“We don’t have much time then. If this is the place, we might have to split up after all. If not and we have to search the whole Temple, we only have water for a few more days. Then we’ll have to go back to the oasis. Unless Niri finds something closer.”
Niri did not answer other than a slight shake of her head. Ty’s question made her reach out her senses. As far as she could tell, there was nothing but rock and dust.
“First, we need to see if it is the library. If it is, why hasn’t anyone walked down here and carted off the books?” Lavinia crossed her arms, a line between her brows as she stared at the building.
“Maybe they have.” Ria’s voice was despairing.
Niri put a hand on Ria’s shoulder. Niri let her power go. Where it had been a comfort to summon a connection to her element when they traveled on the boat, to seek and find nothing made her feel adrift as if she were the only speck of her kind in the world. It gave her a sudden shuddering perspective of how Ria must feel.
Finally in the shadow of the the building, Niri walked cautiously up the trio of steps pausing next to a column. It was the deep red one and had rippling veins of gold marbled throughout it. To Niri, it felt like a bad omen. Ahead of her the towering stone door, three times Ty’s height, stood open.
Ty walked around where Niri hesitated by the column. He entered first, pausing when he reached the polished stone floor a few feet beyond the pale light of the door. It took Niri’s eyes a moment to adjust to the dimness when she stopped beside him. Then she could see papers lying scattered across the floor. Old shelves, once solid and heavy, were splintered and overturned. Their broken angles disappeared into the gloom.
Lavinia walked to the nearest set of shelves and picked up the remains of a book. The binding was split. Loose pages scattered as she held it up. Half the book was charred, a corner completely burnt off. She dropped it as her hand began to tremble.
“No one has been here,” she whispered. Her voice sent echoes through the room.
Ty let out his breath. “These are ordinary books. Where do you think the records of the Order will be kept?”
Niri walked into the gloomy hall. The ceiling vaulted over her head to dark heights. From the outside, she knew there were floors overhead. Her gaze dropped to the tattered pages across the stone floor.
“Deep,” Niri replied. “And down.”
Whatever system had been used to light the library no longer functioned. They saw no evidence of torches and no oil lamps. So, they were left to pick their way through the debris in the perennial dimness.
Ria found a set of stairs in a shadowed alcove partially concealed by a tipped bookcase. Blackness yawned behind the opening, swallowing the curving steps. Ty moved to enter the narrow doorway first. But Niri touched his arm, halting him.
“If there is anything here to fear, it will be an Elemental or leftover magic from the war. I’ll go first. Ria should take the rear.”
Ria started in surprise. Niri held onto her arm for a moment. “If something happens, use your magic. We’ll deal with the Curse when it comes. Hopefully, it is still over the Archipelago or the Sea of Sarketh. We may have time.”
Ria nodded crisply even though her breath came faster. Niri turned and stepped into the darkness. She had to use her hand to feel along the smooth, cool wall. Dust came off on her fingers from the accumulation of years. Not a trace of moister resided in the Temple, not even clinging to the stone walls.
Niri’s hand caught an opening and she paused. Ty walked into her. Her balance toppled and Niri took a step forward, her foot coming down on air. She gasped as she reached blindly forward trying to find the wall to grab onto.
Ty’s hands found her and yanked her back. She leaned into his chest, feeling his heart pounding as hard as hers.
“You okay?”
“Great. I found an opening, but I think the stairs keep going down too.”
Her statement was met with silence.
“We should check out every floor,” Ty said after a moment. His hand was still tangled in her hair from where he pressed her against him. Niri straightened, disentangling herself. The sense of aloneness in the dark staircase was oppressive. She shifted so that her arm brushed against Ty. His hand found her shoulder.
“We don’t have a lot of time. I think we can split into two groups to check out the floors and keep going.”
Ty’s hand tightened, pushing into her skin.
