Reeve shoved the orb into his jacket, but Rachael couldn’t take her eyes off it. This was magic in its most wondrous form. She ached for all the secrets the war had cost them. If more wonders like this sphere had existed back then, it must have been a miraculous place. Why the old sorcerers would destroy marvels like this was beyond her.
“Kiana and I will take the door to the right. Inform the others as soon as you find anything interesting.”
Kaida smiled her understanding, Reeve grunted, and Ludo grinned with excitement.
Rachael opened the door and began the descent into darkness. She tried to shake the chill that invaded her senses and the unwelcome memory of the demons as she took step after step into the dark unknown.
Chapter Twelve
Rachael brushed ancient cobwebs out of her way as she entered a hall much larger than the small entrance room. If it hadn’t been for Kaida’s gift, it would have been impossible to see anything in the perfect darkness of the temple’s forgotten chambers. Even so, Rachael had to get close to objects to see anything at all. The pale-blue glow of their spheres dipped the room into an eerie light and gave her goose bumps.
“What are we looking for, exactly?” Kiana asked from a dark corner across the room. Only her face was visible in the weak light of her sphere, but it was enough for Rachael to see the displeasure on her face.
“I’m not sure. I didn’t get a good look at everything they carried in here.” They hadn't found anything of value since they had entered. The room was mostly empty, with only a few stone benches in the middle and a larger shape resembling an altar near the front. It didn't look like anything had been stored here. “We should move on. I don't think we'll find much in here,” Rachael felt her way along the wall until she found an opening. “This way.”
Rachael frowned when the room she stepped into was even smaller than the last one.
“You know, there’s a good chance anything they’ve hidden has crumbled to dust by now,” Kiana whispered right by Rachael’s ear. “Hundreds of years have passed since the moment you saw in your vision. The artefacts might not be intact anymore.”
Rachael agreed. The old sorcerers had possessed magic capable of beautiful creations like these spheres, yet they had done everything in their power to destroy all remains. She couldn't be sure what they were searching for had been brought here for safekeeping. Perhaps someone important had wanted the items preserved, and they had been taken here against his knowledge to be destroyed like the rest.
If that was true, then Rachael had taken them all away from the palace for nothing.
Kiana came to a stop beside her. She moved with silence and confidence even in these unfamiliar surroundings. Rachael thought back to how fast Reeve had moved right before they’d split up. Reeve had made it clear how he felt about her; she felt safer knowing Kiana was right beside her.
“Has Reeve always been like this?” Rachael asked.
“A cold twat?”
Rachael grinned. “Yes, that.”
Kiana shrugged. “I suppose, but he does have a warm side, too. He just hides it well.”
“Are you...?” The possibility hadn't occurred to Rachael before, but she figured for Kiana or anyone to have seen another side of him they must have been close.
“Lovers?” Kiana snorted. “Maker, no. He can be a good guy, but he'll never be that good. It wouldn't do him any harm, though. A little loving might just coax a smile out of him.”
“How long have you known him?”
“As long as I've been a Sparrow. He grew up close to where I prowled the streets. He was one of the first people Cale recruited.” Kiana held up her sphere so all Rachael saw was her grin. “When I first joined I just assumed he and Cale were lovers, but he dismissed that pretty quickly. They spent so much time together, how was I to know?”
Rachael grinned. “How did Reeve react when you asked?”
“How do you think?”
“He glared at you and left to sulk in the shadows?”
Kiana laughed. “That's exactly what he did. If I'd paid a little more attention I’d have seen how wrong I was. Cale liked this girl then, Evelyn. He's not the type to love one girl and play another.”
“Evelyn?” Rachael was surprised how much it hurt. Why did she care? “I don't think I've met her.”
Kiana moved the sphere toward a shelf on the wall. “She died. Cale was devastated. We all were, but it hit him the hardest. I think she was the first girl he had feelings for. It's hard to lose someone like that.”
