The Nibiru Effect

Memory 55

We're screwed.

The thought repeats over and over in my head as Jonn, Kara, and I are escorted out of the palace. There are only two guards, but both are armed, and my companions and I are bound. It doesn't help that our jailers stand behind us with their spears pointed at our backs, ready to skewer us at the first sign of trouble.

Only one thing stands between us and certain death.

Korri.

Our hopes of rescue go from slim to none when we pass the alley where we left the small korrigan and his arkane captive and find it deserted. I don't know what happened to Korri, but his disappearance bodes ill for us.

It's with a sense of defeat that we're led through the city. We eventually reach the front gate and emerge into a familiar grassy plain. I can't help thinking of that poor arkane girl we encountered upon our arrival. Her body is gone, no doubt taken away by her mourning family, but the memory of her agonizing death is still fresh in my mind. I'm tempted to let the pain and sorrow fuel my hunger for revenge, but I know an escape attempt will most likely result in death. The safest course of action is to wait and hope for a miracle.

Our captors direct us toward the nearby forest. By the time we reach it and discover what appears to be the head of a trail, the Mountain of Fire towers above us. I didn't realize how close it was until now.

Jonn stops walking just as we're about to reach the forest.

"Why are we here?" he demands.

"Keep moving," orders one of the arkanes.

"No. I'm not taking another step until someone tells me where we're going."

I fear the next sound I will hear will be the gurgle of blood erupting from Jonn's throat as a spear skewers him, but the noise that reaches my ears sounds surprisingly like a sigh. I don't understand why until a pair of large hands grab me and severs my restraints. Moments later, my friends are also freed.

"What's going on?" asks Kara.

I turn to find both arkanes with their spears standing idly at their sides. Their skin is a pale shade of yellow, which tells me they're either happy or hopeful.

"We're releasing you," says one of the arkanes as he hands Kara something.

It's a satchel. It looks like the one we had with us when we were captured, but I can't be sure.

"It's heavy," says Kara.

"We replenished your food and water supplies," explains the arkane. "Don't worry," he adds when he notices my worried expression. "The water is safe to drink. It comes from King Kanto's personal water supply."

There's a moment of stunned silence before Jonn says what we're all thinking.

"Why?"

"We work for King Kanto, but we don't agree with the choices he's made. Many of our friends and family members died because he refused to help them."

"I'm sorry," says Kara, "but why help us?"

"We heard what you said. You're trying to stop the woman who released the plague. Is it true?"

"Yes," says Jonn.

The arkanes smile and their skin turns a bright shade of yellow.

"That's why we're releasing you," says the arkane. "Here, I believe this is yours."

He nods to his companion, who reveals Jonn's hunting knife.

"Thank you," says the grey-haired soldier as he takes the weapon. I never thought I would hear those words coming from Jonn's lips. Then again, everyone slips up every now and again.

"You're welcome," says the other arkane, speaking for the first time.

"Good luck," adds his talkative companion.

Moments later, they're heading back toward the city.

"Wait!" I call after them. "You didn't tell us where to go."

"The one you seek resides at the top of the Mountain of Fire," says the right humanoid.

"Be careful," warns the left one. "The road to the summit is said to be cursed."

And on that cheerful note, they walk off, leaving us with nothing but a satchel of supplies and a hunting knife to take down Avalon and surmount whatever obstacles stand between her and us. It's not what I would call good odds, but our situation is nonetheless remarkably improved from what it was mere minutes ago.

"What now?" I ask after a while.

"You heard them," says Jonn. "We head up the mountain, take down Avalon, save everyone and head back home before anything else goes wrong."

It sounds so simple when he says it, but I know from experience nothing is ever as simple as it sounds. If anything, it's far, far more difficult.

"I think we should go back to the korrigan village," says Kara.

"Why?" asks Jonn.

"Because now we know the river is the source of the plague. And I'd be willing to bet the river that flows through the korrigan village is the same one that runs through Arkania."

I'm impressed, but Jonn doesn't seem to share my awe.

"That's impossible," he says. "We lived with the korrigans for two weeks. If the river were infected, we'd be dead by now."

"On the contrary," says Kara. "The korrigans fed us nothing but fresh and juiced fruits. Remember?"

It's true. We haven't ingested a single drop of water since arriving in this time. I can't believe how lucky we've been. Jonn's expressionless demeanour tells me he's just as stunned.

"We need to warn the korrigans," says Kara.

It takes a moment for Jonn to recover from the shock of Kara's revelation.

"We can't," he says.

"Why not?"

"They tried to sacrifice us. Twice."

"That's no excuse," snaps Kara. "We can't just let them die."

Jonn grunts.

"Even if we wanted to warn them, the journey back would take a week. We're better off heading up the mountain and finding the source of the infection. Once we take down Avalon, we can dump the cure into the river and everyone—including the korrigans—will be cured."

Kara tries to come up with a comeback, but Jonn's speech was so eloquent she can't find a single flaw in his thinking. But I can.

"What about Korri?" I ask.

"What about him?" asks Jonn.

"We can't just abandon him."

"We can't go back to Arkania. The odds of getting recaptured are too high."

"He's right," says Kara. I'm about to argue when she places a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I know how much you care about Korri, but there's nothing we can do for him now. He would want us to continue, to finish the mission."

I hate to admit it, but she's right.

"It's better this way," says Jonn.

I glare at him. "How can you say that? We would never have made it this far if it weren't for him."

"Stop being so sensitive," groans Jonn. "All I meant is he probably just got scared and ran away. I bet he's on his way back to the korrigan village right now."

I hope he's right. Nonetheless, it's hard for me to shake the feeling that I'm somehow betraying Korri.

"Fine," I grunt as I grabthe satchel and sling it over my shoulder. It's heavy, but I ignore thediscomfort and trudge toward the mouth of the path. Jonn and Kara follow closebehind. I don't know what awaits us on our journey up the mountain, but I cantell it won't be easy.