The Labyrinth of Destiny (3 page)

Adesina was eager to leave the
hollow where the Council met and begin the next leg of her journey.

“Wait,” called a voice from the
crowd.

A small red feline with yellow
stripes made its way to the front. “We Children of the Night have bound
ourselves to you, and yet you have not offered any of our representatives a
place in your party.”

There were a handful of murmurs
that indicated approval.

Sitara’s brow furrowed. “There is
no need to make a distinction between the Children of the Night and the
Children of the Light. Our purposes may be different, but our allegiance is not.”

“But there
is
a need to make
a distinction for the Creatures of Darkness,” asserted Ruon.

“Only if you continue to insist on
associating yourselves with the Darkness,” replied Sitara stiffly. “The
Creatures of Darkness were not born evil. It is only by embracing the Dark that
they became what they are.”

Ruon raised a hairless eyebrow. “I
am aware of this.”

Adesina was uncertain of what was
happening. She wished she had spent more time reading the L’avan histories
concerning these groups of people.

Are the Children of the Night
the same as the Creatures of Darkness?
she asked Ravi through their
Joining.

No, they are not. The Children
of the Night are still allied with the Light, they simply serve a different
purpose than the Children of the Light. The Creatures of Darkness have forsaken
the Light.

Ravi’s explanation probably would
have continued, but there were other things going on that drew their attention.

Sitara appeared more agitated than
Adesina had ever seen her before. She was visibly irritated by the Laithur’s
superior manner. She crossed her arms and fixed an icy stare on him. “The magic
of the Thresholds remains weak. We do not have the power to transport a large
party.”

The small red feline who had spoken
originally shook its head. “We are not asking for a large party—only for a
representative.”

Adesina waved a hand impatiently.
“What does it matter if we are all on the same side?”

Ruon inclined his oval head.
“Exactly. Why would it matter if we elected one of our own to be a member of
your party?”

The rock-like creature rubbed his
head thoughtfully with the grating sound of stone against stone. “Brother Ruon
has a point. This is not merely a Serraf matter—it involves all of us. The
Serraf alone should not bear the responsibility of stopping Cha-sak and his
followers.”

“Adesina needs my guidance,”
insisted Sitara. “She is a newborn Serraf and does not know how to use her new
abilities.”

“Thou needst not stay behind,”
assured Toraun, “but a truth hath been spoken.”

“Send Brother Ruon,” squawked a creature
with the head of a raven and the body of a woman.

Ruon looked extremely smug at this
nomination. Adesina silently wished for someone else—anyone else—to be elected
to join their party.

Other Council members nodded.
Adesina assumed that they were also demons of various kinds, since the Children
of Light seemed to be keeping their opinions to themselves.

“Yes, Ruon is a good choice.”

“I agree.”

“We have no quarrel with the
Laithur. I suppose he is as good a choice as any.”

Adesina stifled a groan as Toraun
raised a hand and said, “The decision hath been made, and all shall abide by
it.”

Sitara also seemed less than
pleased. “Very well.”

Riel, Sitara’s Rashad companion,
spoke in her quiet and musical voice. “We must hurry to the Northern Threshold
or we will miss our only opportunity to cross back over into the human world.”

Toraun crossed all four of his
hands on his chest in a form of salute. “May the blessings of the Ancients go
with thee.”

Adesina wasn’t sure what to say in
return. “Thank you,” she said, feeling slightly foolish.

“Do you need anything before we
leave, Ruon?” asked Sitara, omitting the title of
brother
.

The Laithur’s smile indicated that
he noticed the omission. “No,
Sitara
,” he emphasized her name with a
sarcastic tone. “I am prepared to leave whenever you are.”

Riel took the initiative and began
walking away from the gathering of Council members. Sitara followed closely
behind, pointedly ignoring Ruon’s sneering smile. Adesina and Ravi exchanged
glances before following, and Ruon brought up the rear at an unhurried pace.

