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  “I’m sorry,” Sena said contritely. “I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just that … well, I’ve never heard of metal talking before. In fact, I had never even heard of Lixor before now. It must be a very uncommon element here on Xanos. Besides,” she frowned. “Neither my mother nor my aunt could hear you talking.”

  “Xanos?!” the Dyx practically screeched. “I’m on Xanos? Oh, boy, those gods really do have a sick and twisted sense of humour.” She rolled her one amber eye towards the ceiling and continued her rant. “What did I ever do to any of you that you stick me on this primitive rock you call a planet? Sybela, is this your doing you old hag? Hah hah very funny, joke’s over, now take me home!”

  Sena stared at where her necklace was looking and saw nothing. “Um, no offence, but who are you talking to?”

  “To Sybela, of course, the wicked witch who shunted me here!”

  “Uh, are you talking about the goddess, Sybela?” Sena gasped. “You know the goddess of nature?”

  “Who else?” the Dyx quipped.

  “You know the goddess?” Sena whispered reverently. “As in you’ve actually met her?”

  “Of course I have, though the gods only know I wish I hadn’t!”

  Neither spoke for a few moments. Sena was too busy trying to understand what was happening, and the Dyx, well, she still seemed to be waiting for something or someone to appear.

  “Looks like she’s not coming, she usually shows up when I take her name in vain you know,” the Dyx sighed dramatically. “Well, let’s hear it then. It looks like I’m not going anywhere anyway.”

  “Hear what exactly?”

  The pendant rolled her eye. “Your story of course, well, and mine too now I guess since you’ve woken me.”

  “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

  “Not that kind of woken, you know, woken as in roused me from my centuries of slumber, well, decades of slumber. Anyhow, tell me, how did I come to be in your possession here on Xanos? And how is it that your touch activated me?”

  “I honestly don’t know how you came to be here. My Aunt Zehra gave you to me for my sixteenth birthday.”

  “So rites of passage, eh? Lived through plenty of those all right,” she cackled gleefully then peered at Sena closely. “You’re not yet sixteen though. A few days off by my reckoning.” She snorted at the look of incredulity on Sena’s face. “Don’t look so impressed, youngling, determining your age is a no-brainer for me. And if you think that’s cool, you ain’t seen nothing yet.” She paused suddenly, her eye glowing brighter in the dimly lit room. “There is something about you. Hmmm, you look much like …” the Dyx gasped. “You are kin of her kin! But how is it that you are here on Xanos? Oh,” she muttered to herself. “It is time then. I should have known. Just as it has been written,” she trailed off, confusing Sena more with each word. “Okay, let’s start over. I’m not a morning person after all, and you did wake me from my deep sleep. I’m Zirh, although you can just call me Z. It is nice to meet you.”

  “I’m Sena, pleased to meet you too.”

  “Now that the pleasantries are done, let’s get down to business,” Z proposed. “Who, what, where, when, why, oh, and how?” She rolled her eye when Sena continued to stare at her mutely, a deeply puzzled look on her face. “Okay, amiga, I’m trying to figure out what we know so far.”

  “About what?”

  Z sighed melodramatically. “Oh, brother, you have no clue what I’m talking about, do you? Okay, let’s start from the top. I’m Z, Dyx extraordinaire, and I am now your best friend, bodyguard, and adviser all rolled into one fabulous looking package, if I do say so myself,” she practically preened. “Anyway, my fabulousness aside, what do you know so far? How far into your training are you? Have you attained the third level yet?”

  “Third level?” Sena could barely keep up with Z, as the latter fired away questions that she did not understand.

  “Surely you’ve met your guide by now and started your training?”

  “Oh, I just met her today, in fact. I hadn’t even known about other worlds before today though. It was all a bit of a shock really.”

  She was cut off by an ear-piercing shriek from Z. “Gods and their trousers! You only just met your guide! How in the name of the Sybela herself is that possible? Who is your guide? Tell me which one of those lazy so and sos has been slacking off? You should have been almost at the third level by now. I am going to have words with the upper management, mark my words!”

  “She said her name was Sya,” Sena volunteered.

  Z stopped mid-rant and stared at her mutely for a moment. “Say what? Who did you say?”

  “Sya,” Sena repeated. “She has long shiny chestnut hair and blue eyes. She is beautiful—”

  “Yes, yes, they are all beautiful even the ones that shouldn’t be,” Z retorted with a huff. “But what is the meaning of this? What are they playing at now?” she muttered to herself. “This is highly irregular to say the least! To train the girl herself, and to leave it so late.”

  “Listen,” Sena burst out. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I have no idea what is going on! First, I get pulled into a Hyios, which I had never even heard of by the way! Then I not only meet Sya, who claims to be my guide, but I am also informed that my parents did not in fact die. Oh, and there are other worlds aside from Xanos I had never heard of, and my father is apparently still alive. Oh, and best of all, he’s an alien! Which means I am part alien too!”

  “Feisty little thing, aren’t you?” Z cackled heartily at Sena’s rant. “Good, I was beginning to think I had ended up in the hands of a timid mouse. You are much like her, you know. Let’s hope you’ve inherited her core of steel too, you’re going to need it.”

