Andrew had gotten down to the far end of the spire earlier in the day, and he was thankful for not having to make the effort in his current state.
His ankle and foot had turned black and purple with swelling. Individual toes were becoming hard to distinguish. He hadn’t slept in as long as he could remember and every time the pain shot up his leg, little-multicolored spots flashed in front of his eyes. Most of the time now, all he could see was the spots.
As the sun set, he became increasingly afraid of passing out and he knew he couldn’t let that happen. All he had to do was stay awake.
Watching the moon begin its journey, he longed to close his eyes and feel nothing. Nothing had to be better than going on like this.
“At least I don’t have to walk back,” he thought, gritting his teeth and watching the colorful spots.
“Hurry up moon!” he yelled out of the spire.
“Slower please, just a little slower,” Kaya pleaded to the moon. She was still running, and her progress in the soft sand was painfully slow.
Her side ached with yet another cramp. Pushing on it, she limped and ran through the pain.
Andrew watched the moon turn pale yellow just above the horizon. His entire leg felt like it was filled with sand and his whole left side was on fire.
“I’m not crawling in there,” he said aloud.
Determined not to meet his fate on anything but his feet, he tried rolling over from his back to his chest. He ached everywhere, and sweat poured from his forehead and rolled down his back.
After an exhausting effort, he finally made his way over onto his belly. After more grueling effort, he was finally up to his hands and his one good knee, leaning against the wall and gasping for breath. Sweat dripped off his head, and the colored spots danced as the pain overwhelmed him.
Pushing against the wall, he tried to stand, but the smooth, curved wall and his broken leg made it impossible. His arms shook until they gave out. Waves of nausea and pain rolled over him, threatening to carry him away.
Kaya’s face flashed across his mind, and the touch of her kiss brushed his lips. He knew he was out of time.
“I’m NOT crawling in there!” he yelled defiantly into the empty spire. “And I’m NOT going in there on my belly!”
Andrew took a deep breath and pushed himself back to his hands and knee. He put his broken foot to the floor, and yelled, “This is for you Connor and for you Kaya! I will keep my promise!”
He felt the bones in his ankle slip past each other. The pain was unbelievable, the spots were blinding, then he was upright and hopping toward the Chamber door.
Kaya looked up to the sky and saw the moon distorted by the heat coming off the desert sand. The slender crescents rippled in the night sky like a reflection on the water.
“Hold on Andrew, I’m almost there!” she said, rounding the broken edge of the outer wall; the moon disappeared behind it.
As the moon kissed the horizon, Andrew ducked his head and hopped through the tilted doorway. He went a few feet into the darkness, spread his arms wide and closed his eyes.
“I’m not gonna die lying on my back either,” he thought, focusing on his balance.
A warm glow shined through his eyelids, the pain in his leg faded away and he floated in the Light.
A hundred feet in front of Kaya Light exploded from the Defender’s Portal, ripping the darkness in half. Shielding her eyes from the Light, she saw a figure sitting only a few feet from the doorway. It was casting a long shadow, and as she closed the gap, it began to move.
Slipping her waterskin off in mid-stride, she yelled, “Mr. Miller! Mr. Miller!”
The figure turned, and Kaya saw the shield reflecting the Light from the Portal. It sparkled with all the colors of the rainbow.
Running past him, she dropped her water and yelled, “Here’s my water, take as much as you need. Don’t worry about the Portal, I’ll take care of it.”
Mr. Miller could only stare in disbelief.
Opening his eyes, Andrew watched the patterns of the Light. They ebbed and flowed around him in a familiar and comforting way.
“Hello, Andrew Weaver.”
It wasn’t Celeste’s voice like he had been expecting, it was the voice of a man.
“Hello,” he said, a little surprised.
“Do you know where you are?”