“I’ll take this floor.” Lavinia edged around her brother. Niri guided Lavinia’s hands to the lintel. Ty remained frozen behind her.
“I’ll go with her,” Ria said into Ty’s silence. “Who knows, with her sword, I might not have to use magic at all. If it will even work.” Ria’s voice was rueful, but far lighter than Niri would have imagined for the girl as they were so deeply underground in a dark warren. Ria slipped around Ty and Niri as well.
“The records we need will be hand written accounts of the war. If you don’t see anything, skip the next floor down. We’ll take that one and see you at the bottom.”
“I guess we’ll hear each other if . . . if we find anything. There hasn’t been another sound in this whole place,” Lavinia replied to Niri. Niri could not see Lavinia or Ria in the poor light.
“Be careful, both of you,” Ty’s voice was hoarse.
“You too, both of you,” Lavinia whispered back, already turning to feel her way forward. Niri wondered how they would find anything in the dark. They had come so far for this, she imagined they would find a way.
Niri took Ty’s hand and started forward into the blackness again. He came along slowly at first, then placed his hand back on Niri’s shoulder so that he could follow steadily behind. Niri found the next opening fifty steps down. She felt blindly forward, shuffling her feet to avoid tripping.
“We are going to need a light,” Ty whispered behind her. “I don’t suppose you can make water glow?”
Niri laughed softly. “I never learned that trick. Besides, there is no water down here. If there were, I could at least find the walls.”
Ty paused. “None?” His voice was incredulous.
“Not that I can feel. It is as if it has all been blocked somehow . . . .”
“Or evaporated?”
Niri didn’t reply for a moment. “That wouldn’t have stopped it from coming back.” Her throat was tight.
“After the Order of Earth lost, they could have been forced to seal off the underground springs.”
“Or magic users could have done both. We won’t know what happened if we don’t find the records,” Niri retorted, angry at herself for the worry that rose in her. What Ty said made sense, more sense than what Niri had seen of Ria’s abilities. It meant that Lavinia and Ria above them could be facing something worse than darkness. Niri sighed. “Let’s just keep looking,” she said more gently.
Niri slipped ahead, Ty following her. Away from the alcove the darkness thinned. Skylights linked to overhead windows directed filtered sunlight between floors. The shelves were intact here. A quick glance through the rows of books revealed a few hand written scrolls, but nothing from the war. Philosophy, botany, discussions on Elemental abilities filled different shelves.
“This isn’t it.”
“I know,” Niri sighed.
“I guess we get to see how far down this thing goes,” Ty said, gesturing for Niri to walk ahead of him.
“I shall complain to Darag the next time I see him. Only Earth Elementals would build a library out of catacombs.”
“Odd, the Kith don’t seem anything like the Elementals that built this place.” Ty’s voice was muffled by the rows of books.
Niri counted down fifty more steps and found the next entrance. She walked down another set. The stairs plunged into the darkness ahead of her.
“Can you hear Lavinia and Ria?” Niri asked as they stepped onto the fourth floor.
“No, I haven’t heard anything. They must be on the third level by now.” Ty’s voice was worried.
> The fourth level was similar to the second. The only difference were the topics: history, wars, ancient societies. In the dimness, Niri thought at times she could see movement. No sound followed. One glimpse she had of something faded or merged into a stone wall.
“Did you see something?” Ty sounded on edge.
“Yes, earth spirits I think. They probably once were part of the Temple, summoned by Elementals for tasks. Now they just wander.” She sounded confident, which surprised her. “Down again?”
“After you,” Ty said chivalrously. Niri rolled her eyes. She and Ty walked back to the stairwell.
The stairs ended at the sixth level down. Her eyes had adjusted, but the light was even fainter here. Niri’s fingers felt carvings on the lintel of the door, heavy lines broken by what felt like crystals jutting from the stone. This had to be the place.
This room was unlike the others above. There were no bound books, but instead lightly framed opened shelves filled the space. Scrolls bound by ribbons and wax were stacked ten deep in the wooden frames.
