The well water ran brown and grimy between my fingers. My eyes traveled to the well itself in time to catch the glowing jewels studding the well\u2019s bricks winking out in a solid wave from the bottom up. Without the jewels, bricks toppled down the shaft and splashed in the thick water while others rolled lifelessly onto the street. Soon the water source was filled to the top with red sandstone and cracked brick, lifeless amethyst and topaz glinting in the morning sun.<\/p>\n
I stumbled backward, my hand still coated with soiled water. People–Sorcerers–gathered around at the noise. Their shouts and talk reached my ears as a confused mess, but I caught one question: \u201cWho was the last to use it?\u201d <\/p>\n
I dropped the pails and yoke, and I ran.<\/p>\n
My mind buzzed with fines I couldn\u2019t pay or days alone in a dark room until the Sorcerers thought I wouldn\u2019t do it again. I would get back to the Village now, wait a little, then fetch water at another well. Nobody would know. I was too old for it, but as I ran, I pulled my shawl up over my head so that it was low over my eyebrows. Then nobody would see the Mark on my forehead, the circle shot through with two overlapping crosses. It was the glyph denoting the immortality spell, the spell only Sorcerers should have. My mother put it on me, got herself executed, and made me alone.<\/p>\n
A strong hand grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. My breath turned solid in my throat. It was a royal soldier, clad in a rich violet robe sewn heavy with turquoise and tiger\u2019s eye. The cloak shimmered with unnatural light from each precious stone carved with protection and strength spells. I blinked hard. The cloak was unsettling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think we need any other evidence regarding who is responsible?\u201d he said. \u201cYou were running away so fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head, but I\u2019ve never had the talent to lie. The panic rose, turned my face hot, and the words fell out. \u201cMy foster mother sent me to get water–that\u2019s all I was doing, I swear, sir. I pulled out the pail and the water was bad and then it all fell down–\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy don\u2019t you come with me? Chief Fullak has been wanting to discuss your talents.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cTalents? But I didn\u2019t–\u201d<\/p>\n
Something white and big as a horse swooped down from a nearby rooftop and knocked both of us off our feet.<\/p>\n
Lights swam in my vision–I landed hard on my side–and silence engulfed the little square where we stood. As I blinked my streaming eyes, the Sorcerer servants who had been chatting nearby shook their heads and left. The few other Villagers, identifiable by their plain woven shawls and robes like mine, cleared out a little more anxiously. \t<\/p>\n
I was alone in the square with a furious plum-faced soldier and one white, rose-eyed Embrizid.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re getting too big for that, Tulkot,\u201d I muttered to the creature as I clutched my side and lurched myself into a sitting position. \u201cYou\u2019re no hatchling.\u201d<\/p>\n
The soldier struggled to his feet. His black hair escaped from the braids crowning his head, and the jeweled cloak slipped off one brown shoulder. He stuttered angrily, shooting looks alternately at Tulkot and me, as if deciding where to direct his rage.<\/p>\n
Tulkot snarled at him. It wasn\u2019t terribly intimidating coming from a half-grown Embrizid, but the soldier flinched anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou–you\u2019re not supposed to associate with Embrizid. If that\u2019s how you collapsed the well, then–\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep yourself under control,\u201d the soldier said with a shaking voice as he backed away. \u201cIf you fiddle with another spell, there\u2019ll be punishment for you. You\u2019ll have a long sit in a cold room.\u201d<\/p>\n
He gave a curt nod, turned on his heel, and left.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere,\u201d said Tulkot. \u201cWith me here, they\u2019ll fear you and your talents.\u201d <\/p>\n
I snorted. \u201cIt\u2019s just awful luck, nothing more. You didn\u2019t help.\u201d <\/p>\n
I brushed off my knees and started back toward the Village. Tulkot pranced beside me, chattering about Sorcerer gossip in his gravelly Embrizid voice. His white coloring was rare and handsome, and he would be grand when he grew out of his gawkiness. Like all Embrizid, he was a four-legged, winged creature, coated thick with feathers. His face was elongated and framed with a fanned, grandiose mane. Large erect ears poked from his crown of feathers, and a long tail trailed behind him. His five-fingered feet were reminiscent of human hands, save for the long, sharp claws extending from each digit.<\/p>\n
\u201c–hunters killing us off in the desert–” <\/p>\n
I frowned. \u201cWait–what did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Tulkot shook his mane in irritation. \u201cSar said hunters are killing some of the Embrizid. That\u2019s why things collapse. The spells break. A couple other bits of wall and statues came down a week ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sar was king of the Embrizid. He consulted with our own Chief Fullak and organized the Embrizid\u2019s work with human Sorcerers in the Upper district. Embrizid provided the Sorcerers with the magic to perform spells.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat hunters?\u201d I asked. \u201cOnly Gearda can survive in the desert, and that\u2019s with the heaps of spells over Minunaga to keep the desert out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one\u2019s seen them, but Embrizid go out to hunt, and they don\u2019t come back. Embrizid don\u2019t die all too often, so we notice. And anyways, people are smart… maybe some from the west brought enough water and food. They could live in the desert.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cSure,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Sar\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why doesn\u2019t anyone tell Fullak? Fullak would know what to do about hunters. I don\u2019t want to keep getting blamed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t believe Sar,\u201d said Tulkot, and he tossed his head.<\/p>\n
He looked to the sun which was high over the horizon by now. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have to go–I have to study with the Sorcerer students today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGo on,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019ll find you later.\u201d <\/p>\n
Tulkot displayed his sharp teeth in a silent Embrizid laugh. \u201cI always find you first.\u201d <\/p>\n
He pranced off in the opposite direction and took to the sky. As I watched, I felt a pang of jealousy for the student who got to work with him.<\/p>\n
Villagers had to be careful about being seen with an Embrizid too much. If an Embrizid wanted to talk to you, that was fine, but Villagers never sought them out on their own, at least not in the open.
