S’Kir
Land of the Unseen Gods
“Wise and intelligent beyond our understanding, the protective magic raised the mountain and locked the gates, forever.”
The children followed the images in the book as they carefully turned in an arc so they could all see.
“Although, in the silence of night, if you listen with your magic and your heart, you can hear the rocks whispering, love must awaken. Once love awakens, then our wisdom will shine, and two worlds will unite.”
I slowly closed the book and smiled at the children sitting in the half circle. They started clapping, and as young as they were the applause was enthusiastic.
A bit too much so for a little one named Bershat.
His joyful hands conjured the small magic he had started to show. He startled himself with the little fireworks sparking from his fingers, his wide eyes adorable of his small face.
“Oh, my! Bershat!” I chuckled. Placing the ancient book to the side, I took hold of the young boy’s hands in mine. Frightened, he quivered as tears appeared in the corners of his eyes. I murmured, “No, no, Bershat. You’re fine. It’s just a bit of your magic. You’re nearly seven now, and it’s going to start happening. It’s a good thing!”
He whispered in awe, “Magic, Miss Raven? Like the story?”
“Oh, yes. Yes, just like that. Wise and intelligent, but magic is in all of us. And yours is starting to appear. It means you’re growing up.”
I glanced at the students—the oldest of the children at the temple and the joy of my day. “Your parents have trusted me to teach you all you need to know before your magic appears. And when I see your magic, as I have in Bershat, I know that it’s almost time to send you to the S’Kir Amphat School. There you’ll have different lessons. You’ll get to learn to use your magic and grow it.”
Holding my hand up, I pulled in a little of my magic. I spun a small, glittering tornado for all of them to see.
As the children were transfixed and enchanted by the whirling glitter, I smiled to myself as I looked around at these little minds. As one of the youngest acolytes—honored keepers of the Temple of the Lost God—my job was to teach the children until they showed their magic. Bershat would move to the Amphat School in a few weeks.
Dispelling the glitter, I clapped my hands to make sure the students were listening. “All right, everyone, I think we’ve had enough excitement for today. Let’s get your jackets and head on home. Remember to tell your parents about your lessons and that we’ll have a recital next week.”
My little prodigies leapt to their feet and raced for their jackets and bags. Each of their items hung near the entrance of the temple classroom.
I kept an eye on them as they tumbled out of the brightly colored room onto the walkways of S’Kir Prime, our capital city.
“Miss Raven?” Tillini, the youngest of this class, stood sheepish, clutching a book to her chest.
“Yes, Tilli?”
“Miss Raven, will I ever get my magic?”
“Of course, Tilli. Why would you think that you wouldn’t?”
“Because I don’t have a daddy.”
I knelt down, my heart trembling with her innocence. “You do have a daddy, Tilli. He died on the Mountain Watch, remember?”
“Doesn’t that take my magic away?”
“Goodness, Tilli. Who told you that?”
“Griffin.”
Of course, Griffin. I would have a talk with him before class tomorrow. He was a storyteller, and I had been desperately trying to redirect his stories away from his classmates. He didn’t need to scare them.
“That’s not true. Your father died in an accident on the mountain. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t going to have magic.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely.”
Her whole attitude changed. “Thank you, Miss Raven!” She skipped off and jumped down the full set of stairs. Every student jumped down the stairs, and every student nearly gave me a heart attack when they did.
My own sweater and bag waited by the door, and after retrieving them, I made my way back through the temple. I walked by the altar, made my daily obeisance to the Lost God, and ambled out into the city, thinking about my life.
I loved the students, but I had decisions to make.
Not fully a priestess, I wasn’t sure I wanted to move on from acolyte status. I respected the temple, but dedicating my life, my long immortal life, to a lost god didn’t always seem a good idea. I had too much fun being able to leave at the end of the day. I enjoyed time with my friends, the theater, swimming, and excellent restaurants.
Becoming entirely dedicated to the God, I would have to give up my life as I knew it now for hours of scrying, constant research, hours of waiting and watching, trekking to the gate and the mountain to examine either for change.
Only a few of my acquaintances would become the other acolytes and priests dedicated to the Lost God with me.
“Deep in thought again, my lady?”
