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“Accident. I can walk in the hollow, but I can’t control it very well.”
“I see. Well, there are eleven realms, or eleven levels connected to our world. They are all different, or at least should be. Fae and deathbringers usually walk through the third realm. We don’t see much of it. All we can do is go from point to point, or circle to circle. As if… Imagine fae can’t see, and all we do is walk through these pre-made paths, or hold on to these ropes leading us from one place to another. If we lose them, we’ll get lost. Deathbringers, for some reason, walk in the hollow and can go wherever they wish. That’s not completely safe either. If they don’t pay attention to where they are going, they could end up somewhere dangerous. We tend to use the third realm because it’s the safest. There are no large creatures living there, and that’s probably from where the idea that it’s hollow, or has nothing, comes from.”
“What’s in the third realm?”
“Not much. A dead land, and a warning, a warning for something that should not be repeated.”
“It had life once?”
The fae nodded. “All gone now.”
“And how do you know that?”
“The shapers speak, and some of them are very old and can see through windows into other worlds. Do you know about that?”
Leah shook her head.
“Well, one reason deathbringers can be so dangerous is that they can open glimpses of these other worlds. Imagine you could open a door, and on the other side there were horrifying monsters. There are bars, though, all you’re doing is allowing a glimpse of it, and yet it can be terrifying enough to scare animals. That’s one thing deathbringers do.”
“What if we were to open those bars?”
“What if… I’m sure you can picture it.”
Leah almost told her about those creatures helping her with the battle in Umbraar, but decided to listen more and see how much she was willing to trust the fae.
“Of course,” Leah said. But she had one question. “How can deathbringers kill with a stare?”
Another smile. “And here you are, afraid of me. You open that passage a little more. It’s usually to the fifth realm, where they survive by sucking life force. So you aren’t opening the door wide enough for creatures to come in, but it’s a slit wide enough for them to pull someone’s life.”
Leah swallowed. “That’s… dangerous.”
“Indeed, but I believe deathbringers spend a lot of time learning to control their magic, so that it’s somewhat contained. You, on the other hand, don’t have that control. There’s danger in it, but it can also be an advantage. Anyway, as I was saying, there are eleven realms, with varying degrees of danger. The one you need to worry about is the eleventh. Have you ever heard of it?”
Leah shook her head.
“It’s a prison. A prison for things, creatures, beings that can’t be killed. Now, imagine how strong someone must be to become immortal.”
“Souls are immortal. Why take the trouble to stick to your physical form?”
“Who knows? Perhaps they are souls, like your dangerous spirits.” She pointed to Leah’s necklace. “But if they are, they haven’t crossed over to the land of the dead, they haven’t re-entered the life cycle. I don’t know why. All I know is that there are powerful creatures in the Eleventh realm. Now, can you imagine what all these creatures could do once together?”
“Fight each other?” She didn’t think they would just sit around nicely.
“Probably. Until one day someone shows up and unites them. What do you think happens if they do that?”
“They try to escape.”
“Tryis not the right word. Realm after realm, they’ve been getting through. They have a leader. In the language here, they call him thesy laa on, or chain-breaker. We call him Breaker in the Ancient language. He promises freedom and power.”
“Power?” Leah’s stomach was cold all of a sudden, remembering how she had felt when that voice had made her kill.
Iona narrowed her eyes, as if reading into Leah’s reaction, but then just said, “Yes, power. That’s why he is celebrated as this chain breaker.”
“I assume he’s trying to get into our world.”
“Indeed. Actually, he is from there. I can’t say whether he’s already back or if he’s getting there. He can’t move out of his own will, but he can do what a deathbringer can, which is to open these windows. Through them, he can communicate with magic wielders or even normal people, and, if he finds someone willing and capable, they will let him through. Even if he’s not there, he’s strong enough to influence someone and can cause pain and destruction. I’ve been considering all this, and you might think it’s an excuse, but Ancients and humans had lived in peace for generations in Aluria. Generations. We speak the same language. Then all of a sudden we’re killing each other?”
“Is that why you think this… uh… Breaker is returning?”
