Jionna stepped in and bowed. “I have been sent to request your presence in the Oracle.”
He rose. “What does that mean?”
“It is a great honor. Many years have passed since outsiders have been allowed.”
Grimacing, Jace stared at the woman in frustration, suspecting she was purposely avoiding any satisfactory response. “I feel so special.”
“As well you should,” she replied in an even tone.
He rolled his eyes, his sarcasm lost on her.
“If you would be so kind as to join the others…”
When the seer stepped into the corridor, he followed, his jaw set in defiance. His companions had also started gathering in the corridor, each with a seer by his or her side. Narine’s gaze met his own in a silent exchange. She would be ready with her magic should things take a bad turn. Yinette stood beside her, the tall woman’s gaze somehow making him feel as if she were undressing him with her dark eyes.
“Please, follow us.” Jionna walked past Yinette, the taller woman joining her as they headed down the corridor.
Jace fell in line behind Brogan, Blythe, and Rhoa, the others trailing. Salvon was noticeably absent, leaving Jace, once again, wondering about the man. Nobody said a word as they walked, a cloud of nervous anticipation hanging over them.
After they descended the stairs, they reached the main hall. Crossing it, they passed through the black doorway, hearing a buzz of conversation ahead. They turned at the intersection and headed through the doors leading to the circular hub at the heart of the building. As he and Narine had seen the night prior, the seating surrounding the space was filled by women dressed in white.
They walked down the ramp and descended to the bottom of the bowl. The crystal throne sat empty, the diamond above it dull, lacking the soft glow from the other evening. Surrounding the dais in the center, eight narrow, wooden tables had been arranged like spokes of a wagon wheel. Amid the tables, Xionne and Zhialta waited.
“Welcome to the Oracle,” Zhialta said. “Centuries have passed since outsiders were last invited to join our sacred circle.”
“Invited?” Jace replied. “You continue to speak about us as if we are guests, yet you treat us like prisoners. Besides, we know nothing of prophecy. For that matter, I don’t believe anyone can predict the future.” As he spoke, he examined the spectacular, yet odd surroundings.
“You still do not understand,” Xionne said. “The Oracle will enlighten. Rather than attempt to explain, you shall experience it for yourself.”
Jace turned to his companions, expecting a few others to speak up, but found no support. Even Narine gave him a look that clearly conveyed she wished him to comply.
“Just do it,” Brogan growled, the man’s eyes glaring with a threat.
Sighing, Jace climbed onto the closest table and lay down. “Is this what you want?”
“You are doing it wrong,” Zhialta said in a flat voice.
“What?”
“Your head should be at the other end, away from the center of the circle.”
With an eye roll, he sat up, spun, and lay back down. “Is this acceptable, or do I need to twist into some horribly uncomfortable position, as well?”
Her tone unchanged, the old woman nodded. “Your current position is perfectly acceptable.”
Releasing his frustration in a long exhale, Jace stared at the rocky dome high above him, the purple sparkles in the stone like so many stars. Around him, the others each claimed a table, while Zhialta joined her sisters, filling the lone gap in the circle of white.
Xionne climbed up on the dais, then did something unexpected. Reaching behind her head, she untied her blindfold and pulled it off, her eyes closed. When they opened, Jace gasped.
Like the surrounding stone, her eyes were filled with glowing points of light on a black background, the lights slowly swirling and drifting like reflections in flowing water. She set her blindfold aside and sat on the crystal throne upon the dais.
The sisters joined hands and began to hum, the sound reverberating throughout the Oracle, low and quiet at first, soon rising in both tone and volume. The throne tilted backward, stopping with Xionne’s head directly below the diamond, the humming continuously growing louder. Just when Jace feared he would have to cover his ears, the tone found a steady resonance and the diamond blazed to life with a bright, white light. A beam of swirling, purple lights shone up from Xionne’s eyes and into the diamond, the light mixing and spreading in streaks of white, black, and purple. The cyclone of swirling light against the domed ceiling began to shift, colors and shapes almost forming something coherent. Jace peered into it, sensing something beyond. It felt like he was trying to see something in the distance through the pouring rain. The murkiness cleared and reality melted.
Memories of her Trial at the University flashed in Narine’s mind as the Oracle became something else. Unlike that experience, she now found herself bodiless, floating in a blackness. She looked down and saw a circular swirl of lights below, the brightest in the center. It took a moment before she realized she was peering down at the Oracle from a great height, much higher than the domed ceiling over Kelmar. With a thought, she spun in a full circle, searching for her companions, finding herself alone in the darkness.
In this dark void, she lingered, unsure of what to expect. She felt cold and isolated in the emptiness.
Her surroundings lurched, the gloom again becoming a whirlpool of white and purple, evolving into an array of shapes and colors until the spinning stopped and she was, once again, lying on the table.
The seers ceased their aria, the sisters falling quiet. A hum came from the crystal throne as it tilted forward until Xionne sat upright. The seer seemed upset, her brow furrowed, her eyes dark, save for the sparkling dots of purple drifting about inside them.
“The future remains clouded.” She rose from the throne and replaced her blindfold over her eyes.
