Wish upon the Stars chapter 1208 (Patreon)

The pickup we’d had arranged wasn’t what I’d expected. I’d figured it would be a teleporter, or maybe a ship, but when we arrived to meet Alara, neither of those things were present. Instead, sitting next to her, gleaming white against the void of space, was a tall set of magnificent double doors.

I blinked in surprise at the sight. “So…that’s a door,” I pointed out, admittedly a bit obviously.

“Excellent catch,” Zeke said with false enthusiasm. “Unrelated, we’re standing on rocks, wearing shoes, and are all Ascendants.”

I rolled my eyes at my uncle. “I meant where did it come from, ass.”

“For shame,” he gasped, putting a hand to his heart. “What kind of disrespectful child speaks to their lifelong guardian in such a manner. I am shocked and appalled at your behavior, and demand satisfaction from the rapscallion who instilled it in you.”

My mom rolled her eyes. “You’re BOTH children. Honestly.”

“Nope,” he cackled. “You already said those nice things about how grateful you were to me. Can’t take it back now.”

Alara sighed. “The door,” she said, cutting through the banter. “Is on loan from one of my father’s…guests. Vorinder the Door god. There’s only a fragment of him left, but my father has been exploring the necropolis to dig up some of the remnants of some of their objects of power. The door was one such artifact, and with Vorinder’s…let’s say cooperation, its use can provide a direct link to our home in the Chasm.”

“Magic door,” I said appreciatively. “Nice. Can we get a magic door? Because I don’t LOVE using ships to get everywhere. I know ours are good, and teleporters are an option, but I feel like doors like this would be pretty useful.”

Unfortunately, Callie was our spatial expert, and she was the one I’d have normally asked about this, which wiped away my good humor somewhat. Still, I added to the mental list of things to ask her about when we got her back as we approached the door. Crell, who was following behind me, nodded with interest. “I might be able to work with Elonwy and make something happen. She can do that space and time thing with her car. And my Doubt skill makes limitations…negotiable.”

“Interesting,” I said slowly. And it was. I wondered if Celestial Fabrication could be used like that. I imagined making a door of clockwork. It wasn’t called Celestial Watchmaking. Callie would be excited to look into that with me when she got back.

We stopped in front of the door, staring up at the towered barrier. “So…am the only one who is slightly worried about what the hell might have needed doors this big to pass through?” Abel said grimly.

Lark let out a bark of laughter. “Yes,” he said bluntly. “Most of us have seen things at least this big out among the stars. Giants, beasts, some of the devils are around that tall, even. You might be strong enough, boy, but don’t forget that you’ve hardly scratched the surface of this universe. Power and wisdom are far from synonymous.”

“Daddy,” Bethy sighed. “You aren’t going to give boring speeches the whole time we’re on our trip, are you?”

To my shock, Morgan Lark, The Vampire, the strongest mortal in existence, the scourge of the universe, actually flinched back, looking wounded. “You love my speeches,” he protested. “You always used to say that they were your favorite part of your day. Sharing wisdom with your dear old dad.”

“I DO love your speeches, daddy,” she said gently. “But I think my friends might not be quite as enthused by them. Let’s try to keep it to a minimum, at least.”

He scowled at me. “She was never this rebellious before she started traveling with you.”

“That can’t possibly be an accurate statement.” I said dryly. He glared at me for a moment. Then another. 

Finally lips pulled back into a too wide grin, baring his long sharp teeth. “Oh, I like you. Yes, I think I’ll be very pleased to help you find your family.” He glanced at Bethy. “You were right about this one. He DOES have spine.”

I snorted at that. Mostly I just didn’t have the energy to be afraid of him. If Lark wanted me dead I’d die. Probably. Actually, Alara might be able to take him. She seemed convinced she was strong enough, at least she had been, so maybe I’d be fine. Either way, his poking just seemed so petty at this point, I couldn’t bring myself to bother reacting.

Not that I’d ever SAY that. I wasn’t stupid. Passing Lark’s test meant he’d be more willing to lend a hand, and that was priceless, not just now, but in the future.

We finally arrived at the doors, which to Abel’s credit WERE actually very tall. The reason we’d walked so long was because the sheer size of the things made them seem closer. When we arrived, Alara put her hand on the nearest door and pushed. The door swung open, revealing a familiar dining hall.

All of us started forward, but Alara held up a hand. “Just Shane,” she said quietly. “I’ll open the other door and escort you to the residential quarters.”

I nodded to the others, stepping through without bothering to worry about potential dangers. Atlas could snuff me out like a candle if he wanted to, so there was no point worrying. As the door slammed behind me, I headed toward the table. It took me a moment to see where Atlas was, given the whole hall was dark, but eventually I did.

He looked…bad. The tall, dark haired god was leaning back in his chair. His long hair was messy and limp, his eyes dull, and I could smell the alcohol from where I stood. He looked up at me blearily.

