Sapphire (33 page)

Everything was light; the world had been engulfed by
the sun. Shawna could feel the arms of Orin, her mother, and her
father around her, but she couldn’t open her eyes to see them. She
thought they would all follow Lorna’s demise, reduced to scraps of
paper-thin ash. She dared to raise her eyelashes a millimeter, then
to raise them a bit more. She fully opened her eyes and looked
around. The whole castle had changed. It was no longer the dark,
dreary, disintegrating rubble from before. It had been remade into
its former glory. She realized the light was glowing from between
every stone, the ceiling, walls, and floor. Her parents opened
their eyes. Orin then opened his and, before looking at anything
else, looked straight at her.

“Are you all right? What happened?” he asked.

“The necklace, it—” but she didn’t have to
finish.

He looked at the space where Lorna had stood moments
before, torturing him. There was no remorse in his face when he
rose and walked over to the nearest window. As he stood looking
through the open wood and iron shutters, his expression quickly
became the darkest thing in the room.

“Shawna.”

“You can call me Ava.”

He didn’t look around. “What?”

She walked towards him. “You can call me Ava. That’s
my real name.”

Ava.
It was time to shed the name John and
Mary had given her, and instead embrace the one given by those that
truly loved her. She felt like she was meeting someone new; someone
who felt strong, determined, and yet frightening to set free. It
was like ripping from a cocoon that had held her captive and half
alive for years.
Ava.

When she looked up at Orin, his eyes made nervous
shadows fall over her own. She followed his gaze, and the morning
sun revealed what lay below. The entire valley and surrounding
mountain range, as far as she could see, was buried under molochs.
Seething masses of their life-less armies covered the earth while
far below the window’s ledge, on a tiny patch of grass, her friends
were about to join those deadly ranks. Mira reared at the molochs
that were stepping closer to the weakening wall of fire, Antares
roared, and Lula threw what strength in her spells she had left.
They wouldn’t last much longer.

As Ava turned to help her friends, though she had no
idea what she could do, something flashed in the periphery of her
vision. It was her necklace. It glowed upon a beautiful rug weaving
a scene of white kayi-elk leaping through the seasons. As she
walked over to it, she noticed that the castle was dimming, the
light fading from the walls and turning back into solid mortar. The
only things illuminating the room, besides the fire and faint
sunshine, were the four sapphires.

Four?
She slowly picked them up.

The leather strap had also changed into a bright
silver chain running through all the stones. She picked it up and
gasped.

“What is it?” her father asked, striding over, while
her mother looked from the window to her daughter.

“The chain,” Ava said. “It’s not silver, it’s
just…light, but it feels like metal, and it’s warm.”

“Amazing,” he said, marveling at it. “Shall I?”

He took it from her, placed the shining necklace
around her neck, and fastened it. The sapphires glowed faintly, and
she drew her crystal blade. Without thinking about it, feeling
nothing but the desire to protect those who had protected her for
so long, she turned and walked to the window, then leapt onto its
ledge. She saw Mira, Antares, and Lula backed against the wall, the
flames almost gone, the molochs pushing towards them.

“Shaw…Ava!” Orin grabbed her arm. “What are you
doing?!”

“Trust me,” she said, then jumped from the window to
the island of grass a hundred feet below.

“Ava!” She heard him and her parents shout as she
fell.

She didn’t
know
why she thought leaping from
a window a hundred feet in the air was a good idea. She just felt
it to the very depth of her being, the synapses of her mind, and
fibers of her beating heart, that she would be okay. The sapphires
flared to life, beams whirling around her as they had around Lorna,
but they did not incinerate her, they guided her gently to the
ground.

Lula squealed first, hovering the highest above
everyone else, when she saw Ava slowly floating down with tendrils
of light wrapped around her. Mira and Antares watched as she landed
and the light faded back into the stones.

“What was
that?
” Lula said, flying over in
front of Ava’s face. “You disappear, then the next morning float
out a window of a hidden castle covered in magical light?!”

“I…uh.” She was unsure of what to say, or how to
explain in three seconds what had happened since she’d left them
all.

