Share
Chapter Fifty-Five: Menos
Astrapi was shouting something at her, but she could not hear him over the sound of the sandstorm. Her ears were filled with the shifting, sighing sand that felt as if it coated every inch of her. Beneath her scarf she licked her lips and her tongue came away coated with it. So far, Menos was more like the City of Sand than the City of Earth. Astrapi was still shouting and she turned her head, to see him, irritated as the tiniest exposed parts of her skin were strafed. He was holding up his arm and pointing at it.
His arm? He wanted to show her something on his arm?
Her arm. Of course, the codes. It would be impossible to bring out the map in this storm though so what good would the codes be.
She held up her arm, shaking her head and as she did so, the sleeve fell.
Something bright red and blinking shot out from her arm and hovered directly in front of her face. Astrapi was nodding and gesturing with his hand to move forward. She took a step and the b
Related chapters
Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Fifty-Six: Benguzi
Ilyria and Astrapi rose higher and higher as the ground beneath them churned. The garden was gone, the changing city made of sand was gone. Even the sandstorm that had swirled around the city building and rebuilding the spires and domes and craters, had dwindled. Where once there had been buildings there were now only waves blowing across the desert sands. With Astrapi’s hands around her waist, and her feet tucked around his, she pushed up her sleeve. The skin there was smooth and pale and absolutely blank. She turned her head in a panic. “Astrapi,” she said, “Look!” But Astrapi was struggling to hold both her and the harness. The bag holding the seedling swayed wildly and Ilyria was afraid it would fall. If it fell to the earth below, it would be lost. Astrapi nodded. He had seen it too. They had to find somewhere safe and soon. Either of them would be able to conjure a path back to the aerie. But then they would lose time travelling to the n
Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Chord of Life
“What in Oren’s name was that?” said Ilyria, fighting to control her temper. There was no time for it. They had a job to do here, and they were down to roughly three days by her calculation in which to do it. “You were laying unconscious one minute in a ridiculous room full of mirrors and now you are here? What is going on? Is this what you had pictured?” Astrapi held up his hands in surrender. “Forgive me, Ilyria,” he said, his tone contrite, “This,” he said turning around and gesturing toward the hall around them, “This is what I remembered, this where I tried to take us.” Ilyria’s anger abated as she saw that Astrapi’s apology was genuine. “I remembered too late about the defense system. And then,” he smiled at her, “I remembered that you would figure it out and that there was nothing to worry about.” “What kind of a defense system is a room full of mirrors?” said Ilyria, “And what if I had not?” There was a brief flicker of worry across As
Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Fifty-Eight: Two Nights Before Twin Moon
They ate quickly from the provisions Astrapi had packed. Ilyria felt bone-weary after the thrilling night they had spent. She leaned against a pillar at the entrance to the ledge where they had danced most of the night. The fluorescent shapes were gone now and the earth below them was shaded with pre-dawn indigo. She did not turn to look for the moons because she knew what she would see and she feared the further reminder of how little time they had left. She berated herself. They should have slept while they had the chance. Instead, they cavorted like lunatics. She grinned. They had. And it had been glorious. She thought then that if the Twin Moon rose and they were unable to save Idixat or the rest of their world, it would be terrible to have lost a moment of such unforgivable, unreasonable joy. She would not trade it for a night of rest. Astrapi wrapped the gold harmonicus carefully in its snug leather holder. He smiled as he packed it away in the bag that already c
Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Fifty-Nine: All is Lost
Ilyria stared up at the sky. Impassive and beautiful, it was streaked through with magenta where dawn’s light broke through the darkness. Yet it augured no hope in her, only sadness as to what would become of them all. Astrapi, if he were even still alive, would he be condemned to life as the Lightning Bird, forever at the outskirts of life and love? Zlo would rule with cruelty, of that she had no doubt. Her mother’s destruction would be complete. Madame Skia? Thassa? Nicos? They had survived since the One World. But would they survive this? She shook her head, thinking of the companions. Bonbon—did she even know what Thassa was? Loulou and the Mogul would never have a chance to fight for a love that the Palace would probably never tolerate. From what she now knew of the Princess, Ilyria felt certain that she would never allow her son to marry someone she herself had not selected. Ilyria had glimpsed the cold cruelty that lay beneath her enchantment. Miasma? Miasma could not survive
Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Sixty: Idixat
The guardians had abandoned the city gates. The stood wide open, the iron carvings depicting the long lineage of Moguls now looked ominous. Each Mogul looked the same as the last. Each with their own version of the Princess. Ilyria shivered. She had to remind herself that the Princess had helped her. So why was she so chilled by their last encounter. What had she said? That she was proud of her creation. Ilyria had assumed she meant the garden of the enchantment where they had last met. But was that what she had really meant? And it scared her to the bones to see the man that Nicos had once been, gone, replaced by the milky-eyed pet to the Princess. The guardhouses at the gates were empty. Ilyria glimpsed through the window that the table had been set as for dinner. A jug was on the table with drops of condensation still forming. Ilyria licked her lips and skin flaked off under her tongue. She looked around. The streets around the gates were deserted as well. She could still
Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Sixty-One: Yakip
The water coalesced around the familiar features, forming shadows where his skin was etched with scars. The aqua blue of the rippling water gave way to flesh.“Thassa?” said Ilyria, wondering at the mad sequence of events that saw her flung from her lonely terror in Idixat to the peace of water in Yakip with Miasma and Thassa.Thassa was perfectly dry, and not surprised to see her. His expression was grim.“It is lucky that we found you when we did, Ilyria,” said Thassa, “Idixat is not safe. Nowhere is safe.”"How did you find me?" she turned to Miasma who was looking dreamily about her. "How did Miasma bring us here?""I had been watching for you after Fierce left to find you. But I had expected you to come straight to Madame Skia's House. You didn't though. So it was Fierce who alerted me when she came back without you. The collar was gone. I hoped that it was because you had it." Ilyria felt in her tunic pocket where the collar still lay."It was you who sent Fierce
Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Sixty-Two: A Mother's Visions
“Now, we find the relic and go back,” said Thassa.“But I don’t have the other relics,” she said, her shoulders sagging with the memory. She quickly ran through the events on Benguzi, Thassa listening attentively.“That means Zlo has the relics you and the Light … Sul …” he shook his head, “I mean, Astrapi found?”“Yes, he does," she said hearing only failure in her acknowledgment. But then why was Thassa looking less despondent? "That's good news, Ilyria," said Thassa, "Because it means they are still in one place. Even if that place is with him. We just have to figure out how to get the relics back from him." Ilyria was not convinced this was such good news, though she felt a small ember of hope warming her. "Thassa, how do we know that he doesn’t already have the Yakip relic? And the Izben one? We didn't even make it to those places. And the Nemachi one? If it even exists.” She remembered that final image of the Nemachi fortress, the smoki
Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Sixty-Three: Memory Bubbles
Ilyria had the dizzying impression of being in two places at once, which—in a way—she was. She was here, with Miasma beside her but also there, inside the whirlpool, with Thassa, feeling his thoughts and seeing what he saw. She watched herself reach out and pop one of the kaleidoscope bubbles that floated past, but it was Thassa’s scarred hand that did it. She looked around her and saw Miasma’s tranquil, untroubled expression beside her outside of the whirlpool. She even felt some of Miasma’s ease. It was going to be alright, of course it was, Ilyria felt Miasma thinking. It was not yet the end and who could tell if anything ever ended anyway. Comforted by Miasma’s thoughts she returned her attention to Thassa, feeling him cross his arms over his chest as the memory was released from the bubble he had just popped. His mother sitting cross-legged with little Thassa’s leg pulled over hers, carefully pulling long spiny thorns from his flesh. Thassa’s face was smooth and tear-streaked b
Latest chapter
- Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Seventy-Seven: One World
- Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Seventy-Six: Freedom
- Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Seventy-Five: The Shackled One
- Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Seventy-Four: A Reckoning
- Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Seventy-Three: Moon Dust
- Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Seventy-Two: True Relics
- Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Seventy-One: An Old Friend
- Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Seventy: Early
- Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Palace
