Plague Arcanist (Frith Chronicles Book 4)

by Shami Stovall

  Karna kept her hold on me the entire time, her chest pressed against my back, her warm breath on the base of my neck.

  “It took a long while for the darts to shoot out,” Fain said. “I think… if I ran and jumped, and then kept running, I could make it to the other side of the room before the darts came out again.”

  Adelgis nodded. “Oh, you would certainly make it. That was how Vethica completed the room, in fact. Do you mind if I try something first?”

  Fain ushered him forward with a dramatic sweep of his arm. “By all means, Moonbeam.”

  Was there enough information to solve this puzzle? Was there even a solution? Or was running across the room the only way? If anyone could figure it out, it would be Adelgis, but I still feared it impossible.

  Adelgis stepped on a black tile.

  Nothing happened.

  Then he stepped onto a tan sandstone tile.

  Again, nothing happened.

  Then he stepped onto another black tile, then a white tile, then a sandstone tile, then a white tile, then a black—all the way until he reached the other side of the room. No darts. Nothing.

  “Is it broken?” Fain asked.

  Adelgis shook his head. “I noticed that you touched the same tile twice before the trap triggered. I also noticed that all the tiles of the same color sank down when you slammed your foot, meaning they were connected underground, likely on the same trigger. That means the solution is one of two options: either you can only step once on each color, meaning you have to walk across the room in three steps, or you can’t step on the same color twice in a row. I decided to test the latter. It seems I was correct.”

  Curious to see what Adelgis had noticed, I pressed my boot hard on a white tile. Sure enough, all the white tiles moved a tiny amount. They were connected.

  Fain walked across the tiles using Adelgis’s method. When he reached the other side, he sighed, as though irritated someone else had discovered the answer.

  I was about to follow them, but Karna kept her grip on me. I rubbed at her arms, wondering why she clung so tightly.

  Wraith walked across the tiles, though his trek was awkward, since he had four legs. Felicity floated—twirling in the air as she went—and kept Wraith’s pace, as though helping him along. Luthair turned his empty helmet face to me. When I motioned to the other side, he decided to walk along the tiles as well, his armor clinking as he took each step.

  It was almost comical to watch a full suit of plate armor jump from one tile to the next. I didn’t comment, though. He made it to the other side and dramatically swished his cape, possibly in a display of pride.

  “I don’t understand you,” Karna whispered. “I don’t think I ever have. But I want to.”

  I sighed. “I’m not… complicated. I’ve always been open and honest with you. You’re the one who wants to play games.” I hadn’t meant to sound confrontational, but it slipped out regardless. Why did she make things difficult between us? “It’s almost like you never believe anything I say,” I added.

  When I told her what I liked and disliked, Karna disregarded everything and did her own thing. It seemed as though she thought she knew what I wanted more than I did—and that kind of misunderstanding always got in the way.

  She let go of me and stepped away. “I’ve always been open and trusting with you as well, I’ll have you know.”

  “What about when I brought up the Mother of Shapeshifters?”

  Just mentioning that creature caused Karna to flinch. Obviously, there were things that bothered her—why wouldn’t she admit it or at least stop pretending as though she were impervious? It was games such as this I didn’t appreciate. And in that moment, I could sense that she understood.

  “Are you two comin’?” Fain asked.

  I stepped across the tiles, and Karna followed without another word.

  Once reunited with the group, we all headed down the next hall. The labyrinth became darker as we progressed, but the air never thinned or became stagnant. I suspected there were vents to the surface, and I wondered how the architects had hidden them. As we hurried along our path, Vethica glanced over her shoulder at me—more than once. She never spoke, and before I could ask, we reached yet another set of seven paths.

  “If I’m following this map correctly,” Vethica said, “this next room will be our last.”

  “Only four?” Fain asked.

  “This was the shortest route to the center.”

