Keisha nodded, looked at Alex and motioned to him to follow her back down. They left, with Renee and Chloe in tow.
Loris turned back to me. “The hotel is what we call the quarters for new arrivals and guests.” She leaned in close. “I can see you care about Alex, as well.” She patted my arm. “Don’t worry, my dear, he will be fine. More than fine. This place has that effect on people. You’ll see.”
“I believe you,” I said, and grinned. Things would be fine here.
We walked down the backside of the ziggurat, a steep stairway that spiraled down. The steps were narrow, and we had to walk close together. The cavern wall was close, I could have jumped and easily reached it. But if I had, I would have then fallen a hundred feet into a chasm behind the ziggurat.
“You should have an elevator installed,” I said.
She laughed softly. “This place is ancient, more ancient than you probably realize.”
We reached a narrow landing half-way down.
It wasn’t much of a balcony. The railing was low, you could easily trip and fall.
She put a finger to her lips.
“You going to tell me a secret?” I asked
She smiled. “I’m going to show you truth.”
She placed a hand on the wall. There was a faint hiss of escaping air, and then a piece of the wall slid back to reveal a hidden entrance to the inside of the ziggurat.
“Truth is often hidden,” she said, and led me inside.
11
The air inside was cool and moist. The chamber was round, twenty feet across, with a low ceiling that almost brushed my head. The walls and ceiling glowed a faint yellow, giving just enough light to be able to make out what was inside. Namely a circle of statues in the center of the chamber, of men and women in robes, wearing headbands with carved symbols. Each had a jewel on their forehead. The circle of statues surrounded a pool that reflected the golden light.
Loris walked to the pool, and sat on a low, stone bench next to it, just inside the circle of statues. I followed, but stopped just outside the circle. I couldn’t fit inside there. It was for people shorter than me.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“A model, representing the Sacred Spring,” she replied. “I can come here, and meditate upon the Spring.”
I nodded, her words filling me with excitement. “The Sacred Spring,” I whispered.
Loris nodded. “Yes. The heart of Sanctuary. The true sacred spring grants both insight and gifts.”
My eyes widened. “Gifts?”
She smiled again, that amused little smile. “If you remain here, you may eventually be privileged to visit the Sacred Spring and experience its insight for yourself. Perhaps even see it grant gifts to those without them.”
Longing to stay here filled me. “I would like that, I really would, what can I—”
She cut me off, her words soft. “Give yourself time, Mathilda. Rome wasn’t built in a day, after all.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Ruth, with her love of history, used to say that to me, when I was impatient to get finished with something. My throat tightened. I hoped Ruth was okay. Ava, too. Guilt stabbed me. I’d been so stubborn about finding Ella, but what about Ruth and Ava? I bit my lip. I hoped Ruth was okay.
Loris leaned forward. “What is bothering you?” she asked me.
I couldn’t tell Loris that I missed Ruth, she might send me home. I hesitated.
“What do you seek an answer to?” I blinked at her question.
I looked at the floor. It was tiled, like one of those ancient Roman floors. There was a pattern on it, vines, trees, suns, moons, mountains beneath them. People.
What I wanted to know about was the vision of myself, if that was really me. I wanted to ask her that. I almost did, but something held me back. I desperately tried to think of something else, but my brain felt like sludge.
We sat there for a while in silence.
“Very well,” Loris said, after time had passed. “You can tell me when you are ready. In the meantime, let me show you something very important.” She got to her feet in one fluid motion, like a dancer, not like someone who was probably a hundred years old. She went to the wall on the far side of the pool from the entrance door. She touched the wall, and a section slid back, revealing a spiral staircase leading down.
“Come with me,” Loris said.
My heart leapt at her words and I half ran to her side.
We went down the stairs. At the bottom, she pressed something on the wall and a door slid open. we stepped out into another street.
She led me through the twisting paths of the ancient underground city.
Loris took me to an ancient plaza. A group of kids stood around a mound of dirt in the middle of the plaza, arms outstretched, wiggling their fingers.
Shoots and leaves rose from the earth, writhing up toward the cavern ceiling. Wisps of steam reflected the golden glow from above. A tree appeared from the steam. It sang a joyous song that made my heart ache.
I gasped. The tree flowered and then, like one of those time-lapse movies, fruit appeared. Apples grew on the tree. The kids lowered their arms. Their faces were flushed, and wet with sweat.
I covered my mouth. They had created a tree far, far faster than I could have. I didn’t tingle, not even a little.
My eyes widened. “Children?” I turned to Loris, hands on my hips. “Imbued?”
She looked back at me calmly. “Yes, they are.”
Imbued, like those people in Mossville.
“All humanity can have this gift.” Her gaze was that same, calm, looks-right-into-your-soul gaze she’d used on me when we first met. “Is that so strange?”
It sounded absolutely wonderful and impossible at the same time. I wouldn’t have believed it before Mossville.
Before I could answer she turned to the children.
“Very good.” She nodded at the tallest kid, a girl. She couldn’t have been more than eleven. “Hala, you led them well.”