\n
\nI was near the Village now, but I slowed my gait to take in the beauty of Minunaga. The buildings, like the wells, had jewels pressed into every wall. Rubies, citrine, quartz, anything that the Geardan people could either find or trade from other cities like ours. Each had their own magical properties, and each was carved with glyphs to tell the stone which spell to hold. The Embrizid channeled a constant flow of magic to keep these complicated spells aglow.<\/p>\n
The buildings had a wild look. They mirrored the stone formations from the mountains around us and grew in a plant-like tangle from the cliff side. They reached high overhead, leaned dangerously, or had balconies jutting out wherever the architect wanted them. Perfectly domed roofs capped towers carved straight from living rock. Even smaller houses might have seven or so twisting turrets accenting corners, roofs, and walls. Intricately chiseled stone arches cupped the roadways at random intervals, none matching any other in style or size.<\/p>\n
None of this was achieved through any feat of human architecture or handicraft. The soft glow of the magicked stones told it all–the buildings were built and remained standing through magic alone.<\/p>\n
The glory of Minunaga was the highest tower the Sorcerers constructed: the library. It reached higher than the mountain to which Minunaga clung, so tall that the top was just a point in the sky above. The stone was streaked and rippled as if a Sorcerer kneaded and pulled the earth up into its current form. Each floor was lined with pillars and narrow, ornately framed windows. In front of the library tower was a massive elliptical garden. A lemon tree border surrounded hundreds of perpetually blossoming shrubs and flowers, the likes of which should never have been seen in a desert like ours.<\/p>\n
But surroundings like this were not meant for me. I reached the last archway and passed into the Village, home to farmers and craftspeople. Small brick and thatch huts replaced the striking architecture in the Upper district. When night fell, the Village huts darkened with the rest of the world while the Upper stayed lit with spells. Here, magic was used only to support the wheat fields and the vegetable gardens that hugged the houses and the dusty road. <\/p>\n
I stepped into my one-room hut and blinked as my eyes adjusted to the gloom. I wrinkled my nose at the acrid smell of new leather. Halu, my foster father, was a tanner. Halu and his son, Leril, were seated at the kitchen table, and Moran, my foster mother, served them from a wide-mouthed pot balanced on her hip. She looked up at me with raised eyebrows. I was uncomfortably aware of my empty hands and unburdened back. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe well caved in, and a soldier thought I did it,\u201d I said quickly. \u201cI dropped the pails. Can someone else go get the water?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe need those, Nula,\u201d said Moran. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was scared. I didn\u2019t do it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Moran\u2019s eyes caught my forehead for a second, then shifted back to her work spooning out a watery chickpea mixture. I touched my head. My shawl had slipped back to reveal my own flyaway black hair and the black Mark scrawled on my forehead by an unpracticed hand. Moran liked me to keep it covered. I pulled the shawl back down over my forehead and wrapped the rest around my neck to secure it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to need to take care of yourself,\u201d said Moran. \u201cYour mother didn\u2019t leave an easy life for you. We\u2019ve raised you best as we could, but there\u2019s only so much we can do considering your circumstances.\u201d <\/p>\n
Moran sat down at the table while I hovered in the doorway a moment longer.<\/p>\n
Moran rolled her eyes. \u201cNula, Leril already fetched the water, you were so late. But you need to get those pails, or someone will steal them. If you can\u2019t, you\u2019ll need to buy us new ones.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her. She knew no one would hire me. How would I get money for that?<\/p>\n
\u201cMoran,\u201d said Halu. He had a quiet, whispering voice. \u201cThe girl\u2019s been frightened.\u201d <\/p>\n
Moran shot him an icy look, then her eyes came back to me. \u201cNow, Nula.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMake an offering at the temple,\u201d suggested Halu. \u201cThat might turn your luck around. Ask for your mother\u2019s forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n
I left the room, but not before catching Leril\u2019s stifled laugh and the pity on Halu\u2019s face. Both equally made my stomach ache.<\/p>\n
I did as Halu said and wandered to the temple a few doors down. I\u2019d prayed there nearly every day since I was eleven years old. It hadn\u2019t produced results yet, but I kept going out of habit. It was a hut slightly bigger than my own, the interior hot and laden with incense. Alone in the center stood a hand-chiseled statue of Gattamak, guardian of the desert and the Gearda. He was three feet tall and muscular, with a long yellow painted braid down his back. His face was worn smooth from long years of repeated touching. At his feet were small token offerings: dolls, jewelry, a packet of seeds, a dried rose blossom.<\/p>\n
I unwrapped my shawl, untied my hair, and placed the threadbare string next to a poorly sewn rag doll. It was a sorry offering, but it was all I had. I knelt down and bowed.<\/p>\n
Small mirrors lined Gattamak\u2019s feet and my own wide blue eyes staring back at me from beneath the Mark. I rubbed at the glyph, but it wouldn\u2019t smear or fade. As always, I prayed the Mark would disappear.<\/p>\n
I despised it. I didn\u2019t know why my mother would want to give her little babe such a life. Immortality was worthless to me. Villagers wouldn\u2019t accept a Sorcerer in their midst, and Sorcerers wouldn\u2019t accept a Marked Villager. I occupied a class of my own.<\/p>\n
I was beginning to think that Halu and Moran were right, that the Mark was a curse of sorts. This was the second time I\u2019d been around something that had lost its magic. The first time was five years before, when I was eleven. I was playing in the tall stalks of wheat in our neighbor\u2019s field when a couple of the jeweled border stones went dark. The loam in one corner turned to sand and hard-packed dry earth. Green wheat changed to yellow-brown within the span of a breath and crumbled away to dust as I watched. The farmer who owned the field chased me out with a knife in his hand.<\/p>\n
If the Villagers had needed any sort of validation for their theory that Marked Villagers were cursed, they received it that day. I wasn\u2019t allowed to forget it either.<\/p>\n
Hunters are killing some of the Embrizid…<\/p>\n
Tulkot\u2019s words seemed tangible in the stuffy, thick air of the temple. If he was right… if there was a reason for the broken spells, maybe I had a chance to change all this, even if I was doomed keep the Mark. <\/p>\n
The sun was just sinking behind the mountains the next evening when I stole out of the hut and ran to the Upper. I ran right up all the way to the narrow stairway chipped into the side of the mountain. The stairs were steep and tiring, and I began to climb on all fours for speed\u2019s sake. I\u2019d never been up this way before, but it was the only way I might find Tulkot. <\/p>\n