  “Who is the she I am supposed to be so like?” Sena exclaimed. She wanted to know what on Xanos was going on. Enough was enough.

  “I’m sorry. I did not realise how little you had been told. My bearers are usually prepared from birth, and trained too. I cannot understand why they have waited so long with you. But in answer to your question, the one I keep mentioning is my previous wielder, Dyara. Those bestowed the honour of the Dyx are always women of power and strength.” Z trailed off. She would have continued, but it seemed the gods did not want Sena to know certain things for the time being. She would respect their wishes, for now at least. “Your guide, Sya, will at least have informed you that you will need to be trained? Good,” she said at Sena’s nod. “I will do my best to help you prepare for it. We are going to have our work cut out for us, that’s for sure.”

  Chapter Seven

  Darkness reigned. The shadows of the tall Pilar trees loomed over the now deserted streets, their leaf-laden branches rustling almost imperceptibly in the light breeze. The only sound in the otherwise deafeningly silent night was the soft call of a bird somewhere in the distance. A cloaked figure hobbled unhurriedly down a dark and abandoned alleyway, alone but fearless despite the reputation of the area. Ironically, it was probably safer here in the heart of the Wildlands than in the clean and beautifully maintained central zone of Sylios.

  The Wildlands had earned a certain reputation over the years. It was where the undesirable members of Sylian society lived. They were reputed to be dangerous, seeking to learn and use magics and spells out with what the status quo deemed safe and legal. Something which no Wildlander would deny. They were a group of Hectians and Sybeli who believed in seeking their own truth and refused to follow the rules of Xanos blindly. They were feared by polite Sybeli society and viewed as volatile and unpredictable. In fact, they were more than happy to see these rebels move outside of Sylios main and settle in their own city of sorts.

  The Sylians would be happily asleep in their beds tonight. The Wildlands were a topic rarely discussed or thought about in most circles. They were merely a small settlement of outcasts on the outskirts of the city. The cloaked figure chuckled, the sound c
arrying across the thick silence. Little did these Sylians, sheep that they were, realised that over the decades, the Wildland population had swelled, so much so that now their numbers stood at just over half of the Sylians themselves. The figure stopped in front of a derelict looking shack, muttering a spell quietly. A soft light glimmered around the broken down door, which slowly creaked open in welcome.

  “Ancient one!” an awestruck young man gasped, as the figure walked into the house and threw back her hood. “I … that is you … I … um, well, we did not expect you,” he stuttered nervously. The poor thing looked like he was about to pass out.

  “At ease,” she replied kindly. He was obviously one of the new recruits and had been tasked with guarding the entrance. “I was not expected,” she agreed. “But something has happened, which has made it necessary for me to come.”

  “Of course,” the lad nodded emphatically. “I did not mean to question your presence, ancient one. I just–”

  “Breathe, young one,” she suggested kindly. “And please do not call me ancient one. It makes me feel so old.”

  The guard blushed deeply, horror spreading across his face as her words sunk in. “I am so sorry! The others told me that if I should ever meet you, I should make sure not to offend you and to address you only as is correct.”

  “Ah,” she smiled. “I believe you have been had as your generation likes to say.” She patted his arm warmly.

  “Don’t take it to heart, Ry, we have all been there. It’s practically a rites of passage into the guard,” a voice said from behind them.

  “Sir!” the boy, Ry, stood to attention.

  “It is good to see you,” the woman said to the newcomer.

  “And you, Lyli,” he replied warmly. “You have been in isolation too long.”

  “It was necessary, dear boy. Come, let us go into my chambers, we have much to discuss.”

  “Something has happened,” he stated once they were alone.

  She nodded. He had ever been observant. She had seen through the façade of insouciance and frivolity he presented to society the first time she ever saw him. The gods themselves must have guided her to find him. Over the years, he had become her most trusted colleague, her right hand man. “Yes,” she nodded again. “The wheels have been set in motion. I was visited by one of Sahat’s finest.”

  He glanced at her slight limp worriedly. “Are you all right, Lyli? Did he harm you?”

  “No, no,” she brushed off. “This is of my own doing. I may have put a little more power than my old body can handle into the spell I used to get away. I forget my age sometimes, but no, I do not believe the young man I encountered meant to hurt me actually. I sensed darkness in him, yes, but I also sensed something more. There was love in his heart.”

  “Oh, Lyli,” he teased. “You always did have a soft spot for any who had even an ounce of good left in them.”

  “Cheeky young pup,” she laughed heartily. “You were one of those, you know. The gods only know where you would be right now had I not been the sentimental fool that I am.”

  Although she was merely teasing him, there was more truth to her words than he cared to admit. Five years ago, when they had first met, he had been on the cusp of choosing the wrong path. Motherless since infancy, an absentee workaholic for a father, and swayed by wrong friendships, he had been sucked into a world he did not understand—on a collision course with consequences he shuddered to think of even now. His so-called friends had been into messing around with powerful and forbidden magics they could not control, and it had not been long before they pressured him into joining in. A chill raced down his spine, as he remembered what he had almost done that night so long ago. Tyler, the self-appointed leader of their gang, had decided that they were to actually use the magicks they had been practising on secret. They had all been wary, but Tyler, with his charisma and guarantees that no one would get hurt, had managed to sway them in the end.