Adesina felt an enormous sense of
relief knowing that they were on their way back to the world she knew. There
was a driving feeling of urgency to stop Cha-sak before he could cause any
lasting harm to humankind.

So intent was the young woman with
her inner worries that she almost didn’t notice the landscape around them. She
would have been completely unaware had it not been for Ravi.

What a strange world this is.

Adesina looked up in surprise. “Is
it?” she responded automatically.

Then she took a moment to look
around. She once again took note of the violet moss that covered the ground and
the pink sky, but she didn’t observe anything that she hadn’t seen before.

Ravi spoke aloud instead of through
their Joining. “It is unnaturally silent here—even that small stream makes no
sound. I can sense no life other than the few plants we see and the members of
the Council. Are there no animals?”

Sitara shook her head. “We chose
this realm because it held no life other than the plants. That way we would not
alter the natural order of this world.”

Ruon snorted derisively. “You say
that as if we did not affect the plants and rocks of this realm. Our presence
changed this place, even if you choose not to notice it.”

“Perhaps I do not have the same
affinity to stone as you do,” admitted Sitara.

“Are the…Laithur interested in
rocks?” asked Adesina hesitantly. She didn’t feel entirely comfortable around a
creature that she knew to be a demon.

Ruon swiveled his oval head on his
long and snakelike neck. He fixed his small eyes on Adesina, and she had the
unnerving feeling that he could see right through her. “Know you nothing of the
Immortals?” he asked with a hint of surprise.

Adesina felt her face redden. “Not
very much. Most humans believe that the Immortals are myths.”

Ruon’s flat face took on a
thoughtful expression. “The Laithur are creatures that are most comfortable in
caves. The Seer dwelt in the Great Cavern, and so the Laithur lived there,
too.”

Even Ravi was confused by this explanation.
“The Seer?”

“Has all knowledge been lost in
your world?” asked Ruon in irritation. He took a deep breath and started again.
“Just as you Serraf and Rashad serve the Creator, we Laithur served the Seer.”

“Who is the Seer?” asked Adesina.

“One of the lesser Ancients,”
explained Sitara.

“Not lesser in any aspect that
matters,” quipped Ruon.

Sitara smiled at the demon as one
might to a petulant child. “No Ancient is.”

“And yet you continually make the
distinction,” he snapped.

Sitara gave the Laithur a level
gaze. “Such loyal defense from one who has forsaken his duty.”

Ruon appeared to have no answer as
he turned away in disgust.

Sitara took over the explanation in
a low voice. “The Seer was an Ancient who could see all things—past, present,
and future. He preferred to live underground because the dark and silence
allowed him to see more clearly. The Laithur were the servants of the
Seer…until they embraced the Darkness and became demons.”

Adesina’s mind was filled with
questions, and she could hardly decide which to ask first. “Who are these
Ancients to which you keep referring?”

“Goodness,” said Riel, smiling,
“much knowledge
has
been lost.”

Adesina and Ravi shared feelings of
self-consciousness, but neither said anything.

“The Ancients are the deities that
rule the universe,” began Sitara, but she was interrupted by Ruon before she
could continue.

“We are here,” he said abruptly.

Sitara had not exaggerated when she
had said that the Threshold was not far from where the Council met. The walk
had taken them less than half an hour.

The Threshold itself was another
low outcropping of rock amid the flat landscape. There was an entrance like the
cave that led to the Threshold of Zonne, but this entrance was shallow enough
that Adesina could easily see where it came to an end.

She had been expecting something
similar to the Threshold of Zonne—a platform or a doorway of some sort.
Instead, there was nothing but the slight indentation in the rock.

“Is this it?” asked Adesina in
confusion.

Legends say that the Thresholds
come in many shapes and sizes.
Ravi thought to her with a hint of
uncertainty.

“Yes,” affirmed Sitara, “this is
it. The Northern Threshold. This is the only other point of connection between
this world and your own. This is the only remaining way back…home.”

