The Failsafe Prophecies (5 page)

“What in the world?” Luxe laughed
softly and moved towards the door.

“No, wait.” She reached for
him.

“Darling.” He assured her with his
tone and his gaze.

She had to pull herself together. This
fear was unlike her. She couldn’t make sense of it, but ever since
the meeting she had felt the dark shadow of fear slicing into her
soul, and nothing she did seemed to stop it.

She knelt again beside her beloved
pet, dropping her forehead to his. She rubbed the scruff on both
sides of his neck and breathed softly.

“Darling, Rodrigo is here to see you.”
Luxe led him into the small living room.

She stood and directed Obsidian to go
lie down.

“I’m so sorry to come so late, but
this was my first opportunity.” He kissed her cheek and
acknowledged Obsidian, who gave one bark in return.

He returned his focus to her and
stared at her so intensely a chill snuck up her spine.

“This truly is urgent, and it is the
first opportunity I’ve had today to get here.”

She drew a breath and straightened her
spine. Fear be damned, she was the Queen of Bella Sol. She would
stand beside her King and do what was needed to restore their
kingdom and to save the people of the realm she’d called home ever
since the exile.

“You are always welcome. Can I make
tea?” She offered.

“No, I won’t stay.” He looked to each
of them, then back to Bala before reaching behind his body and
bringing out four distinct skulls that most would have dismissed
for an amusement park trinket.

Oh but she knew better. She felt the
power on each, the resonance of light and dark. She immediately
grabbed two pine cones from the basket on the table before her,
waved them above the skulls then threw the cones in the fire. Their
scent burst open into the space, but she still felt the
darkness.

“Why have you brought those here?”
Everything in her stilled, but the fear still tugged at her heart.
She took a step away.

“It was either you or the
demons, and I thought you the better choice. I assume one of these
is empty, the one the beast was trying to contain Fa Zhen in. Hell,
they may all be empty, but I couldn’t just leave them behind. I
thought
if
there
are souls in here, they deserve something more than to stay locked
in here for all eternity.”

“What makes you think Bala can help
you with this?” Luxe stepped behind her and placed one protective
arm around her waist.

“She’s a seer of the light. She is
their best chance. I thought you could ask Ivin if there was…” He
sighed. “I just couldn’t leave them.”

She stared at the skulls dangling from
his hand and her mind flashed back on her life. She may have made
an extraordinary change from who she’d always been. It still felt
all too new, though, and there was much about her power she didn’t
yet understand. The worst part was that without Solomon to guide
her any longer, she feared she’d never know.

“You have a good heart Rodrigo. I
can’t fault you for that.” She moved to the fire and used the hook
to pull out the cauldron hanging inside. “Place them
here.”

He walked over and did as she
instructed.

For a brief moment she closed her eyes
and drew her power, then directed it through her palms at the
cauldron. A white light extended from her hands to the black pot.
When the energy hit the cauldron, the entire thing began to glow a
pale yellow-green before the energy sealed at the top.

“They’ll be safe there until I can
consult with Ivin. She is the kindest witch I know. She shares your
heart. If there is a way to help these poor souls, she and I will
find it.” She smiled, feeling honestly confident for a
moment.

“Thank you, Bala.” He reached out,
took both her hands and squeezed them. “There is something
else.”

She laughed. “Of course there is.
Would you like to rethink that tea?”

“You two talk. I will go get us some
bread and ale.” Luxe offered.

“Darling, I don’t want…” She began to
protest.

“And
tea
for you, my darling.” He
chuckled and left the room.

“He’s the most gracious king I’ve ever
met.” Rigo chuckled.

“We are so strange aren’t we?” She
rubbed her hands in the heat of the fire for a moment, then turned
away from it.

“Everyone is strange in Elethiya,
Bala. I don’t think anyone thinks otherwise.”

She gestured for him to take a seat on
the small floral sofa, and she took a spot in a pale green wing
chair, pushing the ottoman aside with her foot.

“We are a land of strangelings from
all over creation. Here because we’ve been cursed, or exiled, or
are on a mission, assigned as protectors.”

She thought about his words, about the
people she’d come to know since coming to Elethiya. “Aye, you’re so
right.”

She smiled, feeling warm and
content.

“Honestly, Bala, this is what I wanted
to talk to you about. How much did Solomon teach you about the
planets and the zodiac of this realm?”

She shook her head. Of all the things
she thought he may want to discuss with her, that never even
crossed her mind.

“Uh… that they are the
gate keepers. The planets. Sentient souls holding the balance
between realms. The zodiac sections are actually gates to the
twelve realms of the universe. We didn’t spend too much time on
this, but the reason we came here was because he told me Earth was
pivotal in the balance of light and dark, because it was the
only
place where
all
the other realms
connected. When the spell was cast to bring all the royals out of
the Marrow as she fell to the dark, it was decided Earth because of
that connection. It’s central to everything. And, of course,
Elethiya was chosen because of the portal and the falls.” She was
confused as to why he wanted to know about any of this, and
frustrated that she didn’t know more.

She twisted her fingers together and
watched the firelight play on his features.

He grabbed his long hair in his hand
and pulled it behind him, twisted it, then let it fall over his
left shoulder.

“I don’t think this event is random. I
think whoever is behind it has been waiting on the timing. I don’t
know enough about the astrology, but I thought there may be clues
we could exploit, find some way to know what they’re planning, or
at least, what’s possible. Saturn is one hell of a big gate keeper
and he just moved out of Scorpio, didn’t he?”

“Yes. And the sun has been there once
since.” She tried to recall anything Solomon may have said to her
about this.

