An original story by Gwenn of 2BlueWizards

CHAPTER ONE: Welcome to Dathea

Khalia tiptoed through a blue clearing filled with dancing lights that looked like tiny stars, holding a bundle of various herbs and clippings in her arms. The forest was quiet that evening, though the solitary song of some creature could be heard in the distance. The smell of rain was in the air, giving Khalia some urgency to her steps. The storms in Dathea could be dangerous. Khalia crossed a narrow road that cut through the forest, a wide bare gash on the skin of the world so nymphs from one city could cross to another. Khalia had just come from Merrow herself after visiting an old friend and reading the Keeper’s fortune.

Diving deeper into the woods, Khalia ( )ushed aside some undergrowth and found her wagon where she had left it. Helios was grazing idly nearby, pulling up some spiky blue leaves with his teeth. Khalia dropped the bundle she was carrying to rush over to Helios, pulling him forcefully away from the plant.

“Spit those out,” she growled, sticking her hand into the hippocampus’s mouth. He gagged and Khalia came away with a few slimy bits of thorny leaves. Wrinkling her nose, Khalia wiped her hand on her silky pants. “They give you indigestion, and you know it. Leave those alone.”

Helios sneezed and Khalia rolled her eyes, picking up her plants and climbing into the back of her wagon. The outside was painted with ( )illiant swirls of color, but inside seemed somehow larger and more colorful with glass lamps hanging from the ceiling and diaphanous curtains swathed over the cozy room. Squashy pillows of various shapes and colors were placed in one corner where Khalia slept, and on the other side of the oddly spacious room was a cabinet where Khalia kept her dried herbs and her variety of hand-made poultices. She was no expert in healing magic, but living on her own meant she needed to take care of herself however she could.

The rain began almost as soon as Khalia closed the doors to her wagon. She squinted out the window at Helios, but he seemed to revel in the rain. As long as he kept away from the trees when the lightning started…Khalia turned away and shivered at the sudden drop in temperature. A fire would be nice.

Khalia shuffled over to the hearth, a tiny square of space littered with ash. The chimney was hardly visible from the outside of the wagon, but Khalia’s additions made the place more like a home than a temporary living space. Khalia picked up the little cauldron still hanging over the scorched logs and hesitated for a moment before sending a spark through her finger. The fire burst into life and Khalia clutched her hand. A crackling red line ran up her arm that burned with the same intensity as the fire, forcing Khalia to press her eyes shut and wait for the pain to subside.

The rain poured more heavily over the forest and the first flashes of lightning lit up the sky. The trees shuddered, glowing white veins running up their bark. Helios instinctively moved closer to the wagon where a warm, flickering light filtered through the windows. Khalia threw together some of the herbs and spices in her collection, adding them gradually to the cauldron with a handful of beans and cracked ( )own pods. Lightning struck the ground nearby, probably on the road. With a deafening crack and a rumble, the lightning sent violet sparks into the air. The force knocked a nest of luminescent insects from a tree, sending them flying around the clearing. They buzzed around Helios and flashed angrily until they disappeared into the forest.

By the time Khalia finished her soup, the storm had lessened somewhat. Khalia lied back on her nest of pillows and blankets, reading a book she had been given by a recent client. Not everyone was able to pay in coins, and Khalia usually preferred when they didn’t. She had little use for money anyway.

A knock came at the door. Khalia picked up her head, listening with tense muscles. The knock came again, more insistent. Someone was saying something, too, but it was difficult to hear over the rain and the wind. Khalia disentangled herself and set the book aside, opening her door to a gleaming figure with a spiky golden mask. What was an aureate nymph doing out in the middle of the forest?

Khalia’s confusion must have showed on her face, because the stranger folded their arms and said, “I wouldn’t normally look for favors from forest people, but this is something of an emergency. My caravan was hit by lightning. You might have heard it.”

“Are you all right?”

“Startled and ( )uised, but relatively unharmed. My companion was not quite so lucky.” They then gestured to a dark lump beside them, the figure of someone the stranger had dragged through the forest. “Could we come inside?”

“Sure,” Khalia said, opening the doors of her wagon a little wider. She hopped out into the rain and helped the stranger haul their companion inside, setting the limp body on Khalia’s bed of pillows.

“Your home is surprisingly roomy,” the stranger remarked, glancing around. It was difficult to read their expression with their eyes covered by cold metal. All Khalia could see was their mouth, twisted into something like a smile.

“Everybody says that,” Khalia answered, bending down to remove the other stranger’s cloak and feel their pulse. “I…I think your friend is dead.”

The stranger sucked in their ( )eath sharply. “She can’t be dead. I was…supposed to protect her…to ( )ing her to the capitol.”

The stranger’s mask retreated from their face, curling away into spirals on their headdress. Their face, thrown into sharp relief by the lamps and the dying firelight, was cut from sharp features but was softened slightly by the sight of the woman with stars and nebulae etched on her face. “Can’t you do anything? I thought you forest people were supposed to be good healers.”