Narine sat upright, her companions doing the same, all eyes on Xionne.
“The augury remains obscured.” The seer’s gaze was affixed on Narine. “If we cannot see into the future, we must investigate the past and identify every prophecy that has proven accurate up until now. Only then might we glean clues toward what might occur next.”
The seer stepped down from the dais and waved Narine and her companions toward her. As before, Zhialta joined them and stood at Xionne’s side, the old woman scowling.
Xionne said, “With your assistance, we will sift through each prophecy and examine the events recognizable to you. Any outcome that strays from our timeline will be deemed false. From what remains, we will attempt to establish the possible paths toward success, as well as those leading to utter failure. With this information, we shall endeavor toward the best possible outcome, whatever it may be.”
The two seers then walked toward the exit, the other sisters clustering to follow. Confused by what had just transpired, Narine turned toward Jace. He gave her a shrug and followed the train of women in white.
Narine found herself back in the library below the Oracle. This time, she and Jace were joined by Rhoa, Adyn, Rawk, Algoron, Brogan, Blythe, and a handful of seers. Notably, Salvon was not included.
Her return to the library lacked both the sense of wonder and the cloud of anxiety from their prior visit. She realized she missed both.
I am beginning to see why Jace pursues a life on the edge. It is so…exciting.
They were introduced to Sisters Tabitha and Margarete, the resident librarians. Tabitha was even older than Zhialta, the woman’s hair white wisps, her lean frame bent and gnarled. In contrast, Margarete was tall, her frame making her appear a giant when standing beside Tabitha. Both wore their hair back in a braid, neither possessing an ounce of humor.
At the direction of Xionne, the two women began perusing the bookshelves, collecting titles with barely a glance at the binding. It appeared random and haphazard, but Narine suspected the women knew their business. The library holdings easil
y exceeded ten thousand books, which left her wondering if the two women had memorized the contents and location of each and every one of them.
The selected books were placed in stacks upon the tables surrounding the inner chamber where the ominous red door remained closed, its presence drawing Narine’s attention again and again. I wonder what is hidden inside that room. The allure of the mystery had her imagining anything from enchanted objects, to gold, to a gateway to another world. The last idea made her chuckle, thinking it ridiculous.
Narine and her companions were split into two groups, each assigned a seer to translate the recorded prophecies and guide their research. The groups were assigned so the members who knew each other best were apart, leaving Narine with Brogan, Algoron, and Rhoa. In the other group were Jace, Adyn, Rawk, and Blythe.
Sister Harrietta, one of the translators, explained, “Separating the individuals with the most shared experiences will serve us best by giving a more complete view of your individual histories.” She and two other sisters led the other group to the table across the room.
A middle-aged woman named Sister Ivarian led Narine’s contingency, along with two other sisters – a short, pudgy woman named Olivia and a tall, gaunt woman named Patrice. Ivarian had dark hair, a turned-up nose, and severe eyebrows that made her appear angry. Perhaps she is. The other two were younger and quiet, both quick to obey Ivarian’s every command.
Each sister would open a book, leaf through it until she found clues relating to the recent time period. Marked pages would be handed to Ivarian, who would translate. Throughout the process, Narine listened intently. The concept of prophecy was alluring, despite the focus being on the past. Much of it seemed innocuous and oftentimes made little sense, but she was determined to learn more about the subject.
From across the room, Sister Harrietta read to the others in the same manner, her droning voice mixing with Ivarian’s, filling the room until Narine’s attention wavered and she began drifting off. Just when her eyelids grew heavy, Ivarian read something that caught her attention.
“…from the tower where charmed relics hide, the Charlatan of Ages shall claim the eye that blinds. Stealing off into the night, he will attempt the ultimate objective to the scheme and seek to end the reign of the Hound.”
“Hold on,” Narine said, turning toward the other table and raising her voice. “Jace.” The seer beside him paused her reading as he turned toward Narine. “Didn’t Xionne call you the Charlatan of Ages?”
He grinned. “It is a fancy title. I may keep that one.”
She rolled her eyes. “Come over here.”
Rising, he walked over and leaned forward with his hands on the table, glancing from Ivarian to Narine. “What is it?”
“Listen to this passage.” Narine nodded toward Ivarian, who repeated the paragraph. When finished, Narine looked at Jace. “I believe it describes you and the Eye of Obscurance.”
He frowned. “I agree, but it’s off. I didn’t steal the amulet. Rhoa did.”
“What?” Narine furrowed her brow at Rhoa. “You aren’t a thief.”
Rhoa tilted her head in a half-shrug. “No. Not usually…”
Standing upright, Jace snorted. “Maybe not, but you could be. You showed some skill that night, even if it required a dash of luck.” He rubbed his stubble-covered jaw, his eyes narrowed as he stared into space. “I was in the storage room where the amulet was hidden, but she got to it before me and jumped out the top window of the Enchanter’s Tower. It’s not as if I could follow her.”
Narine’s eyes widened as she turned toward Rhoa. “That tower must be two hundred feet tall.”
“Two fifty, easily,” Jace replied.