Lula threw up her hand before Shawna could continue
stuttering. “Tell us later, as you can see we are in need of some
help.” She glared at the molochs only feet away behind the
shrinking wall of flame.

“I know, Lula. That’s why I—” but Lula zipped over,
landed on her shoulder, and hugged her neck.

“That’s why you came to save us, right? That’s so
sweet of you. Are we climbing the wall? Or is your magic light
going to lift us up to the castle?”

Ava smiled at Lula’s unquenchable optimism, looked
around at Mira, Antares, and said, “I have
no
idea.”

“Splendid,” Lula said enthusiastically, flying off
Ava’s shoulder with her arms up as if she’d just won something.
“Antares!” She pointed at him, and he scowled back. “New plan.
Start eating monsters!”

His scowl deepened.

Ava couldn’t help a little laugh at how, even in the
face of such imminent doom, Lula could joke and smile. Antares
looked like he didn’t get the joke. A moloch tried to push its way
through the fire, but Antares turned and threw a whip of lightning
before it could even finish its menacing snarl. Mira, who had been
engrossed in keeping the flames alive, stamped her hoof and new
white fire ignited where the moloch had been. She hung her head,
bent her legs, and with great effort pulled herself up again. Her
horn kept flaring then dulling back to silver along with the rising
then subsiding fire.

This brought Ava back to the gravity of the
situation. She walked over and put her hand on Mira’s hot side. She
was breathing heavily.

“Shawna?” she said, rolling an eye up at her. “You
have changed.”

She said it like a fact she had been waiting
for.

“Ava,” she corrected Mira.

Mira smiled with her eyes. “Ava.”

The white flames were flickering ever lower. She
took her hand from Mira’s side and stepped towards the fire. The
molochs went completely wild. She focused on creating a barrier
between them, and as soon as she honed the thought, blue light
crackled forth from the earth, entangling the legs of the nearest
creatures. Both Ava and the molochs jumped back in surprise, and
the snapping bolts of light vanished. Quickly she stepped forward
and tried again. This time every moloch she could see was suddenly
wrapped in whipping vines of light. They thrashed and howled, but
she didn’t let her focus waver. Lula had nearly forgotten her part
in upholding the shield upon seeing her friend’s new power.

Lula squeaked and sneezed when a grinding noise
turned all their attention to the wall behind them. The stones were
disintegrating from the inside, turning into a fine dust. A faint
voice echoed from inside. Soon there was nothing but dust swirling
where the solid rock had been. A hole large enough for all of them
started to appear as the dust canopied over them like a dark cloud.
Lula squeaked again when she saw who stood within the opening.

“Inside!” yelled Adhara, still keeping the sand
storm high overhead.

Lula forgot to keep beating her iridescent little
wings for a moment and dropped a foot before catching herself. She
watched Ava run inside and beckon them all to follow.

“But, but,” Lula stammered, seeing the striking
family resemblance. “But she’s…isn’t she?”

“No,” said Ava, waving her in. “I’ll explain. Hurry
up!”

As soon as Lula flew through, blinking like her
lashes would catch something that made sense, Mira’s fire vanished.
Antares and Mira followed, and the first line of molochs saw their
chance. They surged forward. Mira leapt through the opening and the
swirling sand coalesced behind her, melting into hot magma. A
moloch howled, caught in the wall of molten rock, before it burned
and evaporated. Warwick rushed forward and turned the magma to
rough opaque glass with a touch of his hands. Adhara immediately
threw her arms around Ava.

Something smacked Antares on top of his head. He
snarled, his dark red eyes crossed as he glared up between his ears
at Lula.

“I don’t….get it,” she said, staring between Adhara,
Ava, and Warwick.

Ava was about to reply, but Mira’s frantic voice cut
her off, “Adhara’s not who you thought, and that’s all you need to
know for now. No time to explain. Right now, we
need
to find
the last realm. There isn’t much time! For all that is sacred,
where
is
that old woman?”

Everyone raised their eyebrows, or whiskers, to
stare at Mira.

“Yes?” Mira asked, like she hadn’t said anything at
all strange.

“Did you eat some babble-weed?” said Lula. “Because
you’re babbling.”

