The Broken Song

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Dearest..."

"Stay out of this."

Sahn recoiled, taken aback by her harsh tone. "Dearest, you're stretching yourself too thin. You need to..."

"What did the Creator say to you?" She looked at him, her eyes burning with anger. "When He told you He didn't like this plan, what did He say?"

Sahn shook his head. "Only that this plan would not end well."

"And He didn't say why? He didn't mention that the Sorceress is clearly some sort of monster from the Grave with powers beyond anything in this world?"

"The Grave? Dearest, are you certain?"

Idelle felt the room's temperature plummet, her breath appearing in clouds that danced through the air. Ori stepped toward Sahn, her head tilted up to look him in the eye. Despite their drastic height difference, his frame over six feet in stature while hers was barely above five foot, it was undeniably clear who commanded the room.

"What good is your god if He can't even tell you that?" Her voice was low and heavy. Sahn tried to reach for her, but she shoved him back.

"What do you mean she's from the Grave?" Alistair asked, daring to break through the tension of the room. "I thought there was nothing in the Grave except darkness and monsters. She looks like an ordinary person. How could...?"

"What do you actually know about the Grave, Your Majesty?" Ori turned her focus to him. He straightened at the attention, as though about to give a lecture to one of his tutors. Ori cut him off. "Let me guess. You were told that it's a mysterious shadow realm that holds nightmares and untold horrors that exists as this world's opposite. It presses against our world, trying to claw its way through to spread darkness and destroy the Creator's light."

Her derisive tone seemed to deflate the prince a bit. "Is...is that not correct?"

"No. Not even close. It's the ruined remains of a cosmos that came before ours. I've walked in it. I've met those who have spent untold ages trapped inside the few pockets of it that haven't crumbled into ruin yet. I've felt its magic. It's beyond anything in this world, and the Sorceress is capable of wielding it without a hint of effort. That means she comes from the Grave and is far beyond my skill to fight."

"Dearest," Sahn tried again, but Ori shook her head, tears pooling in her eyes though she would not let them fall.

"I can't save Lulu! Whatever's inside her is too strong. I don't know what to do. Every time she twitches, the sludge slips through my hold. And even when I do latch on, the pain is unbearable...I don't..."

"What about a binding?" Idelle's voice was soft when she finally spoke, her eyes never straying from Lulu's pale and sweaty face. Still, she could feel her cousin's bewildered expression as she turned to her. "I know it's dangerous. Neither of us has ever attempted one, but...I've read countless theory. I know the mechanics. I think I can do it."

"Idelle..." Ori returned to the other side of the bed, crouching down so that Idelle would meet her eyes. "I don't doubt your ability to do the binding. I doubt my ability to heal Lulu. If you bind yourself to her, you might be able to stabilize her. You might be able to buy us more time, but if I can't heal her, and you're bound to her, I'll lose you both."

"I believe in you. Ori, you're better than any healer in the worlds. You're better than your own mother. The Ralias are healers. We always have been. If anyone can conquer an ancient pestilence from the Grave, it's you. I know it's not a guarantee, but I can't sit here and just watch Lulu die. I need to do something, and this is the only thing that I think can work. Trust me. I trust you."