Page 40 of Bound Paths
“That won’t work,”Orion said.“You’ll need to ask the realm to allow her to change.”
“She did it before,” Andie pointed out.
“She used magic that wasn’t hers,”he replied evenly.“The realm only gifts the change to worthy individuals.”
Andie held in another eye roll. “Fine.” She sliced her arm before she could think better of it and offered her blood to the realm. She didn’t state her intention aloud, but her focus was clear: Grant Cee the ability to shift—at least for this tour.
The land absorbed the blood where it fell. It was just as concerning as the first time, but she couldn’t focus on the implications now. Within seconds, she and Cee fell to all fours, fur covering their bodies.
“Now that we’re all settled, we can begin the tour,”Orion said. Andie assumed this was spoken into both her and Cee’s minds as her sister’s head turned toward the pack leader.
“Do all spirits enter here?”Andie asked.As a veil cat herself now, her mouth didn’t move when she spoke, but she knew the cats could hear her—Cee included.
“They do,”Orion replied.“Though not all can cross the river.”
“Why not?”Cee challenged.
“What do you know about the balance on your continent?”Orion asked.
Something prickled beneath Andie’s fur at the question. It was one she’d asked herself many times. The way the land on the continent cried out to her—the way it demanded attention—something big was wrong. Andie just had no idea what.
Orion’s tail flicked again like he saw more in Andie’s feline reaction than she had hoped. Andie waited, wondering what Cee would say. Cee didn’t hear the land’s cries like she did. Did she know what the storms at home represented?
“I’ll assume not much,”he said when neither replied. However, his yellow-green eyes blinked directly at Andie before he continued.“Your gods of the continent—Aterra, Arctos,Aurora, and Zrak—are responsible for maintaining the balance there. You may have noticed they are doing a terrible job.”
“What have they done?”Cee pressed.
“We’re not their keepers,”Orion said with another twitch of his tail.“Though I would hazard to guess it’s not so much what they’ve done, but what they haven’t done. Balance must be proactively maintained. In their immortal existence, they’ve become apathetic to the needs of those to whom they’re supposed to give care.”
“So, they’ve…ignored the humans on the continent?”Cee asked. Outrage bubbled beneath her voice. Andie could feel it even in this feline form.
“You’re missing the point,”Orion continued.“The balance on the continent is dangling by a thread. We wanted to bring to your attention the lack of care for its maintenance. The balance here, though suffering impacts from the continent’s unrest, is more actively preserved.”
“How is the balance here maintained?”Andie asked.
Andie wasn’t sure if it was possible, but she swore the cat smiled at her.“We’re so glad you asked. The river is the first way. Those who make it across can select where on the land they want to spend their existence.”
“What about those who don’t make it across?”Cee asked.
“They help to support the other’s existence. Their spirits still find rest—albeit a second existence of more solitude.”Orion’s green-yellow eyes met Andie’s like he was trying to tell her something but wouldn’t voice it.
“Show us,”Cee said.
They walked as a pack.It could have been hours, but Andie was lost in thought as Orion shared other information about the realm. Their life here seemed peaceful, and though they had responsibility, they hadn’t faced destruction like the twins were seeing on the continent.
Cee was quiet for the entire walk. Andie knew she was stewing over what the cats had shared. Had she really not known something bigger was wrong?
The fact that the seemingly natural disasters resulted from the god’s apathy was a blow but not entirely a surprise to Andie. She’d often wondered why the gods were silent in the face of their plight. Her real question now was—did humanity even stand a chance when these were the odds stacked against them? Combating the apathy of the gods seemed a tall order.
If Andie couldn’t save the continent, maybe she could preserve some part of human existence—even if it was only the afterlife.
They followed the river as it flowed. If Andie thought the place they fell into the water was dangerous, it was nothing compared to some of the rushing rapids they passed. The entry point was giving the spirits their best chance at crossing.
Andie glanced at Cee as they reached the point where the rushing river poured into a large lake.Her face was stubbornly resolute. The lake was surrounded by the same forest they’d walked through but abutted a prominent rock feature she couldn’t completely see. It was so tall, it pushed up beyond the trees. A waterfall trickled down from the unexplored heights, its constant patter the only disturbance to the lake. It was stunningly serene, but Andie couldn’t ignore the quiet gloom present.
“What is this place?”she asked.
“The Lake of Spirits,”Orion replied.“This is where spirits go if they cannot cross.”