As I neared a ledge on the red-gold mountain, I spotted caves bored into the rock up above. Further up on the face of the mountain, it looked pockmarked and dimpled with countless caverns. Some Embrizid above me leaped from their roosts and took flight, gliding over Minunaga, off to hunt. Sorcerer sentries perched on balconied towers performed the spell to open the transparent dome that covered the city, and the Embrizid sped off until they were nothing more than dark dots in a darkening sky. I didn\u2019t think it was possible for anyone to slay one of those powerful creatures.<\/p>\n
I reached a landing and slid down against the wall next to a wide mouthed cave. I panted and my forehead dripped onto the fine grit that coated the stone ledge. I was more afraid than fatigued. There was no wall to the ledge–I sat two steps away from a very long drop. I drew my knees up to my chin, as if my legs could betray me and fling me over the ledge against my will.<\/p>\n
As my breath quieted, I heard voices coming from the cave next to me, and not all of them were the growling guttural tones of Embrizids. Some were people. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe can talk more, of course,\u201d said a clear human tenor. \u201cWe would love to accommodate your concerns in any way we can–you know how much we value your kind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then came a deep, bone vibrating GRRMPH. \u201cI would say utterly dependent on our kind. You Gearda would be no more than dried corpses without our help.\u201d <\/p>\n
This was the deep voice of an ancient and mammoth Embrizid. <\/p>\n
\u201cOf course,\u201d said the man. \u201cWe are indeed dependent. And grateful. But–\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what do we receive, hm? We receive a roost, yes, the opportunity to make magic, yes. But you receive the food and your city and our long life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe offer you protection!\u201d The man\u2019s voice cracked.<\/p>\n
The Embrizid rumbled a laugh that shook the ledge–small flakes of stone danced in the dust before my eyes. \u201cProtection, Chief Fullak says! Can we not hunt on our own?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that,\u201d said Fullak. \u201dYou are powerful, no one denies that. We provide you with cattle and goats, as much as we can spare. We don\u2019t eat the meat–we leave it all to you. We give you our territories for safe hunting when you need more, and our people never hurt you. They would be punished for such a crime. They do not dare.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour people do not, but there are others. You are too content under your dome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Out of curiosity, I peered inside the cave. It was so vast I couldn\u2019t fathom where the ceiling ended, and it was lit with torches that burned with a steady, pale silver light. Chief Fullak was cloaked in a teal robe, the train of which crumpled and dragged behind him. He had two young manservants with him who stood by the wall, yawning.<\/p>\n
The Embrizid was seated on a broad stone dais at the far end of the room, and five other adult Embrizid either lay or sat silently nearby. He was male, marked by his expansive feathered mane, and he was bigger than any Embrizid I\u2019d ever laid eyes on. Fullak, who stood taller than most, reached only to the crook of the Embrizid\u2019s front legs. The Embrizid\u2019s coloring was mostly cream and flecked with brown and black. The end of his long tail twitched with pent-up exasperation. This had to be Sar, the Embrizid\u2019s king and Fullak\u2019s equal.<\/p>\n
Fullak cleared his throat. \u201cI refuse to send hunting parties into the desert until you are certain how these Embrizid were killed. It could very well be clans of your kind from the Southern cities, or even from the west. Or… or there is that Marked Villager girl. Yes, some of my most ranked Sorcerers think that the Mark has given her dark power, and that she doesn\u2019t have the wherewithal to control it. She was near the well when it collapsed.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened, and my sweat ran cold. I didn\u2019t know the Sorcerers thought much the same as Halu and Moran.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s possessed, that\u2019s what,\u201d Fullak continued more confidently. \u201cThere have been other instances as well–the Villagers have been reporting them for years. I\u2019ve always had my eye on her, of course, after her mother\u2019s crimes. We must think these things through without being rash and galloping off to scour the desert when the problem could be right here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sar belched out a roar. I jerked away from the cave entrance and hugged my legs close again, certain that the ledge was going to snap off the mountain with the power of Sar\u2019s bellow. <\/p>\n
\u201cRash!\u201d snarled Sar. \u201cHe says we are rash! Our feuds with the clans are our own concern and none of yours. There are no feuds at the moment. If anything can be said for Embrizid, it is that we fight with true reason. They would not attack us without announcing why. These attacks are random and cruel, like people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps you underestimate your kind,\u201d said Fullak. \u201cThe missing Embrizid are just that. Missing. We do not know what became of them.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not hunt after people. We will only defend. I do not want to be a part of your feuds,\u201d said Sar as if he hadn\u2019t heard Fullak\u2019s last remark. \u201cAnd this girl of yours–I have never heard of such a thing. I do not believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is likely that the Mark on a Villager could have ill-effects…\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Mark is just a spell. Investigate her if you like. If you are correct, apprehend her and be done with it. But I also want a party out to look for hunters in the desert. We have given and given, and you only take. I ask that you investigate the hunters.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no hunters,\u201d yelled Fullak. \u201cNo one survives in the desert except for Gearda, and that is only because of our magic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is our magic! I suggest you do so at once, if you enjoy your Minunaga. I can call my Embrizid. They will follow, and we can fly far from here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will think it over, Sar,\u201d Fullak said at last. \u201cThank you for your time.\u201d <\/p>\n
I heard the sound of fabric rustling against stone before the servants lifted Fullak\u2019s train off the ground. I squirmed away from the cave entrance and held my breath as Fullak and his manservants exited the cave mere inches from me. Fullak\u2019s handsome face was flushed with strawberry-red patches on his cheeks, and he pulled at his short beard as he scowled. A silvery grey Embrizid followed close behind–a female, smaller than Sar but still formidable. All three men clambered onto her back, and she took off, her talons screeching against the stone. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d <\/p>\n
I let out a half-gasp, half-whimper, and my heart sped back up to where it had been while I climbed the stairs. <\/p>\n
It was Tulkot. He had been in the cave with Fullak and Sar.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking for you,\u201d I breathed.<\/p>\n
Tulkot looked pleased. \u201cReally? Do you want to see my roost? I think I could fly you up.\u201d <\/p>\n
