by J. F. Penn
He reached for her hand and squeezed gently. “How are you feeling?”
“What happened?”
“You fainted just as we entered the eyrie.” Finn got up and poured some water from a jug into a glass and handed it to her. Sienna drank deeply, suddenly parched, as he continued.
“You gave us quite a scare, but I know it takes it out of you to—”
Sienna put a finger on her lips and he stopped. They didn’t know who was listening down here and if anyone found out about her own blood magic, they might as well give up their quest right now.
“I know it takes it out of you to — travel.” Finn sat down again in the chair. “Perry has told of how he mapwalked us here, after Aguila enquired as to how we arrived on the sacred platform.”
Sienna raised an eyebrow. “Perry’s magic is truly all-encompassing.”
“Indeed. Mila’s sleeping next door and Jari is in their medical wing. They have special balm for eagle talon injuries, so she’s going to be alright.”
“And Perry?”
Finn sighed and leaned forward, chin resting in his hands. “We haven’t seen him since they led us in here nearly twenty-four hours ago.”
“I slept that long?” Sienna shook her head. “We need to get moving. The last piece of the map must be here somewhere. We’ll find Perry on the way out but we have to complete that map before the Shadow Cartographers find it.”
Finn frowned. “Sienna, there’s something I need to—”
A creak from the corner and the large door opened.
Mila walked in, her stride strong again. “About time you were up. Guess what I found out?” She sat on the end of the bed, eyes bright with the thrill of discovery. “The eyrie perches on the top of one of the pinnacles but there’s a staircase down to the forest floor below.”
“That must be hundreds of meters down?”
“Further than that.” Mila grinned. “There’s a tomb at the base, a tomb they say the ancestor lives in, a tomb marked with a special symbol.” She drew the two interlocking triangles on the covers.
“As above, so below.” Sienna smiled. “So we just need to get to that tomb. The final piece of the map must be there. Then we can go home.” Her voice trailed off as she caught Finn’s gaze, his eyes serious. Going home meant they would be apart again. But there was more distance between them this time than mere geography.
Jari.
Sienna still didn’t know what the warrior woman was to Finn but she certainly complicated what had once seemed simple.
“You’ll go as soon as you have that third piece?” Finn’s voice was halting, his question more of a statement. “You’ll just take them all back to Earthside?”
Mila nodded. “That’s the plan. There’s no way the Shadow Cartographers can find the island with only one quarter of the map, while we might be able to stitch together some options, find the island and destroy it or at least remove all traces of the way to get there.”
The door creaked again. Jari stood there, her arm in a sling, her head bandaged, her face still bruised and puffy. She looked every inch the warrior and Sienna was suddenly aware of her own slim frame, sitting in a soft bed with nothing more than tenuous magic. No wonder Finn didn’t look at her the way he used to.
“We’ll help you finish your mission.” Jari stared straight at Finn as she spoke, her eyes a silent challenge. As Finn hung his head, Sienna wondered once more what he was hiding.
Suddenly the deep bass sound of drums beat through the air, the vibrations shaking the lamp beside the bed.
Finn looked up, his eyes wide with concern. “It’s a call to worship, a call to sacrifice.”
Mila and Sienna looked at each other as realization dawned. There was only one of their team missing, the one person who would be considered a powerful sacrifice to the gods.
Perry.
17
As the drums beat a rhythmic pulse, Mila paced the room. “We don’t have much time. We need to split up.” She looked at the others in their weakened state. “We’re going to have to fight to get to Perry so Finn and I will go up to the sacred area. Sienna, you and Jari go down to the tomb, find that piece of the map and we’ll meet you down there with Perry.”
“I can fight,” Jari said, her jaw clenched with barely restrained anger.
Finn stood up and walked over to her. He grabbed her wounded arm, pressed into the bandage. She exhaled sharply, the pain making her almost double over.
“No, you can’t. But you can protect Sienna.” Finn adjusted his sword. “I trust you two will manage to get along?”
Sienna hesitated. She didn’t want to be alone with the warrior woman. If she was honest, she was scared of her. The half-moon tattoo on her face was a permanent reminder of the side she worked for, and the fragile peace that held their little team together would be over as soon as they had that final map fragment.
Jari nodded. “Of course, we’re not children.” She took a breath. “And Perry saved my life, so you need to get him out of there.” She looked over at Sienna. “You good with that?”
Sienna nodded.
The drums began to speed up, the beat now double time.
“Let’s go.” Mila grabbed the jug of water as she headed out the door, closely followed by Finn. He glanced back one more time and Sienna met his gaze, seeing concern in his eyes. He turned away and the sound of their footsteps heading upstairs was lost in the beating of the drum.
Sienna pulled off the bedcovers and dressed quickly while Jari gathered their packs. Then together, they headed into the corridor and down the staircase into the dark.
It was busy on the stone staircase that wound back up to the sacred ground as people from all over the eyrie hurried to witness the sacrifice. Mila kept her head down as she ran up the stairs with Finn close behind, no one paying them any heed. They blended in here, the color of their skin making them part of the mix of races that made a home in the heights of the pinnacle.
