Two Worlds Between Stars: the Seer

After what felt like hours of walking and taking care of the animals they finally arrived in the Dark Lands. The air was thick here like it too was trying to escape. Crows cawed. And shadows moved with nothing to make them. It was a wasteland.

As the group approached the castle, stone people filled the black gardens.

“What are these,” Ivy asked, lightly taping a stone centaur, its face frozen in shock. Kala moved her hands, “They’re people that disobeyed Nisha. Now they are in stone.” Iris translated. “Yikes!” said Ivy pulling her hand back towards her.

Flame stopped in front of another centaur, fear invoked on his face. “D-Dad?” he said. Flame examined the centaur and its features. “They? She? My dad is stone!” he screamed out. He shrugged, “Welp that explains a lot. He continued walking, unfazed.

“Flame?” Yakir asked.

“What’s up, little buddy?” he said.

“Are you okay? You just saw you’re dad frozen in stone and you’re acting like you don’t care,” he said.

“Well, that’s because I don’t,” he said.

“Why?” Aamir asked.

“Because. He’s frozen sure. Did I ever get to meet him? NO. Did both my parents leave me in the orphanage? YES. Was it because they wanted more adventure than staying home with their son? Also YES. My dad got his fun. At least now I know where he went. They didn’t care about me so why should I.” he said defensively. Everyone stayed silent. Flame laughed, “Seriously guys it’s fine. Sure Chief wants to kill me. And yes my parents left me because they were thrill-seekers but that didn’t affect my life. I grew up just fine. You can’t adapt without having a little bit of struggle.” he said. Aamir nodded.

The animals started running around the garden of thorns and stone. Ashe and Ember took fun burning the plants and watching them. Dari and Cricket however stayed towards the back. Something was coming and they could feel it. Adilah looked around and then she saw it. The cliff. The same ridge that was in her vision. The same cliff where Jupiter plummeted to her death.

The wind blew harshly as the group explored the ashen laid grounds. Something was tense. It was blowing in the air and Adilah knew everyone could feel it. Iris and Kala were more uncomfortable than ever and Jupiter and Ceres were acting weird. Their eyes darted everywhere and they kept whispering things to each other. After about another hour of exploring the group headed up a long staircase lit only by torch and the occasional moonlight that appeared through the thick, gray clouds. The iron gates creaked. Adilah led the group up, taking one of the torches with her. After about three hundred steps they came across a cracked door that stood slightly ajar. Adilah pulled it open slowly. The door creaked on its hinges and the torch extinguished. After that, the sounds and light were sucked out of the world, everyone thudded to the floor.

-

Adilah opened her eyes. Slowly adjusting to the light that filtered through a window with bars. She heard water trickling and then a familiar voice broke the silence. “They’re here,” said Jupiter biting her fingertips. Ceres stood by her side. A dark figure appeared from the shadows, she wore a black dress with purple and had a stone staff with a black gem perched on top, a hood shrouding her face. Slowly letting the hood drop the figure showed her face with icy features and sharp cheekbones. the whole group was in the dungeon and the only people that weren’t behind bars were the elves. Adilah instantly caught on, “You double-crossed us!” screamed Adilah. She ran up to the bars and tried to claw at them. Jupiter winced. “Wince all you want you bitch, you did the wrong thing and you know it.”

“Adilah please, let us explain,” Jupiter said, hurt by her words.

“There is no need to explain, no apologies, no nothing. You girls did your job. Now go.” Nisha croaked. Ceres and Jupiter looked down and started to walk out. At the doorway, Ceres then turned around. “I’m a ‘he’.” He said.

“What?” Nisha spat.

Ceres sighed, “Nothing ma’am.” he responded and silently walked upstairs.

“Good. Now that those two are gone, and good riddance, I need these two taken to the chamber,” Nisha pointed at Kala and Iris. Kala quickly dug her nails into Iris. “Max and Whats-your-name, take them,” Nisha said pointing to two of the guards.

“It’s Leonardo, Miss Nisha,” one of them said.

“I don’t care about your petty name just do as I ask and you won’t be killed, understood?” she replied. Leonardo nodded. Max unlocked the cell and gripped Kala and Iris.

