The 7th Lie

by Tamara Grantham

  He frowned, looking at me with a shrewd, calculated glance, then he ran his hands over a panel. “Solar energy,” he mumbled to himself. “I’ve theorized it could be possible.” He chuckled to himself. “Perhaps the villagers aren’t as backwards as we thought.” He scrunched his brow. “But how did something like this get down here?”

  “I don’t know. It wouldn’t have been easy. I can’t imagine anyone getting it down the cliff we scaled. It would’ve had to have been brought down in pieces.”

  “I agree.”

  We walked away from the pyramid structure and entered another chamber. I gasped, stopping short.

  A corpse lay on the ground.

  Black hair fanned out around her decaying face. Her clothing was torn in places, yet her skin was only a little mottled. Around her wrist, she wore a leather bracelet, exactly like mine.

  My stomach lurched.

  Rosa?

  Chapter 22

  I stood over the body.

  The bracelet clung to the tendons and fibrous skin of her wrist. A round, silver disc stood out against the leather band. It had to be Rosa. Who else could it be? Hands shaking, I hugged my arms around my chest. I had to know for sure if it were her, but how could I do that with Morven here?

  “Well,” Morven said. “I’m guessing that’s not Isaac.”

  My nervous laugh filled the cave. “Yeah.”

  “But who is it?”

  “I’m not sure.” I hoped I sounded convincing.

  He eyed me, but he didn’t say anything. We knelt over her. I cataloged everything about the corpse: the smell—stale and sickly sweet, though not overpowering. Her clothes: a dark blue shirt and leather pants, dusted with sand, the fabric gone stiff. Her skin: Brown and leathery, no moisture remaining, as if the salt had mummified her.

  Her eyes: Empty sockets, nothing but the smooth ridges of bone remained.

  What color had they been? Had they been gray like mine? Had they watched as she’d written in the journal, saw the same round orbs of white cerecite, looked through a scanner, and recognized the same differences in the objects we searched for. Now, the eyes were gone. Eaten by decay, destroyed by time.

  Was I looking into a mirror?

  Morven touched her wrist. “What’s this?” He fingered her bracelet. “It looks like yours.”

  I scrambled for a response. “Strange. Must’ve been from the same merchant.”

  “Very odd.” He eyed me shrewdly. He had to be onto me now.

  “Yeah, what a coincidence.”

  He looked at me a second longer than necessary. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze until he turned back to the corpse.

  “Look at this.” He pointed to a square of black canvas beneath her. “I think she’s wearing a bag.”

  “A bag?” I spoke with an even tone, though I tensed with anticipation.

  “I bet we could learn who she is if we look inside,” Morven said. “Will you help me lift her?”

  “Lift her?”

  “Yes.”

  “Morven, no.” I couldn’t let him look in the bag. What if something inside gave away my identity? I’d already cut it too close with the bracelet. I couldn’t risk it, at least, not with him around. “We’re wasting our time. She’s probably just some random hiker who fell off the cliff and her body washed up here. Let’s leave her alone.”

  “Don’t you want to know who she is?”

  “No. I think we should keep moving.”

  He gave me a pointed stare. “Sabine, we came here to find out what happened to Isaac, and now we’ve found a second corpse. What if they were killed by the same person? We need to know more about her.” He lifted her shoulder. “I was right. It’s a bag. Help me get it off her.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I already told you. I think we’re wasting our time.”

  “No, we’re not. Here, just grab her shoulder.”

  “All right,” I conceded. Sand particles stuck to my fingers as I helped Morven lift the body. He pulled off her bag as I held her. A strand of her hair tickled my nose.

  When Morven pulled the bag’s straps off both her shoulders, I lowered the body back to the ground and scooted away.

  Morven propped the bag on his lap. He opened it and pulled out a rock.

  He shot me a questioning look.

  “Maybe she was collecting rocks?” I suggested.

  He weighed it in his hand, turning it one way and then the other. “It looks like an ordinary stone. Wonder why she’d want to carry around something like this?”

