"Daero?" she whispered and sniffed for him, but only a faint lemongrass scent remained. The blanket of light pulsed and his deep, velvety voice echo around her.
"I will protect Kathula at the cost of my life."
She didn't understand at first but soon remembered the protection sigil he said he had placed on her. The sigil now floated beside her and broke up into individual runic symbols. She recognized them and their meanings.
"Not your life!" She choked on her words in disbelief. He couldn't be gone! Tears blurred her vision as her back touched the bottom. The blanket of light turned into many small, blue runes making little tinkling sounds like bells as they disappeared.
It was dark at first but little by little the ground lit up into a golden orange light. Pinti was laying on a glass-like floor with swirls of golden orange and yellow light mingling or separating as they churned in place like someone mixing paints.
"...his place!" Deel's voice rang in her ears.
"Deel?" she called, but there were no more sounds.
Wiping her eyes, she sniffed the air but there was nothing. As far as she could see, above was pitch black darkness, but below, the glowing floor illuminated her surroundings. The floor seemed to stretch on forever. When she stood, a sigil floated ahead of her and stopped. She followed it feeling that was the thing to do.
Ahead were two blue silhouettes along with a tall black one. A white light shimmered and sparkled across the air in front of her. The sigil passed through something that rippled. The vague silhouette of the sigil could be seen on the other side.
Am I...dead? She dared to wonder. Beyond the rippling air, the sigil floated around as if waiting for her. Taking a deep breath, she took a single pawstep and felt a barrier move around her like a blanket being wrapped around her shoulders. On the other side, her ears picked up a voice speaking in modern Kathulan.
"Is that what you choose?" said a male. She recognized him somehow.
"It's not my choice to make." Her chest leapt at the sound of Daero's strained voice. He was alive! She knew he couldn't be gone! Excitement and joy zipped through her body to the tip of her tail. With a trill, she let out a yowl of happiness and called for him.
"Daero!" Her voice squeaked at the end unable to hide her excitement. She ran towards the silhouettes. They were right there, and she looked down at her feet to make sure the ground was passing her by. Something was strange. She couldn't get closer.
"Daero, Deel?" she called them both. The sigil floated down in front of her and Pinti hissed at it, frustrated she couldn't reach them.
"Deel," Daero's voice sounded like he was right there in front of her, but she could only see his far away blue silhouette. "You're the only family I have. We can both be saved if I give up my magick. He said..." His voice cracked and a stabbing pain in her chest as if she was feeling his emotions. Tears stung her eyes.
"I want you to be grown-up Deel in my place," came Deel's squeaky voice. "I know you can do a really good job. I want you to be Sorcerer, too. You're really good. And I've been dead anyway, and I was fading anyway. But now my death is meaningful. And we'll always be brothers."
One of the silhouettes was shorter and she knew that to be Deel. Their tails were no longer connected. The darker blue silhouette turned to face the smaller one. Pinti could only stand there and watch as Deel and Daero hugged as separate individuals for the first time.
The third silhouette, a black Kathula with gold swirls on the arms and legs, stepped up to them. "It's time," came a deep male voice.
Daero and Deel broke away. Daero ruffled Deel's fur and was met with a giggle. Then, Deel stepped up to the black Kathula.
"Is she here?" Deel said.
"She is listening."
Pinti sucked in her breath.
"Pinti," Deel said, "take care of Daero for me. And foh Kattola!"
At last, the male said something in ancient Kathulan that Pinti didn't understand. Swirls of white light shimmered and sparkled around Deel. Now she could see all their faces clearly. Deel with his eyes closed, standing still with a smile on his lips. Daero standing stiff with tears in his eyes. He forced a smile.
"Deel, you will always be my brother!" Daero called as the blue silhouette of Deel faded away. A moment of silence followed. Daero hung his head sucked in his breath, letting out a sob. "Deel," He wiped his eyes and lifted his head, "I won't let you down."
The black Kathula walked up to Daero. He was almost a head taller. "What is your path?"
Daero took a shuddering breath and gazed into the black Kathula's eyes. "To live up to my full potential. To save Kathula. I will be their bridge," he said with determination strong in his voice. Golden swirls glowed and etched across the black Kathula's arms and legs. He lifted his paw over Daero's head.
"Rilvrei ibruvili," he said. A shimmer of purple sparkling dust fell on Daero who closed his eyes and stood still as the magick settled on his fur, sinking inside his body. He stood there, unmoving. The black Kathula then whispered something in his ear. Daero bristled, but soon his fur lay flat and he nodded.
