by Shelby Hild
The room was cold, but not overly so. It wasn’t nearly as cold as it was outside. Although everything had seemed musty as they entered, the smell rapidly blew away as the trapdoor was open, leaving no scent at all.
Vivilyn felt like grime covered every part of her skin as she looked around cautiously, never moving too far from the ladder. There wasn’t much to look at even with the small light from her torchlight. She could see debris in areas that looked like they used to have furniture, but now had been whittled away to practically nothing by the hands of time.
As she turned to face the other side of the room, a huge stone chair filled her view.
“It is the old throne room.” Darissa sounded small and far away, as though there were miles between them rather than just a few steps.
Vivilyn felt like darkness was creeping in from every corner. Her mouth went dry and her heartbeat began to speed up. Every hair on her body rose stiffly. Her breathing sped up. She felt like an injured doe in the sights of a hunter.
She wanted to run. All of her instincts were screaming at her to get out of there.
“I don’t like this place,” Brayleigh said.
Vivilyn shone her flashlight to where Prince Aiden walked. Each step echoed through the chamber and brought him closer to the old throne.
He lifted his hand.
“It’s history,” he said. “Real, firm history. What can this place tell us about the past?”
With each step he took, the strong feeling telling Vivilyn to leave grew.
As she focused on the stone chair, she saw it was covered in cobwebs that seemed to connect it to the wall. It was tall with a pointed top. Something appeared to be engraved into it along the sides and the upper third of the back of it, but she couldn’t make out what design was.
As Prince Aiden stepped closer and raised his hand, something dark seemed to reach out from the throne. It was a hand made of shadows.
“Aiden, stop,” Prince Ethan said, his voice sounded slightly higher than normal. He ran to halt his brother before he touched the throne.
Come to me, child. A voice echoed in Vivilyn’s brain. Only a touch from the next heir of Etilidus can free me. Come to me. Sit upon your rightful throne. Feel the history and determine the future. All can be yours.
The hand of shadows reached out more until Brayleigh focused her light on it.
“There are books here,” Darissa said from a corner near the dilapidated table, unaware of the struggle between the brothers near the throne. “Books from the library. This is where the book we were looking for is! These shouldn’t be here.” She turned to face Vivilyn, a copy of The Dark Truths of Etilidus in her hand.
“We shouldn’t be here,” Vivilyn said quietly. Her voice echoed through the room. “Especially at night.”
“I agree with Vivilyn,” Brayleigh said as she went back to the ladder. As soon as she stepped on it, the entire thing crumbled to the ground under her weight. She stepped back and shook her head.
“This is bad.”
“Where is Maxwell?” Vivilyn asked.
“Maxwell!” Brayleigh called up to where they had entered.
Something scuffled above before Maxwell poked his head and the lens of the camera down into the trapdoor. “I can’t figure out how to get the camera and microph—what happened to the ladder?”
“It broke,” Brayleigh shouted. “We need to get out of here now. There’s something weird about this room.”
“Aiden,” Ethan yelled at his brother. Vivilyn spun in time to see Prince Ethan tackle Aiden. “Stop fighting me. We have to get out of here right now.”
“But can’t you feel it? There’s so much history here! All I have to do is touch the throne. My throne. It will teach me all I need to know about our history."
A wet rope fell from above and unraveled at their feet.
Vivilyn could hear female voices talking with Maxwell from above, but she couldn’t determine who was speaking.
Ethan dragged the struggling Prince Aiden to Vivilyn and Brayleigh. Between the three of them, they managed to tie him firmly with the rope. The entire time, he labored against them and rambled about how he had to touch the throne.
“Lift him up first. Get him out of here, now.” Prince Ethan’s voice held a ring of command that Vivilyn had never heard from him before. The rope went rigid and soon Prince Aiden was dangling, obviously uncomfortable as he attempted to get out of it.
“I just want to touch it!” he screamed. “What harm can come from touching it?”
He hit his head on the roof of the room and fell into a stunned silence. After he was out of sight, Vivilyn heard more of a struggle and a sudden splash.
The silence that followed seemed even worse in the dark. Vivilyn couldn’t tell if it was her imagination, but she kept seeing shadows move around in the darkness. With how Brayleigh kept suddenly moving her torchlit, Vivilyn was willing to bet she saw them as well. But when Brayleigh hit the shadows with her light, she would quickly move it away to another, as though she couldn’t see them after the area was illuminated. But the shadows remained, if only weaker, and reformed as soon as they were in the dark again.
When the rope fell back to them, Prince Ethan rapidly tied a loop near the bottom, just large enough to slip his foot in and ride it to the top of the room. Despite attempting to give it to the women, they refused to go until he had reached safety. He was a prince after all.
After the princes, Freya was raised to safety. She had been so silent while in the room, Vivilyn had almost forgotten she was there. Darissa followed with one arm laden with books, the other firmly grasping the rope. Three books fell out of her arm on the way up. Brayleigh and Vivilyn grabbed them.
“You go next,” Brayleigh said, as the rope landed near them again.
“No,” Vivilyn said, as another shadow sped across the wall. “You should go next.”