  She pointed to the sixth hallway. As a group, we jogged down the path until we came to another door. I would’ve said this door was identical to the others we had seen—and that was probably the point. The whole maze was constructed to look the same no matter where someone was.

  Vethica pushed open the door and slid inside.

  “What kind of room is this?” Fain asked Adelgis. “Something physical?”

  “It’s two riddles.”

  “Eh. The worst. Of course that would be the last room.”

  Adelgis furrowed his brow. “Oh my… It seems they need to be answered within a limited time frame.”

  A loud click and slam sounded from inside the room. I stepped forward, ready to bust in and help Vethica, but Karna held out an arm. “We can’t help her,” she said. “Remember? Vethica wanted to do this on her own so she could properly bond with a khepera.”

  “What if she dies?” I asked.

  Adelgis shook his head. “She’s not dead. It’s just… if she doesn’t answer soon, she will be.”

  Everyone exchanged nervous glances.

  Would I sit back and allow her to die?

  My chest twisted with agony, and I stepped away from the group. I hadn’t thought about my time in Thronehold since I had joined the crew of the Sun Chaser, but now I couldn’t stop myself. During the Sovereign Dragon Tournament, I had watched someone die.

  Princess Lyvia…

  I closed my eyes and shook my head. It hurt to think about—a painful memory—but this was more. The burning in my chest was different. I had never felt so unstable when it came to my emotions. Rage clawed at my thoughts, and for a brief moment, I thought the only thing that would cure my suffering would be breaking into the next room and pulling Vethica from whatever danger was in there.

  “Are you okay, Volke?” Karna asked.

  Adelgis shook his head. “He’ll be fine. He just needs to take a deep breath.” With telepathy, he added, “I can feel your agony as well. Please, calm down. This isn’t like you. It may be the work of the arcane plague.”

  I rubbed at my chest as I took a deep breath. “I’ll be fine,” I forced myself to say.

  Luthair placed a cold gauntlet on my back. It was strange having him nearby and not as a shadow, but I appreciated his presence.

  Lyvia…

  I really didn’t want to think of the late princess—or how her brother had killed her—but how could I get the thoughts to leave me?

  It was just like Illia. Whenever I thought of her, whenever I thought about anything that pained me, it felt as though I were caught in an undertow, pulling me deep into waters of uncertainty and anger.

  “Everything will be fine,” Adelgis said, straight to my thoughts. “Vethica is almost finished. Within minutes, we’ll have a khepera. You just need to focus for a little while longer.”

  I inhaled and exhaled. The smell of minerals sharpened my connection with the area. I was in the Grotto Labyrinth, and we needed to complete this last room.

  “She’s done,” Adelgis said. “Let’s go.”

  Fain pushed open the door.

  We all stepped inside, but instead of a hallway on the other end of the room, there was another door—this one with a scarab etched into the face. Had Vethica gone through? I didn’t see her.

  Another loud click and slam, and the floor under our feet split in two, right along the center, and then both sides slanted downward, creating a steep slope. We slid to the center of the room, and right before we went into a central pit, I grabbed Karna and shadow-s
tepped back to the top. Without a non-slanted surface to stand on, I gripped the jagged rocks of the wall and hung on, my palm hurting after just a few seconds.

  Luthair went with the group into the center—it was just a pit with no obstacles or harm.

  Clinging to me, Karna pointed with a single finger to writing on the floor. “There,” she said. “The riddles.”

  I tried to read them, but Fain, Wraith, and Adelgis were picking themselves up and moving over the sentences.

  “We should go down,” Karna said.

  I released the wall, and we slid down the slope and then fell into the pit with the others. Karna landed on her feet without a problem—she made it look like a dance. I also landed without tumbling, and I wondered how this room was meant to kill someone.

  The labyrinth answered by opening up a large hole in the wall. Water gushed outward at a fierce rate, splashing into the pit. Where was this water coming from? No doubt from the Lion’s Tail River above us—the same river powering the machinery.

  We had to answer the riddles or else we would drown.

