she said, counting down to our movement like she¡¯d down dozens of times as we navigated the dirt paths of the village.


    ¡°Two.¡±


    I wondered what life would like like after we got out of Avenholme. I felt a fleeting relief at no longer being scorned by everyone around me for something out of my control. Then a pang of shame at the fact that I could feel relief as the people I¡¯d known my whole life were dying around me.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°One.¡± I squeezed Lucinia¡¯s hand, held in my life, and the concealed knife in my right. We didn¡¯t have much money, so life would be hard, but Mom had her skills as a healer, and I could probably find decent work, even if it would be hard. We might even be able to send Lucinia to a proper school.


    ¡°Go!¡±


    We took off from the alley, the three of us in a line, and the entire world seemed to collapse in on itself until it was just us and that seemingly vast expanse between the two rows of houses.


    Then, there were only five steps between us and the edge of hell.


    The faint shortness of breath in my chest, worsened by the smoke, seemed to grow a million fold with each passing step across what now looked like a wasteland¡ªcharred streaks crisscrossing and intersecting everywhere you looked down.


    Four steps.


    Inferno¡¯s bellowed all around us, the roaring of the fire melding with the screams of the villagers, and the roars of a beast.


    Three steps.


    The rusty smell of blood seemed to shroud everything in the village, and I clutched the knife tighter, as if to ward off the crimson death and flame.


    Two steps. A scream tore through my ears from close behind us.


    ¡°Mom! Blaise!¡± Lucinia shrieked. She skidded to a halt, swiveling around to look back, and stopped me alongside her.


    I almost yanked her forward and told her to keep running, so focused was I on the freedom now to our backs, but I quickly came to my senses¡ªLucinia¡¯s left hand was empty.


    Following my sister¡¯s line of sight, I turned, and my heart lurched up into my throat. Mom was behind us. Lying face down on the ground. Just behind her, where her legs should have been, one of the grisly, vortex-like creatures was quivering, like it was in ecstasy. Blood, turned black in the morbid twilight, had misted above her prone form, creating a macabre veil for what lay beyond.


    Only a few yards away, a twelve foot tall creature was hunched forward, its beady, violet eyes focused on us. its legs were the furry, hoofed ones of a goat, but pulsing with visbly striated lines of powerful, barely contained muscle. It had a similarly built human torso, but the the over sized head of a bull. A coiled, snakelike tail sprouted from its back, pointed at us like a stinger, and the onyx bullhorns growing from its head caught the flickers of flame, making them look like the gates to the otherworld.


    ¡°Tasty¡­ meal¡­¡± it grunted, the words gravelly, bubbling up out of tar somewhere in its throat, and I was too stunned to even find the fact that it could speak curious. I couldn¡¯t help but feel it looked directly at me as it said this, in a powerful voice that somehow reached my ears even over the din of the burning village.


    The vortex dissipated, as if it were never there, leaving Mom, protecting Blaise with her arms, lying in the dirt, her legs gone from the mid-thigh down. I almost threw up. Beside me, Lucinia did keel over and throw up, regurgitating her dinner out onto the dirt.


    A group of village men with makeshift weapons had appeared at some point near the beast and were now engaging it. They wouldn¡¯t last long, I knew. No one in the village would, against a Veilborn¡ªwe had no mages.


    I took the moment to run over to Mom, and started to pull her up and shifted my rucksack aside, intending to lift both her and Blaise over my shoulder. No time to dress her wounds¡ªnot with that Veilborn so close. I grunted with the effort, and almost buckled under all of the combined weight. Mom fell back to the dirt, and I reached to try again, but was stunned into stillness by the beast¡¯s loud earth-shaking bellow. A third of the men fighting it had fallen since I last looked up, their corpses littering the ground, tripping up some of their comrades. I could hardly see them, the smoke stinging my eyes.


    Mom groaned in pain, and looked to the source of the noise. Her eyes grew wide as they laid upon the beast for the first time, then narrowed in determination. She set to undoing the fabric that bound Blaise¡ªwho had fallen into a dazed silence¡ªto her chest.


    ¡°Kaelion,¡± she said, and my heart sank. I heard the next words almost before she said them. ¡°Take your brother, and run.¡± She rolled over onto her back as she finished undoing the cloth, and held Blaise¡¯s swaddled form up for me to take.


    ¡°No,¡± I stammered, taking Blaise all the same. He looked so delicate in my arms, like he might burn up any second. ¡°No, I can¡ª¡° More death wails interrupted me. More of the men had crumpled to the ground, and the fight, if it could even be called that, moved closer by the second¡ªthe monster was trying to reach us.


    ¡°I can¡­¡± I said, but stopped short, biting the inside of my cheek until it bled. I couldn¡¯t think. Everything was a blurry mess. Freedom has been so close. I wouldn¡¯t be able to carry them both¡ª


    ¡°Luce!¡± I shouted, swiveling around. ¡°Lucinia!¡± I closed the short distance between us. ¡°Lucinia, take Blaise¡­¡± My face fell. She was unresponsive, eyes glazed over as she stared at the Veilborn closing in on us. ¡°Luce!¡±


    I clicked my teeth, turning back around. The monster was close now, just a few yards away. Its foul breath washed over us now with each roar, and bile rose up in my throat again. I knelt next to Mom, Blaise still in my arms.


    ¡°¡ªithus,¡± she was in the middle of saying. ¡°Find Marcus.¡± She coughed, and blood sputtered up out of her mouth, mirroring the blood gushing from her mangled legs. ¡°He works for the  city guard¡­¡± She rolled over, weakly, and I reached for words. I found none. She slung her rucksack off, and held it out to me. Mindlessly, I took this too.


    ¡°I love you, Kaelion. Lucinia. Blaise,¡± she said, her voice airy. Distant. Then, refocusing on me, ¡°go. I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Mom, I¡ª¡°


    ¡°Go!¡± she screamed, with what I could tell was very nearly the last of her strength.


    Trying not to think of anything, I spun around. I hefted Lucinia onto my back the best I could. Then, hauling everything and nothing at all, I ran, cries of people and the roars of the Veilborn at my back spurring me on. As I crossed the village¡¯s threshold, the cleaner air did nothing to quell the storm raging inside me as I ran further and further from everything I knew.