Arbiter (The Arbiter Chronicles Book 1) (11 page)

The tension between her and Cathel had deepened, the silence becoming almost as oppressive as the wood.

“…I guess we just wait for it to come back?”

“Why are you asking me?” asked Cathel. “You should know best.”

Rae stared at Cathel. He seemed angry again, his green eyes burning as he stared in the direction the wisp had gone. But no…it wasn’t purely anger, she realized. Something else drove him to react this way.

Jealousy.

Rae’s eyes widened as realization hit her, the impact making her feel like she had been punched in the gut. And suddenly, she was angry. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been this angry at another human. He was jealous of her? That was why he was acting this way?

How dare he?

“Is that what this is about?” she asked, rounding onto him. “You’re jealous of the High Lord’s magic?”

“I’m not,” said Cathel, his eyes narrowing as he turned towards her. “What do you take me for? A spoiled brat?”

“Well that’s sure as hell what you’re acting like!” said Rae, taking a step forward. Cathel held his ground, his fist clenching as he stared her down. She didn’t know where these words were coming from. They bubbled up inside of her, and they refused to go back down.

“I don’t have to answer to you,” said Cathel.

“Are you or are you not jealous of me? Answer the damn question.”

“You’re being unreasonable. Just leave me alone. It doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

“So you have the right to treat me like crap, but when I get upset about it, I’m unreasonable?” she asked, stepping towards him again. “In what world is that fair? I’ve been standing here, just trying to talk to you, and you’ve been brushing me off for the past two days like I’m not even here. So how is that fair? How is that—.”

“It’s not fair!” shouted Cathel, raising his voice for the first time. She froze in place, staring at him with wide eyes. His voice echoed through the clearing, cutting like a knife through her anger. Rae stared at him, realizing that his hands were shaking, his face red with anger as he looked at her. “It’s not fair, alright. I know it’s not, so just stop pushing me.” He took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair and exhaling loudly in frustration.

“I’ve been training for years. The only thing I’ve ever wanted in my life was to be a mage. It took me years. You had one week, and already you’re learning the greatest Series in history. So forgive me if I’m not thinking straight right now.” 

She exhaled at his confession, lowering her eyes to the ground. She clenched her fists, the fire of her anger quickly becoming replaced by ice. “You think I wanted this?” she asked. “To be hunted by the Reaper? To have every damn Ivali we come across call me Arbiter? You think I want this?”

“I know you don’t,” said Cathel quietly, his eyes meeting hers. There was no anger in his voice this time, just the slightest hint of sadness and resentment. “…You don’t want this. You have everything I wanted, and you don’t want it. That’s what’s unfair.” He held her gaze, and whatever words Rae had died in her throat. She felt moisture gather in her eyes, and she realized with a hint of surprise that they were tears. She hadn’t cried in so long. How could someone like Cathel make her want to?

He looked away, his expression slightly guilty as he shook his head. “Forget it,” he said. “I’m sorry. I know. You’ve been through a lot. So just leave me alone…”

He turned away from her, walking away.

Alone…

Her hands shook as she stared at him, and she bit her lip, her hand curling close to her chest.

…Alone…

Her heart pounded beneath her hand, and she took a shaky breath.

…She was always alone.

Before she realized it, she had reached out, grabbing onto his sleeve lightly with her fingers and tugging him back. He stopped, looking back at her. Rae lowered her eyes to the ground, her free hand clenched at her side.

“I—,” she began, her words halting. “—Don’t…please. I can’t do this alone…so…please…just don’t…” Her fingers tightened around his sleeve. Why couldn’t she say it? Three simple words. Why wouldn’t they come out?

Don’t leave me…

A sudden bright light exploded in the air above them, bringing with it a crashing sound. Cathel’s eyes widened, and he moved quickly, pulling his arm out of her grip. Before Rae knew what was happening, he had tackled her to the ground, and she was falling…

She hit the ground hard, but her head remained off of it, cradled in Cathel’s arms. She felt the ground rise up around them, shielding them as the light grew more intense, crashing down to the ground like a meteor. There was a loud crashing sound somewhere in the woods, and she felt the ground beneath her shudder with the impact.