He thought about the answers he was supposed to give, the ones Kaya said would answer the questions asked, but they didn’t seem to fit. He relaxed and considered the question. He didn’t think there was a time limit, so he drifted in the Light. After a while, he said, “It would be easier if I could show you my answer instead of telling you.”
“You already have.”
“Then you know what I know?”
“Of course.”
The image of the Kingdom appeared before him. It was exactly like the first page of Celeste’s diary and he smiled.
“Andrew Weaver, why do you seek the Kingdom?”
“So the people of the Light can come home.”
“Where is the Light?”
“The Light is in all of us,” he replied.
Kaya grabbed the corner of the doorway and flung herself into the small room. She slid in on her knees and stopped. The spire was blazing with Light.
”This is my choice,” she said, grabbing it with both hands and holding on tight.
Andrew could see and feel the Light within the Chamber become brighter, then he felt Kaya.
She felt Andrew all around her, but she couldn’t see him. She was squinting, trying to see into the Light when she heard the question.
“Kaya Elbe, how will you defend this man from himself?”
She knew the answer that was supposed to be given, but it never felt like the right answer until this very moment.
As her strength drained away, she spoke the words from her heart. “I offer him my Light and with it, all my love. I give this man my strength to wield them from above.”
The Light grew even brighter, and the spire felt hot in her hands. Her strength began to fade, her hands slid down the spire, and she slumped to the floor, but she didn’t let go.
The voice resonated through them as its deep rich tones boomed out the words, “Kaya Elbe, I reveal to you the man you have chosen to complete the Wanderer’s Promise, the one you now defend with your life.”
Within the Light, Kaya and Andrew separated from their physical bodies and became one. Their lives, their feelings, their hopes, and their dreams were open for the other to see and feel; no secrets remained hidden, no feelings left unexposed.
They drifted together in the Light until all had been shared and they were ready to return. When they were separated into their physical bodies, they stood next to each other surrounded by the Light, smiling, hand in hand and heart to heart.
“Have you chosen wisely, Kaya Elbe?”
She looked up at Andrew and their eyes met.
“I have,” she said, but her own voice sounded far away.
“And you, Andrew Weaver, do you accept this choice?”
He was lost in Kaya’s eyes, and he said, “Yes, now and forever.”
The Light around them suddenly took on shades of gold and silver as it began swirling around Kaya. Andrew released her hands, and she was swept above him in a breathtaking spiral of shimmering Light and color. Spreading her arms, she twirled in the air and laughed like she was being tickled.
“Kaya Elbe,” said the comforting voice, “you have fulfilled the Wanderer’s Promise.”
“You did it, Kaya! You did it!” Andrew shouted from below.
Andrew was enthralled looking up at Kaya and failed to notice the gold and silver Light swirling around himself.
“Whoa, hey what’s going on?” he said, as he was lifted up. He spun higher and higher and the warmth of the Light touched his soul, tickling him and making him giddy. Rising to meet Kaya, he laughed and spread out his arms.
“Andrew Weaver, you have survived the challenge of the Hero’s Chamber and by doing so, you have brought hope back to a fading world.”
Kaya and Andrew embraced and spun together. The colors slowly faded, and they came to stand next to each other. He reached for her hand at the same time she reached for his. Their fingers interlaced naturally as if they had been together their entire lives.
The voice of the Light echoed all around them, “The sharing of each other and the bond that now joins you, was for you alone. No others will know of this unless you choose to share it.
The people of the village will see your time together outside the Hero’s Chamber and all other things you experienced on this day when the sun touches each of them for the first time tomorrow. They will see all that has brought about this moment, all that you have done. In this way, the people of the village are invited home. Their commitment has been fulfilled.”
Kaya smiled from ear to ear and began glowing from within.
“Kaya, would you like me to send her your message?”
“Yes, please! That would be wonderful.”
“It is done.”
She was smiling with such enthusiasm, she forgot how hard she was squeezing Andrew’s hand. With a smile just as big as Kaya’s, he looked into her eyes and squeezed back.
