The Eternal Flame (3 page)

A vague feeling of terror swelled inside her chest. If she was, indeed, entering Shadowroot, how would she ever find her way? How would she even survive?

Suddenly the wind sputtered. A fierce blast of air jolted her sideways; another slapped her face so hard that she tumbled backward through the blackness. Just then she heard air whooshing wildly around her, and she realized that she was falling. Falling fast! Before she could scream, or even squeeze her crystal more tightly, she hit the ground with a brutal thud.

She lay there, motionless, in the darkness—the darkness of eternal night.

2
•
Whispers in the Dark

In the darkness, Elli rolled over. She straightened her back, which felt like one enormous bruise, and worked her sore limbs. Everything around her was black: the air; the ground, which was covered with some sort of stubbly moss that she could feel but not see; and even her own hand, when she raised it to touch her face.

“Am I blind?” she asked herself. “Or just in Shadowroot?” She spoke in the barest of whispers, for something about this impenetrable darkness made her want to be as quiet as possible.

Not far away, something moved on the rough moss. Then came a gruff whisper. “You’re not blind, you dolt.”

“Nuic,” she breathed. “I’m so glad you made it, too. Are you still in one piece?”

“One broken piece. Though I suppose I’ll walk again someday.”

Understanding that this was the sprite’s way of telling her that he hadn’t been badly injured, Elli sighed gratefully. Despite how sore she felt, she sat up. Then, turning back to her companion, she whispered wryly, “At least we don’t have to look at each other.”

“Hmmmpff.”

“And I can tell what color you are without even seeing you. Pitch black.”

“Nonsense. I’m a glowing shade of pink, in keeping with my mood.”

Elli chuckled, then clapped her hands in appreciation. “Nuic, you—”

She stopped mid-sentence, listening to the reverberating sound of her clap. The sound went on and on, without fading. Then it seemed to break apart and multiply, as dozens and then hundreds of claps filled the darkness.

That was when she realized that the sound had shifted to something deeper, more like a thud. Pounding and thumping, it also grew in volume, swelling steadily louder. Almost, it seemed to be drawing closer by the second.

Footsteps!
Elli leaned forward on the moss, even as Nuic wriggled to her side. Both of them tensed, not knowing what to do. It sounded as if an entire army was striding toward them. An army of giants.

“What do we do?” she asked frantically, yelling to be heard above the growing din of footsteps. “We can’t even see them to fight!”

Voices suddenly rose up all around them. They called back and forth to each other, shouting what sounded like battle cries. Over and over she heard the word
fight.
Elli wrapped one arm around Nuic. If he had answered her question, she wouldn’t have been able to hear the reply.

I must see,
she thought, her mind racing.
If only to know where to run.

The footsteps grew louder than ever, drowning out the voices. Elli’s ears ached from all the pounding. She could barely even think.

The crystal.
Suddenly remembering the first time she’d met the Lady of the Lake, when the crystal had shone brilliantly, Elli grasped her amulet of oak, ash, and hawthorn leaves.
Shine for me, please! Give me some light.

A frail spark appeared in the crystal. It wavered feebly for a few seconds, as if uncertain whether to grow or die. But grow it did, as she kept willing. Slowly, the crystal’s power expanded, until it radiated a soft, white light with subtle tones of blue and green.

Elli’s fingers opened, allowing the light to spread. Although the crystal wasn’t shining nearly as strongly as it had done for the Lady, it was bright enough to illuminate the companions and their immediate surroundings. And what they saw made them gasp. Not in terror—but in surprise.

Striding toward them, across the mossy field where they sat, was not an army. Nor a garrison. Nor even a small band of soldiers. In fact, it wasn’t anything that resembled soldiers at all.

It was a lone bear cub.

Or it was, at least, something that looked rather like a chubby, round-bellied bear with thick, dark blue fur. Though not much bigger than Nuic, the creature shuffled toward them heavily. His wide paws seemed to stamp hard against the ground—although whatever sound they might have made was obscured by the continuing din of footsteps all around.

As the spreading light from the crystal reached the cub, he stopped abruptly. With a painful whimper, he raised one furry paw to his face, clearly trying to shield his eyes.