“C’mon. you two you’re in for a treat!” he said laughing. The two guards disappeared from the dungeon.

“Wh-Where are you taking them,” asked Yakir.

“Oh don’t you worry little Mandra. They are going to the place where I put all of the people who break my rules.” She smiled and turned on her heels. “I will be back for you all later.”

As soon as the door slammed shut. Adilah picked up a rock and shattered it.

“Those son-of-a-bitches. We trusted them!” Aamir stood up and grabbed her hand before she picked up another rock. Adilah looked at him with rage.

“Adilah please calm down.” She sat. Aamir moved his arms around her. She started to cry softly into his shoulders.

Yakir held his hands in the air, “Welp at least we’re not dead right?” he said. Ivy glared at him. “Not the right time I get it.”

“What are we gonna do?” Flame asked. “I have no clue,” Ivy responded, lying down with her feet on the wall. She starts throwing a pebble up and down. Catching it.

“Okay first of all don’t we have a magic centaur that can create things, well except fire of course,” Aamir said. Adilah sniffled. Flame rolled his eyes.

“Well yes but Nisha has fairy bars.” Aamir made a confused face.

Adilah patted him, “Oh wait, fairy bars, fairy bars...” she said thinking.

“I got it! Fairy bars are the strongest magic for steel. They deflect all magic so if Flame tried to use it well it wouldn’t do anything except probably set off an alarm.”

“Oh well, that’s great,” Aamir said. “If only I had my tools!” Adilah said, angrily. “Wait my tools.” she dug around in her wet pocket. “I still have the compass,” she said, looking around. “Ivy hand me that rock, the one by the third bar from your right,” she said. Ivy placed her hand over it. “This one?” she asked. “Yeah, that.” Adilah leaned forward to reach. She looked around again. “Aha!” she exclaimed. Yakir made a puzzled face, “What is she doing?” he asked. Aamir shrugged. “40 degrees divided pi over the radius of...” Adilah said mumbling. Adilah broke the rock on the window and shaved it down on the bars, making a precise point. She sat down again and used the rock to take out the gears in the compass as well as the magnet. As she worked around the metal and the gears she set aside some different parts. Once she got everything she needed, she set the compass down and started working with the parts off to the side. 10 minutes later, Adilah had a small trinket in her hand. Ivy stopped throwing the pebble and sat up, sitting cross-legged. “What is it,” Ivy asked. “It’s a small pick, I rearranged some of the gears so that you just put this tip of the rock in the keyhole and the gears unlock it,” Adilah answered holding it up to the dim light. “Let’s see if it works,” she said. Adilah reached through the bars and put the rock in. In a few seconds, she heard a click. “And done!” she exclaimed. She walked out carefully, making sure to let the door stay only a few inches from the frame to stop it from creaking. She moved over to the end of the dungeon and unlocked the pets. “Stay quiet Dari,” she placed her finger over her mouth. Dari laid down and whimpered. Adilah slipped the rock in and opened the gate. Dari quickly got up followed by Ember, and Ashe. “Nisha must have taken Cricket!” Flame said. “God I’m starting to hate that demon!” said Yakir. “You didn’t before?” said Ivy. “Well yeah but I have my reasons. One I was brainwashed for goodness sake and two, I didn’t think one of the elders would be this fadoodling demonic butterscotch!” he said. “Ivy chuckled, “What is with you and the word fadoodle?” she asked. Yakir crossed his arms. “Were wasting time can we save the dragon and the escapees and then kick Nisha’s behind or are we just gonna keep chit chattin’ and makin’ fun of dear old Yakir?” he said.

“Whatever. Let’s go save some people and kick ass on the way!” said Ivy.

“Ivy shut up! You’re gonna get us caught!” said Flame, whispering. Ivy covered her mouth. “Ok so, let’s retrace what the hell just happened.” Said Aamir.

“We got double-crossed by Jupiter and Ceres. They took Kala and Iris to some place called the chamber. And probably took Cricket. We know Nisha walked out that door and there are probably guards posted everywhere. And we have no idea how to save our friends, kill Nisha and escape.” he said.

“Wow thanks for the uplifting speech Aamir,” said Flame rolling his eyes.

