Chapter Fifteen: When I Close My Eyes

  The sentence sent a jolt of jarring shock through Elijah, who knew enough not to gasp, but felt his heart stop. What was he supposed to do if they said no from the beginning? He’d expected a negotiation with them, not an outright refusal of help. That wasn’t planned for, and the Karthans were evil, right? Who knew what they would do to him if they…Shut up!

  Guide? He asked.

  Listen up! While this was a surprise to me as well as you, the situation is not critical. This is a negotiation, so negotiate!

  But I don’t even know what I’m negotiating for completely!

  Follow my lead, then, princess, and don’t mess this up!

  “I understand your hesitation in this matter,” He said to the Karthan Emperor, careful to repeat all of his Guide’s words. “But you must understand we do not wish for you to see yourselves destroyed because of this.” The Karthan guards hissed in a decidedly un-humanlike way, sending chills through Elijah, and the Emperor’s eyes narrowed, her bony hands reaching to wrap around a bony, acacia staff, its head flowing outwards into an orb of strange purple light.

  “Is that a threat, your majesty?” She asked, fingering the staff lovingly, almost a warning in a way.

  “Of course not,” Elijah said—smile coyly!— smiling…coyly. “I merely wish to present to you the reality of our situation. Our Queen has much affection for you and so she would never send you into that hellhole if she expected you to get destroyed. Not only that, but you see the problems Advantia as a country is facing. You rely on us, and if all our enemies attack, then Advantia will fall, and the Karthans…” he chuckled awkwardly, hoping the Karthans took it as confidence. “The Karthans will be soon to follow, and I’m sure you know this.”

  Cracking her head, the Emperor nodded and smiled, but there was no warmth in it, only an unnerving, careful display of apathy.

  “Oh, but you forget,” She said, waving around the room. “You, as a country, need us. How would you have districts in the capital, how would you keep the law, how would you even live without us and what we can do?” Lightning crackled around the room, making Ellijah jump, and the light in the room grew just a little bit dimmer. “If we so desire, we could pull out and join the Bharghejn, and what would you do then?”

  Einar reached for the princess’ hand and found it, gripping it tight. Elijah could feel it trembling, but the Ulfúr’s face was a mask of confidence.

  “Now that is what I believe is called a threat,” He said. “I’m sure my mother would love to hear of this.”

  “I intended no offense,” the Emperor hissed again, clearly annoyed by her slight loss of self control. “We wish not to go to the Bharghejn because they are unreliable. At a moment’s whim, they may decide to shoot the messenger as the message. I believe that is why the Queen will not send one of her own. Whoever I send there will not return. Even if we did parlay, who says they would obey it? The Queen is foolish to trust them.

  Raise your voice slightly now!

  “Queen Evangeline will be the judge of that, not you,” Elijah’s voice rose to a near-scream, the usually high-pitch turning into a deadly piercing low note. Being a princess sure has its quirks! “What is it worth to you if you disobey us? We wish little from you compared to what we give, and this is what you repay us with? We should have a mutually beneficial relationship, but you seem to think it should go one way. Never forget that before Queen Evangeline rose to the throne, you were illegal, and had no place to call home, and now look where you live!

  “Look at this palace! Look at this district!” The princess’ voice dipped again, but there was a fire inside him now, and he didn’t need his Guide telling him what to say anymore. Something inside him was fueling him. “You have created marvels, wonderful feats of architecture and sorcery that would have any man gasping in shock, but even you could not do that alone! Is it a risk to face the Bharghejn? Yes, but we also know how resourceful you Karthans are! I, and the Queen, have little doubt that not only would you be able to shield yourselves from any attacks, but that you have the power to convince them to parlay.

  “I understand that you do not trust me,” he continued, pulling up the relationship slides for the Emperor. Authority was at fifty-three, which he expected to be lower, but both trust and love were very low, at thirteen and ten respectively. “But you must understand we wish to protect you too, and whether you like it or not, you must remember the Queen knows more than you, and if you obey her, you will continue to live prosperously, to create these marvels, and without the Queen—without Advantia—I can guarantee no one would take you, no one would care for you. No one would protect you. You can protect yourself for a parley, but can you protect yourself against thirty wrathful nations?

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  “You are not well loved, even amidst the Advantians. But if you do not do this thing, your relationship with us will not improve. So, you see, it is in your best interest to obey us.” He finished, looking around proudly. Einar, whose ears were pulled back, looked on the edge of unsheathing his sword, his eyes narrowed and teeth bared ever so slightly. The Karthans, similarly, had a dark look about them as they glared at the princess, their decaying skin and black eyes a threat to Elijah. The Emperor, though, sat in contemplation, her eyes fixed only upon Elijah, her hands grabbing the plush chair firmly, gripping it like a lifeline.