Elli covered the amulet more fully, dimming the light. The cub slowly lowered his paw. Although his blue eyes gazed at them fearfully, he didn’t turn and run.

Bewildered, Elli looked down at Nuic. Before she could begin to ask him what this furry creature could be—and what was making those pounding footsteps—he put his finger to his lips. She could see by his expression that he was listening intently to the footsteps themselves.

They were fading! Gradually, over the next few minutes, the sound diminished. The field grew quieter, until at last it returned to silence.

Elli started to speak, but Nuic raised his little hand. In a quiet but insistent whisper, he said, “Welcome to the Vale of Echoes, my good priestess. Having not been to the dark realm of Lastrael for several centuries, I’d almost forgotten about this place. But hmmmpff, there’s no doubt about it. So mind your voice: Anything here that’s louder than rustling grass will sound like an avalanche.”

“And so,” whispered Elli, “those footsteps—”

“Were just that ball of blue fur over there.” The sprite’s skin, also dark blue, showed a few veins of silver. “And if he’s as brainless as he looks, he probably scares himself with every step he takes.”

Elli grinned. Eyeing the cub, she said, “I like him, though.” An idea struck her. “Say, do you think he could possibly help us find our way from here to the Lost City of Light?”

“Unlikely,” grumbled the pinnacle sprite. “He looks stupider than a bubble-headed buffoon. Besides, for that kind of help you’d need to talk with him. That won’t be easy, unless he happens to know the Common Tongue. Or unless, like your friend Tamwyn, you can speak to other creatures through your thoughts.”

At the mention of Tamwyn, her grin vanished. She glanced down at the bracelet that he’d made for her. Woven from the stems of yellow astral flowers, it now looked brown and brittle.

“Well, all right,” whispered Nuic ruefully. “You could try, I suppose. Just don’t expect any miracles.”

Elli turned back to the cub. She covered the radiant amulet almost completely, so that only a small circle of light pushed back the encroaching darkness. With her free hand, she beckoned to the little beast.

For a long moment, he studied her. He cocked his head to one side, while he sniffed the air uncertainly. At last, he took one small step toward Elli and Nuic—although the sound of his paw hitting the ground started a whole new round of pounding echoes.

Slowly, he shuffled toward them, always sniffing cautiously. Finally he stood beside Elli. For some time they just looked at each other, neither one moving. Then, very carefully, she reached out her hand and scratched behind his ear. Although his whole body cringed, he didn’t withdraw. And over the fading echoes, she heard him make a sound much like a sigh of pleasure.

To Elli’s delight, the cub lay down beside her, his furry back rubbing against her leg. He then yawned, wagging his tongue, and curled up for a nap. In seconds, he was breathing slowly and rhythmically.

“See what I mean?” asked Nuic in a grumpy whisper. “He probably thinks about nothing besides munching berries and napping.”

Elli replied with a big yawn of her own. “Well, maybe a little nap isn’t such a bad . . .”

Before she could finish her sentence, she had drifted off into a deep slumber. Unnaturally deep. Nuic, for his part, made no protest. For the sprite, too, had been lulled into enchanted sleep.

Elli dreamed that she lay curled on her side, resting upon a wide blue sea. Tranquil water surrounded her; the ocean stretched without interruption all the way to the encircling horizon. No boat supported her, however. She was floating right on top of the water.

Strange as that was, she didn’t feel troubled. In fact, she had never felt so relaxed, so wholly contented. She simply lay there, eyes open, watching the gentle waves around her gather and recede, gather and recede.

Much like the Rainbow Seas, where she had gone swimming with her friend Brionna, these waters glowed with subtle colors that flowed amidst the bottomless blue. Far beneath the surface, currents of iridescent purple, gold, and green swirled and gathered, mixing together like liquid starlight.

It’s all so beautiful,
she thought dreamily.
And so very restful. I wish with all my heart that I could swim in this sea . . . really swim, to be completely one with these waters.

And then, to her amazement, she saw that her longing was actually coming true. With every caress of a wave, some of her own body washed away, melting into the sparkling sea. Far from upsetting her, this filled her with delight. She was joining with the endless ocean, the most peaceful place she had ever known.

