The boy travelled a hundred miles
Drank a hundred gallons of water
Ate one hundred tons of food
And when he arrived at the palace
To deliver his news
The king and queen fell down laughing
And the boy died shortly afterwards.
The Adventures of Jack the Messenger-Boy by Kelly Laura Corrigan
Violetta Amouteru
"You must be jesting. How is that possible?"
Sergio shifts uncomfortably in his kneel before me on my throne. "The proof is very accurate, I can assure you that, Your Majesty. Everyone swore - the temples are - the gods are dying, Your Majesty. Raffaele confirmed it."
"Raffaele is no longer an Elite, Sergio, and neither are you. Prove to me that the gods are dying, for if the gods are dying, Sergio, the world will die too." I sigh, my mind occupied with the strange nightmare I had last night, of a pulsing ball of green and blue energy. It had shocked me whenever I touched it, and soon the pain became continuous. When I had woke up, my nightmare of false pain had reminded me of Adelina's pain illusions.
"Trust me on this, Your Majesty. The gods are dying."
I pause to scrutinize Sergio's grave face. Raffaele's encouraging nods.
"I will trust you."
Sergio's face relaxes.
"But answer me this, Sergio. How can the gods die? I thought - or believed, as everyone did - that the gods are immortal."
Sergio smiles with satisfaction. I know he has thought of an answer before he has confronted me with this.
"The Elites gave up their powers, yes?"
"Yes," I say.
"The powers that belonged to the gods were forced to work just as well in weak mortal bodies. And when they returned to the gods, they worked less well for them. Why? Because the powers were so used to working in mortal bodies that they lost their power to work in immortal. And without their powers, the gods became a mix, I guess. A hybrid, not yet mortal but not yet immortal, either. Somewhere in between. Now the gods suffer wounds that they normally would not, and that has made them weaker. It waxed stronger the contact between them and us, and they fear that they will one day walk upon the earth as mortals."
"And will they?" I ask. Despite myself, I am intrigued. And terrified. Very, very terrified. If the gods are not gods, then who will rule the world? Who will keep order and balance?
"If this is not fixed, yes. That is why I seek your help, Your Majesty. You are powerful, very powerful. And that is why Magiano's return is important. He used to be a very powerful and skilled Elite. Even better if he returns with Adelina."
My heart twinges at the sound of my sister's name, and I clamp down hard on my emotions. Careful. Can't have the Queen of the Sealands bursting into tears whenever Adelina's name is mentioned. "But we are not Elites any more. How would that help?"
"We were once Elites, and some of our power still lingers in us. I believe more will be coming."
Sergio's words shock me. "You mean that we will become the Young Elites once more?"
"Something like that, yes." Sergio smiles wolfishly. "Since the gods cannot restrain our powers by putting them in their own bodies and minds, the powers have fled back earth. I believe I know a few places where they have landed."
The Elites could come back. Lucent, Adelina, Michel, Magiano, Maeve, Sergio.
"But . . ." I think of a line that I have once said after I made a bargain after Adelina's death about the Young Elites. They were the flash of light in a stormy sky, the fleeting darkness before dawn. Never have they existed before, nor shall they ever exist again. This violates so many rules, goes against so many lines of poetry and so many books that have been made about the Young Elites, about their first appearance from the blood fever and their vanish from this world.
To buy time, I say, "How will you fix this?"
"I do not know, Your Majesty. We will have to discuss this matter once Adelina and Magiano are back."
"What of Maeve and Lucent?" I ask.
To my surprise, it is not Sergio who answers, but Raffaele. "You know what to do, Your Majesty."
And I do.
Ten minutes later, a small white dove carrying a message to Maeve and Lucent flies above Estenzia, headed for the city of Beldain in the Skylands.