Mira just flicked an ear back and snorted. “Of
course not. I’d never, I don’t, that’s an…that’s…
irrelevant
.
The fourth realm has been opened.”

“The stone,” said Ava. “It became a sapphire! But
where’s the fourth realm?”

“The
castle
is the fourth realm, of course.”
Mira looked around at them all like they were a few flies short of
a meadow muffin. “Lesath’s realm will be revealed again now that
only one sapphire remains.”

Ava wasn’t the only one looking around with her
mouth hanging open. “But, where’s the guardian?”

“
You
are the guardian.” Mira pointed her nose
at her. “Every daughter born of your family, since the dawn of
mankind, has always been chosen and stood guardian over your
realm.”

Ava opened her mouth a few times before words
finally came out. “I—I’m…the
guardian?
”

Lula raised a little hand. “Am
I
a, uh…a
guardian as well?”

“There are guardians for every race,” said Mira,
“but you are not one of them.” Lula looked disappointed then
relieved as Mira went on. “The Fairie folk are a very ancient race,
but it has been long ages since you have intervened in matters
concerning the realms.” Then she muttered, “Even when one is on the
brink of destruction.”

“Oh,” said Lula. “Well, then, since that’s
established can I just go home now?”

“By all means,” growled Antares, rolling his eyes up
at her still standing between his ears.

Lula stamped her foot on his head. “Don’t do that.
You’re looking up my dress.”

Ava glanced at Orin. He hadn’t said a word all this
time, but also hadn’t taken his eyes off her.

“Well,” croaked an old familiar voice from the
doorway. “What’re you all standing around for? Isn’t there another
realm to be found?”

“Capella!” said Ava, but then something else
surprised her even more than Capella’s sudden appearance.

“
Sparkle?
” squealed Lula as the pink bat
flapped into the room and ungracefully flopped onto Ava’s
shoulder.

“Don’t worry,” said Capella, seeing Ava’s concern.
“It really is him. Found the useless powder-puff barely breathing
in the forest not long after you all left. Looked like he’d been
attacked.” She shook her dreads and Chester croaked from somewhere
within. “Don’t know why I bother. At least you got the message even
though it was by Gavan’s hand, or wing. Much good it did. I was
afraid that
boy
”—she jerked a thumb at Orin—“would be a
problem. But I guess you’ve worked things out.”

Orin looked like he’d just been slapped by Lula
again. Ava shook her head at him and grinned when his face reddened
with a suppressed retort. Lula flew up and patted the already
drowsing bat on the head. Sparkle squeaked happily.

“Oh I see you’re still alive,” said Capella, looking
at Lula with a smile.

It was wiped off her face a moment later as Lula
flew at her neck and gave her a big hug. Ava could have sworn she
almost saw tears in Capella’s eyes.

“Yes, yes, very touching. A bit
too
touching,” Capella said, looking awkward.

Lula let go and hovered in front of Capella’s face,
smiling with her hands clasped under her chin.

Capella chuckled. “What’s wrong with you, you little
mosquito? Acting like you’d never see me again.”

“But we
did
think we might never see you
again,” said Ava. “How did you know where we were, or even get
here?” She glanced at the dozing bat on her shoulder. “You’re sure
this
is
Sparkle, right?”

Capella hobbled over to a chair Adhara had
positioned for her. The two embraced like old friends before she
sat down and peered at Ava. Everyone but Mira and Warwick was
looking between Adhara and Capella, completely confused. Ava felt
like her brain was twisting into knots and it must have shown on
her face.

Capella snorted. “Why, I don’t think you’re the
fourth guardian at all. You’re dumb as a grub. Honestly girl, if
you can’t figure out who we are and how I knew where you were, we
might as well put our feet up, and have a nice strong drink,
because we won’t be going anywhere soon.”

Orin’s eyes narrowed, and his fingers curled like he
was getting ready to defend Ava’s honor in a fist-fight against an
old woman.

“You’re the three sisters!” Ava blurted out. “The
ones from the Mirror of Acumen. The ones who—”

Capella threw her hands up. “Put away the drinks,
she’s figured it out. Yes, your mother and I, and that brat of a
sister, Lorna, are the ones that got us into this mess all that
time ago. Sorry about that, by the way.”