“That feels resonant to me.” Rigo
pushed earnestly.

She blinked as she processed what he
was saying.

“I haven’t given this any thought in
forever, but…”

As she recalled Solomon’s lessons, she
recalled how he’d found her battered and bruised, so lost and
wishing for death. As she healed, he taught her of magic, of god,
of astrology and the most fundamental rules of creation.

“Algatha would be the best
person I know of to ask, but she’s traveling. There may be books at
her place, but for some unknown reason, she’s left the guard of her
house to a mortal woman who holds no magic and knows nothing of us.
Believe me, your brother is
not
happy.” She smiled, but caught the laughter
before it slipped out.

“A mortal in Elethiya?” Rigo was not
so disciplined. He broke into loud laughter just as Luxe returned
with a tray of food.

“I feel I missed something.” He set
the tray down and handed Rodrigo an amber bottle.

“Only that my brother must be beside
himself.” He laughed again as he drew a long sip from the bottle.
“Ah, it’s probably good for him. It’ll keep him from
wallowing.”

Luxe handed Bala her tea.

She kissed his cheek and he took a
spot on the ottoman beside her.

“I just feel like there is divine
timing at play here, Bala, and you have knowledge of the heavens.
Do you think you could look into this?”

“So you want me to consult with the
witches over soul skulls and then break into the astrologer’s home
and find some knowledge about the gate keepers?” She rolled her
eyes and laughed, feeling so much more like herself now than she
had all day.

He smiled big.

“That about covers it.”

She laughed.

“Oh, so just another Tuesday?” Luxe
smiled before taking a swallow from his ale.

“No.” Rodrigo became
serious. “Just another Tuesday in
Elethiya
.” He winked. “There’s a
difference.”

In that moment there was a sense of
mutual camaraderie that was comforting.

“I’ll do whatever I can, Rodrigo. You
know that I will. How is Zhen doing?” Bala had been worrying about
the girl all evening.

“I don’t know to be honest. I haven’t
seen her since I left her with the council. Why?”

She rubbed a chill from her arms as
she thought back on the energy she felt from Zhen this
afternoon.

“She seemed afraid. I can’t imagine
what she’s been through, but there is something I don’t understand
about what happened. Do you mind?” She didn’t want him to feel she
was questioning his memory, but something wasn’t right and this may
be her only chance to address it.

“Of course not. Bala, we are all in
new territory here. We have to pull our strengths and insights
here. What is it?” Rigo sat back and drank more of the dark
ale.

She looked to Obsidian who was sitting
on alert in his soft bed.

“Where were the protectors of these
women? Why were you and Hayden the only ones there? And for that
matter, the others… I know details are still coming in, but
Obsidian never leaves my side, and if I were in trouble, he’d
fight. I know each of these women have something similar, and if
the roahn-ami attacked… it makes no sense they were nowhere to be
found.”

It had been one small detail that had
been bothering her all day long, and she was grateful to finally be
able to give a voice to it.

“Honestly, I hadn’t even considered
it. It’s been such a whirlwind since this all happened. We’re still
gathering information. But as Hayden and I were the only witnesses,
and it wasn’t as if we were simply standing there watching, there
were many details I’m sure we missed. Do you think Zhen has the
answers to fill in the missing pieces?”

She thought back to the young girl
she’d been with earlier and shook her head.

“She seemed… in shock still. She
barely spoke. Her energy was so small. She’s with Briya, as far as
I know. Maybe you should talk to her? After all, you rescued her
and brought her here. I’m sure she trusts you.” Bala didn’t want to
be bogging down the system with these tiny details, but this one
simply wouldn’t stop nagging at her.

He stood and took one last draw from
the bottle before placing it back on the tray.

“I will do that tomorrow. I have one
more stop to make tonight, and that’s my brother. I love him
dearly, and he’s a powerful soul, but his guilt is getting worse
and worse. If we’re going to have any shot of avoiding the seven
suns prophecy, we need a leader. He needs me to remind him of who
he is.”

Bala was hit with a hard wave of pain
that originated out of Rodrigo’s heart. She stood and hugged him
tight.

“I’m so sorry, Rigo. Just be there.
The journey back is his own, but I have faith in him.”

She felt his pain ease and was pleased
that her words had helped.

She and Luxe both walked him to the
door in the small turret-shaped entry.

“Keep me informed on both things we
discussed, Bala. I deeply appreciate it. I’ll be here for the
foreseeable future, unless something pressing comes up.”

“Of course. I just… don’t expect
miracles. I’m really not sure I’m the person for either of these
tasks.”

He reached out and squeezed her
hand.

“Ah, but I have faith
in
you
, Balaja,
strong of heart and rich in faith.”

She averted her gaze as she felt her
cheeks heat.

“As a team, all of us, serahn,
nay-chi, royals, witches… even some of the mortals, we’ll save both
realms.” Luxe spoke in that royal tone that did not accept argument
or dissent.

“Aye, Luxe. This is the
time for which we were all created. We
will
defeat the oppression, bring
the balance back to the light and dark, and reunite the realms.
Faith, Bala. As you have always taught us, faith is our strength.
We will fight back the night and we will win. Of that I have no
doubt.”

Chapter Four

Wraithe’s heart was so heavy it was
threatening to finally crush him. Even in the castle antechamber, a
place he loved more than anything, there was no peace. It was
midday. Below him were families, tourists, people here to see his
creation. He ran his hand over the grey stone that outlined a small
window showing the grand landscape of the park. Usually he loved
watching from his secluded nook inside the main castle. But today,
with so much at stake, he could barely breathe for the morose
sadness bearing in on him.