Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Across Worlds with You, Part 9
Kit Campbell
“Okay,” Theo said for the fifteenth time. “So, just for the record, we might die instantly.”
“You said that already,” Will said.
He should be worried about potentially dying instantly, but for some reason he wasn’t. Maybe his brain had gone back to the psychotic episode theory. Maybe he’d bought into the whole prophecy thing. Or maybe he innately trusted Theo’s magic.
Or just Theo.
Anyway, Theo or his magic hadn’t led Will astray yet.
They were standing in yet another waystation. While Theo opened the gate—was he getting sick of opening gates? Had he ever opened a gate before he’d come to save Will?—Will stared around at it. This one was a light blue stone, almost like turquoise or aquamarine. Who had created the waystations? Why were they all subtly different? Or maybe they weren’t there at all—maybe it was just how their brains, or Will’s, at least, perceived it. He should ask Theo what he saw.
Although not right now.
The blue of the gate opening illuminated the corridor in front of Will, bringing it up to daylight levels. He turned to find Theo packing his supplies back into his bag. They’d packed the amulets as well.
“Okay,” Theo said yet again. “Let’s go over this one more time. I’ve enchanted these”—he indicated two new, different amulets in his hand—“to block the Darkness’s powers so we can walk through it without dying. In theory. So we should be able to walk through this world and retrieve the last amulet.”
They’d gone over the plan at least a dozen time. It was an untested spell—not surprisingly, there was a lack of people lining up to give it a try—but even so, Theo’s anxiety was obviously skyrocketing.
Will took the offered amulet. “There’s something else, isn’t there?” There had to be. Theo had remained relatively calm through all the other times they’d almost died, after all. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Theo looked up at Will, something—guilt?—flashing across his face. “I can’t…” He stopped, licking his lips. “I can’t do any other magic while we have these on or the spells will cancel out.”
Oh. Will’s own heart skipped a beat. Yes, that could be a problem. It meant no shields, and that they’d have to leave the gate fully open, not that that would matter, since the Darkness was already successfully navigating the different worlds.
But Theo relied heavily on his magic, or had for the two days Will had known him. No wonder he was so terrified to not have use of it.
“Hey.” Will gave Theo the biggest smile he could manage. “We’re going to be okay. We’ve already come so far, and we’ve got the prophecy that says we’ll be successful. I’ll be right by your side.”
Theo didn’t look convinced, but he did nod and slip his own amulet over his head. Will did the same. He touched Theo’s arm gently before stepping through the gate and the blue light.
The Darkness’s home world did not improve upon closer inspection. Theo’s amulet worked—must have, since Will was not dead—but even so, the air was oppressive and heavy, like the sky was pressing down on him. A haze hung everywhere, and the ground cracked under his feet. Everything was gray or brown and absolutely, positively dead.
Theo appeared a moment later, looking pale but determined. Unlike when Theo had left the gate partially open, the blue glow did not diminish as they walked away from it, though it did fade like a curtain had been pulled over it, just from the Darkness surrounding them.
“Do you think it knows we’re here?” Will whispered. “Like, is it conscious of everywhere it inhabits? Or is there a central brain sort of area?”
Theo blinked. “What makes you think I would know? We’ve literally spent decades avoiding the thing and trying to get rid of it. It has killed thousands of people, destroyed whole forests of animals and plants. I don’t think anybody ever stepped up and tried to communicate with it.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Which way?”
Will closed his eyes, focusing on the amulet he’d seen before—copper, with a golden stone. Slowly, the image formed again, this time accompanied with a hint of direction. It was somewhere behind them. Or Will was imagining everything and probably going to get them killed.
Only one way to find out.
He pointed, and, without a word, they both headed in that direction. The surrounding landscape was completely silent—not even a rush of wind in the distance disturbed the absolute quiet. Nothing moved. Will’s own breathing—and Theo’s beside him—seemed to come from somewhere outside of him, diffusing through the haze and making it even heavier.
What had this world looked like before the Darkness had destroyed everything on it? Had it been like Earth, Helstena, Elewilde, full of plants and animals and people? Why had the Darkness come into being? How had it? And why was it not content to stay here on the dead world it had created?
There were no answers to be had. Will peered at the haze around them. If he asked a question, would the Darkness even hear it? And would it have a way to answer?
Theo kept his own counsel, occasionally glancing around like he was looking for something. Or waiting for something.