Rachael’s stomach tied itself into a knot. Who Cale loved was none of her business. She hated herself for the jealousy she felt. Evelyn was dead, and Cale wouldn't even talk to her. Her reaction was stupid.
“He blamed himself for a long time. They had been out scouting a new area together. He left her to follow some noblewoman he suspected of mistreating the gifted, and when he came back Evelyn had been killed. He went easy on her and he shouldered the blame because of it. I think that's why he asked me to train you. He knows I won't repeat his mistake.”
“I sense there’s more.”
Kiana hesitated. “Not for me to say, Rachael. You'll need to ask him about that.” Before Rachael could object and point out that Cale wasn't talking to her about anything, Kiana added, “I’ll search the last room again. It’s bigger, we could have missed something.”
Rachael watched the comforting blue glow of her light grow fainter in the shadows. She was alone again. If Reeve, or the demons, attacked now, would Kiana make it back in time? Would Rachael herself realise what was happening fast enough, and be able to alert her?
Rachael shook her head and took a deep, controlled breath. Kiana wouldn’t always be around to protect her, and Rachael shouldn’t need her to be. She would do what she’d always done, and protect herself.
Rachael spread out both arms. One step to the left, and she touched the wall. Two steps to the right, and she met solid rock. Thin roots snaked across the cold surface in an uneven pattern, but for the most part it was untouched by nature. She brought her light closer and looked for details. A table and chair occupied most of the room, and on one end of the table, stacked in a messy pile, was a small tower of dust-covered books.
Was this what the sorcerers had hidden here? Knowledge? Secrets? Rachael ran her fingers over the smooth, leather-bound covers, scared her touch would reduce them to dust, and opened the book resting on top.
It was empty.
Rachael placed the tome aside and opened the second book. Then the third. She leafed through all five books in the dying hope of finding something, anything, but their pages were empty.
A cold shiver ran down Rachael’s spine. Something wasn’t right about this.
There was one more room they hadn’t explored yet, but it would likely be as empty as the previous chambers. Perhaps one of the others had found something?
Something hissed. The echo rippled over her skin and left goose bumps in its wake. Rachael jumped around.
“Kiana?”
The voice had been like the breeze rustling through a pile of dry autumn leaves. A chill filled her. It hadn’t been human.
She had heard that sound only once before.
Her heart racing, Rachael turned toward the gap in the wall, and froze.
Between her and the exit was a shadow, and it was moving.
A vicious hiss escaped the demon. Rachael’s legs shook, and her world blurred. Her hand darted for her sword, but the blade wouldn't do any damage against the demons. In the darkness before her Rachael could make out a tendril of slithering shadow reaching for her. She backed into the corner as much as she could. If she didn't act now, the demon would take her. How had she fought them off before, in her room? Had the fire scared them away? She had no heat source here, let alone an open flame.
The blue glow of her sphere made the Mother look even more monstrous.
Its shadows reached out, a tendril hovering near Rachael’s cheek, evil and wrong. There was nowhe
re she could run. Nowhere left to hide. The shadow filled the whole room, and could spread itself as far as the darkness extended. It would cut off her escape routes no matter where she went.
Rachael closed her fingers around the sphere in her hand for comfort. It was warm on her skin, then hot. The orb was heating up. It wasn’t an open flame, but it was a chance she hadn’t had a moment ago.
As hard as she could she slammed the small light into the demon's shadow.
It screeched, and recoiled. Its high-pitched screams echoed in her skull, rang in her ears, and made her tremble.
Its body filled with the light from her sphere, glowing a vibrant blue from the inside out. The demon writhed, shrieked, and burnt to ashes in front of Rachael. Where a Mother had come so close to killing her only breaths ago, a small pile of unassuming dust had piled up.
“Rachael!” Kiana squeezed through the gap, her daggers drawn. “What was that noise? I thought I heard someone scream!”
“They’re here.” Rachael’s words were lost beneath the echo of the demon's terrible screech. “The Mothers.”
Kiana jumped in front of Rachael. “Where are they?”
