“Yeah!” exclaims an older boy. “You two are totally bad ass.”
The littlest girl points accusingly at the boy and wails, “I'm going to tell mummy you have been swearing again!”
A look of genuine panic crosses the older boys face. “It’s not a swear word if I meant it in a good way.”
“It is!” the youngest girl bellows and runs off. Presumably in search of her mother.
The older boy curses loudly and sets off in pursuit. The smell of cooking catches my attention and a loud grumble from my stomach accompanies the scent, a reminder I haven’t eaten since the encounter with the chimera. Apparently fighting massive monsters, creating walls of light and escaping cave-ins makes a person extremely hungry.
Lewi and his smaller band of friends lead me to a room filled with people, the children wave goodbye and run off into the room. I quickly locate the line of folks waiting for their meals. I peek ahead and watch a young boy serve a good sized helping of soup into a bowl and hand it to the person at the front of the line. It smells fantastic.
I wait in the queue for my turn. I fidget my hands and try to stand still, but my hunger gnaws at my stomach and makes me impatient. I finally make it to the front of the line, which in all honesty doesn’t take that long, but hunger makes the wait drag by as if each individual second demanded my attention.
The young boy hands me a full bowl and a chunk of bread, but before I can leave, a second chunk makes its way onto my tray. I give the boy a questioning look, everyone else has received just one piece of bread.
The boy gives me a cheeky smile. “Maybe this time you won’t have to eat another person’s dinner.”
My cheeks heat up for what feels like the hundredth time in as many days. “Thank you.”
I remove myself from the line and head into the crowded room, looking for a place to sit. I make my way to the room’s far end. Away from everyone. I don’t want to make another spectacle of myself while I eat this meal. I’m hungry and don’t need people watching me eat in alarm. I lean against the wall and slide to the floor. Wincing as pain burns through my still healing leg.
I gingerly rub my leg. “Stupid Cerebi.”
I pick up a hunk of bread, and its warmth seeps into my chilled fingers. I break it open, and a cloud of steam rises from it, diffusing the space around me with a scent that cannot be ignored. I take a small bite, and the flavor of the bread just about blows me away. This is nothing like the stale bread from the compound. It’s moist, and another taste mixes with the flour. I look at the bread and find orange flakes throughout it. I pull one out and inspect it, holding it close to my face.
“I take it you like the bread,” a familiar female voice cuts through my inspection.
My head snaps up, and my vision is filled with a mane of brown hair and deep green eyes. “Lexa, do you have to sneak up on me like that? You scared the bejeebers out of me,” I complain and return to my food, dunking a chunk of my bread into my thick soup.
Lexa smile’s as she slides down the wall to sit next to me, a bowl of soup in hand. “Actually I was loud in my approach. You would have heard me if you hadn’t been so focused on your food.”
I take a defiant bite out of my bread and glare at Lexa, which does nothing to stop the smile on her face. We sit and eat our soup enjoying the quiet company. It’s not long before my food is all gone, but I pride myself on the fact Lexa doesn’t finish long after me.
Lexa turns her gaze to me. “I think we should talk about what happened yesterday in the cave in.”
I nod. “Do you have a private place where we can talk?”
Lexa rises to her feet. “Of course, follow me.”
I follow Lexa to the wash bucket, and we clean our dishes before we leave the room. We walk through the halls, and Lexa leads us to a large open room. Rows of brick boxes fill the space, each of them teeming with plants of one kind or another. There are many glowing crystals here packed together tightly in rows. Far more then I have seen in any other room.
I walk over to the nearest box and peer inside. Three rows of small leafy plants fill the crate. I inspect the orange leaves closely, and I am astounded by how complex this little leaf looks. Purple veins spread out from the leaf’s spine and fan across its flesh. I have never seen a living plant before. The closest I had to this is a glimpse of mushrooms that occasionally grow around the compound. But stories of people hallucinating and being violently ill prevented me from ever inspecting them closely.