People streamed in from corridors that led out from the central staircase and Mila wondered how deep into the rock this city of the air penetrated. As they ascended, she noticed carvings on the walls, intricate designs of eagles soaring over treetops, plunging gorges and waterfalls beneath the towers of stone. Then pictures of sacrifice, figures of men and women, even children, pegged out on the sacred ground while eagles pecked at their soft bellies, dragging out their entrails while the crowd cheered around them. Nausea washed over her and Mila redoubled her pace.
At the top of the staircase, a wide doorway stood open with a vista out over the flagstones to the horizon beyond. The giant eagles once more circled overhead, their cries filling the air even as the gathered crowd clapped along with the drums, faces eager for spectacle.
Mila and Finn pushed their way through to the front of the pack, standing on the edge of the stone circle as a phalanx of soldiers marched Perry forward, chains around his ankles, his hands wrapped in some kind of fireproof material.
They had taken his only weapon.
Aguila, priest of the eagles, stepped out onto a ledge above the crowd and held his hands up to the sky. The drums stopped.
“This man killed three of our sacred birds with the gift of Prometheus. Now, he must pay the same price.”
Mila gasped at the reference. Prometheus had stolen fire from the gods and as a punishment, he had been chained to a rock where an eagle pecked out and devoured his liver every day, and every night, it was renewed so he could suffer once again. Now Perry would face the same fate.
The staircase grew colder as Sienna and Jari descended, the flagstones less worn and older looking as the torchlight faded. Clearly, few people came down here, preferring to live their days up in the towering city of the eagles. There were only a few lamps and the steps between them were shrouded with shadow. The drums faded after a while and soon, the only sounds were their footsteps and their breathing.
Jari had led the way at first, but Sienna noted that her breath came faster now, her breaks
longer on the ledges where they rested on the way down. Clearly, she was in great pain, but she wouldn’t admit it.
Sienna counted the stairs for the first three hundred or so but then she’d lost count, unable to concentrate as the pain in her leg muscles burned and she clenched her teeth with every stride. Clearly the Mapwalkers needed step classes in preparation for missions, and the thought of Perry trying such a thing made her smile. She pushed aside the pain and concentrated on their task. Find the map fragment and be ready to travel when the others arrived at the tomb.
If they made it back.
After what seemed like an age, the light began to change in the dark of the staircase. A natural green permeated the golden glow of the lamps and as they descended further, it lightened more until they reached a ceremonial archway that opened up to the forest floor.
Jari leaned against a pillar carved with vines, berries and birds. “Just … a minute.” Her face was pallid, her skin slick with sweat.
Sienna pulled a flask of water from her bag and offered it to her. Jari took it and drank deep, then handed it back. Sienna took a sip herself and looked around the grove before them. Clearly the people of the eyrie didn’t fear whatever lay below, only what flew above. The grove was well-tended with patches of wildflowers dancing in the breeze. The sun lanced through the tall trees around them, dappling on the grass.
A path of stones studded with precious gems of many colors wound into the forest. Metal torch holders stood either side shaped like the heads of eagles. It was clearly a ceremonial way.
Leaving Jari resting behind her, Sienna followed the path into the shadow of the trees. Birds sang in the boughs overhead and the forest smelled of pine and sandalwood with a faint hint of apples. It should have been tranquil and peaceful but Sienna had a sense of foreboding, perhaps worry for the others, perhaps an overriding concern about what the Map of Plagues could bring down on them all.
She turned a corner to find an ancient chapel nestled amongst the trees. It was simple, built of the same stone as the pinnacle itself and as sunlight danced across its timber roof, Sienna caught a glimpse of flowers and limbs of trees entwined into the structure itself. It must have been here a long time, maintained by the people of the eyrie.
As she walked closer, Sienna noticed that the wide oak door was marked with the symbol of two interlocking triangles. She heard a scuff of boots on stone behind her and turned quickly, expecting to see Jari walk around the corner. But the forest fell silent again.
A cloud passed overhead and the chapel was cast into shadow. The stones, which only moments before had seemed welcoming, were now the cold blocks of a prison. Limbs from the trees above loomed like a threat as Sienna walked to the old door and pushed it open with a creak.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the gloom. The old timbers let only a glimmer of light inside but as the room became clearer, Sienna could make out a sarcophagus carved from the same stone as the pinnacle and the chapel itself. It had some similarities to the one she had seen on the video footage of the London plague pit, but this one was carved with swooping eagles and the entwined branches of the forest. There was a stark beauty to the place, giving her a sense of perspective, as if only the bigger things mattered. Not the minutiae of daily life, but the questions that impacted humankind — on both sides of the border.
Sienna stepped closer to the sarcophagus, well aware of how far the knights had traveled to split the map apart. If the third piece was truly here, she would be responsible for bringing it almost back together again.
Could she really trust those in the Ministry with the fragments?
