Bending, his lips met hers in a slow, lingering kiss. When he pulled away, her eyes were half-closed, the corners of her mouth tilted up into a smile.
She ran a finger down his chest, hooking it into the waistband of his breeches. “Since you are here…”
My, I am popular today.
He stifled his urges and put his finger to her lips, stilling her. “In truth, there is another reason I came to you.” He glanced back toward the closed door. “Don’t you find it disturbing they would lock us in our rooms?”
“It is odd,” she agreed. “But the seer said it was for our own safety.”
He looked back at her. “Yet there are no guards, neither outside nor in the building. How is it unsafe for us, but they don’t hold the same concern for the citizens of Kelmar?” His brow furrowed. “Speaking of which, I did not see a single human female in the city. And the human men… There is something not right about this place.”
Narine frowned, releasing her grip on him, her hand dropping to her lap. “Now that you mention it, the situation does seem odd.”
“Exactly. I want to investigate. That’s why I am here.”
Her frown remained for a moment before turning into a grin. “You wish me to come with you?”
He blinked, taken aback. “You aren’t upset? Aren’t going to try and talk me out of it?”
Narine stood. “Normally, I might, but I agree that there is more going on here than what Xionne has told us…which is very little when you think about it.” She sidled up close to him, her hand on his chest as she bit her lip. “Besides, it might be fun to act as a thief rather than a princess for once.”
He grinned as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “I am corrupting you.”
She ran her hand through his hair. “Oh please. Don’t give yourself so much credit. Adyn has been trying to corrupt me for over a decade.”
“Yet I am the one who succeeded.”
“Well, you certainly corrupted me in some ways.” She grinned and pinched his backside, the grin turning to laughter when he yipped in surprise.
He shook his head, his smile remaining. “We had best be off, or this will turn into a distraction that could last for a good stretch.”
She arched a brow. “Would that be so bad?”
“Not at all. However, we have a slim window of opportunity. The seers said dinner will be served in an hour. When they come to let us out of our rooms, we had better be inside, waiting.”
Narine sighed and stepped away. “Fine. What is your plan?”
He reached beneath his tunic and pulled out the Eye of Obscurance, drawing the cord up and over his head. The amulet – a gold disk with an eight-pointed star and other symbols engraved in the surface – dangled in his fist as he stared at it, reluctant to let it go, knowing it was the only choice for his plan to work.
“Remember the illusion we used to escape Marquithe?” He knelt and stuffed the amulet beneath Narine’s mattress.
“Yes. Of course.”
Rising, he turned toward her. “I need you to do it again. This time, choose two of the seers. One for you, one for me. It would be best to avoid using Xionne. She appears…special, which might cause unnecessary attention. Can you do that?”
“I believe so.” Her brow furrowed in concentration. “I didn’t pay a lot of attention, but Yinette was quite striking, so I can picture her well enough.”
No! Anyone but her. The woman’s naked figure sauntered through his mind again.
He shook his head to clear it and thought up an argument against the suggestion. “She is quite a bit taller than you. It might be better to choose someone more your height…and less noticeable.”
She frowned. “In that case, I got a good look at Jionna.”
Relieved, he nodded. “That works. What about for me?”
Narine tilted her head in thought. “Of the others, I believe I recall Zhialta’s appearance best.”
He frowned. “Of course you are going to make me the old hag.”
Grinning, she chuckled. “What a wonderful suggestion.”
Narine held her hands out, her eyes narrowing in concentration. The hair on Jace’s arms stood on end, and he resisted the urge to back away. He had never been comfortable with magic and avoided it whenever possible. The irony of his attraction to Narine struck him. Despite her magical abilities, he was drawn toward her unlike anyone he had ever known.
Twisting her hands around each other, threads of magic swirled and wrapped about Jace, settling like an opaque coating on his skin and clothing, his cloak now a white, flowing gown, his hands wrinkled and aged. The sight made him curious of what it would be like to be old.
