The Misfortune of Distorted Truth

Someone Out There

The Jallap's beetle's voice was indeed like that of a bird's, squawky and hoarse. "Test?" it twittered excitedly. "Wow wow wow, a test, yes, the test, you could have mentioned that before you snatched me out of my home!" It stood on Joshie's hand, white fuzzy front legs on its hips in annoyance, but it burst into a smile. "I heard there might be violence!"
M scowled, but on the inside she was more terrified than angry. "That's not good!" The other two were frowning as well.
"Let's go somewhere more private," Joshie suggested hurriedly, her blonde hair whipping around her shoulders as she checked both ends of the tunnel. M, too, thought she heard footsteps - by the sound of it, Teahdeean footsteps. There were hooves clopping on the rough grey stone, wings rustling, perhaps even a faint murmur of conversation. As they grew louder, Joshie led her companions through the tunnel in the opposite direction, scanning for caves to dive into for cover. M could hear squeaking now, too, and distant chirping, and felt a chilly breeze slam into her face out of nowhere. She shuddered and patted down her windswept hair, spluttering as she brushed back black locks that had gotten caught in her mouth. Joshie and Asagwara did not seem to have had this problem.
Joshie abruptly ducked into a cave that was covered by light, beaded blue curtains the color of a summer sky over a foaming sea. Her friends followed suit. "What's this?" M asked, but it dawned on her before she received an answer. "Ohh." They has entered a somewhat circular chamber that was dimly lit by shiny jewels. A burbling waterfall was flowing into a shallow pool, flecks of water flying to moisten a small area of the dry ground around it. And, of course, there was the Sorrowturtle herself, slowly but surely smoothing rumpled sheets that covered a single bed. She looked up at the sound of three uninvited guests scuffling in; to M's surprise, she smiled at them.
"Mistresses Lyra and Joshilynn, and Sir Asagwara," the Sorrowturtle greeted, the loose, wrinkled, aged blue skin on her neck swaying gently as she turned. M reminded herself that she was a great deal older than she had been in Val's story. "So good to meet my newest - ah, Duygu's newest Wedhn." Her tiny bluish eyes, partly muddied with brown, were sad.
"I hope you'll excuse us barging in," said Joshie politely. "We thought we... heard someone coming."
"No one would want to be caught attempting to extract information about a private matter from a Jallap beetle, no, I understand." The Sorrowturtle's head bobbed and she released a deep sigh. "There is no need to try to hide him from me."
Joshie reluctantly opened her hands again, and there was the little beetle, shaking its hairy fist at her. Taking a closer look, M saw that he did indeed quite resemble a guitar, with five grey stripes going down his leathery wings, and several golden ones cutting across in the middle, like frets. There was even a shadowed circle at the bottom of his wings, as if it were hollow. Furthermore, the Jallap beetle's red-orange pincers had four small black lumps total on their sides, resembling tuners - though she knew guitars had more tuners than that. "I wish you'd stop!" he chirped. "Examining me, trapping me in your flesh things, like I'm some science experiment!" His pincers clacked furiously.
"You're certainly not, Jallap," Asagwara said. "We only desire to hear whatever gossip you may have obtained."
"Who says I have gossip?" His buggy eyes narrowed and he huffed.
"Well, you sort of did," Joshie pointed out.
"There is no need to prod the poor beetle," soothed the Sorrowturtle. "Against my better judgement, children, I will tell you of the test. So much has happened in only today, however... and I can see that you are all tired. Lyra, you have been through quite the ordeal. I would strongly recommend resting for the night, which draws closer, I sense. Before you sleep" - she lifted up an elephant-sized leg before she could be interrupted - "I will say that your test will not arrive for several days. Duygu wanted very much for Lyra to have a taste of her Wedhn training first. Now, since you have gone through two trainers so far in this short span of time..." The Sorrowturtle's eyes twinkled, and M blushed deeply. "I will personally continue with your lessons. I do not usually do this, but Duygu cannot protest to it."
"I can't sleep, what if they... they take my parents here? To Fortunia?" M bit her lip, gnawing on it out of nerves. Do whatever they ask... How could she agree to stay for a year, as Joshie had? She couldn't go that long without Isaac! "How will I save them? I've got to be ready for it, I have to be."
"There's nothing you can do to train for the test, Lyra," said the Sorrowturtle wisely, "except be at your very best. Duygu wants -" She cut herself off and stared reproachfully at the ground.
"Wants what?"
The Sorrowturtle thought for a moment, perhaps considering if it was safe to tell M this in this particular vicinity without being overheard and reported, but it seemed she decided it would be alright. "Duygu wants to tear you down. Strip your humanity from you, and steal your power. I will say nothing more for tonight!" And she turned her head stubbornly away, looking rueful.
"I know," M said quietly, thinking of what Joshie had mentioned to her.