Slowly, bit by bit, the waves washed away her toes, then her feet, her ankles, her knees. Another wave came, larger than before, and swallowed her shoulder and one of her arms.

She smiled tranquilly. Already she felt so much better. Her sore and tired body, her worries, her doubts, even her need to breathe—all were disappearing. Soon there would be nothing left of her but a hint of color within the waves.

Another wave approached, larger than all the others. It gathered from afar, rolling toward her at great speed. This wave, she knew, would take all that remained.

Swiftly the wave rushed toward her, lifting into a crest that towered high above her face. Placidly, she gazed up at it, watching its luminous spray gleam like thousands of prisms. Brighter the wave grew, and brighter still—

Disturbingly bright. She squirmed, trying to block out the light. But she just couldn’t do it.

The great wave crested, roaring loudly. Just before it fell over her, washing everything away, the light within it suddenly blazed brighter than ever, like an exploding star.

Elli awoke. She was lying on her side—not on water, but on the field of stubbly moss. The crystal on her neck flamed brilliantly. And her legs, shoulder, and arm felt as stiff as slabs of flatrock.

Disoriented, she sat up, blinking. Where was the sea? Where was the wave that she could still hear roaring?

Then she saw the furry cub bounding away from the light, growling angrily—and all at once, she understood. Dreaming! She’d been dreaming. The light had come from the crystal. And the cub’s growl, magnified by the Vale of Echoes, had been the sound of the wave.

She turned to face Nuic. And caught her breath. For he was chalk white, a color she’d never seen on him before. His skin seemed frosted with ice. She scooped him up, despite her stiffness, sensing that this was his color for something truly dreadful.

His eyes blinked, then focused on her. “The crystal . . .” he whispered hoarsely, barely loud enough to be heard over the cub’s receding echoes.

“It woke us,” she finished.

“No, no. It
saved
us.”

Puzzled, she stared at him. “Saved us?” she whispered. “How?”

The little sprite shook himself. “Its powers are all about life—creating or protecting life. At some level, it must have sensed our peril.” He stared at her grimly. “That cute little creature must have been . . . a death dreamer.”

Her eyes widened.

“That’s how they kill, you know. Death dreamers come in all shapes and sizes, but their only desire is to get near enough to their prey to cast a sleeping spell. Hmmmpff, foolish old dunce that I am, I never suspected until it was too late!”

Elli wriggled uneasily on the moss, trying her best to bend her legs. “And when the victims fall asleep? Are they eaten alive?”

“No, Elliryanna.” His color darkened to that of the shadows beyond the crystal’s rays. “Those creatures have a quieter way of preparing their meals. They give you a dream so deadly, yet so alluring, that you will your own life to end.”

She swallowed hard, remembering her dream. “So . . . you kill yourself.”

Nuic, thinking of his own dream, perhaps, didn’t respond.

Working her stiff shoulder, Elli peered at the blackness that loomed outside their little circle of light. It seemed darker than night out there—thicker somehow, and heavier, like some sort of poisonous stew. And somewhere out there lived that innocent-looking creature who had almost made her destroy herself! She recalled Brionna’s parting words of encouragement, that there may still be a sliver of light left somewhere in Shadowroot, but the thought only made her shudder.

What folly to think there could be anything good in this forsaken place! And what utter folly to think they could find their way across this realm to the Lost City of Light, and then to Kulwych’s cave.

The sprite twisted free of her grip. He planted his feet on the ground, then bent over to inspect the black moss closely. After a few seconds, he straightened himself and announced in a satisfied whisper, “At least there’s
something
about this realm I haven’t forgotten.”

Elli raised a quizzical eyebrow.

He bent down again, grabbed a tuft of black moss, and popped it into his mouth. After a vigorous chew, his color lightened a shade. “Night’s blanket,” he explained. “Tastes almost like peppermint. Come on, try some.”

“Must I?”

“Only if you’d like to feel stronger. This variety is full of nutrients, you see.”

She shook her head. “Nuic, you’re amazing. One minute you’re at the very edge of death, and the next minute you’re giving me a lesson in local edible plants.”

“Hmmmpff,” he whispered gruffly. “Only because I don’t want to have to carry you all the way to the Lost City of Light.” He gave her a wink. “That’s still where we’re going, isn’t it?”