Kiersten's Arc

Chapter 17 of 33

Kiersten walked into the keep at noon and set her hand on the table to keep from swaying. Her eyes burned. The hunter had not opened the portal again, but she had lain awake three nights waiting for it. Ananda's crystal ring sat in front of her. She could not remember the pattern. Three, six, nine. The numbers slid off her. Quantum lowered his book. "You cannot learn like this." "I have to," Kiersten said. "He is coming." "He is coming faster if you collapse," Quantum said. "We have the frame of the door. We do not yet have the lock. A student who cannot hold a breath cannot hold a seal." Mother Angel came in from the hall. She looked at Kiersten's face and did not smile. "You need water and sleep, in that order." Her voice stayed even and kind. "I know a place that will give you both without opening the door." Ananda stood and stretched. "Crystals are great, but they cannot outwork a woman who won't nap. Come on." They walked her to the bathhouse at the edge of town. The dome rose above the street, its stone carved with the flower-of-life pattern. Fountains ran along the front steps. The keeper waited in the doorway. She wore a pale robe. Her hands were folded. "Mirelle Clearwater," Mother Angel said. "She keeps the water here. She has done this before for people the world was chasing." Mirelle looked at Kiersten. "You have not slept." "No." "Come in." Inside, a healing pod stood at the center of the room. It was shaped like a tall egg, its frame silver, its glass panels stained in soft colors. Light glowed from within. Mirelle opened the door. "The water inside carries a frequency," Mirelle said. "It will hold you under. Nothing enters this shell. Not a dream. Not a portal." Kiersten looked at Quantum. "You are sure." "The pod sits inside our ring," Quantum said. "We watch the outside. Mirelle watches the water. You rest." Kiersten stepped in. The door closed. The water was warm to her ankles, then her ribs. She sat. Witness settled against her heart like a hand. She slept. She slept without dreaming. No kitchen. No boy. No auburn eyes looking up at her. Just dark, warm water and the low hum of the glass. When she woke, the light in the pod had shifted. Mirelle opened the door. Kiersten stepped out steady. Her hands were her own again. The burn behind her eyes was gone. "Six hours," Mirelle said. "You can have six more tomorrow." Quantum was already writing. "Now we build the lock. You will hold the breath. You will hold the seal." Kiersten nodded. Outside, past the fountains, past the ridge, something in the valley kept walking toward her. She had bought herself the nights she needed to be ready.