Starborn

Chapter 16

It happened so fast, seeing my Auryn ripped from my body and my mind going blank afterward. But it was strange- I could still feel my body being dragged and faintly hear Kenric commanding incoherent orders. It isn't until I'm shaken roughly that my eyes finally open.

"Wha..."

I can faintly see something lying before me. It's an iron box with a soft velvet interior, and on a pair of hinges is a lid with a small window right where my head would be. It reminds me of a coffin. It's connected to a large slab of metal with a thick pipe connected to the ceiling.

"Hop in," I hear a gruff voice say. "Everyone else is waiting for you."

I see another four pods connected to the same centerpiece- five points, like a star. Gently stepping inside and laying down, a pair of hands strap me in with leather belts. It's a dirty young man with a thick apron covering his torso and a rag over his head. He nods before slowly shutting the lid, and I hear a few locks being fastened. Then, with a low whirring, my pod rises upright, and I look down to see a large opening in the floor.

The ground gives below me, and I fall quickly. I hear Duncan and Charlotte screaming for dear life. The wind rushes against the outside of whatever we're in, and I look down to see the ground coming faster and faster. Then, when the land comes too close, I close my eyes again.

CRAAAAASH!

I shudder a bit, then I open my eyes and see nothing but a trail carving through the bottom of a mountain. Then, after some more clinking sounds, the clear covering pops open, and Kenric bursts out and beats his chest with enthusiasm.

"Ha! Never gets old!" Kenric says with a chuckle.

As he helps me unfasten my belt, I try to stay on my feet and walk far enough to look backward. The contraption is conjoined to a chain leading up to the sky. But when I look up, I can't see the White Lion.

Duncan holds his stomach as he, Charlotte, and Roland exit their pods and look to the sky. Kenric gives a signal, and the pods start rising with little jerks like someone is pulling the whole thing up with their bare hands.

"Where's the Lion?" Charlotte asks.

"Don't worry about her," Kenric says. "It's got a special kind of reflective paint on its hull. 'Makes it blend into the sky. As long as it stays in place, y' won't be able to tell it from another patch of the night."

Kenric reaches into his pod, pulls out a large pack, and hoists the strap over his shoulder. It bumps against his ax, which glistens in the setting sunlight.

"What're we waitin' for?!"

Mosleum comes into view after only a bit of climbing through the valley. I can hear music from the city, even from where we are. The windmill in the center is still turning, and the emblem at its top is more distinguishable- it's a model of the sun with a disturbing face. We hide behind a few standing rocks as Kenric unpacks his satchel. I notice a bridge over the moat that leads into the city- the only entrance. I still have that Adder Stone from Theoton, and when I peer through its hole, I look at some of the people in sight.

Not one shows a little black wisp within them. Or even an Auryn.

"Where are the Shadowhearts?" I ask. "Isn't this their territory?"

"Sure, but it ain't like they're holding the place for themselves," Kenric says. "Anyone's welcome inside, pure or not. Anyone with money that is."

"That seems kind of moronic on their part," Roland says.

"Maybe, maybe not," Kenric says. "It shouldn't matter. Nobody comes here to stay pure. That's what's so special about Mosleum. It's a place in the middle of nowhere where y' don't have to worry about judgemental eyes watching over y'. Y' don't even have to be y'self here. Y' can just feel free."