The Rising Stones (Ihale Book 1)

by A. Lawrence

  Rhyss's hands balled into fists, then relaxed. "C'mon. The building isn't a completely terrible idea, it's at least a central location, and there seems to be a path."

  The path was little more than pale stones that had not been covered by vegetation.

  Bel grabbed Heln's arm and shook it, eyes wide, mouthing something that might have been, "not a terrible idea." Heln shrugged a bit. Bel's expression turned to something that probably meant "Really? This is what I get for trying to share this moment with you," before letting go of his arm.

  The deeper they went, the thicker the canopy became, until only tiny spears of silver-blue light made it to the ground. Bel made them stop so she could pick flowers and insisted on having Heln put them in her hair, where they continued to glow softly. She tucked one behind Heln's ear and stuck another in Rhyss's braid when she wasn't looking.

  Heln thought for a minute that he saw fireflies, but it was far too late in the season even above ground, and none of them were moving the right way. Unlike fireflies, these creatures floated along in the gentle breeze like little balloons.

  When they got closer to one he realized it was pure magic, a tiny illumination bubble. It even had a magical signature. He thought he recognized it as part of the script on the tunnels.

  Which made him shudder a little bit, wondering if each one signified someone who had created the protection scripts, and how long they had lived after that. If he hadn't been essentially the first line of defense he would have closed himself off.

  "You okay?" Bel asked. "You got all tense there."

  "Just… lots of magic." Heln wasn't lying, not really. "From what I can tell no one besides the two of you have actually done magic down here for ages, but there's still so much."

  "That's… hm."

  Heln wanted to turn around to see what kind of face Bel was making, but he kept trudging forward, trying to force his shoulders to relax. The path became more defined, the stones showing pale and hard among the leaves like bones, and the trees around them taller, their trunks as straight and tall as pillars, branching out far above the forest floor. If it wasn't for the light and the pewter color of the bark, Heln could have believed that they were outside, though the scent of the forest was subtly different in a way he couldn't describe. He wasn't even completely sure that it was a physical aspect of the smell, or something that had to do with the way everything felt; like a place that had been well tended to before it was abandoned.

  He swore that if he stopped and listened long enough he would be able to hear something, maybe the trees, but it was quiet other than the soft gossiping of trees and in the distance the chirping and buzzing of strange insects. At least, he hoped they were insects. The thought of giant spiders roaming around under the trees occurred to him, but he didn't see any webs.

  Maybe giant man-eating spiders didn't have webs.

  He really needed to not think about that.

  "I wonder how trees are growing here." Bel broke the silence after what felt like hours. If Rhyss was annoyed by it, she gave no outward sign. "I mean, tree roots, moss, mushrooms… but trees? Magic can do a lot of things, but… I don't know. And they're all so beautifully spaced here, it's like… I don't know."

  "There is a lot of magic here." Heln said. "Old scripts, most of them are a jumble, they've been layered and relayered so many times, maybe that's how they've lasted this long."

  "So, you can't tell us who laid these scripts, then." Rhyss said, slowly. "Too bad, it might have gotten us a name or two on who is sending those… things."

  "Rhyss, even if I could… it doesn't work like that, I have to know who is setting the magic. A signature isn't a name, it's a feeling, a… a culmination of someone's essence." Heln was borrowing definitions from his text book, but it was the best way he had seen to describe it. "Who they are, imprinted on their magic. Besides, I can tell you that if anyone who helped with the magic here set up the clay constructs then you wouldn't be bringing any of them to justice. They're all dead. They have been for a long time."

  He didn't feel the need to mention the bubbles. Even if the signatures were clearer, he still knew, deep down, that the owners were gone. Gone and probably long forgotten along with the cavern they were in.

  "Eugh."

  Bel summed up just about everything he was feeling with one syllable. It was almost impressive.

  "That doesn't help us, then." Rhyss shrugged. "But thanks for trying. With any luck we'll find out who created them while we're down here."

  "That… that doesn't sound like luck."

