Chapter 29: Words

Shiori wasn’t sure how long they sat as the sun shone in from the cave entrance.

She processed what she had learned about Kryptopeda, but her mind drifted back to Mores’ words. He had been a puppet. He and Symphon were half brothers.

When she thought of the name Symphon, her connection to him opened dimly through the barrier separating worlds. In the dim light, she noticed the Stain disappeared from her skin when she forged that connection.

The pain of her betrayal was fresh in Symphon’s mind. Little time had passed on Earth. Shiori winced. Even a world away, the pain felt like a knife's cut.

Despite her distant touch on Symphon, she felt her connection roil and destabilize his power. He felt it. He knew she was connected to him and alive.

Under the pain of her betrayal, there was still love. The foolish boy should hate her, but instead he longed to be near her again.

There was another emotion. Symphon felt relief that she was alive and well.

Shiori broke the connection and wiped away tears.

She wanted to sob. She wanted to eat a big, unhealthy meal with a cake as big as the one from the strawberry cake incident last year. She wanted to sleep for an entire weekend. She didn’t want to think or feel.

But she was in a dangerous land. She had to act.

Mores stood. “We should go. We’re still in a Realm controlled by the House of Praetor. The Silence attacking a random forest will attract attention.”

Shiori stood as well. “Is there a way to figure out my true name?”

Mores looked at her, confused. “You don’t know your name? Every Narrator I’ve known guessed it easily.”

“I didn’t know I was a Princess a week ago,” Shiori replied heatedly.

They walked to the cave entrance. Mores pointed in a direction. “The Praetors keep a stronghold that way. The Duke is there now. He’ll have felt the Silence. He’ll suspect I was involved.”

“Can we fight him?” Shiori asked.

Mores balled his hands into fists. “No. Opening that portal to you cost me all the strength I had gathered reading your words through the Anchors. More.”

Shiori had been foolish not to realize her written words would empower Mores. If she sat about regretting her decisions, she’d waste the day.

“Your power as a Royal is incredible, but you have no control. We must run. The Praetors control most Paths to neighboring Realms. I know a few hidden ones.”

Shiori considered this. Kryptopeda wasn’t a single place, like Earth. It was nearly endless small connected islands of reality connected by Paths. Below the Realms was the Deep, a dangerous place with origins lost to time.

“Can we sneak to Felthal?” she suggested. “Symphon said they wanted me alive, to use my Royal powers to defend the city, or something.”

Mores considered this. “I’m used to thinking of the Skalds as enemies, but you may have a point. Was Symphon’s mission to bring you to them?”

“It was,” she said, regretfully, “I didn’t listen to him. I should have.”

There was an odd look on Mores’ face. “They’ve been wise since Kryptopeda fell into darkness. Most big cities are destroyed. A few, like Felthal, were wise enough to tolerate and nurture powerful Narrators, what you call Speakers.”

“Speakers weren’t always hated, you know.” Shiori hugged The Last Word. “Kawamura’s early books described beloved Speaker kings. Then the Usurper Warlords overtook them.”

Mores looked at the sky. “I didn’t know that. The history books I read don’t go back that far. For a long time, magic users have been outcasts or monsters like Duke Praetor, a powerful warlord.”

“Well,” Shiori said, “if Felthal is open to working with Speakers, maybe they want me as a resource too. They’re our safest bet. Can you get me there?”

Mores considered this. “I can try. I was in this Realm to meet with the Duke after I failed to bring you back. This Realm is his strongest bastion.”

Shiori swallowed. “How did that go?”

Mores laughed bitterly. “I’m certain he would have consumed me if the day had been right. I don’t know the pattern, but he can only feed at specified times. Instead I escaped with this.” Mores pulled out a Reversed Mirror.

His voice became quieter while it was near his mouth. “You should take one.”

Shiori hesitated. Those things had been trouble and she was getting used to Mores being an ally. “That’s the one you used to make a portal to me?”

“Actually,” he pulled out the other one, “I grabbed this as it fell through the portal. With these and a little luck, we might slip past the Duke and get to Felthal.”

Shiori accepted the Reversed Mirror. It was cold here in Kryptopeda, even colder than on Earth. It made sense that this magical device was stronger in a world of manifest imagination than in the real world.

Shiori bit her lower lip, then made a decision. “Here,” she said, handing The Last Word to Mores. “Read this. We need you strong.”

Mores took the book and laughed. “The Duke thought this was your Grimoire, somehow hiding your true name, but it’s blank. I gave it to you because your miniature friend said you wanted a book like this.”

“It’s not blank,” Shiori said, looking at the cover which to her eyes read The Last Word by Kawamura.

Mores opened it, surprised.

Shiori continued explaining. “The words appear as I read. It’s called The Last Word, but the cover title is visible only to me.”

Mores froze as she confessed the title of the book her mother left for her. “The Last Word?” He looked at the book as if it might explode and obliterate the whole valley.

“It doesn’t contain the Last Word,” Shiori laughed at his worried face. Her smile faded. “At least I don’t think it does.”

Mores looked dubious. “Words are dangerous for Speakers. It’s all about mastery. I’m good with emotion, pain, and thought. Symphon has mastered movement.”

Shiori tilted her head. “So a Speaker’s power isn’t just from what they’ve read?”

Mores shook his head. “It’s as much about the Speaker as the words they’ve stored. Your Grimoire might contain words I’m not good at using, at least without practice.”

Shiori considered this. “Could the last Princess have learned the Last Word, but wasn’t good enough at Speaking it to use it correctly?”

Mores nodded. “That’s what most of us think happened. Words can be complicated, like how your people call themselves Nihon or Yamato. Magic is unpredictable if you say the word wrong, or are the wrong person to say it correctly.”

He waved a hand at himself. “I’ve changed in the last day. I don’t know if I can wield mind control magic as well as before. Symphon prefers a narrow range of words.”

He smiled. “The Duke would fly into a rage every time he felt his power diminish when Symphon shared certain texts with other Speakers. He would strategically share words that he found useless and the Duke found useful.”

“Ribald,” Shiori said, “was another Speaker, a native Skald of Felthal. Symphon shared some power with him.”

Mores nodded. “That makes sense. I’ve heard the name. He used subterfuge and surprise. A similar power to what we Praetor prefer.”

Shiori waved to The Last Word in Mores’ hands. “I’d like you to read it.”

Mores considered the book. “No one has ever offered me power like this.”

“Do you have enough power to open another portal on your own?” Shiori asked.

“No,” he answered flatly.

“Start reading. We need to escape to Felthal as soon as possible. Can you read as we walk toward the Path to Felthal?”

As they stepped into the daylight, it finally hit Shiori that she was in Kryptopeda. There were people trying to kill or capture her. And her only chance of survival was in Felthal.

As they walked she made sure not to think of Symphon. She didn’t want to feel his pain through that connection again.