The girl wore some kind of headscarf. She bowed to Loris. “Thank you.”
The other children wore a mix of robes, jeans and t-shirts. I saw a silver cross around the neck of a blond boy. Another girl had a crucifix. One of the other boys wore some kind of skullcap. Several of the girls wore bright silk scarves over their hair.
“We have people from many different faiths and places here,” Loris explained. “Islam. Christianity. Judiasm. Zorastrians. Hindus. Even a few Buddhists.”
She glanced back at the kids, smiled. “Go see Farosh,” she said. “Tell him I told him to give you each a fresh date cake.” The kids grinned and turned away in a group and half-ran off into the darkness.
We went up to the tree. Loris ran her fingers over its bark. Its happy song got louder and louder as we neared, until it drowned out everything else.
I closed my eyes. It was like listening to a forest, only it was a single tree. How could it have so much strength?
A hand squeezed my arm. The song faded away until it was just a whisper.
“You mustn’t lose yourself in the song,” Loris said.
“Who are you?” I asked her.
“As I said, just someone who can see clearly.”
The tree swayed in the golden light, and for a second, I wanted to dance around it. Then, I blinked. “Excuse me,” I said, “but that wasn’t really an answer.”
“It is,” she insisted, an edge to her voice. She paused. “It just isn’t the one you were looking for,” she said. Her voice was warm again. She smiled, but this time the smile seemed forced.
Irritation swelled inside me. I scuffed a toe on the hard ground. Think, I ordered myself. “Imbued, what exactly are they?” Back in Mossville Renee said this was all magic, but there had to be more to it than that.
“They have a connection.”
“Connection to what?” I asked. I wanted to know the truth.
“To the world,” she answered. “To the earth itself.”
“You t
hink I’m delusional,” she said. “You think we all are.”
“I don’t think you are crazy,” I blurted. I felt confused. “It’s just, I don’t understand how.”
“Mat, you only just arrived here. Give yourself time.” She raised her eyebrows.
“I don’t understand the kids,” I said.
“Well, you saw them,” she replied. “What do you think?”
“I didn’t sense any power in them. But somehow they did what I can do with my power.” I shivered. It was very much like mine. I suddenly felt cold. “How can they channel my power?”
“They aren’t channeling your power, Mathilda. They are Imbued with the same gift from the same source as yours, only you are stronger.”
“But how?” I repeated.
“The world is the source of the power,” she said.
I shook my head. “No one knows where powers come from.”
“Only because of the chains put on the world.”
“Chains?” I asked.
“Bonds were placed on the world many centuries ago.”
“By who?” I blinked. I was stunned at what she had just said. No one knew, not scientists, not the Hero Council itself, no one, where powers had come from. Now she was saying it was from the Earth, and that somehow the power had been blocked?
“By ancient people.” She sounded so certain.
“But if that’s true, how are there Empowered, or Imbued, now?” I asked.
“Because the power seeks to find people, those especially sensitive to it. Certain places, like the Sacred Spring, are points where this force can come through to Empower, and to Imbue.”
Mossville had dripped with power.
And the times I had worn the amplifier, it had sent power through me. Where had that power come from?
“The ancients who possessed this power wanted to protect humanity from itself. They were like gods to ordinary folk. Able to fly, with incredible strength. They could call down lightning, fire, storms. Bring life to a desert. Kill a forest.”
“You’re talking about myths. Like Greek Gods.”
She nodded. “Greek Gods, Sumerian Gods, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, they all have a common root.”
Just when I thought this couldn’t get any stranger. “You’re saying those gods were Empowered people?” I asked.
“At least the ones that walked the earth.”
“And they put the Earth in chains,” I said.
“The necklace. That’s a better name for it.”
I shook my head, but kept my mouth shut.
“I know this is a lot of take in so quickly,” she said.
“Yeah, you could say that.” I sighed.
“Consider this place.” She pointed at the ceiling, with its weird skylight-like blisters in the rock, and the temple in the distance.
“It’s an underground city.”
She nodded. “And more. It’s part of an ancient network to channel and control the energy that Empowers you and can Imbue others. Imbuing is a different sort of gift, but one that still harnesses the Earth’s power, just like your gift. It all comes from the same source.”
My head spun from her words. I staggered over to a stone bench and sat down.
“Your sister is part of something bigger than herself. You could be, too.”
Exactly what Keisha had said to me. I shuddered.
Being part of something bigger than myself usually led to trouble.
Loris sat beside me on the bench, and let me think about what she had told me. This story about the source of our powers explained why Ella didn’t want to leave. I could see her being drawn to it, just like she’d been drawn to the Fellowship to begin with, back in Portland, and then Mossville.
Ella was a helper.
I stood, and started pacing back and forth. The things I’d already seen here were beyond amazing. I wanted to believe in what Loris told me. But I couldn’t shake the thought of what could hit this place.
“What worries you, child?” Loris asked. Her voice was tender.