  "Speaking of, since you mentioned it, I might have possibly been thinking about that, and I have a theory about how the constructs are able to operate without a power core." Bel sounded like she'd been waiting for someone to bring up the subject of who created the them for at least a few hours. "So, I'm thinking that somewhere, maybe down here, maybe up above, I mean does distance really matter when it's up or down, but anyway there's a main power core, right? So, it controls all of the them from afar, yeah? Well, someone using the main power core controls them, anyway. Could explain why you can't sense who's doing it, Heln. But! It would be pretty hard to hide, with as many constructs as I saw at one time it'd have to be roughly the size of two Helns. Maybe even bigger."

  Heln wasn't sure how to take being used as a unit of measurement. "Okay?"

  "You're the tallest." Bel reminded him. He had maybe an inch on Rhyss, so he'd give Bel that one. "So as big as two of you. Anyway, it'd be some sort of crystal, probably green like their eyes, glowing, all that good stuff. Covered in magic script, too. Really pretty hard to miss, so, there's your lead, Officer."

  "If you're right, then I'll thank you," Rhyss said.

  "My genius is unappreciated," Bel muttered.

  "I appreciate you." Heln told her, and he actually was sincere. He honestly knew very little about construct creation. It was well outside of the scope of any abilities he would ever have, and Bel's theory sounded smart to him.

  "Thank you! Alternatively, just because it needs to be said, they're ancient, were activated somehow and actually have no master, which also makes sense because I can't think of anyone who would go to this much trouble to attack three teenagers, even if I'm exceptional. You two aren't bad yourselves, but we're still teenagers."

  "Ancient?" Heln glanced back at her.

  Bel sighed and rolled her eyes a bit, moving faster to catch up to him, apparently deciding that being the rear guard was not really for her. "Appreciate your history, little brother. Legend has it in ye olden dark days times that constructs were basically sentient. I mean now we just use them in the fields, but they used to be guards and stuff so that people could be freed up to do important things. No offense, Miss Guard Trainee."

  Rhyss made a noise that sounded offended to Heln, but Bel didn't seem to notice.

  "Of course, it's probably the same basic concept, just the power core is more advanced than previously expected. Y'know, since the they are basically just dirt piles on legs? So basically the ancient theory is technically right, but in a 'they're not actually permanent sort of way." Bel sounded thoughtful, at least. "Still, not sure why they chased us down here. Maybe it's all one big training exercise. 'Keep the civilians safe while you face near insurmountable odds in ancient tunnels' sort of thing."

  "It's fascinating that when you start talking you almost sound intelligent, and then without fail it devolves into brainless drivel."

  Heln did his best to disguise his laugh at Rhyss's comment as a cough. He didn't think Bel was convinced.

  Rhyss slowed down. The path was wide enough for the three of them, even when a tree grew so close to the path that the stones had been heaved up by the roots. Bel reached across Heln to swat Rhyss's shoulder, who sidestepped her easily enough.

  Heln laughed at that, but it faltered quickly.

  Something had hit his sense, so quickly he wouldn't have been sure that it happened if it hadn't left a staticky feeling on his skin. He paused mid step, tu
rning his head to the side like it would help.

  "You hear something?" Rhyss asked.

  "Shh."

  Whatever it was, it was gone. All he could feel was the room and the strange scripts. Trying to reach out made him feel sick.

  "I thought… it's gone now." He rubbed his forehead. A headache was taking up residence behind his eyes and seemed content to pound there. "Nothing dangerous, I don't think, I didn't really get a clear reading on it, though."

  Rhyss had pulled her knife out while he had been trying to focus and seemed reluctant to put it away. "Well. Let us know if it comes back. We should probably be quiet, anyway, we're getting close to the center."

  Chapter Nine

  Rhyss really wished that she had a larger weapon than her dagger.

  Only full Guards working the border had actual swords. Her dagger was enchanted and the blade had a scroll of magic script along its curved length, but it didn't have much reach. If she had to stab something she really didn't want to be right in its face.

