When We Were Still Human by Vaughn Foster (best ereader for textbooks .txt) 📕

“The ancient grimoire that houses all knowledge of man, mirage, and Le Ciel?” Raeyluk tried again. Avia waited for her Mark to pulse like it had in the castle, but no vision came. The twins’ mutual silence told her that, whatever this book was, Michael hadn’t given anyone the details.

“Really?” Raeyluk sighed and set down his mug. “The Kirkos-Arkhen had been trusted under Lord Daemon, but after his mutiny, it disappeared. The fact that Michael sent two of his Sins to the center of the Southern Kingdom would only suggest that he’s finally tracked it down.”

This wasn’t right. No matter how educated a guess, there was no way for him to know what they were. “How do you know so much?” Avia growled. She stepped closer to his chair. “And why do you have it?”

“A… friend of mine told me what I need to know,” Raeyluk answered cheekily. “Don’t worry, I haven’t told anyone of Michael’s schemes and curses. However, I am afraid I can’t give you the book.”

“A friend?” Avia clenched her fists.

“Daemon,” Paris whispered.

“Alright, yes, it was him,” Raeyluk confessed, throwing up his hands in mock-defeat.

Avia stopped in front of him, stunned. He confessed that easily?

Raeyluk’s eyes were endowed with pride; it was like he’d been waiting his entire life for an opportunity to publicly defend his master. “While your beloved king seeks to destroy this world, Lord Daemon sees something worth saving. The Southern Kingdom is a barren wasteland. Nothing can grow here, and to build would be impossible with the glacial winds. The spells from this book have united us. These people were on the verge of becoming a land of lawlessness and violence, much like the Eastern Kingdom was before Lord Dracule. The magic I perform through the Arkhen has saved them. We are the only city on Earth to even rival the magnificence of Le Ciel.”

He stood and Avia’s fire extinguished like a match. An invisible force coiled around her body and pulled her towards him. She tried to fight it, but quickly lost against the pressure. Against her will, her feet followed him to the back of the house.

“What the hell?! Let me go!”

To her right, Castor was doing his best to fight the spell. He strained his arms and legs against the invisible chains, but was inevitably dragged beside Avia.

Raeyluk smiled at them, then waved his hand in front of the posterior wall. It shimmered and rippled before fading away into mist.

Avia couldn’t contain her gasp. Buildings and towers of solid ice decorated the skyline. Sunlight sparkled against the glossy surfaces, and even a mile away, she still had to squint. A colossal, rune-covered barrier surrounded the city with large gates posted throughout the wall.

Raeyluk stepped outside into the snow and motioned for them to follow. In an instant, they all stood in the heart of Ys. An elegantly carved stone fountain was placed in the center square. The water was spouted up and frozen into the flag of the Southern Kingdom—a trident crossed over a snowflake.

“Do you really want to tear this down?” Raeyluk asked. His mug was back in hand and he was peering expectantly over the rim.

Avia swallowed. “If that’s what it takes…” But she couldn’t deny it. Ys was something out of a fairytale. The dominant race was selkie—humanlike creatures whose skin darkened into seal spots on their upper arms and shoulders. Freckled faces and dark, round eyes were the most visible feature. There were some, however, whose seal-resemblance carried into fur and large pawlike hands and forearms.

A few sweeps of the square showed that the population of Ys wasn’t limited to Selkie. Mirage of different species cheerfully walked together, laughing and talking like age-old friends. Some, Avia recognized by her Mark. Milling about were several glacials, people made entirely of ice, or amarok, white-furred relatives of the lycans. Others were a mystery.

“Barbegazi,” Castor pointed out as she stared at a small man conversing with a blue-scaled Atlantean woman at a vendor’s stand. His skin and hair were the color of snow. A matching beard stretched down to his waist with shards of ice frozen into the hairs. Each boot was comically large compared to his stature of four feet.

“A race of dwarf found in the arctic mountains,” Paris explained. “They’re not known for being people-friendly, so it’s rare to see them out and about or…” Castor stared a moment longer before turning back to Avia. “Or buying cappuccinos.”

“It’s as I told you,” Raeyluk said, clasping a hand on Castor’s shoulder. “It’s paradise. Go, explore to your heart’s desire. You will find that all life is not as wretched as your ‘holy king’ would have you believe. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Raeyluk cleared his throat and took a step back. “I was in the middle of a good book before you came.” A loud pop echoed through the air and a cloud of smoke spread out from where he was standing.

“Wai—” Avia started, but he was already gone. The smoke cleared and it was just the three of them.

“Well,” Castor said. He turned to face Avia and shrugged. “We might as well have a look around.”

Chapter 19

A flickering smirk. An open palm. A wave of darkness. That was all it took. In half a second, she’d been transported back to the castle. Back to the damn castle she’d spent all morning trying to escape.

A scowl rolled across Val’s face as she angrily tore down the hall. The corridors had stopped shifting, or at least she hadn’t noticed anything abnormal. She passed what had to be the third servant in ten minutes and tensed. He nodded in greeting, careful not to disrupt his cart, then pressed forward. Val’s eyes darted to his feet. His shadow