Heir of Stardust and Secrets (Mythic Spark #1)

29. Null and Void

Chapter 29

Null and Void

C aius valenned us to a forest that seemed crafted for titans. Its dense, multilayered canopy looked like the striations of a canyon, each layer adding a rich, delicious texture. Unlike the woods I was used to roaming, this forest exuded an otherworldly grandeur I couldn’t drink in fast enough. The songbirds sang in unfamiliar tunes—their melodies enchanting but foreign to my ears. Somehow, the unending variety and the heavy, thick air lingered in a way that let me know winter could not survive here, nor would it try.

The forest bottom was spongy, its softness threatening to consume my feet as we walked toward flowing water.

We reached a stream, except its surface was as calm as a still lake, reflecting the forest on its glass surface. I turned my head, looking for the source of the flowing water I’d heard moments ago, but only silence met me. It was as if the gurgling sound was a whispered enchantment that called us here, then stopped once we’d arrived.

Caius removed his shoes, like one reverently readying to walk on sacred ground. His bare feet stepped forward to the edge of the stream, where he knelt, unconcerned with dirtying his almond-colored pants.

He bent at the waist, hands clasped, and slid them into the water just enough so that the liquid slowly filled his palms in small rivulets.

Once filled, he said, “From the molten at our core to the skies above, you give us life. May I be honored by the life force of this water with a sacred connection to you, my mother, our mother, the Mother.”

He gently tilted his hands up and drank.

Caius stood. The energy emanating from him was clearer, softer, fulsome in a way. I almost reached for him, yearning to feel it.

He gazed down at me, his usual curious, playful demeanor replaced by an ethereal regality, that ancient part of him now fully dominating his presence. It was beautiful.

“It’s your turn, Nyleeria.” His voice was the soothing caress of a lullaby.

Stepping out of my shoes, I knelt as he had. Slowly, purposefully, I slid my hands into the stream. It was pleasantly warm, so unlike the glacier-fed waters back home.

I was surprised at the silky smoothness of the still water as it flowed between my fingers. It wasn’t idle at all, and there was a depth to it I couldn’t comprehend. I allowed myself to get lost in its magic and brought my palms together, hoping to catch some of it. I shut my eyes.

“From the molten at our core to the skies above, you give us life. May I be honored by the life force of this water with a sacred connection to you, my mother, our mother, the Mother.” I opened my eyes and beheld the beautiful, glittering liquid dancing in my palms. Hunching over, I brought my mouth to my palms and drank the blessed, magical liquid.

As I stood up, a profound lightness came over me—not of light-headedness, but of freedom. Like the darkness and fears that had plagued me had been transferred to someone else. I was filled to the brim with a disembodied inhibition that yearned to be free and sway—a deep-rooted tranquility asked me to let go, to be at peace with myself, with life.

Caius held out a hand, beckoning, and I took it. Water seeped into our clothing as we waded across the shallow stream, the ripples of our presence washed away by the phantom current.

About halfway across, a shimmer met us, and we stepped through it—the sensation like being dusted with microscopic glitter. On the other side of that glimmering threshold was a wholly different world.

Caius watched me, drinking in my awe, an unbridled smile consuming his features.

I released his hand, taking slow, steady steps, spinning in place to absorb every detail. I reached out to touch the spot we’d just come through, but my fingers only met the cool smoothness of the cavern’s facade; there was no trace of the shimmer.

A narrow pathway led to a small stone bridge. Beyond it lay a circular plateau, its edges brimmed by aquamarine waters that I could have sworn glowed as if they were luminescent.

As we crossed the bridge, I craned my neck, taking in the five towering obsidian stones that lined the perimeter of the plateau like primordial guardians. Unable to resist, I touched one, and an unexpected warmth greeted my palm as a distorted reflection of my face rippled back at me, captured within the natural waves and curves that danced across the stone’s lustrous midnight surface.

Wildflowers bloomed in obscene numbers and colors at the foot of the mammoth stones, following the perimeter, as if keeping the guardians company. I was surprised that the myriad of colors didn’t clash with one another. Each seemed perfectly content being part of the whole, unwilling to stand out, lest it take away from the beauty of their combined existence.

“Nyleeria.” Caius’ soft voice pulled at me.

He stood atop a wide staircase that lay opposite the bridge and led down into the water .

Joining him, I walked between a pair of towering stones, then slid my foot into the milky water onto the first step. A distant part of me wanted to stop, ask questions, but that blissful peace filled my chest, carrying away any such notions.

Caius threaded his fingers through mine, and I followed him down into the silken water, which was pleasantly warm against my skin.

Soft, silty sand caressed my soles as we reached the bottom of the stairs. We waded in further until the water came up to my waist while barely feathering Caius’ hips. I looked up at him. Even without a smile, his every feature was lit with the magic that coursed through our veins. His rich golden skin was breathtaking against the water’s aquamarine.

I closed the gap between us and unlocked our hands, laying his palm on mine. I caressed the inside of his forearm, marveling at the juxtaposed colors of our skin. Caius’ powers were visible below the surface, beautiful and glistening as they coursed through his veins. I traced my fingertips along the hidden lines of his forearm, awed at how his power pooled from the light pressure of my touch.

A low, throaty growl left Caius. I looked up at him, his focus near predatory. A tug of a smile ghosted his lips as he whispered, “To us high lords, Nyleeria, what you are doing is extremely…intimate.” His words caressed me the same way.

I should have released him, but I was too entranced by the flowing magic. Looking back down, I continued to explore those lines, lightening my touch in hopes it would lessen the effect.