I looked at his sapling-thin legs and bony figure. <\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe some other time,\u201d I said. \u201cI was looking for you because I want to go see–\u201d I lowered my voice. \u201c–I want to see Elud.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tulkot did a prance of excitement and tossed his head. \u201cI\u2019ll go! When? Now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. Didn\u2019t you hear Fullak? They think I\u2019m doing all this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Embrizid don\u2019t really think–”<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you know Halu and Moran think my curse is causing the collapses. They\u2019ve all got pretty much the same idea. If there\u2019re hunters…maybe there\u2019s something we can do. We could help Fullak or something, or tell Sar. Elud lives out there, maybe he\u2019s seen something.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cVillagers are dunces,\u201d Tulkot said. \u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as cursed. At least the Sorcerers think you\u2019ve got some strange dark magic.\u201d<\/p>\n
He displayed his teeth in amusement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not funny,\u201d I said. \u201cThis makes me feel sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tulkot sighed. \u201cIt\u2019s not true, and you know it. Fullak will do anything to avoid chasing down hunters in the desert.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrue or not, I don\u2019t want to be locked up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll figure something out. It\u2019ll all be okay.\u201d He nuzzled my elbow with his powerful head until I giggled and flung my arms up for protection.<\/p>\n
When we finally reached level ground well after sundown, Tulkot shape-shifted to a tiny white songbird that could fit in my hand. It\u2019s the only magic Embrizid can do on their own. It helps them travel unnoticed. Birds don\u2019t catch the eye quite like an Embrizid\u2019s normal form. <\/p>\n
With Tulkot nibbling at the food I\u2019d brought in my pocket, I reached the edge of the Upper, where the buildings sat right up against the dome. The dome was the spell that hid Minunaga from outsiders and kept the moist, cool air inside. It hugged the section of the mountains where the Gearda had grown the city, and touched down in a circle, part of it on the other side of the mountain somewhere, part of it past the fields, and, in some places, it touched down just at the edge of the city. Here, the dome was just two feet from the back of the closest building, a clump of towers and turrets that housed Sorcerers\u2019 workrooms that were empty for the night. This was the easiest place to slip out unnoticed. <\/p>\n
I squeezed myself between the stone wall of the building and the foot-high wall that marked the dome. The dome itself was solid to my touch, like a cool piece of glass. I chose a brick in the little wall and, with another rock, scratched the simple glyph for \u201cdoor,\u201d an arch with an upward pointing arrow inside. The gems in the building and the dome wall gave off adequate light for me to see what I was doing. I touched the glyph with the index finger of my left hand, while my right hand drew Tulkot out of my pocket. <\/p>\n
But before I could channel the heat of Tulkot\u2019s magic, darkness flooded in. <\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t realize what had happened until Tulkot flew out from my pocket and fluttered away, transforming into his Embrizid form in mid-flight to gain more distance. <\/p>\n
The stone behind me cracked and groaned, and a few hard chunks rained on my back and shoulders. I scrambled out and desperately bolted in the direction of the Village. Sorcerers ran beside me and yelled for family members. Time seemed to slow. I heard their harsh breath scraping too fast through raw throats. A scarlet-clad soldier grabbed at me, and someone shouted something. I was caught. I struggled, clawed, and kicked all the soft flesh I could find. The jewels on my captor\u2019s robe scratched into my own skin. My knee connected with a soft belly. A groan, a sharp intake of breath, and I was free.<\/p>\n
Tulkot returned in a flurry of sharp claws and loose white feathers. We ran together to a different part of the dome, not bothering with stealth this time. I drew the glyph again on the stone wall, but my hand shook so violently I didn\u2019t know if the magic would take. I felt the flare of his magic, I pulled some of it out of him, and I drew it down to the glyph through my finger. The glyph lit up and we stumbled through the opening, where the night was clearer and darker without the veil of the dome. <\/p>\n
We were safe–the rock wouldn\u2019t hold the spell for long, and no one in the city but me had the courage to venture into the naked desert.<\/p>\n
We hung close to the mountain in the shadows. I limped on the rough stone, but in the dry air, my mind calmed. Once, I looked back. Minunaga was hidden to my eyes, but I could identify the shape of the mountain on which Minunaga was built. It was like the city had never existed. <\/p>\n
An hour later, I found the landmark I\u2019d been scanning for: a tall stone pillar streaked with red and beige. Just a few yards beyond, a few feet higher, was a lone cave with the same smooth look as an Embrizid\u2019s roost. While I looked around for any unwanted followers, I glimpsed a bright star on the horizon far away. I squinted at it. It flickered orange in the distance, like the light of a fire.<\/p>\n
Tulkot nudged me and flew up to the cave. He waited next to the opening, clinging to the rock with his talons. Just as I reached the lip of the opening in the stone, someone yanked me up onto the ledge, and a knife pressed into my throat. <\/p>\n
I faced the opening and the desert, held my breath, and kept silent.<\/p>\n
Tulkot flew in and gave a puppy-like growl. <\/p>\n
\u201cOh, it\u2019s you,\u201d said a voice hoarsened and deepened by a lifetime of pipe smoking. \u201cDon\u2019t sneak up like that. You never come at night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elud let me go and I fell face first onto the floor of the cave, coughing and rubbing my neck. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou hurt her,\u201d snarled Tulkot.<\/p>\n
\u201cNula\u2019s fine. How about a warning next time before you climb up?\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat up and faced Elud. \u201cWhat happened to you?\u201d I said, but I could figure it out on my own.<\/p>\n
The last time I\u2019d seen Elud, he looked to be in his early thirties. Like all Sorcerers, he\u2019d reached that age and then stopped while time moved on without him. He\u2019d had dark coiling hair braided down his back, and his jewel-less cloak had been worn to rags. He had looked the part of a Sorcerer who had tired of Minunaga and had left with his Embrizid companion, Relt. The gray and black female dominated the back of the cave, and looked lazily up at the commotion at the entrance.<\/p>\n
Now, in the light of the fire, he was an aged phantom of my friend. His hair and beard were silvery white, and the hair frizzed all about his head, much like an Embrizid\u2019s mane. His cloak hung on thin shoulders, his back bent painfully, and his chest caved inwards. <\/p>\n