  The stone spires ended up being towers. A castle loomed out of the trees, surrounded by a crumbling high wall that might have been white at one point, but it was encrusted with plant life. The glow above it ended up being a giant crystal that dangled above it like an immense chandelier, painting everything the blue of a winter moon.

  Memories of the magic eater felt like they were crawling up her spine as they walked closer.

  She had seen little bits of light in the trees, but Heln hadn't mentioned them so she hadn't asked. They looked like the fairy lights that were used at the Festival sometimes, so they hadn't really bothered her.

  The way they clustered against the base of the wall made her uneasy, though.

  "I forgot to ask, but those things are okay, right?"

  "They're actually horribly dangerous and will rip the flesh right off your bones. I just thought I wouldn't mention it until now." Heln shrugged a bit.

  She was fairly sure that he was joking, but his words gave her pause for a moment. "Really?"

  He didn't even look offended as he spoke, just tired, though that might have been the poor lighting and her just not knowing his facial expressions well enough. "You think I wouldn't tell you?"

  "Well, honestly, I have no idea." Rhyss fidgeted with her braid again. "I'd never talked to you before."

  Heln did look offended at that, so at least she had broadened her knowledge of Heln's emotions. "Well, I wouldn't-"

  "Heln has a bad sense of humor." Bel had to go on tiptoe to wrap an arm around Heln's neck, going flat footed again and pulling him down, ruffling his short red hair. "Possibly the worst I've ever seen or heard."

  "You said you wanted a spider the size of your dog for a pet." Heln reminded her, pushing her arm off and trying to fix his hair. He was more or less successful since it had been a complete mess before Bel even touched it. "You can't say anything about anyone else's sense of humor."

  "Oh, that was completely serious, as long as she got along with Mabi." Bel grinned. "Now. Building. Looks big. Heln, you getting anything?"

  "It feels warm."

  "Ooh, that will be a nice change."

  Heln glared at his sister. "I meant in the magical sense. If you want to be warm, make a fire."

  Bel sighed loudly, putting a hand to her forehead. "Alas, I have many talents, but lighting a fire? Not one of them. I assume our lovely friend Rhyss has that skill?"

  "I can make a fire when we pick a place to stop." Rhyss was pretty sure that Bel was only calling her lovely or a friend because she was cold, but it almost made her feel warm anyway. Her own fingers were stiff and the rest of her was starting to ache. She would have given just about anything to take a long, nearly scalding bath.

  She might not be a Guard Trainee anymore and her mother would be endlessly disappointed with her and she had no idea what she was going to do, but at least she would always have her bathtub.

  "I'll take it." Bel had tugged her sleeves over her hands. Rhyss was cold, but her armor and cloak were designed to keep her warm. Even if Bel and Heln had script on their clothing they had to be freezing even though it was warmer in the cavern than it had been in the tunnels.

  Rhyss led them to the castle wall. Heln put a hand on it, and she thought his eyes glowed briefly, but he shook his head after only a moment. "Nothing. Well, nothing new. There are scripts to keep it intact, but they're unraveling so we'll have to be a little more careful."

  "Could a magic eater unravel them?" Bel asked.

  "No. I think they're just old and weren't as carefully woven as the script on the tunnels." Heln stepped back from the wall. "The air is saturated with magic, which I think is why these scripts are still here at all. It must have at one point been a pretty basic preservation script, so it would need to be renewed eventually, and no one has been down here for…well. It's safe as far as I can tell, just watch for falling ceilings."

  It sounded like a joke, but Rhyss was starting to think that Bel was right. Heln's sense of humor was awful.

  Besides, she would have rather dealt with monsters, if she was honest. It was harder to fight a collapsing building with a knife. Or even a sword, since she was fairly certain that the reach of her weapon wouldn't really matter.

  They walked along the wall before they finally found an empty archway. It was easily three times Heln's height and it didn't even stretch halfway up the wall. They passed through it and a different sort of silence fell over them.

