Mythic (NaNoWriMo14)

Chapter 34 - What Comes Out

A lifetime passed in the seventeen minutes Cayden managed to remain silent, watching the gleaming archway edged in the deity ribbons. 

He couldn't take it anymore. He had to ask. "How long does it take to repair a key in there?"

The violet skinned Mythic gave him a helpless look. "You say this like it's a common event. The scriptures and accounts I have read of recent key healings vary between thirty seconds and several hours. Never have I read of a Mythic healing another's key." 

And so, they waited. Waited for a glimpse of anything inside the portal's light so long that Cayden stopped counting. He grasped for the bond with his wandering mind, but Rena's end was murky. While it remained, he could glean nothing from it. It still didn't stop him from trying, even after the Order's group opted to sit inside the carriage rather than the ground. 

After nothing but the portal's white light for so long, it caught Cayden's attention when the shadows around it shifted in a familiar way. 

"Thought you didn't shadow walk inside the heartland," muttered Cayden as Kat appeared. 

"I don't," she said, dropping to a crouch beside him. "Special case, though. You've been out here for almost two hours. Has anythi--why is Nazine still out?" Kat's head turned, looking for her next question. "Where's Rena?" 

Cayden tightened his lips. "Nazine was too weak." 

Kat drew in a long, steadying breath. "It's done now, I suppose."

"Why are you here? Did the Order send you to check up on us?" 

"That," said Kat slowly. It was the tone that told Cayden he wasn't going to like the answer. "They've had me scouting the Unbound group that kidnapped us in the first place. The djinn moved their base, it's barely a day out from Leristith, and that's not even counting how much faster their land Mythics could get them there."

"They're starting, then," said Cayden. "The djinn's reclamation." 

"You know I have to tell the Order you're aware of the situation now you've said that, right?" said Kat. She sighed. "Of course you did. Don't blame me for the questions they're going to bombard you with later." 

"I was planning on telling them after Nazine's key was healed anyway," said Cayden. "Didn't exactly have time to start that conversation earlier, though I was hoping to turn it into some way to protect Rena from the Order." 

"She's stronger than you give her credit for," said Kat. "I don't know many Mythics I didn't train with that would have taken on the responsibility she did. I doubt any of them would have given up their key. I know I wouldn't have." 

Cayden snorted. "You've just laid out the exact reason I need to protect her," he said. "From her own damned self. I can't--wait, did you feel that?" 

Kat raised an eyebrow. "Feel what?" 

Cayden didn't answer her. His eyes were fixated on the white archway, or more specifically, the deity ribbons. No longer was their light steady, the silver threads alight with a constant glow--they were flickering. Slowly at first, but soon, the light that kept the archway whole began to fade, reversing the process that had brought it to life.  

He was on his feet in an instant. 

"Is that supposed to happen?" he called back over his shoulder. "Is the portal disappearing without giving her back?" Chaos--if Rena didn't come back, if he didn't get Nazine's key, it was all for nothing. He'd have lost them both. Andre. Freya. Brianna. They couldn't have all died for nothing. 

The deity ribbons sang as their light extinguished in one single, brilliant flash that stung Cayden's eyes. They watered as he blinked it away. Everything was bright, like he was staring into the darkness after watching a fire for too long. It was blurred and faded, but he had to see.