My eyes flicked to his forehead. It was heavily freckled and wrinkled, but…<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long are you going to gape like that?\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ve seen old ones before. You live in the Village of all places.\u201d Elud filled a cup in the magicked spring at the back of the cave and handed it to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t seen an old one who aged sixty years in just a month. Your Mark…\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded and sipped his own water. <\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know the spell could be undone,\u201d said Tulkot. \u201cNo one ever does it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHmph,\u201d said Elud. \u201cAll spells can be undone, even that dome over the city. The Mark is a simple spell. All you need is the glyphs to counter it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Excitement and hope scaled my spine like hot water. I could undo it. I could be a Villager. No one could blame me for dark magic or curses, even if there were hunters.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you teach me? How to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gingerly, Elud sat down on a flat boulder next to a wall. \u201cWhy did you come here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, I don\u2019t want the Mark anymore. You know I don\u2019t care about getting old. I\u2019m like you–I think the Mark is a horrible mistake. It\u2019s not good for people. No one should have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elud chuckled. \u201cLet me think a moment. I\u2019ve schooled you well, there\u2019s that much to be said. Now tell me why you\u2019re out here in the desert.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sighed but didn\u2019t press him further. \u201cTulkot says there\u2019re hunters that are killing Embrizid. A well collapsed and then a building. I was nearby for both.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elud frowned at his water cup, thinking. <\/p>\n
I continued: \u201cAnd…and some of the Villagers think that I did it, that I\u2019m bad luck. I\u2019m not surprised about them, but now Chief Fullak thinks I\u2019ve got dark magic because of the Mark. It sounded like they\u2019re going to arrest me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still no answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think I\u2019ve really got–?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you child,\u201d Elud snapped. \u201cIf you would let me teach you more magic, you would know that. Ignorance around magic is dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVillagers aren\u2019t allowed, though,\u201d I said as the relief washed in. \u201cI don\u2019t want to know more glyphs than I need.”<\/p>\n
Elud raised his eyebrows. \u201cAnd for no good reason. The only thing separating Sorcerers and Villagers is that cursed Mark. Your Mark gave you long life and that\u2019s all. No mysterious dark magic involved. Those idiots in the city should remember that the magic we use with the Embrizid is a tool, not some mystery worthy of worship. It\u2019s all there in that library. Read a scroll or two.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you always say that magic is unnatural,\u201d I said hesitantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust the Mark. And the dome, I would say. Other than that, if you want to spell a brick to make it lighter, or spell yourself prettier, I don\u2019t see why I should care. Magic should be used carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do you think someone\u2019s killing the Embrizid? How can they bring one down?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elud nodded and hobbled over to Relt. She turned her head and stepped into the firelight. A dark, glistening cut sliced down from her forehead, through the fine grey feathers on her face, over her closed right eye, and down to her jaw. Elud patted her vast cheek while she purred.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can shoot spears,\u201d said Relt. \u201cBut first they trick us with meat. We can\u2019t tell which are their bait animals and which are desert animals. We come down and hunt, and when our bellies are too full to fly, they shoot spears at us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fury was a hard weight in my stomach. \u201cBut don\u2019t you fight?\u201d<\/p>\n
Relt rumbled indignantly. \u201cOf course we fight. We come in close to attack with our teeth and claws, but then we are all the closer to their spears. I\u2019ve seen them attack. They have skill.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cQuit flying as Embrizid. Fly as birds,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t change with our bellies full of meat that weighs more than a tiny bird,\u201d she said wearily.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard Sar saying that he\u2019ll leave with all the Embrizid with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Relt lay her head back down between her front feet. \u201cThe city will fall.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned and turned to Elud. \u201cPeople have magic too, though, can\u2019t Sorcerers just keep it up?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elud\u2019s mouth turned tight. \u201cMagic is strange, it forces us together with the Embrizid,\u201d he said. \u201cEmbrizid have the magic but can\u2019t use it. People can use the magic, write our glyphs, shape our spells, but we need to find the magic elsewhere. If Sorcerers use the magic inside them, that leads to illness and death. Even with the Mark, we aren\u2019t naturally immortal like the Embrizid. We have limited life magic to pour into our spells.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elud met my gaze with hard eyes. \t<\/p>\n
\u201cT-the city can\u2019t fall,\u201d I said. <\/p>\n
Elud barked out a laugh. \u201cSure it can. You\u2019ll learn to live in the desert as it should be. Villagers will die, and the Sorcerers will move on to eke out a life elsewhere with no magic and no trade. Just several lifetimes ahead of them. Simple enough to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked around Elud\u2019s cave home. It was sparse and dull compared to the lush fields surrounding the Village or the glittering buildings and gardens of the Upper. I didn\u2019t want to live like he did.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you leave Minunaga?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cOut here, magic isn\u2019t the only thing keeping the world together,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s reassuring.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sun spilled over the horizon outside the opening of Elud\u2019s cave. Tulkot sat in the back of the cave talking with Relt in words that were distinctly Embrizid: grunts and snarls and purrs. Elud was quiet. He leaned against the wall with a whetstone in hand, drawing it down the blade of his knife. I hugged my elbows and watched the light overwhelm the desert plain. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou going back anytime soon?\u201d said Elud at last.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Relt and Tulkot stopped speaking. I was sure they both tilted their heads toward us to listen in. <\/p>\n
\u201cGet over here,\u201d said Elud. \u201cI\u2019ll take that Mark off and maybe the idiots will treat you better.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hands and legs trembled with terror and anticipation, but I went and stood in front of Elud. He produced a tiny nub of charcoal from his pocket and with a firm hand, he drew several glyphs across my forehead, eyebrow to eyebrow. Charcoal dust fell to my nose and cheeks. Relt ambled over and I shut my eyes tight. I felt Elud\u2019s warm dry hand against my head as if he were checking for fever. A hot flash of magic turned the inside of my eyelids orange-yellow. A slight pop.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll just wipe off the charcoal,\u201d whispered Elud.<\/p>\n
A wet cloth dripped stinging water into my eyes. Tears mixed in.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen your eyes now,\u201d said Tulkot. \u201cYou look silly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elud handed me a piece of an old mirror. In the morning light I gazed into my reflection. My face was dirty and exhausted, yes, but my forehead was clean and unMarked. I giggled hysterically and hugged Elud, then Tulkot, then Relt. <\/p>\n