I exhaled. “I’m worried, for sure,” I said. “I’m worried that Support and the Hero Council will find you, maybe along with SAVAK. In fact, I’m surprised that they haven’t already. They’ll swoop down here and capture everyone, and destroy the place.” I paced faster. “They’ll kill everyone.” I stopped and looked Loris in the eye. “You can’t stay.” She had to understand. I hesitated, not wanting to say what I had to say next. But I had to convince her. “I worked for Support.” There, I’d said it. Maybe Ella had already told her, and maybe this was a test. But I didn’t care.
Her eyes glistened. “It must have been difficult for you, to play that role.” She sounded so sympathetic.
“I had to, to help my sisters and my grandmother. I didn’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice. It just isn’t necessarily one we want to make.” No judgement in her voice, just understanding. For an instant, I wanted to hug her, to get her approval.
I shook myself. What the hell was wrong with me?
“Yeah, I made the choice,” I said. I fidgeted. It was either work for them or go back to prison. My choice. Life gave you suck choices and you had to pick one.
I sat up taller on the bench. “My point is, I know, from the inside, what Support can do. How ruthless they are.” I knew just how far they were willing to go.
As far as it took to stay in control.
“We’re not leaving,” Loris said. “It’s up to you whether or not you stay. Your friend Keisha is here, now, and your sister Ella. They are very much a part of this community.”
I swore under my breath. There didn’t seem to be any way I could make her see that this place was a trap. It had all the markings of one. An underground location, with only one ground level exit. There was the node, but I wondered how close it was. With all the people said to be here, could they really evacuate in time? Were there Dark-Net dudes here? If so, what was the price of using the node?
No matter what, though, I couldn’t leave my sister, or my best friend here. I had to stay. And then there were the kids. I couldn’t leave them. Maybe after I’d been here for a while, I could convince everyone to leave because of the danger. Or maybe they’d convince me that Sanctuary really was the safe haven Loris claimed it was.
“I’d like to stay,” I said. “To help.”
“Thank you,” she said. “You are welcome to be with us.” The way she said it, made me feel like I’d found home at long last.
Loris whistled. I jumped. It was a piercing whistle, echoing off the ancient stone walls. I winced and plugged my ears. She grinned at me, for an instant, looking like she was my age, and not ancient.
With a few minutes, a dark-skinned girl appeared. She reminded me of Keisha. Guilt dragged at me.
“Christianne, this is Mathilda. She’s new, and will need help getting around.”
Christianne looked at me like I had a third eye, nodded gravely. “Yes, leader,” she said. Her accent sounded French.
“Thank you.” Loris looked at me. “I will see you later, Mathilda. Thank you again for staying with us.”
“You’re welcome,” I said. Hope and me were never friends, but maybe, just maybe now, we could be.
Christianne walked briskly through the twisting streets. She didn’t say anything.
The light from the cavern ceiling began to dim.
The girl must have seen my look. “Night is coming. So the light from the high roof will fade.”
“How long have you been here?” I asked her.
“Four years.”
Four years. How long had the Fellowship been here?
“You know your way around.”
“My gift,” she said. She sounded older than she looked, which was maybe ten.
We went down a long flight of steps. I tried to memorize everything, but that wasn’t working, so I remembered the crack running along the steps. It was a start. Always worth it to know the layout. It would make me less of burden to
them, and help if an attack did come.
“How old were you when you got your gift?” I asked her.
She stopped at that, turned and gave me that grave look. “You ask many questions.”
“It’s how I learn stuff,” I said.
“I was seven. My brother and I received the gift from the Sacred Spring.”
“From the water?”
She frowned. “No. The plants that grow in the water.”
Excitement ran through me. Plants Imbuing people? Incredible. If it were true.
“What is your gift?” I asked her.
“I already told you. Knowing my way around.” She turned and strode across another one of the million plazas they had here. I shook my head and followed.
Knowing her way around. What kind of gift was that?
I was an idiot. As we threaded our way through this freaking maze, I got lost time and time again. She’d been here for four years, she said, which would have made her six. Plenty of time to learn her way around. But maybe knowing meant something different.
Finally, after what felt like forever, we arrived at a cliff with four levels of stone apartments carved into the face. Christianne took me up stone steps to the top level, and along a carved walkway to the third door on the right.
Little lamp-like crystals set in the wall outside the apartment glowed with a soft, yellow light. I stood there and stared at them for a moment, like an idiot, but I couldn’t help myself. Sanctuary was chock-full of wonders. Even little lights.
“These are for night time?” I asked, turning to Christianne, but she was already gone.
The door didn’t have a lock. At least it wasn’t a cell. I opened it.
Alex stretched on one of the bunks, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling.
“Hey.” I closed the door behind me.
“Hey,” he said back, voice quiet.
“You been like that the whole time I’ve been out getting the nickel tour?”
“No, sleeping most of it.”
“How are you feeling?” I asked. We had had a long trip here. Why wouldn’t he want to sleep? I should have felt tired, too, but I didn’t. My arms and legs were practically trembling.
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