Lightless Path

Chapter 8: Dream Walker

A cool breeze kissed Mae's cheek, a perfect touch in the warmth of the tall white trees surrounding her. Her feet found a familiar path and she began winding her way down it. The trees were dressed in all the colors she had missed, she caressed leaves of purple, gold, and blues on branches that seemed to reach out and welcome her.

The path ended at the base of Alathan's temple sooner then she'd expected. Mae craned her neck to absorb the magnificence of the grand temple, stained glass filled the spaces of carved arches around the circular building—depictions of Alathan, the sun and moon entwined in dance, animals in play, and the stories of their people.

A smile tugged at her lips, the granite tiles hadn't changed, from the smoothness against her soles to the vibrancy of the colors—natural pinks, whites, golds, and blacks. Her people had let the colors fall naturally as Alathan had intended while shaping the colors into pleasing designs.

"Maelyrra," a stern voice jolted her from her admiration of the temple.

"Kris?!" Mae's heart jumped in her throat at the sheer displeasure creasing his features. His purple eyes pierced hers.

"What did you do? You were supposed to be taking your test!"

"I am! I think I am . . ." She jumped when he grabbed her arm.

"By Alathan! You're missing and Nystaryl's dying. What happened, where are you?" He guided her into the spacious open temple down the two steps to its center. Inside was mostly white marble mixed with pink.

"Thank Alathan," Mae breathed. "Did you put her in the moon pools? They're healing her, aren't they?" The special pools were attended by devout priests at all times, both guarding and cleansing them. The purity of the pools could cure almost anything.

"They're keeping her alive, barely. Whatever disease this is, it evolved and we're doing everything we can to keep it from progressing," his lips pressed into a thin line. "From what I can tell, it's becoming more aggressive. You did this to her Mae."

"Kris," She felt like he'd twisted a dagger in her heart. "I didn't mean to."

"Doesn't matter. You did it not understanding the consequences! She's going to die barely having lived Mae! Do you understand how devastating this will be to her family? Magic isn't something to play with, how many times have I told you this! This type of disease isn't natural for our kind!"

"I understand Kris, and I'm paying for it! If you can pull me back home I swear to you and Alathan I will do everything in my power to fix this. I won't let her die!" She was already struggling to digest the news and didn't need the weight of his ire on top of it. She knew now that Kris was dream walking—he was really there and she wasn't completely alone. "I can try to remove it from here with meditation or something?"

Kris grabbed her chin, "Your eyes are black. You've poisoned yourself with magic, if you tried anything it'd kill you before you could gather enough energy to break the link."

"If it's my magic, maybe it's connected to my soul? I don't need magic to reach that." She searched his dark eyes for an answer.

"I didn't expect you to do this so young," Kris shook his head. "What magic you did. . . You wouldn't be able to do it alone without hurting yourself. Tell me how you summoned this magic."

"I built up energy into a hot ball in my stomach and imagined the temple. I pictured sending the energy with Nystaryl there, when I couldn't hold it anymore a light bright as the stars exploded. She and the temple were gone from my sight."

"Did your mother teach you this?"

"No. It felt like the right thing to do at the time," her voice was soft. "It was the only way to save her, these human knights were going to murder her."