He waited, allowing Kaya all the time she needed to enjoy her moment before he began to speak.
When Kaya’s vice-like grip finally relaxed a little, Andrew asked, “Can you please tell me…I mean tell us what hap…,” his voice trailed off as he realized speaking the question wasn’t necessary. He closed his mouth and asked the question again by thinking it.
“Can you please tell us what happened to Connor? Where is he? Is he hurt? Can he join us now?”
Images began to appear in their minds, and they were taken back to the instant Connor entered the Chamber.
They watched him step over the threshold, and they felt his confidence and his arrogance.
Stepping into the center of the Chamber, he folded his arms as the Light filled the room. Andrew’s heart sank.
They watched and listened as the questions were asked.
“Connor Duncan, why do you seek the Kingdom?”
His eyes were closed when the answer leaped from his subconscious mind. Maybe if he had been able to hide the truth, his answer wouldn’t have come out the way it did, but there was no hiding his inner desires, not in this place.
As mountains of gold and jewels appeared, Andrew, unaware he had even spoken the words said, “Oh no.”
Both of them knew the answer couldn’t be taken back even if Connor had wanted to.
Kaya’s grip tightened again as they both braced for the second question.
“Where is the Light?”
With his arms still crossed and his eyes closed, Connor spoke his answer with great conviction and courage, “I am the Light. It shines from within me.”
Kaya felt sad. She looked at Andrew, his eyes were closed, and there was a look of pain and sadness on his face.
They were startled when they felt the presence of Mr. Miller. Then they saw him, far, far below in the Portal. He was holding onto the spire with one hand, and he had the shield on his other arm.
Andrew’s back was covered in a cold sweat, and his grip on Kaya’s hand had gone limp. She felt Andrew’s overwhelming grief and Kaya squeezed his hand, bracing for the final question.
“Jacob Duncan, how will you defend this man from himself?”
Andrew opened his eyes and looked at Kaya in disbelief. “Jacob who?” he thought to the Light, but there was no answer. The merciless procession only continued.
Mr. Miller’s consciousness became their own, and they felt his confusion as his mind grappled with what was happening.
“I will…I will,” he stammered, “I will defend him with something you cannot defeat!” he cried out, raising the shield over his head.
Kaya winced, knowing there was no stopping what was to come.
Mr. Miller and Connor were separated from their earthly bodies, just as Andrew and Kaya had been. Their energies met each other for the first time within the infinite domain of the Light. Only in this way could Jacob truly know Connor, the person he was defending with his life.
Through the eyes of Mr. Miller, Andrew watched Connor’s facade fall away, revealing his inner demons. Andrew tried to let go of Kaya’s hand. He desperately wanted to be anywhere but here, to see anything but this, but she held tight. Instinctively, selflessly, reaching out to him, and she brought him back to himself; back to his center, back to a place of calm reflection.
They watched the disembodied spirits of Connor and Mr. Miller intertwine. Their brief, tumultuous joining sent them spinning away from each other, and Connor’s essence violently flashed with agonizing ribbons of Lighting. Mr. Miller quietly returned to his physical self, but Connor’s tortured soul remained.
Radiating with pain, dark, vaporous, strands of greed, pride, jealousy, and anger were ruthlessly stripped from Connor’s soul. The murky, swirling filaments came together, forming a seething cloud of uncontrollable rage. Lightning flashed, and the terrifying face of a horned gargoyle began pushing against the inside of the cloud, outlining its features with greasy smoke.
Kaya reached over and took Andrew’s other hand into hers.
It wasn’t clear if the demonic creature was coming out of the cloud or if the cloud was transforming into the winged beast, but it was coming, and it was huge.
Their surreal visions blended with the material world as Connor reappeared on the floor of the Chamber. He was desperately clutching his knees to his chest, his whole body shook with spasms, and every breath sent forth a bone-chilling scream of terror.