The three children went to sleep without further question, M and Joshie squeezed on the bed, Asagwara nestled by the opposite wall with a blanket lended by the Sorrowturtle. The next day arrived within seconds, so it seemed to M, for she had been exhausted without realizing it.
"Feel better?" the Sorrowturtle inquired that morning. The entirety of the day was dedicated to the practice of mind-reading, and nothing much interesting occurred. Neither Val nor Duygu poked in at any point. M felt that while yesterday had gone for years, this day lasted only moments, despite her anticipation and fear; before she knew it, the Sorrowturtle was announcing that night had fallen again.
As M was curling up in the cool sheets, she had much more trouble going to sleep than she had the previous evening. Joshie had already drifted off beside her, her chest moving up and down in relaxed, quiet breaths. The Sorrowturtle was suddenly prodding at her shoulder with her large head... "Whassit?" M mumbled.
"I apologize for not saying anything of the test during the day. I wished to wait until I could speak with you alone."
M blinked rapidly. "Oh, yes, r-right, the test."
"When Duygu does whatever they may do... remember to be brave. Listen closely, Lyra!" she hissed as M's eyes started to shut. "You have to be brave. It is of the utmost importance. You cannot show any compassion, love, or longing for someone you may see brought here. Duygu considers these emotions and feelings signs of weakness, and if they see them, Lyra - they will kill. Not you, but the one who has brought about this 'weakness' in your heart. Even if it is your parents who come to Fortunia... pretend you do not miss them. Agree with whatever Duygu says. Do you understand?" The Sorrowturtle's voice had lost its velvety, calm tone, and it was making M twitch with anxiety. Not even she is incapable of fear, M thought nervously. If she is scared for what's to come, how am I meant to remain brave?
"I understand," M whispered, but she did not.
When M was at last able to fall asleep, it was a deep, dark sleep. That night, she dreamt... dreamt of the pocket-sized book on Val's sitting room table, lying open for her to absorb its secrets... but no, the words were blurred, she could not read them... A panic set in - the knowledge! a voice cried. This can't be! I need it, I need to learn the secret... M's own brown hand reached out in front of her, entering her field of vision, and the book slammed shut. On its cover, she saw with a jolt, the words were not blurred like the others... In heavy, black ink, someone had scrawled over the thick leather cover, Distorted Truth. M groped for the book, but, alas, it was slipping off the wooden table of its own accord, slipping away into a black as dark and mysterious as its title... Her fingers grasped air. Then she looked down, and saw that she was standing on nothing. M fell into the abyss after the book, screaming a silent scream, her stomach plummeting and then surging upwards again, into her throat, and she felt bile coating her tongue as she snapped her mouth shut... She thought she saw the glimmer of fangs disappear above her as she fell farther down, down, and down, still...
M hit the floor with a sickening thud that felt painfully real, even in her dream-state. She sprawled out on the stone, almost relieved to simply be on solid ground again, but... her flesh had suddenly become wet, and her palms were dark red... she was covered in blood, her own blood, which was pooling quickly around her, soaking through her clothes...
"I can help you!" a different voice squeaked, and it did not belong to her. M gazed up from where she lay broken in a trance, her hopes rising at the sight of Howell... But the Mouse was running right past her, his eyes gleaming gold in the black chasm.
She rolled onto her stomach, the crack of her ribs echoing loudly around her... Then, she saw it! The book, M thought greedily. It had appeared in front of her, mere inches from her bloodied hand - she could not reach it, she couldn't, and though she crawled forward eagerly it only seemed to be further and further away...
Why the book? another voice asked. Why is it so important to you, Lyra, when you have only seen it in the sitting room of the one you must be ashamed to call your relative... Valen Marinos...
"Relative?" M uttered hoarsely, the sound so real to her. She had not even thought about Val being her relative from so many generations ago... but he was, wasn't he, and he had the book, the book she needed... M ignored the words of the unfamiliar voice that had heeded her... She needed that book!
Why?
M gave up on reaching the book, instead laying unmoving in her blood, and suddenly she was then gasping for breath... The oxygen had gone from her lungs, and a powerful force above her was crushing them, breaking them; it was hurting her... it was the most excruciating pain M had ever felt in the short twelve years of her life...
She woke up sweating profusely from every pore, her mind on only one thing.
The book.
M feigned sleep for the rest of the night, forcing a yawn and stretch the following morning when the Sorrowturtle prodded her awake again. All day, and all the next, and the third, and up until the seventh she focused on that one thought...