  I had an idea, but I wouldn’t tell him. “May I look at it?”

  “Sure.” He held it out and I took it from him. The rock was a dark gray color, smooth and oval-shaped.

  “Strange,” I said. “It must’ve been important to her if she was carrying it around.”

  “Maybe she’d meant to use it in self-defense?” he suggested.

  “Yeah, maybe so. Is there anything else in there?”

  He opened the bag and reached inside, then pulled out a metal tube, a replica to my scanner, except the two halves were smashed, and the screen cracked. “What’s this?”

  I shrugged, though a clammy sweat broke out on my skin. “No idea. It looks broken.”

  He tapped the screen, but it remained blank.

  “Interesting,” he said. “I wonder where it came from—what it was used for.”

  “I wish I knew. It’s very odd.”

  “Let’s check the next chamber,” he said. “Maybe there’s more that will explain all this.”

  “Good idea. But I want to check here for a moment longer, see if we missed anything.”

  He gave me a sidelong glance. “First, you didn’t want to help me find out about her, and now you want to keep checking? What’s going on, Sabine?”

  I sat straight, not wanting him to see my fear. He was onto me. It was only a matter of time before he found out, but could I keep him off my trail a little longer? “Fine. You were right. There is something unusual going on, and I think this corpse has something to do with it.”

  “So, you’re admitting I’m right?”

  “Yes,” I said, sighing. “Happy?”

  “I am.” He smiled, a teasing expression that made his eyes sparkle. This guy was full of himself.

  “Would you like to stay here and help me check it out?” I tried to sound as calm as possible.

  “No. I’ll go. But I think it’s a good idea to check it out more thoroughly. I’m just glad you conceded that I’m right.”

  “Would you shut up about it already?”

  “All right,” he said with another smile. “Let me know if you find anything. I’ll be in the other chamber.”

  I nodded, and he stood and walked away, while I stayed with the body. When he disappeared, I grabbed the stone, cataloging every detail: coated in gritty sand, lighter on top, as if it had been sitting in water. The smooth texture. Two small divots carved from dripping water.

  My hands warmed the stone. I couldn’t help but glance at what remained of Rosa’s fingers, gray bones peeking beneath strips of leathery skin. Had they once warmed this same stone?

  I turned the rock over another time, but it remained unchanged. Was it an object or not? I could scan it to find out for sure, but I didn’t dare use my scanner with Morven lurking.

  Holding the rock carefully, I opened my bag and stuck it inside. With any luck, I’d found another object. I ignored the shiver tingling down my spine as I reviewed the last items, those that had been written in her hand, while I sat by what remained of her corpse.

  I browsed over the remaining items.

  Light.

  World.

  Poison.

  Only three to go. What were the chances they were here in the cave somewhere?

  “What are you doing?” Morven asked.

  I jumped. My bag slid off my lap, spilling the contents. The rock and my scanner clattered to the cavern floor. The two ends sprang ope
n, revealing the screen. My heart stopped.

  Morven crouched beside me. I reached for the scanner. He grabbed my hand. Unspeaking, he stared from the object in my hands to Rosa’s matching scanner on the ground.

  Understanding lit his eyes.

  I froze.

  “Who are you?” He attempted a calm tone.

  “You already know.”

  Shrewd calculation darkened his eyes. “Tell me, Sabine. No more lies. Why are you carrying an object that looks like the one in the corpse’s bag? Why does your bracelet look like hers? How did you know the name of those panels?”

  I swallowed my fear. “I can’t tell you.”

  “Why not?” he asked.

  “I just can’t.”

  His grip tightened around my wrist. “Who are you?”

  “Morven—”

  “Tell me!”

  I tried to pull away from him, but he held tight, his eyes livid. If I told him, then what? Would he hate me and never trust me again? Or would he understand? There was only one way to know.

  “Fine,” I said, my quiet voice echoing. “You’re right. I’m not who you think.”