“I’m not a forest nymph,” Khalia replied, her crystal decay glittering in the light. “Even if I was, I couldn’t do anything for a dead person. I’m sorry. Who was she, if I may ask?”

“Leijla Solaris, the great-niece to Kavi Solaris. She was supposed to attend his Ancestral Gala. I’m her bodyguard of sorts.”

The stranger traced a gloved finger over Leijla’s cheek. Khalia cleared her throat to ( )eak the silence. “I’m Khalia, a crystal nymph.”

“Khalia,” the stranger repeated, musing over the name. “That name sounds familiar.”

“I do some occasional readings for noble families. I have a gift for foresight.”

The stranger snapped their fingers. “Ah, yes!” Their eyes lit up. “An occasional reading? I’ve heard that you are the most renowned seer in Dathea. And a peasant girl, no less. What are you doing living in a wagon when you could buy an estate of your own in Lyrion? I’m sure you would have far more customers there than in the middle of some forest.”

“No doubt I would,” Khalia said with a slight smile, “but I prefer to travel.”

“You must return to Lyrion with me,” the stranger insisted. “Leijla needs a proper funeral, and I know several people in the city who would pay you well for your services. Everyone wants to know what will happen in their future.”

Khalia’s eyes flashed over to Leijla’s corpse and she sighed. “Not everyone. I can ( )ing you to Lyrion, since you have no way to travel there alone. Leijla’s spirit needs to be properly put to rest.”

“Excellent,” the stranger said. They seemed to realize then that they had not introduced themselves. “I’m sorry, but my manners have failed me. You may call me Ryka.”

“Ryka,” Khalia repeated with a nod. She fell silent for a moment, listening to the trees. “The storm is over.”

Khalia got to her feet and hopped out of her wagon, patting Helios’s rain-speckled flank before leading the hippocampus around to the front. Ryka stuck their head out of the doors and squinted into the night. “Traveling at night seems unwise,” they said.

“I’ve done this before, don’t worry,” Khalia answered. “Helios knows his way to Lyrion. He could make it there in the middle of a snowstorm. The sooner we ( )ing Leijla’s body to Lyrion, the less time her spirit has to wander. You know what that means. Just…try to get some sleep.”

“Close quarters,” Ryka muttered. “And with a dead body in the room, too.”

The wagon rumbled gently over the road, and although Khalia had fallen asleep quickly after covering Leijla’s body, Ryka couldn’t sleep. Khalia had given them a generous portion of her collection of pillows and let them stay by the hearth, and yet Ryka could not seem to close their eyes. They glanced over at Khalia, her candyfloss pink hair splayed out over the cushions. She was snoring softly, her arms wrapped around a mint velvet pillow.

In her dreams, Khalia walked down a narrow hall, strangely muted and cold. She felt that she was supposed to be quiet, but her footsteps echoed like the beating of drums in the stale silence. There was someone at the end of the hall, a vague outline and a blurred face. They were whispering something, maybe a name…

She was falling again, and that time she landed in a private lounge with dim lights and a smell of incense that was too familiar. A pair of hands slid over Khalia’s shoulders.

Khalia’s eyes snapped open and she blinked in the sunlight. Running a hand through her hair, she sat up and looked around blearily. The wagon had stopped and Ryka was gone, but Leijla’s body was still tucked into one corner. Khalia grabbed some dried berries and nuts from her cabinet and peered out the back of her wagon, finding that Helios had stopped by the lake in the valley below Lyrion. Ryka had unhitched Helios and the two of them were down by the water. Khalia slipped onto the grass and padded over to the them. Her bare feet made little sound in the soft grass, so Ryka only heard Khalia when she was a few feet away. They whirled around, gripping a dagger at their side, but relaxed when they recognized the girl. Ryka ( )ushed a few tears away from their eyes and slid their mask back over their face.

“I was just freshening up,” Ryka explained in a slightly hoarse voice. “Your stallion seemed to have the same idea.”

“He’s a hippocampus, actually,” Khalia said. “He loves to swim.”

Khalia nudged Helios, who shook out his mane but trotted further into the water, diving beneath the surface and disappearing with a flash of scales. “He’s a little shy around new people, though.”

Ryka wiped the sand off their feet and pulled on their long, dark boots. Khalia hadn’t met many aureate nymphs, but those she had seen usually wore ostentatious outfits of blinding metallic hues. Ryka’s uniform was far more subtle, mostly black cloth laced with gold embellishments. “Where are you from?” Khalia decided to ask.

Ryka’s lips bent into a frown. “Porphyry. I take it you’re from Berinth; that’s where most of your kind comes from.”

Khalia raised a pale eye( )ow. “’My kind?’ I believe we’re all from the same kind, Ryka. But yes, I was born in Berinth. Not much to see there unless you know where to look.”