A squeaked escaped her lips when the black Kathula suddenly appeared before her. She fell backwards, landing on her bottom. He was larger up close and personal. He held out his paw and she took it, feeling his powerful grip. Pinti could only reach up to his shoulder at most for he was so tall. His eyes were a stark contrast on his body—the same rich golden orange as the swirls etched in his fur and the flooring at her feet.
"Pinti, I believe you have something that used to be mine." He held out his paw and without thinking she lifted her arm up to find she was holding something. When she released the object in his large black paw, it was the stone of Aurvandil.
"H-how—" It had disappeared at Vrebrinfeld Lowlands!
"Mm," the Kathula grunted, "been in good use I see," his voice rumbled in her chest sending shivers up her spine. When he caressed the stone, the letter glowed as did his Lunar marking. Noticing her gaze, he brushed his long bangs aside to reveal he had two Lunar markings—one facing the usual way and the other racing opposite.
"Who are you?" She barely managed to speak for the opposite marking began to glow golden, sending shimmers of light down his body, brightening the swirls on his arms and legs.
"Who do you suppose?" he said in a teasing tone. "Now I must return something to you. I caught your lost Lunality by the scruff."
Before she could react, he grabbed her by the shoulders. Bending over, he pressed his marking against hers. Pinti gasped as she felt something like a soft pawtouch on the place deep inside her magick. In her mind's eye, she saw the place in her magick's core where her Lunality used to be. It was empty and the sight made her stomach churn.
"Eyruthnaè haamiè, return home," the male's voice thundered in her head. A small Kathula made of cream-yellow light walked to that empty space. It turned into a ball of light and a warmth filled her from the inside out. She closed her eyes with a deep sigh. She could feel her mark glowing again! She was a Shamala again!
With a trill of joy, she flung open her eyes. The male was still standing before her, rubbing the stone as a smile played across his face.
"Thank you!" she said, and he flashed her a smile.
"No problem, Pinti. Lunality cannot be 'returned' as he put it. The Goddess does not act in that way. Where did you get this?" he said, holding up the stone.
Although she wanted to ask him about what he just said she held her tongue. "An Edgling, Nakiila, gave it to me in One Prestigious Parlor."
He nodded thoughtfully and began to fade, but Pinti wanted to know who he was and not be all mysterious about it. And she wanted to talk to him more and ask him about what this place was and how she got here.
"Oh, Pinti," He returned and smiled, "I have told Daero which abysmal crevice and hideaway creak it is. He has proved worthy of hearing it, I suppose. Not entirely my intention to do it this way," He gave a light chuckle and then his smile faded, "but a sacrifice for Kathula does not go unnoticed. It is much a serious matter. I am not one without sympathy and understanding, you see."
Before she could process what he just said, he faded and with him went the light. Darkness surrounded her.
"Eyruthnaè Kattola." His voice resonated all around her. A blast of wind pushed up from beneath her, sending her flying with such speed she closed her eyes tight. The wind went from lukewarm, cold, to the biting, icy wind. Pinti felt the momentum slow.
Without warning, something yanked her downwards. She yowled in surprise. Dark blue Kathula arms wrapped around her waist gently pulling her down onto the familiar green back of Ryerden.
"Enjoyed the flight?" Daero said in a light tone. She noticed his eyes were lightly bloodshot as if he'd been crying. All that had happened, was real?
She bit her lip, almost afraid to ask, but she had to know. "Is Deel really...?"
Daero nodded with a deep sigh. "So," he said with bounce in his voice, "did you get your—"
Pinti made her marking glow, brushing her bangs aside to show him. Daero embraced her, shocking the air out of her.
"Pinti, that's wonderful!" he exclaimed. "That means you can use the scepter, save Kathula!" He released her and beamed. "I'm so happy for you."
"It's thanks to your—" Pinti stopped. He had said it was a protection sigil, not a sacrifice sigil. He lied to her to die for her and then Deel took his place. She bristled, feeling like someone had rubbed her fur the wrong way.
"I didn't ask for you to almost die for me, heizak!" She bared her fangs.
Daero flattened his ears against his head. "But I can't use the scepter so it's all up to you. Of course, I would protect you even on my life." He stuck out his bottom lip.
"Not sacrifice!" Pinti crossed her arms. The thought of someone dying for her was just too much. But why? Why was this bothering her so much? Daero pouted and didn't meet her gaze. His tailtip twitched as he grazed his paw over Ryerden's scales.
What would I do without him? Pinti lowered her gaze. Before she knew it, he had become more than just someone she trusted. He was someone she didn't want to lose.