“This is it.”
“Where do we start?” Ty looked around. The shelves led off in all directions.
“What we need will be among the last scrolls written. It may be best if we split up.” Ty frowned. “We’ll be on the same level, the same room.”
Niri didn’t acknowledge that they had never walked all the way to the sides yet nor the back wall, which seemed to loom beyond imagination in the darkness. They were on the right level. There had to be an end to the library’s tunnels and rooms somewhere.
Ty sighed. “Fine, but call me if you find anything.”
Niri walked into the gloom alone, picking up random scrolls at first. Breaking their seal, she found they were ancient records going back thousands of years. The dates between those on the same shelf seemed arbitrary. The cases were organized by subject rather than linearly through time. Niri leaned against a shelf and looked around. She could feel the unseen day slipping by.
Niri realized suddenly what was out of place. Compared to the destruction on the main floor, this room was organized and neat.
She imagined the underground Temple under unexpected attack and for once did not focus on who was the cause. She thought instead of the Elementals down in the rooms of books. They wouldn’t have had time to seal and file scrolls when the fighting came to them, Niri realized with a hitch in her breath.
She pushed herself away from the bookcase and began her search anew, looking now for disorder and signs of haste or work unfinished. Her search took her further into the depths of the warren of rooms, deeper than she had ventured before.
Finally she found a place where the bookcases ended. Light shone down from a wide circle above, refracted by what appeared to be thousands of interconnected crystals. In the dimness below sat a circle of desks. Fine metal scribe’s pens were still resting in dry ink wells. Scrolls lay partially finished on the tables.
Niri hurried through the rows of tables, scanning the incomplete documents. There were copies of letters to the Temple of Mist and the Temple of Winds asking for help. They pleaded for the other orders to not join with the Order of Fire or believe their words. Niri’s heart caught in her throat.
On a high table written in mature, flowing script and not the careful copy of scribes, one letter caught her eye. It was addressed to a Mage.
“Mage Kohdan,
It is our belief at the Temple of Stone that the abilities of mages are not alien to the Elementals as the Order of Fire proclaims. Rather, we view the gift as akin to our own, a Fifth Order that taps into the essence of life: a Spirit Elemental.
Please accept our hand of brotherhood. We would ask for your help before the Order of Fire consumes us all into one penultimate Church under their control. Already we fear what step the Order of Fire will next take as no other Order will agree to join them.
Please, if you will not aid us, at least take caution for yourself. Bind together or the Order of Fire will hunt you down one by one.
I have heard reports from our sister Order of Water that the Order of Fire had gone against their decrees and are working with mages who seek power and status. They are trying to create a creature of magic that will do their bidding. A creature of magic so that it will hunt and kill magic. If they are successful, none of your kind will be safe. They call it their curse to you.
I do not know what words will win your belief. I will only say that I know it is true that magic is the same as the other Elements. An Elemental is born with natural skill in one ability. But skill in one reflects latent talent in another that can be learned. I tell you, I know use of the life force is a Fifth Element.
I beseech you,”
The letter ended there. Dizzy, Niri remembered to breathe. The letter confirmed the worst of her fears about the war and the Church. Her heart pounding, she wanted to believe she could trust Sinika. Trust that he had sent her here with the best of intentions. She read the letter again. In her heart, Niri knew she could not take the risk that Sinika would protect her.
With heavy certainty, Niri knew they had to leave. There were no further answers they could risk staying to find. Niri wasn’t sure how much time had passed as the realization sunk in. But when she looked up, Sinika was watching her from across the central circle of tables.
CHAPTER 31
FIRE AND WATER
Sinika leaned with his hip against a wooden desk, his arms crossed in front of him. The slight gray at his temples was more pronounced than she remembered. But otherwise, though it felt like years since Niri had seen him, he was unchanged. It had really only been a few weeks.