Lexa steps up beside me and plucks one of the orange leaves, and holds it out to me. “It is a Kafid plant. We use the leaves for food, they are extremely nutritious, and the roots once boiled, are dried and crushed. They are excellent for drawing infection from a wound.”
The leaf is soft and flexible, I sniff it, and a slight aroma fills my senses. “Can I try some?”
Lexa smiles. “That’s why I picked it.”
I tear off a section of leaf and pop it into my mouth. A sweet flavor rolls across my tongue with the foliage. I am pleased with the taste and happily chew on the rest of the stem. It’s familiar, and I tilt my head as I munch the plant. The bread. This is the strange flavor in the bread.
I look around the room. “You grow your own food.”
Lexa walks ahead of me through the rows. “Yes. We have other rooms like this. Carting food to our location would bring unnecessary attention to us. So we grow what we can, hunt what we need, and go without what we can’t make ourselves.”
I nod. This place is amazing, and I doubt Darkmor would allow it to exist if he knew about it. I assume they have gone to great lengths to keep it hidden. Lexa leads me over to a strange can and sets it under a metal contraption. She grabs the handle and begins pumping it up and down.
Within a few minutes, water spurts from the end and into the large container below it. Once the canister is full, she takes it back to the plants and tips it over them. The water sprinkles out of the can and lands gently on the plant's delicate leaves. The droplets land in little beads that bunch and roll down the foliage, pooling in the center of the plant and reminding me of a bowl.
I glance around the room; we are alone. I'm surprised Lexa has found a place to talk while still managing to do what needs to be done. I suppose I’ll get right to it then. “Your necklace. Did you know it could do what it did in the cave in?”
Lexa shakes her head. “No. From time to time, I have seen it glow when I have felt a powerful emotion. But the cave-in was the first time I have seen it project light.”
Lexa hands me the watering container and indicates the plants still in need of water. Unsure, I tip the can, and sprinkles of water fall from it, landing on the leaves with a soft patter. The scent of rich earth spreads with the water, and I find I quite like the effect.
I move on to the next plant. “Me either, but I haven’t had mine for very long. My mother gave it to me before her review.”
Lexa retrieves a set of scissors from a cupboard nearby. “It is unusual magic. I haven’t seen anything like it before.”
“Do you think the crystal was made by someone with the gift?”
Lexa carefully clips bulbs off a small green vine nearby and places them in a bowl. “It could be.” Lexa sets down her scissors. “May I see your necklace?”
I put the can on the floor beside me and pull off my necklace. I hold it for a moment; the desire to keep it in my possession is strong. I release a slow breath and hand it to Lexa. She removes her own necklace and passes it to me. Lexa's necklace is similar in size and shape to my own. The most significant difference is the color—where mine is a brilliant sapphire blue, Lexa's is vibrant emerald green.
Lexa turns my necklace in her fingers. “I have tried to make it light up like it did in the cave in, but my attempts have been unsuccessful.”
I fidget with her necklace. “My mother told me there are five other necklaces, and that the people with them would be special.”
Lexa raises her eyebrow. “Five others?”
&n
bsp; “Yes. She told me I would need to find them all to defeat Darkmor.”
Lexa nods and hands back my necklace in silence. I take the gem in my hand and give Lexa hers. Our fingers brush, and a jolt of energy rushes through me, and the necklaces in our hands glow.
We stare at the glowing gems for a moment before Lexa pulls her hand away, bringing an abrupt end to the light.
My hand hangs in the air. Does it work on contact? Slowly I reach out and take Lexa's hand firmly in my own. The gems burst into light, and the room is filled with dancing green and blue light. The light wavers and weaves a protective bubble around us.
“Why do they do that?” Lexa breathes.
I stare in awe at the dancing colors. “I don’t know.”
I release Lexa's hand, and a strange sense of loss creeps through my mind as I let my hand fall back to the watering canister. The light shimmers around us as it fades, lingering for a few moments before it vanishes altogether. I bow my head and my skin prickles. My mother was right, and I didn’t believe her.
