Lore Rune (Rune Trilogy Book 1)

by Catherine Beery

  Ferna shrugged. “Yes and no, your highness. Light works.” She said pulling out her Sunflower Crystal. “But anything that would help me get up and out doesn’t. My materials just turn to ash.” She said pointing at the little piles of ash near the walls. In the light of her sunflower crystal, we could see the damning gray imperfections on the otherwise golden-white sand. There were a few all about the pit. But the light also revealed something else.

  “There are runes on the walls,” I whispered in surprise.

  Teilnon got to his feet, drawing his sword. A fresh bloom of light emanated from the sword. The rest of us followed him to the wall. “Huh.” The big man grunted after a moment of looking over the hundreds of hundreds of runes carved into the stone. “I recognize some of these.” He added after a moment. He pointed at those he knew. It was a very small number considering the stone walls were covered in runes.

  I backed up from the wall so I could get a better view of it all. Each wall was separated into four sections each roughly three feet wide. “They look like pages from a book,” I muttered softly. There were recognizable paragraphs. I wasn’t sure where the reader was supposed to start, but it must have been somewhere. Not that knowing would help me. I didn’t know any of the runes. The Kivena and Larna families of the Terrazien clan didn’t share the knowledge of runes with us. We just knew they used them. Perhaps the elders knew more, but I had no clue. All I knew and had gathered from my time with Teilnon was that the Larna and Kivna could access and channel the magic of the earth within their chosen gemstone or metal using a set group of runes.

  Remembering Tre’shriha’s symbol from earlier, I realized it had been made up of many runes. Similar to this… “What if all of this is a spell?” I wondered aloud, gazing about.

  Teilnon and the others backed away from the wall warily. “If it is – no! It can’t be.” He said with a decisive shake of his head. “It’s too complicated. Rune magic only works with simple strings of symbols. The more you add, the more unpredictable the result – if anything happens at all.” He explained. I realized that that was probably the most I had ever heard the large metal mage say.

  Holding his sword with one hand, Teilnon slipped a small stake of iron from his belt. He stepped closer to the wall. With a practiced move, he slammed the stake’s point into the wall.

  There was a howl and a brilliant flash of light and power as the wall around the stake glowed brilliantly in protest.

  Chapter 24

  I had to look away from the brilliance. In doing so, I noticed several runes and what must have been sentences glowing elsewhere on the other walls. Zara gasped, noticing them as well. Teilnon’s grunt brought our attention back to him. The large blacksmith was on the ground staring at a quickly cooling puddle of molten iron. I glanced back up at the now dim wall. The runes were as crisp as ever. As if Teilnon had never tried to shove a stake into the wall.

  Teilnon was pale as he looked between the cooling puddle of metal and the wall he had tried to do something to. His lips moved as if he was trying to speak. No sound came out.

  “Similar thing happened to me… though not that extreme.” Ferna said.

  Zara was shaking her head. “What kind of magic could do that?” She wondered.

  Jay sat down in a dejected heap. “We’re trapped. Trapped in a pit. Trapped under the ruins of Ardiheim…Trapped, trapped, trapped!”

  “Not trapped,” I said. I refused to believe that we were doomed. If I did… well, we might as well just end it instead before starvation and dehydration could get to us. No one knew where we were. Or even that we had left. And unless they called the Terrazien, they had limited ways of digging us free. None of which would be fast enough to save our hides. I felt the incredulous stares of the others. I pulled my eyes from the impressive runes upon the walls to them. I gestured at the walls. “This must be part of, if not fully, the test. The Wood’s Test.”

  “Have I ever told you that I don’t like tests?” Jay said from his spot on the ground. “I don’t much like riddles or walking about in the Old Wood at night much either.”

  I sighed. “You didn’t much like going in the Archives either, as I recall, but you survived them. Also, you are the one who told me that you were coming.”

  Jay fixed me with a look. It was impressive considering I was standing and he was still sitting on the floor. “I’m not saying I regret some recent life choices of mine. I’m just saying I don’t like certain things. I’m sure you didn’t study for this test either.”