  “Are you a space traveler?”

  “I-I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m not from Ithical. I’m from outside the dome.”

  His eyes widened. “How is that possible?”

  “I came through a gateway. I was sent by a corporation called Vortech. They hired me to come here and locate seven objects of white cerecite.” The words freed me. I’d hidden behind the lies for too long.

  He studied me with narrowed eyes. “You’re telling the truth?”

  “Yes.”

  His expression remained passive and unchanged—calmness hiding the storm. “If that’s true, then why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

  “Because I’m supposed to keep my identity a secret. I wasn’t the first one to come through.” I motioned to Rosa’s corpse. “She came here before me, and there were others before her.”

  “What?”

  “It’s true. I’m supposed to find seven pieces of white cerecite, and so was she, but she never found the seventh. Then, she died. I think someone killed her.”

  “Who?”

  “I wish I knew.”

  He kept my wrist clamped.

  “Would you release me now?” I asked.

  “No.” His grip tightened. “I don’t know who you are. What’s the importance of that rock?”

  “I think it’s one of the objects I’m searching for.”

  “So, you’re not from Fablemarch. You’re not even from this island. Is your name even Sabine?” His voice grew louder, teetering on the edge of anger.

  “Yes.”

  “You’ve been lying to me.”

  “Only because I had to. Please believe me. I lied because I had no choice. Someone killed Rosa.”

  “Rosa?”

  I nodded at the girl on the floor. “Her. Agent Rosa Rodriguez. You may’ve known her as Rose. She was a maid for your mother ten years ago.”

  His face remained blank, eyes narrowed with suspicion, but I plunged forward anyway.

  “There’s a good chance they’ll be after me once they find out I’m searching for white cerecite. That’s why I had to keep my identity a secret. If anyone discovered my true purpose for being here, I’d end up like her.”

  Finally, he released my wrist. “You really think someone killed her?”

  “Yes.”

  “I see.” He worked his jaw back and forth, the way he always did when he was thinking seriously. “Then you’ll probably want to see what I found in the next chamber. Just warning you, though. It will be disturbing.”

  I eyed the corpse. “More disturbing than this?”

  “Yes.” He didn’t look at me when he spoke. “Much more.”

  Chapter 23

  I placed the scanner in my bag, praying I hadn’t damaged it, and followed Morven to the next chamber. We left Rosa’s body behind. I still wasn’t sure how she’d died. I was sure Vortech would’ve told me she’d lost her mind and come to the cave in a compromised state, then slipped and fallen to her death. But I suspected something more sinister had happened. Someone had murdered Rosa Rodriguez, but I still didn’t know who had done it. Ivan? He’d been here ten years ago. I wasn’t sure what motives he would’ve had, but maybe something in the cave would give me those answers?

  Morven led me through a narrow tunnel to the next chamber, which opened up, domelike, to an expansive space. My gaze trailed up to a towering gateway. Soot blackened the inner edges, the metal blasted open in places. Shattered glass and debris littered the floor. Some of the wreckage lay in huge chunks.

  It was destroyed. Just like the first gateway. “The other gateway.” I walked toward it.

  “You know what it is?”

  “Yes. It’s like the structure I stepped through to get here. But it’s ten times as big.”

  Seven niches, about the size of mailboxes, lined the gateway’s inner frame. The buttons and lights surrounding them looked the same as the ones on my scanner. I placed my hand inside one of the metal-lined niches, the surface bumpy and covered in tiny circuits.

  Interesting.

  We walked away from the gateway. I glanced over the debris, the twisted and charred pieces of metal too destroyed to discern their purpose.

  A vessel came into view. I stopped, blinking.

  A spaceship?

  The supple, streamlined craft stretched as long as a bus. From all the documentaries I’d watched, I’d never seen a ship like this. The word NASA had been engraved into the metal. The letters connected, unlike the usual logo’s style with blocky characters.

  “What’s NASA?” he asked.

