by S A Edwards
Heated claws enclosed me, his wings spread out, and we jerked to a halt.
My breath caught in my throat, and then we were flying up through the moist heat. With every beat of his wings, warmth whooshed past me and sent the smoke curling in patterned array.
I clung to his claws and focused on his scales, determined not to look down. Blood rushed through my ears. A lurching dizziness turned my knuckles white.
Time passed slowly, yet the smoke refused to thin. At last, silver moonlight broke through the mist, and stars glittered in the night sky.
Siren lighted on the top-most ledge, the part leading into the cliff, released me, and transformed once more.
I backed against the wall and gripped the creviced stone with trembling hands, glad to be back on solid ground. “Thanks.” If he hadn’t been there to catch me, would I have hit the bottom yet? The thought brought fresh tremors to my legs.
Siren placed his hands on either side of my face, and comfort drowned my fear. His nose pressed against mine, mimicking the actions of the newling.
I closed my eyes, inhaling his vanilla scent mingled with his sweat, and fought to regain control. Knowledge that he was the same Ancient defied belief. So did the fact I felt so comfortable with him. That wasn’t normal. I lowered my head and backed farther into the passage. “I thought Ancients never carried people.”
He chuckled. “Unless we hold great respect for said person. Be glad I hold that of you.”
Perhaps he wouldn’t think as much if he knew the truth about Charlie. I forced my thoughts to the journey back to the Might in the hopes of drowning out my fear, but his brow furrowed, and I guessed I’d failed.
*
No further surprises awaited us in the journey back through the tunnels, and I breathed a sigh of relief when we returned to the courtyard. The moons shone high in the sky, and fatigue tugged at my eyes.
Siren headed straight for the fountain, stood on the edge, and brushed off the dirt from his clothes and hair into the water.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Lallana blossoms come from the Whisperleaf Tree, but they cannot grow in darkness. After a cleanse, the Ancient carries back seeds on their body and delivers them to the fountain to grow.” He stepped down from the ledge and gestured to a corridor. “Shall we return to our rooms?”
“Rooms?”
He nodded and led the way over thick, red carpet.
“You have a different room now?” I asked.
“Of course. I’m not a newling anymore. This is more appropriate, don’t you think?” He smiled. “Rhetorical. I feel that you do.”
Not for the first time, I frowned at his words. His connection to my emotions bothered me. But he was right. In his human form, I didn’t feel comfortable sharing a bed with him. I wondered if he sensed that, and for that reason, had required an extra room to be arranged.
Upon arriving at my door, he planted a kiss on the back of my hand and bid me goodnight. Then, he moved to the next door.
My bedchamber held a slight chill despite the many glowing candles, and I missed the warmth of my little newling, but I welcomed the space. So much had happened over the past few days, everything seemed to blend into a blur.
I stripped from my dust-covered clothes and showered, fighting to suppress the pain of Charlie’s corruption. Tears slid down my cheeks and became lost in the water.
He needed to be saved. Though mastering my Keeper gift would take time. Time I didn’t have. Every moment that passed meant Charlie moved farther into the shadows. The sooner I reached him, the better. Which meant I needed to hide my pain from Siren to avoid any questions. At least until I got out of here.
*
Siren met me in the hallway when I exited my room in the morning. He flashed me a crooked smile, but curiosity clung to his eyes. Had he sensed my tears last night? The new information about Charlie scared me, and knowledge that each passing moment meant losing more of him tore at my heart. Plus, if Siren felt my emotions so clearly, how could I keep it a secret much longer? If he tried to stop me rescuing him, would I have the power to resist him? He was an Ancient, after all.
“Did you sleep well?” I asked.
“Indeed. And you?”
“Yes.”
His frown confirmed his disbelief.
“I want to leave today,” I said. I dreaded the thought of leaving Siren. His presence gave me comfort, and the thought of being without him sent unease through my stomach, but he wasn’t my little newling anymore. I had to accept that fact, and the journey couldn’t be put off.
He nodded. “I have already picked out a Gate we can head to, so you may practise using your gift.”
Confusing hope welled. “You’re coming with me?”
“Of course, I am. We’re a team, remember?”
“Why, though? There are so many others here. Why have you chosen me?”
“I didn’t. It’s been prophesied since the seven worlds were created.”
I sighed. Fate. Prophecies. The apparent lack of any choice in my path. I didn’t believe it, and it frustrated me that Siren did. If none of us could choose our way, what was the point of life?
Prudens and Della were already seated when we reached the dining hall.
I sat opposite them without waiting for Siren.
Della slid an empty bowl toward me. “How was your journey yesterday?”
“Tiring. And confusing. Those tunnels are a maze.”
She laughed. “The Ancient who dug them certainly chose to be creative. What better way to protect the tree?”
