by A. L. Knorr
"No. Brejarvak was not an elitist. He did allow the aristocrats to buy space from the treasury, but he opened it up to all fae, no matter their station."
"What happened to him?"
Laec stepped onto a winding side path leading toward the east side of the castle. I could hear the sound of distant voices talking and laughing.
"I don't know. He disappeared long before my time. Rumors say he wanted to travel the world and visit all the fae courts, perhaps to share his remarkable magic, but no one knows for sure."
"Not even the Queen?"
"Ah." Laec cocked an eyebrow and looked over at me. "She's an ancient creature who speaks in riddles more often than not. I'm sure she knows something. They were very close at one time."
"A falling out?" I skirted a cluster of glowing blue flowers dancing in time to the drumbeats, wishing I had time to watch them.
"Some think so, but I doubt it. Fae are notoriously vengeful. If they had a disagreement, I cannot see him leaving her one of his most marvelous creations."
The castle loomed as we closed the distance and the shadows grew as the forest thickened. Voices grew louder and the music intensified as we passed through a small garden full of thin, spindle shaped bushes. The stone wall loomed and Laec put a hand on my shoulder, drawing me to a halt.
"Wait." He scanned the wall as though looking for something, then moved forward again. "Yes, here."
He pointed to an ornament dangling in one of the trees. It was a simple key carved from a shiny stone, probably marble. The fob was a perfect oval, and in the center was a small hole. I squinted at it and noticed that it was actually carved to look like an open mouth.
"Take the key," Laec directed.
My fingers closed on the ornament where it dangled from a simple twine rope. I expected it to feel cold but it was warmer than my own skin.
"Put your lips where the stone lips are and breathe through the fob.”
I did so, expelling a long breath through the hole.
I almost dropped the key when the stone wall of the castle lit up with bright yellow writing. The script was strange and unrecognizable except for the prominent use of the letter 'j', which was identical to a flowery, calligraphic English version. A set of narrow doors opened slowly on a velvety black entrance.
Laec waved a hand at the door. "After you."
Chapter Fourteen
When I stepped through the archway and into the gloom, a pair of torches on the walls flickered to life. Stopping there, I waited for my eyes to adjust. A corridor was illuminated before me, with steps leading down to a landing. A smell drifted up from the interior.
"Why does it smell like sulfur?" I asked, my eyes glued to the first landing and the darkness beyond it. Making a face, I put my hand to my nose. "It smells a bit like an otrikar. Not exactly a comforting aroma given recent events, if you catch my drift."
"That would be Brejarvak's brand of magic." Laec stood so close behind me that I could feel his breath on my hair.
I took the steps down slowly, breathing through my mouth. Laec followed, footsteps silent. When my feet struck the landing, more torches illuminated the next level down, which curved to the left. I could see no further than the steps in front of me, about eight of them at a time. I descended and Laec followed.
"Have you been down here before?" I asked, taking a delicate sniff. At least the smell wasn't getting stronger, or maybe I was just getting used to it.
Laec's voice began to echo. "Once, but it was a little different than this. I think the magic changes depending on who is accessing the vault."
My fingers grazing the cold stone wall, I arrived at the next landing as more torches, again to the left, illuminated the next level. A quick glance behind Laec revealed that the torches behind us had already gone out as if snuffed by some preternatural wind.
"This is eerie, if Brejarvak doesn't mind me saying so." I faced the front and continued down.
"Well, it is a vault. What do you expect?"
"I don't know. Cute fae men in security uniforms? Chandeliers and champagne? At least I'm starting to get used to the smell."
Laec chuckled. "That's because you yourself now stink of sulfur."
"Wonderful."
Just when it seemed like there would be no end to the steps, platforms and torches, we hit the last level. A gently winding hall stretched ahead of us. More torches illuminated the corridor, sweeping along like a fae runway. A simple round door with a handle dead center waited at the end. As I passed the torches, they flickered and died, leaving Laec in darkness. It was like the magic knew I was the important one between the two of us. No wonder he was trying to stay close. Behind us lay a velvety blackness so thick and suffocating one might easily let the terror of being underground get the better of them.