Ryka sighed. “I’m sorry if I sound rude. I might have been her bodyguard, but Leijla was a dear friend as well.”

“She was more than that, though, wasn’t she?” Khalia smiled when Ryka narrowed their eyes. “It doesn’t take a mind reader to know.”

“I suppose not,” Ryka muttered. They strode off toward Khalia’s painted wagon. “Come along, we have no time to waste!”

Khalia jogged up to Ryka and laid a hand on their arm. “I could do a reading for you.”

“No thanks,” Ryka said, pulling open the door to the wagon and climbing inside.

“I don’t just see the future, you know,” Khalia pressed, following them. “Crystal nymphs like me peer into the eternal plane to pick out points in time. It’s not linear there. Leijla’s spirit will be there soon. After the funeral, I could let her speak to you one last time.”

“Why would I want that?”

“You would have closure.”

Khalia told Ryka where to find her wagon on the outskirts of town, but kept away from the temple while Leijla’s funerary rites were taking place. Instead, Khalia wandered the streets of the city, picking around mysterious puddles and the carriages trundling up and down the main road. There was a nice tea shop that always had beautiful flowers in the window. Then again, it would be nice to buy groceries she couldn’t collect in the forest or on the road…

Khalia paused in front of a shop window, her attention snatched up by a window display of live flowers with sparkling silver petals and a dozen enchanted paper butterflies flitting around the window. Framed in the window was a crystal nymph with long, silky purple hair seated on a cushion at a low table. Khalia moved to duck into the crowd but it was too late. The nymph spotted her and squinted, her mouth falling open in surprise and mild indignation. Khalia, grinning sheepishly, trudged toward the shop and stepped inside.

“Hi, Zari.”

Khalia’s sister just stared, her hands on her hips. Khalia fiddled nervously with the end of her curls and searched for something to say. The shop seemed to be another sort of tea parlour, though with a heavy scent of incense in the air that was very familiar. Khalia shivered.

“So,” Khalia began again, “it’s been a while.”

Zari gestured toward the cushion across from her and Khalia took it hesitantly, looking her sister in the eye. “I suppose you could call seven years ‘a while,’” Zari said in a tone of forced calm, pouring Khalia a cup of tea. “Long enough to write to us, perhaps, or even…oh, I don’t know…visit?”

“I’m sorry,” Khalia said quickly, “I didn’t mean–”

Zari’s eyes flashed and her calm expression ( )oke. “If I hadn’t happened to see you just now, would you have continued on your little visit to Lyrion without seeing me? You know that our parents are worried about you, right? I thought that when you decided not to join me you would at least keep in touch.”

“I wanted to visit, but I’m…busy. Very busy,” Khalia said.

“Busy?” Zari repeated, scoffing. “Busy with what, Khalia? Why don’t you list everything that has kept you from seeing your family for sevenyears.”

Khalia’s stomach twisted in guilt. “Well, I…I’ve been traveling a lot. I’ve been giving fortunes to make a living. Apparently people think I have a real talent for it.”

Zari rolled her eyes. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“I didn’t even realize you were here,” Khalia continued. “I just came to help out someone I found on the road. Their carriage had crashed, and…well, there’s a funeral. I probably wouldn’t be here at all if it weren’t for that.”

“Well, since you left I’ve become one of the more renowned entertainers. I moved here permanently to be closer to the families that hire me,” Zari said. “You might know that if you bothered to tell us where you were. I could have sent you a letter about that, and maybe you could have visited our grandmother before she died.”

“Granny?” Khalia looked down at her teacup. “I…didn’t know.”

“Yes, well, you wouldn’t have known,” Zari replied coolly. Then, softer, she added, “I know you two were close. I’m sorry.”

“Maybe I could make it to one of your shows,” Khalia suggested.

“You’ll be in town for that long?”

Khalia shrugged. “I’m sure I can stay until your next show.”

A smile slowly spread across Zari’s face. “I suppose that would be fine. You could stay with me, if you like.”

Saying no would only incur Zari’s wrath further. Khalia gave her sister a strained smile. “Of course.”

“Perfect,” Zari said, draining her tea. “I’ll show you to my place. Where…where are all your things?”

“Back at my wagon,” Khalia said. “I need to tell Ryka where I’m going before I leave. They wanted to have a reading with me about Leijla.”

“Wait, Leijla Solaris?” Zari exclaimed. Khalia nodded. “That’s the funeral you’re here for? News travels fast here, but not that fast. Leijla Solaris is dead?”

Khalia nodded again. “She was struck by lightning. The priests have to send her spirit on, and once they do I can speak with her. I guess she and Ryka were…close.”

Zari raised her eye( )ows. “You’re a surprising source of gossip.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper and a charcoal pencil, scribbling down an address. “Once you’ve taken care of everything, meet me here. I’ll be waiting, and if you don’t show up in an hour I’ll make sure to send the guard after you.”