A step away from crashing into one of my oldest and dearest friends, I looked up just in time and pulled to a halt.
Happy to see him, I grinned. “Always, Elex. It’s the nature of the acolyte to spend time in contemplation.”
Elex had such a kind smile, it reaching all the way to his eyes. “Methinks you’re considering finding a teaching position soon that isn’t in the temple. And you’re wondering what kind of trouble we can get into tonight.”
Smirking, I teased, “Trouble? In S’Kir? How dare you suggest such a thing!” S’Kir Prime did have its problems, as was the nature of the mischievous druids, but never more than a small share.
He nodded in the direction of another street. “Come on. We have reservations for dinner, and then we’re going to head over to the Mountain Park for games. Is your leg feeling better?”
“Oh, no.” I huffed. “We’re not playing that game again, are we, Elex? Oh, please no.”
Still laughing, he put his arm around me. “No, no. We’re going to watch a better team play. We’re clearly not cut out for it. But there are a few leagues, and we can watch them battle it out.”
My terror at playing that silly game where I’d hurt myself must have been evident on my face. Elex continued to chuckle at me even as we walked into the restaurant.
Dinner was exquisite, as always. Drez, the head chef, was magic with food. Every year, her fare became more and more amazing, and, our group, her willing guinea pigs. Always trying new combinations and new spices, sauces, and techniques on us, but none of us complained—not for food that magnificent.
Heading for the Mountain Park, our friends—Jallina and Arik—ran from another street to catch up with us.
Mountain Park was just that—a park at the foot of the mountain.
The S’Tisk Mountain, the most massive peak in the spine, threw shadows on S’Kir Prime as the sun sank. The streets and buildings shone in the late sun anyway, with the buildings made of white. It was only on the shortest days of the year that any true shadow fell on the city.
The magic of S’Kir raised the massive spine of mountain to keep us from the vampires on the other side. The story said the vampires were wicked and the magic of our island decided the druids needed to be protected. But I didn’t necessarily believe it, nor did my superiors.
The simple tale was the story told to children.
There were very few druids alive who remembered when there was no mountain. The individuals who did didn’t talk about it. Only those with wisdom accepted that the mountain and the magic had reason without imparting the reason for the rising—or the locking of the Gate.
What we did know for certain?
One day, it would fall.
One day, we would reunite with the vampires.
Jallina and Arik fell in step with us as we headed for the game of esalhukhi, the very game that made me—the youngest of the group at just ninety-five—sprain my knee so severely that I’d needed a healer to come tend my injury.
Amused, Jallina pointed to my knee as we walked. “Even the memory of the injury makes you limp?”
“Hush! You have no idea what pain that was!” I couldn’t stay mad though, as a giggle escaped me.
“Did you not play sports as a child?” Elex glanced over. “You work with children; you know they’re rough.”
I rolled my eyes. “Bookworm, Elex, remember?”
“Even so young?” he questioned.
“Yes.” I nodded firmly. “Why do you think I’m an acolyte at the temple? My parents saw I wasn’t an athlete at a very young age and let me read. Which is what I should have insisted on doing instead of getting tripped with a cheater’s stick!”
The truth was I wasn’t mad. It had been fun, but I really wasn’t a very good athlete. Books were everything to me. I loved reading and learning, and for eighty years, I had been doing just that in the temple.
As we all strolled toward the mountain, an epiphany overcame my thoughts. I didn’t have to make up my mind about my position at the temple, because I did want to remain an acolyte. I wasn’t interested in forsaking the company of my friends—especially Elex—and I certainly wasn’t willing to have the temple be my only existence. So many of the wise teachers had said, education is not just learning. Doing, and being, and seeing and witnessing—all of it was part of life.
I wanted that.
And perhaps, someday, a mate and children.
I was entirely too young for that, though.
Finding seats in the amphitheater, the esalhukhi teams had started their on-field battle.
Even as I tried to pay attention, something…
…something plucked at me.
The amphitheater faded into the background, even as the game became more intense. A surge in my power, an odd rush in my ears.
Something tried to pull me away.
A tickle.
An itch.
It called to me…
I needed to turn around and stare up at the massive, airless peak of the mountain.