Then it was quiet again.

Rae stared up at Cathel, her eyes wide. He had pinned her to the ground, shielding her with his body as his eyes remained fixed on the sky. The ground had come up around them, forming a depression and half-shielding them from anything that happened to be in the area. Cathel’s expression was serious, his breathing heavy with the effort of creating the temporary shelter. She knew that he said the ground was uncooperative.

…Had he forced it?

He was warm. Too warm. And he was close. Too close. She looked away, feeling her heart pound relentlessly in her chest from the suddenness of the flash of light and the nearness of him.

At length, he slowly withdrew from her, getting up and holding out a hand towards her. His expression was unreadable, his eyes not looking at her as he waited to see if she would take his hand.

She hesitated, but she did, slowly grabbing his hand and letting him pull her to her feet. He released her as soon as she was standing, his hand slowly falling away from hers.

“…Are you alright?” he asked, as the ground returned to normal.

She found her voice, nodding once. “Y-Yeah…” she said, looking up at the sky. Their earlier argument seemed temporarily forgotten. “…What was that?”

“I don’t know…” said Cathel. “But I have a suspicion.”

“Which is?”

He turned towards her, his expression serious. “The last time I saw a light like that was the day I found you unconscious outside the Tower.”

The two of them moved through the forest as quickly as they could, heading towards the site of the crash. It was slow going. Unlike the neatly cultivated lands outside of the Tower, the forest in this place was ancient, and the underbrush had grown so thick that sometimes it felt as though she were swimming in an ocean of leaves. Larin had returned a few moments later, the wisp guiding them towards an easier road, but Rae had sent the small spirit off as soon as it came, asking it to go ahead to the crash site and see what was there. The wisp communicated with images, reminding her at times of a living camera. It would help for them to know what they were rushing into before they got there.

The path wasn’t really so much a path as it was a way through the woods that was less overgrown than the others. Cathel walked ahead of her, wary. She didn’t need to ask him why. This was old, old forest, and even though it was technically still in Alcian’s lands, she was beginning to learn that with the Ivali, old things were things better left alone.

He had his hand on the hilt of his sword, and Rae knew that if it came to that, he was prepared to fight.

She caught sight of a faint glimmer of light out of the corner of her eye and turned her head. At first, she thought it was Larin, but the wisp glowed a pale gold. This light was bluish, pale and ghostly. It was gone by the time she turned her head towards it, leaving with it a rush of cold air. She shivered, drawing up her arms and hugging them close to her chest.

Cathel glanced back at her.

“I thought I saw something,” said Rae, her voice hushed. His eyes darkened.

“…What?” he asked, looking into the woods.

“There,” she said, pointing.

She felt the cold air on the back of her neck again, seeing the bluish light out of the corner of her eye as it moved behind her. This time, as it disappeared, she heard it, a definite whisper on the air that made Cathel immediately tense.

…Tarethan…

Ghostly voices echoed the statement, coming from the woods on all sides. Rae looked around, but she couldn’t catch sight of any speakers, just more flashes of light deep in the woods. There were distinct voices, but she couldn’t quite make out how many there were. They spoke in whispers, but if she had to estimate, she would say that there were at least four of them, maybe more.

Tarethan, tarethan…

“Who are you?” asked Cathel. Rae jumped. His voice sounded unnaturally loud, compared to the quiet of the forest.

And it was quiet, she realized now. Earlier, there had been sounds. The sounds of animals moving through the woods, of birds in the trees. Now there was nothing but the voices around them, not even the wind.

He speaks…

…The tarethan speaks…

…He speaks the language of the betrayers…

…But he is human, the tarethan…

She felt something brush against the flesh of her arm, almost like a rush of wind or the touch of cloth. Rae jerked her arm back suddenly, her eyes wide as she stepped away.

…She is human too…

…Who is she?