  She could still hear the trees outside, but they sounded farther away than they were, like waves on a distant shore. They stood in a courtyard, a huge one. It must have been lovely at some point in the past, but the immense fountain in the center was dry and the basin cracked. A nub of broken off stone thrust up from the center where a statue must have graced it. She saw an arm and part of a torso nearby. Lichen spotted every surface like rust, and some of the tiles had buckled upwards, tree roots snaking underneath them. Part of one wall had fallen with a massive tree, a glimpse of another courtyard visible through the ruinous gap.

  The main building of the castle rose in front of them, huge and derelict, towers crumbling and windows gapingly empty. Buttresses of stone curved out from the main building, jutting out like an empty rib cage. The whole building moaned like it was barely clinging to life every time the wind blew.

  "I don't think anyone's home," Bel stage whispered.

  Rhyss gave her a nasty look, and she grinned right back.

  The door must have been made of wood, at one point, but it was long gone. The stones in the empty doorway looked darker, like they were holding a record of some long-ago tragedy. Heln touched them, but just shook his head when she looked at him.

  "If any magic happened here it was too long ago, there's not even a trace." He didn't bother to whisper. His voice sounded too loud and too quiet all at once.

  It led to a long, tall room. Light from the crystal spilled through windows high above them, slanting off of the floor, highlighting silver dust motes. At the other end of the room was the biggest tree that Rhyss had ever seen.

  It had a thick trunk; all three of them couldn't have hoped to encircle it. Wide limbs jutted out near the base, curving up against the walls. Its trunk was dark, but the leaves were a pale silver in the light that shone down directly from the ceiling.

  Before Eleti, before magic became plentiful, it was said that Ihalins had worshipped trees. They considered them holy and possibly a source of magic. Now that magic was everywhere, trees that weren't a part of the Grove were considered with much less reverence. Her mother told her that the Grove was only important because of tradition. The Temple of Magic could exist without it, as could the Rising Stones, and those were the most important artifacts. The trees had never felt sacred to her.

  This tree did.

  It wasn't just the size of it, though that was part of it. It pulled at her, made her feel warm, and she wondered if that was how Heln felt when he sensed magic.

  "I think this is the po
int where all of the magic in this place is anchored." Heln rubbed the side of his head and blinked, hard. "It's weird, the tree feels… alive."

  "Most trees tend to be." Bel sounded distracted.

  "This is different." Heln stepped closer. He was a little wobbly on his feet. "I feel like it could almost speak, you know?"

  "I do." Rhyss knew exactly what he meant. It didn't feel like a tree, deep down. The only thing she could really compare it to was when she was small and she knew that her mother was home. A larger, protective presence that permeated their house, making it safe and warm.

  "I feel it, too, and I'm glad we have some mysteries halfway solved, but we need to get moving," Bel said. "I don't know about you, but I don't think I can sleep next to the shiny silver wonder tree here, and we need food and water. Rhyss's canteen is nearly empty."

  Rhyss shook herself a little bit. The world felt like it was tilting off of its axis. She was being sentimental about a tree, and Bel was being practical. Maybe everything had gone opposite of what it was supposed to be.

  At least Heln was acting normal. For him, anyway.

  "Right." Rhyss nodded. "The courtyard seemed safe enough, how about you two-"

  "If you're suggesting that you're going to go off scouting on your own, I'm going to have to disappoint you." Bel said. "Heln was like… twenty feet away from us and he almost died. Like, this close." She held her fingers together.

  "Your fingers are touching." Heln pointed out.

  "Yes, because I still haven't decided if I'm going to kill you myself or not." Bel let her hand drop. "Look, I get the whole super Guard Trainee thing, I guess, not really my cup of tea but I get that you feel like you have to protect us. Well, you don't. Because guess what? I'm top of the class, Heln is top of his little class, and the two of us are perfectly capable of probably helping us all possibly not die."

  "Is this supposed to convince me?" Rhyss stared at her.