Kiersten's Arc

Chapter 18 of 33

Kiersten woke on the bench outside the pod and knew before she stood that the hunter had gained ground. Her body was rested. That was the problem. Witness sat clear and strong in her chest, and the signal Witness gave off was brighter now that she was not too tired to hold it. She could feel the pulse of it against her ribs like a second heart. Somewhere past the fountains, the thing in the valley was walking faster. Mirelle set a cup of water in her hand. "He is closer," Kiersten said. "Yes," Mirelle said. "The sleep gave you strength. Strength shines." Quantum came in from the outer ring, his robe damp at the hem from the fountain spray. Ananda followed, crystal ring already spinning on one finger. Aldric was behind them, staff in hand, the flame at its head steady and small. Behind Aldric came a taller man Kiersten had not met, tan-skinned, dark-haired, a dragon's tail at his back and seven stones set in a line down his armor. He carried a staff with a heart stone at its top. "Aurelius Draconis," Aldric said. "He knows how to carry a signal without spilling it. We asked him to come." Aurelius looked at her once. "I have been hunted too." He said nothing else. Quantum set his book on the bench. "The lock. Now. Before he crosses the ridge." They drew Kiersten into the center of the bathhouse floor, where the flower-of-life pattern was cut into the stone. Ananda placed the crystal ring at her feet. Aldric planted his staff at her right. Aurelius planted his at her left. The two flames leaned toward each other above her head and did not touch. "Breathe the pattern," Ananda said. "Three in. Six hold. Nine out. Do not lose it if the ground shakes." Kiersten breathed. Three. Six. Nine. Witness moved with the count. The bright pulse against her ribs slowed and folded inward, tucked behind the rhythm like a lamp behind a shutter. Quantum spoke the seal in a low voice she could feel in her feet. Aurelius held his stone steady. Aldric's flame caught Witness's edge and closed around it. Outside, one of the fountains stuttered. Then held. Mirelle said, "He stopped." Kiersten opened her eyes. The pulse was still there, but quiet now, hidden inside the count. She could feel the hunter past the ridge, standing still, listening for a signal that no longer told him where she was. "He will circle," Aurelius said. "He knows the last place you sang from. He will come looking with his eyes." Quantum picked up his book. "Then we have bought her the distance, not the ending." Kiersten set her cup down. Her hands were steady. The lock held. The man in the valley was still walking, only slower, and she was ready to be found.