Confused, Alex said, “Sorry?”
“Shadow Walkers do not cross into the light, nor do Dayriders pass into the shadows, not without invitation,” he said. “I cannot come with you to the Lumeniia—to the crystal pyramid where the Order meet.”
Thinking back to the vision of the city cleaved in two, Alex understood what he was saying. There was a clear boundary, one that neither race would cross on a whim.
“Okay, so I’ll go it alone,” she said. “But either way, I’m going.” She looked around the crypt-like room and added, “Uh, but I’d be grateful if someone helped get me out of here and pointed me in the right direction. I have no idea where we are right now.”
“We’re in a preparation room underneath the Obscuria,” Caspar Lennox said.
Alex didn’t have the courage to ask exactly what was prepared in the room they inhabited, wondering if perhaps she wasn’t far off the mark in comparing it to a crypt.
“Caspar Lennox can deliver you to the edge of our territory,” Shirez offered on his behalf. “The Lumeniia is a short walk from the boundary where dark meets light. You will find your way with ease.”
“That sounds great, thanks,” she said—to both of them.
Her teacher stepped towards her. “You have been unconscious for a few hours. It is mid-afternoon, so if you wish to speak with the Order, now is the time to do so.”
Alex groaned, realising that a significant portion of her weekend—both days—had been spent with her eyes closed. Time sure flies when you’re knocked out cold, she thought sardonically.
“You’ll get in touch after you’ve spoken with your grandfather?” Alex confirmed with Shirez. “You’ll really try to convince the elders to give me another chance?”
“I think you are neurologically damaged to wish for such a thing,” Shirez said with ruthless candour, “but yes, for what it’s worth, I shall argue strongly on your behalf.”
The tension in Alex’s shoulders eased a fraction. “Thank you, Shirez Ganare,” she said, careful to follow the etiquette of addressing the Shadow Walker by both first and last names. “Truly, I appreciate it.”
A dip of the head followed by a look from Shirez towards Caspar Lennox that made Alex’s heart stutter a little at its intensity, and the female Shadow Walker disappeared in a cloud of black.
“She likes you.”
Alex slammed her mouth shut after those three words popped out unbidden, but it was too late to take them back.
“Things are complicated between the two of us,” came Caspar Lennox’s surprisingly open reply. But he said no more, and Alex had no business prying into the personal life of her teacher, not when she knew so little about him or his race.
“Shall we head to this boundary line place?” she asked instead, a deliberately upbeat note to her voice. “I could use some time in the sun. No offence, but all this darkness is giving me the willies.”
Caspar Lennox’s voice was deadpan when he repeated, “Giving you… the willies.”
It wasn’t a question, it was simply a statement, and coming from him in that tone of voice, it was the most hilarious thing Alex had heard all day. She burst out laughing, unable to stop even when he released a grudging sigh and reached for her uninjured arm, sweeping her from the room.
Twenty-Two
As promised, Caspar Lennox dropped Alex off in an alleyway where the dark met the light. He said he would wait for her, but she shooed him away, saying there was no point in him lingering in the shadowed street, bored out of his mind. Reluctantly, he agreed, saying he would travel back every half hour to check for her return.
Also as promised, the path to the Lumeniia was easy to follow, since the crystal pyramid rose high above the streets and was visible no matter where Alex walked. She wandered the picturesque streets towards the impressive structure, grateful that if she had to hike through either side of Graevale, it was the sunny, pretty side rather than the shadowy, eerie side. Not that the dark half of the city didn’t have its own kind of beauty. It was just… a different kind of beauty.
Trekking along the bleached stone walkways, Alex couldn’t keep from staring as she caught sight of the Dayriders for the first time. Just like their half of the city, they as a race were the opposite of the Shadow Walkers in every way. With skin so white that it gave off a faint glow and hair so pale that their whole figures almost blended into the washed-out buildings all around them, they were nearly painful to look at, so bright as they were. Even their clothes were some kind of pure, snowy linen. As far as Alex could tell, the only colour on their entire bodies—perhaps even in their entire city—was their eyes. Those came in all colours and, most notably, not a single Dayrider she looked at had two eyes of the same colour. One blue eye, one green. One brown eye, one black. One honey, one hazel. A grey eye and an indigo eye. The rainbow assortment was dizzying, and Alex found it increasingly difficult not to gape at them as she passed.
Somehow she managed to not get caught up in the sights and sounds of the whitewashed city—not even when the Dayriders looked back at her with as much curiosity as she had towards them—and she reached the entrance to the Lumeniia in good time. Once there, she worried for a moment that she would find a similar reception to the Shadow Walkers and someone would have to announce her, but since she didn’t have a Dayrider contact, she would just have to hope for the best.
Walking hesitantly through the crystal opening, Alex wasn’t sure what to do or where to go once she was inside. That was mostly because there were few options available to her. The pyramid was as vast as it was empty. It was like Alex was standing inside a hollow, triangular prism. The sun was blazing through its glassy walls, yet the temperature was comfortable. Perfect, even.
But she alone appeared to be experiencing it.
Tentatively, she stepped towards the centre of the pyramid, looking around for any sign of company. But there was no one. Until, suddenly, there was.
With a flash of blinding light, a woman appeared before Alex. At her display, something belatedly clicked in Alex’s mind. Shadow Walkers—a race that walked through shadows. Dayriders—a race that… rode the day? Otherwise interpreted as travelling through light?
These thoughts crossed Alex’s mind in a blur as she took in the female Dayrider standing before her.
The woman was stunning—almost literally. Her alabaster skin glowed and her long, fair hair made her look like the human embodiment of a star. A vibrant blue eye was paired with a bright violet one, both staring at Alex with a serene, knowing expression.
“Welcome to the Lumeniia, Alexandra Jennings,” the Dayrider said in the lightest, sweetest voice Alex had ever heard. “We have been expecting you.”
Caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events—and the uncommonly warm welcome—Alex said, “We?”