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No matter how many times she descended the staircase, the brilliant light emanating from below never failed to temporarily blind her. Shielding her eyes with her hand as they adjusted, she approached the shimmering sphere nestled against the back wall. It towered above her, grazing the beams of the ceiling, and its diameter filled over three quarters of the underground room.
She blinked twice and took her place in front of it. Her hands extended toward the surface and she braced herself, never sure what to expect when she made contact with the strange object. It was smooth and malleable beneath her cautious touch, and ripples appeared on the surface as if her fingertips were pebbles skimming across a tranquil pond. As she moved, the blue-green swirls shifted inside until a faint image appeared.
Tirani observed the transformation from the bottom of the steps as Liora focused on bringing clarity to the intended scene. The sphere depicted an empty field located miles from their present location. Though she had seen it many times before, she couldn’t remember if she had ever physically visited it. Several moments passed until it was if they were staring at a photograph, a vivid representation of one of the outer regions of the kingdom.
The picture was not flawless, however. Once it stabilized, she found what she was searching for. “See? Right over there,” she said, gesturing to a dark smudge hovering over a patch of tall grasses.
“Ah, yes. What do you think caused it?”
“Since you haven’t told me of any attacks, I assume it’s just normal wear and tear on the energy barrier. These things happen.”
She closed her eyes and reached out again. With her fingers outspread, she placed her palms flat on the quivering surface and visualized the imperfection disappearing from the scenic landscape. Warmth spread beneath her hands, and she opened her eyes to see a halo of yellow light emerge from them. Pale flashes shot out toward the unwanted blotch, deep into the core of the sphere, and surrounded it from every feasible angle. The spot faded, and when the light departed, there was no trace of any defect in their view of the field.
Liora let out a breath she’d been holding. “Much better.”
“Very good. Do you need to rest now? I can leave.”
“I’ll go lie down soon. But first, I want to show you something.”
They returned upstairs, and Liora stood on her toes to reach into the dusty recesses of a high shelf. She retrieved the object she sought and crouched down to show it to Tirani. “Look, I finished another one!”
In the center of her palm lay a small stone. A whirlwind of aqua clouds spun beneath its surface, and it gave off a pleasant glow. Tirani plucked it from her hand with one of her legs and held it in front of her head. “It’s lovely, dear. Whatever happened with the others?”
Liora leaned back and fell into a sitting position on the floor, exhaling a sigh. “Nothing. Well, not much anyway.” Tirani returned the gem to her hand, and she twirled it around in her fingers. “The first one landed in some sort of watery world, which wasn’t very helpful. The next one appeared in a jungle of sorts, and was batted around by some savage beasts for a while before they lost interest. I don’t think they would have been much help to me, either.” She frowned and rested her chin in her hand. “And the last one, I watched for days. No one—no man, animal, or any other living thing—ever came by. I think the land was uninhabited.”
“Perhaps. Maybe this one will be a success!”
“I hope so.” The frown deepened. “I must say, I’m a bit apprehensive about taking pieces from the sphere. I don’t want to damage it, and I’m worried about what could happen if I remove too many.” Her fingers instinctively went to the bracelet on her left wrist, brushing against its tiny green jewels. “But it’s my only way to see anything beyond this forest. It’s the only way I can contact someone who might be able to free me from this place.”
Tirani patted her knee in a comforting gesture. “I know, dear. I know. And as much as I enjoy your company, I can’t fault you for wanting to carve out your own path, to have something more than this.”
“Thank you.” She forced a weak smile. “I don’t even know where I’d go, if I was able to leave. I guess I could try to figure out where I came from. Maybe then I’d remember something outside of these four walls.” She tilted her head to the side and gazed down at her petite friend. “Tell me about your home again?”
“Liora, I must have told you the same story over fifty times already,” she teased.
“I don’t care. I want to hear it again before you leave and I go lie down. Please?”
“There’s still not much to tell.” Despite her initial reluctance, Tirani folded her many legs beneath her and took a seat. “I came from a country which shared a border with Marindal. It was thickly wooded, even more so than here, with trees soaring hundreds of feet into the air, reaching above the clouds. I lived up in those trees, high above the ground, in the branches.”
“It sounds nice,” Liora murmured.
“It was all I’d known. I didn’t have strong feelings toward it one way or the other.”
Though her companion had assured her there was no one listening in on their conversation, she lowered the volume of her voice. “We’ll get you back there one day.”
“It’s a nice suggestion. We shall see.” Tirani hopped to her feet and made her way toward the door. “I’ll be back tomorrow. Be sure to get some rest!”
“I will.” Liora stood up with her and waved from the window until she had disappeared from sight. Once she was alone again, she returned her attention to the crystal in her hand. It twinkled in the sunlight before she closed her fist around it, gripping it until her knuckles whitened.
She went back downstairs and took her spot before the sphere once more. Inhaling deeply to steel herself for the reaction, she plunged her hand beneath the surface, as far as she could reach. Icy waves cascaded over her skin, and she did her best to ignore the stinging sensations on the parts of her submerged inside. “I hope this works…” she whispered. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the stone into the nucleus of the sphere, where it vanished.
Liora withdrew her hand and clutched it to her chest, rubbing it for warmth. She had no idea if her attempts to reach out to someone who could break her free from her prison would amount to anything, but she refused to give up on even the smallest glimmer of hope. Satisfied with her work for the day, she left the basement behind to lie down on her bed upstairs.
Chapter Nine
There were no flaws in the energy shield the following day, leaving Liora with a free afternoon. Rather than waiting upstairs for Tirani, she stayed in the cellar and faced the sphere. As she was bound to the massive ball of power, so was she bound to all parts of it. She needed to learn where her last extracted piece had landed. Placing her hands on the gleaming surface, her mind reached out to find the small stone she had sent flying away.
An image appeared. She saw dense blades of grass, surrounded by low, green bushes and leafy trees. Up above, hints of a cerulean sky peeked out from between the thick branches. It was not unlike the land she called home, and she tried not to let her expectations climb too high. If this new world looked similar to hers, perhaps it was inhabited by a similar species, and someone could possibly—