If the plague island really did hold what they thought it did, a weapon of such power could be used by either side to wreak havoc on their enemy. The Borderlanders were people, just as much as those on Earthside. But those on this side of the border still remembered their homes, and that drive could be more powerful than anything else.
She put a hand on the stone lid of the sarcophagus, trying to sense whether she should open it or just run from this place and forget it ever existed.
A creak made her jump and turn in haste.
Jari stood in the doorway, her twin swords silhouetted against the sun, blocking the path out again. “I’ll help you with that.” Her voice was a dark promise and Sienna couldn’t help but shiver as the cold of the chapel pierced her heart.
“Chain him.” Aguila pointed to the sacrificial altar and the guards dragged Perry to it, lifting him kicking and shouting onto the stone, securing the shackles to each corner. The cry of an eagle pierced the air, a hunter spying its prey.
Mila assessed the scene quickly, counting the guards, checking for where other soldiers might be. Behind them, the crowd continuing to surge from the staircase, more and more people blocking the route back down. She clenched her fists, her right hand holding tight to the jug of water.
“This is hopeless,” Finn whispered, his face crestfallen.
They were completely outnumbered. There was no way to fight their way out of here and escape down the staircase, especially with Perry so weak and unable to use his magic.
No way out behind them and before them, only sky.
Mila looked out at the blue horizon and remembered one of the carvings on the wall of the staircase. A river, winding through the valley below the mist. It was a long way down — perhaps it wasn’t even there at all — but it looked like their only chance.
“Do you trust me?” she whispered back.
Finn nodded. “Of course. I’ve seen you fight before.”
“Then trust me to hold the guards off while you free Perry, and jump when I say jump.”
Confusion flashed across Finn’s face as Mila gave a wicked grin, her heart pounding with excitement as she ran full tilt into the center of the sacred area straight toward the guards.
They turned with swords raised, ready to fight.
As Mila ran, she summoned her magic from within. She threw the jug of water into the air. It rained down droplets of water which she spun toward the guards like a hail of bullets.
Two fell to the ground, wounds already bleeding. The others were driven back, leaving Perry exposed on the altar.
“Stop them!” Aguila’s voice rose high above the cacophony of the crowd, who shouted with excitement at the expectation of a bloody fight beyond the usual sacrifice.
Mila pulled the drops of water back into a whip, spinning and whirling, driving back the other soldiers as Finn rushed to cut Perry from the altar and drag him behind the stone.
As soon as she saw they were free, Mila stepped carefully back toward the edge of the cliff. She found herself laughing as she spun the whips of water out and around the advancing soldiers. This was possibly her craziest idea ever and Sienna wasn’t even here to witness it.
“Drive them from the edge and the eagles will have their fill!” Aguila raised his arms to the sky, calling to the giant birds. “Dive, my lords, and claim your sacrifice.”
The soldiers pushed forward, swords outstretched. Mila whirled her whips just enough to keep them from moving too fast, while she stretched out her left hand over the edge of the cliff.
“What are you doing?” Finn shouted. “Are you crazy?”
Mila ignored him, sensing the water below. There was a river down there, a powerful rushing body of liquid and it called to her, reflecting back the magic she held inside. Like called to like and her power could be far more than she ever thought it could be. Ekon’s face came to mind and what he had taught her in such a short time. He would laugh with her at this, he would join hands and dance in the water too.
For now, she would have to do it alone.
Mila summoned the water from the river below, calling up a towering pillar of spinning blue and white froth. It didn’t quite reach the edge of the platform. She spun the whips faster, then risked a glance down. It would have to be enough.
“Jump!” she shouted at Perry and Finn.
Finn frowned and shook his head
. “No way.”
Perry stumbled away from him to the edge of the cliff, knocking little stones out into the abyss. “I’ve had enough of this place.”
He leaned forward and threw himself out into the blue as two of the great eagles dive-bombed after him.
18
As the eagles’ cry echoed around them, Mila channeled her magic into the pillar of water, hoping it would be enough. Moments later, she sensed Perry’s weight land upon it, but the water level dropped immediately lower and she could feel her magic start to weaken.
Mila spun her whips one final time, then used the water to provide a cushion as she jumped off the edge. “Now, Finn!”
She saw Finn’s look of panic just before she fell beneath the level of the platform, then his tumbling figure above her as he jumped after, his cry a curse she hadn’t heard for a long time.
They landed either side of Perry who lay cradled in the white water, his eyes fixed on the eagles that circled just above them, wary of their strange passage.
“I’ve had enough of being captured and tortured for my magic,” he said. “Once we get that final piece, we’re going home and I’m retiring to become some kind of archivist.”
Mila snorted. “Yeah, right. Just as you’ve finally worked out how to use your fire to such effect?” She nudged Perry in the ribs. “You’re tired, that’s all.”
“Can you get us out of here, please?” Finn’s voice was clipped and Mila could see his skin was pale. Then she remembered how much he hated water as memories of the sea serpent under the volcanic city on their last mission flooded back.