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Chapter Twenty-One: An Urgent Plan
Ilryia clawed at the hands around her neck, her feet kicking out. She felt her face swelling with blood, her eyes streaming. She could barely see anymore, but she could see enough to know that that Dirk was no longer just Dirk. The strength in his one hand was terrifying. Her fingers could find no purchase on that iron grip. He squeezed tighter and a thought came to Ilyria of a twig snapping from a tree. He could kill her easily. But he was not done toying with her.
“You stink of him,” said the Dirk-thing. “You stink like a whore.” He grinned Dirk’s grin with the snaggle-tooth catching his lower lip, but his eyes were not Dirk’s. Not even close. They were blacker than a starless night. She felt her head buzzing and her vision faded.
She came to coughing and spluttering on the cold stone in front of Dirk’s boots. One boot reached back and almost in slow motion, it came toward her then connected with her jaw, sending her sprawling on her back. She heard a cry. She thou
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Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Twenty-Two: A Fortress in the Air
“We have to rescue them first. I have to go back,” said Ilyria, taking the map from Astrapi. As she began to roll it up, something caught her eye. She looked closely. At first, she thought it might be a smudge, but the line was clear not smudged. Then she thought it was a tracing, the faint ghost of a line left by the cartographer either when they were making this map or perhaps another with this one carelessly left underneath. Then, she knew. Excited, she scanned the map again. She found the ‘A’ in the top right corner of the map. “You said Benguzi is south, but this shows Benguzi as south-east?” Astrapi tilted his head in his questioning way, “What if this isn’t the real map?” “There is another map?” “Yes,” she said, “underneath this one. Imagine if the person who created the map of the lost cities wanted to keep it hidden, but they also wanted someone to find it.” “That doesn’t make sense,” said Astrapi. “Astrapi,” Ilyria tried not to let h
Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Twenty-Three: Flying Machines and Izben
“Astrapi,” she whispered, trying not to panic at the sight of his pale face. He did not answer or look at her. “Astrapi,” she said again. He glanced at her quickly, then understanding what she needed, his hands worked to help her to loosen herself from the harness, still staring ahead. As soon as she was free, she turned to see what he was seeing. Now it was no longer so thrilling to be standing on a glass floor in the clouds. Now, she felt afraid and vulnerable. She felt in her pocket for the switchblade. Her eyes once again had to make the adjustment for the glass. From where she stood, she was staring into thunderclouds as dark as night. She could hardly make out any shapes at all until slowly the archway emerged and beneath the archway …She gasped and clutched at Astrapi’s arm. For she saw him now. A winged man, his outline barely visible against the dark clouds behind him. “Nemachi,” said Astrapi under his breath, his voice raspy with anger. Then, his fists clen
Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Twenty-Four: The Whisperers
Ilyria clamped her hand over her mouth, trying not to call out to the man. He sounded so desperate, so afraid, she wanted to let him know he was not alone. But that voice inside her warned her to listen more closely. So, she did. She once more heard the man’s groan. But there was also something else underneath. She held her breath as she listened, trying to picture the silence as something physical, a curtain that only had to be pulled back. The man groaned again, and the whispers grew more excited. It was as if the whispers carried the sound of the man’s voice. That was it! Ilyria was certain the whisperers had replicated the sound and were trying to lure her away from the path she needed to take. Fumbling in the dark, she felt the walls around her. There was the path ahead, from which came the moans and the frightening whispers. And there was the path behind from which she had just come. There had to be an alternative. A path the whisperers did not want her to take.
Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Twenty-Five: The Treasure Hunter
During the trip back to the Nemachi air fortress Ilyria experienced none of the exhilaration she had felt on the trip out with Astrapi. She felt sick with worry for Astrapi. She replayed the last moments she saw him over and over in her head, trying to persuade herself that the whispering things had not reached him, that he had not been sucked back into the tunnels. But the truth was that she had not seen enough to know. Her and Nicos’ ascent had been so swift, she had seen only enough to recognize that they had unleashed something from Izben. They were silent until they landed at the air fortress. Again, Nicos was skillful in landing the damaged machine. He quickly helped her out, asking if she was alright. Ilyria was astounded. He was completely recovered. She did not need to ask the question. “What is inside the enchantment is often left there,” he said, “Not always. But I was lucky.” “What about the Princess?” asked Ilyria. “Was she
Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Twenty-Six: Jealousy
Ilyria could not bear to look at the smoke billowing from the destroyed air fortress behind them so she stared at Astrapi instead, not even sure if she wanted to hear his response. She felt the pressure of Nicos’ hand on her arm. “Ilyria …” said Nicos. “Leave her,” said Astrapi and Ilyria was startled by what she saw. His face had transformed completely. His lips were thin and tight against his gums, his mouth bared in a snarl, his eyes were narrowed and had darkened to the color of a storm-whipped forest. He looked wild, like a creature not quite human. Not quite human. Later, Ilyria would remember this image of him, holding it in front of her to remind her of what he was and what he was not. Ilyria glanced at Nicos. He seemed neither offended nor surprised. He squeezed her arm before removing his hand. She knew that he was thinking only of Madame Skia. He knew they needed Astrapi’s help though at this moment Ilyria could not think why. “Why
Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Twenty-Seven: Yxat
Nicos asked Ilyria to bring out the map of the Lost Cities. "There is nowhere for us to go right now because we need the Lightning Bird to travel to the Between Realms," he said, "And I should like to see what is shown there." He was yawning, "And also to stay awake." He was able to point out a few places that Ilyria had not learned about in Astrapi’s brief summary of the wars in the metropolises that had become the First War. “How do you know of these places?” asked Ilyria, “Have you been there?” Nicos answered so softly, Ilyria almost did not catch his yes. Ilyria again wanted to know more but Astrapi returned. Nicos carefully rolled up the map. The sky had turned a pale shade of lilac and Ilyria’s heart skipped in her chest. The night was done. Today was the day of Madame Skia’s execution. Astrapi glanced at Nicos and Thassa but lingered on Ilyria. He tried to smile at her, but she looked away. “What did you find, Lightning
Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chaptery Twenty-Eight: A Game and a Gamble
Ilyria woke, gasping and fighting. She fell with a thud onto the hard floor and the pain brought her all the way out of the lost place where she had been. She sat up, rubbing her shoulder which had absorbed most of the force of the fall. Her heart sank as she saw the perfect pale smoothness of the walls around her and realized she was still in Yxat. Still separated from her friends. Behind her was a narrow ledge on which she had been lying. Dirk. He must have put her there but for now, to her relief, she was alone. She struggled to stand then had to sit down again almost immediately as the dizziness threatened to overwhelm her. She had to think. So she was still on Yxat. Would Astrapi have already transported the companions, as well as Nicos and Thassa away? Would he have left her? She recalled her last words to him. She had told him they did not want his help. Nicos had tried to stop her from saying it. She should have listened. Of course they needed his hel
Ilyria and the Lightning Bird Chapter Twenty-Nine: The True Map
Dirk/Zlo turned its face toward Ilyria. No, she thought, more Zlo than Dirk, Zlo/Dirk. Soon, only Zlo. The blurriness came into focus as a face that bore only a faint resemblance to Dirk’s. Zlo had more pointed features than Dirk. Its eyes were closer-set and darker. There was the barest trace of Dirk's cobalt-blue eyes that Ilyria’s classmates had adored. Its cheekbones were sharper and beneath them grew dark stubble Dirk would never have tolerated. It smiled at her and Ilyria fought hard against the impulse to run. She would not be a whisper, she would be a shout. “You want my map,” she said. “I can take your map any time I want,” said Zlo/Dirk, eyeing where her clothes had been flung, seeking the map. Ilyria knew then that it had only just arrived, it had not been in Yxat all along. It had not seen her arrive with Nicos and Thassa. It had not seen them rescue the companions and Madame Zia. Was it struggling to stay in Yxat because of The Law
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