by Dante King
“That was easy,” I said.
“This could be a trap,” Yarina said. “We need to proceed with caution.”
I nodded and headed into the compound. I had never been on the other side of the gate before. It might have been humbling to see the Spire from this close, if it hadn’t been for the circumstances. It was just the kind of structure that commanded admiration. I could see Elvish architectural influence in the structure’s columns and cornices, which appeared to be plated in marble turquoise inlay and gold.
There were a series of bridges that seemed to form a maze. Some led to different entrances within the building and others led beyond my field of vision, possibly to the gardens behind the Spire. We finally crossed a broad, silver-colored steel bridge with tiles of fine jade to the massive brass-studded door at its end.
“We might have to blast through it,” Winnie said.
“Before we resort to that, perhaps we should try opening it first,” Yarina said, ever the pragmatist.
Winnie pursed her lips but stepped aside for Yarina. The door opened easily under Yarina’s hand and she glanced back at both of us.
“The entrances should have been guarded,” she said.
“What do we do?” Winnie asked.
“We enter slowly,” Yarina replied. “And we act carefully.”
“Wait,” I said, causing Yarina to freeze in place. “I’ll go first.”
“Kurt, you don’t need to—”
“I will be able to sense any immediate danger.”
Yarina nodded and stepped aside. I walked into the Spire slowly, and the first thing that hit me was the overwhelming beauty of the interior.
Everything from the pediments to the entablatures was expertly adorned with fine details and intricate carvings, borrowing features from every architectural style imaginable. There were barrel vaults that gave way to huge domes glittering with brightly colored mosaic. If I’d had more time, I might have given myself a moment to admire the stories they depicted.
“What do you sense?” Yarina asked, as she and Winnie slipped inside the building beside me.
The scent that tickled my nostrils was extremely familiar. The smell brought an aura to mind, it had the faint whisper of purple around its edges, and I felt my memory stir.
“Lillian…” I whispered. “I can smell corrupt magic. But there’s something else—the Spire is filled with a series of traps and magical wards, all of which are being powered by the same person.”
“Archmage Cyntria?” Yarina asked.
“No. His daughter, Lillian.”
Yarina’s eyes lost focus for a moment. “What can you sense in her magic? Corrupt or clean?”
“It’s hard to distinguish. But the corrupt magic is strong in this hall.”
“We’ve come this far,” Yarina said, regaining her determined tone. “We move on.”
I gazed up at the high dome above our heads. “We need to take the staircase and ascend to the top of the Spire. I can sense a concentration of magic there.”
Yarina nodded and headed toward the staircase with her rapier drawn. Winnie stayed behind me as we followed Yarina.
Lillian’s power was all around us. It was so powerful. Could it be…We had been led to believe that doom mages no longer existed. But what if that was simply a story perpetuated by those who wanted to distract the people from the truth? What if there was a doom mage in this very building, a beautiful girl with blue eyes and raven hair…a treasure waiting to be stolen, a weapon waiting to be used?
12
The tightly spiraling staircase led to a dark, carpeted landing. The curtains of the two windows were drawn, and the walls were dark, brown or perhaps gray. The smell of corrupt magic hit my nose immediately, but after a few short seconds I became aware of other, subtler scents.
The landing fed into a broad passageway decorated with ten suits of armor on either side. Just above them were large iron torches lit with orange flames that cast hypnotic shadows upon the walls.
Winnie was about to step inside, but I pulled her back just in time.
“Wait,” I said. “The corridor has been booby-trapped. I can smell the magic.”
“The suits of armor,” Winnie said.
I stepped forward and looked down the corridor before I closed my eyes for a moment as I tried to concentrate. “No. Not the suits of armor. The walls.”
Yarina frowned. “The walls are enchanted?”
“There’s magic in there. It’s familiar. I think it might…”
I trailed off as I edged a little closer to the corridor’s thick, burgundy-blue carpet. I took hold of my axe and lopped it a few feet down the corridor. The moment it hit the carpet, thin metal spikes several feet in length shot out from the walls on either side of the armored suits.
Winnie gasped and stepped back. I raised my hand to summon my axe.
“Do you think we can walk across it now?” Yarina asked. “Has the trigger been pulled?”
I shook my head. “I can still feel the magic in the walls. I’m willing to bet there are more metal spikes waiting to puncture our heads if we decided to cross.”
“What do we do then?” Winnie asked.
“We need to find a way around this,” I said. “We have to get through this corridor. There’s no alternate route, no other passageway that I can see. If there is, it will have been closed off from us anyway.”
“Okay, so we need to make it through,” Yarina said. “But I think the spikes are triggered by weight on the carpet.”
“Oh great,” Winnie said. “So all we need to do is walk across the carpet without putting any weight on it. Great plan, real simple.”
“Will you keep your mouth shut? I’m trying to think.”
“I’m waiting—”
“You—”
“Enough,” I said, stepping in between them. “We are never going to make it through the Spire if we’re constantly at each other's throats. I can sense magic all around us. The Spire is enchanted. Every floor of this building is booby-trapped and I’m willing to bet none of the traps are going to be easy to overcome. We need to put our heads together in order to make this work.”
