The Sapphire Manticore (The Lost Ancients Book 4)

by Marie Andreas

  I got off the desk gingerly. All of my limbs seemed to be working again, thank goodness, and none seemed worse for their excursion into almost-dead-land. Lorcan and Padraig were getting packs ready for our trip. Lorcan really had some serious supplies in his secret room, and it went much further back than it had appeared.

  “How long ago was this building built?” This room seemed to have one purpose: to hide a bunch of stuff and/or people from another group.

  “The council chambers were built in the year 56 AB. Why do you ask?” Lorcan looked at me sideways and stuffed a few tunics in a pack. I had a feeling I was getting clothing donations.

  “I’m assuming AB means After the Breaking. You knew you wanted a room to hide in since then?”

  Lorcan laughed. “My people have many strengths, but politics is not always one of them. We’d gone through a horrific event, part of it our fault. I believed in being prudent.” His laughter faded. “This pretty much was my own drinking study until a few years ago, when we began to see there were factions building. Not all of the elves thought the Breaking was the horror it was.”

  Damn it. I couldn’t not tell them about the chest and what we found in the village. These two elves might be the people we needed to make sure it stayed out of the wrong hands. Hopefully, Alric would agree with me. Whenever we got him back.

  “You should know that some of your factions might have been working with the knights, the real ones, not the fake ones who tried to kill me. We came under attack in your mock village out on the other side of the shield. We hid in a smithy until we could escape and I found something hidden there. It was a chest with spell books and weapons. Alric said they were from the Dark.”

  Padraig nodded slowly. “He would know. His primary studies were on the Dark. He was quite the rebellious sort. That’s not good that items were left there, but they could have been left from a long time ago. Some of the buildings in that village were actually part of an outpost from before the Breaking.”

  I shook my head. “They were newly placed in the hiding spot. The wood was fresh, not marked with age. And they had a mark. It wasn’t the same as Alric’s or Flarinen’s but it had a high lord mark carved into the box.” I shuddered. “And some very nasty defenses. It would be with Alric or with my friends.” But I hadn’t seen it come in with Alric. He could have hidden it in Qianru’s wagon.

  “Do you recall what the pattern was, child?” Lorcan finished the pack he was building then came to my side.

  “No, sorry. I just knew it wasn’t either of theirs.” I was debating taking the faeries out of the cage or not. To be honest, I’d thought a cage might be handy for them for a while. It was small enough that I could fit it in a pack. Too bad it couldn’t hold Bunky as well or I could stop worrying about them all the time.

  Padraig handed me a pack and nodded toward the cage. I took it and slid the cage, and a sleeping Bunky on top of it, inside. I’d never seen Bunky so tired, but he’d been wiped out when he brought the girls to me. Who knew where he’d been or how long he’d been awake in the time he’d been missing.

  Lorcan scowled but it looked like it was more at himself than anything in the room. “The high patterns are blessed on the children of certain ancient elven lines. They pop up in other families from time to time as suppressed genetic codes randomly come to the forefront in some individuals. But they are all tied to certain families.” He looked to Padraig as he pressed the door to the bedroom. “We need that chest, we need to see the family it comes from, and then it needs to be destroyed.”

  Padraig had been halfway through the doorway. “We need the chest, yes, but those weapons could help us.”

  The look on Lorcan’s face was interesting. He’d not paid much serious attention when Siabiane had pointed out that he couldn’t use the Ancient weapon against his own people, but it looked like he now had an idea where she was coming from. “No. We can’t. The Dark was devoid of light in the sense that it fought to oppress everyone. Surrender or die, those were the options. No one who survived was completely honest with the younger generations—we almost lost the battle.” He sighed and lifted up his long hair. I realized that while I’d noticed the scar under his neck originally, I hadn’t seen it since then.

  “I keep this hidden. But I died on the field that day. I was murdered by one I called friend. I’m still not sure how I survived, for the land of Hillithia was before me and my ancestors were calling me home.” Lorcan looked off across the room and I knew he wasn’t with us right now. He was recalling his betrayal and death over a thousand years ago.