  I chuckled, which earned scandalized looks from the other three. “I don’t think this is the kind of test one can study for. We can only react, but be smart about it. Hey, can one of you with a light come over here? I’d like to look at these runes better.” Ferna came over with her lit sunflower crystal. Teilnon stayed on the other side while Jay looked over there. Zara after a moment of deliberation went to look at a third wall.

  “What are you hoping to find?” Zara asked. “It’s not like we can understand any of this.” I noticed that she was getting restless.

  “Teilnon can. Some of them.” I reminded her.

  “But what are you looking for?”

  I shrugged. “Something.” She sighed in exasperation. “Hey, if you have a better idea on how to get us out of here, let's hear it.” She didn’t say anything. Just kept studying her wall. I returned to mine.

  “I don’t like it down here.” I heard her mutter.

  “Who does?” Ferna asked.

  “There’s no warmth.” Zara continued as if she hadn’t heard Ferna.

  Oh. I realized with a sinking feeling. “Sunfire mages don’t like being inside if there isn’t a window,” I observed.

  Ferna, Jay, and Teilnon glanced from me to Zara. Instant understanding hit. Kept inside too long without access to the sun, the sunfire mage would go mad. Anxiety would hit first. Paranoia. Then they would probably pass out. Waste away from lack of the soul of their power. We only knew that because there had been unfortunate accidents over the years. Histories where a criminally inclined sunfire mage had been imprisoned and cut off from the sun. He had died, wasted away to nothing…

  And now Zara faced a similar circumstance. We really needed to get out. Until then, we needed to get her something that would help stave off the unconnectedness she was feeling. Too bad we hadn’t taken one of the Luniza Moon Flames.

  “Here,” Teilnon said. He handed Zara a golden coin, one that began to give off a glimmer of flame. Zara stared at the coin in her hand. Then up at Teilnon. “It’s a sun coin. I usually keep it handy to keep me warm on cold nights. Keep it for now. it should help you.”

  “It does. Thank you.” She said with a small smile. The anxiety that had filled her voice earlier had died down considerably. As I turned back to my wall of study, I wondered if Zara’s sensitivity to the lack of sunlight, even when she wasn’t a full mage, meant that she would be an incredibly powerful sunfire mage? Probably.

  The runes were carved deep into the stone. At least an inch in. Gingerly I touched the wall. It didn’t lash out at me, which was nice. I also noticed that both the runes and the surrounding wall had been smoothed. Only the depth of the runes betrayed their presence to touch. I was looking at some of the ones that I had noticed glowing earlier when Teilnon had tried stabbing the wall. They didn’t look any different.

  “A drop of blood and intent can go a long way, Kel,” Selva said suddenly appearing right beside me.

  “Shit!” I yelped jumping away from her and bumping into Ferna. She somehow managed to catch me and at the same time keep the both of us from falling into a very undignified heap. Selva’s gray eyes widened before she covered her mouth. The humor in her gaze betraying her amusement.

  “Kel?! What wrong? Are you hurt?” Ferna asked with concern.

  “You almost look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Zara commented as the other three came over to see what the matter was.

  Selva laughed at the irony of that statement. I smiled wryly alon
g with her. Jay caught my look and glanced at where I was looking. “Is there a ghost here?” He asked, curiosity overcoming his usually good ability to keep my odd quirks to himself.

  “Please. I was kidding.” Zara said with a touch of annoyance.

  Insulted Jay replied faster than he could think or I could stop him. “I wasn’t.”

  Zara snorted. Somehow she managed to make it sound very dignified. Did they train her in that? “Are you saying Kel can see ghosts?” She asked incredulously.

  “Who can?” I asked before Jay could get me into any more of an awkward position. “But you must admit that normal rules might not apply here.”

  “Meaning you saw something that doesn’t exist?”

  I rolled my eyes and bit my tongue. She wouldn’t believe me… besides, I didn’t want to tell her. She was comfortable believing as she did. Jay opened his mouth to argue if I was reading him right. I shushed him with a look.

  “Sorry and thank you for catching me,” I said softly to Ferna.

  “No problem. But what did happen?” She asked with a sidelong glance at Jay.