“I’m not going to argue with you about this,” Brayleigh said as a shadow seemed to pass right through her.
“Good, then go.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
When the shadows grew closer, Brayleigh looked up to the trapdoor and then shivered.
“Fine,” she said. Then she slid her foot into the loop and took a deep breath. “I hate heights,” she whispered to herself as the rope started moving up.
Something hit Vivilyn’s back, directly where she still got shooting pains sometimes from when the wall fell during the first Choosing Ceremony. The pain made her gasp and drop her torchlight.
Brayleigh shined her light down at the same moment.
In front of the throne was a giant mass of solid darkness. From it, Vivilyn heard hissing noises like water hitting something so hot it immediately turned to steam.
Brayleigh’s torchlight shined on it and suddenly one of the remnants of a bench shot across the room. It flew directly through the mass causing the shadows to temporarily evaporate, but when the bench shattered against the wall behind it, the mass reformed, larger than it had been before.
“Hurry,” Brayleigh shouted to the others and Vivilyn saw her begin to climb the rope as it was being hauled up, raising herself up quicker than the rope was moving her.
The dark mass tried to approach Vivilyn, but every time it got closer, she moved the light to it. The shadows would quickly disperse before they would come back together somewhere else in the room.
I’ve seen you before, a voice said. You’ve spied on us in the past. Who are you? Which of the Chosen possesses the Sight?
She recognized the voice but couldn’t quite place it.
“Who are you?” she shouted into the darkness.
It’s not who I am that matters, but what I am doing. I could use someone like you. It’s a rare ability anymore, even outside of Etilidus.
She didn’t respond. Instead she looked around trying to figure out who was speaking to her, speaking directly into her mind.
“How are you doing this?”
Questions from the curious. I am feeding my th
oughts to you as I could feed you emotions or desires. Another useful ability, more useful than that of sight, but also more common.
The voice went silent for a moment as Brayleigh finally finished making her way out of the room.
I could use your skills. You wouldn’t be alone. I have other Chosen trying to help me.
She knew where she recognized the voice now.
You could lead me to finding the final clues. You could help me revive the dragons in this land, revive magic. If you help me, you’d never have to hide your abilities.
Help me get the prince to touch his throne. That’s all I need you to do.
For a split second, she thought about what the world would be like if magic was accepted, if she didn’t have to hide her abilities.
The world could be like that again. All I need is a little bit of help.
She shook the thoughts away from her mind. Helping the voice would lead to nothing good, if the feeling of dread that filled her entire being told her anything.
Although Vivilyn knew it couldn’t have been more than another minute or two before she began securing her foot in the loop Ethan had made, it felt like an eternity. She tried to block out the voice in her head.
Every noise turned into a hiss in her mind.
I’ll discover who you are. We will speak again, Chosen.
She didn’t respond. All she knew was she needed to escape. She needed to continue pulling herself out of the building.
As soon as she stood up on the solid ground of the statues’ platform, she heard the trapdoor slam behind her.
Chapter 8
“What in the three underworlds and five hells do you think you were doing?”
The sound of Lord William’s anger seemed to follow Vivilyn as she made her way back to the room she shared with Darissa.
The horror in his voice caused the words to echo in her mind with each step. She’d not even thought to question what he’d meant by the three underworlds.
When she’d been pulled out of the old throne room, his arms were protectively wrapped around his daughter. Tears filled his eyes, but his entire face was redder than a perfectly ripened raspberry.
Everything that happened after seemed blurred and vague, as though she’d not been part of it, but rather witnessed it from a distance and through a cloudy veil. Only a few phrases remained clear in her mind.
“Not only did you put yourselves in danger, but the future of this kingdom.”
“If it hadn’t been for Ladies Entra and Natalie passing by, you could still be stuck down there.”
“The only ones allowed to go spelunking from here on out are Lady Marisol and Lady Jolene. That’s only because they’ve been trained for it.”
“Who goes down into an old hidden-away room without a rope?”
No one admitted to hearing the voice that compelled the prince to touch the throne, so Vivilyn remained quiet about it. Nor did she mention anything about the voice that spoke to her.
Prince Aiden claimed he couldn’t remember anything that happened from the moment he stepped from the ladder in the room until Lady Eleanor jumped into the freezing water of the fountain with him in her arms.
Her mind wouldn’t rest as she laid on the bed. From the way Darissa tossed and turned, she was sure her friend couldn’t sleep either.
“It was my fault,” Darissa said from beside Vivilyn.
She turned to face Vivilyn and the outline of her face had an unusual glow surrounding it from the small light of the candles on both sides of the bed. Neither of them had wanted to be in the dark.
Even though it seemed like only Vivilyn and Brayleigh had seen the dark mass, Darissa felt a strong unease with the idea of being in a darkened room, even one as familiar to her as her own bedroom.
Vivilyn felt as though the thing was just out of sight, watching, waiting for the perfect moment to catch the prey that had been within its reach. The victims that it had been so close to capturing.
“It’s not your fault,” Vivilyn said firmly.
“It was my idea to go down there. I didn’t even think to bring the torchlights.”
