Falling Skyward

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Waterfall to the Other World

The further they traveled, the more Lana feared falling asleep. She often awoke in the middle of the night sobbing or screaming into Taren's shoulder. Every time she closed her eyes, Lana saw her home in flames. She saw the scorched field filled with corpses, and among the charred, writhing bodies, she saw the dead, vacant eyes of her uncle and cousins staring back at her. But she never saw Gailen among them.

Often Lana would search for his body, search for a corpse to weep over. But then she would hear him screaming. She would hear him calling out to her, see blood-crusted fingers clutching at his throat or hot knives pierce his skin. And every day, Lana felt a new urgency.

While traveling through the forest, Lana managed to snare another armored rodent—a zerque—as well as a dwarf deer and dingonek—a reptilian creature with saber teeth and a tail like a scorpion. It took two more days before the group emerged from the forest of giants. During the days, the group would pass time with stories of their childhood and families. During the nights, Dawson and Taren began teaching Lana basic healing using Ce'al, as well as other useful conjurings. So far, she had learned how to gather light to help her find her way in the darkness and how to concentrate heat to start a fire without flint. The most she could produce was a tiny flicker of light or spark of heat, even after days of deliberate practice, but Dawson and Taren were astounded by her progress. At the end of each night, Lana fell to sleep hollow and drained. She now understood why Dawson and Taren preferred to use flint, matches, or a torch whenever possible. Using Ce'al exhausted Lana's mind, body, and soul.

When the group finally emerged from the forest, Lana winced at the harsh sunlight that fell on the unbroken plains of grass and flowers that allowed them to see even the smallest hill on the horizon. The expansiveness made Lana feel exposed and vulnerable, especially as the constant breeze teased at her hair and swirled around her body.

Three days after the storm, a village appeared on the curved horizon just as the three travelers hemmed the edge of a massive, thundering waterfall. Lana had never seen something so forceful. Clouds of mist hovered around the intertwining threads of water, beading on Lana's face. And yet, Lana could see no stream, no lake, no rivulets flowing from this incredible waterfall.

"Where does the water flow?" she asked, trying to bat away the mist. "Does it flow underground?"

"No." Taren shook his head. "Legend has it this waterfall was too powerful for this world, so it broke through and now flows to the lower world, feeding the people below as rain. At times, people say if you stand on the edge of the falls and the wind moves the mist just right, the gods will allow you a glimpse of that other world. It's a pretty legend, though I haven't seen anything other than mist myself."

Lana's stomach lurched. "How funny," she said without a trace of humor. "I've heard something similar from a tribe of gypsies, except they said the other world was in the sky."

"The sky? And how would they get there?"

"It was something about a woman, a woman who was pregnant with a child. Her husband was dead and to save the rest of her people she opened a box that brought them to the sky. Or was it a cave? I'm not sure if I'm remembering it right."

A bemused expression crossed Taren's face. "How curious," he murmured to himself, before adding, "Come with me for a moment."

Taren took Lana's hand, leading her closer to the waterfall. Slivers of water dusted her face as they stood near the edge of the precipice. "Can you see anything?" Taren yelled over the roar.

"Nothing. Only water and mist." Lana tried to lean out further to catch a glimpse of anything. Her shoe slipped, but Taren caught her waist, holding her steady.

"Go ahead," he said. Lana leaned away from him, far out over the opening. Still, all she could see was white water curling like smoke.

Then the wind shifted. Suddenly, Lana caught a glimpse of something far below. A streak of green the color of pines, a swath of golden yellow just like the fields from home, and off in the distance, a wide expanse of endless blue. Lana staggered back, stumbling to her knees, her head reeling.

Lana clasped her head in her hands.

Taren knelt beside her, holding her soaked shoulders and fitting her head against his chest. "Lana, what is it?" Taren asked.

Lana mumbled disbelievingly. Down below, separated by oceans of space, Lana had seen something. "My home," she muttered. "I, I saw the lands of my birth."

Though the words were barely a whisper, Taren shook his head disbelievingly. "So the legends are true."