The city had to stand now, just long enough for me to have my life.<\/p>\n
When I returned to the Village, Elud\u2019s cure seemed to take care of everything. Halu exhaled shakily when I arrived home that afternoon with a clean forehead. He embraced me and kissed the spot where the Mark used to be. Moran even gave me a small relieved smile. Leril couldn\u2019t stop staring. No one questioned how I got rid of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were afraid for you after that last collapse,\u201d said Halu. \u201cWe thought you were locked up somewhere in the Upper. It has been suspicious, you must admit that.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed uneasily. I didn\u2019t think anyone but Halu had been overly concerned.<\/p>\n
Moran approached me and appraised my appearance from my filthy feet to my sweaty, matted braid. \u201cYou need a bath. Stay in the village awhile until the Sorcerers calm down. You got rid of that Mark, at least. That has to be the end of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did as I was told. I bathed. Leril had gotten work with a farmer down the street, so Halu had me help him with the tanning for a few coins. He never let me help before. <\/p>\n
The next few days were a sweet paradise. Villagers greeted me shyly in the road and complimented me. I stayed clear of the Upper, and I didn\u2019t see Tulkot. No soldiers came to the house. For a few days, I was just a Villager.<\/p>\n
One week after I returned from Elud\u2019s, I stepped into the hut to find Moran and Halu deep in hushed conversation. I coughed to announce myself.<\/p>\n
Moran looked up sharply, her dark eyebrows nearly meeting each other over the bridge of her nose. \u201cCan we trust you to stay here alone today? You won\u2019t touch anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course,\u201d I said. \u201cWhy?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cChief Fullak is holding a festival day in honor of the Embrizid,\u201d said Halu. \u201cWe don\u2019t think it would be wise for you to go to the Upper just yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
I agreed with him. He was right. After a week free of collapses, Fullak probably wanted to please the Embrizid and calm Minunaga\u2019s residents in one carefree celebration. Everyone needed a chance to forget.<\/p>\n
After they left late that morning, I wandered to the back of the house while eating a crumbling piece of bread. I paced the cracked earth and drew my hand over the green tips of the ever-growing wheat. Contentment welled within me. I would have been happy to live the rest of my days doing no more than quiet work interspersed with quiet meals and quiet walks. I would have been happy never setting foot in the Upper again. I would look at it from the Village and admire it\u2019s beauty. That would be enough.<\/p>\n
Then I paused. Out over the wheat, far beyond the dome wall, was a cluster of white tents, wiry horses, and cloaked people. I squinted at it. A large, dark shape squirmed on the sand by one of the tents, and the people looked to be arguing. <\/p>\n
The bread dried and stuck in my throat. I knew what I was seeing, but I forced my mind not to connect the image to anything deeper. I swallowed and went inside where I sat by a window looking out toward the city, away from the desert. I could just see the highest towers of the Upper. I watched them and waited for the collapse. <\/p>\n
Neither came. My heart slowed and my thoughts smoothed.<\/p>\n
Then the smooth surface rippled with a traitorous thought.<\/p>\n
What if the Embrizid is still alive.<\/p>\n
I jumped to my feet and flew out the door. <\/p>\n
I met Tulkot halfway up the sloping road to the Upper. The road was deserted but cheering and faint music sifted down all the way from the Upper to the Village.<\/p>\n
\u201cTulkot!\u201d I said breathlessly. \u201cHow did you know? What are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
Tulkot cocked his head. \u201cWhat? I was going to visit you since the entire city is in the Upper. I thought it\u2019d be safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, I spotted the hunters and I think they caught an Embrizid. A huge black one. Nothing\u2019s collapsed, so it\u2019s still alive–we have to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t have a clue what exactly I wanted to do, but Tulkot\u2019s rose eyes widened, and he started walking back up toward the Upper.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat must be Worl,\u201d he growled. \u201cShe\u2019s one of Sar\u2019s mates.\u201d <\/p>\n
I convinced Tulkot to reach the dome through the wheat field by my hut. It was closest and easiest. We crossed the field, careful not to bruise more plants than necessary. The camp looked just as it had earlier, except the Embrizid was on her feet now, swatting at spindly people who came only to her chest. <\/p>\n
I scratched the glyph with a shard of rock like the last time and opened a doorway in the dome. <\/p>\n
We rushed frantically toward the camp. Tulkot restrained himself from flying most of the way to keep with me, but when we were near enough to watch one human figure expertly dodge Worl\u2019s swinging talons and snapping jaws to jam a long spear into her underbelly, Tulkot roared and flew toward them. One of the hunters swung some kind of angular contraption in Tulkot\u2019s direction and loosed a short, thick spear. Tulkot shot higher into the air, but the spear grazed his hind leg and left a bloody line amid the dingy white feathers. I unsheathed my own belt knife and charged at the hunters, if only to distract them from Tulkot. <\/p>\n
\u201cStop!\u201d I shrieked. \u201cStop shooting!\u201d<\/p>\n
For a second, the strange bow was pointed right my chest. The woman lowered it as I got closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d a man said in a harsh accent. \u201cWe\u2019ve never seen anyone here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a–a city back there. You can\u2019t see it. When the Embrizid–”<\/p>\n
\u201cEmbrizid?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese creatures. When they\u2019re killed, our buildings fall. They hold up the spells.\u201d<\/p>\n
At that, the hunters smiled, like I was a child telling a ridiculous lie.<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle one, they are magical,\u201d said the woman with the spear. \u201cBut that\u2019s why we hunt. Their bones and hide are very valuable, good for medicines and luck. We sell them out west.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI can teach you the spells,\u201d I said, but I couldn\u2019t believe I had suggested it. \u201cIf you want–me and Tulkot–that\u2019ll get you money. Just stop–\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSpells?\u201d the woman laughed. <\/p>\n
\u201cYes. Please, I\u2019m not making things up.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the men stepped forward and studied my face. He was tall, with dark skin, highlighted by his creamy white cloak. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think the girl is truthful,\u201d he said finally. \u201cI\u2019ll listen. We need a way to make our living. What do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n