Siren sat beside me but didn’t speak.
I shovelled a few ladles of milk-cream into my bowl. Chose. Did she choose to be creative? Or was that ‘pre-planned’, too?
“We have packs prepared for your departure,” Della said, “but there’s no hurry. Ensure you’re fully rested first, or your travels won’t be easy.”
I nodded at my bowl. I doubted they would be easy, anyway. Just like finding the key to the sealed book.
Siren’s gaze kept flickering to me. Could he sense my curiosity?
“Do you know of a book in the library?” I asked, turning my attention to Prudens. “It’s bound with metal and a thick lock.”
Prudens’ brow lowered, mirroring Della’s confusion. “There are no sealed books here.”
“The one on the podium,” I pressed.
“You must be mistaken. The only books we hold are open for all to use.”
“But that’s not …” Did they really not know about it? The sheer size of it made it impossible to miss. “Excuse me.” I stood and hurried from the hall, determined to prove my sanity.
Siren rushed to catch up.
“I need to see it again,” I said. “I need to know it’s really there.” I paused at a junction and frowned, unsure which way to turn. Even after several days here, the Might still appeared unfamiliar to me.
Siren took my hand and guided me left.
The double doors to the library stood open, unveiling a scent of parchment in the air. There stood the podium. There rested the book.
I studied Siren’s expression. “Do you see it?” I asked.
He shook his head.
I stepped forward and pressed my hand against the dusty, leather cover. “It’s right here.”
“I see nothing but your hand in the air.”
My lips tightened. How was that possible? Why would the book be visible to only me and unknown to everyone else? If Prudens didn’t even know about it with his mystical mind-connection to the others, then none of the Ancients could know about it either.
I tugged on the lock. The loop clinked against the binding. There had to be a way to open it. The binding may have been metal, but it was thin. Surely it could break. I grasped the strap with both hands and pulled. “Ouch!”
“What’s wrong?” Siren grabbed my wrist and twisted my hand face-up. Blood pooled on my palm where the strap had cut me.
“I thought I could break
it.” I gritted my teeth against the pain. “It was sharper than it looked.”
“The cover?”
“The binding.” Blood slid over the edge of my hand and dripped on to the leather.
Smoke curled from the drop.
It hissed.
Then, the lock clicked open.
25
Siren stared at the book. “That’s impossible.” He ran his fingers over the golden symbols on the cover.
“You can see it?” I asked.
“It just appeared.” Awe filled his features, and I sensed his excitement. “I’ve never seen anything so old.” He smiled. “Except myself, of course.”
I released the lock and swept off the binding, keeping my injured hand to my chest. The metal clattered to the floor, and the symbols glowed under my touch. “What do you know about it?”
“Only that it belongs to the Eternal Realm.”
“The what?”
“The central world, I mean, out of the seven.”
“Is that this world?”
“No. I believe it is far more beautiful than anything you’d find here.”
So, probably more dangerous, too. “But then, why is it here?” I asked.
“I cannot say. That, and why you have been able to see and open it, remains a mystery.”
I flipped open the cover. Several of the pages turned with it, leaving me about a third of the way through.
Unrecognisable writing marked the browned parchment, and a drawing of a black cat with eyes the shade of white opals sat beneath the paragraph. Then, the writing shivered, shifted, and changed to my home tongue: a single word above a small paragraph. Chimera.
The eyes of the sketched cat seemed to glitter, as though opals had been inserted into the very page. The detail stunned me, every angle and shadow of the creature perfectly enhanced in the low candlelight.
I touched the drawn fur with my unharmed hand, and warmth sank through my fingertips.
A gentle cry broke the silence, and something pressed against my leg.
A tiny, black cat rubbed its body around my leg. A purr rumbled deep in its throat. Glistening, opal eyes gazed up at me.
“How did …” I scooped the cat into my arms, careful to keep my palm away from its silky fur. “You were in the book.”
Siren reached for my arm.
The cat hissed, teeth flashing.
Siren hesitated.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
He shook his head and shrugged.
I dropped the fur ball and closed the book.
A strip of silver wound over the spine and around the cover like Della’s lake, and a padlock melted into place.
“It’s gone,” Siren reached out, but his hand passed through the book.
“It sealed itself again,” I said.
“It must be spelled for protection.”
“But I can still see it.” I ran my hand over the cover.
“How curious.” He cast a sideways glance at the little cat. It settled beside the podium, tail flicking back and forth. “We should get back,” he said.
I nodded, cursing myself for forgetting about Charlie. I couldn’t waste any more time.
Siren headed back through the doors, but after a moment’s thought, I hurried back to the book and lifted it from the podium.
He stared directly at it. “What are you doing?”