  I’d grown up wanting to know what happened to the elves. I never thought I’d see it so closely, since, until very recently, I believed they were all dead. Years of only seeing them through their long-lost relics hadn’t prepared me for the pain they had gone through.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  It took another twenty minutes to get everything ready. I checked on the faeries and they were still passed out, their little snores vibrating through the pack when I put it over my shoulders. Bunky was awake, but purred in agreement when I asked him to stay in the pack. Someone had seen them earlier and shot arrows at them. I didn’t want him out and about until we were clear of the city.

  Lorcan had given me a map of the city, Klithy was the closest I could get to pronouncing the name. It was in elvish and didn’t translate well. The city really wasn’t that large and I’d seen most of it when we arrived and then from the tower window. The majority of the population lived in small wooden villages like the one we’d gone through on the way in. Qianru’s mansion, and that’s what it was judging by the size in comparison to the buildings around it, was on the edge of Klithy. Which meant to get there we had to cross the entire city.

  The only good thing was that was the side where Siabiane’s secret hole was. Klithy was closer to where we came in, but the area under the shield was not circular like I’d originally thought, but elongated. Siabiane was at the farthest end. And judging from the topography of the map, it was also the roughest.

  Padraig had gone to retrieve the relics. He said that it appeared that Flarinen still had them in his possession. I was more disturbed about that than they were, but they knew Flarinen better than I did.

  We were also waiting for nightfall. It was already dusk, but we wanted true night. Elves could see better than I could in the dark, but it still limited them.

  “I have to ask, this entire enclave seems planned, like the ground itself was manipulated for beauty and ease of use.” I tapped Siabiane’s corner on the map. “So what happened here?”

  Lorcan laughed. “That was all Siabiane. Once we started expanding the shielded area we did tame the land. Siabiane had already separated from the rest of us before the Breaking. She’d left us about sixty years earlier and created her own shielded area, where she still is. She allowed the annex of our two shields a few hundred years ago, but still doesn’t welcome visitors.”

  As he touched the map where Siabiane’s location was, it briefly burst to life, and huge trees, deep ravines, and giant sharp rocks came into view. He smiled and moved his hand. “She prefers her contact with others be of the incorporeal variety.”

  I touched the map but it didn’t flare to life for me. Must be Lorcan causing a spell, not the map itself.

  “That’s another question, can all elves do that? Float about all disconnected from their bodies?” That could be why Alric was such a good thief, if he could scope things out before he actually went in. I didn’t know how I’d feel about him having that kind of skill though.

  “No, only the very oldest. Sadly, she’s the only person with that gift still alive, the rest died during the Breaking. And she’s not a pure elf.”

  I really wanted to ask how old she was, but I didn’t think it would be polite.

  A knock interrupted any other questions. Followed by a scowling Padraig.

  “It’s not good. They have Alric secured very well, so I couldn’t get near him. I was able to get these,
but Flarinen is going to wake up with a massive headache.” He swung down two very familiar packs. “There was no sign of the chest, nor evidence that he ever had anything beyond these two.”

  Lorcan placed his hands on both bags, and then nodded slowly. “These are definitely what Siabiane is looking for.” He got up and held out a hand to help me up. I didn’t need it but it was done out of politeness, not need.

  “Thank you. How are we going to get Alric out?”

  “I will simply go and…” Lorcan’s voice faded as Padraig shook his head.

  “No, you won’t. That’s what I meant. They have him in the guards’ quarters, in the magic cage.”

  I had no idea what that meant, but by the look on Lorcan’s face, it wasn’t good.

  “That is going too far,” he said, then snapped his fingers and was suddenly clothed in the full robes and high hat I’d seen before. He hadn’t snapped his fingers before, but I had a feeling it was more for effect than actual necessity.