I pray I might live that long.
It was the first time he could recall experiencing a sentiment about his mortality. Jace had spent most of his life expecting to die young, actually embracing it. He hadn’t ever had anything to look forward to, no plans for the future, nobody he cared for…no reason to worry. Until he met Narine.
She twisted her magic upon herself, the glowing threads wrapping about her, darkening her hair and eyes, altering her jawline, reducing her bust and hips to something more modest. Dressed in a white gown, she looked enough like Jionna to pass with a quick glance.
“Your nose should be slightly smaller,” he suggested.
The woman narrowed her eyes and twisted her hand, her nose altering before his eyes. Jionna was a plain-looking woman, and he hadn’t paid enough attention to her to know if the illusion was exact.
“Much better,” he said. “Although I far prefer your appearance before the illusion.”
She smiled. “You are too kind.”
“Kindness has nothing to do with it. I suspect you have noticed how your appearance affects me. In truth, I find you terrifyingly disarming.”
She pressed up against him, grinning. “What an interesting thing to know.”
It was odd to feel her generous chest against him while his eyes saw Jionna’s face and body. “Let’s go before I give in to my inhibitions. I can only resist for so long.”
He walked to the door, put his ear to it, and listened. Opening it, he poked his head out and waved for her to follow. “Do not speak unless you must. Please, just follow my lead. I know what I am doing.”
“I will.” She gave a firm nod. “I promise.”
Thank the gods, he thought.
They headed down the corridor, toward the stairwell they had taken earlier. Walking side-by-side as the sisters had, the pair descended until they reached the entrance hall. Jace took her elbow and guided her across the hall, straight toward the dark, foreboding doors leading to the opposing wing.
They stepped through and into another corridor, curved to match the shape of the circular building. Closed doors lined both sides of the hallway, and an intersection waited ahead, the muffled sound of someone speaking rising as they drew near.
A door opened before them and two young girls stepped out, both dressed in white with black hair and pale skin. They stopped the moment they saw Jace and Narine, their eyes widening, their hands instantly shifting behind their backs. Neither could have been older than ten or twelve. Jace wondered if he should say anything about the pastries in their hands. Judging by their reaction, they weren’t supposed to have them.
“Sister Zhialta, Sister Jionna,” one of the girls stammered, her eyes flicking toward the nearby intersection where a corridor led toward the heart of the building. “What are you doing out here? Why aren’t you in the Oracle?”
Jace put his hands on his hips and altered his voice to that of an old woman. “I would ask the same of you two.” He did his best to glower at them, his gaze stern.
The girl glanced at her companion, brows furrowed. “We aren’t of age. We won’t be able to join until we are sixteen. You know that.” Her face soured in confusion. “What’s wrong with your voice?”
“Never mind my voice,” Jace replied in a rush, doing his best to sound irritated. He pointed a gnarled finger at he
r. “Where are you supposed to be?”
“In our rooms.”
Jace glanced at Narine, arched a brow, and then turned back to the girls. “Well?”
“We had better be going?” one of the girls ventured.
“Where?”
“Back to our rooms.”
Jace nodded. “Off with you then. We must return to the Oracle and have no time to play nursemaid to you two.”
The girls backed away, past the intersection, and to the neighboring stairwell, darting up it. When they were gone, Narine exhaled.
“That was close,” she said. “Do you think they will tell anyone?”
Jace shrugged. “It’s unlikely. Those two were breaking the rules. I suspect they are happy to escape without punishment. Anything odd about the encounter will be lost to them.”
Narine shook her head. “You have a knack for reading people, getting into their heads.”
“It’s an important skill for someone like me. If you read people wrong, you might end up dead or in a cell. I have never been fond of either outcome.”
As they reached the intersection, the muffled voices became more distinct. The corridor was short, terminating at another pair of arched, black doors. Jace slowed as he drew closer and noticed a dark stairwell off to the side, directly below the stairs the two girls had just ascended. He put his ear to the door. Salvon’s voice came from the other side. Gripping the knob, Jace eased the door open and peered through the crack.