But how do I tell him that? Pinti grimaced. She was never good at these kinds of things. After a habitual shoulder lick, she growled, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"I didn't like that I thought I lost you, okay?" she said in a rush. "So, don't do that again, okay?"
Daero let out a soft trill and hugged her. With a roll of her eyes, she hugged back, breathing in his lemongrass scent, and listening to his heart beat glad to have him alive. After a moment, they broke apart.
Pinti shook herself. "Well, which abysmal crevice and hideaway creak did the nameless Kathula say it was at?" That black Kathula didn't even bother to tell her his name and it irked her. She wondered if she would see him again.
Probably not, preferably not.
Daero gave himself a shoulder lick and turned Ryerden around. "He showed it to me."
The Faud veered off towards where snow gradually made way to dry orange rocks and gorges. The air was cool—at least up where they were. Red or orange light splotched the otherwise black sky. The Edgling castle sitting on a horizon of lava beds and black charcoal fields looked like a predator waiting for prey.
Wait there. Don't come. She watched the castle with worry as they flew by.
* * *
It was hard to tell the passage of time with a black and red sky that barely changed. Pinti wondered how Edglings even kept any kind of schedule here. She could only tell Ryerden had been flying for some time with how much distance they covered. The white of Dark North was a smudge against a black horizon, far behind them. Soon, Ryerden landed on an orange rock that looked down upon a wide canyon.
"Down here," Daero said. "By the way, full Sorcerer now." He brushed away his bangs. His Lunar marking was gone.
"The black Kathula said I didn't have a need for it, so he took it away and returned my magick to its full capacity."
Pinti noticed the stripes down his legs were near black instead of dark blue and they were sparkling a little like a night with stars. His bushy indigo tail seemed slightly tinted in purple. A completely uncategorized type of Kathula now sat before her.
"I think this is the 'hideaway creak' down here."
"Yeah?" she said absentmindedly for his eyes had just turned to a purple with specks of gold.
"From the song and what the black Kathula said." He blinked. "Is there something up with my eyes? I just saw your pupils get really big."
"They turned purple," she said, and he blinked a few times. "With a little gold," she added.
"Really?" He mumbled. "That sounds too special for me." He laughed through his nose.
"Well, I think it's pretty." Pinti stared into his eyes, mesmerized as they glowed or sparkled. They were like gemstones shimmering in sunlight, or maybe moonlight. She frowned when he closed them and looked away.
"We should go. Hold on tight, we're flying fast."
Well, I'll get more chances. Pinti nodded. Ryerden had a slightly rough, scaly back which made it good for gripping without claws. But the further they went the canyon snaked this way and that making sudden turns. She struggled to hold on without claws, but she didn't want to hurt the Faud.
"Hold onto me. Less slippery!" Daero called over his shoulder, and she gladly wrapped her arms around him. She was determined not to fall off anything.
Feel like I've done enough falling to last me a lifetime. She grimaced.
A wide canyon with mountainous rock formations and perilous cliffsides basked in a dark orange light, but soon the canyon squeezed into a narrow gorge. Shaded regions lay ahead were not even the bright, red moonlight reached. The gorge dipped with walls closing in on them until it was too narrow for Ryerden to go any further.
Daero stopped the Faud, landing him at the bottom. The orange rocks looked black in the dim darkness. A hint of cream-yellow light came from somewhere beyond the cliffs that nearly touched.
Cold stone flooring beneath her feet, Pinti walked around the narrow gorge, looking up the sliver of a crevice where she could see the red moon. A small sliver of a creamy yellow moon poked out from behind the red one. There was not a single breeze and it was completely quiet, deceivingly peaceful and, if she stood still, like time had stopped.
"There's the tunnel," Daero's voice echoed around them breaking the perfect quiet.
Another tunnel? Hope it doesn't lead to a cliff for me to do some more falling off. Pinti scoffed as exhaustion washed over her. But they didn't have time to rest.
At the tunnel entrance, a whistle of wind rushed toward her ruffling her fur. She bristled and took a step back. Something else had passed her by, making her fur tingle. Her marking warmed without her control.
Daero stood next to her. "Your mark is glowing."
"As if I can't tell." She swished her tail in his face making him sneeze.
He rubbed his nose with a smirk. "That tickles. And I feel something, too. It's—"
"Ancient," she whispered, and he nodded.
"I'launna," Daero whispered, forming a softly glowing ball of light in his paw. When he held it up, the yellow-golden light spread down the tunnel revealing a narrow passageway.
"Well, I feel this is it. Shall we?" he said.
With a nod, she took a deep breath. They were so close.
This is it. Her heart thumped against her chest, anxious and excited, as she and Daero stepped paw into the tunnel.