  Indeed, what was I going to say? I hadn’t been at all subtle… Hard to be subtle when you’re startled. “Static Shock.” I said with my all-time best straight face. If one ignored my words and how incredibly unbelievable they were in a stone pit and just went by my tone and expression, one would likely believe me. It was the tone that always worked in the past.

  But it was hard to believe it when one took in what I’d actually said. My friends are not fools.

  Ferna’s brows rose at my attempt at an explanation. They disappeared into her hairline. Jay sniggered, the unhelpful scamp. Teilnon’s expression remained stoic. But I got the sense he was also finding that hard to believe. Zara had her hands on her hips in a disbelieving stance, but only really because of the other’s reactions.

  “Kel. We are in a stone pit. Teilnon would have sensed any metal around, and he hasn’t. Only if he had would I have bought that explanation.” Ferna said when I didn’t fold under their combined skeptical looks. They forgot I had plenty of practice. But then Ferna continued, and I realized I forgot something too. “You forget, Kel, we’ve seen some weird things around you in the past. Now tell us, what actually happened?”

  Selva was watching me curiously. I sighed and went back toward the wall. I debated not saying anything more, but those waiting gazes burning my back made that hard to commit to. So instead I said. “I just had an idea pop up and scare the shit out of me.” I wasn’t exactly lying either. So ha!

  “And what was this shocking idea?” Jay asked. I glanced back at him. His expression said I would be hearing about this whole episode later. I understood.

  “A crazy one,” I replied turning back to the wall beside Selva. I slipped free my cuttings knife. Before anyone could say anything, I jabbed my thumb on the point. I hissed in pain as a drop of blood pearled up. A touch of nausea crept up my throat.

  “What are you doing?” My companions demanded.

  “My crazy idea,” I explained glancing at Selva.

  She nodded toward the wall. “Press your blood to the stone. Remember to think of what you want as you do so.” Selva taught.

  Nodding, I touched my blood to the stone. Show us the way to solve this. I thought as strongly as I could. A shock and warmth flared through my thumb, hand, wrist, and arm in quick succession as soon as I finished my thought.

  “Oh! What’s happening?” Zara gasped. The others murmured something along those lines. From where I touched the stone, a ripple traveled through the stone. Most of the runes just rode the wave. But others shimmered before glowing with a golden light. There were several strings of them.

  “Huh. Well, that’s different. What did you do?” Teilnon asked me.

  “Crazy idea. Can you read any of those symbols?” I asked.

  Teilnon studied the glowing runes nearest him. “This one is ‘read,’ and this one stands for ‘understand.” He said pointing at two glowing runes.

  “Understand what?” Jay asked. “This whole thing?” he asked nervously.

  “And these?” I asked ignoring Jay and pointing at another series of glowing runes. They possibly formed a sentence, though I couldn’t make out anything (other than their glowing) that would separate them from the rest of the runes around them. Teilnon came over and frowned thoughtfully at them. he pointed at the first, third, and sixth runes. “’See,’ ‘find,’ and ‘out.’ I don’t know what the other three are.”

  I tilted my head, thinking. Possibly the conjunctions. ‘See to find the way out.’ Maybe? Taking a risk, I glanced at Selva. She was still standing there, her hands tucked into the sleeves of her robe. “Could it possibly mean ‘See to find the way out’?” I asked of the room in general, though my attention was on Selva.

  “Maybe?” Ferna shrugged. “No way to really know though.”

  “Unless he’s getting help,” Jay muttered with a knowing glance between me and the spot where Selva was standing. He had apparently seen my focus. Damn, I needed to find a way around that kind of observation. I thought as I shot a glare at him. He just smiled.

  Selva apparently found the whole situation amusing. “You’re close, Kel.”

  “What do you mean ‘help’?” Zara asked confused.

  “You refuse to believe it,” Jay told her with a touch of sass.

  I ignored them both. “Any ideas of what else it could mean?” I asked. My companions gave me blank looks. I really wished I had a dictionary for runes…

  “’See to find the key out,” Selva said.

  I nodded at that “Key. What would the key be?”