Yarina and Winnie looked at each reluctantly. They seemed somewhat ashamed of their behavior as they regained their composure.
Yarina turned toward the corridor. “I think I may be able to do something here.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I could try using telekinesis to levitate all of us across the corridor,” she said slowly, seemingly still figuring out if she could actually accomplish it.
“That sounds risky,” I said. “Wouldn’t it require a lot of energy to levitate all three of us across the carpet?”
“Yes. But I think I can do it.”
“You think you can do it?” Winnie repeated. “If you falter for even one tenth of a millisecond and one of us hits that carpet—we’re dead. You need to be sure.”
Yarina took a deep breath. “I’m sure.” Her eyes lit up with steely determination. “Who wants to go first?”
“Maybe you should go first?” I said. “You might feel more confident on the other side of this.”
“Good point.” Yarina shook her head in little bursts as though she were trying to get rid of her nerves. Then she clenched her fists and breathed in and out a few times.
“Okay,” she said at last. “I think I’m ready.”
“You are ready,” I said. “I can feel your magic, Yarina. You’re strong, and capable, and fearless. Remember that. You can do this.”
She gave me a small smile and in that one moment it was just the two of us—until Winnie cleared her throat and Yarina blinked and turned to face the long corridor, her back straight and her chin jerked upward. Her hands turned in a delicate movement, but I was more enthralled by the aura that surrounded her. The flecks of orange and red shone bright as her energy coursed into the magic she was using.
Yarina’s body rose up until she was balancing on the tips of her b
oots. And then…she rose a little higher still, until there was an inch between her heel and the floor. I could sense the strong surge of magic powering her levitation. I took in its heady scent, it was almost tangible. Slowly but surely, Yarina levitated herself down the corridor, and it was only when she had reached the other side that I allowed myself to take a breath.
“Brava,” I said, clapping my hands together. “You did brilliantly. As usual.”
Yarina turned to me with renewed confidence in her eyes. “It was hard. But not as hard as I thought.”
“Your turn,” I said to Winnie.
Winnie paled visibly. “Kurt…how do I know she won’t drop me?”
“Winnie—”
“We all know I’m not exactly her favorite person. What if—”
“I will not drop you, Winnie,” Yarina called from down the hall. “You have my word.”
Winnie turned to me. I took her hand and squeezed it gently.
“Yarina is a woman of honor,” I said. “If she gives you her word, then you can trust she will not go against it.”
Winnie pursed her lips but nodded slowly as she stepped toward the carpet. I could feel the tenor of Yarina’s magic pulse and bend again, gearing up for the next challenge. The next moment, Winnie gasped as she was lifted up into the air and transported slowly down the corridor.
“Praise the Gods.” Winnie breathed heavily with relief when her legs touched ground. “Thanks for not killing me,” she said after a pause, turning to Yarina.
I saw the hint of a smile on Yarina’s lips as she turned her attention to me. “You ready, Kurt?”
“Are you?”
I could sense how much effort it had taken to move herself and Winnie down the corridor. Now I questioned whether she would have the strength to do the same with me. I was tall and muscular, which certainly added weight. Would her mind be able to muster the concentration and grit it would take?
Yarina’s chest was rising and falling in subtle bursts. I saw her aura flicker with fatigue.
“I’m ready,” she said. “It’s now or never.”
Winnie looked extremely nervous, but I tried to focus on Yarina alone. I felt her magic engulf me. Warmth spread through my body in a comforting embrace and I felt myself rise up in the air. Almost immediately, Yarina’s magic shuddered and dropped me back to the floor, as the warmth slid off my skin.
Winnie gasped. I kept my focus on Yarina.
“It’s okay,” I said calmly. “Yarina, you can do this. You’re stronger than you know.”
“How can you be sure?” Yarina asked.
“Because I can smell your magic—I can see it, I can feel it.”
I saw her staunch stance and her straight gaze. She nodded. I braced myself, and a second later I felt the now-familiar warmth spread through my body once more. This time I felt a stronger edge to it.
I saw the concentration on Yarina’s face as she pulled me forward by the sheer force of her mind. Telekinesis always looked so effortless, but I knew it took discipline and vast reserves of strength—both physical and mental.
When my feet finally touched ground in front of Yarina, I pulled her to me and hugged her close.
“I told you,” I said. “You’re stronger than you know.”
Yarina nodded gratefully, but we didn’t have time to celebrate the triumphant moment. We had only just begun. I could sense layer upon layer of other spells and traps lying in wait.
The corridor led to a circular landing with three arched doorways. The first door was made of sandy wood, the second had a carved surface, and the third was studded with metal rings and brass spikes.
“Which one should we choose?” Winnie asked.
I approached the doors and put my hand flat on each surface, one at a time.
“This one,” I finally said. I tapped the textured finish of the carved door in the middle. “All of them contain traps. But the one behind this door seems to require the least magic. I’m hoping that means it will be simple.”
Yarina looked skeptical, but she stepped forward and opened the door without hesitating and stepped into the room. I followed close behind with Winnie on my heels. The room was large and opulent. It looked like a modest ballroom with gilded columns, a domed ceiling, and a series of patterned floor tiles in a variety of different colors. There was no furniture that I could see, and yet the space was filled by the grandiose nature of its very structure.