Niri’s heart did not even skip a beat. It seemed to her a seed of certainty that Sinika would be waiting for her in the Temple of Dust had lodged in her ever since she had read Laith Lus’ journal and heard him speak on the war. Now, it had been fulfilled. With her finger tips on the letter condemning the Order of Fire, she felt balanced on a pinhead of time. With the next breath or the first words, Niri would know Sinika’s intentions. That he was there waiting did not bode well. She could only be thankful of the twist of luck that she stood facing him alone.
The faint smile on Sinika’s full lips died. His brow creased as Niri stayed where she stood, each watching the other.
“I thought you knew I would come here to wait for you. To help you.” His voice was warm and deep, laced with affection. Above his refined cheek bones and thin nose, his hazel eyes were warm and soft.
“By the light’s goodness Niri, I’ve been waiting here for weeks. I was beginning to think you’d never come.”
Sinika’s tone tinged with distaste for the ruined Temple and impatience. The pace of Niri’s heart picked up, bringing a bloom of warmth to her chest.
“I had some trouble. I’m surprised you waited down here, Sinika, and not on the road from Rah Hahsessah or in Karakastad. I never expected to see you lurking in the bowels of the earth.”
Sinika waved a hand. “It was too long of a wait to stay in the desert. There is nothing up there.” The freed hand slid through his hair. “This . . . this pit is the only shelter for days and this room, it is where I knew you would come when you finally made it to the Temple.”
Sinika looked over at her, refocusing. A slow smile flowed across his lips. When he spoke her name, he said it slowly as if he savored it. “Niri, I’ve been worried about you. It has been weeks, longer than I thought it would take you to bring the girl. Why don’t you come to me? What is wrong?”
Niri vibrated with emotion. One word had dropped like a stone into a pool, breaking the stillness with waves radiating and reflecting. She looked away from Sinika.
“Why don’t you come to me, Sinika? Have you been waiting for me or for the girl? You know it is a girl, so you’ve been a part of the search. What do you want with her?”
Sinika took a step closer, coming into the circle of light. It softened his red-brown hair, but cast his eyes into deeper shadow. “Is she here?”
�
�I could tell you I came alone. Did you?”
Anger flashed across Sinika’s face, his high forehead wrinkling in irritation. Then, he smoothed his features once more.
“We don’t intend to hurt her. Is that what you are afraid of? The Church could use her . . . and protect her from herself. How better to keep her from the Curse? We want to understand why this trait runs so deeply in her family. If her gifts could be combined with an Elemental’s . . .” There a hint of greed under his consoling tone.
Niri’s stomach twisted. She wished for nothing more than a way to warn Ria and Lavinia, berating herself for having brought them. But if she yelled, there was as much of a chance that they would come running rather than leave.
Niri bowed her head, closing her eyes. She could feel her hands shaking. In her most chastised tone, she confessed to Sinika.
“It has been so difficult. I could not bear to be cast out of the Church. How could I come to you, Sinika, when I am no longer a Priestess? I am unworthy to ever enter the Temple of Solaire again. Is there no hope for me? I . . . I only want to return somehow.”
She heard Sinika walk toward her a few steps and stop. A tear slid down her cheek.
“Hush, child.” He came the rest of the distance. “You only ever needed to give us the girl. Of course we will take you back.”
He took her into his arms to demonstrate the Church’s willingness to receive her. She hid her head against his shoulder, her body tense as ice. She hoped Sinika would take it for anxiety.
“I didn’t know what to do. All she wanted was to go home. She was so lonely and afraid.”
The tension coursing through Niri caused her to tremble. It was all she could do not to gasp and give herself away. She needed just a few more minutes. She turned the catch in her throat to a sob instead.
“Where is she?” Sinika murmured softly into her ear, brushing the hair back from Niri’s shoulder with a familiar gesture. “Just tell me where she is and we will get her together, you and I. Then we will go back to Solaire.”
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