Tears of the Sun

by Jennifer McCormack

  “What should we do now?” Rhys asked softly. Still in shock over Talon’s disappearance, Jan could not find the words to answer. “We can’t stay here,” Rhys continued. “With no bridge, there is no way to cross to the other side. Even if we could, the doors are still sealed tight, and without Talon we don’t know how to open them without setting off another of the tower’s defenses.”

  Jan managed to tear her gaze away from the dark chasm long enough to realize that Rhys was right. The doors on the opposite side of the gap were not only out of reach, but also sealed tight against intruders. Talon could open them without a problem, but Jan had no idea where Talon was or if she was still alive. Jan gave herself a mental reprimand. She could not allow herself to think like that. Talon was alive. She just had to be. Talon was too strong to have come so far only to die before stopping the Coruscalli.

  Jan stood and brushed off the front of her trousers. Wherever Talon was, she would want Jan to be strong.

  “There is no reason for us to stay here any longer,” Jan said. “Without Talon, we will likely have little luck in navigating the tower. So it goes without saying that we should search for Talon before continuing our pursuit of the Coruscalli.”

  Jan peered down into the abyss once more. It would be impossible for them to try to climb down. The sides of the chasm were too steep, made of the same smooth metal as the rest of the tower. They needed to find another path. Fortunately the tower was filled with labyrinthine corridors. Jan led Rhys and Beatrix back the way they had come until they came upon an intersection of such corridors. She came to a halt as she examined each path carefully. The path to the left appeared to lead down to a lower floor. Jan feared what sorts of traps and defenses they might run into, but they currently had no other choice. They could not stand around and hope that Talon reached the bottom of the chasm safely. They had to find her, and make sure she was all right.

  Jan led her group through the dark corridors, watching each step closely. Without Talon’s expertise at disarming the Ancient technology, she feared they would accidentally activate another of the tower’s defenses. The alternate route was less stable than the one Talon had chosen, filled with dangers that resulted from the many years without maintenance the tower had seen rather than the traps set by the Ancients. Jan was grateful that there were fewer traps along this path. It was easier to jump over or edge around a missing piece of the floor than it was to disarm technology she did not understand.

  The path took them around a central chamber, with a large cylindrical structure at its center. The structure began far below, on some lower level of the tower they could not see, and reached skyward for many floors. She wondered what such a thing could have been used for, or if it was merely to support the tower’s immense size. The Ancients must have been a truly advanced civilization to possess knowledge of such complex architecture in an age before Lyth brought enlightenment to the world. A sloping walkway spiraled around the outer perimeter of the central chamber, encircling the large structure. Jan surmised the chamber was once used for maintenance of the mysterious structure, whatever it was, given that the walkway extended, in some places, to the cylindrical monolith.

  Jan wasted no time in attempting to determine the purpose of the Ancient device. She followed the path downward, into the darker levels of the tower. Jan did not know if they would find the Coruscalli in the lower levels. All she knew was that Talon had fallen down, and down she would go until she was reunited with her love.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  TALON FELT LIKE she had been kicked by a Garunti. The area she was in was so dark that she could not see a thing. She rolled onto her back and glanced back the way she had come. There was no sign of light from above, so Talon surmised she had either fallen a very long distance or the entrance had closed off after she passed through it. After checking to make sure that no bones were broken, Talon got to her feet. It was slow progress stumbling through the dark, especially when it felt as though the floor was tilting beneath her feet.

  After what seemed like an eternity, Talon saw the faint glimmer of light. Only a few lights were functional, but the illumination was enough for Talon to navigate the area. She was not imagining the tilting sensation. Unlike the other parts of the Ark, these lower levels had suffered more damage over the years. The passage she was in was tilting downward. As Talon continued to carefully traverse the unstable corridor, she came across the reason for the area’s downward slope. A large section of the floor had crumbled inward, leaving a gaping hole that was far too wide to jump across. It was dark below, but Talon could see the illumination from more flickering lights. She decided to take a chance and jumped to the level below.