  “Where did you get that idea?” Jay asked with a knowing raised brow.

  Teilnon slanted a look between Jay and me before telling me, “but I know the rune for ‘key.’ That isn’t it.” He said pointing at the fifth rune.

  Selva nodded. “He isn’t completely wrong. ‘Key’ is the base rune. That is more accurately for ‘keyword.’

  I rolled my eyes. “Why didn’t you just say that?”

  Selva just smiled a patient teacher’s smile. “So you would understand that these runes are not just merely a code, like what the Larna and Kivna have simplified it to, this is a language.” She said gesturing at the rune-scribed walls. I had wondered about that since the walls had reminded me of a book. “Language is nothing more than a series of understood ideas cobbled together in different ways to convey meaning. These walls explain that. They are also inscribed with a prayer for those who stand between them and protections against anything that would try to corrupt them or alter them. They also point the way to the ‘relic’ the Elmora spoke of.” She said with another smile.

  “Hey! Who are you talking to?” Jay inquired poking me in the arm.

  “Ever hear of an ‘internal monologue’?” I asked with a touch of annoyance.

  “I like your friend. You should trust him more.” Selva admonished.

  I slanted her an annoyed look. My companions were all watching me. Jay knowingly. Ferna and Teilnon curiously. Zara just looked downright confused. I sighed. “I’m sorry Jay, I just don’t think this is the time or place.”

  “What would be a better one?” Selva asked. “Friendship is built on trust. And these will see much more before the day is through. Maybe give them a chance.” I hesitated. In my hesitation, Selva touched my shoulder gently. Her touch was very light and cool. “Trust me in this Kel. The road before you is a dangerous one. But you cannot travel it alone. A life alone is an empty life and not really worth the living.”

  “What is going on?” Zara demanded.

  I took a deep breath and decided to just dive right on in. “Jay is right. Ghosts are real, Princess. To answer your question, Jay, I’m talking to Selva.”

  “Selva? Whose that? She isn’t one of the three down in the Archives, is she?”

  “No,” I said with a shake of my head. I then grinned. “I’ve only run into her in the upper part of the library.”


  Jay paled. “What?!” though he did look satisfied that I was being honest.

  “And here,” I added.

  “By the Sun, you're serious.” Zara gaped at me.

  “As the grave,” I answered. Turning to Teilnon. “You’re not wrong. That symbol isn’t for ‘key.’ ‘Key’ is just the base. It really means ‘Keyword.’ We are looking for a specific symbol.”

  “And this ghost can read this?” Ferna asked.

  “Yeah. It’s a language.”

  “If she can read it then why doesn’t she solve it for us and get us out of here?” Zara demanded. “That would be really helpful.”

  I rolled my eyes. “That would be cheating, Princess. She’s just giving hints to us illiterate types.”

  Teilnon grunted. “We are out of glowing symbols, though. How do we know which one is the keyword? Or is that the symbol we are looking for?”

  “And when we find it, what do we do then?” Ferna asked.

  I sighed as I slanted another look at Selva. “I have to do it again, don’t I?”

  “It couldn’t hurt.” She said with a wink.

  I snorted. Oh yeah. Wouldn’t hurt… except I need to stab my thumb again. Resigned, I jabbed my thumb again on my cuttings knife.

  “Why do you keep doing that?!” Zara asked looking a bit pale. I didn’t look at the blood this time. Though I still felt light-headed, cause I could feel it seeping out.

  “Where do you think the first batch of glowing runes came from?” I asked.

  “This is weird magic.” I heard her mutter.

  “How could he be working magic? Our gifts haven’t been awoken yet.” Jay pointed out.

  I glanced at Selva. That was true, but I was working magic… Just not any kind of magic I was familiar with. I was working Spirit magic.

  “This is a spirit magic awakening, isn’t it?” I whispered to Selva.

  “Of a kind. And more.” She replied cryptically. “Remember to focus on what you need. That is the way this simple spell will work.” She reminded me.

  I pressed my thumb to the stone again, right above the symbol for ‘keyword.’ Show me the keyword. I thought.