Unending: Mage's Academy III

same. The stone reflected the strange silver crown that I had seen her wear once in my first year here. That had been the first and the last time I'd ever met my mother. The woman's face in the statue was not exactly right, but the sculptor could be forgiven for that. I knew it was her. I dusted off the statue and began to search for any information about her. There was no bronze plate or any information. I stood back to gaze again at the statue and noticed something right at the base of her feet. The pedestal where the statue rested had some kind of inscription. I got down on my knees to dust it off. A pattern that I hadn't noticed previously covered the base with small stars and moons. Amid the stars were ancient letters. They must have once been carved much deeper, but now they were just barely visible. I touched the shallow ridges with the tip of my finger, wanting to absorb it into me. Anything about my mother was more than what I already had.

She who guides us across the veil with her fiery torch is always with us. Look for her light in the darkness. It is our fortress. 

The veil had to be referring to what I thought it did, right? The liminal world. I had felt the cool touch of fabric when moving across into the realm of ghouls and spirits. Had she been the one to erect the ancient protections around the school? It sure seemed like it. Her light in the darkness? I wasn't sure what it all meant.

Back at Kairn's house, I went looking for him. It was time to head back to camp. I wanted to talk to Lucian about what I had learned, but first I needed to talk to Kairn. I was sure he would want me to stay with him. I sat on his couch for the longest time, letting the thoughts swirl in my mind. What was beyond the fence outside the school grounds. The Liminal world was bigger than I knew. That's what Alice had said. I stretched out my legs on the sturdy leather couch. It was taking all my control not to fidget. I was desperate to get back and talk to Lucian. The fortress had to refer to the wall around the school. My mother must have created it. I repeated the words to myself. If the veil was referring to the liminal world after all, then it was saying that the Queen of Witches guides souls across the liminal with her torch.

If you were a soul looking for guidance in the underworld, how would you find her torch? Would she come to you? So many people die every day, every moment even, that she couldn't possibly lead each of them personally? They would have to look for her light in the darkness like the inscription said. Where can you look for things in the night? Most of the liminal world, as far I knew, was forested. That would make it difficult to see much. Unless I supposed if it was really high up. Then you might be able to see it.

The only thing taller than the forest was was the wall around the school. That was it. My heart began to race as I realized the truth. The wall was lined with sentinel towers. That was where I would find the torches. I knew it, but I had to check to be certain. My pulse was pounding despite sitting still in Kairn's living room. I needed to get to the Liminal world. I waited as long as I could before I had to go.

7

Light of the Torches

I passed easily through the veil between the worlds. It wasn't that the veil had become any thinner. It was almost as if I had become more ethereal, more able to pass between the shadows of the world. The forest was becoming more familiar with each trip to the liminal. The wall was nearby, I just had to keep heading north. Soon I would be able to see the sentinel towers rising above the trees.

As I walked I got the uncanny sense that I was being watched. I knew enough to listen to that feeling. Being prepared meant letting the magic build inside of me. It was a tough balance sometimes. I had to be ready to use my power at any moment, but without stepping too close to the precipice where I couldn't control it anymore. It was like an electromagnetic force swirling all around me as I could feel the magic welling up. There was a fully grown banshee on the loose and after what had happened at the shrine, it was growing clear that it had it out for me.

The sensation grew stronger, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I approached the wall with caution, then scanned the perimeter for any sign of trouble. I couldn't see anything, but that certainly didn't mean it wasn't there. The forest was thick and the liminal world was clouded and dark at the best of times. The wall extended so far in both directions, I decided to walk until I got to what I was looking for. The first tower I came to was jutting out of a very overgrown thicket of trees. Vines snarled all the way up the wall. The stones that made up the edifice were uneven and some appeared to be loose.

The shrieking pierced the silence of the liminal world. I had been holding the tension for a while, so in a way, it wasn't a surprise, but it was so much worse than I remembered. I had only heard the echo before the banshee's shriek, but this was the real deal. I whipped around, looking for the source. The sounds bounced off the wall getting scattered in the forest. Every tree held a shadow. I squinted hard, looking desperately for