Page 175 of Ash and Feather

In the shadowof gathering storm clouds, pressed against the weather-worn outer walls of my old house, I was waiting.

After giving the tellesk—and all their previous visits—some more thought, a pattern had occurred to me: I realized thesecreatures almost always appeared during the moments when I was at my weakest, emotionally or otherwise. They could read emotions and thoughts, Valas said; it seemed to me that they werefeedingoff these things, as well.

So I’d been making sure to give them plenty to eat.

After every trip to check on my sister, I walked back outside and made certainnotto try and calm myself down for once. Like throwing bait into the water, I let my confusing thoughts and emotions cast off me without any attempt to reel them in.

On my third trip outside, it had finally happened: I spotted another shadowy creature slinking through the bushes, its shining eyes fixed in my direction.

Mairu had been by my side, too, her controlling magic ready to seize the beast and hold it still.

It remained in her hold, now, while I braced myself against the wall and soaked up all the knowledge she could give me about the place I was attempting to reach—and the upper-god who would hopefully be there to meet me.

“Are you certain about this plan?” she asked, for what might have been the twelfth time.

I nodded confidently, showing none of the trepidation I felt. “I’m going. And I’m ready to do this.”

She studied my face, searching it for lies, before eventually relenting with a sigh. “I’ll pull my magic away quickly so it doesn’t interfere with yours. You’ll have to be swift to catch the creature.”

I thanked her and started creeping my way toward the rustling bushes. I couldn’t see the creature itself, only its movements and the few scraps of energy that managed to escape Mairu’s hold.

“Be careful,” the Serpent Goddess called softly—and then released.

The spidery tellesk let out a terrible noise as it finally skittered entirely free of her spell. It tumbled and spilled from the shelter of the bushes, all long legs and swirling, chaotic energy.

That shadowy energy cocooned around the creature the way my threads of fire often surrounded my body before whisking it to somewhere else, leaving nothing behind as they unraveled.

I dove before it could completely disappear, catching it around the middle, trying to ignore the brutal chill of its shadows and the way its spindly legs flailed and scurried against my arms. Its body gave in an unsettling way—I thought maybe it was made purely of shadows until a tighter squeeze had my arms finally closing in on something solid.

Its legs continued to creep and crawl against my body, scrambling for grip. The chaotic energy around it explodedoutward, enveloping me in a cloud, as if I was squeezing a powderpuff.

I held in a cough, eyes watering, but managed to call forth my own magic and surround myself in ropes of flame.

While I surrendered to the weight and pull of these ropes, I simultaneously focused on the tellesk’s energy, thinking of nothing else except findingmoreof it—the greatest concentration that existed in this realm or any other.

I pictured that energy sinking into my own. Willed my fire to use it as a guide until, finally, I felt myself being lifted away from the mortal realm.

The chill of the tellesk’s power overtook my warm magic more completely. It was so overwhelming that I couldno longerthink of anything else, even if I’d wanted to. I felt nothing, touched nothing, breathed in nothing except the dark bits of energy. The more I inhaled, the more my awareness slipped. The more weightless my body seemed to become.

I reached a state of complete surrender that lasted for perhaps a heartbeat, or maybe for a lifetime—however long it took, I eventually tumbled from the embrace of the transporting magic and into someplace new.

I landed on my hands and knees upon sandy black ground.

Straightening, I gasped, eyes widening at the beauty before me.

I was standing in a garden awash in a pale, silvery glow, surrounded by blooms of every shade of white and blue imaginable. Trees with gnarled trunks and tangled branches towered above. A stream ran through it all, its waters milky and shimmering. The scent of spice and jasmine filled the air.

The darkness was lit only by a smattering of star-like dots in the dusky purple sky. After my eyes fully adjusted to the low lighting, I noticed a narrow path edged by smooth, perfectly circular stones that glowed with a soft white light.

I followed this path out of the trees and into a bright field covered in long, swaying blue grass.

As I inhaled the crisp air above this field, I knew I’d made it to Valla; the feel of magic was the same as in the middle-heavens, only magnified a hundred times over. It was enough to crush me if I stood still too long and focused on it too much—I understood now why the Winter God said most visits to this realm were short ones.

But I wasn’t afraid.

The power here was overwhelming, yet I’d been prepared for far worse, based on what I’d seen of the God of the Shade and the creatures he created.

Instead of terrifying shadows and scores of creeping, threatening beasts, the field I pushed my way through was bright and full of docile life, teeming with curious, firefly-like insects and swirls of sparkling, beautiful magic that made me feel perfectly aware yet entirely calm whenever I passed through them.

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