“Don’t doubt,” I heard Venus whisper to me from somewhere far distant.
“I’m ready.” I kept my eyes on the Guardian at all times, trying to remain focused. Then it crossed my mind that—whatever she was about to throw at me—it couldn’t be worse than some of the things I’d already been through.
“Come closer.” She motioned to me, crooking her finger.
My feet moved on their own, even though my head was arguing that this wasn’t exactly the best idea. But in my heart, I knew that I had to go through with it. There was no turning back, no changing my mind. Whatever waited for me at this dark faerie’s hands was the next stage in my journey.
As I approached her, she enveloped me in her wings, embracing me in a shroud of cobwebs and faraway wind chimes, of spiders spinning out their webs in the dark of the forest, and that indeterminable space between twilight and starlight, when the Queen of Dusk gave way to the Queen of Night. Birdsong echoed in my ears, lonely and haunting, calling home for the evening. I felt the rivers of time pass by, the cycle of life moving in a spiral. Midnight to morning, morning to noon, noon to twilight, and twilight back to midnight—time marched ever onward and yet, always came back to the same place.
As I tried to sort out the emotions racing through my heart, the eons flashed by in a parade of images. The rise of Fae, the flight as a grandeur of dragons rose into the air, the wars of men laying the ground waste with blood, the scent of death rising. And yet, always life sprang from death and rose once more, and then—as do all things—fell into decay. Through all of this the gods kept watch, and the Immortals—the Elemental Lords, the Harvestmen, and the Hags of Fate—dealt out the hands that decided destiny and fate.
I had scarcely caught my breath when the sparkling guardian of the diamond spun me around, dancing with her in a macabre waltz as the ghostly strains of violin music echoed around us. We danced on the web of life—our feet lightly landing on thread after thread. We danced until I could barely remember my name, or why I had come to this place. I was no longer on a journey, but I had become the journey. I was the end goal—and I was the traveler. I was the Fool of the tarot, seeking my path through the wild wood, and I was the Universe at the end of the road, looking back on what I had been and looking now on what I had become.
“Why do you want the diamond?” the Guardian asked me as we waltzed.
I didn’t need to think. I just answered from deep within my heart. “I don’t, but destiny bids me to take it and raise the Keraastar Knights in order to defeat Shadow Wing. So I accept the responsibility.”
“You will rise to be a fearsome queen. Will you accept what this brings into your life?”
Then I saw. This was the end of dillydallying. The time had come. I saw the raging of demons, as I led the Knights into battle. Blood spilling on the ground like water over the falls. A harsh and terrible light and then, the image of Shadow Wing filled my mind. I had never seen him—none of us knew what he looked like. But there he was, rising like a winged demon, taller than a giant, with coiling horns and ruddy-red skin and flaming eyes. He wielded a sword and he was looking right at me.
I could barely breathe. Evil bled off him like sweat, and everything that he touched became tainted and vile. I tried to break away, tried to hide but there was nowhere to go. He could see me, as clearly as I could see him, and he knew what I was doing. He knew I had come for the diamond, and soon he would have a rival he never expected. I would be flanked by my Knights, but still—when it came time to face him down—I would be there, on the front lines, standing between him and the world.
“Do you still wish to take the diamond?” The Guardian’s voice penetrated the fog of fear that had banked around me.
I wanted to say no. I wanted to say Forget about it, I’ll be moseying on home and thank you very much for your time. But I did neither. I was my father’s daughter. I straightened my shoulders. Sure, there were places I could hide, but if he broke through, the worlds would burn. And I could help prevent it from happening.
I found my voice. “Yes. I will take the diamond.”
“Once the Keraastar Diamond goes around your neck, you will never be able to free yourself from it. Are you ready?” She sounded almost sorrowful.
“I’m ready.”
“Then, Queen of the Keraastar Knights, I bestow upon you the Keraastar Diamond. What is about to be done can never be undone. Only the will of the gods, or your death, will sever the ties about to be made.”
She led me to the tree. There was nothing else in the room—not Chase, not Venus, not the demons in the shadows. I only had eyes for the Guardian. She backed away and motioned to a hole in the crotch of the tree.