Chapter 182: Mend the Tear
---Katherine---
'Mend the tear. Close the portal.' The portal sucked away the Evils and Lord Victor, so it made sense that we had to close the portal in order to destroy them for good. But how do we close a portal?
Indigo was pacing in front of the portal again. I could practically see the gears in her brain turning as she thought out loud. "It's all coming together," she said to us, or perhaps to herself. "'What was captured must be freed.' That points to the magic that was kept in the orb. Madeline told us it was ancient magic that had been possessed by evil, and we had to release it by destroying the orb. We know that 'In opposition the tear will mend' means we have to close the portal. So what does 'Blue and gold shall seal the deed' and 'Ancient summons bring home a friend' mean? Do they have anything to do with closing the portal?"
"Blue and gold…" A memory flashed in my brain. We've discussed this specific line before. "Indigo, do you remember how we tried to decipher the prophecy very early on in our journey? Ashley said that 'blue and gold' sounded like some sort of magic, perhaps two different spells. Do you know of any mending spells that manifest with blue and gold?"
Indigo tilted her head in thought. "I don't know that many spells, and I only know one mending spell. I don't know anything about the color, though."
Aaron was listening to our conversation with a pensive look. "Guys, I have a wild idea. What if 'blue and gold' were not referring to spells, but to specific people?"
Indigo and I both looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" Indigo asked.
"Well, I was thinking back to the battle, where your spear glowed gold and Kath's sword glowed blue." Aaron said slowly. "So maybe, you and Kath have to be the ones to seal the portal."
"Or…our weapons could be the key to sealing the portal." I followed Aaron's train of thought. "But how exactly would we seal the portal?"
"I suppose we could try a mending spell," Indigo said finally. She pointed her spear at the portal. "Sarci."
The inscriptions on the spear of light began to glow. As we watched in awe, the tip of the spear emitted a gold beam of light that struck the surface of the portal. Wisps of golden magic danced along the light beam and merged with the red on the portal, like a tangle of thread.
I unsheathed Retribution and directed it at the portal as well. "Sarci."
Nothing happened. The sword didn't even glow. Frowning, I repeated the spell louder. Still, nothing. I looked at Indigo for help. "I'm pronouncing it correctly, right?" Indigo nodded to affirm that it wasn't my pronunciation that was the problem.
"Maybe you have to activate your sword again?" Aaron suggested. I quickly brushed my palm against the blade, drawing a thin line of blood on my hand. I smeared the blood down the blade and hoped it would glow blue like before. Nothing.
"Why isn't it working?" I was very frustrated. "Did I break the sword when I destroyed the orb?"
Indigo waved her hand and dismissed the spell she cast. Her spear stopped glowing. She walked to me as I held up the sword and peered at it from different angles. "Can I try?"
I handed Indigo my sword. Indigo struggled to get a good grip. "I forget how heavy your sword is," she remarked. I smiled a little.
Indigo said the spell. She also smeared her blood on the blade in hopes of reactivating the magic. In a fit of desperation, Aaron dropped some of his blood on there too, praying that the mixture of all of our blood would do something. Nothing. The sword refused to glow.
"I don't get it. My sword is the only weapon that glows blue. So why doesn't it work?" I wanted to throw Retribution against the wall and yell at it to work. We were so close to finishing this quest. We just had to seal the portal, and we would have won for good. We did not come this far just for Retribution to fail at the last step. The rosestone was the same red hue as the portal, defiantly refusing to turn blue.
"Kath, it's not just your sword that glows blue." Aaron suddenly said. "Your healing magic is also blue."
"That's right!" Indigo perked up. "Katherine, your healing magic is blue!"
I looked at both of them doubtfully. "You want me to put my hand on the portal and try to heal it?"
Aaron and Indigo looked at each other. They were unconvinced and unsure too. "It sounds so weird, but it doesn't hurt to try, right?" Aaron said. "Do you feel like you have enough energy to summon your healing magic?"
"I should be able to." I stepped up to the left side of the portal and placed my hand on the red jagged edge. I could feel the magic vibrate and hum under my fingers. "Indigo, you want to say your spell again?"
"On the count of three." Aaron stepped aside so Indigo had a clear aim at the portal with her spear. "One—two—three!"
A burst of gold light shot from the spear tip and hit the right edge of the portal. At the same time, I called up my healing magic and channeled it outwards. Blue sparks swirled around my hand and mingled with the red wisps of the portal. "Is it working? Is the portal closing?"
"Um…" Aaron was scrutinizing the portal. "No, I don't think so."
With a frustrated groan, I pulled away from the portal. Indigo lowered her spear. We looked at each other again, lost and defeated.
"Hey, Aaron, doesn't your cloak glow gold too?" I asked. Aaron pinched up a patch of his cloak.
"Not really; it's more of a pale yellow." He said. "But I can try."
Untying his cloak, Aaron walked up to the portal and plastered it over the opening. It looked awfully small compared with the size of the portal. "Um, sarci."
Like my sword, Aaron's cloak did not glow. He stepped away, the cloak sagging in his hand. "Sorry guys, it's not me. It looks like Indigo is the 'gold' one."
We tried a series of spells—mend, sew, close, seal, all the synonyms we could think of. We tried different combinations of me using my healing magic and my sword while Indigo used her spear. While she was able to coax a golden light from her spear every time, my sword stubbornly refused to glow. The portal remained a gaping tear.
We sat on the ground in front of the portal, feeling hopeless. I glared at the sword on my lap. The rosestone stayed the same color as the portal. Damn it, why won't it just glow blue? What was I doing wrong?
"Are we interpreting the prophecy wrong?" Aaron wondered.
"I think we're on the right track; we're just missing something." Indigo tapped her chin in thought. She muttered the prophecy to herself over and over. We all mulled over the possible meanings of the prophecy.
"Indigo, we never figured out what the 'in opposition' part meant," I remarked. "I remember you said it was contradictory, but maybe we're just not thinking about it correctly."
Indigo's gaze strayed to the portal as she thought. "I think you're right, Katherine. What could 'in opposition' mean? 'In opposition'… opposite…what should be opposite…"
A few minutes later, Indigo suddenly sat up straight and looked directly at me. "Katherine, I think we have to be on opposite sides in order to seal the portal!"
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