Chapter 8

“I know that you traveled through the portal.” Ki’s at the table, all of us seated around him, Ibei standing just behind him. He’d had us introduce ourselves, but it was clear it was just a formality, that he was itching to say this. His steel-grey eyes look at us with suspicion, and I see Beth swallow. Alyssa runs her fingers through her short hair, pulling out a knot while trying to look unconcerned.

Hombre is silent, his only reaction a slight raise of his eyebrows. He’d insisted I take off my bracelet when he saw me wearing it this morning and I had listened. I figure, if it stops anyone else from trying to take it, I’m fine with hiding it. I shift, trying to look calm. Why didn’t Ki say all this before? Was he trying to test us or something?

Since none of us are speaking, Ki leans forward, stressing, “I must ask your intentions. I don’t mean to keep you prisoners, but there is no doubt that we are soon to face a siege. Iifa showing herself to us yesterday was a challenge, and your appearance must have piqued her interest.”

“What do you mean by that? She saw us?” Hombre asks, his eyebrows furrowing and a frown forming on his face. A flicker of red enters into his iris ever so slightly. I glance at Ki, and somehow, from the way his eyes narrow, I know he didn’t miss the new color.

He continues as if he had, though, “She might have. One of the scouts saw her at the edge of the forest when you ran.”

I think about that strange smile she gave me and shiver. I look at Hombre, “She saw us. She smiled at me, but I got too wrapped up in everything and forgot to mention it.”

“She smiled at you?” He asks, confused. “Why?”

I hesitate, “I have no idea. I thought you might know.”

“It’s pretty clear he doesn’t really know anything,” Alyssa mutters.

I give her a look.

“Oh, right, be nice,” she sighs. Beth looks as if she doubts Alyssa can be.

Ki’s eyes are on me, curious. He’s still got that magnetic appeal to him and it makes me feel as uncomfortable as it did yesterday. I try to meet his eyes again, my expression bland, so that he’ll look away. When he finally does, he says, “You were lucky you acted so fast to come in range of our barriers. If you had stayed on the edges she might’ve captured you. Or killed you.” He shakes his head, “She might’ve even fed you to one of those things they ride, dismin or whatever they call them.”

Hombre’s mouth turns up a bit, as if he doesn’t believe him, but when he notices Ki looking at him he quickly wipes his face clean of expression. Ki raises an eyebrow, his mouth twisting a bit, like he’s trying to work out some puzzle.

“Barriers?” Alyssa asks, frowning. “What barriers?”

Ibei shifts behind Ki, as if uncomfortable with the question, but he offers, “We have shields which stretch the perimeter of the wall. I allowed you to pass through because I guessed you would be a valuable resource. After all, if you came through that portal, you must be from another world.”

“How do you know that?” Beth asks, her eyes huge. When Hombre shoots her a “what the hell are you doing?” look, she balks. “Sorry, I mean, we were just . . . uh . . . using it . . .”

“Stop talking,” Alyssa hisses from next to her.

A small smile is on Ki’s lips, and I see Beth blush, returning a hopeful grin. He responds, “These towers guard entrances into the other worlds, but the portals outside are exits for those returning from those other worlds into this one.”

I bite back a question that forms almost immediately: has anyone else come through the portal before us? I feel ashamed, realizing that some part of me is still, somehow, hoping that maybe my mother slipped through.

“Why are you telling us that?” Hombre asks, leaning forward, suspicious.

Ki considers him. Behind him, Ibei glances down at Ki uneasily, but she says nothing. Ki responds, “It must be because I assume that information would be of interest to you. Is it?”

“Maybe,” Hombre says. Good Lord. This is going nowhere.

Alyssa seems to be under the same impression, because she lets out a huff of frustration and says, “Darien, stop being annoying and just tell him what you need, alright? After all, he’s the one who has an army. You think he’s just gonna let us wander around freely if you hold out long enough?”

Hombre’s eyes shoot daggers at her, but Ki nods. He gives her a smile, and from how pink her cheeks turn I can tell that mysterious charm of his is working on her, too.

Beth shoots her a jealous glare, hissing, under her breath, “Thought you weren’t interested.”

“Since when do you care?” Alyssa asks, annoyed.

Ki’s speaking, his eyes on Hombre, “She is correct. I can hold this guard on you for as long as I please.” I wonder if he heard or understood Alyssa and Beth’s conversation. I get the feeling that he might be one of those guys who delights in attention. His eyes flick back to Alyssa, then Beth, and finally land on me. I try to keep on the same bland mask as before as he asks, “Would one of you ladies perhaps wish to speed this along?”

Hombre rolls his eyes. Before any of us can speak, he snaps, “Fine. Yes. We’re looking for the damn portal out of here.”