Stronger and stronger as I sat there, the feeling drove through me, permeating every nook of my mind, and eventually, I couldn’t resist it.
I looked to Elex. “Do you feel that?”
Startled, Elex glanced at the crowd and stadia around us. “Feel what? An earthquake?”
My eyes landed back on the tall, now-threatening peak behind us. “The mountain. It’s…”
He craned his neck around, his dark green eyes scanning the mountain. His black, thick long hair ruffled in the pleasant breeze, caressing his cheeks. He studied Mount S’Tisk, as a trained geologist would, eventually turning back to me. “There’s nothing there, Kimber. It’s as it’s always been.”
I tipped my head back to try to see the peak, but as usual, it was impossible from so close to the base.
Still, the itch grew.
Ignoring it wasn’t an option.
With a gentle touch, I placed my right palm on my friend’s muscular forearm. “Something’s going on, Elex. I’ll be back.”
I jumped to my feet and climbed over him and two others. The aisle was clear, and I scampered out of the amphitheater toward the mountain.
The itch grew, my spine straightening.
“Kimber!” Elex caught up before I made it very far, his long legs eating up the space I’d put between us. “What in the world are you doing? There’s nothing there. The mountain hasn’t ever moved, save for a small tremor here or there.”
“There’s something, Elex. It’s pulling me toward it, trying to tell me something.”
“Oh, for… You’ve been in that temple too long.”
I stared at him, hard. “You don’t believe me.”
“No, I don’t.”
Rolling my eyes, I marched toward the mountain.
It was a very odd mountain, growing straight out of the ground to an astounding height, the sheer cliffs and drop-offs peppered the vertical climbs, and dangerous spires and crevasses broke up the climbs even more. Even as the best mountaineer made their way up the side, no one had ever crossed over because there was no end to it. There was no way to cross the peak, and the peak ran like a spine the length of S’Kir, all two hundred leagues.
The magic hadn’t been messing around when it lifted the land.
Caves dotted the bottom, and animals, residents, even hidden water springs, lurked inside. None went more than a half league in before ending abruptly, but the water there was sweeter than any other in S’Kir.
One of these caves was the origin of the itch. I headed straight for the opening that called me, without regard for the danger I could be marching into.
Elex, however, lacked my enthusiasm for an impromptu spelunking expedition. He grabbed my arm. “Kimber. Stop. We aren’t prepared for this.”
How right he was.
“I’m going in there, Elex. With or without you. I need to find out what’s going on. This is—” I halted my words as I realized what was going on, and I couldn’t contain my surprise. “This is magic.”
“We’re drenched in magic.” Skepticism, not magic, dripped off Elex’s words.
“No, this is the mountain’s magic, pulling me toward it. Telling me to discover what’s inside.”
For all my years in the temple, this was the first time the magic had reached out to me instead of me reaching for it. It pulled on me, asking me to come and find it, deep within the cave I was standing at the mouth of.
I held my palm out and up, and a globe of light appeared, hovering there. “I’m going in, Elex. I’m an acolyte. If the magic calls, I answer.”
Not waiting for his answer, I passed into the mouth of the cave. I made sure the globe of light would stay where it was and let it float ahead of me. I was going to need more than one of the globes to dispel the darkness of the cave if the first few hundred feet were any indication.
Inclining sharply, boulders of all sizes from bitty to gigantic littered the ground. There was hardscrabble between each of them, making footing dangerous and unstable. Still, they could be useful as I grabbed the boulders around me as handholds. I climbed into the shadows and through the rocks to get to a platform that allowed me to catch my breath and let my muscles rest.
The entrance wasn’t all that far behind.
This was going to be a hard climb.
Elex stumbled into a rock next to me, panting. “You’re insane, Kimber.”
In the light of my magic, I grinned. “Who followed me in, though?”
He grumbled, “To save your ass, if need be.”
Glancing ahead, I could see there was only more darkness. “Do we know if anyone has explored this cave?”
“They’ve all been explored. But when and how much is the real question.” Elex sighed, giving the cave a perfunctory study. “I think this is Cave S’Kir Prime Park North Twelve, but I can’t be sure. It fits the profile, a sharp incline, and a boulder-strewn entrance. It’s been explored, pretty deeply if it is, and we’ll have a slow incline from now on.”