She is not tarethan…

Not tarethan…

But she bears a mark…

The Thief’s mark, the traitor’s mark…

Another touch brushed against the side of her face, and Rae bit back a shout, raising her arm up to her face to protect herself. Her free hand fell by her side, light flooding the spaces between her fingertips. The light illuminated a small portion of the dark path, and she caught sight of faint figures wrapped in blue light as they flitted back into the trees.

“Who are you?” she asked, echoing Cathel’s question.

This time, the voices hushed, before whispering a single word.

…Arbiter…

…She is Arbiter…

…The Arbiter is here…

Rae took a deep breath, not recalling the light in her hand.

“Show yourself,” she demanded.

The Arbiter commands…

She wants us to show ourselves…

…Do we obey the Arbiter?

One of the bluish lights appeared in front of her eyes, motes of light trailing behind it. Rae stared. There seemed to be a faint figure outlined in the light, a small figure that was vaguely female, with wings sprouting from her back. She hovered in the air, before flying in a loop in front of Rae, her light trailing behind her.

It’s safe…
Rae heard her say.

Safe…

…The Arbiter is safe…

The other lights rushed out of the woods, hovering in front of them. Rae counted five, each one bearing a faint human shape within it. The shapes hovered in the air, occasionally bobbing up and down as the wind scattered them. The female shape returned to them, and the six of them watched Rae and Cathel, their heads tilted slightly as if studying them. Rae hesitated, but slowly absorbed the light back into her hand. Cathel removed his hand from his sword hilt reluctantly.

“What are you?” asked Rae.

They answered in chorus again, some distinct sentences coming through.

We are Ivali…

…Spirits, yes…

Spirits of the woods…

Spirits of between.

We exist in between...

Rae tensed at that last line. “In between?” she asked. “In between what?”

“In between this world and the next,” answered Cathel from behind her, before the spirits could get to answering. “Between realms. The Twilight Realm, and another.”

A chorus of delight erupted from the spirits.

The tarethan knows…

…He is learned…

He is a mage…

…A man of learning…

Rae scowled, ignoring the spirits’ chatter and turning towards Cathel. “Another?” she asked. “How many Realms are there?”

Cathel opened his mouth to answer, but the spirits beat him to it, swirling around Rae like a whirlwind of light.

Many…

Many, many…

Not all are for humans though. Not all are large enough…

Of the many, three remain, the others fade…

“Alright, yes, thank you,” said Rae, waving them away. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear where it had been displaced by the spirits movements, watching as they assembled to hover in front of her again. She exhaled, folding her arms as she studied them.

“...What was that light just now?” she asked tentatively, waiting to see if they would scatter again. “Do any of you know?”

They didn’t swarm her this time. Instead, they bobbed in place excitedly, flitting around and causing several swirls of blue light to erupt in the air around them.

We know…

Of course we know…

The Arbiter asks…

We will answer.

…It is the veil…

The veil is broken…

The broken veil…

Cathel tensed. Rae saw him step forward out of the corner of her eye, coming to stand beside her. “What veil do you mean?”

Between twilight and daylight…

…The veil is torn…

It is torn again...

Like the Arbiter…

Like the Arbiter…

She and Cathel exchanged glances. If the light had come when she had arrived from the Daylight Realm, the fact that that same light was here again…

“Do you mean to say that someone from the Daylight Realm is here? Besides me?” she asked.

Yes…

Yes, yes…

…Another human.

Another fallen…

He sends them…

The Lost One…

“Sends them?” asked Rae. “Does this happen often?”

Not often…

No, not often…

Fifty, fifty, and fifty…

…Three fifties since the last tear before you.

“Fifty what?” asked Cathel. “Fifty years?”

Fifty, fifty, and fifty.

Three fifties.

Rae paused, staring at the wood spirits. Three fifties. One hundred and fifty years? So it had been one hundred and fifty years since the last time someone had passed through the gap between the Twilight and the Daylight Realm. Was that the Reaper, then? The last person that had passed through the gap…

Ania was a hundred and fifty as well, and Alcian had mentioned that her father had been killed by the Grim Reaper. Maybe that was it—the thing that had gotten the Reaper cast out of the Twilight Realm.