He was looking at me again while Tulkot landed heavily at my side.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll teach you a little magic,\u201d said Tulkot. \u201cAnd then you can leave us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey talk?\u201d said the woman with the spear, but her shooting mechanism hung limp at her side. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt needs to be worth it,\u201d said the man.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a library full of scrolls,\u201d I pleaded. \u201cThat\u2019s where all our spells are. We\u2019ll get you some and then you can go west and use them for money. I don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you leave and don\u2019t come back, we\u2019ll keep hunting,\u201d said the woman with the spear. \u201cFor all we know, this witch city is fake.\u201d She squinted vaguely in the direction of Minunaga.<\/p>\n
Under the hunters\u2019 gaze, I knelt by Worl\u2019s face. It was moist and flecked with her own blood, but I didn\u2019t let myself look at the damage further down. A green eye as large as my head fixed blearily on me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be back soon,\u201d I said. <\/p>\n
The eye closed. With Tulkot, I headed for the Upper of Minunaga. Embrizid were strong. Worl would live.<\/p>\n
We opened a doorway in the dome up near the ruined building from the last collapse. We climbed through, navigated over the broken stones, and trotted through the empty streets to the library. The festival was held in the square in front of the library, deafening with joyous, drunken cheers, and quick music. Embrizid swarmed the sky and perched on rooftops in numbers I\u2019d never seen. Sorcerers and Villagers sang and danced and ate right up to the steps of the library tower and along the stone roads that curved around the expansive garden in the center. The flowers–vermilion lilies, blue asters, scarlet chrysanthemums–stood tall in the midday sunlight filtered through the dome that arched high above their heads. Thick smells of baking sweets and simmering spiced sauces draped the air.<\/p>\n
Tulkot and I hid in a nearby quiet alleyway. I searched my pockets for charcoal and came up with nothing. So, I spat into the dirt and mixed it until it was a thin reddish paste. With my \u201cink,\u201d I drew a glyph on my forehead, a circle with a small \u201cX\u201d inside. Tulkot pressed his nose to my head, and the glyph took the magic. I was Hidden, invisible to anyone who wasn\u2019t carrying an amulet with the counter spell. Tulkot changed into a songbird and nestled himself beneath my braid.<\/p>\n
I wove between throngs of happy jostling people as stealthily as possible. I bumped a few of them, and collided directly with two, but those involved were too happily occupied with drinking and dancing to notice. <\/p>\n
Inside the library, there was only one worker, a young Sorcerer asleep at his desk, scrolls strewn over his lap and on the floor. Tulkot emerged from my hair and fluttered toward a steep stairwell. I followed him up four exhausting floors.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll these are spells,\u201d he chirped in my ear when we reached the sprawling fourth floor room.<\/p>\n
The walls were lined with books up to the ceiling, and hundreds of shelves in neat rows dominated the floor. The countless jewels studding every surface provided just enough light to see. <\/p>\n
I\u2019d never imagined the number of books and scrolls the library might contain.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are the useful ones?\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Tulkot twittered and leaped off my shoulder. In midair he took his Embrizid form and landed on his feet. Limping slightly from his injury, Tulkot wove in-between the shelves glancing here and there. He pulled scrolls seemingly at random and let them lay on the floor. I trailed behind and picked them up. I scanned each as I collected it. Fire spells, festival performance spells, healing spells, building spells, agriculture spells. All of them were either useful or showy. Anything to get the hunters their money.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t want to give them the Mark do you?\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d said Tulkot. \u201cI don\u2019t think so. That\u2019s just for Gearda, and it hasn\u2019t turned out too well, has it?\u201d<\/p>\n
CRAAAAAACK.<\/p>\n
The glow in the walls blinked to nothing. <\/p>\n
I ran for the door with Tulkot just ahead of me. The stairwell was pitch dark, and the stone steps crumbled beneath our feet. I fell hard on my tailbone and slid down almost half the flight of stairs. The stairs behind me turned to sand. I tumbled into Tulkot and knocked him down a few more steps, just before a stone as tall as Tulkot worked its way out of the ceiling and crashed through the dissolving stairs behind us.<\/p>\n
At the next landing, Tulkot yowled in pain. Afterwards he favored his front left paw, and ran a little bit slower. We turned, ready to flee down the next flight of stairs, but they dissolved like a child\u2019s sand castle overcome with a pail of water.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have an idea,\u201c I said, and I pulled him by the ear toward the room on this landing.<\/p>\n
Gaping holes expanded in the floor, and stones and plaster dropped from the ceiling. Shelves toppled and scrolls were strewn all over the disintegrating flagstone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll have to carry me for a moment or two,\u201d I said. <\/p>\n
Tulkot nodded and leapt toward a narrow window. Some of the rock around it had fallen away, and the window was just wide enough for Tulkot\u2019s body as long as he didn\u2019t expand his wings. For a moment, Tulkot looked even skinnier and half-grown than he usually did, but I clambered onto his back anyway. His knees buckled with my weight. He clumsily hopped to the windowsill and jumped.<\/p>\n
My stomach twisted and traveled to my mouth until Tulkot unfurled his wings and floated safely to the ground. The library continued to shake and moan behind us, but now the sounds of stones scraping and cracking mixed with the sharp addition of human screams.<\/p>\n
Tulkot tried to gain more altitude and failed. We sank closer and closer to the ground without gaining much distance from the site. We plowed right into a small group of shrieking Sorcerers.<\/p>\n
For a few seconds, everything was a thick mix of pain and tangled limbs–some human, some Embrizid. By the time I scrambled to my feet, Tulkot had already flown off. I ignored the angry shouts and ran alongside the library garden without looking back, even when I heard the building make a final groan and then the deafening roar of rocks falling against the stone street. I shielded my head with my hands and arms and kept going. I ran until my breath was fire in my chest and the dust from the collapse caught up with me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNula!\u201d<\/p>\n
I whirled around to look. Moran was storming toward me–my Hiding spell had worn off. I glanced down at my arms full of scrolls.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was you!\u201d she said. \u201cWe thought it was the Mark, but it was you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t understand–\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve killed people now, you know that?\u201d She grabbed my arms and shook me. I did everything to keep the scrolls from falling to the ground. \u201cIs it never enough for you? Why do you want to do this to us? I can\u2019t find Halu and Leril. What if they don\u2019t make it? What then?\u201d<\/p>\n
I whimpered and tore away from Moran. <\/p>\n
\u201cDO NOT COME BACK TO MY HOME!\u201d she shrieked after me. <\/p>\n
Exhausted, I looped back through an alleyway to look for Tulkot now that the worst had happened. The library garden was a mess of crushed plants and crying, rocking people. Still figures lay among bruised flowers and boulders. Thick dust caught the late afternoon sun and swirled over it all. It looked like the desert had finally made its way through the dome. Tulkot found me, scooped me up, and carried me half-running, half-gliding to the Village. We left through the same doorway I\u2019d made earlier. Only couple hours had passed.\t<\/p>\n