  The lower level was also sloping downward, but the decline was not as steep as the room above. There were more lights, set in the walls about halfway up from the floor. They dimmed and brightened intermittingly, but it was better than having to pick her way through complete darkness. With the increased amount of illumination Talon could see farther in the distance.

  Talon followed the glowing lights for what seemed like miles. The Ark was big from the outside, but with all the areas hidden below ground it must have been enormous. Talon suddenly became aware of another presence in the dark corridors. She was not alone. There was someone—or something—in the subterranean labyrinth with her.

  Talon pretended ignorance of her pursuer and continued to explore the depths of the Ark as before. She did not want whoever or whatever was following her to know that she was aware of it. If the other was hostile, she would find out soon enough. Talon’s years of training taught her patience, but it was never easy to allow another to believe that she was the prey. It was maddening to act as though nothing was out of the ordinary when she did not know what was stalking her. Just as Talon thought she could take the suspense no longer, her pursuer revealed their intentions.

  Talon heard the distinct sound of the dagger soaring through the air toward her long before the blade reached her. The dagger whizzed past her head as she ducked to the side, hitting the reflective metal of the wall and bouncing off with a loud clank. The attack was startlingly familiar. Everything about the situation reminded Talon of the assassin, the same one that had tried to kill her first in the dungeon of the Vermillion Temple and then later tried to kill Jan in Tarnon’s Watch.

  Was it possible that the assassin had followed them all the way here, to an Ancient vessel in the uncharted wilderness of Astraeyu Nouvi? That was when the glint of metal caught Talon’s eye. The dagger had bounced off the wall and come to rest at her feet. The style was definitely southern, originating somewhere from within the Mainland.

  When the assassin realized he had lost the element of surprise, he charged forward, counting on the darkness to provide him cover. What he was not expecting was that Astraeyu’s Fire enabled Talon to see better in the dark than most. It also granted her the ability to sense her foe’s movements, even when she could not see them.

  Talon felt the heat from the assassin’s body as he drew near. She could hear the rhythm of his heartbeat in front of her. It painted an outline of the assassin as clearly as if the dark corridor was flooded with sunlight. Talon had heard of those gifted with Astraeyu’s Fire being able to see in absolute darkness, but this was the first time she had experienced the phenomenon firsthand.

  Talon saw the assassin draw back for an attack. She easily avoided the dagger as the assassin lunged forward. Talon used the instant the assassin was off balance and delivered a blow to the back of the assassin’s head. The assassin stumbled forward, but did not fall. Talon turned and braced herself as the assassin took another swing at her with the dagger.

  Talon and the assassin scuffled in the dark passage. The darkness the assassin depended on for cover was turning out to be more of a hindrance. Talon nimbly dodged the assassin’s clumsy attacks. Talon heard the assassin breathing heavily, while she had barely broken a sweat. Fighting in the dark was second nature to her. The Astraeyu’s
Talons conducted most of their business in the shadows. Apparently this assassin was not accustomed to doing battle in an environment in which he could hardly see. It tired him out to just stay beyond Talon’s reach.

  “Enough of this foolishness!” It was the first time the assassin spoke. The voice, although muffled, was surprisingly feminine.

  Talon felt sure she had heard the voice before, but she could not remember where or when. She quickly searched the recesses of her mind, but before she could place the voice, the assassin spoke again.

  “I don’t have time to deal with the likes of you.” She now held another object in her free hand. Before Talon could see what it was, an arrow of light blazed forth through the darkness.

  The arrow of light pierced Talon’s right side before she could get out of the way. Searing pain erupted along her side, followed by an explosion that felt as though it ripped through her body. Talon was thrown against the unyielding metal wall from the force of the impact. She tried to force her body into a sitting position as she struggled against the white-hot pain that threatened to send her into oblivion. It was a valiant battle, but one fought in vain as a darker shadow loomed over her.