“I won’t run off, I promise,” Khalia said with a nervous grin. “Not this time, anyway.”

~~~~

CHAPTER TWO: The Ancestral Gala

(27 May 2019)

Khalia had only been inside the Keep of Lyrion once, many years ago when her granny had brought her and Zari to visit a good friend of hers. Looking back on it, Khalia wondered how Granny could have known someone so important. Khalia could vaguely remember saffron colored robes and a gentle smell of cinnamon from the woman they visited. Perhaps it was the late wife of Kavi Solaris.

The entrance hall was just as grand as she remembered. Teardrop crystals hung suspended from gossamer wires and glowed a rainbow of colors, sending shards of color spinning over the hall of massive mosaics. The mosaics themselves showed some of Dathean history, though Khalia could only point out a few historical figures. She knew Ywain Luminon by the brilliant white star on his forehead; she had learned about him and his role in the great war but had quite forgotten the details over the years.

The walled gardens were just as delicate and colorful as the capitol, where creeping vines wound around delicate crystal trellises and weeping willows trailed strands of glimmering silver leaves in still pools of deep green water. Koi fish circled in the pond and little mushroom folk toddled along the edge of the water, humming to each other. A shy doe poked her head out from behind a tree as Khalia passed. Her slender neck was lined in springy turf, sprouting a few pink flowers. Khalia would have bounded off into the garden if she weren’t part of the funeral procession.

Honestly, Khalia wasn’t sure why she was part of the service at all. Ryka had invited her along, but she seemed out of place amongst the glitter and grace of Dathean nobility. At the front of the procession was Lejla, lying on a stretcher amongst a bed of bright yellow flowers. The attendants carried her into the center of the garden beneath a brilliant white archway where a bier had been constructed. 

Kavi Solaris was at the funeral. Even though he was family, few expected him to make an appearance. He was very old, and direct sunlight made him look vaguely transparent and glassy. His skin seemed barely contained in his robes, every inch of his body painted with constellations and pulsing nebulas. Khalia tried not to stare but it was hard not to. Very few people came face-to-face with the Grand Keeper.

Khalia watched a priest rub his hands together and produce a bright green flame in his palms. The bier lighted and Lejla’s body was slowly consumed. Sparks and a faint smoke rose into the sky, and the priests began their prayers. Khalia heard a sniffle and looked to her right. Ryka’s mask was lowered over their face, but Khalia could see tears leaking out from under the metal. She laid a hand on Ryka’s arm and Ryka tensed.

“I’m sorry,” Khalia said.

“Everybody’s sorry,” Ryka said, brushing Khalia’s hand away, “but that doesn’t change anything, does it?”

“No.”

“I think I would like that reading,” Ryka said. “It’d be a way…to say goodbye.”

Khalia nodded. “Sure.”

The flames rose higher and turned from vivid orange to a deep, starry blue. The celestial flame spun toward the clouds and vanished, leaving an empty, smoking bier. The priests gathered what little ash there was left and scooped it into a jade jar before saying a final few words. Kavi bowed his head.

Then, three things happened at once. Khalia felt the ground tremble and churn beneath her feet. Stars suddenly swam before her eyes and Khalia stumbled a little, grabbing Ryka’s arm to steady herself. And dark clouds bunched together overhead, groaning and rumbling with thunder.

Black tendrils wound with hot red veins shot out of the ground and wrapped around Kavi’s arms and neck, dragging him down to the earth. Khalia could hear the screams and gasps of the people in the courtyard, but her vision was swimming too much to make out details. Could anyone else hear that high-pitched whining? Khalia clapped her hands over her ears and sunk to her knees, barely aware of the hand on her shoulder. Ryka was saying something to her…

Khalia felt cold. She was vaguely aware of something pressing against her. Khalia blinked against the white sunlight and found that she was lying on a stone pathway. Right. The garden, the Keep. Lejla’s funeral. A shadow moved over the sun and Khalia squinted to see Ryka leaning over her.

“You passed out.”

“I guess so,” Khalia said, taking Ryka’s hand. They pulled Khalia to her feet and her head spun again. Black spots crowded out her vision for a moment before clearing.

“You don’t look very good,” Ryka said.

Khalia frowned. “What happened?”

The earth was overturned in places, the bier falling apart. The people who had gathered for the funeral were all staring in one spot. Kavi Solaris had been standing there. Khalia’s stomach turned. “The Grand Keeper…”

Ryka’s voice came out strained. “He’s dead. After you fainted, those things did something to him. Turned him into…not him.”

“I don’t understand.”

“He’s dead. That’s what matters,” Ryka said stiffly. “This time there’s no body to burn.”

“So…what happens now?”

Everyone else seemed to be thinking that too. No one had moved. It took a moment for someone to speak. The woman who did was familiar to Khalia–Leilani Kahale, Keeper of Berinth. The only crystal nymph on the council.