At the camp, I glanced at Worl\u2019s still form at a distance. I didn\u2019t need see her up close to know what had happened. The dark man and the woman with the spear escorted Tulkot and me into one of their tents. It was spacious and cool inside, with one small oil lamp and brightly patterned rugs over the sand. I dumped the scrolls on the floor. The man picked one up frowned as he opened it. I worried that the script might be foreign to him, but he soon nodded and scanned the rest. Niggling at the back of my mind was the ruined library and the gnawing sense of betrayal. These were our secrets. The Gearda, even the Villagers, were proud of their sorcery and their oasis. <\/p>\n
Still, if all else failed, if I was never allowed back in Minunaga again, the city would stand forever and that was enough… <\/p>\n
I showed them how to touch Tulkot and feel his magic. I showed them how to use it, how to draw the glyphs so the magic would do what they wanted. I told them how jewels would hold spells for a long time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need these creatures to perform the spells,\u201d said the tall man. \u201cHow can we do magic without one?\u201d<\/p>\n
I was silent. I hadn\u2019t thought of that at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll go with them,\u201d said Tulkot. \u201cJust for a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
I choked on my protest. Minunaga would stand. He was brave, braver than me. He loved Minunaga, too.<\/p>\n
The hunters grinned at Tulkot and patted him like a dog. I pushed the yellowed scrolls toward the hunters, folded my arms, looked away. <\/p>\n
The hunters chattered amongst themselves of the promise that awaited them out west. I looked out the open flap, in the direction of Minunaga, wondering how long I would have to wait before going back. Maybe a month or two. I would live with Elud for awhile. Maybe Relt would help me get back through the dome. <\/p>\n
The city flickered into existence outside, tangled buildings, towers, and all. <\/p>\n
The air turned frigid. A thick cloud of dust rose from the ground and engulfed the tall tangle of buildings as they slowly leaned and toppled over. <\/p>\n
Hundreds of Embrizid flew in our direction, right overhead. <\/p>\n
The hunters around me shouted and left the tent to watch the spectacle. The city they didn\u2019t believe in had appeared, and now it fell before their eyes. <\/p>\n
My ears mercifully dulled the sound. I watched my world end through the open flap of the hunters\u2019 cool tent.<\/p>\n
I hung around the ruins after Minunaga fell and counted about fifty or so survivors, the majority of whom were Villagers who didn\u2019t go the festival. From my foster family, only Moran survived. I didn\u2019t speak to her.<\/p>\n
There were no more Embrizid. All of the grand spells that needed their constant input had failed. Only simple spells stayed intact. The handful of surviving Sorcerers kept their protection amulets, their perpetually sharpened knives, their scrying crystals. Their Marks were still bold on their foreheads. <\/p>\n
The Sorcerers lacked the Villagers\u2019 urgency to leave and head west. They sat in silence, stunned and sad as they surveyed their demolished city. <\/p>\n
The hunters had gone. They moved quickly, with only their tents and Embrizid hides to concern them. Tulkot left with them. We didn\u2019t say anything to each other before he left.<\/p>\n
I pilfered food and water where I could and listened in on conversations. I lived in an underground room in the abandoned Upper. Hunger and thirst were near constant, and I grew nervous. There was no more magical paradise. The crop fields were reduced to straw and cracked earth. I wasn\u2019t Marked. Death sent a gentle reminder of her presence whenever I drank cloudy brown water or felt stabs of true hunger. <\/p>\n
Six days after the collapse, the Villagers departed for the western hills. They had little food, and bad water had already caused a few more deaths among infants and old ones. I watched them go with fear and grief hollowing me. <\/p>\n
So the night after the Villagers left Minunaga, I slipped away to the streaky stone pillar, to Elud\u2019s cave.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I\u2019d see you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
His hair was thin and white now, and he was bowed so much that he was a hand shorter than I was. I burst into tears at the sight of him. Startled, he patted me on the cheek.<\/p>\n
“My girl…Minunaga couldn\u2019t last forever, not like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
“But you…\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m as I should be. As are you.\u201d He pressed a finger on my forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cElud, please…can I talk to Relt? Do you have something to write with?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elud sighed, handed me a long, fresh stick of charcoal, and waved me to the back of the cave where the Embrizid slept. <\/p>\n
I approached Relt, who opened a lazy hazel eye. With the charcoal I drew the circle I despised, a circle shot through with two overlapping crosses on my forehead. Relt glanced at Elud and touched her head to mine.<\/p>\n
I felt the flare of magic and drank it in. I touched my forehead, but no charcoal came off on my fingers. It was smooth and Marked. Relt went back to sleep.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going north,\u201d I said to Elud. \u201cI don\u2019t want to live here anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlone? You can\u2019t go alone. Relt will go with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said. \u201cShe stays with you.\u201d <\/p>\n
Relt made no motion and kept dozing. She was loyal to Elud, and I knew that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be careful,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Elud smiled. \u201cI know you will.\u201d He grasped my arm tight. \u201cI hope you have another chance to undo the spell before too long.\u201d <\/p>\n
I embraced Elud\u2019s frail form and left the cave, my shawl wrapped low around my forehead. I started north, toward the sea with my glittering city bright and perfect in my mind. <\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t meet another Embrizid for a long time.<\/p>\n
R. E. Awan is currently finishing up law school in Pennsylvania. The process of writing and editing legal briefs and memos got her interested in the process of fiction writing, which is proving to be just as fun.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The well water ran brown and grimy between my fingers. My eyes traveled to the well itself in time to catch the glowing jewels studding the well\u2019s bricks winking out in a solid wave from the bottom up. Without the jewels, bricks toppled down the shaft and splashed in the thick water while others rolled …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2764,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,3,1177],"tags":[1178],"class_list":["post-8477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fantasy","category-fiction","category-tcl-12-summer-2014","tag-the-colored-lens-12-summer-2014","entry entry-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2764"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8477"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139606,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8477\/revisions\/139606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}