The door led outside the building, revealing some sort of circular theater, a single row of seating surrounding it, the seats filled with seers. The floor of the theater was rounded like a bowl, and a circular platform occupied the center. A crystal throne sat upon the platform with an odd frame built over it. Ten feet above the throne, a massive diamond glowed with a warm, white light.
That diamond must be worth all the gold in Marquithe, Jace thought to himself. The urge to steal it was not insignificant.
His attention shifted to Salvon as the old man addressed the seers, Xionne standing beside him.
“…so you can see, the wheels are in motion. The balance of magic has shifted, the creatures of legend returning. It is only a matter of time before the Dark Lord’s minions break through The Fractured Lands. Perhaps it has already happened. We must prepare…”
Jace closed the door, Salvon’s words again muffled.
“Why did you close it?” Narine whispered.
“What if someone sees us? It is one thing if two young girls spot Zhialta and Jionna roaming the hallways. What if other sisters see us?” He pointed toward the door. “The real versions of these two women are out there. If one of them spotted us, it would stir up a world of trouble I would rather avoid.”
She grimaced. “Did you hear what Salvon said? Xionne has been calling him Weaver since the moment she saw him. They seem to respect him, and he seems to know more than he lets on.”
He nodded. “I noticed the same thing. While he admitted he has spent time here in the past, I get the feeling there is something he is hiding from us. From Rhoa, as well.”
Footsteps came from the corridor, drawing closer. Jace grabbed Narine’s arm and pulled her down the stairs, slowly descending as he watched the doors that led outside. Hadnoddon appeared and stopped before the doors. Jace pulled her farther down, hugging close to the wall and praying she remained quiet. The stairwell, lacking the glowing dots of purple light, cast him and Narine in shadow.
Still, Jace thought, if Hadnoddon’s eyes are as sharp as Rawk’s, darkness won’t hide us. His heart raced as he stood frozen in place, waiting.
The dwarf glanced toward the stairwell before pulling the door open and stepping outside. Salvon’s voice again became clear for a moment, muffled again when the door swung shut. Jace released the breath he had been holding and heard Narine do the same.
He looked down the long, dark stairwell and saw a dim light coming from another corridor. Curious, he gripped Narine’s hand and continued downward.
15
Discovery
Following Jace, Narine wondered why he was leading her down the dark stairwell. After nearly being discovered by Hadnoddon, her stomach twisted, the anxiety stirring it to nausea as if she were caught on rough seas.
Please don’t vomit. Please don’t vomit, she repeated to herself.
When Jace reached the bottom, he peeked into the hallway and quickly pulled back. A moment later, he pulled her forward. A glance in both directions revealed a curved corridor like the ones they had seen above, but rather than glowing dots providing light, sconces lined the outer wall, each with a purple, glowing orb.
The walls were nothing but simple, smooth stone until they finally came to a door on the inside wall of the circular corridor. The door was ornately carved and black as night. Jace tested the knob, which turned. He slowly opened it, revealing darkness.
“Can you make us light?” he asked.
“I can.” She turned toward the glowing orb to her right. “But why not just use that?”
He gave her a wry look. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.”
After lifting the nearest orb off its sconce, he stepped into the room, holding the light above his head.
The dim light didn’t reach very far, but it was enough to reveal the outline of shelving to each side filled with books. Jace approached one shelf, his appearance as the old woman one of consternation as his brow furrowed. An empty sconce adorned the wall beside the shelf. When Jace set the orb into it, a humming sound arose, causing both of them to back toward the door. Suddenly, light bloomed. Narine gasped at the sight.
They stood in a sprawling, circular room. Row upon row of bookshelves filled the space, each packed full of books. At the end of each shelf was a glowing orb of light, just like the one beside them. In the middle of the space was a smaller walled chamber, also circular in shape. The space between the shelving and the room at the center was encircled by tables.
