He watched as Astra knelt next to his sister and put her mouth over hers. He thought at first that she might be trying to administer CPR, but then he realized it was much more than that. Astra glowed with a white magic that was like staring into a pure-white version of the sun. She took in a breath through Celeste’s mouth that seemed deep enough to swallow all the water in the ocean as if she were sucking the air out of Celeste’s very molecules. When she had finished, Celeste’s chest began to rise and fall again, and she looked as if she were peacefully sleeping and breathing.
“How did you do that?”
“I brought the poisoned magic out of her,” Astra replied. She looked dimmer and more blanched than she had a moment ago.
“By sucking the breath out of her?” Cai was in disbelief.
“Essentially, yes.” Astra got up to stand but wobbled on her feet. She was not immune to the plague of the dark sorcery, either.
Cai ran up and caught her and helped her to sit down on the bed beside Celeste.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she smiled. “I’ll be fine. Your sister would not have survived it, but for me, it will just be as a small illness. I just need to rest and recuperate for a short time.”
“Of course,” Cai said as he helped her to lay down beside his sister in the bed. “Thank you.”
Astra smiled and closed her eyes.
Cai sat in a chair in the corner of his room and watched both of the precious women while they slept. He knew it would be only a matter of time before the dark sorcery reared its ugly head again, and they would need to be prepared to fight. He felt guilty for leaving Celeste to fight it alone while he was within his room, making love to Astra. He hadn’t done it intentionally, of course, but he still felt guilty, nonetheless. He wouldn’t let anyone down again. Celeste woke first, which was good. It gave him a chance to explain himself and to tell her about Astra and what she had done to save her. Celeste told him of all the light elves who had already fallen to the plague, and all who were hidden within their homes and various corners of the palace where the magic had not yet reached them. The thought came to him of Gretel’s sisters and brother who he had seen outside of the palace. He wanted to know if they were okay.
“I need to leave the palace to check on something,” he said to Celeste.
“What is it?”
“Gretel’s siblings are there, in a little dwelling by the street. I need to see if they are okay.”
“But you can’t go out now. What if the plague returns while you are outside the palace?”
“It won’t,” Astra sat up slowly in the bed as she spoke.
Celeste went over to her and sat beside her. “Thank you. My brother told me what you did for me. You save my life.”
Astra nodded. “I am happy I could help.”
“How do you know that the dark sorcery won’t return.”
“Oh, it will most definitely return,” she said. “It just won’t return yet.”
Cai stood up from his chair to come to stand nearer to the bed. “How do you know that? Can you tell when the plague is coming?”
“Yes.”
He knew by the look on his sister’s face that Celeste was thinking that same thing he was. Astra was like the canary in the coal mines; she could detect what was in the air.
“I can sense when it is about to arrive. That is how I knew when to come to you at the apartment. I’m not sure how I know, aside from the fact that I am the forest, and as such, I can feel the worlds that I am rooted to. There is always an indicator, just like when a great storm is about to come. The air gets heavier, moister, and the sky darkens. The clouds roll in, and sometimes there is a rumble off in the distance. The same is true with this, except it’s just not as obvious to pick up on. But I can sense it.”
“What does it feel like?” Celeste asked.
“It feels like a violet haze starts to tint the air, like there is a nervous and panicked vibration of everything around me, and there is a smell that precedes it.”
“A smell?”
“Yes. It’s sickeningly sweet.”
“How long after you notice these signs does the plague come?” Cai was trying to figure out how much time he had in order to make it to go check on Gretel’s siblings.
“Usually a couple of hours at most. Never less than an hour.”
“I have time then.”
“Yes,” Astra said as she stood up. “I’ll come with you.”
Celeste saw how beautiful the forest girl was, but she also noted how completely naked she was. “Here, just a minute,” she said. She ran out the door and returned within a few minutes with some clothes for Astra to wear as she accompanied Cai outside the palace.
“Thank you,” Astra smiled as she took them from her.
The clothes hung on Astra’s thin frame as if she were their hangar. Celeste fixed it by tying a knot up in the shirt and fastening the pants tighter with hairpins. When the three of them left the room, Astra looked pained at how many bodies laid dead on the palace floor.
“I tried to protect them,” Celeste said. Her mouth quivered, and her bottom lip turned downward as she spoke.
“This is not your fault,” Cai said as he put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s mine. I should have been at your side to help. These people might have survived if I had been. I declared myself a ruler here, and I failed my people. I will not fail them again.”
“This is no one’s fault,” Astra said. “At least no one here.”
They stepped over the fallen bodies and made their way out of the palace and onto the streets of Alfheim. The city was mostly empty, with people locked inside their homes to avoid exposure to the plague that the dark magic had caused. It was eerie to see the once-bustling city so silent and deserted. Cai looked around to remember which house he had seen the children in, and when he remembered, they walked up and knocked on the door.
The door opened just a crack, and the little boy who had spoken to Cai on the street previously, peeked outside.
“Hello,” Cai said. “Do you remember me?”
“Yes. Did you bring the plague with you?”
“No.” Cai couldn’t keep his face from frowning. No child should have to fear opening the door to a plague. Alfheim was truly under siege, and as its ruler, he needed to make things right. “May we come in to speak with your mother?”
“Just a minute,” the boy said as he shut the door closed again.
After a short time, the door re-opened, and the boy smiled. “My mother said you could come in.” The boy looked at Astra as they walked inside. “You’re pretty,” he said.
Inside the house was a modest little table set with five bowls that overflowed with oats and honey and berries. The boy’s mother was at the stovetop, boiling down some concoction of herbs. The other three children, Gretel’s siblings, were not there.
“Welcome,” said the woman as she set cups of the homemade tea down on the table amidst the bowls. “My son says you are a friend of his from the market. I have heard that you are the new ruler of Alfheim, and I’m honored to have you in my home. What brings you to my door?”
“I am actually looking for the other three children who live here.” The woman’s curious look made Cai realize it that sounded like a curious request without further explanation. “They are siblings of a woman I loved, a woman who was slain by Heimdall, following his escape from the prisons.”