  “You bring words of destruction, no matter how you hide them,” She finally said. “One day we will no longer take what you have to offer us, and when that day comes, not even the Gods shall be able to smile upon you and your rotting carcasses. I will be there when you fall, your highness, and what a wonderful day it will be for me!”

  “So, does that mean you’ll go through with it then?” Elijah asked, hope filling his eyes—don’t show emotion, they take advantage of that!—before hiding it and keeping his calm exterior, although his heart beat more rapidly than ever.

  “There isn’t much choice, is there? At least we shall get paid.” The Emperor responded, rising from her chair and turning to a table, whose contents were hidden from him. “As a gesture of our goodwill, we would like to offer you a token.” She returned to her chair, and, sitting down, she extended her hand. On it was a gorgeous black necklace, a small jet black diamond hanging off it. It didn’t look evil but inviting, seeming to reach hands out for Elijah, and he carefully took it in his hand. Beside him, Einar growled slightly. “We saw that yours had been stolen, and so we offer ours.”

  Don’t wear it, his Guide warned, voice careful yet almost fearful. There must be some magic set on it.

  Elijah began to pocket the necklace, but the Emperor’s hand reached out, snagging his wrist and holding him in a vice-like grip. Her hand was cold and brutal, and he gasped in pain. Einar unsheathed his sword, but three Karthans ran beside their Emperor and the Ulfúr cursed before backing off.

  “It’s alright,” the Princess assured him. “What do you want, Emperor?”

  “Put the necklace on,” The Emperor hissed, his grip tightening and Elijah squealed. “I vow on the Karthan nation that we have set no magic on it.”

  Karthans always keep their word, the Guide assured him. No Karthan in this room has cursed this object. Still, be careful as you put it on. There may still be a danger on it.

  Amanda Gold, the man from another world, nodded and the emperor removed her hand slowly. Massaging his wrist, Elijah raised the pendant to his neck. Beside him, Einar kept his sword unsheathed dashing next to the princess, baring his teeth as a challenge for any who dared to attack her, sword pointed straight towards the Emperor, who merely smiled in response.

  The necklace snapped around his neck, and a warmth spread through Elijah, a sort of peace overwhelming his body. It felt wonderful, but he remembered his Guide’s words, so he ignored it, focusing his glance and raising his head towards the Karthans.

  His eyes then closed of his own volition, like they had been stitched. He screamed, his hands reaching up to find his eyes, but there was nothing there, just smooth, unblemished skin.

  “GUIDE!” He screamed into the black, panic rising in his throat. “WHAT DID THEY DO TO ME?”

  But the Guide wasn’t there; she wasn’t in his body at all anymore. There was a certain emptiness instead, and he breathed in and out quickly, his hands clawing and clawing to reach his eyes.

  Oh, God, I’m gonna die! I’m gonna die!

  And somehow, it worked. His skin split and suddenly, he could see again.

  But he wasn’t in the Karthan’s castle anymore.

  Where he was he didn’t know. There was a vast expanse of black air, but the ground was a sea, a peaceful blue that ran for all directions, unbothered and clear, with no end to its depth. And Elijah, impossibly, was standing atop it, his feet touching the water but not disturbing it.

  “Where the hell am I? What the hell is happening?”

  There was no answer. Instead, his phrase was echoed back to him, and he was sure he was alone in this expanse of nothing. Slowly, he began to walk on the water. To the naked eye, it looked like a normal river, but the way he stood on it made it seem frozen. This wasn’t possible, and he ran forwards, hoping he could find an exit.

  What had the Karthans done to him? They’d promised there was no magic on the necklace, they’d vowed it, and even his Guide had told him there would be nothing, yet here he was, in an unfamiliar place with no way of escape. He reached his hands for the necklace, but it wasn’t there anywhere.

  After a few minutes of running, he stopped, grabbing his knees and panting. With a snarl of annoyance, he forced himself to admit he was lost.

  Sinking to the ground, he hugged himself around the knees and pounded the ground, screaming. Would he be stuck here forever until he died? He was still in the princess’ body, but he didn’t want to die in it. He just wanted to return to the life he’d had before, no matter how boring and safe it was.

  He didn’t want any more monsters, or magic, or cool architecture.

  But he had no choice.

  A bony, grey hand broke the river behind him and grabbed his head, forcing it back. Elijah screamed, struggling with his arms and legs, but the arm, visible only above the clear water, was just too strong, and before he fell under the water, he sucked in a breath.

  The icy water fell around his head, and then his entire body submerged around it. The force kept pulling him down, and more grey hands reached around his body, into his eyes, mouth, nose. He tried to scream, but he couldn’t, and the water entered his mouth.

  His vision swam, and his eyes closed.

  Thud.

  Solid ground. He was on…solid ground? He couldn’t feel the water around him either, so that meant…He opened his eyes to find himself in a new place, and he felt his heart sink as he looked around.

  Dorothy wasn’t in Kansas anymore.

  But neither was she in Advantia.