“It’s a library. A huge library,” Narine said. “It may even outstrip the one at the University.”
“I didn’t realize so many books existed in all the world,” Jace said. “I wonder what is in them.”
He wandered down the first row of shelving. Narine followed, her gaze sweeping across the books. She immediately found it odd that every single one had a black spine. With her attention elsewhere, she didn’t notice Jace had stopped. Her toe struck his boot as she stepped past him. Flailing her arms, she fell face-first to the dusty stone floor.
Jace looked down at her and chuckled. “You seem to have a talent for stumbling.”
She pushed herself to her hands and knees, glancing up at him. “I am so glad you find my clumsiness amusing.”
His laughter subsided. “You are right. I’m sorry.”
Preparing to stand, she observed an oddity on the bottom shelf beside her – one book lying on top of others rather than standing upright. She reached for the book and drew it from the shelf, examining it as she stood. The front cover contained gold-gilded runes unfamiliar to her. She opened it to a page marked with a strip of cloth. Jace leaned closer and read along with her.
“So, with the thirty-first equalization of the moon after the fourteenth son of Pallan takes the throne, his eldest seed will meet his end. The betrayer will pay with his life, but the seed cannot be reclaimed. A darkness hangs over this family, tragedy pursuing at every turn, for the passing of the eldest marks the beginning of the end for all but the final seed. Should this child of Pallan claim the throne, a fire shall rise in the south, sure to claim anything in its path.”
Jace grabbed the book from her and closed it. “What kind of nonsense is this?”
“It sounds like prophecy.”
“It sounds like gibberish.” He slid the book into a gap on a shelf.
The two of them advanced deeper into the library, past rows of shelves as they approached the room at the center. A closed door waited, the wood stained red. Runes covered the door, the image of a
large eye in the middle. But rather than a circular pupil, a rounded, vertical slit graced the center of the eye, reminding Narine of a wyvern’s gaze. She sensed power beyond the door, as if someone were inside, wielding magic, but it felt unfamiliar, foreign.
“There is something…magical inside this room. I can sense it,” she said.
Jace reached out and placed his palm against the door, frowning. “Where is the lock? The knob?” He looked at her. “Can you open it with magic?”
Narine considered the idea. “Perhaps physical manipulation?”
“Try it.”
She drew on her magic and formed a construct. From somewhere behind her came a resonance, pulsing like a heartbeat, the energy disorienting. Fighting through it, she used her magic to probe the door, seeking a point of entry, finding nothing. In fact, she couldn’t even slip her magic through the tight seal beneath the door. Rather than dismissing her magic, she turned toward the resonance and began following the low, throbbing hum.
“Where are you going?” Jace asked from somewhere behind her.
She ignored him, navigating around the rows of shelving, covering a quarter of the circle before she found the source.
It came from the bottom shelf, near the wall. Squatting, she ran her hand along the books, a construct of illusion swirling around her outstretched palm. When she encountered a book with a midnight blue binding, the illusion construct twisted into something else – something she had never before seen. She gasped as her magic slipped away.
Gripping the book, she pulled it from the shelf and stood.
“What is happening?” Jace asked.
“This book… There is something about it.” She cradled it in her hands, holding her breath as she opened it. The odd, flowing script on the pages was familiar, yet disheartening.
“Hassakani,” Jace said. “Can you read it?”
She shook her head. “No.” Flipping through the pages, she stopped at a drawing.
It depicted a construct unknown to her, the very roots of it unlike any spell she had been taught at the University. Running her hand over it, her mind raced, wondering at the possibilities. Could this be a lost construct? If so, it might open the door to a new use of magic. The desire to form the construct tugged at her will, requiring great effort to resist. I must decipher the text before I attempt it. It might be a trap. She had been taught that false constructs existed, intended to deceive. Applying magic to such constructs might lead to pain, permanent impairment, or instant death. None of those options appealed to her.
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