Unable to look away and unable to comprehend the evil confronting Mr. Miller, Andrew put his arm around Kaya, and they held each other tightly.
They watched as the Light came into the creature, making it grow into something unimaginably huge, twisted and bent on destruction.
In a blur, their perspective shifted back into the Portal below, and they were looking up, toward the creature. It was all they could see.
Raising its immense fists beyond the limits of the sky the creature arched its thick, muscular neck and bellowed with an evil rage.
Weakened by the link connecting him to Connor and unable to break the bond, Mr. Miller did the only thing he could do, he raised his magic shield.
The force against the shield was catastrophic, but the Defender did not give ground. Mr. Miller maintained his connection with Connor as blow after blow rained down upon him.
The devastating onslaught shattered the bones in his arm, his back was broken, and the tip of the spire was driven through the shield, impaling it.
With his arm firmly attached to the back of the shield, he dangled like a rag doll.
They felt Mr. Miller weakening. It was inevitable, but his resolve to defend Connor, to make good on his commitment to protect the boy was beyond heroic, it was beyond reason. It was unimaginable to either Andrew or Kaya what was keeping him up and in the fight, then he said it.
Just before he lost consciousness, Jacob lifted his head, and screamed, “You cannot have my son!”
Andrew’s mouth fell open, and Kaya’s grip tightened around him. He tried to form words, but he couldn’t think of what to say. His reality was shattered, and his mind desperately tried to comprehend what was happening.
“I’m still right here with you,” Kaya thought to him. “We’re both still here, and when this is over, we’ll both still be right here.”
“I don’t even know where here is,” Andrew thought back.
Connor’s father lost consciousness, and his head rolled off to one side. The shield remained in place, sheltering him from the creature above and with his free hand behind him and his back pinning it against the spire, the connection could not be broken.
Andrew and Kaya looked at each other wondering how it would all end when their perspective blurred back into the Hero’s Chamber. In a flash of light, Connor vanished, and the creature howled in pain, evaporating into twisting swirls of smoke and Light.
Immediately after the Chamber went black, another bright flash of Light appeared before them. They heard a “pop” and Connor re-appeared. He was sitting in a small patch of dried grass clutching his knees to his chest, screaming and crying.
When the quietness of the landscape had wrapped around his senses, he cautiously raised his head. Looking around the silent landscape, he stood up on trembling legs. Exhausted, frightened, and disoriented, he tried to step out of the little patch of weeds and tripped.
He crawled across the dusty ground and struggled back to his feet.
Staggering forward, he made his way over to a pile of broken wood and bones. There were wagon wheels half-buried in the sand, and looking to one side, he noticed a bunch of old camping gear and some canvas tarps.
For Andrew, seeing the long forgotten items created a sense of sad relief. He knew where Connor was, but he was far from home and all alone.
Connor looked at the pile of abandoned items, then back at the pile of wood and bones. He didn’t need to see the ring of stones lining their abandoned fire pit to know how far away from the Chamber he was. He hung his head and stared at the ground.
“Where is he, Andrew?” Kaya asked.
Before Andrew could answer, Connor started yelling and kicking at the tarp on the ground. His foot got tangled in it, and he fell over.
He began picking things out of the pile and chucking them, yelling in frustration and anger with every throw.
The scene began to fade from their minds when Andrew answered, “He’s far away now. Back where we lost Duke to the wildcat. He’s right back where we started.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too,” Andrew said, shaking his head in disbelief, “Me too.”
They held each other in the Light. It flowed around them like water over two rocks at the bottom of a stream.
With Kaya still in his arms, Andrew asked, “Who is Mr. Miller?”
He almost asked the question again, when the answer came.
“He is Connor Duncan’s father, and he is your friend.”
Andrew paused to consider the answer, and asked, “Where is he now?”
Kaya opened her mouth to answer when the answer came from the Light.
“He is outside the Portal, dying.”
“Can he be saved?” Kaya asked.
