Chapter 27

“Silje!”

The moment we landed on Aegon, tumult erupted as the others rushed over to us.

“Are you okay?”

“What happened?”

I opened my mouth to speak when I heard a loud bang and turned to see Aase rapidly firing the cannon at the temple. Luna turned to stare at what was left of the crumbled building, clasping the Crystal to her chest, and Vessa ran over to her and put an arm around her.

“What happened?”

Ifrim frowned.

“Tanur knew we were coming.”

His clothes and hair were scorched by the fire, but he gave me a weak smile when our eyes met.

“How…?”

I turned back to the others.

“I don’t know…”

“We need to check on Fain!” Mitrandes called from the steering platform.

I ran over to the railing, squinting through the pouring rain as Mitrandes took us closer. The square seemed deserted. Had Fain…?

“There!” Aase called out.

I peered in the direction she was pointing. There were two still figures lying sprawled on the ground.

“Fain!”

Tore rushed over to the rope ladder and climbed down the moment we touched the ground, and I ran after her.

“Fain!”

I sprinted over the square and knelt next to his still figure, pouring the Flow into him.

“Sai… Save Sai…”

He slowly opened his eyes, pointing in the direction of the young man lying unconscious some distance away.

"He didn’t have a choice but to fight me…”

I got up and ran over to him. His breathing was shallow, but he was still alive, and he stirred as I put a hand on him.

“Don’t risk the Worm's wrath to save me…”

“Shh…”

“Where is everyone?” Kine asked as he rushed over.

I poured the last of the Flow into Sai, and he stirred and struggled to sit up.

“Let’s bring them back to Aegon first,” Tore called.

She helped Fain stand, and Kine helped me get Sai onto his feet, and we stumbled back over the empty square. Luckily, they were healed enough to make their way up the rope ladder by themselves, and we slumped down underneath the awning as we came up.

“What happened?” Kine asked.

“Tanur, he must have known…” Fain said. “He appointed a Champion in his stead and left for the temple. I couldn’t reach you…”

“How did he know we were coming?”

“The Worms…?” Aase said.

“But we haven’t touched the Flow.”

“Are the townspeople okay?” Luna asked.

Fain nodded.

“They fled when the temple burst into flames. They should be fine.”

“Is he dead…?” Sai asked.

“He is.”

“We need to find the townspeople and tell them what has happened,” Vessa said.

Luna stumbled over to the rope ladder, still clasping the Crystal, and Vessa ran over and helped her climb down. I glanced at Fain, but he gestured for me to follow.

“I’ll stay. It’s better they get to meet Luna first.”

I nodded and followed Ifrim down.

The square was still empty, and if I hadn’t known they had gathered here just earlier, I would have thought the whole town was abandoned. Luna was standing in its centre, hesitantly looking around.

“Tanur is dead!” Ifrim called out as he walked over to her.

I thought I heard murmurs and turned to see a small crowd huddled just out of reach further down the street leading away from the square. Ifrim pointed at Luna.

“She’s your new Guardian!”

I heard Vessa whispering something, and Luna hesitantly lifted the Crystal into the air. The townspeople stared at her when Sai suddenly came out onto the square. He walked over to Luna and knelt down, and after a moment of hesitation, Luna put a hand on his head. I heard her murmur a blessing, and Sai got up, but he’d barely left when Fain came out onto the plaza. He, too, walked over and knelt before Luna, and once he’d received his blessing, he turned to the crowd.

“I have no wish to take my uncle’s place. We have a new Guardian who will guide us well.”

There was a whisper through the crowd, and after a moment of hesitation, the first person dared to break free and hesitantly walk over to Luna. The woman bowed, and I saw Luna put a hand on her head and murmur a blessing, and soon, more people followed until a queue was formed.

Vessa walked over to us.

“I’ll stay with her. You can go back.”

I nodded, and we made our way back to Aegon in silence. It was odd seeing people gathering around another Guardian, but I was happy Vessa had taught her well.

We gathered underneath the awning once we’d climbed onboard, and Kine turned to Fain and Sai.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

Fain chuckled.

“He gave me a run for my money. You’ve grown since I left,” he said, turning to Sai.

He smiled.

“You taught me well.”

“Did Tanur tell you anything?” Mitrandes asked Sai.

He shook his head.

“He only appointed me as his Champion. I couldn’t say no…”

They fell silent. How had Tanur known we would come? As far as we knew, the Worms could only see you when you touched the Flow, and none of us had done that since that time in Tovira when we defeated Lucius.

Kine turned to me.

“Did the Worms speak to you in the temple?”

I nodded.

“They only said that they could help us, like they always do.”

“That’s it?” Tore asked.

I sighed, trying to remember their words. I’d barely listened to them, knowing they only told lies.

“They… said we couldn’t trust the Council and that they had done their bidding in the past.”

Ifrim stared at me.

“I was right. They are working together. Isn’t that what I’ve said?”

I hesitated. We knew the Worms lied, and neither Lucius nor the Companions could touch the Flow unharmed.

“They’re just trying to get us to listen to them again, right?” Aase asked.

Fain frowned.