“The Keepers and priests should stay here. We need to discuss our options. Everyone else–go home.”

Khalia looked at Ryka, who nodded. “We should go,” they said. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”

Khalia shook her head. “You didn’t know this would happen. None of us did.”

“You can’t foresee everything,” Ryka said. “Even if you had, what could you have done to stop it?”

“The threads of fate are always changing. I could have done something. Given him a warning, at least.”

The courtyard was beginning to clear. Khalia and Ryka moved away with the crowd of people, relatives or friends of Lejla now mourning the deaths of two. Kavi Solaris had been Grand Keeper of Lyrion as long as anyone could remember. So…what happens now?

“I heard about the Grand Keeper,” Zari said breathlessly. She had run to meet Khalia in the street and practically dragged Khalia inside. “And you were there, how awful! I must hear what happened.”

“I didn’t see it, actually,” Khalia said. “I sort of…fainted.”

Zari raised an eyebrow. “You fainted?”

“I don’t know why.”

Zari pushed the tray of steaming tea toward Khalia. “Well, have some of that. It’s Granny’s tea blend. Might make you feel better.”

Khalia poured herself a cup and breathed in the smoky, heady aroma. She closed her eyes. It was almost like being home, before–

“I hope they still hold the Ancestral Gala.”

Khalia opened her eyes. “What?”

“That’s my next show,” Zari explained. “Everyone will be there. It’s a huge accomplishment for me.”

“Zari, the Grand Keeper’s just died,” Khalia said. “I don’t think the Ancestral Gala is on everyone’s minds right now.”

“It should be,” Zari said. “It’s an important holiday, and the appropriate time to celebrate Kavi Solaris’s life.”

“I should have seen his death coming.”

“Not this again. Khalia, you can’t predict everything that’s going to happen.”

“No, but I can usually sense when big events are going to happen. I knew when the meteor was going to hit Porphyry. This time…I didn’t feel anything.”

Zari laid her hand on Khalia’s arm. “Don’t feel too badly about it. The Grand Keeper was very old.”

“That doesn’t make it any better.”

Zari shrugged. “Fine. Mope about it. All I’m saying is…you didn’t know the guy personally, did you? It’s the loss of a great man, yes, but the best thing we can do is move on.”

Khalia watched a girl glide past the door carrying stacked linens. “I didn’t realize you…had maids.”

“Oh, just the one,” Zari said. “That’s Peach. She’s working for me so she can make a living while she writes poetry.”

Peach poked her head around the doorframe. “Did someone say my name?”

“I was just talking about your poetry to my sister,” Zari said.

“Oh, sister!” Peach tilted her head. “You don’t look much alike.”

“Half-sister,” Zari said. To Khalia, she added, “I’ve read some of Peach’s poetry. It’s quite…sweet.”

“Thank you,” Peach said, beaming. 

Zari dismissed Peach from the room and lowered her voice. “She often says whatever’s on her mind, sorry.”

Khalia shrugged and smiled a little. “Her poetry’s awful, isn’t it?”

“I said it was sweet.”

“That means it’s cloying. You hate cloying poetry.”

Zari smirked over her tea. “I do.”

Khalia set her cup aside. She kept looking out the window at the people passing by in the street, at the sky that was turning slowly from rose to violet. Helios would feel so cooped up in a stable. “Who are you supposed to perform with at the gala?”

“I’m with a small group of dancers, a couple of crystal and energetic nymphs. Oh, and one frost nymph. He adds something different to the routine. And do you remember Moira?”

“As in…your ex?”

“We’re good friends now,” Zari said dismissively. “Anyway, she’s a part of the group now too. She’s an excellent acrobat.”

“When I agreed to stay for your show, I didn’t expect it to be the Ancestral Gala,” Khalia remarked.

“You can’t back out now,” Zari said, her eyes flashing dangerously.

“No, no, I wasn’t going to.”

“Really?”

“No, I just…do you think all the Keepers will be there?”

“I don’t know, probably. Why?”

Khalia shifted and glanced out the window again. “It’s just a lot of people.”

“I’ve never known you to be agoraphobic.”

“Well, I guess living on my own has changed me.” 

Khalia had forgotten about Ryka’s promised reading until the next morning. Zari accompanied Khalia to the Keep, since she would be rehearsing her performance there anyway. When the two of them reached the steps, they saw servants fixing ribbons and bouquets of fresh flowers around the Keep. The Ancestral Gala was still underway, then.

“Excuse me,” Zari said, approaching an older servant. He had the makings of a full oak tree growing out of his shoulders that forced him to bend slightly. Zari nudged Khalia forward. “My sister is looking for Ryka, one of Lejla Solaris’s former guards. Would you know where to find them?”

“Ryka was given a guest room for the night,” the man said. “Such a shame, the loss of that sweet girl. And then, of course, the passing of our greatest Keeper.”

“Would you point me in the direction of Ryka’s room?” Khalia said.

“Is Ryka expecting you?”

Khalia rubbed the back of her neck. “Maybe? I promised them a reading, but I didn’t say when I would stop by.”