“It's dead. I—I think this light killed it. I rammed it into its side and it burnt to death.”
Kiana pulled her into a hug, but Rachael was too shaken to return the gesture. Her legs were still weak from that unnatural screech.
“Are you all right?”
She'd be fine as long as she never had to fight another demon again.
“We need to find the others. They need to know there might be others.”
Kiana nodded. “Let's go.”
Rachael darted ahead, hoping they wouldn't be too late.
Chapter Thirteen
Reeve glared at Ludo's back from the shadows. Rachael had paired them up so they could search for some nonexistent treasure together, but that didn't mean he had to do the searching. Ludo could do that, while Reeve made sure he didn't do anything stupid.
Of course, most of the things Ludo did were stupid. He was like a big child, grinning at everything and finding excitement in the most mundane tasks. Reeve couldn't decide if his behaviour was an act, or if Ludo was excited to be stuck here in this dark chamber, looking for something Reeve was certain wouldn't be here.
No one was that happy. Rachael believed his act, but Reeve wouldn't fall for it.
“Look!” Even from across the room, Ludo’s voice overwhelmed the small space they were in, and Reeve frowned. “What do you think this is?”
Ludo held up an ancient coin for Reeve to see.
“It's old currency. It's useless.”
“How can you tell from over there?”
“I've seen it before. It's not the treasure.”
Ludo put the coins back down on the table. “Okay. What about these books? I saw some jewellery over there, too.”
“Can you read the books?”
“No, but Rachael—“
“Then they're worthless.”
Ludo sighed. Why was he so insistent Reeve join him? Reeve saw him just fine from where he was standing. No need to stand any closer.
“There's another room there.” Ludo pointed at the wall adjacent to Reeve's shadow. “You could search that one while I keep looking here.”
Reeve shrugged. At least that way Ludo might shut up for two seconds, and they'd be finished quicker. The sooner they could get back outside, the better. They were alone, and neither of them knew where Rachael had gone. Ludo couldn’t do any harm, and Reeve could keep an eye on him.
Reeve moved along the wall, sticking to the darkness. Small spaces like this temple gave him a headache, but the shadows helped. They were his; he could navigate them better than any street in daylight. If he just stuck to the dark edges, he could do this.
He walked into the next room and paused. No light, and it was smaller than the room Ludo was in. He told himself it was just another shadow. A large, all-encompassing shadow.
With no easy way out, and walls to all sides.
Reeve stepped backward, his heart pounding. He gritted his teeth. This was ridiculous. It was just a room. A small room with not enough escapes routes, but still just a room.
The silence was too much. “Have you found anything?” Reeve turned around to face Ludo, but Ludo was gone.
Reeve squinted, and caught sight of Ludo in the doorway they had come from, a dagger in his hand. Their eyes met, and Ludo froze.
Reeve sprinted across the room and tore Ludo backward by his shoulders. With his full body weight, Reeve tackled Ludo and pinned him against the floor.
“What are you doing with that knife?”
He shouldn't have trusted Ludo. Where was he from again? Tramura? If there was any chance he was a spy for the ambassador, Reeve shouldn't have left him alone.
Ludo's eyes were wide. Then he broke into a grin and laughed. “You don't need to be so rough with me. You could just have asked.”
“Answer my question.” Reeve held his own dagger to Ludo's throat. He tried not to think about how his legs were pinning Ludo to the floor. Why was Ludo laughing? Did he think Reeve was bluffing? Did he think—
Ludo sighed. “I saw a small box over there, next to the entrance. It's shut tight, so I thought I'd try to force it.”
“Don't lie to me, Tramuran. You're a spy, working for Lis.”
“Working for Lis? I can’t stand that man.” For a second—or maybe it was the lack of light—Ludo looked scared. Reeve blinked, and the stupid grin was back. “You think I'm here to kill Rachael?”
“Queen Rachael.”
Ludo shrugged as best as he could with Reeve's hand forcing him down. “I didn't think you cared that much.”
“I don't. I know my place, and I'm not one of her assassins.”