But that was a thought for another time. Rae looked up at the Ivali. “The person that came here just now. Do you know where they are?”

There was an undercurrent of murmuring from the spirits, murmuring that Rae couldn’t understand. It sounded like a low rush of wind, before they flew upwards, light scattering around them as they moved in a quick formation.

The firithan…

With the firithan…

…The firithan has them…

Cathel’s eyes narrowed, and Rae saw his hand go to the hilt of his sword. “
Firithan
?” he asked, his tone serious. The spirits fluttered around nervously in response. Rae took that to mean ‘yes’.

To Dark Lord Moriwen…

He is here…

…Her firithan…

He wants the human…

…The human for the Dark Lady…

"The Dark Lady?" asked Rae, glancing at Cathel. 

"She was very high on High Lord Alcian's 
avoid
 
list." He looked away from her, facing the Ivali again. "Where are they?" he asked. 

Here…

Yes, here…

But it is not safe…

Not safe for the Arbiter, not safe for the tarethan…

The dark ones in the woods…they wait…

Another rush of light appeared, this time tinged gold. Rae turned towards it, seeing Larin appear out of the woods. “Cathel,” she said under her breath, drawing the mage’s attention to her as she extended her arm out in front of her. Larin perched on her forearm like a bird of prey, the wisp hovering just above her glove as light rose up from it like smoke. The light coiled around her, and Rae stared into Larin’s depths.

An image rose up in her mind, transmitted from the wisp to her. She saw a group of small creatures, their bodies seemingly made out of the bark and leaves of the trees themselves. They stood around a figure, ropes made out of vines in their vaguely human-like hands. Larin showed her another image, and this time she saw the figure clearly. It was a young girl, clearly human, and clearly no older than a teenager. She was unconscious, but the Ivali had pulled her into a sitting position, the vines binding her arms to her sides and binding her legs. Her hair was short and brown, and she was dressed in a light gray jacket, a pair of denim shorts, a blue baseball cap and sneakers. There was something familiar about her features, something Rae couldn’t immediately place. Larin showed her another image, and this time, she was looking at the back of something large. Large and feathered.

She withdrew her mind from the wisp and looked up at Cathel. The mage frowned at her. “What?” he asked. “What do you see?”

“Some kind of Ivali,” said Rae. “I’m not sure what. He’s big, though. And he has a girl with him, unconscious. She’s from my world. She’s young.”

“How young?” 

Rae shrugged. “High school age,” she replied. When Cathel simply gave her a blank look, she went on. “…Fifteen. Sixteen, maybe. Maybe younger. She’s short.”

“Damn,” muttered Cathel under his breath. He stepped forward, holding his hand out towards Larin. The mage turned towards her, giving her a questioning look. “May I?” he asked.

Rae shrugged. “Go ahead.”

Cathel nodded, lightly touching Larin’s surface. The wisp held still, and Rae felt it fluctuate slightly as it moved, parting to accommodate Cathel’s hands. His eyes slowly began to glaze over, his expression growing more and more serious.

“He’s got wood sprites with him,” Cathel said at last, looking back at her.

“Who?” asked Rae.

“The
firithan.”

This time, it was Rae’s turn to give him a blank look. Cathel sighed, turning towards her. “Friend of the Dark Court,” he explained. “The opposite of
tarethan
.” He ran his free hand through his hair, looking around at the forest. “But wood sprites are Dark Court Ivali, and we’re still in High Lord Alcian’s lands…”

These woods are old, tarethan…
said one of the spirits. The others chorused in agreement.

Deep, deep woods…

…High Lord, Dark Lord, it means nothing here…

…High Court, Dark Court…

In between...

Rae glanced at Cathel. On one hand, they couldn’t leave the girl here. On the other hand…she didn’t know if they could fight one of the Ivali. But as Cathel turned to look at her, the look in his eye brooked no argument. They were not leaving now.

“…We have to help her,” said Cathel.