“They don’t lie…”

Kine opened his mouth to speak, but Fain said,

“It’s what Nolar always said. They won’t tell you the whole truth, and they can show you a future that isn’t set in stone, but they don’t lie.”

I stared at him. I remembered her telling us that when we were there, but back then, I didn’t understand the full meaning of it.

“You mean…?”

“The Council is working with them?”

Fain sighed.

“I believe so… Or they have done it in the past at least.”

Ifrim scrambled up.

“Lucius…”

I stared at him. We’d left him on his own...

“We need to go to Varja…”

“It’s too dangerous,” Mitrandes said. “We can’t navigate through the mountains in this rain.”

“But what if Fain is right? We can’t leave him by himself.”

“We can use the Flow,” Kine said. “I used to do it as a courier. I can show Silje.”

“It’s not enough with only one person.”

“We have the harness,” Tore said. “We’ll be two who can touch the Flow.”

Mitrandes frowned.

“We would need someone here too who can touch it. It’s too risky to leave Luna on her own.”

He turned to Ifrim.

“Could you stay?”

Ifrim frowned.

“He’s right,” Kine said. “We need someone here.”

Ifrim opened his mouth to speak and then closed it and nodded.

Frenzy erupted after that as we rushed to prepare. The sun was already setting, but we decided to leave as soon as we could instead of waiting until tomorrow night, even if it meant we had to rest sooner as day came. Mitrandes gave a talking stone to Luna so we could stay in touch, and once everything was ready, we gave a hurried goodbye and set out.

I leaned over the railing, peering into the darkness to will the ship to go faster. Was it really true that the Council worked with the Worms? But Mitrandes trusted them, or at least had done, until now. Had it all been a lie? But then, why had Lucius helped us even if he didn’t need to?

Aase walked over to me.

“Come, let’s go to the others. There’s no use waiting here.”

She pulled at my hand, and I hesitantly followed her to the steering platform. Fain and Vessa had decided to stay to help Luna, and with Ifrim also gone, it was strange to see such a small group left on the ship.

We huddled together under the roof, trying to keep out of the rain.

“Can’t we try to fly in the day too? There aren’t that many Monsters,” I asked when I couldn’t stand the silence any longer.

Mitrandes shook his head.

“It’s still too dangerous.”

“But I can fight them?”

“No, we need you to navigate. Two of you aren’t enough to do both.”

“If only Ifrim were here,” Aase sighed.

I stared into the darkness when Tore hesitantly said,

“Do you think we can learn to touch the Flow? Aase is right, Ifrim can do it after all.”

“It’s too risky,” Kine said. “What if you get infected?”

“But what if I’m there?” I said. “I can help kill it.”

Mitrandes shook his head.

“I believe they can sense that you are here once we touch the Flow, and they don’t come when you’re around any longer. So we would still be alone if we tried. Kine is right, it’s too risky.”

He fell silent for a moment before saying,

“But maybe we could use the harness.”

I frowned.

“What do you mean?” Kine asked.

“I don’t fully understand it, but the harness seems to hide you from the Worms,” Mitrandes said. “If one of us wore it, they could help kill the Worm if the others listen to their fears.”

“You mean…?” Tore hesitated.

Mitrandes nodded.

“Maybe that’s how we could learn to resist their fear safely.”

I stared at him.

“Do you think that would work?”

“It’s worth a try,” Kine said.

“Shall… shall we try now?” Aase asked.

Kine glanced at Mitrandes, who nodded, and Aase hurried to get the harness, and I followed the others down onto the deck.

“Who wants to go first?” Kine asked as she came back up.

Mitrandes took it from Aase.

“I’ve used it before.”

“I… I can try to touch the Flow,” Tore said.

Mitrandes put it on, and Tore closed her eyes before hesitantly reaching out to touch the Flow. The air began to shimmer for a moment before it died out and the deck became still.

“What happened?”

Kine frowned.

“It… didn’t come.”

“It’s what I said. It’s too afraid of Silje,” Mitrandes said.

“Go below deck,” Aase told me.

I hesitated, but Aase shooed me away, and I left them. It seemed to take forever until Aase finally burst down the stairs.

“She killed it!”

I hurried after her up on the deck only to see Tore grinning in the pouring rain.

“It worked!”

I ran over to her.

“Mitrandes was right,” she beamed. “They are much less scary when you know someone has your back. They aren’t even that difficult to kill if you’re not afraid.”

Just like Nolar said…

“Let me try it,” Kine said.

I left to go below deck again. Would this really work? Could we learn to touch the Flow again? I tried to listen for any sound until Aase rushed down the stairs again.

“He did it!”

I rushed after her up on the deck. Kine was grinning, and Mitrandes was holding the harness in his hand.

“It worked!” he declared. “Tore was right, it’s much easier.”

“Does that mean…? We can learn to use the Flow again?”

“We can teach the people…"

“We could kill the Monsters… We can travel again as we used to…”

I stared at the others. Was that it? We could defeat the Worms? But… The Council must have known about what the harness could do. If they truly wanted to defeat the Worms, why hadn’t they done anything about it?