“I think it was more Aiden’s idea than yours,” she argued. “I mean, they were the ones who invited us outside. If one of us wants to take the blame, it could be me. I’m the one who mentioned the handle.”
“Yeah, but—”
“No buts. It’s not your fault. It’s not really any of our faults.”
Both of them were silent for a moment before Darissa spoke again.
“It’s not like me to go running off into danger.”
“Normally, I’d say it’s not mine either, but my track record here isn’t in favor of that.”
Darissa laughed. The tension that had built between them in the last few hours evaporated like water turning to steam. A dark cloud that had seemed to pass over them both flew away.
“I’ve never seen Papa look so… so angry,” Darissa whispered into the darkness.
“It’s understandable, though,” Vivilyn said. “It makes sense he was so upset because our little group had some of the most important people in his world: you and the princes. All we needed was the king and your mother and I’m sure he would have been able to spit fire with the worry he surely would have felt.”
“You’re right,” Darissa said, twisting into what Vivilyn assumed was a more comfortable position and closing her eyes.
When she curled into a ball, Vivilyn was struck by how young and vulnerable her friend looked in flickering light of the candles. It reminded her of the times thunderstorms would frighten her and she’d drag her blanket into her parents’ room or Duncan’s. They’d never turn her away when she was frightened.
Things were simpler then, she thought. Before the Trials, before the dangers lurking in all the shadows.
“Do you know what happened to Ori?” Vivilyn asked. She just realized that she hadn’t seen him in the chaos after the escape from the darkness.
Darkness. The word reverberated through her mind. It couldn’t be. The darkness was banished when magic was. There’s no way it could be the darkness.
“I’m not entirely sure,” Darissa replied. “I hope he’s okay. Then again, he’s been known to run off after nothing and then vanish for days investigating things.”
“Hm,” Vivilyn sounded.
Darissa shrugged, then yawned widely.
They said their goodnights and both were left to their own thoughts. Vivilyn heard when Darissa’s breathing changed as she fell asleep. Not too long after, she began her usual loud and rumbly snoring.
Vivilyn followed into a very uneasy sleep. Her dreams took her back to the old throne room.
It wasn’t the old throne room anymore, though. All of the run-down furniture looked new. There were people sitting on all the benches around the room. A tall portrait hung on the wall near a set of stairs going up to the world above.
A king sat tall on the throne with advisors standing directly behind him. His large golden crown glistened in light. Kneeling in front of the throne was a small girl with straight black hair that fell to the ground around her like a pool of liquid.
Although she didn’t look more than twelve, power visibly emanated from her. Green waves of light drifted off of her with each movement she made.
“Are you saying you can’t do it?” the king asked. Vivilyn couldn’t tell which king from the histories he was, but his straight-lined nose reminded her strongly of Prince Bryton’s nose.
“No, your majesty,” she said as she looked around her.
The girl glowed dimly in the diminishing light. Vivilyn didn’t need to have seen many magicians to realize this child had strong abilities. She didn’t even recall Wizard Vic exuding so much power just by standing. In fact, she hadn’t ever seen it even when he had been doing magic in her visions.
“I’m saying that I shouldn’t do it. It’s not a good idea.”
“Are you saying my idea isn’t good?” The king boomed.
“Your id
ea is righteous,” the girl said slowly, as though she were picking her words carefully, “but splitting a soul in any way is dangerous. There’s a reason we don’t do it. There is a reason many consider it forbidden.”
“If you won’t do it, I’ll keep searching until I find someone who will.”
The girl stood up while staring directly at the king. Vivilyn could practically feel the girl weighing the pros and cons in her mind.
He was a king. How could such a young child stand up against a king and say she wouldn’t agree to his request? It reminded her slightly of the story Serinta had spoken about when Brayleigh stood up to Queen Boudica.
The girl took a deep breath. She had come to a decision.
“I will do it,” she said through gritted teeth, “but I can’t guarantee that it will do what you want. Splitting a soul by what you deem darker and more selfish attributes won’t necessarily do as you’re hoping. And if you truly want the spell to affect all your descendants… There’s a chance it’ll separate what they think of as darker attributes rather than those things you wish it. Or it could take some of the ones you want but also take others you don’t. It isn’t a science. It isn’t precise. There is so much unknown about this entire idea.”
“I don’t care. Do it.”
“And we absolutely cannot let the darkness go free.” She gestured to a bottle held by one of the guards to her right. “This container has a spell around it so it can contain the other part of your spirit. Keep it near you at all times. Don’t let it loose unless you’re reabsorbing it. We don’t know what it might do if released into the world in these times. It has happened before. The records of what happened were destroyed, but we do know the world was plunged into a darkness never before seen.
“The only thing that kept the world from succumbing to it were the barriers in Trikilio. The barriers that have since been destroyed.”
The king waved a hand as though he agreed, but it didn’t seem to Vivilyn as though he paid any attention to what she said.
The girl sighed heavily before she directed the guard to set the enchanted bottle in front of the king.
The air next to Vivilyn quivered. Then the form of another person appeared beside her. No one else in the room seemed to notice when Wizard Vic emerged. It was the first time she’d seen him just appear in a vision.