  “I hate this maze,” Fain said with a groan, staring at the ceiling.

  Karna grabbed his upper arm. “Pay attention. We need to solve the puzzle.”

  The water rushed in at a frightening rate. If I had to guess, there was less than two minutes’ worth of time left before the pit was flooded. We wouldn’t die because we had arcanist magic, but I could imagine how this would feel to a normal mortal. The anxiety alone could kill someone.

  The first riddle read:

  A house for the useless

  Forever prone

  Many familiar faces

  Yet always alone

  Fain and Karna stared at the words. I wanted to answer, but Fain managed to blurt out, “A tomb.”

  Was that correct? It seemed to match. I almost cursed myself for not seeing it. I had worked in a graveyard most of my life. I should’ve known.

  The letters glowed a soft golden. Everyone in the group, even Wraith and Felicity—who floated above us—let out a relieved sigh.

  “Fantastic work, my arcanist,” Wraith said. “Perhaps you are good at word games after all.”

  Fain shook his head. “A fluke. Nothing more.”

  The water rose to my ankles, and I smiled to myself. We would have this completed in no time. We only had one riddle left.

  It read:

  What has its strength measured in desire?

  It provides light in moments most dire

  An unfulfilled wish taking you higher

  We all stared, but no one attempted an answer.

  Really? No one? I gave Adelgis a sideways glance. He had listened to Vethica’s thoughts—he knew the answer. Didn’t he? Or had he been so distracted by my rage that he hadn’t heard it? He didn’t seem comfortable with the rising water. Did he even know how to swim?

  “A candle,” Fain said.

  Karna shot him a sneer. “Seriously?”

  “What? I thought maybe I was on a roll. I got the last one.”

  “Candles are an unfilled wish taking you higher?”

  “Yeah, yeah. It’s not right. What have you got?”

  “Well,” Karna dragged out the word. The rush of water made it difficult to hear, but we were so close that it didn’t matter. “How about a wish?”

  “Wish is in the wording of the riddle,” Fain snapped. “Of course that’s not right!”

  The two stared at each other for a long moment. Then Karna shook her head, grabbed one of Fain’s hands, and stared him deep in the eyes. “We won’t get anywhere by fighting. We should focus. Put our minds together.” She rubbed his knuckles as she stepped closer.

  “This… isn’t helping me focus,” Fain said as he jerked his hand away. Slightly red in the face, he turned away. “Moonbeam, you know the answer, right?”

  Wraith whined and then got on his back legs and propped himself up using the wall. “I hate to interject, but I need to remind you that some of us are shorter than others. And dislike water.”

  “Hope,” I said. “The answer is hope.”

  Everyone waited with bated breath. The letters of the riddle glowed a soft golden under the water, and the hole in the wall shut off, saving us from drowning.

  I wanted to celebrate, since we had completed the khepera trial of worth, even if we had done it as a group. The entire Grotto Labyrinth had been everything I had hoped. It was a thing of legend, and I couldn’t wait to get home to tell everyone. Gravekeeper William and Illia would never believe it—in my mind’s eye, I could already see their doubt. It would be mixed with mirth and laughter, and they would demand I tell them all the details.

  I was certain Master Zelfree would believe me immediately, no need for explanation.

  Zaxis would scoff and say it didn’t matter.

  Hexa would be jealous. This underground maze was practically built for her.

  Atty…

  I didn’t want to think about Atty’s reaction.

  Adelgis whipped around on his heel, sloshing water around his feet from the sudden movement. “Volke,” he said, panic in his voice. “Something’s wrong. Vethica is being attacked by one of the khepera.”

  “What?” I asked. “I thought she was—”

  “You need to help Vethica right now. The khepera is attempting to kill her.”

  29

  Sands Of Life And Soul

  I stepped through the shadows and exited in front of the door marked with a scarab. Luthair shifted into the darkness and stepped out next to me.

  “We can merge,” he said.