“Let me call on Ryka, then. If you would just wait here in the meantime…”

Khalia nodded and the servant shuffled off. Zari looked up at the crystal lamps and smiled a little. “Do you remember coming here when we were little?”

“Only once.”

“I’m sure we were here more than that. Three or four times, maybe.”

“Granny liked to show us off, didn’t she?”

Zari laughed. “That was the beginning of our performing career. First tour ever.”

Khalia and Zari glanced at each other and fell into silence. A pair of servants crossed the hall, discussing gala preparations. Khalia folded her arms.

“I didn’t love it as much as you did,” she said.

“I know.”

“I wanted to do something on my own for once.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself all over again,” Zari said.

“I feel like I do.”

“It’s in the past.”

“Let me apologize, at least. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“But you knew it would hurt me.”

Khalia looked at the floor, a lump rising in her throat. “Yes.”

The sisters were spared another word by the reappearance of the servant. At his side was Ryka, standing tall. Zari was escorted further into the Keep by the servant and Khalia approached Ryka.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” Ryka said.

“I still owe you a reading,” Khalia replied. “I completely forgot yesterday.”

“That’s understandable. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“If you’re sure.”

Ryka nodded and led Khalia back into the dim, winding halls. “How many times have you done this before? Talking to dead people, I mean.”

Khalia laughed nervously. “Only twice. It can be unpredictable.”

“What do you mean?”

“Not all spirits are happy to be called.”

Ryka frowned. “I would hope Lejla would be happy to see me again.”

“Maybe.”

Khalia closed the curtains in Ryka’s room and lit a number of white candles, arranging them in a rough circle on the floor. She pulled a few dark crystals from a pouch at her belt and set them at key points in the circle before standing back to observe her work.

“Are all readings this complicated?”

“Not usually,” Khalia said. “It’s easier to make a connection with a living person, though.”

Khalia held out her hand to Ryka, who frowned at the hand before taking it. “You’ll want to remove your mask.”

“Why?”

“Well, don’t you want Lejla to see your face?”

Ryka shrugged and the mask folded back away from their face. “What now?”

“We sit with our hands joined, like this, and I work on bringing Lejla through. You have to keep quiet, though, or you’ll break my concentration.”

“Not a word from  me.”

Khalia nodded and closed her eyes, focusing on the warmth from Ryka’s hands. Expansion, purple haze, crystallize. The plane of time carries faces, whispers, shadows. With Ryka’s influence, Lejla’s face shines clear. Khalia stretches out her other hand, spectral and bright. When Lejla takes Khalia’s hand, Ryka recoils a little. Eternal energy. Khalia holds fast and pulls her hands back.

Khalia opened her eyes and urged Ryka to do the same. A ghostly outline of Lejla stood in the little circle of flickering candles and black crystals, smiling down at Ryka. “I’m glad you found me,” she said to Khalia before turning back to Ryka. “That was some storm, wasn’t it?”

Ryka rose slowly to their feet, smiling but with tears forming in their eyes. “Are you all right now?”

“Well, I’m dead,” Lejla said with a laugh, “but I suppose that’s the worst that can happen. I’d say I’m fine now.”

Ryka reached out a hand but hesitated. “Can I…I guess you aren’t solid.”

“You can try.”

Ryka cupped Lejla’s cheek in their hand. “You almost feel real.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye,” Lejla said. “You know, I was going to propose at the gala.”

Ryka grinned, reaching into their pocket and pulling out an opal pendant. “I think we had the same idea.”

“Don’t be sad for too long, okay?”

“No promises.”

Khalia felt something shift, a slight invisible tug. Lejla looked down at Khalia where she sat. “Is that you?”

“I thought it was you,” Khalia said, frowning.

Red smoke erupted from Lejla’s silvery feet, engulfing her in a thick plume. She cried out, her image breaking apart. Ryka leapt forward and yelled, but there was nothing to grab onto. Ryka fell to their knees in the red smoke and turned on Khalia.

“What’s happening?”

“I don’t know,” Khalia said, frantically extinguishing the candles. They were just there to boost her connection, they wouldn’t change this. Khalia’s head swam but she fought to stay conscious. She couldn’t faint this time. Her eyes prickled, a familiar sensation. Not now. If Ryka saw…

From the red smoke rose a macabre imitation of Kavi Solaris, broken and covered in a web of red veins. Ryka shrieked and scrambled backward, all composure lost. Khalia watched steadily as the figure raised a hand. It pointed right at Khalia. No words. Then, the smoke and sickly red light vanished in a violent gust of hot air. In the dark, Khalia rushed to the nearest mirror. Her eyes were solid black and her face was streaked with glittering red. It looked like blood. But, as she watched, the red drew away and her eyes faded to soft blue. Had Ryka seen?