Adesina looked at Sitara in
surprise. She had never considered that the Immortals would view her world as
their home, too. It must have been a long and lonesome wait for them during
their imprisonment.

They will not have to wait much
longer
, Ravi promised.

Adesina smiled in agreement.
No,
they will not.

“What do I need to do?” she asked
aloud.

“All Thresholds share the same
power,” explained Sitara. “You were reborn upon a Threshold, so your
vyala
is tied to theirs. You alone have the ability to open a Threshold at your
will.”

Adesina stared at the outcropping,
hoping to gain some sort of inspiration. “How?” she asked after a moment.

“Connect to your
vyala
,
little sister,” Sitara said kindly. “It will guide you.”

Adesina closed her eyes and let her
magic flow from the center of her being. It warmed her as it spread, filling
her with life and light.

This was her first time connecting
with her
vyala
since becoming a Serraf, and Adesina immediately sensed a
difference. It wasn’t just that her powers were stronger—which they were—but
they seemed deeper and more profound. Her connection to the world around her
was more than just a greater awareness. She had become one with the world. The
rocks and the plants were a part of her.

With this change in the forefront
of her mind, Adesina turned her attention to the Northern Threshold.

The rock itself was nothing
extraordinary. It had nothing that set it apart from any other rock in any
other world. But when Adesina looked beyond its physical form, she saw
something that caught her breath.

There was a tunnel of swirling
magical light that led to worlds without measure. Adesina could not see the
other end of the tunnel, but she could
feel
that the possibilities were
infinite. All of space in every dimension—and even all of time—whirled within
that vortex of power, and Adesina finally understood what it meant to stand on
the threshold of eternity.

“The Serraf did not create the
Thresholds,” Adesina said softly.

“No,” answered Sitara. “They were
created by the Traveler, one of the Ancients.”

Adesina didn’t need to be told that
the Thresholds had been brought into existence by a much greater power. She
could feel the pure
vyala
surging through the small opening that
connected the Threshold to this world. The young woman traced that tenuous
connection, and she saw that the small outcropping of rock served as an anchor
for the power behind the Threshold. All she had to do was to part the invisible
curtains that stood before the tunnel, and…

A doorway of light appeared.

Sitara gasped softly. “It took a
full circle of Serraf sisters to pry the Zonne Threshold open, even for a brief
period of time. Yet you open this one with a simple gesture of your hand.”

Adesina felt her chest swell with
pride at Sitara’s words.

“You did say that Ma’eve was linked
to the Thresholds,” reminded Ravi. “Did you not believe that she could do it?”

Sitara gave a small smile. “Knowing
something in your mind is not the same as witnessing it.”

Even Ruon seemed grudgingly
impressed. “This half-blood may be the one we have been waiting for after all.”

Adesina felt her temper flare. “I
have a name, you know.”

Ruon chose to ignore her statement.
He turned his full attention to the Threshold. “It is called the Northern
Threshold because it is connected to the northernmost Threshold in the human
world. We may not be far from the Zonne Threshold here, but we shall reappear
in your world many leagues from Zonne.”

Adesina could feel through their
Joining that Ravi was very uneasy with this information. “Where is the Northern
Threshold, exactly?” he asked.

“Tsan,” Sitara answered shortly.

Ravi’s uneasiness grew to alarm.
“Tsan sank beneath the ocean centuries ago.”

“Do not worry,” said Ruon in a
strangely detached voice. “Help is on the way.”

Adesina frowned. “How do you know
that?”

“I can See,” was his enigmatic
reply.

Sitara seemed to understand, but
she gave no explanation. “Take a deep breath,” she instructed, “and swim for
the surface as soon as you cross over.”

“Why not use
vyala
to create
a bubble of air around us?” inquired Adesina.

“Can you maintain that level of
concentration while hurtling between worlds?” challenged Ruon in a sharp tone.

She felt a wave of doubt. “I…am not
sure.”

The Laithur’s flat face twisted in
irritation. “I said that help is on the way. But we have to cross within the
next thirty seconds.”