“It’s an empty room,” Winnie said.
“It’s not,” Yarina said.
I nodded, sensing the magic coming off the tiles in the center of the room. “It’s not. This is just another trap—the tiles are enchanted. Not all of them, but some. If you step on the wrong one it’ll trigger an explosion.”
Yarina looked concerned. “Which tiles?”
“There is no order to them. They’ve been enchanted randomly. The coral, the obsidian, the jade…they could all be hiding an explosive magical trigger.”
“What do we do?” Winnie said. “Yarina, can you levitate us across this space too?”
“The room is huge. And I’m already weak from the first trap, I don’t think—”
“There’s no need,” I said. “I think I can sense which tiles have been triggered. Follow me, and, especially, follow my step.”
I emptied my mind of all but my hunter senses. I let them guide me, showing me the way to the safe tiles and leading me away from the trigger tiles. I was vaguely aware of Yarina and Winnie following behind, but I did not let myself think too hard about their steps. I knew they would both be fine. They were too smart not to be.
When we reached the other side of the room, Yarina let out a deep sigh. “Praise the Gods,” she whispered. “We made it.”
There was a door through the two columns at this end of the ballroom. It was made of crusted stones that had been fixed onto the surface of the door. It glittered prettily, but I knew it would lead us to another hellish trap. I took hold of the handle, breathed in, and pushed. The door opened onto a balcony of sorts. It overlooked an expansive series of staircases that seemed to intertwine. Some were straight and lackluster, others spiraled delicately and there were others still that seemed to zigzag through them all, creating little curves in the design.
“Are we supposed to climb one of those?” Winnie said, gaping up and down the space.
I looked up and saw a massive, domed glass ceiling above us. We would have to climb at least fourteen more stories before we could reach the highest balcony tower. I could feel the pulse of purple magic reach me from there. It coursed through the heart of every trap we had faced so far.
“One mage is doing all this,” I said, glancing toward a glass staircase that shone prettily under the thin rays of moonlight filtering in from the dome ceiling.
“You must be mistaken,” Yarina said. “It would take an amazing amount of magic to charge all these traps…the Spire is alive with it. One mage couldn’t possibly have that kind of power.”
“Unless the mage in question was more than she seemed,” I said.
“A doom mage?” Yarina said tentatively.
“How do you know it’s a she?” Winnie asked bluntly. “It could easily be Cyntria himself.”
“I met him this morning. I met his daughter too, and I sensed both their magic. The Spire is powered by Lillian’s magic, not Barlin’s.”
“Lillian, is it?” Winnie asked, a spark of jealousy flitting across her eyes. “I didn’t realize the two of you were on a first-name basis.”
“I don’t know the girl, Winnie.” I chuckled. “I simply sensed her magic.”
“And it’s powerful?” Winnie asked.
“Incredibly.”
“Is she beautiful?”
“Now’s not the time,” Yarina piped up. “Kurt, which staircase should we take?”
I turned and concentrated on the magic coming off each staircase. Some smelled heavy with darkness and others were lightly perfumed.
“That one,” I finally said, po
inting toward a simple wooden staircase with a gorgeous carving of Spirit Falls and the Institute on its side.
“It’s at the other end,” Winnie pointed out. “How do we even reach it?”
“We use the other staircases,” I said, vaulting over the railing and balancing on the edge of the balcony. I looked down and saw nothing but a whirlpool of dark clouds.
If I hadn’t been able to sense magic, I might have thought that anyone who fell into the black hole would be lost forever. But I sensed the magic for what it was, a small trick fashioned out of amusement rather than anger. The real dangers were better hidden.
“Kurt—be careful,” Winnie said.
I gave her a wink. “Please. I’m not even going to break a sweat.”
There were two staircases between me and the wooden one with the carving. The first looked like it had been made from burnished copper. It hovered about ten feet away from me, which seemed like a reasonable jump to make, but the position I was in would not allow me to build momentum for the jump. I would have to push myself forward with my arms and propel myself as much as I could on this ridge, and hope I didn’t fall.
I reached backward, holding onto the balcony edge as I leaned forward. The black hole seemed to swirl with increasing animation, as though it sensed I was about to jump.
I used my hands to propel myself forward and lunged across the open space. My feet would never make it, but I could use my hands. I missed the staircase’s gleaming balustrade and heard Winnie scream. But I reached out and grabbed the edge of a bronze stair just in time.
Only the tips of my fingers managed to hold, but it was enough. I pulled, lurched, and grabbed at the balustrade with my other hand, hauling myself over the edge with ease. I looked down to find Yarina and Winnie staring at me in awe.
I smiled. “See? Easy.”
Yarina cracked a relieved smile. “That was terrifying to watch. But I don’t know if Winnie or I will be able to do the same.”
“You can,” I said. “Because this time, I will be here, ready to catch you both.” I walked down to the bottom step.
“Winnie,” Yarina said. “You first.”
Winnie stared down at the black hole below us with wide-open eyes. “Did I mention I was afraid of heights?”