Khalia threw open the curtains and dusty sunlight flooded into the room. Ryka was still on the floor, curled into the corner. They stared at Khalia.

“I’m sorry,” Khalia murmured. “I–I don’t know what happened. That’s never happened.”

“Just go.”

Khalia blinked. “What?”

Ryka raised their voice to a shout as they stood. “Just go!”

Zari managed to wrangle Khalia a spare invitation to the Ancestral Gala, much to Khalia’s dismay. She hadn’t stopped thinking about that reading she’d done for Ryka. She never should have offered to do it. She knew how risky it was to connect to a spirit.

Khalia kept looking at herself in the mirror. It had been a long time since she’d had an incident she couldn’t control. She found herself scratching the crystals beneath her eyes when Zari entered the room.

“Could you help me with–Khalia, you’re not dressed.”

“Yeah I am.” Khalia turned away from the mirror. Zari was mostly dressed but seemed to be having some trouble with the clasps and beads on her outfit.

Zari shook her head and presented her back to Khalia. “You’re wearing the same thing you wore yesterday.”

“No, this is a different skirt,” Khalia said.

“Okay, but this is the most prestigious event you will ever attend. You don’t want to embarrass yourself.”

Khalia sighed. “I have some spare clothes in my wagon.”

“No, I’ll find you something,” Zari said impatiently. “If the rest of your wardrobe looks like that, nothing will be right for the gala.”

“I’ve never had the occasion to wear something formal.”

“You should always have one nice outfit to wear, just in case.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Khalia said. “Spin around.”

Zari twirled and posed, beaming. “Good?”

Khalia nodded. “I’m glad I get to see you.”

“I wish you could have come to see me sooner.”

Khalia grimaced. “Yeah, I know.”

“Come on,” Zari said, taking Khalia’s hands. “I’ll find you something to wear.”

The gala was more elaborate that Khalia had expected. Each room of the Keep was decorated differently to resemble the regions of Dathea. One room glowed an icy blue with snow falling gently from the ceiling, and another was decorated with coral and fish made of colorful, shimmering energy swam around the guest’s heads. The main hall where Keepers met for public meetings had been turned into a place for guests to dance, mingle, and watch small groups of performers. Khalia watched Zari spin through ribbons of energy and applauded energetically at the end of Zari’s act.

“Whew, I need a drink,” Zari said, wiping a hand across her brow.

Khalia handed Zari a glass of a frothy, bright green drink. “I have no idea what this is, but it tastes good,” Khalia said with a laugh.

Zari shrugged and drained the glass. “Don’t feel like you have to watch me the whole time. I’m just going to repeat my routine.”

Khalia looked around at the crowds of sparkling, laughing people. “I don’t know anybody.”

Zari patted Khalia’s shoulder. “Good luck.”

Zari fluttered off back toward her group and Khalia tapped the side of her glass, looking around at the statues that towered over the crowd. She was a little uncomfortable in the clothes Zari had chosen for her, but she couldn’t deny that Zari had good taste. When Khalia saw her reflection in the gilded walls she swayed back and forth to see her dress shimmer and hear the hem whisper across the floor.

Khalia wandered off through the rooms. There was a lot to look at, even if she didn’t know any of the faces spinning past her. The room designed to look like Rune felt like a piece of the forest had been carved out of Rune and placed inside the Keep. Dark trees curved overhead and gentle deer picked their way through the undergrowth. Guests walked a clear path covered in springy moss, admiring the green moths and fireflies that flitted overhead. Khalia wondered how much magic it took to make the forest. And the trees…how did they get those here?

Khalia stepped into the next room and paused. It looked so much like home. Everything from the arrangement of those purple crystals to the pale cave crickets was very familiar, drawn from an old memory. The room was only lit by the glow of the crystals, bathing the reconstructed cave in a spectrum of lights. Khalia watched a guest pass by with a small bowl of a thick purple soup, sprinkled with slivered almonds and crystal dust. Chilled moonberry soup. Khalia snatched a bowl for herself as a server passed by with a tray. She breathed in the smell and smiled, remembering the thick aroma of moonberry soup that always lingered in her granny’s house. She took a long sip from the bowl.

“It’s a good batch, isn’t it?”

Khalia hastily drew a hand across her mouth to wipe away the purple juice. Leilani was standing there, dressed in glittering sheer robes and holding a bowl of soup in her manicured hands. Khalia dipped into a kind of curtsy and Leilani smiled. “I remember you from the funeral–you were the only other crystal nymph there.”

“I guess I was,” Khalia said. “I’m so sorry about Grand Keeper Solaris. Did you…ever figure out what happened to him?”

“We aren’t sure,” Leilani said, glancing around the room. “It’s best not to speak of it here.”

“Sorry.”

“He was the last of the Solaris line,” Leilani added. “One of the oldest families in Dathea.”