I see the corners of Ibei’s lips turn up slightly, though she’s wholly incapable of the radiant expression which now lights up Ki’s face. He’s somehow become even more bewitching, his features lining up perfectly now that he has the answer he wants. “Thank you,” he says, addressing only Hombre. “I assume, from your familiarity, that the last portal was not your first, correct?”

Hombre shakes his head, as if he’s affected by Ki’s spell, too, and glares at him, “What? What do you mean by that? Why does that matter?”

Ki shrugs, “I was curious. It could help you if I knew.”

Hombre narrows his eyes, “Are you threatening me?”

Ki shrugs again, “No, but I could.”

Hombre mutters, “Good luck.”

The room falls silent as Ki and Hombre stare at each other, stubbornly. I frown, annoyed, “Well, tell him, Hombre. It’s not like you really have much of a choice.”

Hombre gives me a look almost of betrayal, “You’re supposed to be on my side, chica.”

I shrug, “I am, but I want to know.”

His gaze is almost pleading, but I hold it. Finally, he turns away and says: “Fine. I’ve been through one other portal before. It led me to Earth.” He looks back at Ki, “I heard that woman, who we called the ‘golden woman,’ call my home the Warrior’s World. I assume that means something to you.”

Alyssa, Beth, and I exchange glances. This must be why he didn’t seem that surprised that another, new, world existed through the portal.

Ki leans forward, examining Hombre, “The Warrior’s World? Are you Corunnun, then?”

Hombre frowns, his fingers touching under his eye, “Did these stupid things flash or something?”

Ki presses, “If you know who Iifa is, then you must have been there when she stole the crown.”

Hombre tilts his head back, narrowing his eyes, “Yes. I was. I watched everyone I knew die and I couldn’t save any of them.” He adds, sarcastically, “It was wonderful.” He pauses and then asks, leaning forward, “Did she come through one of these towers? Did you guys let her through?”

Ki looks back at Ibei to exchange a momentary glance of regret before he responds, hesitantly, “Unfortunately, yes, though we did anything but ‘let’ her through. She managed to bribe one of General Acta’s soldiers to release the barrier, and then she and her forces assaulted the tower. Unfortunately, the Warrior’s Tower had been under siege for months, the tunnels collapsed so that no new troops could come through, and when Fypetari Command attempted to send troops over-ground, they were too late and the men too unfamiliar with traversing through the forests.”

Hombre looks away, his eyes dancing with color as his expression twists with pain and anger. I reach a hand out to him, but he pulls away and stands up, walking toward the window. He won’t meet my eyes. He won’t meet anyone’s eyes. My gut twists.

Ki speaks, his voice low, “I am truly sorry you bore witness. We did not mean to lose the tower, and we tried our hardest to avoid it. It has been our one great failure in securing the other worlds from harm.”

Hombre says, heavily, “I’m sure you tried. But I lost my whole life.”

Ki nods solemnly, and Ibei locks her gaze on the ground.

Alyssa, Beth, and I are quiet. Beth’s eyebrows are knotted together as she looks at him, and Alyssa has her arms wrapped around herself, guilt and sympathy marking her features. I feel my heart in my throat. No wonder he didn’t want to talk to us. I can’t look at him, instead staring at the table, feeling selfish for wanting an answer. I shouldn’t have asked for one.

The silence stretches for a bit before Ki speaks again, gently, “I have need of your help. Somehow you were able to travel through the portals. If we’re to stop Iifa and make sure that the other worlds are safe, I’m afraid that ability of yours is critical to our success.”

I look up, curious.

Behind him, Ibei stares openly, a disapproving frown pulling down the corners of her mouth, but Ki’s features are fixed with determination, his words picking up speed and confidence, “She’s been hacking away at us for too long, killed too many of my people. In the same way she destroyed your life, she’s been destroying ours. Worst of all, she’s taken away our purpose. For thousands of years, the towers have been bastions of knowledge, specializing in other worlds. We’ve defined ourselves by our ability to record their histories, to see their ways of life. But, because of her spies and bribes, our knowledge on how to work the portals has been decimated. We no longer know how to get through, and so can no longer do the job we were meant to. My people have tried to repel her for three generations. With her closing in, now, we have no more options. We’re running out of men, out of energy, out of ability. My soldiers may look strong, but they are far fewer than they’ve ever been. You coming here is a sign from Vehnia, that we can no longer hope Iifa will fail. Instead, we must take action.”

I frown at the word Vehnia. Who is that? Some god? Hadn’t Iifa mentioned that name?

Ibei says, softly, “Sir, Fypetari Command would not approve. We do not have enough men to send with them, and we can’t trust them on their own.”