I glared at him. “Really?” I demanded. “You’re DRUNK?”

“I’m not drunk,” he sighed, rubbing his eyes. “I’m drinking. It’s not so easy for a god to get drunk I’ve been waiting for you. Please, come sit.”

Sighing, I made my way over to the chair next to him, sliding into the seat before turning to regard him steadily. “You know why I’m here,” I said tiredly. “Are you really going to make me ask you about it?”

“I won’t,” he sighed. “But I need a moment. I’m feeling…morose. Not just because of Calliope, though of course I’m worried.”

“Belsara,” I filled in the blanks.

He nodded sadly. “We were a happy family, once,” he said quietly. “Alara was our whole world. I took it as badly as she did, you know? Losing my girl. But where she broke under the pressure, I put it all into the fight. I became the best warrior I could be. I fought everything. Gods, Void Children, if it existed I did battle with it. I was fighting so hard I didn’t even realize I was already in a war for my marriage. I lost that one.”

“So what, because you loved her you’ll just let it go?” I demanded, my anger rising.

“Did I say that?” he snapped. “I’m not done yet. All I’m doing is explaining how we got here. Just…let me speak. Please?”

I nodded, and he continued. “That was why I chose to adopt Calliope. Because she looked so much like Alara. And I really was so proud. She was just like my girl. Strong, brave, caring, and with that light deep down that you can’t put out. It felt like fate. Like a second chance. To do it right and be a better father.”

“Even after Alara came back,” he said fondly. “And I will owe the both of you forever for that, by the way. Even after that, I still considered her my child. I still felt that pride in her accomplishments, in her decisions. Even her choice to marry you made me proud. You two are such a good match. It’s important to remember that. Important to understand how much I want to see you two back together.”

I frowned at him, dread churning in my stomach. “Why is that important?” I said quietly. “What’s going on.”

“I heard you saw the lodge,” he said, taking a long sip of his wine. “That you entered her forest. But that’s not really her Domain. It’s just the edge. A piece of the whole that doesn’t mean anything. Belsara’s Domain is so much more than just that. So much more complicated. And if Calliope is there now, it’s important for you to understand what you’ll find when you reach her.”

My stomach was a black hole now, a bottomless pit of pressure and gravity. “What will I find?” I said softly. “Is she…will she be ok?”

“Oh, of that I have no doubt,” he reassured me. “If anything, the Domain will ensure that. Belsara’s realm of endless summer isn’t built for torment or captivity. But it is built to…dull the senses. To change the passage of time relative to experience. A week in the realm of endless summer is a day outside.”

I understood what he wasn’t saying. “It’ll be longer,” I said slowly. “Longer for her than for me. Months. Maybe years if I take too long.” How long had it been already? It had been a week for me. So what? Nearly two months? And that was just a week. I made to stand, but his hand lashed out, gripping my wrist. 

“Not yet,” he said sharply. “You don’t understand. I know you want to rush, but if you’re to get her out of that place you need to grasp how it works. It’s not meant to be escaped. If it helps, she might have taken a day or two to find the hanging land she needed to reestablish her realm in the Void. If so, it might have been a bit less time. But it’s important that you don’t run off blindly and ruin your attempt at rescue. Rules are the most important thing in that Domain, and knowing them is how you succeed.”

I forced myself to calm down. Time differences weren’t ideal, but they weren’t unknown to me. I’d studied temporal mechanics at the Frozen Moment Academy, after all. I nodded firmly, letting him know I was focusing, not letting my emotions get away from me.

And so he began to talk. He told me about Belsara, about her nature and her past and her dreams and the reasons she did the things she did. He told me about her Domain, her Path, her Chronicle, and even more complicated aspects of who she was that I wasn’t sure would be useful, but that I refused to discard just in case.

Eventually, I joined him in drinking, though not much. Just a small glass of wine to sip as we spoke. Something to do with my hands.

Finally, we finished talking. “One more thing,” he cautioned gravely as we were about to adjourn from dinner. “Belsara is, at her core, a decent person. She’s done things we may consider wrong or ruthless, but she does them with good intentions. This is a fundamental fact you need to internalize, because it means that at any given time, she WANTS to be the good guy. Give her a way to look good. Make her the hero, and she’ll do your whole job for you.”

I nodded. I didn’t know what he meant, exactly, but I suspected I would soon enough. Over the course of the conversation, I’d really allowed myself to process my anger toward him. Not let it go, like I had before, but sort of…couch it. Save it and nurture it. Not to use on Atlas himself, mind, but to use on Belsara.

Whatever she thought of herself, she was not, in fact, the good guy. And if she got in the way of me getting my wife back, I wasn’t going to be a very good guy either. I just hoped it didn’t come to that. If she was really treating Callie as well as Alara thought, I doubted she’d want to see the woman hurt. Whatever happened would depend entirely on that.