On that seventh, everything was quite different. "Good morning, everyone," M said pleasantly to her companions, but she had gotten a bad feeling in her stomach and was not thinking the morning a good one. She made eye contact with the Sorrowturtle and knew immediately she was feeling similarly. After a week of vigorous practice in searching others minds, M had almost no trouble reading the healer's thoughts. There was the door before her, with its brassy handle and blue-painted wood, and it was quite easy to open. Val's has been merlot, she recalled. Joshie's was squash-colored, she knew, and Asagwara's pure silver. Joshie had informed M that her own door was a lovely pale lavender. In her training, M had learned that each mind had a door to it, some more difficult to open than others; those who attempted to block their minds from intruders, for example, might have a particularly heavy door or extra locks. But the Sorrowturtle's door opened smoothly, and as M walked into the black space, the words, Hardly a good morning when the test is so near danced around her. She felt even more ill finding out that the Sorrowturtle would certainly know when her test was approaching - and it was soon? M couldn't believe it. But, somehow... she wasn't feeling quite as bad as she had been before. She almost felt, in fact, brave. Ready, even, which was much more important in M's opinion.
"The Jallap beetle has news for us today," Asagwara informed her, brushing past with Joshie at his arm to collect a bowl of steaming soup and a slice of bread from the Sorrowturtle. The beetle, at home on the boy's shoulder for the moment, squawked excitedly and touched the bread with his white-hot pincers so it toasted.
"What is it, Guinea?" M asked, equally excited. She had come to calling him this when he actually told them his name but a day ago. And, of course, the Jallap was the fastest way to get news; Guinea had not returned to the healing cave with any of significance since three days ago. At that time, he told them that Val was reported by a fellow of his to have been spotted going up to the Bright Land. M had figured, her heart sinking, that that meant Duygu had sent him to fetch the people required for her test. Her parents would not be happy... and neither would she.
The Jallap beetle cleared his throat noisily, his hands on his hips. "Well, I heard from Alba, who heard from Sparrow, who saw it written in Noag's newsletter, who heard that Kingfisher saw a bunch of Teahdeean coming out of Ehmohree's cave chattering about how they saw Val return from the Bright Land lugging a big lumpy sack over to Duygu's cave!" Guinea's chest puffed out with pride of his report. M's jaw dropped, and her blood ran cold.
"No," she said, not daring to believe it. Joshie grimaced, coming up beside her with Asagwara, and put an arm around her shoulders. "I didn't really think..."
"Perhaps these words will make you feel better." Asagwara, his head tilted so the dark brown hair on his head fell messily around his face, had an expression of unusual content on. His silvery lips broadened cheerfully. "You shall have us here with you, Lyra, your friends, and we can not be taken from you. I understand your worry, as you and I both know my own test did not fare so well..." Despite the sadness lurking behind the silver door of the boy's mind, his smile did not waver. "But know that Joshilynn and I shall do what we can to ensure the safety of your loved ones, even if it means using the power that I am most reluctant to use: mind-writing."
"Mind-writing!" exclaimed Guinea, clapping his hairy legs together. "I've always found that quite fascinating in Wedhn, yes I have, wish I could do it myself! Control over another, why, it must make one feel glorious!"
"Of course not," Asagwara snapped. "You have no idea what it feels like, as you are nothing but a beetle, and perhaps I am wrong in assuming you would find it as awful as I do anyway!" The Jallap shrank on his shoulder and promptly flitted over to Joshie's without another chirp from his mouth. M sympathized greatly with Asagwara then, peering quite incidentally through his door...
Inside, it was more emotion than thought swirling in the black chasm. It was a sense of dreaming, like floating on clouds, except - except you could hear every word you were forced to speak and every action you were forced to take, and were powerless to stop it. After but a few minutes a sense of agony attacked every muscle and bone in your body, promising death if you were to resist the orders of the one towering over you... tugging mercilessly at the strings of your brain and heart like a puppet... Grief, guilt, fury, depression, all flooding into the soul at the wretched pain of decisions made for you, etched into your skull with a knife, giving you no choice but to do what you were told lest you risk punishment... In Asagwara's mind, M caught a glimpse of his mother, Kasa, standing so close by, but it was as if he were wrapped in chains, the metal cutting into his flesh if he were to try pointlessly to step towards her, speak to her, embrace her...
M blinked rapidly to shut the image from her mind. That's what it felt like when he was talking to me the day we met, she thought, scarcely believing that had been such a short time ago. He never wanted to treat me the way he did. "Asagwara, if you have to do that to me, I'll be alright," she told him a little untruthfully. She shivered internally at the idea of suffering she would be put through, if how she had felt it in Asagwara's mind was correct. To M's surprise and immediate discomfort, she heard a tone of silk brought instinctively to her white lie. "What's most important is I have you two with me, my friends, and I know I'll be safer with you, I'll have a better chance at passing my test," she hurried on when Joshie glanced at her uncertainly, and she knew this was honest.
"Only in the most dire circumstances," the boy promised softly, resting a dark and bruised hand on her arm. "There is nothing, nothing good about being a human Wedhn, Lyra, not even immortality, and mind-writing is the worst of it."