“He has been seen in the Light and would be welcome here if you choose.”
“That is what I…,” Kaya began to say, but she was interrupted.
“If you make this choice it will bind him to the same fate as your own.”
Andrew and Kaya separated from their embrace and stood to face each other, holding hands.
He squeezed her hands reassuringly, and thought to her, “He came here to try to do what we did. Even if it didn’t mean saving his life, I’m sure he would want this.”
She smiled, and thought, “We choose to save Connor Duncan’s father, our friend who is dying outside the Portal.”
“He will join you shortly, but you must attend to him, or he will be lost to you.”
“Thank you,” Andrew thought aloud.
“This valley has been too dry for too long,” the Light said. “This desert will be replaced by a fertile land and the rains that would not come will visit throughout the year. When the waters have washed away the desert, you will be able to watch the rebirth of the City.
The three of you will be sheltered upon the half-spire, it’s already waiting for you. There you will find objects made of magic. Inspect them if you wish, but they may not be removed. You will also find a wooden bowl filled with water from the Fountain of Knowing. You must drink from the bowl before the sun rises. When the valley is restored, and the City rebuilt, we will walk together in the Light.
The ice pack high upon the mountains has been melted. As the water cleanses the valley, it would be dangerous to leave the safety of your lookout.”
Kaya and Andrew nodded their heads.
“Kaya, the three other Wanderers in the desert have been returned home, and the village is safe from the flood.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“This time of rebirth is yours to enjoy. It has been witnessed by very few.”
The Light faded until Andrew and Kaya were alone in the night, but they were not standing on the ground. Instead, they floated in mid-air high above the place where the Hero’s Chamber had once rested.
Andrew’s entire body tensed and Kaya gripped his hands to keep herself from falling.
When she realized they weren’t falling, she smiled, and asked with a sense of wonder, “Andrew, are we flying?”
He thought back to the diary, smiled at her and let go of her hands.
Kaya gasped in surprise, and her eyes got wide. She reached for Andrew, but all she found was air.
Andrew hovered in front of her with a big smile on his face until she got use to the feeling. Then, as though he had been doing it his whole life, he swooshed through the air around her, calling out, “Of course we’re flying! What else would we be doing?!”
Coming up from behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and the two shot high up into the sky.
“All you have to do is think about where you want to go, and that’s where you’ll go,” he whispered into her ear.
“Incredible!” she thought back. “I never anything like this would be possible.”
“I’m going to let go of you now.”
“All right.”
On the count of three, Andrew let go, and Kaya made a wide loop. She wound up right where she started and hugged him tightly. They kissed, hundreds of feet above the ground with only the stars to see them.
“This is unbelievable,” she said, “but we should get to the spire to help...to help…Oh Andrew, what is Mr. Miller’s name now? It’s all been very confusing.”
Making their way across the sky, Andrew laughed to himself, but Kaya heard it like it had been out loud.
“What is it? Why are you laughing?”
“I’m laughing because none of it makes sense. The only thing I really know is Jacob Miller and Jacob Duncan have the same first name.”
“Well I guess that makes it easier, doesn’t it?” she asked.
“It does, actually. I guess the rest of the story is going to have to come from Jacob. Come on. We’ve got to get to the half-spire.”
They focused on their destination and began flying toward it at great speed.
They held hands, and Kaya smiled, asking, “Did you know you’re glowing?”
“I am? I thought it was just you.”
“I’m glowing, too?”
“You’re giving off the Light, just like Celeste did in her diary.”
Their destination quickly came into view and Andrew pointed, saying, “Look at it Kaya, it’s enormous, and it’s only half there! Let’s focus on it and I’m sure we’ll drift right in.”
A pinpoint of Light appeared near the center of the platform. They watched it grow brighter as they glided in for their landing, then there was a “pop” and Jacob appeared. He was lying on his back.
Jacob watched them drift the last few feet out of the sky. He looked at them with bewilderment, and said, “I’m having the strangest dream.”