"Welcome, Georjayna Sutherland," a deep and disembodied voice with a strange accent announced.
"Sweet Jiminy!" I jumped and put a hand to my heart. "Hi ... hello. You scared the bloody bejesus out of me!"
"It's Brejarvak's voice," Laec said calmly, looking around for some clue as to how our presence had been sensed. "And its magic, he can't actually hear you."
"Step to the door, please," the voice continued. It was warm and husky, a good storytelling voice. "I sense you have a guest. Hello, Laec Fairijak."
I shot Laec a look. His face was full of shadows. "He can't hear us, huh?"
Laec was unruffled. "The magic can, Brejarvak can't. It knows me because I've been here before."
"Would you like this guest to enter my treasury with you, Georjayna Sutherland?" the voice asked.
"Yes, please." I gave a shiver and hugged myself as a fluey feeling swept over me. Thankfully, it passed a moment later.
"Very well. Put your hand on the doorknob. First Georjayna Sutherland, then Laec Fairijak."
"Really thorough with the names," I murmured, touching the round metal knob. Laec leaned around me, pressing his chest into my shoulder as he lay his fingers against the knob. If I had stopped to think about it, I might have guessed he was doing it on purpose. I slid a glance at him, and he looked down at me, our faces close.
His gaze met mine; his lips parted ...
Something hooked me behind the belly button and yanked me forward. My vision blurred and I tried to scream, but only a wispy cry escaped. The smell of sulfur surged strong once more, and the sound of wind in my ears grew so loud I could hardly hear myself think. Landing painfully on my hands and knees, my head felt like a child's top, spinning and spinning. Something warm knocked against my hip and I fell to my side, panting. I opened my eyes to see a tall vaulted ceiling whirling around and clapped a hand over my eyes as nausea rose in my throat.
"You okay?" Laec's voice came from right beside me.
"That didn't seem excessive to you? I feel like I just got off a tilt-a-whirl after having eaten two jumbo dogs and a tub of soda."
"I'm not sure what you just said," replied Laec as I heard him get to his feet, "but I'm going to ignore the fact that you just admitted to eating dogs."
After several deep breaths, I opened my eyes. I lay on my back on a cold stone floor. The ceiling swung lazily from left to right and back again before settling into stillness. Laec bent over me, extending a hand to help me up.
"You couldn't have warned me about that?"
"Didn't happen the last time I was here." Laec pulled me to my feet. "It's like Brejarvak's magic treats everyone differently."
I took a step back and released his hand. "Based on what, do you think?"
He shrugged and looked around. "Don't know. Fae magic varies wildly by species. Brejarvak is an engineer of sorts, a real connoisseur of his craft. He's been hired by fae monarchs, including Queen Elphame, to design magical tournaments for centennial parties and other events. His games are legendary."
I let myself be distracted by that for a moment, allowing my limbs to recover from the series of abuses they'd been subject to recently. "Fae sports? I bet they are challenging."
In the center of the room rose an eight-sided pillar covered in glittering tiles. Each tile was lined with silver grout. It was the only feature in the room aside from the torches lining the eight sides and the vaulted ceiling. My eye was drawn to a tile engraved with the symbol that matched the one on the note. Instinctively, I reached for it. Under my fingers, the tile depressed. With a sharp whirring sound and a click, the eight-sides separated and snapped outward. I stepped back into Laec to avoid getting hit.
"This treasury is a menace." I trod on Laec's foot. "Sorry."
"I wouldn't insult the treasury while I'm in it if I were you," replied Laec in my ear, a hand bracing my waist.
I stepped close to one of the gaps in the pillar’s sides' and peeked inside. "There's a whole room inside there; how is that possible?"