“Well, we’ll just have to explore it too.”
He gripped my arm. “Please, Kimber. Think about this. If you really want to go forward with this insane plan, let’s get the proper equipment. For the love of the Lost God, you’re wearing sandals.”
I shook my head. “No. We have to go now. I have to go now. You don’t have to come with me. But I have to do this.” Pursing my lips, I studied the rocks and walls of the cave and absently pried his warm fingers from my arm. “This is the first time I’ve ever had the magic tell me what I needed to do. So I have to.”
“I won’t let you go alone. If you break your leg, I can go for help.”
I nodded into the cave. “Let’s go. I need to find out what this is. I’ve never—”
How could I ever describe what it felt like to have the magic pulling on me? There was an urgency to it, as if I needed to be somewhere immediately or I’d miss a spectacular event. Elex didn’t need much more convincing than I had given him, so we trekked deeper into the cave.
It was a desperate urge.
The itch called…
I’m coming. I’m coming.
So desperate, I began to run.
I’m coming. I’m coming!
“Breathe, Kimber. Breathe.” Elex pulled me to a stop, allowing me—and him—catch our breath.
Before he could scold me further, the magic shifted.
My light shook in the air and was yanked to the right.
Even Elex couldn’t miss that.
He stood up straighter, searching the cave with a glance. “What in the name of all that is holy?”
“This way,” I said and then maneuvered around the boulders, toward the light. The cave grew narrower and sloped down.
I didn’t travel another twenty paces before Elex pulled me to yet another halt. “No, Kimber. Stop. This part of the cave hasn’t been explored.”
“How do you know?” I asked in annoyance.
Pointing to the archway leading into the small side cavern we were in, Elex gruffed, “If it had been explored, a green medallion would have appeared when we walked by. There was nothing. There was…” Staring down at the ground, his brow wrinkled, and confusion washed over his features. “There are no footprints in the dirt here.”
“Well, if no one has been here—”
“No, you don’t understand. There are no footprints in the dirt here. None, save ours. I was wrong before. No one has even approached this cave. No one knows it’s here.” Spinning around, Elex’s expression flipped from confused to excitement. “We have to go back. We have to get the right equipment, the right documentation, spotters, communication, mapping—”
“Stop.” My word was simple, direct.
It stopped him dead.
“Listen to me. The magic is telling me I have to be here. To go this way. So I need to. And that’s as far as I’m discussing this. Come with me or not.”
“We can go, but let us get the equipment.”
“Let me try this. It might help you understand.” I wrapped my hand around his arm and opened us to the magic around us.
Elex’s eyes sparked in shock, and he inhaled sharply. “Is that what you feel right now?”
“Yes.” I smirked, my hazel eyes sparkling with eagerness. “That’s why I am going to continue into this cave and listen to what the magic is telling me to do.”
He finally understood and merely nodded in agreement. I ducked further into the cavern, following the magic deeper. Elex kept close behind, and lent magic toward my light, the beams brightening. The silence followed us.
The cavern led down, down again, and at some point, crossed under the cave above. I didn’t understand how this branch had never been explored, but mysteries were an adrenaline rush to the system, my hands shaking down by my sides.
The cave trembled around us.
Elex yanked me back against him by my waist. “Kimber, this is not safe.”
Shaking my head, I spun in his grasp and faced him. “Stop. It’s not going to crumble. Can’t you feel that through the magic?”
“No.”
I found that disconcerting, but I didn’t have time to think about it. The shaking rocks compelled me on.
I went.
Deeper and deeper, faster and faster, until I was close to running again. The passageway curled in the other direction this time, taking us in a new route. I rounded a corner and halted sharply.
Elex slammed right into my back. The deep breath he drew to yell at me, he released in a shocked huff.
The cavern beyond was massive and beautiful.
Streaks and cracks packed with colors and light striped the walls. All the glimmering colors of the rainbow shone in the crystals dotting the stone. Thrumming with magic, pulsing with light and life, this was the source of the call.
The cave trembled again.
We both took another step forward.
The rocks peeled further in the tremors, crumbling into dust. Not pebbles or boulders, but dusty powder coated the floor.
