In Shadows of Night

The Okiyah

Theos

I paced frantically. No sorceress has survived to 40 and I don't know how to slow the progression of corruption. Once her soul is gone- she's gone. I turn to Cameron, his stare focused entirely on Cora.

"What do we do? If she's a sorceress, we're screwed. This battle alone will kill her. She'll be consumed by darkness so fast. I just can't see her surviving." Gem rambled for a while before I held my hand up. "If you lose her, Theos, you die, too."

"But what if she survives?" Cam interrupted. "What if she's stronger than the other sorceresses? What if she's different?"

"We can't afford the risk, Cam. We can't." I pause. "We need to figure out how to protect her from corruption. There's gotta be something?" I paced again, running every scenario in my mind. In each of them, she dies.

"What about the library?" Gem asked. "I'll transport there and back, no one will know I've been in the palace."

"Go. Quickly. Grab the book cart and bring the whole thing back- and full." Gem nodded and he was off. I walked toward Thedia and picked her up from the makeshift crib we made out of a laundry basket, blanket, and a travel pillow. Her eyes flew open and she smiled when I pulled her into my chest.

"What are we gonna do, little one? Help me out, here, kid." I looked down at her and smiled. Suddenly, my eyes flashed a glimpse of a woman with black hair and green eyes. Her freckles spattered over her cheeks.

"Hello, Theos. My name is Ki. Your half-soul is quite powerful, no? Her ancestral history is strong- just like yours." She started. "She's no sorceress, king, and you know it. She's something greater. Her powers run deeper. Her good is far too pure."

"Tell me what to do, tell me how to help her?" I started. "She deserves a good life, a long life. How do I keep her alive?"

"Your friend is quite interested in books, I see." A crystal ball formed in her hand, showing Gem frantically filling a cart with books. "This one, here, the green one. That book will help you find what she is." She pointed.

"That's a book of children's fairy tales. It was my favorite, we both know it's not real." I interrupted.

"Oh, we do? Perhaps the reason why it was your favorite is because it featured your half-soul's ancestors? Her heritage runs strong and steady, Theos. She comes from a long line of individuals much like herself." I paused, taking note of what she said.

"There's like 50 stories in there. Where do I start?" I paused.

"Perhaps your favorite is a good place to begin." She raised an eyebrow. My vision was fleeting. Soon, I came to, holding Thedia in my arms and my ears perked. Gem was returning. I placed a blissfully sleeping Thedia back in her makeshift crib. Immediately after Gem's glistening figure began to form in my living room, I turned and walked to the cart. I looked, momentarily, at a sleeping Cora in the chair next to the fireplace, but my heart lurched for a moment. I wanted to hold her. I began to shuffle through the book cart and found my fairytale book.

"Yeah, sorry, that's not helpful at all, but I thought we could keep it for the baby." Gem interrupted. "In case the palace is destroyed." The book was a vibrant green, bound in camel leather and lined in gold around the pages. I grabbed it hastily and began thumbing through the pages.

"If you don't want to give it up, that's fine, man." Gem was confused.

"No. No, I think you should keep it, but Thedia just- just communicated. I spoke with someone who gave me a hint into what Cora actually is." I thumbed until I reached part 34: The Legend of the Okiyah.

"Theos." Kayla's voice was weak but attentive. "Cora isn't a sorceress." She attempted to sit up, pulling her body up to lean on the arm of the couch. "She's- we're something very different. She's even more special." She cocked an eyebrow up. Look in the stories. They'll tell you." She smiled and reached for Gem.

"I know. I'm looking, now." I began to dive into the book, explaining the Okiyah culture and how they were never really gone, but rarely ever needed or seen. They served as the balance of good and evil. They almost served as a reset when one side of the scale grew too heavy. At the end of the story, however, there was a prophecy. The hair on my head stood on end. It was a prophecy about Cora.

Born to one mother, these children three

One son two daughters; only one can see

Her eyes flicker traces of black, gold, and brown

Royal blood who lost her crown

The people will bow, the Okiyah will sing.

Virtue has spoken; destruction she will bring.

"Holy shit." Is all I could mutter before slamming the book closed. She's The Virtue." Everyone looked at me in complete shock, totally confused.

"A what?" Gem asked.

"Virtue. A not-so-fictional character in the Legend of the Okiyah. She is, um, a celestial being, I guess. Like other Okiyah, she was created by the heavens to maintain the balance of good and evil. Cora is MORE than the balance of good and evil, though. She's the, um-" Kayla stopped. "Well, she's the apocalypse."