Sapphire by Elayne Griffith Page A

she privately said to Shawna. “I
don’t like to use such power because using memories to cloud one’s
mind can be dangerous. You never know what might be brought forth,
but in this case it was best.”
    “Hello?” Lula said directly into Mira’s ear. “Can
you hear me?”
    “All too well, Lula,” Mira said, twisting her ear
away. “The LorLor warned us of the risen molochs. It sensed the
dark intent in their souls, so we left. And yes, you fell
asleep.”
    Shawna wondered what kind of memories were buried
deep in Lula’s mind. It was hard to imagine that any of them were
bad.
    Mira turned an ear back at Shawna. “Do not dismount,
just in case.”
    “No problem.” She nodded and looked at the ground
like it had become molten lava. “What aren’t you telling me? Why
can’t you just explain everything? What’s the big
secret?”
    Mira snorted like a parent exasperated with their
child’s tantrum, then said so only Shawna could hear, “You are
impatient, angry, and afraid, three reasons it would be unwise to
tell you anything right now.” She went on before Shawna could spout
her frustration again. “Simply being told certain knowledge
is useless. Discovering it for yourself makes all the difference.
You were told that souls exist but did you believe it? No, you
didn’t. There is more at risk here than your own self. The molochs
are growing stronger since you have come back.” It seemed like she
wanted to say more but fell silent.
    Something in the way she said that last phrase
chilled the words on Shawna’s tongue and she let them drop,
unspoken, like icicles. Mira turned her head to look at her.
    “Woo!” shouted Lula, waving her arms. “Tell me when
you're going to move your head next time. I almost fell in your
ear.”
    Mira tossed her head, and Lula flew head over wings
into the air.
    “Hey!” she glowered, fluttering above their heads.
“You want a pink mane? I’ll do it. I will.”
    “You want six legs to go with those wings?” Mira
bantered back. “I’ll do it.”
    Lula suddenly found something very interesting on
her dress and started fiddling with it. Shawna looked behind at the
receding forest again. There was no sign of their pursuers. Only a
large hawk circled in the distance then disappeared towards the
mountains.
    “By the way,” Lula said, flying over to Mira. “Where are we, and how in flapping-arms did we get here?”
    “I galloped all night because there’s something I
want you to see that happens here only at sunrise.”
    “Wow,” said Lula, “that’s, uh, spunky…and nice of
you.” She gave Shawna a look of and-you-thought- you- were-crazy.
    Shawna tried to keep her features straight and not
tip Lula off to Mira’s blatant lie. She was spared the effort when
they stepped to the hills summit and beheld what lay in the valley
below. She gasped in amazement.
    Giant spires of crystal, some as tall as sky
scrapers, dominated the land as far as she could see. They
glittered and shimmered in the early light, shivering for the sun's
touch. The magnificent mountain range hunched its huge shoulders,
allowing a few spears of light to fly and glance off crystal
towers, splintering them into shards of color. The sparse trees
dotting the landscape were completely overpowered by this fantastic
spectacle. She first thought it was a natural phenomenon, beyond
any world wonder she could ever conceive of, then noticed the
crystals seemed to bend and lean, forming castle like
structures.
    “The Monoliths of Kryos,” Lula whispered. “I thought
they were a myth.”
    Shawna cough-laughed and decided not to say
something sarcastic to the mythical fairy's remark. She watched
breathlessly as the sun finally rose over the regal mountain range
that bowed before the marvel below. A million spears of light
collided with the crystal citadels, shattering them into waterfalls
of rainbows. The colors arced skyward in bridges of flaming hues
and created a web of fractured light.
    “We found