Parallel World

XI. Lizzy

LIZZY WAS THE FIRST to arrive in Paravald. The Accrivalor threw her onto the ground where she landed ungracefully on her stomach.

As she clutched her head, attempting to make the world stop spinning, she watched as Nylie was thrown from the portal, dropping to the ground like a stone.

"We'll have to find a way to get better at that," she said, getting up and dusting off her Daize, as if she hadn't almost gotten a concussion.

"That was hardly our fault," Aella said, stumbling out after her, barely recovering from a fall of her own.

Lizzy lifted her head, quickly scanning her surroundings. And nearly tripped on gravity.

Paravald was ... perfect.

The night was dark and silent, a vast stillness to the earth that seemed to penetrate the air. The primly cut trees wafted a scent of honey and nutmeg. Lizzy wondered how odd it would look if she walked over to the nearest tree, plucked a few leaves off, and rubbed them all over her skin. For Circe's sake, she really wanted to.

Wayward had no light source, not from the Sun or the stars. The only light it received was the Moon's, which would disappear in a matter of days. But only if they failed to restore the Sun and Moon in Paravald. And if they didn't, well ... Lizzy didn't like to think about it too much.

She had read all kinds of books about light, had perused hundreds of scientific drawings of them. But a description would never satisfy her again, not after a view like this. The stars were sprinkled across the sky like tiny lanterns lighting up a galaxy. The sky was so vast that it seemed to stretch until the end of the world, wherever the hell that was.

There was no sound at all, as if someone had muted every living, breathing thing. There was no wind, not even a brush of movement. It seemed like there was nothing and no one before them for miles--like the five of them were completely alone, with nothing but nature surrounding them. Lizzy suddenly got the urge to lie down and do nothing ever again.

"Eyes open," Nylie snapped. Lizzy grudgingly complied. She had not realized she'd been so close to falling asleep. She looked at the others and found that Maynar and Aella had nearly collapsed on the ground. Only Rehan was looking at Nylie.

If anyone ever looked at her that way, Lizzy would have probably melted.

"This world will trick you," Nylie said, crushing a white Gardenia flower beneath her boot. Everyone stared at her in horror. Rehan looked unfazed, his lip twitching slightly, as if he knew full well--and maybe even enjoyed--how cruel Nylie could be. Lizzy shook her head, smirking. Sadistic jerks.

"This world will make you want to sit on your ass and keep sitting there until the end of time. Don't listen to that voice, no matter how much it wears you down."

"Anything else you want to tell us last minute?" Maynar asked, crossing his arms.

"If I feel like it," she replied.

"Someone was here," Aella said suddenly, noticing Rehan's troubled expression on the ground. "How else can you explain this grass? Someone must have just watered it."

"It smells good," Lizzy added, as if someone had asked her.

"That's just how it is here. How it's always been." Nylie shot Rehan a look. "You should know that already."

Lizzy's curiosity perked up. "How could he possibly have known that?"

Nylie ignored her.

"So you completely forgot to mention how gorgeous Paravald is?" Maynar said, throwing Nylie an accusing look.