M nodded. Recognizing the growl of hunger in her stomach, she too took a bowl and bread from the Sorrowturtle, who had been humming by the waterfall pretending not to be listening. M was rather grateful she had done this, and the two exchanged sad smiles as mutual understanding. At last, the girl could sit with her companions and fill her belly; perhaps food was a meager solution to her fearful anticipation of the test, but M was feeling more positive than she had in a while.
Joshie and Asagwara would always be there, after all.
M slurped hot broth from her bowl, pleasure soothing the noise in her brain. She even allowed Guinea to fly to her and perch on her shoulder, though she had not yet grown accustomed to talking animals of any kind and was especially disquieted by bugs such as himself. "What else can Wedhn do?" M asked no one in particular, not able to remember if she had learned this already from Val's childhood tale. The question had simply popped into her mind.
"Mind-read, mind-write, live forever, you know those of course," mumbled Joshie, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. She took a crunchy bite of crisp, buttered toast, courtesy of their new Jallap acquaintance. "They're s'posed to be great healers, too, I'm sure you've heard that. But seeing as we humans don't have the shell generally required, we can't exactly sprout Sorrowblossoms." She shrugged. "Eh, we've got some magic stuff and all. Just ask the Sorrowturtle, Lyra, she'll know much better than I."
M giggled. "'Magic stuff?' Joshie, I swear you and Asagwara are a world apart." Guinea flew off irritably again as her shoulders shook, and landed once more on Joshie's hand. The girl held him between two fingers and gently put him down on Asagwara's shoulder, where he had been before.
"Well, we are in some ways," Joshie said vaguely, an odd expression on her face as she looked at Asagwara. But she chuckled too.
The boy, having relaxed from when he had lost his temper with Guinea a few minutes previously, opened his mouth to join in. "Ah, girls, not to change the subject, but I was wondering... During the first time I entered Val's cave, when I could - well, when I could still see - uh, I remember this, um, book, I suppose it was, or a journal perhaps, lying on the table. So I was wondering if it was still there?"
M bit her lip. He noticed it too, she thought; and she smiled. Yes, he noticed it too! She was relieved that the book had not only caught her eye, for whatever reason. It had just... called to her. "It was. Why, might I ask?"
"It was intriguing, is all. Like, I really, really wanted to open it, to read what was inside. Of course I can't, now," he added sullenly, "but I thought maybe one of you glimpsed the title, at least. I'm utterly curious."
"'Distorted Truth'," M blurted. She couldn't resist it. She didn't even find the need to.
"By the 'king of lies'." Joshie was quick to return their looks of surprise, tucking her already perfect blonde hair behind her ears as she did so, likely only to busy her hands.
Asagwara's face was hopeful, and it sent a leap of joy through M's heart just to see him like that. "You saw who wrote it? Who is the author?" he asked.
"I don't know for certain," admitted Joshie. "But in the left corner, it says, 'king of lies'. It's probably just a pen name for someone snarky enough to call themselves king. Either that or, well... my best guess is that the previous leader of Fortunia wrote it. Before they went mad and ill and unexpectedly died, I mean. It makes sense for them to call themselves king, in a way, if you see what I'm getting at."
"Why is the book important?" M voiced her thoughts aloud, recounting with unease her nightmares.
"We can find out." Joshie smiled at M, her cheeks flushing pink, and her hand went to her ear again. "I can call a friend who can get it out of Val's dirty paws easily." She closed her eyes, her golden eyelashes dashing and handsome against her sun-touched skin, and M knew that she was communicating with someone through her mind.
"Telepathy, that's a power of ours too, I hadn't even thought about it," M said. "That's what it's called, right?" Asagwara shrugged. His sightless eyes were turned toward his other friend; he rested his chin on his hand and absentmindedly rubbed at the silver with his dark fingers.
The companions sat in silence for a few minutes, the Sorrowturtle still bustling around quietly, busying herself with straightening the bedsheets and polishing the gemstones. Eventually, the sound of scrabbling, clumsy claws scratching against stone was audible not too far outside the cave, and several heartbeats later a familiar Mouse face appeared. He had his dark grey paws wrapped around an equally familiar leather book, whose lettering was thick and black.
"'Ello," Howell said, "sorry for the wai'." M was relieved to see that he looked healthy - as healthy as a Mouse of Fortunia can be, anyway - and his eyes and breathing were normal. He glanced at the Sorrowturtle for just a second before he handed 'Distorted Truth' to Joshie.
"You were brilliant, Howell." The girl took it and patted him warmly on his fur-covered arm. She grinned. "How'd you do it?"
The Mouse laughed. "I' was wonderful! I'd been layin' in my 'idey-'ole with my mum and dad, prayin' none of us would be 'influenced', as we call it, when I got your call. I 'ad to go ou' real sneaky-like, 'cause if I were spotted I'd be traced and prob'ly stopped. Bu' I ran, I did, and I slipped into Val's cave unnoticed. You shoulda seen the look on 'is face when I popped into 'is sittin' room again! 'E screamed a' me and threw 'is ho' tea a' me, bu' I go' ou' of the way and grabbed your book and ran like 'ell!"