Lexa's eyes are distant and unfocused as she tugs on her necklace. “There are six gems.”
I nod, but she doesn’t see me. I use the time to work up the courage to ask Lexa to come with me. She has a necklace, and her help will go a long way towards achieving the quest. The only problem is, I will have to ask her to leave people who need her. I will be asking her to leave a place that is safe.
I have almost talked myself out of it when Lexa's eyes dart to mine. “I have to find my sister. Do you know how to get back from here?”
Lexa has a sister? I wonder why I haven’t met her. Then I berate myself, Lexa is the leader of a rebel camp, she is not going to share everything with someone who is basically a stranger.
I try to recall how we got here, but the twisting labyrinth of tunnels is not something I have learned to navigate yet. A young man with long blonde hair and square glasses walks into the room.
“Lucas,” Lexa says a little too loud. The man starts and looks over at us. “Can you assist Claire? There is something I must do.”
Lucas nods and Lexa runs from the room. I furrow my brow and stare after her. What have I missed?
Lucas comes over to stand beside me and looks at the half harvested bulbs and the watering can at my side. “Were you helping in the gardens?”
“Lexa was teaching me to water them, and instructing me on what parts can be used,” I say in a distant voice. My mind is still occupied by the events that had taken place.
Lucas sends me a grin. “I can help you with that. I don’t mean to brag, but I'm kind of an expert around these parts. Botany is one of my specialties.”
I smile at him. Lexa is gone now, and with her, the answers to her strange behavior. I might as well take Lucas up on his offer and learn what I can. “That would be great.”
A cluster of gossiping women walk into the room and set up around a garden bed, carefully harvesting small pink berries from the tall plants that grow there.
I work with Lucas and hewhy is a good teacher. And he quickly instructs me on the basics. I learn how to identify poisonous plants and which parts are edible. He shows me this as we harvest plants for the evening meal.
Lucas excitedly shows me the bulbs Lexa had been harvesting. “I recently discovered when you boil these down and collect the vapors the liquid is volatile and alcoholic.”
I pick up the little green bulb. “Why would you want to drink something volatile?”
Lucas shrugs. “It doesn’t taste too bad once your tongue goes numb.” My eyes flick up to him, I let it go and tune back into his words.
He smiles and gestures wildly. “I have been collecting them and making a batch for a while now.”
I put the bulb back. “And which were you trying to make originally? The alcohol or the volatile liquid?”
Lucas smiles. “Which would you rather believe? That I was making something volatile and accidentally drank it. Or that I was making something alcoholic and accidentally blew it up?”
I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. I'm quickly learning Lucas is a little enthusiastic when it comes to explosions. “I'm going to go with the first option. You accidentally drank it.”
Lucas lets out a bark of laughter. “Oh, boy did I get a surprise when I drank from the wrong cup. It was the most horrendous thing I had ever put in my mouth.”
“What did you do?”
He loads me up with an armful of bowls and collects the rest. He leads us from the room. “I found Tash as fast as I could and persuaded her to drink it too. Her face was worth the fifteen minutes it took for me to convince her.”
Tash appears in a doorway and joins us. “What awful things is he telling you about me?”
Lucas places the back of his hand to his forehead with dramatic flair. “We will never tell.”
Tash smirks at him. “We’ll see.”
We turn into a doorway filled with many people at work chopping meat and vegetables. Something delicious is cooking in a big pot that rests on a metal plate above another orange crystal.
Tash helps me unload my bowls onto a counter. “Lexa sent me to find you. She wants to talk to you about something.”
I place the last bowl on the counter. “What about?”
Tash shrugs. “I don’t know. When I left, she and Anne were excitedly reading through some books.”
Lucas pushes his glasses up his nose. “Well, my work here is done. I bid you ladies farewell.” He gives us a mock bow and exits the room.
Tash pokes my arm. “Lexa's this way.”
I follow her back into the labyrinth of corridors.