Khalia nodded, sipping from her bowl again. Leilani was looking at her like she knew. She knew, didn’t she? It was more than a coincidence that Khalia had fainted at that exact moment. Leilani was just waiting for Khalia to confess.

“He was Grand Keeper my whole life,” Khalia said. “It’ll be strange having someone else with that title.”

A new voice, loud and familiar. Khalia jumped and looked around, spotting the new arrival standing in the doorway and accompanying a small group of nymphs. Dragan Novae. Keeper of Merrow. Khalia forced a smile at Leilani and quickly excused herself.

She still had the soup in her hands as she crossed into the next room, the Merrow room again. She drained the bowl as fish made of shimmering energy circled her head before swimming off to join their school. A server offered her a cake decorated with caramel coral. It was a big enough party. She shouldn’t run into him, as long as she kept moving.

“Khalia?”

Khalia looked up from her cake to find Ryka walking toward her. They still wore their mask. Khalia smiled apologetically. “Hi, Ryka.”

“I’m surprised to see you here.”

“My sister is doing an act in the main hall. She invited me.”

Ryka shifted their weight. “I’m glad you’re here, actually. I should apologize for yelling the other day. I was…scared.”

“So was I,” Khalia said quietly. “That’s never happened to me before. I don’t even know what thatwas.”

“It was Keeper Solaris, wasn’t it?”

Khalia stared. “Well, uh, I think it was. It didn’t seem like…it didn’t feel like his real spirit.”

Ryka folded their arms. “Thank you for doing that anyway. It was going rather well until that happened. I just hope Leijla is all right.”

“She is,” Khalia said. She had no way of knowing for sure. “I should probably get back to see my sister.”

Ryka nodded. “Will you be in Lyrion long?”

Why did they want to know? Khalia smiled politely. “I move around a lot. I was really just staying in Lyrion to see my sister.”

“I see. Maybe I will come across you again sometime; I travel a lot myself.”

That sounded a little like a threat. Khalia kept inching toward the door. “Maybe I will! It was nice seeing you again.”

“So, did you enjoy the party?”

“It was nice,” Khalia said. The two of them were riding in the back of an open carriage with blankets wrapped around their shoulders to keep away the spring chill. “Someone spilled champagne on me right before we left. I’m so sorry about the dress.”

“Oh, that’s what was going on. I’m sure we can get the stain out, don’t worry about it.”

“Did you see the Berinth room? It looked just like the caverns we used to play in.”

“No, I wish I had!”

“You know, I was talking to Keeper Kahale for a little bit. She said that Kavi and Lejla were the last of the Solaris line.”

Zari tilted her head. “I guess they were.”

“And Kavi Solaris never appears publicly anymore.”

“So?”

“I don’t know,” Khalia said slowly. She should keep it to herself. “It just makes me think…maybe Lejla’s death was planned. To bring Keeper Solaris out.”

“You think he was assassinated?”

“Maybe. I might be wrong.”

“Well, the way he died was…strange, to say the least.”

“Exactly!”

“I’m sure the other Keepers will investigate if they’re concerned. Still, that’s a weird coincidence.” Zari and Khalia hopped out of the carriage and thanked the driver before going inside. “I guess you’ll be heading off again, huh?”

“Probably,” Khalia said with a nervous laugh. “I promise I’ll visit sooner. Maybe three years this time.”

Zari groaned. “You’d better not!” The two of them laughed and Zari tapped Khalia’s arm. “I’ve got some herbal amethyst tea if you want a cup.”

Khalia followed Zari into the adjoining room. “Mm, definitely. I used to have that all the time before bed.”

“You’re back!” Peach appeared in the  doorway and grinned. “How was it? The Keep looked so pretty from the outside.”

“It was excellent,” Zari said. “I think we both had a good time.”

Peach sighed. “I wish I’d been able to go. You two were so lucky to get invitations.”

“Maybe next year I can wrangle you an invite too,” Zari said. “Would you get us some tea?”

Peach nodded and disappeared for a few minutes before returning with a pot of tea and a pair of short crystal teacups. “Where do you think you’ll go next?” Zari asked Khalia, pouring the tea.

“I’m not sure,” Khalia said. “I usually just wander wherever. Maybe I’ll stop by Rune. I haven’t been to Berinth in a while…maybe it had to do with not seeing you for seven years.”

“Probably. Well, I’d love to go back to Berinth with you sometime. It doesn’t have to be now.”

Khalia tapped her fingers against her teacup. “Do you know much about the Shadow Bog?”

Zari frowned. “What? In Valence?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s a little random.”

“I was just thinking about it.”

“No, I guess I don’t know much. I know it’s pretty disgusting, and no one lives there.”

Not exactly true. “Well…yes, but I’ve also heard that it used to be a huge city before it was melted down by chaotic magic.”

“Oh, I think I remember hearing that too.”

Khalia glanced out toward the hall. No sign of Peach. Leaning forward, Khalia lowered her voice. “Zari, I visited the Shadow Bog about a year ago. Something happened to me there, something weird. I think…I think I killed Kavi Solaris.”

~~~~