Page 45 of Synodic

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My eyes fluttered. I expected a burning imprint to glow just beyond my lids, but there was no sign or remnant whatsoever of the brilliant light that nearly blinded me.

All that remained in its place was a scattering of dull stones, floating in the sky like a shattered asteroid trapped by gravity. An eyesore compared to the otherworldly image that had flashed so quickly and spectacularly before my vision.

“What is it?” Rowen asked, sensing my pause.

“The memory of the stone is potent, is it not?” Nepta interjected, seeming to have glimpsed into my mind. Had she once seen the ethereal light so vibrant it rivaled any star?

My mind, confused and as far away as the heavens, was pulled back to the present as Nepta motioned for us to sit at the glinting white table beneath the levitating stones.

Rowen and I took our seats before Nepta, Takoda, and the other Summit members who had silenced upon our approach. They all sat with taut-string energy, only a pluck away from absolute discord. Even though there was no head of the table, Nepta’s chair of woven moonlight sat higher and more beautiful than the rest.

“What happened?” I asked, eyeing the ruin of fractured rocks above our heads, nervous they would tumble down upon us at any moment.

“It is we who will be asking the questions,” the most brutal-looking member of the Summit interjected. By the battle marks that lined his arms and the long scar slashed across his lip and chin, I guessed him to be the war captain Alvar. “Why she has been allowed into the Sacred Vale is still a mystery to me.”

I agreed with him entirely, but I hadn’t realized how nervous I was until Rowen placed his hand on one of my shaking legs. He gave a comforting squeeze, and the pressure of his fingers tightening on my knee tethered me to his strength.

“Rowen, you first told us of her presence weeks ago. Wouldn’t that be enough time for her to consort with our enemies?” Alvar asked as if it was the most sensible question in the world.

“When I first found her, she was but a fading image. Here one moment, gone the next. You would no sooner be able to grasp smoke within your hands than speak to her. Not the easiest condition in which to plot with our enemies.”

“Rowen has assured us of her innocence when it comes to conspiring with Erovos,” Takoda spoke up, shocking me by revealing words Rowen had spoken in my defense. “And I trust him implicitly.”

“That doesn’t answer who she is. This reeks of a plot we can’t begin to understand. This female could be the final ruin of us all,” Alvar spat back.

This female?

I seethed on the inside but refused to let Alvar see the effect his comment had on me. I’d been underestimated and unfairly judged by men before, especially when it came to running. They always doubted my speed, and it gave me a sick sense of gratification when I proved to be faster than they thought.

And this was a type of race, wasn’t it? Seeing whose mind could keep up.

“I haven’t been plotting anything,” I said, keeping my chin high and voice firm. “And I’d prefer if you addressed me by my name. Referring to each other by our sexes seems an unnecessary distinction, don’t you think?”

Alvar barked out in unexpected laughter. “Ah yes, what a little spitfire you are. We heard all about your antics at the training grounds,” he said with a steel sheen in his eye. “However, the distinction is most necessary when the stars speak of a son returning to these lands, not a weakened mare.”

“Come now, Alvar. Surely we can give her a chance.” I assumed that must be Driskell, the second in command. His long white hair had the occasional braid, woven with twine and crystal beads. The way he eyed me was unnerving, and I recalled Rowen mentioning this man would do or say anything to regain his standing in the village. “Perhaps there is some insight she can provide.”

Alvar disagreed with a shake of his head. “She is rousing the evil in the forest, and it won’t be long until it rains down upon us all. Tell me, when was the last you heard of a summoning-demon near our borders, and we’ve had five in the past moon. She brings the darkness we’ve so long kept at bay, and it is closing in.”

“We cannot hide away forever,” Takoda countered, his long face looking exhausted for the first time.

“Can you tell us, child, who are you and why are you here?” Driskell asked, his gaze brimming with starved hope.

All eyes at the table turned to me expectantly, but the mysteries compounded. Why had I arrived here around the same time as the demons? Why had it been so hazy and muddled that I could barely see or hear anything? And why was I only now able to travel between worlds?

“I don’t know,” was all I managed to say. It was the best I could offer, but at least it was the truth. They deserved that much.

“Gah.” Alvar slammed his fist on the table, causing me to jump. “I knew we wouldn’t get far with this one. Look how pale and weak she is. It appears she barely knows her own name, let alone the weight of the destruction we bear.” He turned to stare me dead in the eye. “As of now, you are nigh on worthless, nothing but a pretty face and of no use to anyone.”

Irritation flared in my veins, and Rowen squeezed my knee, causing the tendons in his hand to leap.

“Whatever reason her stars crossed with ours, she is here now. And if she is to remain, she will bear the burden of our knowledge and responsibility,” Nepta said, gazing toward me with a marble stare that spoke of worlds known through an alternate sight. “The secrets of our village are no small thing; any betrayal will mean a most certain and painful death. Do you accept?”

Her aura rushed over me, compelling me to speak the truth. “I do.”

She nodded, then inhaled the breath preluding any tale that holds the weight of a thousand collective memories passed from one generation to the next. “Before our world came to exist as we know it, all was darkness reigned over by six beings known as the Elder Spirits: our first ancestors. What events came to pass to leave the heavens in their care, we will never know. Oceans crash and worlds turn, it is simply the way of things.” Nepta’s voice was strong and commanding, and I found myself hanging onto her every word.

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