Ki looks at her, frowning.

Alyssa speaks up, “Okay, I’m sorry, but someone’s going to have to explain why that woman’s attacking you. Who is she? Why are you fighting against her? Why is she trying to go through these portals?”

Ki looks at Alyssa, pausing, and then nods, slowly, “I suppose that’s a fair request.”

I see Hombre turn, curious, to listen, and Beth leans in, eagerly.

Ki locks his fingers together as he places his hands on the table. His eyes flick from one face to the next. I feel self-conscious when they linger on mine a bit longer than the others. He says, “Iifa is an anomaly. She has always existed, and it seems she always will exist.”

Alyssa stares at him, “What does that mean?”

He responds, “She is as old as the world itself. Maybe older. According to Iidan legend, she was collecting the portals and placing them here when they, the Iida, were still living aboveground, running after arctret and ebina and fighting the forests. She helped them learn how to build in the pits and enabled the Southern Iida to construct their massive towers. The Iida named her Iifa, as she had no name.”

Alyssa opens her mouth to ask a question, but he raises two fingers and she falls silent.

He continues, “My people, the Evenen, have always been very gifted in the water. It is said that the Spider and Menilyrth raised us up from its depths, but, honestly, I believe that our gift is more connected to the large number of islands the land presented us with. While the Iida had mountains to prevent the ocean from rushing into their chasms, we had flatlands, easily filled should they cave. So, we chose to live on the islands or in the sea, while the Iida found themselves safest in the pits, adapting to the high temperatures and learning to explore and expand vertically, rather than horizontally. My people were the ones who, eventually, found them.

“When we sailed to this land, we were surprised to meet the Iida and their golden woman, as you would call her. We couldn’t understand her except as a god. It has been rumored that god-like beings walk amongst our number, too, but they had always hidden themselves. She had no such interest, and the Iida either feared her or worshipped her. Since she was only interested in her portals in the Inner Lands, where we are now, it was easy for those who feared her to avoid her. She had gathered the portals here and built the towers, a loyal Iidan population keeping them and studying the worlds on the other side. She’d given them secret ways of traveling through the portals and it seemed like she was solely interested in mapping progress. When we arrived, she was eager to have us swell her numbers, and we were fascinated by the idea of new worlds and new places to explore and understand.

“For several thousand years my people and the Iida coexisted with Iifa, but about a hundred years ago it all changed. Iifa attempted to raid the Physical World, looking for an artifact, but she failed. Some among my people realized that her intent had changed from protecting the portals and studying their people to pursuing the items of power on each world, and so they set out to stop her, forging alliances in all the towers. When she left on one of the surveying missions, my people staged a coup and took over the towers while some brave soldiers in her party made sure that she didn’t claim an artifact. Many of the Iida supported her, and so many of them fought against us. It was a bloody day, but when she materialized outside of the Warrior’s Tower, she was empty-handed and no longer welcome.”

We stare at him as he comes to a stop, soaking it all in. Maybe this is why they speak English here? Why things seem similar? Is it because this world links to ours and others? But then, we could be emulating these people, as well, couldn’t we?

He considers us before he speaks again, “It is probably a blessing that you left the Child’s World when you did. I’m not sure what it means for the artifact there, but the tunnels have been collapsed and we haven’t heard from them in over a month.” I see Hombre shift, and I suddenly become very aware of the bracelet hidden in my bra. This is one of the artifacts, or, as Ki had said, an ‘item of power.’ But what does that mean? I still don’t have enough answers. Ki continues, “I suspect they’re holding out, since Iifa’s here and not there, but I doubt it will be for long.”

Alyssa’s face is pale, “What are you saying? Is the ‘Child’s World’ Earth? Are �" are you saying that we can’t get back home? That she’s going to go through and kill people?” I see Beth shift, nervous, and I look quickly to Ki, suddenly scared.

He sighs, “I wish I knew.” He looks at Hombre, “Perhaps your friend might know a way to take you home.”

Hombre glances at me, hesitating. He’s already told us that we can’t go back. What if we never can? It feels as though the floor’s dropped out from under me.

Ibei cuts in, insistent, “Ki, I am sorry to interrupt, but you are needed elsewhere.”

He nods, looking at each one of us as he says, “This conversation will need to continue later. Ibei will show you around. I’m afraid we must keep the guard on you, for now. You should not run into trouble, but just in case, they will help you.” He sighs and stands, nodding to us, “I am glad to have spoken with you. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

My stomach is tight as I watch him leave, wondering what could possibly be happening back on Earth �" if we can even go back. Maybe it wasn’t stupid to go through the portal. Maybe I should’ve brought more people with me.

Author's Note

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