  They had hung out near the city centre later that night, waiting for the crowds to lessen, and the right target to appear. Finally, shortly after two in the morning, a petite elderly lady had turned into the alleyway where they lay await.

  “Right, this is the one!” Tyler had announced, a strange fervour shining in his eyes.

  “But she’s just an old woman!” he had protested, uneasy with where this was headed.

  “You heard Tyler, no one is going to get hurt,” one of the others whispered back. “All we are going to do is have a little fun. And perhaps, see if she has anything worth nicking.”

  “No one said anything about stealing!”

  “Stop being such a baby!” Tyler turned to glare at him. “You’re lucky we even let you join the group. Now shut up and get on with your part!”

  Cheeks aflame with embarrassment at the put down, he had walked out of the shadows towards the woman. What was she even doing walking down a dark alley at the dead of night by herself? Didn’t she know how dangerous the city could be? As he neared her, he took in her appearance. She was petite and well dressed with a head of snow-white hair. He swallowed down the bile that was threatening to rise in his throat at the thought of what he had to do. His job was to distract her long enough for the others to work their spell.

  “Good evening,” he said politely coming to a stop in front of her.

  “Good evening to you as well, young man,” she replied, a twinkle in her eye. “Shouldn’t you be at home safe in your bed? Your family will be worried about you.”

  Taken aback by her concern, he stared at her mutely.

  “I do believe you would be better off heading home,” she urged him lightly. “This is no place for one like you. I can see you home safely if you wish.”

  “Now!” came a shout from behind them. It was Tyler. They were really going to do this.

  “Get down!” he shouted, as he leapt to stand in front of the woman trying to shield her from the attack.

  He watched as though in slow motion, as the almost black shimmers of the spell snaked towards him. It occurred to him belatedly that Tyler had chosen one of the most harmful and powerful spells they had found in the forbidden books. Only the most dangerous spells turned black when used. Bracing himself, and surprisingly calm and resigned to his fate as he waited for the strike to hit him, he had but one thought—regret. Regret that he had wasted his time with the likes of his friends, regret that he had not been a better nor a stronger person, regret that once he was down, they might actually hurt the old woman behind him. He closed his eyes and waited for the end.

  “What the?” he heard Tyler shout. “That’s not possible!”

  Opening his eyes, surprised to still be in one piece, he gasped as he took in the sight before him. The old lady stood in front of him, though he hadn’t heard her move. She had her hands stretched out in front of her, dark amber beams of magick flowing effortlessly from her fingers, as Tyler and the crew were trapped motionless in bubbles of magic in the air.

  “How?” he gasped.

  The old woman turned to him slightly, amusement clear in her almost black eyes. “Appearances can be deceiving, young one,” she chuckled. “With age comes frailty, but also experience and wisdom. You will learn that in time.” She turned back to the others and with a flick of her wrist, the magick shooting out of her converged into a giant sphere of light so bright he had to cover his eyes.

  When he opened them again, they were gone.

  “What did you do to them?” he trembled.

  “Nothing they did not deserve,” she answered. “Oh, do no fret so. I did not harm them. I merely sent them to a friend of mine who will see that they are no longer in a position to hurt others.” She turned around and began to leave the alley. “Well, come along. I haven’t got all night, and I would rather see you home safely before I head about my business.”

  That had been the start of his association with Lyli. For whate
ver reason, she had chosen to overlook his actions that night and had taken him under her wing, training him, and teaching him until she felt he was ready to join her following. As for his old crew, he found out later that a small group of teenage boys had been arrested and sent to the Sylios correctional facility, which considering they had actually used a kill spell, was probably too lenient a punishment.

  “When will you stop blaming yourself for the past?” Lyli asked astutely, bringing his attention back to the present.

  “I never could hide anything from you,” he smiled wryly. “And it is all good and well that you are okay, but what happened?” he asked more seriously. He could tell that she was in pain, although she hid it well.

  “Bah! It’s nothing,” she protested. “Just old age, I’m afraid.”

  He ushered her into a seat, noting the slight wince she made as she sank down. “No, It’s more than that.”

  She sighed. “I may have taught you too well, young one. The others did not notice.”

  “The others do not know you as well as I,” he replied, arching a brow.

  Lyli scrutinized him for a brief moment and nodded. “Very well, I had hoped to delay this conversation, but it seems matters are to force my hand.” She paused. “I need you to listen to me very carefully. What I must tell you is of the utmost importance and it is vital you follow my instructions.”

  He nodded.

  “I am not long for this world. I believe you know this in your heart of hearts.”

  Sorrow settled on him as he acknowledged what he had already known for some time.

  “Do not mourn me,” she chided gently. “First of all, I am not dead yet. Secondly, you are one of the few to know that my death is merely the beginning of another life. Thus, it has always been.”