Rhoa shrugged. “While taller than our menagerie tent, it was nothing I hadn’t done before.”
Ivarian interjected. “If Jace did not steal the Eye, this prophecy is false.”
He said, “In that case, it’s false.”
The woman scowled and set the book aside, adding to the stack of those she had previously discarded. She then opened another book and turned to the page Olivia had marked earlier, her eyes scanning over it as if nothing else mattered.
Narine looked up at Jace and mouthed, She is so much fun.
He leaned close and whispered, “Mine is no better.”
Jace walked away, leaving Narine and her group with the three seers. Clearing her throat, Ivarian began to read aloud. Narine sighed inwardly as she watched sister Margarete place another stack of books on the table beside her own. There were already more than a hundred titles to review. She wondered if the sisters intended to read each and every one.
This might take a while.
Narine leaned over the small table in Rhoa’s room, recording each word as Rhoa haltingly translated the text from the book. In the meantime, Jace lay on Rhoa’s bed, tossing a blade into the air and catching it between flattened palms. It was distracting, and she had to bite back the concern she felt when she looked over and saw him catch the knife just inches from his face.
Rhoa spoke for the first time in over a minute. “I think this word is…liberty or freedom.” She frowned. “No, the context is wrong. It means…release.”
Narine pulled her gaze from Jace and wrote it down. Rather than mention the blade, she chose another tactic. “Jace, perhaps you would prefer to go back to your room and get some sleep. There’s no need for all three of us to be tired tomorrow.”
He sat up and swung his legs off the bed. “I feel like I have been sleeping all day. Sitting in that basement, listening to Sister Harrietta drone on and on… It leaves me in a stupor, nearly unconscious but not quite. The only thing making this place tolerable is picking a few locks and sneaking in here at night.” He glanced toward the window. “Is it even nighttime right now?”
Narine arched a brow. “Lock picking and sneaking? You find nothing else of interest? Perhaps the company you keep?”
He stood and approached. “Of course I prefer your presence. It’s the only reason I agreed to come to this forsaken place.” His eyes flicked to Rhoa and back. “Perhaps you and I should leave. Rhoa could use some rest, and we could…” His grin made his intent evident.
While his invitation was an interesting idea, Narine desperately wished to know more about the book and its mysterious contents.
Rhoa said, “I have the next section translated.” She tapped on Narine’s notes. “Read the last paragraph for me, and I’ll pick up from there.”
Narine dipped her pen into the well and prepared to write the next passage. The paper, ink, and pen had been procured by Jace while in the library earlier that day. She had asked him how he had managed it, there never being a moment any of them had been left alone. A wink was his only response, leaving her curiosity unsated.
She focused on her script and began at the latest section of words. “The construct must then be sealed, the core pulled to the surface, leaving a gap for the magic to release…”
Rhoa spoke, reading slowly. “The larger the gap, the more rapid the release. While a rapid release creates a more vigorous effect, it will also burn off more rapidly.”
Excitement again stirred within Narine as she read the entirety of the script. It had taken two hours, but they had finally completed the introduction to the book. What it revealed confirmed her initial suspicion. More importantly, it opened a door to new possibilities, something that could change the world. But she needed more, needed to understand one of the constructs. How to manipulate it, how to master it.
“It’s not so late.” She shrugged. “Let’s see if we can complete another page.”
Jace sighed and backed up until he collapsed onto the bed. “I give up.”
18
Pleasure Trip
Dots of purple light sparkled in the ceiling, reminding Narine of journeying from Fastella to Starmuth when she and her companions had slept beneath the starlit sky. At the time, she thought her life complicated with her mad father dead and power-hungry brother sure to see the
end of her. Since graduating from the University, her life had spun out of control, the chaos surrounding her gaining momentum with each passing week. Yet she had never been happier.
Her mind drifted as she lay alone on her bed, thoughts shifting from the tantalizing threads of prophecy to the book of magic she and Jace had discovered.
Jace… The mere thought of him made her smile. Is this love? She could not deny it was something forceful, a magic of a different sort. If only he were here now.
A click from the door drew her from her musings. She sat up and stared at it as another click sounded, the lock disarming, the knob turning.
Jace slipped inside, her lips forming a smile at the sight of him.
He groaned. “What poor luck.”
“Why? What’s wrong?” she asked in alarm.
“I was hoping I might catch you changing or in the tub. Instead, you sit here fully clothed.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “You are such a scoundrel.”
He shrugged. “I could pretend otherwise, but I see no reason to do so. My true self has been exposed, and I have little chance of making you believe differently at this point.”
Rising, she crossed the room and gave him a kiss. He squeezed her firmly, her pulse racing. She pushed away before she was drawn in too deeply. “Did you come here for any specific reason? Perhaps to visit Rhoa and continue to decipher the book we found?”
His face darkened. “I have had enough of books and such scholarly activities for today. I thought we might seek more…adventurous activities.”
She crossed her arms and gave him a reproachful look. “I am not your plaything, waiting for you to tumble whenever you get the urge.”
He grinned. “While proving you wrong in that regard is an enticing challenge, I had other plans.”
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