An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows

Author:Foz Meadows [Meadows, Foz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Watkins Media
Published: 2016-06-20T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

Saffron walked through the field of burning flowers, her nostrils filled with the sickly-sharp smell of hot sap. White smoke was everywhere, and yet she remained as calm as if it were nothing but fog. I don’t fear this, she thought, and as though her will had the power to shape the space around her – which, this being a dream, she supposed it did – the smoke began to thin, the fire blown out like birthday candles. As the air cleared, Saffron found she wasn’t alone: a thin, short figure stood up ahead, staring in obvious mystification at their surroundings.“Zech?” she asked.

The girl turned, surprised. “Safi? Is this real?”

“I’m not sure. I think it all depends on what you mean by reality.”

“Oh. All right, then.” She blinked. “Have you been here before?”

“Once. I’m still not sure why, though, or what it means.”

“Hmm.” Zech bent down and picked a flower, twirling the stem between her fingers. “I don’t know why, but I feel like there’s something I’m meant to find here. Will you help me look?”

“Of course,” said Saffron. “But should you be walking already? You were so cold before. I don’t want you to get worse again.”

“Maybe not,” said Zech, rubbing her injured leg. She peered over Saffron’s shoulder and smiled. “We can ride, though.”

Turning, Saffron laughed to find a pair of roas, saddled and waiting, woolly ears flickering back and forth. A brightly striped cloak covered each saddle, and as Zech moved to choose a mount, Saffron said, “Did these come from you or me, do you think?”

“Maybe they came from themselves,” said Zech, shrugging into the cloak. It was blue and purple, red and gold – a flowing, gorgeous thing. A technicolor dreamcoat, Saffron thought, and fought the urge to giggle as she donned her own. “Who knows? Maybe roas dream too.”

“I’ve heard of stranger things,” said Saffron, and swung herself into the saddle.

Together, they began to ride, the roas snorting softly. Ahead of them, the field of flowers started sloping upwards, rising like the flank of some sleeping beast. The higher they climbed, the more it felt like riding up the spine of a towering wave, and when they reached the summit, the view rendered both of them speechless.

“Oh,” said Zech.

Before them stretched Karavos – the same vista Saffron had seen on arriving with Gwen and Pix. There were the towers, the broken walls; and there, perched high above everything else, was the palace. Zech’s eyes were glued to it.

“There,” she whispered, “take us there,” and before Saffron could ask why, the whole scene warped about them like rippling water, swirling and reconfiguring. The roas vanished as silently as they’d come, though the cloaks remained, and with a jolt they found themselves inside a palatial chamber. White stone columns stretched overhead, while the floor was patterned with gold and crimson tiles. A metal canal filled with burning oil ran along the walls, illuminating the room. To the left, a pair of double doors stood

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