Page 47 of The Cruel Dawn
Nine dawns.
PART II
THE ODYSSEY
Boundless Maelstrom, the heavens bow,
Your might undaunted, here and now.
With ev’ry storm, with ev’ry strife,
You guide us to eternal life.
Through lands of flame and seas of woe,
You hold us close, would not let go.
Your shining grace, a steadfast shield,
In ev’ry war, we did not yield.
You ready space within your gates.
You tend our fears ’til threats abate.
Our shields and swords are glass and foam,
We wander aimless, far from home.
Do not forsake us for our slights.
Our minds are vacant, dark as nights.
You are the way, you are the dawn.
With steadfast care, we carry on.
Lovely Maelstrom, our hearts true,
In faith, we march, we follow you.
With ev’ry breath, your name we cry,
Our goddess bright, who rules the sky.
–A Song of Praise by Grace Hallum
13
Returning to the Abbey of Mount Devour through the Glass of Infinite Realms, I can’t gain my balance, and I totter down corridors, clinging to the slick walls. Beams of light shine down on me, filling these hallways and shifting darkness. I can’t tell my foot from the shadow of my foot. Sometimes, I have to crouch and place my head between my knees. This shit’s making me sick.
Pale-skinned Raqiel sentinels stand every ten paces and at every four-way corridor. These descendants of Mera and Onama say nothing as I stop, crouch, and lean, nor do their gray eyes shift in my direction. Do they ever leave these dungeons that thread through this abbey? Are they ever angry with their underground station in life? Do they ever wish they could see a sunlit sky and hear sounds that aren’t merely echoes?
“And I used to travel through the Glass like that all the time?” I ask, my face hidden in the crook of my elbow.
Elyn, farther ahead, turns back to me. “You weren’t Diminished then. Come on—we’re losing time.”
“Give me a moment.”Ugh. My skin feels frustratingly clammy, even though Ijusttook a bath. I peek out again from behind my elbow to stare at the wall across from me…a wall that soars overhead and ends somewhere in the sky. To make matters worse, the ground is too soft, and it feels like I’m walking on air.