Magic pulsed through the room, taking our breath from our lungs. I put a hand to my chest, trying to draw a breath, and stared.
There was so much power.
Love.
“What is this?” Elex asked, breathless.
“The mountain is breaking.” I could scarcely believe my own words.
Elex grabbed me and turned me to face him. “What?”
“The mountain is breaking. The chosen love is awakening.” I blinked up at him. “The legend is true. The chosen love is awakening! Can you feel it?”
His expressive dark green gaze stared in wonder.
I recited the poem from our childhoods.
“Magic is life.
Without magic, we are nothing.
Without life, there is no magic.
Life is magic.”
Working his jaw, Elex could find no words for what we stared at. “But it was all a story. Just a story.”
“The Temple of the Lost God exists because these aren’t stories. They’re history, Elex.” I closed my eyes, relishing the love in the air. “This is amazing! It’s the beginning of the mountain coming down, reuniting the two halves of S’Kir. The gate will open again.”
Whirling out of his arms, I danced toward the wall with so many crystals pulsing with stunning colors.
Elex stepped next to me, hovering.
I chided, “Please relax, Elex. Nothing is going to happen.”
He cast his wary gaze at the cavern, muttering under his breath, “Something already has.”
I giggled. Because that was true.
But the magic itch called to me again.
Pulling me in… Daring me closer…
I couldn’t resist a moment longer.
With a careful hand, I reached out and made contact with the pulsing rocks. Oddly soft, gentle, yet firm, the magic instructed…
It is not time yet. But soon.
Elex choked, still under the spell. “My God. Have you always felt the magic like this?”
“Not until just now. It so rarely speaks to me.” Withdrawing my hand, thrill and excitement danced through my veins.
This was what the temple was waiting for and was why they existed at all—the gates, the mountain, the return of the God.
“I have to get back. I have to tell High Master Dorian and the Chiefs of the Temple. Oh, Elex! There’s going to be so much celebration! So much joy and happiness! The God is going to return to us!” I clasped his arms and whirled us through the light of the room. The joy bubbled up from deep inside and exploded out of me—laughing and laughing, the sound bouncing off the walls.
Elex pulled me to a stop, and I giggled from being so dizzy. Holding me still to keep me from falling over for a moment, I leaned into him, still laughing.
Elex’s voice brushed against my skin. “Kimber, the crystals are flashing with your laughter.”
My humor tapered off.
It was plain to see he was right.
My jaw hung wide open.
Elex caught my eye, and in the sparkle of the crystal lights, I saw something there I’d never seen before. And yet, somehow, I knew it had been there all along.
Elex kissed me. His lips were warm and soft, and I wasn’t surprised. I’d imagined they’d be delicious. I joined the kiss, allowing him to possess my mouth, and, in return, I possessed his.
He tasted as sweet as any dessert I’d ever had.
Our embrace didn’t end so much as tapered away, neither of us really wanting to let it go.
“You have to tell the temple,” he said.
“I have to tell the temple,” I parroted.
“I’m going with you.”
“No.”
“I’m going to be with you. Through all of this.” His words were serious, and his eyes were still sparkling with honesty.
“No, Elex, I have to speak to Master Dorian alone. I can’t… The temple won’t allow you in so far.”
“You can’t do this alone.”
“I have to speak to Dorian by myself.”
Torn, his eyes glided over my face. “This power is too much to face by yourself.”
“I don’t have to face this power alone, just Dorian and the council. It’s the way it is. If you wish to help me—”
“I do.”
“—then let me do this.”
Again, his eyes were memorizing. “Wasn’t the kiss enough to convince you I need to help you?”
I grinned. “More than.”
“Then… What?”
“You can help me after. There’ll be so much to do! But the magic told me this is my responsibility, and I’m the only one who can get that deep into the temple.”
“But you will come to me.” A quiet demand.
My lips twitched. “Oh, in oh so many ways.”
Worry drained from his features. “May I act upon the innuendo you’re implying?”
“I’ll be disappointed if you don’t.”
“Then, let’s get you to the temple.” This time, his laugh rang through the cavern as he took my hand in his, pulling me along. “We have a discovery to report.”