I stepped back and looked at the pillar again from the outside. Even open as it was, with gaps between the sides, the whole thing was not much larger in circumference than a tractor tire. But looking between the gaps revealed a large room plushly lined with red velvet. Black drawers with silver handles wrought in swirling shapes lined the inside of alternating panels, while red velvet seats, not unlike old movie theater seating, lined the others. In the center of the room, floating by no visible tether sparkled ...
"A chandelier!" I laughed in surprise. "What are the odds?"
"Considering that's what you said on the way down here, I'd say pretty good," said Laec from behind me.
"What about the fae men in uniform?" I turned to ask, then barked more laughter.
"What?" Laec looked at me like I'd lost my mind.
A small circular porter's hat perched on top of his head, and a snugly fitting double-breasted jacket encased his torso. Tight black pants, which flared out at the bottom, highlighted his muscular thighs. Shiny black oxfords in patent leather poked out from under the hems.
I couldn't stop laughing long enough to get an answer out, but a moment later, Laec's expression turned deadpan. "I'm in some kind of stupid uniform, aren't I?"
I nodded, still sputtering.
"Thank you for that." He gestured toward the column. When he took a step toward me the illusion shattered and he was in his old tunic and leggings again.
I still hadn't lost my grin. "I like this Brejarvak fellow. Great sense of humor.” I turned toward the column and slipped through one of the narrow openings. Laec followed me and after he passed through, the spaces between the panels closed, leaving us in the lushly upholstered eight-sided room. The revolving chandelier sent fetching shapes onto the walls and floor.
Crossing to the nearest drawers, I took a closer look. Underneath each decorative hand, a name was carved. All of them sounded fae, the majority of them contained a 'j'.
I read the names aloud. "Hirjarin, Hirjasyn, Hyrpesin—that one's unfortunate—funny, these names are in English lettering. Why not fae glyphs?" I paused at Laec's expression, which told me I should know better by now. "Right, it’s designed for me."
"Here you are." Laec pointed at a drawer on the other side of the room.
Crossing over, I saw my name in full including a beautifully carved and elegant 'j'. Grabbing the handle, I tugged. It didn't budge but beneath my name plate, a panel slid open revealing small levers, each assigned a number. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the note. The first digit was a six, so I reached for the lever marked six and pulled it. I followed slowly and deliberately with the entire five digit number. As I pulled the last lever down, something sharp stabbed into my finger.
"Ow!" I yanked my hand back and looked at my finger where a bead of blood welled and ran over, dripping on the carpet.
The drawer slid open with a clack. Inside was a small black box. I reached in with my uninjured hand to pull out the box and made to suck on my bleeding finger when Laec stopped me.
"It made you bleed for a reason."
My stomach twisted. "What for?"
"Open the box and let's see."
I sat with the box balanced on my knees. It was no larger than a child's music box, the kind with the little dancer inside that twirls. The clasp undid easily. I flipped the lid open, finger still dripping blood on the red velvet.
Chapter Fifteen
Inside the box sat a small cylinder the size of a cork for a wine bottle. Picking it up, I peered at the shapes written on its sides. Thin lines—so thin only the finest writing device could have produced them—glowed mutely with green from within. A hole in one end of the cylinder was not large enough to insert a pencil.
I glanced at Laec questioningly as he sat beside me.
"Only the one whom it was made for can retrieve the message. That's why your finger was pricked. You need to drop blood inside that hole."
"What will happen when I do that?"
Laec shook his head and rested his hands in his lap as though settling in to wait for a train or a bus. "That depends on the magic of the one who created the message. I've seen scrolls tucked inside—the simplest way of delivering the information with minimal magic—to whole visions playing out before the one it was meant for. If it’s a vision, then we're dealing with someone with powerful magic. Only you will be able to see it."
"A bit like the residuals I see when I pick up dirt." I turned the cylinder in my hand. "What are these symbols?"
"The spell that delivers the message. My guess is that you're dealing with the latter kind of magic. That scrollwork is complex."