  “Change of plans. Padraig, I need you to get Taryn and the relics to Lady Qianru’s establishment. Take the underground way if you have to. I have to deal with a serious breach of protocol.” When he whirled, he appeared very much the grand leader he supposedly was. “Child, may the blessings of my ancestors be placed upon you.” He placed a kiss on the top of my head and went out the front door of the room.

  “Impressive when he wants to be, isn’t he?” Padraig said. “But we cannot be so bold in our exit. This way, milady.” How he managed to bow with all of the packs he had on him I had no idea.

  I nodded and followed him across the bedroom. Even though I was watching carefully as he coded open the secret door, I seriously doubted I could even find where to press, let alone actually be able to do it. At least not without a dozen more viewings.

  I hadn’t noticed at first, but Padraig had changed clothes as well. His wardrobe looked far more like Alric’s standard all black wear than what I’d seen him in earlier.

  “Should I be wearing something darker?” I’d figured the clothes Lorcan shoved in this pack were for me, and hopefully my actual clothing was with Covey.

  “You’re fine. I just like to dress the part.” Padraig led the way down the tower stairs.

  Now that I knew I wasn’t being led up into another scary, old tower chamber, I could notice differences between this one and the one I’d been forced into.

  This one wasn’t used often, but it was used. Unlike the one leading to my tower, or the one behind the wardrobe. The stairs were wider, and the light came from glows not that odd moss. I’d need to ask someone about the weird moss that led to Reginald’s room. When we weren’t busy escaping, that was. It might be handy sometime.

  We got to the bottom quickly. Padraig held up one hand, his fist closed. Clearly, whatever else he’d been, he’d had some military or spy training somewhere. I froze as he looked down both ends of the wide hallway. Once he was satisfied, he gestured me forward.

  The hallway was dim, with only enough glows to keep a late-night wanderer from stumbling into a wall. We stuck near the right side, I assumed so we’d be harder to spot if someone looked out. While I was all about safety, the fact was, I was in a nicely old elven building, that was still intact, still being lived in. And because Padraig wanted to keep us moving slowly, I had enough time to actually look at the wonders.

  Academics and diggers had pretty much thought that the elves took most of their furnishings and belongings with them after the Breaking.

  Then Glorinal showed up, we found out Alric was an elf, and the academic world had a breakdown as all their theories went swimming in the outhouse. Covey adapted very well, but she’d sort of been on the ground floor with all the revelations.

  Therefore, it was nice to be able to confirm that the elves took some of their belongings with them when they fled. I so wished Covey and Harlan could see some of the everyday furniture and art filling this hall.

  Padraig was silent as he moved ahead of me, so hearing soft noises behind me tipped me off.

  The incident with the dirk left me paranoid, so I immediately dropped to the ground, yelling Padraig’s name as I went. I felt the whoosh as a crossbow bolt sailed over my head. Padraig was even faster and turned, swung, and deflected the bolt with his sword. His sword was long and elegant, and even in the dim light the markings on it glowed. Considering I knew I hadn’t seen him with a sword before, I kind of guessed he too was a spirit sword bearer. For something supposedly rare, there seemed to be more of us than I would have expected.

  The bolt clattering on the smooth marble floor was the only sound. Padraig reached down to pull me to my feet, and then he started running. I kept up, but I knew I was far noisier than he was.

  The hall made a slight bend, and then continued, but Padraig pulled me into a doorway as soon as we passed the bend. He blocked me from the hallway and fiddled with a narrow door. I was impressed with his ability to keep an eye on me, on the hall behind us, all while trying to pick a lock. Somewhere along the way his sword had vanished again. He wasn’t as fast at lock picking as Alric. Most likely, he didn’t keep in as good of practice as Alric did.

  As soon as the door lock popped, he pulled me inside and shut it.

  I’d figured it was some secret passage, maybe one leading to the underground pathway Lorcan had mentioned. But we were in a broom closet.

  “Are you okay?” he whispered as he patted down my back, but the pack covered most of it.