M and Asagwara both snorted, while Joshie sat there looking bemused. "Oh, right. Yeah, sorry, I was just trying to... translate."
M was used to hearing all kinds of accents, so it hadn't bothered her, but she understood. She remembered from when she when she was little the time when her parents took her over with them to meet the neighbors. The Darrows lived in the same long, brown ranch house with white trim that they did presently. The Desjardins had just moved from France with their young daughter into the mansion that M knew so well now, and they still had their French accents. When they met the Darrows, who had moved to America before Isaac was born, their Scottish accents were just as thick. M had been raised around so many different and diverse people that it simply wasn't a problem when it came to communication - unless of course, someone was speaking a language other then French or English.
"We greatly appreciate your efforts, Sir Howell Hare," Asagwara thanked him. The Mouse bowed deeply, smiled his crooked smile, and ducked quickly out of the cave again. Joshie was still repeating his words to herself under her breath, but finally she noticed he had gone and straightened up. She noticed her two friends waiting anxiously for her to hurry up; M was looking like she wanted to snatch the journal out of Joshie's lap and bite the information out of it.
"Okay, guys, I'm going!" Joshie put her hands on 'Distorted Truth' and shoved it in M's face, giggling, so that the hunger disappeared from her eyes and her nose was quite smushed. M snatched it, shooting her friend a dirty look as she did, but she was laughing too. But the chuckles soon died as all realized that they had gotten hold of the book they felt as if they had been anticipating the arrival of for more than the ten or fifteen minutes they really had. Though, M had had dreams about it, which had come to her as a sign that the book was important, so perhaps this counted for more.
Asagwara smoothed back his hair, which had been briefly doused in breakfast soup and was sticking to his face. He licked his lips and put down the spoon M noticed he'd been holding with a clang, into his bowl. "Read it, then," he murmured, failing to keep the eagerness from his voice. "What does it say?"
M opened the journal with a certain carefulness, wincing as the cover made a strange cracking noise and the pages rustled.
Ignoring the Sorrowturtle, who was rather obviously hovering within eavesdropping distance, she began to read each entry...
"'March 14th. An odd date. I was given this journal just yesterday by my child, who explained to me that they stole it in their travel to the Bright Land on the 9th day of this month. They told me to record what I'm feeling each day, but it has to be something different every time. Foolish, I think. Why should I feel differently each day? But first I will say that the Sorrowturtles have been quite irksome of the late. When I questioned them about their behavior, they told me that my child - the heir to the throne! - had been telling them that being untruthful would get them much farther in life. The king of lies, I should call myself, that's all I am. I rule over a deceitful people. I hardly feel like the ruler of Fortunia anymore. Feeling: Anger.'" M paused, biting her lip from the jubilation of a new discovery. "So it is the past leader, right? And Duygu must be the child they're talking about! I might... I think I have an idea of what... Nevermind, I'll go on." She shook her head, telling herself to hold her thoughts for now, to not jump to conclusions. Would this journal explain the lies of Fortunia? Why Duygu wished for the Wedhn to be untruthful with each other? Joshie and Asagwara egged her on with excited nods. "'March 15th. I've spoken with Duygu. I remember, they said that they wanted nothing more than for the citizens to have a bit of fun. Ah, perhaps I was too harsh before. My child is still young, after all. Feeling: Hope; March 16th. My partner came to me today. They had been away in the Bright Land with a few Mousen since mid-February, if I recall correctly, scouting out new tunnels and cave routes. I'm pleased to see their safe return home. I wish Duygu was more enthusiastic, but perhaps it is only that they are going through a rebellious phase. Feeling: Love; March 17th. Duygu was not happy about my last entry. They seem to have no boundaries, for goodness sakes, peeking in the journal they gave me for private? Feeling: Disgust; March 18th. Now the Mousen are lying to my face. My most faithful servants! I may know the true purpose of these lies after all... Feeling: Betrayal; March 19th. I have gone to the Teahdeean, for I already know the Jallap beetles are hopeless. Feeling: Sadness.'" M sped up now, as the additional writing had vanished and the entires became shorter. She flipped wildly through the pages, her own hope rising as the 'king's' fell, and read on, March 20th. Feeling: Deceit; March 21st. Feeling: Hatred; March 22nd. Feeling: Neglect; March 23rd. Guilt; March 24th. Worry; March 25th: Confusion; March 26th. Anxiety; March 27th. Hesitance; 03/28. Anguish; 03/29. Humility; 03/30. Disgrace.'" M paused for breath, her heart beating fast with the thrill of it despite her disappointment that there were no further explanations of the feelings.
