XII. Lyra

She was surprised she found Malan so quickly. The man was near her room, in conversation with servants, discussing provisions to be carried to the encampment. “What are those pages? Why did you give them to me?” she yelled at him. Malan cursed, and dragged her into her room by the elbow. “Do you want everyone to hear?” he asked, furious. But Lyra had had enough. “I don’t care! I am going out of my mind. Fawn, just talk to me!” She threw the pages on the bedroll, watching them as they landed softly. Malan was looking at her with kind eyes. “Child, this is all my fault. I was worried about what they would do, so I decided to have you help me, without thinking of what it would do to you” he said, remorseful. “I don’t understand.” Malan nodded. “I have lived most of my life here, but I am not Erethian. I am Pyrian.” Lyra’s eyes flew open in shock, her mouth moving to say something, but Malan lifted a finger to stop her. “Let me say this first. I am just one in the long line of Pyrians that come here, pretending to be Concipios or Vectors, to keep an eye on what Erethians are planning.” Lyra reeled. She had so many questions. “If you read the pages, you don’t need me to explain what Erethia did to win the war. They drank the extract from our holy plants, using it to help them drain, killing countless people, using stolen power to kill more. They would have got away with it too, had it not been for the addiction that the plants caused.” The man slumped against the door. “Who wrote that journal? How do we know it is true?” demanded Lyra. “It was Roone’s wife, Nadina. Parts of it were recovered before she got lost in the war, taken hostage by Erethians. We know what she wrote about is truthful. You read about how she described Roone’s way to shield Pyria?” Lyra nodded; She had read the few pages so many times, she could recite them by heart. “He found a way to weave a protection spell tocast all over Pyria. It’s not time to dive into specifics, but it seems to be similar to the Cloak.” Lyra nodded. “Let’s say this is the truth. Why are you telling me all this?” she asked. “You have been having dreams, haven’t you?” Lyra tensed. “How do you know about this?” Malan seemed to choose his words carefully. “I know because I am the one allowing you to hold on to a fragment of your mind,” he pointed at her injured hand. “And I stop your injuries from healing completely after Concipios send you back to your room, so they are proof your dreams were real.” Lyra took a step backwards. “What I dream of… Is real?” Malan nodded. “Each night they make you search for Arteficia.” Lyra stilled. She was scouting for a plant that apparently was used to kill people during the war. Why? “This can’t be.” Malan sighed. Lyra gasped as her attention was pulled forcefully inwards, to the coil of power within her. She watched in shock as her cuts and bruises healed before her eyes. “How did you do that? A Vector cannot pair with another Vector,” she asked. “A Vector cannot pair with another Vector. An Artefix, though, can.” he said. Lyra stood there, still frozen in place. “You…What?” she asked incredulously. “We don’t have time for you to process everything right now. We need to protect your friend from what he will be asked to do soon.” Adax? “Why? Is Adax in danger?” she asked, panic bubbling with every uneven rise and fall of her chest. “Not yet, but he will be. You both will, soon. Countless others as well. Erethia is preparing for war. Again.”