He shuddered, and his breath hitched before evidence of exactly how much I was affecting him showed just below the water’s surface. I paused, looking up. In that moment, I wanted to explore more than his magic, as if the primordial piece of me yearned to be fully connected to the primordial-ness of him. I wondered if he would’ve stopped us from giving in to that base need if I continued, but with no small effort, I released his hand .

The second the connection broke, a fresh surge of disembodied bliss filled me.

“Nyleeria, we’re going to submerge now. Once we do, we cannot resurface,” Caius said, his voice sounding far away.

Warning bells went off in the back of my mind, but they, too, felt distant.

Caius interlaced his fingers with mine again, and I followed him under.

Our hair lazily floated around us. Looking around, I somehow knew that if I were to stand up, I would not breach the surface, as if the original depth had been an illusion. The satiny sand beneath my feet had a faint glow to it, and I realized where the water’s luminescence came from.

My instinct should’ve been to flee, panic, buck, stand up, swim—anything but float here anchored by whatever magic held me in place. But lost in the unending depths of Caius’ gaze, I couldn’t muster it.

Lungs burning for oxygen, I took a breath.

One moment I was in an underwater dream, and the next, I was fully dry and surrounded by utter darkness.

The soles of my feet were pressed against something smooth and slightly chilled as if I were standing on glass. My eyes flickered toward the only source of light, Caius, the faint glow radiating from him. I stepped closer, seeing the magic flowing through his veins like the dancing light of the blessed water. The illuminated, Mother-given power thrumming through him was on full display in the most spectacular way.

“You’re beautiful,” I said, and meant it.

Caius held his arm out as if inspecting it. “I’ve…I’ve never seen such a thing,” he said.

Looking over my own flesh, I felt a slight pang of disappointment as nothing emanated from me—the enchantment hadn’t followed me into this strange new place.

In the distance, tiny specks of light appeared and slowly flittered toward us. Up close, they looked like dandelion fluff, but they pulsed as they moved, like the expansion and contraction of a jellyfish as it lazily meandered through the water.

I outstretched my hand as if trying to receive a butterfly. I thought the pappus would merely flutter by; only, it didn’t. It paused like it was sentient, then eased down onto my outstretched finger.

As it touched me, its delicate structure of shimmering white transformed into a deep violet, then absorbed into me. The colorful light filled my veins, and like Caius, a faint glow now radiated through me.

I looked to find Caius as wide-eyed as I felt.

“What just happened?” I asked.

“I think…I think you just absorbed it.”

“Your powers of observation astound me, High Lord.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said with deep reverence.

“Have you been here before?”

“No. I’m normally taken to a completely different place. I’m not sure how we got here. I think it has something to do with you. Maybe that you’re human, or perhaps Amos’ wisp.”

At his words, the color coursing through my veins sputtered out and vanished.

“Interesting,” Caius mused.

“I wonder if that was a coincidence,” I said and raised my hand again.

Another seedling landed. A bright seafoam green flashed this time, entering my veins in the same manner. I thought about Amos, and it fizzled out.

I had an idea.

Giving no explanation, I walked toward what felt like the middle of where we were and knelt, the cold, hard surface uncomfortable beneath my shins. I ignored the discomfort, closing my eyes, and tilted my hands toward the heavens.

I traveled deep within myself to that sweet spot where I could feel the Mother, and my body jolted when I found her instantaneously. I’d never experienced her with such fervency. Her fullness enveloped me, caressed me, and I could have sworn I heard her whisper, Hello, sweet child. Child of everything. Child of nothing.

I bathed in her presence, allowing every cell of my body to soak her in until I could no longer discern where I ended, and she began.

“Nyleeria,” Caius whispered, “you want to see this.”

Color filled my vision. Deep blues and purples. Soft pinks. Vibrant seafoam greens. Mesmerizing pigments encircled me like a school of fish, the pappi now acting as one. Another light caught my attention, and I looked past the swirling colors to see stars—so many, it seemed as if the sky would surely falter in holding them up.

Tears streamed down my face.

I felt a light tingle and looked down to find clear tendrils had wrapped themselves around my legs. They pulsed in a steady rhythm, and the colors surrounding me yielded themselves to those fine threads, their pigments filtering into my veins through the silky lines that embraced me.

The shimmering light now radiated from me as if my body couldn’t contain all that had been offered.

I noticed it then—the darkness that didn’t belong—and I knew exactly where it was. Palms still facing the heavens, I willed every last drop of light to enter, to fill me to the brim with their beauty, their energy—leaving no room for the darkness.

If Amos’ wisp couldn’t be ripped, pried, or forced out, maybe I could make the environment unbearable, forcing the darkness to leave of its own volition, lest it be suffocated.

Light poured into me, through me, all around me as I focused on the darkness that hid within me.

Within heartbeats, I found it.

It was the size of an orange, slowly being squished between my rib cage and the light, as if it had decided to nest in my heart. The wisp had chosen to live in my source of love and life, not in my mind like I’d thought—and somehow it was a deeper violation .

Anger flared within me, and I pressed with all my might against it, asking the gods for as much light as they could spare.

A sliver of the wisp finally beached the surface of my skin, just past my sternum. Its hideous malice was palpable as it writhed from the exposure. I pushed harder, and a sickening slurping sound rasped from my chest as it finally exited my body.

The wisp floated in a perfect sphere before me, and I shuddered at the malignity that radiated from it, how it struggled against its invisible confines as if it were alive.

A thick, oily black substance dripped from the bottom of it onto my leg, hissing as it was devoured by whatever manner of magic filled me. Light surrounded the wisp as if placing a layer of protection around it.

I reached for the bubble of slithering darkness with my finger, curious.

“Nyleeria, no!” Caius yelled.

A loud crack split my ears.