“Okay look, I have literally almost died seven times on this trip so don’t give me sass got that?” he said sharply. Flame looked taken aback.

“If I were you I would not mess with him he gets really sharp when he’s pissed off,” said Adilah. “Clearly,” mumbled Ivy.

“hm,” Adilah said.

“What’s up, A?” Aamir responded.

“It’s just that, Ember and Ashe belong to the elves. Why would they lock them in the cage?” she asked. “Well, they lied about a lot of things, maybe they are lying about this too,” Aamir said, crossing his arms.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps on the stone stairs. Everyone froze in place waiting for something to happen. Just then the elves rounded the bend. Adilah suddenly ran at them, being caught by the shoulders by Ivy. “They’re not worth it,” she said. Jupiter shifted uncomfortably. “Welp, if you won’t do it I will,” said a small voice. Yakir launched at the elves and started throwing his fists everywhere, “You stupid bitches, you have a lot of fucking faith to show your shitty faces after what shit you pulled!” he yelled, his arms still flailing. The floor became icy, Yakir slid right off them, still throwing curse words at them. Jupiter stood up brushing the dirt off of their clothes. “If you would just let us explain,” said Ceres. Adilah noticed his bloody eye. “We have nothing to,” Aamir said, getting cut off. “I’m listening,” Adilah crossed her arms. Jupiter showed a small smile staring at the floor. “A,” Aamir said reaching for her arm. She jerked away. “I don’t have a lot of patience so spill,” she said, harshly. Jupiter and Ceres looked at each other. Adilah tapped her foot, arms crossed, and rolled her eyes, “are you going to speak or not because we have real friends to save.” That hit them hard.

“Look you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about! I wanted to be your fuckin’ friend and even Ceres was warming up to you! But guess what, we have family we care about and if that meant getting you here then so be it.” she said, glaring, her hands becoming red.

“What are you talking about?” said Yakir. Ceres sighed.

“Its-Its about my Dad. It’s pretty clear I’m not from the fire realm. My dad went missing a few years ago and then Nisha found me in a cave that was carved into the mountain, she said she would help me find my dad if I got her the Elder crystals. So I went to the closest realm.” Adilah nodded, “the fire realm.” Ceres’s face went straight, “Precisely. But when I found Fiare and the volcano I also got faced with Jupiter.” Jupiter smiled. “And Jupiter, being her friendly self, invited me in. Not knowing what I was up to. And eventually, Jupiter and I became more than friends, and I backed out on Nisha’s promise.” Jupiter cut him off, “I can finish for me okay?” Ceres nodded.

“Nisha paid me a visit a few months later notifying me of Ceres’ plans. She said that Ceres would have been promised his Dad if he had completed what she had asked. At first, I was unsure about helping. So Nisha then went to see Ceres.” she said. Ceres continued, “and when she came, she was a bit more greedy. She threatened to kill Jupiter if I didn’t get the crystals and for a while, Jupiter and I tried to find a way to stay hidden but also complete the task.” he said.

“Okay but this doesn’t explain what any of that has to do with us,” said Ivy.

“It doesn’t,” Jupiter responded, flatly, “It has to do with Adilah. You guys are just casualties.” Ivy went wide-eyed, “Ex-excuse me?” Jupiter nodded, “You heard me.”

“Okay Jupiter please settled down,” said Ceres. “Well I’m sorry but if Adilah wants a bitch I’ll give her one.” Jupiter crossed her arms.

Ceres sighed, “Anyways, where was I? Oh right. So Jupiter and I were trying to stay hidden to avoid Nisha’s grasp and figure out how to save the other elders. But then you came along. You were our answer so we figured if we could have you get the crystals the job would be done for us. So we planted the box at the Elems, but you completely ignored that, soooo we found you ourselves.”

Adilah looked confused, “Why me?” Jupiter and Ceres exchanged glances. “You don’t-you don’t know?” Adilah shook her head, “know what?” Jupiter exhaled, “There was another elder. One that could stop Nisha. It was-It was your Pa.” Jupiter said, glancing at the ground. Adilah lurched backward like she was punched in the gut.