They walked for what felt like, and may have been, hours. The level of light in the sky never changed, and during the entire trip not a single thing moved. The landscape did not change since everything was dead, and one husk of something looked much like another. Will felt like he was trapped in a time bubble. Nothing except the growing ache in his feet denoted that they’d been moving at all.
Still, Will’s maybe-sense of the amulet led them on.
Eventually the landscape did change, at least a bit. The ground became rocky, and they found themselves slowly but surely gaining elevation. The stone structure Will had seen must be somewhere up here. He wished that his sense of the amulet would get stronger, like a weird game of hot and cold, but it stayed the same.
Theo cleared his throat. “Hey, Will,” he said, “I—”
He shut up as quickly as he started. Will turned to him, to ask what was wrong. Behind Theo, down where the landscape had shifted, something moved.
Will’s breath caught. He pushed past Theo, squinting. Yes, something was definitely moving.
After a moment, diffused through the haze, he heard it. The dragging, hissing noise. Different somehow, but definitely Deathcrawlers.
He grabbed Theo by the arm and started running. They crested the hill they were on, and there, just ahead of them, was the stone structure Will had seen, a low light glowing from within. Will ran a few steps more, but Theo dug in his heels, bringing them both to a stop.
“What are you doing?” The Deathcrawlers were getting closer. “We need to keep moving.”
Theo was as pale as Will had ever seen him. “They’re going to catch up. I can distract them, block them from you, and once you have all three amulets you can do what’s needed.”
Will’s heart ran cold. “Block them how?”
Theo looked away.
Oh. “But if you use magic—”
“I know.”
They were wasting time. They just needed to go. “No, absolutely not.” Will grabbed Theo’s hand again. “We’re almost there.” Again, he managed a few steps before Theo stopped them.
“Will,” he said, quieter this time. “I can’t go with you.”
What in the world was he talking about? “Explain. And fast.”
“The prophecy,” Theo said unhelpfully. Behind him, out of sight, the Deathcrawlers grew louder, their limbs scratching against the rock.
“What about it?”
Theo licked his lips. “The prophecy says that when the prophesied one uses the amulets, he’ll do so alone. That all his companions will have fallen.” He swallowed. “I was never going to be there at the end with you. This way, I can make sure you have the time to reach the amulet. It has to be done.”
“That’s a load of crap,” Will said before the words fully sunk in. “Why would you—or Destia—agree to help me then?”
Theo shrugged, his attention straying back toward the ridge. “When I started I was only five, and twenty-five, when you would come back, was forever in the future. I spent a lot of time watching you, Will. I got to know you better than I knew anyone else. And I—” his voice cracked, “I would do anything for you. It was never a hardship.”
Behind Theo, the first Deathcrawler crested the hill. These were different than the other ones he’d seen; instead of two arms and two legs, these had four of each, making them look strangely spiderlike.
Theo thrust his bag into Will’s hands and gave him a shove toward the structure and the final amulet. “Go! I’ll give you the time you need.”
This…no. This was stupid. He’d had Theo his whole life without really knowing him, and now he was going to lose him when he was finally getting to see him for himself? For what? Some stupid amulets that Will didn’t know how to use anyway?
Theo had known most of his life that he was going to be hurt or die at Will’s side because the prophecy had said so. Everyone back in Helstena had given up on any other form of defense because of this prophecy. It really was a terrible way to mount a defense.
Well, the prophecy would have to get its act together. Because Will was not going to let Theo die because of it.
Leaving the stone structure and the third amulet behind, he pushed past Theo, firmly planting himself between the sorcerer and the oncoming Deathcrawlers. Theo made some sort of noise of protest.
The Deathcrawlers were uncomfortably close, the maws that were left of their faces wide open and drooling.
He never had learned what a Deathcrawler did when they caught you. Oh well. He’d probably figure it out very shortly.
Theo grabbed him from behind. “What are you doing? You’ve got to get the last amulet!”
“I don’t have to do anything.” The closest Deathcrawler was almost in range. He was going to die. Theo was probably going to die too. This was perhaps the dumbest thing he had ever done for principle alone.
Well, he did have two out of three amulets. And the original sorcerers had held the Darkness off with one each.
Sure, they hadn’t worked last time. But what did he have to lose?
Will fumbled them out of Theo’s bag, holding one in each hand. Pointing them at the Deathcrawlers, he willed them to do something.
But they didn’t.
“Oh, good grief,” said Theo in his ear. He reached his arms around Will, pressing against his back, to place his hands on Will’s wrists. “Repeat after me.” He spouted off some of the gibberish that accompanied his spells, and Will did his best to copy it.