  I shook my head. “We shouldn’t fight. We should just explain and protect Vethica.”

  “As you wish, my arcanist.”

  Together, we opened the door. I was prepared to run inside or even shadow-step as far as possible, but I hesitated once I caught sight of the room.

  The Grotto Labyrinth ended in a gigantic circular chamber. The ceiling, a good thirty feet above us, twinkled with crystal lights. The floor, smooth and reflective, glistened underneath the wonders of the ceiling. Small waterfalls cascaded down the back wall, creating a constant splash and trickle that echoed throughout.

  More intriguing were the contents. Six marble pillars, all four feet tall and a foot in diameter, stood in a semi-circle before us. Behind the six were hundreds of destroyed pillars, the marble debris piled separately, making it easy to count them, if I had the time.

  Four fist-sized scarabs with iridescent exoskeletons sat atop the intact pillars, one per pillar. Their black eyes glittered with heightened intelligence, and they watched with pointed antenna. They each had six black legs, thin and delicate.

  A single head-sized scarab stood on top of the fifth pillar, its brilliant, shimmering shell open, its four insect wings flared.

  “I will not allow you to leave alive,” the large scarab shouted. Its voice was regal and intimidating, despite its small stature. Its front legs were lined with barbs, each as sharp as a dagger, and were so numerous, it appeared as though its legs were sawblades.

  The sixth pillar had no khepera. It was empty.

  I glanced around, confused and unsure of what to do. Luthair pointed, and that was when I spotted her—Vethica on the floor, her coat, trousers, and satchel singed by fire. Parts of her arm had been burned, her skin blackened and curled at the edge of the wound. She shuddered and then looked up at me.

  “The khepera attacked without warning,” Vethica said, her voice shaky. She motioned to the large khepera. “It wouldn’t listen to a word I said—”

  “Lies,” the adult khepera rasped. It buzzed its four wings. “I am Gamal, oldest of my kind. I will not be deceived!”

  “Wait!” I stepped forward, both hands up. “We didn’t come to harm you. Vethica completed your trial of worth.”

  Gamal’s black eyes shimmered. Then it flew straight up, its wings flapping so fast, they became a blur. “You are tainted. Corrupted. A liar! I know you work for him. Our killer. The one orchest
rating our genocide.” His exoskeleton flared with intense heat, like molten metal. “I will cleanse your corruption from this world. Behold the purifying power of the sun!”

  Luthair and I shadow-stepped away just in time. A blinding ray of heat burst from the khepera’s body—so bright and vivid, it actually dispelled the shadows. I stumbled from the darkness a few feet from where I once had been, without the ability to shift away. Luthair had to wrap himself in his cape, the light searing his plate body.

  I couldn’t look at the beam of concentrated sunlight. It stung my eyes, even with my eyelids shut.

  “Stop,” I said as I held up my hand and evoked terrors.

  The khepera shuddered and then shrugged off my attack. “I will not be influenced!”

  Gamal turned his whole body, thus turning the scorching ray of sunlight. I ran and ducked behind one of the pillars. When I tried to manipulate the shadows, they burned away, caught in the magic of the khepera’s dazzling light. I cursed under my breath. The phoenix trinket I had made with my father made my shadow magic more resistant to fire, but obviously not pure, scorching light.

  “Leave him alone,” Vethica shouted.

  She threw her zigzag dagger and struck the glowing khepera. When the edge hit Gamal’s body, a bolt of lightning shocked him. His ray of light disappeared, but his exoskeleton remained radiant. With angry buzzing, Gamal flew around the chamber and then swooped for Vethica.

  “Luthair,” I said.

  Now that the brilliant light beam was gone, Luthair shifted through the shadows. Gamal flew down with his sawblade-like legs, but Vethica disappeared into the darkness before the khepera could slice her, saved by Luthair’s quick movements.

  What was I going to do? Most of my knightmare magic didn’t work against the beast, and he was obviously deranged. If I did nothing, it would kill us all.