“It-It was all by design, your Pa getting sick, the ambulance, the phone call. All of it. The illness was real but why do you think you were having those dreams and then suddenly your Pa gets sick?” Jupiter looked up, “We never meant to hurt you. Or any of you. We didn’t even know what Nisha was planning until we met you. We just, we really have no excuse.” Jupiter looked down again.

Adilah’s eyes welled up, and she let the tears flow. She collapsed. It felt like the world had fallen onto her shoulders and it was impossible to lift it. Aamir started to rub her back, the centaurs crowded around her for a hug. But she felt numb. Her Pa was used. But for what? So the Seer could have absolute power? So she could finally be noticed? The elves stood awkwardly. “Adilah? We really need to leave. And find Kala and Iris.” Ceres said, reaching his hand out to help her up. Adilah took it. Ceres winced. And when Adilah let go, a giant gash was placed in the middle of his palm.

Adilah started to walk towards the back of the dungeon, towards where the escapees were taken. Ceres clutched his palm, allowing the ice to freeze over it, the fresh blue quickly turning red with his blood. She heard muffled screams and banging and when she opened the door she was horrified. Chains hanging from the ceiling, syringes lining the walls, and weapons on vast amounts of trays. They looked around soon seeing the two chained and gagged. Both had brackets around their hands, disengaging the use of their powers. Ivy walked to the different trays. “I found a key, should we try it?” Adilah nodded. Ceres continued staring at the gash trying to figure out how it formed. Ivy handed the key to Aamir, “Okay, here goes nothin’.” He mumbled. He put it in the latch of Kala’s chains. The group waited for the click. Nothing. Flame found another key. Nothing. They continued to look all over the room until they heard the creak of another door being opened. “Hide!” Flame whispered.

A guard came in whistling to himself the keys jangling on his belt. “Alright what did he say to do?” the guard mumbled. “Aha, red lever. Let’s get this party started.” He said moving a red lever up slowly. The chains tightened. Kala and Iris’ faces filled with agony. Their arms stretched out. The guard continued whistling drumming his fingers on a rusty dashboard, “And then it was...right a blue button.” He clicked a button on the far right. Blades shot out of the tiles above the escapee’s heads. The guard walked over and ungagged them. Kala looked frightened. A silver necklace dangling from her neck. It was of a moon. Jupiter grabbed something from underneath her shirt, slipping out the same necklace. “Kala is-is my sister?” she said under her breath. She clutched the necklace, her face scrunched up in rage.

“Alright, let’s do little miss deaf.” The guard slapped her across the face. Iris screamed into the gag. The guard took it out of her mouth. “What is all the ruckus about brat?!” he asked. Iris rolled her eyes. “The girl is deaf. She answers in sign language if you want to try and pry anything out of us at least do it in a smart way!” she said, rolling her eyes again. The guard groaned, “I don’t get paid enough for this. Alright, alright.” He grabbed a key from his belt and unlocked the brackets from Kalas’s hands allowing her to move them slightly. Kala rotated her wrists around. She smirked. Quickly her hands turned red and fire erupted out of them. She moved them towards the guard and burned him. He stumbled backward screaming. Kala burned the iron off her hands and swung under her legs touching the cuffs on her feet and burning them as well. In one quick move, she flipped and landed on her feet in a crouch. Her hands burned out and she reached inside her jacket pulling out a pocket knife and flicking her wrists around placing it in her hair. Turning around Kala burned the cuffs of Iris’ hands and feet. Iris high-fived her and winced. She smiled and signed, I should have waited for your hands to burn out huh? Kala shrugged. Iris hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. We should get out of here. Like right now. Kala signed. Iris nodded.

Jupiter popped up. “Wait!” the two escapees turned around, the guard still clutching his chest and groaning. Jupiter lifted her necklace. “Kala?” she said. Kala lifted hers and then tucked it away, turning back to Iris. “Please?”

Kala turned around, I have nothing to say to you. I almost died. I don’t need your help and I never did. If you and Dad cared enough you would have come looking for me. But no. I have been sent on mission after mission killing and capturing people, torturing people, and then coming home to a dungeon to sleep in with barely anything to eat. You may be my sister by birth but you are no sister to me. Kala turned back around and Iris and she walked silently out the door, disappearing into the shadows.