The Colorless Land

Chapter 39: The Walls Close In

The place Elisya had been looking for was dark, full of ever-shifting walls and pathways that made no sense. It was easy to get lost here in this labyrinth, and that had been exactly the intention of the person who had made it. But Elisya knew the way. She let her instincts guide her.

At length her footsteps led her to a door that seemed to appear in the wall in front of her out of nowhere. Elisya pushed it open and fearlessly stepped into the shadows inside.

The form that awaited her was ever-shifting. One second they were a small child, the next an old man without hair or teeth, then a noblewoman in shimmering fabrics, then a force of nature, only faintly humanoid. Elisya was unfazed. Changing shapes and faces was part of this spirit's nature.

"What," they said, the pitch of their voice changing along with their appearance, "are you doing here?"

Elisya smiled, stepping close to them even as they turned into a whipping tornado, the wind pulling at her hair and garments. "Like you probably guessed," she said, "I am here to talk to you."

The tornado disappeared. Where it had been circling and swirling there now stood a half-grown youth dressed in rags and covered in dirt.

"Talk?" Fate repeated, pausing their endless transformations for a brief moment. "Why would you want to talk to the spirit who was exiled?"

"To ask for your help." Elisya opened her arms, holding the spirit's gaze even as they shifted into a hooded, cloaked figure. "Why else should I go through the trouble of seeking you out?"

"Help, you say." Now a pregnant woman. "And the others can't do anything to help you?"

"They have never been willing. But you I never asked before."

An elderly butler. "For good reason, I think."

"Will you not hear me out?"

"What would be the point? I'm banished from the circles of the world. And even if I wasn't, I would never care about it again. Not after what they did."

Elisya set her jaw. She had guessed as much. But still she kept pushing.

"You are banished," she said. "But your powers are not."

Before her eyes the human-shaped flame paused in its dancing and flickering.

"What," Fate asked, "are you getting at?"

Elisya extended her hand, her fingertips almost brushing the flames.

"Frankly, Fate—no, Unmeya, as you used to be called." The burning orange cast reflections in her eyes. "I want to borrow your powers to restore peace on earth."

~ ~ ~

It was almost noon, and Saryana had been pacing the guest-room of their inn all morning.

"He's been gone for hours," she said under her breath, glancing hopefully towards the door whenever she heard footsteps, only to slump in disappointment when the sound passed it by. "What in the world is he doing?"

Evariel sat on the windowsill, staring out into the city. "I can't see him either," he said. "Maybe he's still in the palace somewhere."

"Oh, I'm sure he is," Saryana replied irritably. "The question is just if he's alive."

"It's Aithal," Evariel shot back. "This is his kingdom. He'll know what he's doing."

He didn't look like he expected that to work, but Saryana took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right," she said. "I've known him for all these years, I should believe in him."