"The Eyes," whispered Asagwara. His eyebrows were well up his forehead.
"'Fear. Shock. Intrigue," M rushed, skipping the dates now, her voice rising higher as she grew more excited and she read more quickly. "'Exhaust, Pity, Revulsion, Scorn, Bitterness, Insult, Hostility, Spite...'" She sped on and on through dozens more, until she came upon, "'Outrage.'" She stopped suddenly, and looked up.
That had been the last entry. The eleventh of April.
Asagwara, who has had his head on Joshie's shoulder, perked up. "Keep on!"
"That's it," M muttered, "thats the end. This... this must be where the 'king' died. I thought - I thought there would be more." The girl glared down at the yellowed, dry, dusty pages. She closed the book, but her finger caught on the end of it and she opened to the last page. It looked as if two pages had been glued or stuck together...
"What's that?" Joshie's bright orange eyes were huge with curiosity.
M tried to open them, but no matter how hard she pulled, it was as if they were stuck by magic. Then she noticed the inky writing in the corner, the very same handwriting of the creature that had penned their name on the cover, and it read: May the one with heart and courage find this. She could see the indentations of prying fingers that had failed before her, likely belonging to Val, and she almost felt pleased.
A lightbulb lit up in her head. "Asagwara, open these." M threw the book at him a little too violently and was, frankly, surprised the journal didn't shatter into a million pieces. He felt his way back to the sticking pages, his dark fingers trembling, and...
He separated them with ease. "W-what, does it say something?"
M nodded, rather in awe, forgetting he couldn't see now. Joshie silently took the book back from Asagwara and handed it to M, who read aloud the real final entry of the 'king of lies'. The writing was blotchy and smeared in some places, as if marked by tears, but luckily it was just legible. "'August 29th,'" M read slowly. She was in no hurry for this. "'Greetings, my courageous little daughter or son. I have already heard of the plans to recreate the species I destroyed, and I expect someday this letter will be read by one of the human children chosen to be a Wedhn. You may have noticed, if one of the others tried to open these pages and failed, that my only remaining faithful Mouse servant has done a small enchantment for me. Only the one who resists my child's command can find this, though anyone can read it. Hopefully you may read it yourself, with your own eyes. If not, I assure you this. I have learned that this journal is enchanted itself, and that the feelings Duygu told me to write down were not just that. When I wrote down those words, they were given the power to take something very important away from the Wedhn that they agreed to create for the last Sorrowturtle: the Eyes. The source of the Wedhn magic. In reality, my own child has brought me to my death, slowly breaking me down and stealing my soul away from me for the purpose of making more mindless, deceitful servants. I have been overthrown. There is nothing more I can do. Duygu has already rid me of my love, and any other positivity I may have clung to. I have decided to write this entry on my deathbed, warning the future Wedhn of the cruelty of my only blood child. They want power, children. They will control you, hurt you, lie to you, have others lie to you, and kill whomever they must to get what they want. My reign over Fortunia has drawn to a close, as I have murdered a great healing kind, though not of my own accord. Be careful, children. My advice on if you are one unfortunate enough to have lost a loved one to Duygu's claws is that you should speak with the Eyes. You will see. And I am not normally one for clever jokes in serious situations.
Sincerely, and wishing you well in your journey,
the king of lies.
P. S. I am well aware that my child's name is that of a female's. This may not seem of particular importance to you, but it is. Remember that neither nothing nor no one is what it seems. My own name is Bilal.'"
M shut the book.
"I can't say I'm not satisfied with the results of Howell's thievery," Asagwara said quietly.
"Nor can I," Joshie agreed. "M - or Lyra, whatever... I think... I need to stay here. With the Sorrowturtle. Not for long, but just - you know, temporarily." She met the turtle's blue-brown eyes and did not blink.
"I understand." M saw what her friend was thinking and did not have a protest to make; even if she did, it could not have convinced Joshie to go. "Asagwara, keep Guinea there, will you? I think I'm ready for the test." And this was the truth. M pictured her parents: her square-jawed, black-skinned father, his reddish eyes playfully youthful, his wavy black hair neatly combed; and the heart-shaped face of her light-skinned mother, her pale blue eyes twinkling, and her long blonde, pink-streaked locks falling lusciously over her shoulders. Rafael and Capucine, the perfect pair, who loved their daughter but weren't terribly good at showing it. M would never let anything happen to them.
Asagwara pushed himself off the ground, abandoning his half-empty bowl and crust of bread, and checking to make sure that the Jallap beetle was still with him. "We will see you later, Joshie. Lyra, I believe we should head into the main cave." He held out his arm and M took it, taking the lead this time. M cautiously brought him into the winding tunnel; she glanced up and down, and hearing only distant hooves and squeaks, she selected the direction she thought they had come in.