The amulets flared, bright light arcing out in all directions. The Deathcrawlers let out an unholy shriek. Will scrunched his eyes shut, waiting for death. Or whatever.
But it didn’t come.
The light faded, and Will tentatively opened one eye. Theo was still pressed against him, in a position Will hoped they could try again in better circumstances, but around them…was clarity. The haze that had permeated every inch of this world was gone, at least around them, and there was no sign of the Deathcrawlers.
“Did we break our breathing amulets?” Will asked.
“I…don’t know.” Theo sounded shaken. “We’d better move while we can.”
Will nodded as Theo slowly extricated himself. He slid the amulets back into the bag. Behind them, the structure still stood, the light from the waiting amulet brighter now that the Darkness, at least here, had cleared out. Will walked over to the structure, which might have been something, once upon a time, when people still lived here. Maybe the Darkness had formed here. Or maybe this structure was one of many, none of which meant anything in particular.
Inside, the last amulet lay on the ground. Will delicately picked it up. “Now what?”
Theo leaned against the side of what could be considered a door. “Don’t ask me. I wasn’t supposed to be here at this point.”
Will pulled the first two amulets out again, holding all three in his hands. “I know the idea was to drive the Darkness back to this world and seal it, but if we use these here, can we just…get rid of the Darkness entirely?”
Theo smiled. “Only one way to find out.”
#
Will stared at his reflection, turning his head this way, and then that. The movement was unfamiliar, like he was doing it for the first time—though it was just the first time he’d actually seen his own reflection really do it, as opposed to Theo-acting-as-his-reflection.
Was it weird that he missed the old one?
The Darkness was gone. At least, it was gone from Helstena, and the world the Darkness had come from, and Elewilde, after someone had gone to check. The prophecy had saved them, or so they were saying.
God, prophecies were so stupid.
He splashed some water on his face and left the room, heading down to the dining room below. The amulets had gone to the Council, to be used to clean up any lingering effects from the Darkness. They’d been tested on Destia’s foot, and she was already up and about, causing havoc and no doubt stabbing things.
Downstairs, the Historian was waiting for him. She sipped from a cup of tea, another sitting on a table waiting for Will. This one was a different blend from before, warming and oddly sharp.
“How did it feel, saving the world?” she asked.
He hadn’t saved the world. He and Theo had done it together, and what would have happened if Theo had stupidly sacrificed himself because he thought he had to, and then Will wouldn’t have been able to use the amulets because he didn’t know how?
“Frustrating,” he replied.
The Historian didn’t seem surprised by his answer. Maybe nothing surprised her. “And now?”
That was the question, wasn’t it? Will stared down at his tea cup. He could go back to Earth, finish his degree, fight Clarice for employee of the month. Do what he thought his life was going to be. There was no reason why he couldn’t.
Or he could stay here. He had family here he’d never met. And his mother, who had diligently raised him back on Earth, was from here as well. Surely she’d want to see the rest of her family.
Or would she? Maybe it had been so long that she was set in her ways back on Earth, no longer wishing to return home.
What would he do here? He was neither a swordfighter or a sorcerer. No doubt there were other jobs, but differential equations and coffee-making probably prepared you for none of them.
And then there was Theo. Will felt his cheeks heat. They had the opportunity now to actually get to know each other, as opposed to watching from afar. Maybe it wouldn’t go anywhere, but he wouldn’t know if he didn’t try.
As if summoned, Theo arrived, entering without knocking. The Historian indicated a third cup of tea that Will hadn’t noticed. Theo stared at it, then sat without taking it.
“I wanted you to know,” he said without preamble, “that we can open the gate to Earth at any time. And, if you wanted, I would be happy to come with you.” He didn’t look at Will, instead swirling his cup around on his saucer. “I’m sure I could find something to do with myself. Go to college or something.”
“I don’t know that I could ask you to move worlds for me.” Will could picture Theo, though, sitting in a coffee shop, reading, or studying in the UMC. He would look right at home, though he’d have to lose the leather pants.
Or would he?
“I don’t mind.” Theo still stared at his tea, like all the answers of the universe lay at the bottom. “It’d be nice to actually get to interact with things, instead of just staring at them.”
The Historian sipped her tea.
Will closed his eyes. Maybe if he focused, he’d get an idea of what the right choice was.
But, alas, nothing came.
Opening his eyes, he placed his tea down on the table. It looked like, at least in this case, his destiny was up to him. “Hey,” he said, waiting until Theo finally met his eyes. And then he smiled.
The End