The Nibiru Effect

Memory 60

We head off early the next morning. The smoke from the fire kept the bugs at bay, and the well-deserved rest allowed up to regain our strength. Even our welts have vanished, leaving behind only minute traces of our encounter with the mosquitos.

Jonn leads the way, guiding us along the path that will take us to the summit of the Mountain of Fire. Not long after we depart, I hear what sounds like a massive dinosaur moving through the trees, but none of my companions hear it, so I chalk it up to my imagination and move on.

We walk for nearly an hour before I begin to tire. I start to lag behind, though I make sure to keep the rest of the group in sight. Korri slows his pace to keep me company while Kara remains with Jonn.

"Do you believe Korrigana is real?" I ask after a while. Given how he speaks of the korrigan goddess, I suspect he doesn't believe she exists, but I have learned not to make assumptions based on impressions.

"That depends on what you mean by 'real.' I believe the one my fellow korrigans call Korrigana is real, but I don't think she's a goddess."

"Why not?"

"I don't believe in such things. Do you?"

"Not really, but if the past few weeks have taught me anything, it's that anything is possible. I try to keep an open mind."

Korri nods and we progress in silence for a while before I ask another question.

"Where are your parents? Why haven't I met them?"

Korri hesitates.

"I'm not a forest korrigan," he says after a while.

"What do you mean? What are you?"

"I'm a lava korrigan."

I look him up and down, and his peculiar appearance suddenly makes sense. The dark, almost black skin. The orange hair and eyes. The matching nails. Why didn't I see it before?

"Aren't lava korrigans extinct?"

"Most people assume that, but we're still very much alive." He looks around to make sure no one is following us. "Lava korrigans live inside the Mountain of Fire. They spend their days shoveling lava. Without them, the volcano would have erupted long ago."

"Shoveling lava? That doesn't sound like fun."

"It's not. That's why I ran away when I was a kid."

Things are starting to make sense, but there's still much I don't understand.

"What's it like living inside a volcano?"

"It's hot," says Korri, matter-of-factly. "But that's okay. We lava korrigans can support high temperatures. It's the cold we don't like."

"Is that why you can't change colour?"

Korri shakes his head. "Lava korrigans don't change colour. Only forest korrigans."

"Why?"

"They are descendent from both lava korrigans and arkanes. That's also why they're so much taller than us."

It makes sense.

"Can all lava korrigans move as fast as you?"

Korri nods. We progress in silence for a while before I think of another question.

"Why did you leave your home? I saw how the forest korrigans treat you. Why would you stay with them when you could live with your friends and family?"

My friend's shoulders sag.

"I was banished."

"Why?" I ask, but we catch up to our companions before he can answer.

Jonn and Kara stand by the oddest canyon I have ever seen. Shaped like a giant half-pipe, the stone slide leads deep into the valley that stretches before us. The slope is subtle, and the walls steep. They come to an abrupt halt twenty or so metres above us. In order to reach the peak of the mountain, we have no choice but to travel along this natural half-pipe.

"What are we waiting for?" I ask, having now forgotten about my conversation with Korri.

"I don't like this," grumbles Jonn. "It's too exposed."

"We don't have a choice," says Kara.

"We could go around," offers the grey-haired soldier.

"That would take too long," says Korri once I tell him what Jonn said. Taking the lead, he enters the roofless tunnel and motions for us to follow.

We progress in silence for nearly a full minute before Jonn insists on taking the lead. Korri doesn't seem to mind. In fact, he appears quite content hanging back while Jonn takes all the risk. We keep going for a while before the hulking soldier raises his hand in warning.

I halt, mid-stride, and scan my surroundings.

"I don't see anything."

Jonn shushes me, and Kara points to the top of the half-pipe. There, balanced on the very edge of the stone wall, is a large black ball. It's about two meters in diameter and glistens in the sunlight.

"What is it?" I ask.

Jonn shushes me again, but Kara ignores him.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's not alone." I follow her gaze and spot a second sphere. A third soon appears. Then a fourth. Before long, their numbers swell past quantification.

"What are they?" I ask.

"They're bad news," says Korri.

"What does that mean?" Iask, but Korri doesn't get a chance to answer. Acting as one, the spheres rollforward. One second they're just hovering there, defying gravity, and the nextthey're rolling toward us, gaining speed with each passing moment.