When Rachael and Kiana rushed into the room, Reeve stayed put.
“What’s going on?” said Rachael.
“Are we interrupting something?” asked Kiana, an amused smile in her voice. Of course she’d read too much into this.
Reeve didn’t take his eyes off Ludo. “We split up to search more ground, but I kept an eye on him. He was on his way to kill Rachael. His knife is over there.”
Kiana went to look, but Rachael stood rigid. She was paler than usual.
Kiana passed her the knife.
“How do you explain this?” Kiana asked Ludo, while Rachael inspected the dagger.
“I was looking for important artefacts when Reeve threw me to the floor and put his legs around me. I told him he didn't have to be so rough.” He wriggled against Reeve's weight.
Kiana raised her eyebrows at him, but didn’t say anything. If Reeve didn’t shut Ludo up soon, Kiana would never let it go.
“What about the knife?” said Rachael.
“I'm not a lockpick. I need the dagger to force my way into some containers, like that fancy box over there.” Their eyes followed the direction of Ludo’s nodding.
Rachael sighed. “Get up, Reeve.”
He glared at her. “He needs to be tied up.”
Ludo grinned at him. “I knew you wanted to—“
“Shut. Up.”
“Reeve, stand up.”
“You can't possibly believe his story, Rachael.”
“I do. There’s a box over there, and it’s shut tight. I’m not a lockpick, either. I’d need to force my way in, too. Get away from him.”
Kaida brushed through the door, saw Reeve on top of Ludo, and stopped. “What is this?”
“Reeve says Ludo is an assassin,” said Rachael.
Kaida raised one eyebrow. “Is he now? He does not look to be able to kill anyone.”
How could they all be so dense? “He had a knife! He—”
“All other assassins committed suicide before we could interrogate them,” said Kiana. “If what you say is true, wouldn't he be dead by now?”
“I didn't give him the chance.” Reeve glowered at Rachael. “If he lives, he’ll cut your throat while you sleep.”
&n
bsp; “He’s not the one threatening me, Reeve. Get up.”
Reeve glared at Ludo, but stood. “I’m watching you, bezcyn.”
Ludo sat up, but didn't stand. Rachael knelt next to him.
“Are you all right?”
Ludo nodded. “I'm fine. I’m one of your Sparrows, my queen. I'd never hurt you.”
“I know.” Rachael turned to Reeve. “We’ll keep a close eye on both of you. If either of you tries anything, Kiana will have you pinned against the ground before you draw your weapons. Understood?” Ludo grinned. Reeve scowled. Cale hoped that Reeve would see something worthy in Rachael, but so far, he only saw more reasons why she shouldn’t be on the throne.
“Since we are all here, we should discuss our findings,” said Kaida.
“We've wasted a trip,” said Reeve. “There’s nothing here.”
“We didn’t find anything either,” said Rachael. “I found some books I thought might be important, but the pages were empty.” She looked uncomfortable. Maybe she knew she’d messed up?
“Their words might be sealed with magic,” said Kaida. “Can you show me where you found them?”
Rachael nodded, but looked nauseated. Did she have doubts about Ludo, or had something else happened?
“What did you find?” Reeve said to Kaida. He scoffed. “Or can’t you tell us?” It was bad enough Rachael had allowed a Mist Woman so close to her. That she now also didn't see Ludo for what he was only proved she wasn't fit to be their Sparrow. What had Cale been thinking? His eyes flitted to Ludo. What if he’d been wrong about him? Or worse, what if Ludo thought Reeve had thrown him to the ground to seduce him?
Kiana caught his eyes, looked from him to Ludo and back, and grinned. Just what he needed. She'd be insufferable. It wouldn't take two days after their return home before every Sparrow knew Reeve had seduced Ludo in a dark chamber.
He frowned and blended into the shadows.
Kaida smiled. “I found several interesting objects lower down. I cannot be sure they will be any use to us, but I would like to study them.”
“What kind of objects?” asked Rachael.
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