Chapter Ten
Celestia
I follow Tash through the halls, and she leads me to a room with a yellowed curtain. We pull aside the cloth, step over the threshold, and into an extravagant chamber. I look around in awe, my mouth hanging wider then is polite. The area has been carved so all the walls are a type of shelving. Every available space is filled with books and scrolls of every size and shape. Some look extremely old and delicate, like the smallest breath of air will cause them to crumble to dust. I step into the room, and I can’t help but wonder at the wealth of information in front of me. How many years of knowledge must be trapped in these books? How many life stories?
I find myself drifting over to the nearest shelf, and I stop. This is not what I am here for. I turn my attention to Lexa who is surrounded by books and sitting at a red mud brick table.
Lexa's long hair cascades down her shoulder and settles on her arm, her green eyes dart excitedly across the page in front of her. Another woman leans over her shoulder and points to a page in the book they are both reading. She looks remarkably like Lexa, and her bright blue eyes show great intelligence. Her skin is a few shades lighter, but the resemblance is there. Tash nudges me towards the women and leaves without saying a word. The new woman takes a seat beside Lexa and turns the book so they can both read it.
They seem so involved in their task, they haven’t noticed my presence. “Lexa?”
Lexa looks up and graces me with a smile. “Claire this is my sister Anne.” She gestures vaguely to the woman beside her and returns to the page she was examining.
Anne waves at me and her eyes give me a once over. “So you are the infamous Claire that Lexa won’t stop talking about?”
My eyebrows rise of their own accord. “Lexa has been talking about me?”
Anne lets out a mischievous smile and takes in a breath. Lexa makes a sudden movement under the table and Anne yelps and bends to rub her shin. Lexa's ears turn pink, and she returns to examining the page in front of her like nothing had happened.
Anne clears her throat and carefully restarts her sentence, “You caused quite a stir when you arrived with the Cerebi, and Lexa has spoken about your encounter with the Chimera.”
I fiddle with the hem of my shirt. “Those are probably not my finest moments.”
Anne is quick to reply, “Not the way Lexa tells them
.”
There is another quick movement under the table, and Anne jumps to her feet and makes a great show of picking up a book and stepping away from Lexa.
Lexa scowls at her and returns her attention to me. “Have you ever heard the tale of Celestia?”
I shake my head. I'm sure I would have remembered a word like that. “What is Celestia?”
“A tale from long ago about the misuse of magic and the power of a phoenix. The tale isn’t important right now; the important part is a mention of six gems.”
Lexa motions for me to come and sit in the chair beside her, the one Anne had been occupying moments before. I cross the room and take a seat on the flat bench and look down at the small book. The first page is filled with a drawing of a woman in the sky surrounded by a bright light. Flying in the background is a massive flaming bird, easily twice the size of a human.
I reluctantly look at the words. I had been taught to read by my parents. Hours had been spent scratching words into the walls of our cell, hours of writing on scrap papers my mother had snuck out from the infirmary. I often used charcoal my father had ‘borrowed’ from unaware guards with too full pockets. But even with all that practice, my ability to read isn’t great. I can do it, but I'm slow.
Lexa looks between me and the book and seems to see my discomfort. “Perhaps Anne could read it out for us.”
Anne looks mildly surprised at the comment, but she takes the book and paces the room with it. She clears her throat and reads:
“And she rose in a flash of blinding light. A luminosity so bright one has to turn away for fear of blindness. The radiance of this light pulsed through the land and dispelled the power of the pretender. The light birthed six crystals, all of different colors and shapes, clustered together as if they were one.
These remarkable stones are nothing like I have witnessed before. They are siblings even with their differences, they respond to one another in a way no gem does. Together they are more powerful than the sum of their parts, but these gems do not respond to everyone. They are a gift from our Phoenix, but they present a grave danger if they are in the wrong hands. Why our great protector thought them necessary is beyond my understanding. But the Phoenix has powers beyond my reckoning and never does something without a purpose.
Shadowsoul Page 10