They walked for a while, the sound of their shoes hitting the stone quite loud in comparison to the quiet of the rest of the tunnel. The rainbow of colors contained in the jewels embedded in the walls was dazzling to M, especially reflected in her violet eyes; unfortunately, neither of the children could see it. "Tell me if anyone communicates with you... telepathically, or something," she reminded him. Her calm air had erased itself, and wild thoughts were whipping around her mind like tornado winds. What if Duygu's killed them? Killed my parents? What if I never see them again? What if they're gone forever? What if-
"No what-if's," Asagwara said sternly. "They'll be okay."
At last, they burst into the main cave, and M paid no attention to anyone but her friend. Her vision seemed blurred in the corner of her eyes, where the rest of the wide expanse of cave stretched around her. "Asagwara, I'm scared! Can't you see?" she begged. She hadn't meant it the way it sounded, but his face fell. "I'm just - I'm just... well, I..." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost someone. What if I fail the test? What if I fail it?" She was panicking. M had never felt such terror race through her veins, striking icy cold in her heart and freezing her lungs, restricting the breath she so desperately needed. "I can't fail..."
Asagwara's cold, stony eyes seemed to warm even in that moment, for the purpose of comforting M. But his voice was not his own as he uttered his second sentence that was composed of most dreaded words. "I'm sorry, Lyra. Duygu insisted that Isaac be brought here.
M froze. "He's here?"
"Yes, but it's not what you think -"
"Let me see him!" she cried, her heart racing. Isaac was here, in Fortunia, somewhere, somewhere near... he must be, she could see him again! At the thought of his embrace and kind green eyes, tears streaked M's face. It was as though they had been bottled up inside her for the duration of her stay at Fortunia, saved up for this moment.
"Duygu, they..." Asagwara touched M's shoulder. She did not pull away. "They want to dispose of anyone close to you."
M's heart pounded frantically, threatening to break through her fragile chest. Her face crumpled and she clutched at that spot, the place in her heart that was reserved for her best and most wonderful friend. He was about to be slaughtered. What was she to do without him? No, no, it wasn't happening, it couldn't be, she needed him and loved him more than anyone.
"Why?!" she shrieked. To the young boy's utmost surprise, M wrapped her arms around his slight body and squeezed him tightly. She sobbed into his ragged, dirtied sleeve and refused to let go. I'm powerless to stop it, she thought, a sinking feeling going through her; she felt as if she were trapped in quicksand, being sucked further and further away from her Isaac and closer and closer to death...
"Make them kill me too," M whispered desperately in her friend's ear. "Kill me, please, let me be with him-"
"Lyra," Asagwara murmured gently, returning to his normal self. "I know how it feels to lose someone. I understand. But... you have not lost him yet." He felt for her hand and grabbed it, sharing his warmth with her. His eyes had been taken, but not his soul.
"What...what is the point of this Gift," M spat, tears still rolling down her moistened brown cheeks, "when it is to be stolen from me in the end anyway? What is the point of this Gift when I am not allowed to share it and show ardor for it and live it with the people I love?" She looked up from where she had buried her face in Asagwara's shoulder, now damp with her sadness, and saw Duygu from where the two children stood embracing. The beast approached them, their muscles rippling under thick blood red skin as they strode confidently forward like a panther on the prowl.
"Asagwara, boy, get away from her!" they snapped. "It is not your position."
"She is my friend." He glared defiantly up at them, his empty eyes searching for something they could not see, and did not release M's trembling hand. "Please, reconsider. You don't have to do this."
"I must," Duygu hissed. Their long tongue slithered out from their gaping mouth, showing off the black abyss that lay inside. "We can not afford to have Wedhn distracted by such tedious, idle matters like friends and family. M has the Gift. She shows promise. I must break her, before I take her, as I broke you." M's lip trembled and she had to bite it to stop her from sobbing. She wanted Duygu to die. She had hurt Asagwara, eaten his friend, and was going to murder Isaac... They deserved to die.
"Where is he?" Asagwara's voice was no more than a whisper. But he was seething. "Spare Isaac. Spare him like you would not spare my best friend. Spare him, and show mercy." He looked in the direction of the Jallap beetle, still perched on his shoulder from where Joshie had delicately placed it, and murmured something to it. M couldn't hear what he said, but Guinea flew away.
Duygu roared with deep, malicious laughter that erupted like lava from their colossal stomach. "Fortunians do not show mercy, fool!"
M and Asagwara stood side by side, hand in hand, and gazed with horror on the scene they were forced to witness. The cruel beast continued to cackle as they moved to the side to reveal the three people that had been shackled and chained to the cave floor.
"Kenji," M breathed. Kenji, Kasa and Isaac were rested against each other's backs, each of their chins touching their chests as they slept peacefully unbeknownst to the danger around them. Thick silver chains surrounded their bodies and prevented any movement, even if they were awake. Kasa's face and arms had been bloodied in a struggle, perhaps in the kidnapping, and Kenji's hair looked wet. Isaac... his nose was oddly crooked, like it had been broken. "Kasa."