I lifted my bleeding finger and hovered it over the hole. I'd seen quite a few residuals since I'd become a Wise, so I felt ready for what might come. Only this time I wouldn't be seeing events from the past, I'd be seeing some direct piece of information crafted just for me. The idea made my stomach quiver. My blood—already moving more slowly as it coagulated—formed a droplet. I held the cork beneath the blood and gave my finger a gentle squeeze.
When the droplet fell, a soft blackness bled into my vision from the periphery. Though Laec's lips were moving, there was no sound. In fact, there was no sound at all. Not the sound of my own breathing, nor the rustle of fabric against the velvet seat.
The black bled inwards until Laec's face was painted in shades of grey. My vision soon darkened to nothing, the silence became complete. I could no longer feel the solidness of the bench beneath my hips. It seemed as though my clothing had melted away, either that or my skin had gone numb. I couldn't even feel my lips as they pressed against one another, or my eyelids blinking. The strange half-sensation of my living being should have sent me into a panic, or at the very least a coaster of vertigo, but a sense of peace stole over me. After a moment of adjustment, I realized I had been left with one sensation, the ground beneath my feet. I took a step forward on instinct and a crunching sound like dead leaves came from below me. A new smell filled my senses, but it was hard to describe. It was a dry, musty smell, but not entirely unpleasant, like old potpourri.
A voice echoed in my ears, a deep, pleasant male voice. But the words were broken.
"Hello Georj ... land. If ...hearing ... is ... ceived ... gifts ... dom. ... anger. A chain ... have ... in motion to wake... ... led you here."
I tried to yell at the voice to start over but I had no sensation of having a throat or voice box. Frustration simmered in the back of my consciousness but there was nothing I could do. The voice continued in the same fractured way like a phone call with very poor reception.
"... I wish ... could do more. You must ... old well at Dundee ... the one y ... dreamed about ... ... Use your gift to ..."
As though someone had yanked back a heavy curtain, the vault snapped into focus, and all my sensation returned. I loosed a groan, making Laec reach for me in concern.
"What? What happened?"
The sense of artificial calm vanished along with the voice a
nd the darkness. I gasped and put my hand to my heart. Vertigo swept over me, and I swayed forward, the weight of my head suddenly too much for my neck and back. The floor loomed.
"Whoa." Laec's arm snaked in front of my shoulders, catching me before I fell off the bench. Righting me, he held me steady until I caught my breath. He let my breathing calm before asking: "What did you see?"
"Nothing. There was no vision, only a voice. Ugh, I feel whoopsy.“ I looked over at him, the swimming sensation settling into a sway as the wooziness leaked away. "The recording was terrible. Powerful magic, my arse. It seemed. Every other word was missing. The only thing I caught was something about the well at Dundee, the one I dreamed about."
Surprise dawned on Laec's face. "You had a dream about a well?"
I put a hand to my forehead, feeling the clamminess there. "I dreamed my friend got sucked into the ithe and a very deep well is where she ended up. I didn't know it was in Dundee, but that's where Daracha is from, so maybe I should have known."
I got to my feet, mind spinning. Going to Dundee meant leaving where the protection Elphame had put up was strongest. But I only had a few days left until the full moon. Surely, Daracha would detect me, or her ithe would, not long after leaving the vicinity of Blackmouth. So maybe it was a good thing ... I could get myself to Dundee and hope whatever I discovered there would be helpful. If it wasn't, then I could still let Daracha find me, and then it would be a race back to the castle before she caught and killed me. I bit my lip, running through things in my mind. My magic wasn't as strong as Daracha's, but maybe it didn't have to be. Maybe it just had to be strong enough to stay ahead of her. All I had to do was stay alive and get her to follow me ...
Laec stepped in front of me, standing a little too close. I took a step back, and the backs of my thighs hit the seat. My scheming came to a halt as I looked up at him in surprise. His expression looked almost dreamy. "Laec?"
He closed that gap between us, looking down at me with soft eyes. "Georjie." His hand came up, fingertips reaching for my cheekbone. I felt frozen in shock as I watched his lips come down for mine.