  “It’s a space exploration program. What is something like this doing here?” I brushed my fingers over it, colder than I expected. The oblong-shaped craft had no rocket boosters or a propulsion system. It could’ve been an alien vessel. But if that were the case, why was the word NASA printed on it?

  I paced to the anterior of the ship where a thick layer of dust clouded a windshield. Brushing the grime away, I peered through the glass.

  A corpse sat in the front seat.

  I jumped back and grabbed Morven’s hand.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Look inside.”

  The cavern remained eerily quiet as we stepped to the ship and peered through the dust-smeared glass. The corpse wore a navy-blue jumpsuit with the word NASA stitched to the left breast pocket, a knife’s handle protruding from his chest.

  “That’s Isaac,” Morven said, his voice quiet and haunted.

  “Are you sure?” I questioned.

  “I think so.” He brushed the dust away. “It’s hard to see through the glass.”

  “What if we opened the ship?” I offered.

  “Do you know how?” he asked.

  I eyed the shuttle. “Maybe there’s a door somewhere.”

  We circled the vessel, looking for a way to open it, but the craft had no seams or doorways. We stopped by the glass shield when I noticed a black square pad beside it.

  “What’s this?”

  I pressed my hand to the square, and it flickered with blue light. The glass unsealed, releasing a pressurized hiss, as if everything inside had been in a vacuum. Morven helped me open the shield, which swung on hinges.

  Without the glass blocking us, we got a better look at the corpse. It—he—rested his hands in his lap. Except for the gray skin, he looked untouched by decay. His dark hair, square jawline, and straight nose resembled Morven.

  Dried blood clung to the knife sticking out of his chest.

  My stomach churned. “Who did this?”

  Morven didn’t answer. I turned to him, and he stared at the body with a slack-jawed expression, his skin nearly as pale as the corpse’s.

  “Morven?”

  He shook his head, as if coming out of a trance. “I don’t know. The memories... I remember
feelings, fleeting images. Fear, pain. Then the grayness. My next memories are from the Mystik wolf, roaming the land, the scents and sights through the wolf’s eyes. I don’t remember anything else until my own childhood.”

  “Is there any way for you to remember more?”

  He leaned forward, touching the stiff shoulder of the corpse. His fingers ran over the uniform before he jerked his hand away.

  “What is it?”

  “I thought...” He turned to the panel of switches and buttons in the cockpit. “Maybe.” He touched a silver disc.

  Static came from speakers. Morven knit his brow as he listened. “...collapsing...too much energy. Going to recalibrate...Can’t. It’s not working...”

  Static whirred, then silenced.

  “There was an explosion,” Morven said. “Unexpected. We were caught off guard.”

  “Do you remember anything else?” I asked.

  “No.” He closed his eyes. “There’s nothing after the explosion.”

  Silence pressed in around us. The blackened gateway loomed, as if challenging us to discover its secrets. Morven stepped away, squaring his shoulders. “But this isn’t what I was going to show you. There’s more over here.”

  “More?” I asked.

  “More corpses.”

  Morven led me around the maze of debris. The images of Isaac and Rosa lingered, haunting me. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts, instead focusing on every sight, cataloging it as I went. I could always depend on my overactive photographic memory to override emotion.

  Fiberoptic wires and wheels looked familiar, but others I had trouble describing. Metal plates, green glass squares, and tool-like objects of various sizes. In the debris, I spotted a small black pyramid with shimmering golden bands—a match to Cade’s.

  Had Cade’s father gotten the pyramid from this cave? Or were there other caves with the same technology lying dormant under the soil?

  Morven stopped as we reached the far side of the chamber near the giant gateway. Fear raced down my spine as a pile of corpses came into view. I grabbed Morven’s arm to keep steady. Bile rose into my throat. Bits of tattered clothing clung to their decomposing flesh.

  “There are twelve bodies here,” Morven said. “The skeleton near the water makes thirteen. And the other body we found—Rosa—makes fourteen.”