In the center of the platform, a small pedestal supported a wide, shallow bowl of water.
“Let’s sit him up and he can take a drink from the bowl,” Andrew said to Kaya.
“If you get behind him and prop him up, I’ll get the bowl,” she said.
Andrew stood behind Jacob and looked down at him, his feet on either side of his head. Jacob just stared at Andrew.
“Jacob. It’s me, Andrew.”
“Hello, Andrew.”
“I’m going to sit you up, and I want you to take a drink of water.”
“That’s going to hurt, Andrew. My back is broken.”
“I’m sorry, but it must be done.” Andrew crouched down and pushed his hands under Jacob’s shoulders, grabbing him under the armpits.
Jacob moaned.
“Here it comes, on the count of three. One, two…,”
On two, Andrew lifted, rocked his weight back and pulled Jacob toward him. He sat down with his knees bent, pulling Jacob into a seated position against his shins.
“Three.”
Jacob moaned again.
Kaya took the wooden bowl from the pedestal and brought the smooth edge to Jacob’s lips.
“Please drink this.”
“Very strange indeed.”
“Please Jacob, drink from the bowl, and I’ll set you back down. Then you can rest comfortably,” Andrew offered encouragingly.
With Andrew steadying Jacob’s head, he slowly took a mouthful of water and swallowed.
Kaya carefully set the bowl back on the pedestal, and they waited. A breeze came from the mountains blowing her hair back away from her face, and Jacob’s arms rippled and glowed. The purple scars faded, the cruel angles of his broken arm disappeared, and Andrew felt the dead weight come off his legs.
Jacob raised himself into a seated position and looked into Kaya’s eyes for the first time. He took the waterskin from across his thighs and squeezed it lightly.
“Thank you, Kaya Elbe. Thank you for what you have done. Because of the water, I have witnessed everything the two of you accomplished tonight. My name is Jacob Duncan, and I would be pleased if you’d call me Jacob.”
“Hello, Jacob. Welcome home,” she said, with a smile. “Can I help you to your feet?”
“Yes, please, I think that would be fine.”
He offered Kaya his hands, and she pulled him to his feet. Reaching down he picked up the waterskin and gave it to her, saying, “I was very thirsty, thank you again.”
“You’re very welcome.”
Jacob did an about-face and looked down at Andrew.
“And you!” he said, extending his hand with a huge smile. “Every time we meet, I’m picking you up off the ground.”
He pulled Andrew to his feet and hugged him tightly.
“Congratulations my friend, you’ve saved us all.”
Letting go of Andrew, he stepped back. Looking at them, he held his arms out wide, and said, “What am I saying? Congratulations to both of you!”
He offered each of them a hand, and they formed a little circle.
“By the way, did either of you know you’re glowing?”
Kaya looked at Andrew, and said, “I just noticed your clothes. Andrew, look at your clothes.”
“Why? Do they look like yours?” he asked.
Kaya looked down at herself, and thought, “Andrew, this is incredible.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Jacob said to them. “Come now, you must each drink from the bowl. This is amazing, please drink.”
Taking the bowl from the pedestal, he offered it to Kaya.
She offered her hand to Andrew, and said, “Let’s drink together, shall we?”
“Wonderful,” he said, stepping next to her. As Jacob steadied the bowl, they both sipped from the wide rim.
He set it back down and rubbed his hands up and down his arms. “Magnificent,” he whispered.
Kaya and Andrew stood hand in hand facing each other as they came to terms with the gifts they had been given.
“I know the name of every star in the sky,” he said to Kaya.
“I feel like I’ve traveled the world and visited the planets,” she said.
Jacob came between them and wrapped his arms around them. Andrew put an arm around his shoulders, and Kaya put one around his waist. As the sound of rushing water approached from the distance, they all embraced, and Jacob said, “Welcome home my friends, welcome home.”