Dust to Dust | ✓

12 || Toward the Cliffs

The cliffside came into view soon after the crash of the ocean waves against the rocks below reached Aiko's ears. Zehra slowed their pace, her horse's hooves tapping loudly against the stone in an awkward beat that didn't match the rhythm of the sea. It grated on Aiko's nerves, but her horse was no better. The cacophonous song was enough to make her head throb, or maybe that was a result of trying to put the pieces together before they arrived. Zehra was harboring secrets and Cinere was wary of them. Maybe she didn't even want to stop. If she did, she would have to face the truth. What that truth was, she had no clue. All she knew was that her flame shrank back from it, and it was never a good sign when her very soul tried to escape something.

But she couldn't run away—not until Felix was safe. Zehra was the only one who knew how to get to him. Stay calm. Think and watch closely.

They stepped out into an open clearing overlooking the glittering sea far below the edge of the cliff. Wind ravaged the open air and threatened to tear Felix's cloak from Aiko's shoulders. Its icy wrath nipped her nose. She shivered and tucked into the soft fabric of the cloak. Sunlight spilled over her, but it seemed distant, unable to touch her with its warmth. This is how I remember the mountains of Ienaeus described: bitter cold shunned by the faraway sun. Her flame sprang to the surface to warm her skin. As she breathed deeply to calm her racing heart, she surveyed the area. The mountains loomed over their backs and the ocean cried below, but there was no door. No ghostly figures holding Felix locked up in a cage. There was no prickly air of magic either.

"Are you sure these are the cliffs of... whatever?" she asked, wrinkling her nose as she swept her gaze over Zehra.

The huntress swung down from the back of her pure white horse, graceful as ever. Her skirt fluttered around her legs and her hair was tousled by the wind, but her eyes were steely and her lips set in a tight frown as she studied something in the distance. "The Cliffs of Saal," she corrected. "Yes, this is the place. We'll be able to cross over to the world between worlds from here."

Something flickered in Aiko's chest. She swallowed hard against the rising unease that fought to close her throat. "How do we do that? I've only ever been able to... open a door—I guess—with Mae."

Zehra knelt down and brushed her fingers across the smooth rock, lost in her own world. She rubbed her dirt-coated fingers together, brow furrowing. "Move the horses back and tie them up."

"Yes," Aiko agreed, though every fiber of her being did not. The harsh stone ground barely registered against her feet as she climbed down from her mount. She moved stiffly to take the reins of Zehra's horse, like wading through a haze.

An old, crooked tree jutted out from the rocks against the far mountain wall. It was spindly and thin, but large enough that it would contain the horses until they could leave. She carefully tied the reins around the thickest part of the tree's trunk. She gave her horse a parting nod, smiling as it gazed back at her with soft brown eyes. Clasping her hands behind her, she turned back to Zehra and the open platform overlooking the sea.

"Without the Pure or the Reapers here to open the door," she began, "we'll have to perform the rites ourselves." Her foot tapped thoughtfully against the stone and she pinched her lips into an even tighter frown. Aiko wondered how she always managed to frown more. Finally, Zehra waved her hand at Aiko. "Give me some space. I'll get things set up."

"Right."

Aiko stepped back just as the huntress breezed past her and dug something out of her horse's saddlebag—a jar filled to the brim with something red. Aiko swallowed, hoping it was paint and not blood. Oblivious to her discomfort, Zehra rummaged around in the bag some more until she finally shuffled away with a sigh. Narrowing her eyes, she glanced at Aiko's things hanging from her horse's back. She grabbed Aiko's staff. "I need to borrow this."