  “I’m fine. It would have hit me in the head, or hit the faeries or Bunky,” I whispered back. I couldn’t hear anything outside the door, but then I hadn’t heard anyone sneaking around behind us until it was almost too late. “Do you often have crossbow practice in your hallways at night?” I was trying to stay light about it, but I was getting more freaked out the longer we stood here. I never thought I’d want to get out of a place of wonders like this elven palace so fast.

  To be fair, I was really getting tired of people trying to kill me in here. Directly, or indirectly, there had been way too many attempts on my life for a two-day span.

  “No. And while I’m sure I have many people who would like me to shut up, and who are very glad that I am no longer the trouble maker I was, I think we have to agree that was aimed at you.” Satisfied that I hadn’t been hit, he turned me back around. “Did you grab the bolt per chance?”

  I shook my head. I also refrained from pointing out I was trying to stay alive and un-punctured.

  He opened his mouth to ask something else, probably equally ridiculous, like had I seen who shot at me, when his eyes went wide, he shook his head, and put one finger over his mouth.

  I thought I heard something, almost like a snuffling, near the door. But it was gone a moment later. Whatever Padraig heard lasted much longer, as he actually held his breath. I wasn’t sure how that would help. If whatever was following us could hear that well, they would have heard us whispering. Nevertheless, I held mine as well.

  After about thirty seconds he let his breath out and nodded. “It’s okay now. Whatever is after us has moved on.”

  I really didn’t like the term, ‘whatever’. “What do you mean? You have unidentified things creeping around here who know how to use a crossbow?”

  “Possibly.” He shook his head. “Not now. Alric did mention you ask a lot of questions, but suffice it to say, there are things coming into the castle that don’t belong here—that don’t belong anywhere. While they couldn’t use a crossbow, that doesn’t mean they aren’t traveling with individuals who can.”

  I thought about the way the shadow monster used those dead guards to bash through the door and shuddered.

  Padraig cracked open the door, almost sniffing to test the air. He silently reached back for my hand and pulled me through. “I was hoping we could avoid the underground path for most of the trip. It’s not a pleasant way to get anywhere. But I think someone doesn’t believe that you were killed and is still looking for you.”

  That was a
very bad thing, considering that the only folks who should know I was alive were Padraig, Lorcan, and the shadow monster—who was hopefully back in whatever hell he came from.

  I didn’t have time to mention that. Besides, it had probably already processed through Padraig’s mind when he started jogging again.

  This time we made three turns, making me hopelessly lost, before we stopped by an ornate door. If this was the entrance to the super-secret underground passage, I was really going to have to have a talk with them about what ‘secret’ meant. Fortunately, Padraig tapped on the wall immediately next to the fancy door, and a narrow sliding panel moved out of the way. It was a tight fit for both of us with our packs, as the passageway was extremely narrow, but we made it. The panel slid shut right behind us.

  Leaving us in complete darkness.

  “Um, Padraig?” I whispered. I had no idea where we were or if anyone could hear us in here. But we were still right next to the thin panel, and I figured we didn’t want anyone hearing voices coming out of the walls.

  “Just a second, I’ll need to spell this.” Padraig’s voice faded off as he was clearly concentrating on something. A few seconds later his face lit up under an eerie orange light. He held the glow in his hand up to eye level, whispered a few words I forgot as soon as I heard them, and released it.

  The odd glow bobbled above our heads, still casting everything in its weird color.

  “Okay, so what is that, and can I learn to make one?”

  The strange color made Padraig look sinister, but his voice was the same. “It’s a small trick called clearthin, no real common translation as its old elvish. It’s a specialized glow.”

  “I can see that, but flying is new for my glows.” I tried to reach for it but it bobbed right above my hand. I was very glad I had the faeries locked up right now. That would be a serious temptation for them. “Why is it that color?”

  Padraig started moving us down a side stairway. Unlike the towers I’d been in, these stairs were deep and were at least five feet wide.