"You took my mother!" Asagwara screamed. He ran from M and blindly towards Duygu, picked up a loose rock, and flung it at their massive jaws.
Without flinching, Duygu snatched up the rock and swallowed it, and batted Asagwara's body, tiny in comparison to their own, all the way across the cave like he was no more than a chew toy. M shrieked.
"No! Don't hurt him!" She put up her hands so Duygu would notice her and tried to force the lump down her throat. "If you spare them... all of them... I will give myself to you and you may do whatever you like with me." M closed her eyes, feeling the heavy weight of a cold tear that had caught on her dark eyelashes, and only hoped that Duygu might show mercy after all. If she could just pass the test...
In the realm of colorful splotches that appeared when M closed her eyes, she could recall with ease the happier times. She thought of her parents, who were supposed to have come home. They would miss her. She would miss them. M thought of Kenji, her new friend, a boy who had treated her with kindness and a boy who didn't deserve to die so young. She would miss him. M thought of Asagwara, who loved his mother, and had lost his best friend, and wanted to go home. They had promised to love and protect each other back in Val's cave. If Duygu would not let him leave, they would have each other. And... M thought of Isaac. Sweet, amazing Isaac. The young man who had taken care of M for years without complaint and who had so much to live for.
She couldn't lose him.
She would die.
When M opened her eyes, the world was quiet. The only sounds were of breathing - Duygu's raspy suspiring, and that of the five human prisoners.
Little did she know there was another creature taking its own supply of oxygen, in that very cave.
If only she had known.
Duygu's reddish gold, soulless eyes met M's, and the beast grinned widely at her. Their teeth were long, sharp, and vicious, yellowed by time and stained with the blood of their prey.
"Please," she said finally.
Duygu narrowed their eyes.
As the leader of Fortunia opened their mouth to speak, a squeaky screech echoed across the huge space of the cave. A grey, furry thing darted out from some hidden shadowed corner and scrambled towards the chained people who were only now beginning to awaken. Its yellow eyes were bloodshot and crazed, and through its thin skin could be seen prominent ribs.
"Mousen," M and Duygu said together. It was too late to register what was happening, even as it did in front of them.
The Mouse man's claws clicked on the stone as it dashed over to Isaac. The helpless teenager's eyes opened just as sight was stolen from him.
There was no describing the horror of the scream that came from Isaac's mouth, the scream that was amplified fifty times and resounded in M's ears for a long, long time afterwards. The Mouse man's claws dug into his eye sockets and tore the eyes from his skull, fresh red blood pouring from the empty holes as Isaac continued to scream.
The cruel creature shredded his clothes and bit him until he had fallen unconscious from blood loss. Its salivating jaws hung open, tearing into Isaac's body like his flesh and bones were that of a mouse's body to a cat. M had never seen such a thing, and it would not be the last time she would. The Mouse smiled wickedly, it's chest swelling with the pride and joy of having a meal after so long, and gnawed hungrily on the blood-covered white bones that had been beneath Isaac's pure pale skin only moments before. It was so, so hungry... But M only saw the murder of someone she loved, and the filthy beast who had done it. She ran towards the Mouse, her stomach lurching at the sight of its fresh human kill, trying to chase it away. It paused for a moment, down on all four legs, staring at her as its face twitched, and wet blood dripped from what had been grey fur on its snout. The Mouse had been starved for so long in Fortunia, that it had no understanding of what it had done in M's eyes, and only saw a second prospect of food standing unprotected before him. It had been driven insane many years ago.
A crowd of Mousen that reminded M of the crowd she had heard of in Val's story was flooding the cave, and only nearly avoided being trampled as Duygu muscled through them, clearing a path to M. "Be gone with you, scum," they growled at the Mouse, and swiped it across the cave with one quick movement of their paw, as they had done with Asagwara. Duygu scooped up M in the same paw, their daggers for claws pinning her to her place, and deposited of her in the far corner where the young dark boy still lay unconscious and battered.
"Keep them there," snarled Duygu at a dark grey Mouse, "and your crime will be forgiven." Two more Mousen appeared with Kenji and Kasa dangling in their mouths, dropping them there as well, and the Mouse Duygu had addressed came forward with his head hung. M realized it was Howell.
The shock of the situation did not stop M from trying to run, run back to her Isaac, make sure he was well... She tried to push past Howell, but he was too strong for her and held her there in what seemed like a kind of hug. "'ush, now, Lyra, it'll be alrigh'," the Mouse man mumbled to her as she yelled in panic, even kicking and hitting at him in sorry attempts to get past.
But M needed him... She needed Isaac, needed him now, and the Sorrowturtle could heal him, couldn't she? She called his name and screamed for him until her throat was sore and it came to her that he was gone.
Isaac was dead.