Beyond Nothing

Chapter Nine

The Umbra finishes speaking and we stand in silence, unsure of quite how to respond.

Kea speaks first. 'So you can't... release some of the stolen colour, I suppose.'

'Oh, no.' Says the Umbra, 'That can only happen if I die. Which, by the way, if you can bring about, I would be very grateful. A lot has already been absorbed, though, so will never be released. Only the area I die in will ever return to exactly how it was before.'

Silva draws us away from the door, to an area where she shouldn't be able to hear us. 'Are you sure about this?' she whispers, 'Are you sure you can kill someone? Either of you, because I know I can't.'

I'm going to tell her that I'm not sure I can, either, but Kea cuts in. 'Yes.' He says, 'I can kill her. Intentional or not, she has destroyed so many worlds... At least we can stop her here, before she destroys anything more.'

'But how are we going to deal with the whole not-being-able-to-look-in-her-eyes thing?' Silva asks.

'I might have an idea,' I say, 'Silva, you're a mechanic, right? I don't suppose you know any creation magic for materials?'

She grins. 'I do, actually. I'm very proud of it. I can only make small things, though.'

'Can you make a pair of glasses with tinted lenses?'

'Glasses?'

'Just make two circles of tinted dark brown glass and some strong wire, then.'

She nods, and gets to work. She places her hands a few centimetres apart, and a ball of bright light appears between her palms. She glances back up at me. 'This will take a while. You go carry on talking to her.'

Me and Kea walk back up the tiny paved path, standing back in front of the door. I let Kea do the talking.

'How would you like to come with us somewhere? When we reach our destination...' he swallows, looking more unsure than his tone would suggest, 'I'll kill you.'

I can hear the excitement evident in her voice when she replies. 'You can do that? Really? But how are you going to stop yourselves being killed?'

I glance back to Silva, who has created a several long strands of thick wire. 'We have a way to get around that.' I say. 'Or we will, soon.'

'Where are we going?' the Umbra asks.

'To the Skylights.' Kea says, 'We're trying to send a member of our party back to the world she belongs.'

'The Skylights?'

'I'll explain on the way,' he tells her.

Silva calls me over, handing me two small disks of glass and a handful of wire. 'I hope this is okay,' she says, 'I couldn't make the disks and bigger – too much for my skill level.'

'This is fine, thank you.' I set to work twisting the wire around the disks. It's more difficult than it might appear, but I manage it eventually. The resulting contraption looks very little like a pair of glasses, but it should work.

I pull the sides out so it's flat, and slide them under the door. 'Here. Fold the long pieces around so that the hooks go around your ears. That should keep it on.' I want a second for her to do this, then ask, 'Are you done?'

At the confirmation, I push the door open.

Silva yelps, pressing a hand over her eyes, and Kea spins to look in the opposite direction. He grabs my hand, trying to pull me away, but I resist.

I am the first person to see the Umbra.

I suppose I must be the first ever to see her and live.