  Talon raised her gaze, and for a brief instant she could see into the eyes of the assassin that had followed them halfway around the world. She gasped at the cold expression in those eyes. There was no hatred, no anger, only an emptiness that chilled her to the bone despite the pain that burned throughout her body.

  “Why do this?” Talon demanded. “Why do you help the Coruscalli?”

  Malice shone in her eyes, but only for an instant, and then it was replaced by that cold stare from before.

  “This world needs to start anew,” the assassin replied.

  Talon fought to stand, but it was to no avail. Her body would not obey her commands. Whatever weapon the assassin had used on her was causing her to grow weaker by the minute. The last thing Talon saw before she lost consciousness was the faint outline of the assassin as she loomed over her. The assassin pulled her arm back, and then a solid thump to Talon’s head sent her reeling into darkness.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  JAN PICKED HER way carefully around a collapsed area of the floor. It seemed the lower they went in the tower the more damage each floor had seen. The dilapidated state of the lower levels made travel treacherous for Jan’s group, but they were Arbiters. They traveled halfway around the world to reach this point. Not a single one of them was willing to turn back now.

  “Watch your step, your worship,” Rhys said. The metal wall of the corridor was ripped away, leaving thick coils of rubbery material exposed. The vine-like coils were easy to become entangled in. Jan nearly tripped over them once already.

  “Thank you, Knight Commander,” Jan said, stepping lightly over the damaged section. She wondered how many more floors the tower could possibly have. It seemed they had been journeying downward for years. It occurred to her that maybe the tower had no bottom, only a labyrinthine network of tunnels meant to confuse and entrap trespassers for all eternity. The Ancients were notorious for crafting elaborate mechanisms and architecture designed to ensnare their enemies.

  Even with the prospect of becoming trapped in the lower levels of the tower forever, Jan refused to turn back now. Talon was still somewhere within the tower, and so were the Coruscalli. As Jan and her companions made their way through the tower, they had stumbled across evidence of the Coruscalli’s passing. Although there were fewer security mechanisms to disarm in the damaged areas, the Arbiters had seen more corpses clad in the colors of fire. Jan was not sure what happened to the cultists, but it was likely they had tripped and fallen to their deaths through the many gaps in the floor. Jan wondered how many Coruscalli there could be lurking within the shadows. Surely after losing large numbers to the tower, there could not be that many left. Expedition parties usually were not so large, unless the Coruscalli was prepared for a battle. Jan wondered if the Coruscalli expected the Arbiters to intervene all along, or if the extra forces were brought in to deal with the Astraeyu Nouvins. Astraeyu’s Will would not sit by while such dangerous foreigners invaded their homeland. Jan was surprised they encountered no Astraeyu’s Talons during their journey. She felt certain that Astraeyu’s Will was aware of the Coruscalli’s presence.

  Jan’s mind wandered to Talon in spite of her efforts to concentrate on the task at hand. Jan loved Talon. She did not want to imagine life without her. She had to keep reminding herself that Talon was not so easy to kill. If she had survived the fall, and Jan felt almost sure that she had, she would only have succeeded in getting that much closer to the Coruscalli, for it was evident that the cult’s goal was somewhere in the lower levels of the tower.

  Much of the area was sealed off and inaccessible without Talon’s understanding of Ancient magic and technology. Jan imagined that the locked chambers were once used for important functions in the Ancient citadel. It was clear that this area was no mere dungeon, as were the lower levels of many modern Lythrillian cities. Dungeons were dank and dark. Even in its rundown state, it was obvious the lower levels were once well maintained and heavily guarded by the occupants. More security devices and traps were appearing, more frequent than they were in the upper levels. Jan feared they would fall victim to the safeguards just as the Coruscalli had done, leaving Talon to deal with the cult alone. “We should proceed with caution,” Jan warned Rhys and Beatrix.

  Everyone remained quiet until Jan spotted a faint light in the distance. Unlike the lights that lined the corridors, this one appeared to be a more natural kind.

  “Fire,” Jan said softly. She reached up to extinguish the mage-fire torch she carried. Rhys and Beatrix followed her example.

  The light was indeed the remains of a campfire, built among the dirt and debris that had penetrated the tower through the cracks. Only a single bedroll was spread near the glowing embers.

  “That’s strange,” Jan said aloud.

  “What’s that?” Beatrix asked.

  “I expected there would be fewer Coruscalli after all the mishaps the cultists have faced since entering the tower, but I figured there would be more than one.” Jan inspected the abandoned campsite more closely. “It seems as though whoever was camped here was traveling alone.”

  “It also looks like they wanted to remain unknown,” Rhys added. “The fire was banked and the campsite abandoned in a hurry. They even left one of their books behind.” He pointed to the tome, still open on the bedroll. “Do you think they heard us coming?”

  Jan studied the open tome. More of the Ancient characters filled the pages, indecipherable to her as the marks printed throughout the tower. She wished Talon were with them.

  “It’s possible,” Jan said. “This post was definitely abandoned in a hurry, as Rhys said. Search the nearby area for clues, but don’t go too far. Maybe whoever this book belongs to is not far away.”

  Jan continued to investigate the campsite while Rhys and Beatrix scoured the rest of the chamber for any signs of life. Despite not being able to understand the writing in the tome, Jan could not resist leafing through the pages. The book was old, so old it nearly crumbled in her hands as she picked it up. In addition to the Ancient characters, there were pictographs and illustrations in the book. The many obvious references to fire made Jan uneasy.

  Her heart nearly stopped when she came across an illustration that filled both pages. On one page was a mountain, one eerily similar to the one in which the tower was partially embedded. On the opposite page was a depiction of a globe, ringed with a fiery halo. Jan wished desperately that she could read the Ancient writing. The images brought to mind the Prophecy of Fire and how the Firebringer was supposed to cleanse the world so it could begin anew. Not wanting to think too much on why someone would have a book in such a place, Jan put the tome down and moved on.

  A short distance from the campsite, Jan saw dark splotches on the floor. Even in the dark, they stood out distinctly. She reign
ited the mage-fire torch and held the light closer to inspect the dark splotches. Jan gasped as she realized what she was looking at. Blood, and lots of it, was sprayed across the wall and floor. She reached down tentatively and touched the blood with her fingertips. It smeared, dyeing the tips of her gloved fingers crimson. The blood was fresh. Whoever it belonged to had passed through here only a short while ago, and judging from the amount of blood lost, they had suffered grievous injuries.

  Immediately Jan’s mind went to Talon. After surviving such a fall, Talon would likely be hurt badly. Not only that, but the abandoned campsite was just around the corner. If Talon was severely injured, she might not have noticed the presence of an enemy until it was too late.

  Something about the situation disturbed Jan. The irregularity of the blood splatters spoke of a struggle, and was not merely the result of a fall from great heights. If the blood did belong to Talon, her injuries were likely brought about during the fight instead of the fall. The idea that Talon was injured and was possibly in the hands of the enemy made Jan uneasy. They needed to find Talon, and fast. A trail of blood led away from the larger splatters, as though someone was dragged along the floor. Jan followed the blood trail, not stopping to think that it might be a trap.

  The trail of blood led through the tunnels, until it eventually ended at a set of large, damaged doors, bent inward from the impact of a great force. Jan guessed that someone had used a battering ram on the doors at some point. She wondered if the Coruscalli were to blame. That possibility drove her onward. She investigated the damage and carefully stepped through the doors. The doors had certainly been forced open, likely by a large blunt object, and quite recently, from the looks of it. Jan took a few cautious steps into the room beyond, and stopped in her tracks.