“Taking it with me.” The thick padlock added to the weight of the book and clinked against the binding.
“I don’t think that’s wise,” he said.
“Why not?”
“It’s protected on the stand.”
“Protected from what?”
“I don’t know, but if it’s invisible even to Ancient eyes, allowing it to fall into the wrong hands would be devastating. And it seems that whilst it’s not on the podium, it’s not hidden.”
I hugged the book to my chest. “You said so yourself, it’s old. Chances are whoever hid it here has moved on to the other side. They probably don’t even remember it exists. And what if it has something in it to help Charlie or to fix the Gates or help me master this Keeper gift?”
He pursed his lips.
“Plus,” I said, “I don’t know why I can see it or touch it, but it opened for me. I need to know why, and I can’t wait any longer to save Charlie. We can’t stay in the Might anymore. Every passing minute …” Every minute meant he fell further into the darkness, further away from me and my help. My Charlie was dying, being replaced by an evil soul. I couldn’t let that happen.
Siren shot me an understanding nod.
“Every passing minute adds more danger to him,” I said. “We have to get him out.”
“I see your point, but we don’t know anything about the book. Already you’ve pulled that from its pages.”
The cat, licking its paw, paid no attention to Siren’s comment.
He continued, “That saying, if the book is giving you access, perhaps it’s right for you to have it. But we’ll have to be careful.”
“I won’t touch any more fluffy cats. Promise.”
He sighed. “Very well, but we must keep the book a secret. If anyone finds out –”
“It’ll be bad. I’ll keep it in my pack and look at it when we rest.”
“Okay.” He sidestepped, and I marched into the corridor. The book brought me comfort. The scent of parchment hung thick against the leather, and the faintest tingle of magic emanated from its pages.
Siren walked beside me in silence. A hint of concern radiated from him. Was I feeling his emotions again? The whole idea was strange to me.
We reached a corner, and a flash of black caught my eye. The cat padded along the carpet, tail held high.
“It’s following us,” I said.
Siren paused. “Hardly a surprise.”
“Why not?”
“Well, because …” He frowned.
“What?”
“I don’t remember.” He ran his hand along the back of his neck. “That’s so disorienting. I know I used to know before I birthed.” I sensed a stab of frustration. “The memories keep slipping away.”
The cat stopped a few steps from us and sat down.
“Maybe the memories will come back,” I said.
“Perhaps.”
I pursed my lips. The cat did the sketch in the book justice. Every feature, from the stray whisker on its brow to the hook on its tail tip matched exactly. “It’s following the book,” I said. “That has to be it. It came out of there. It makes sense to want to be close to it, right? Or maybe it wants to go back inside, although I don’t know how to do that.”
“I don’t think that’s it.”
“No?”
“No.”
The cat didn’t move. Its opal eyes stared at me, as though waiting for something.
“What do you want?” I asked.
It didn’t respond.
I sighed. It wasn’t like I’d expected it to talk to me. “Well, maybe it’ll go off on its own in a little bit.” I backed around the next turning and continued toward the courtyard, letting Siren take the lead.
The animal still followed when we arrived. Our packs rested against the wall by the dining hall, so I scooped one up, slipped through the doors, set it on a table edge, and pulled it open.
“That’s the book?” Prudens stood beside his chair, shock etched into his features.
“You look as though you’ve seen it before,” I said.
“I know of it. It belongs to the Nephilium.”
“The people in the Eternal Realm?”
“Indeed. I can hardly believe it’s been hidden in our library this whole time.”
The patter of paws on stone caused Prudens to shift his gaze. His questioning expression confirmed the arrival of the cat.
“It came out of the book,” I said.
“A good thing.”
“Really? What do you know about it?”
“I believe the pages will tell you all you need to
know.” He held open my pack, and I slipped the thick book inside.
Siren hoisted his pack over one shoulder. “Are you ready?”
I nodded and followed him and Prudens past the fountain and through the hallways.
The cat padded along behind me amidst confused looks from the other Ancients, stopping only when we paused at the dock.
Air shimmered in a heat haze over the searing, liquid silver. A raise of Della’s hand drew the boat to the surface. The sides rippled under the constant movement of the flowing silver.
Prudens beamed. “It was a pleasure to meet you, dear. Please look after yourself. I would hate for anything to befall you.”
“And you.”
He gestured to the lake.
Siren waited in the boat with an outstretched hand.
I reached out.
The cat hissed at Siren, flashing sharp teeth, and its hair stood on end.
“What is wrong with you?” I asked.
It didn’t look at me. Its tail flicked back and forth, teeth still bared.
“I’d rather have Siren’s help and not fall into the boiling hot silver,” I said. “That okay with you?”
It blinked twice, and then sat back.
I took Siren’s hand. Warmth spread up my arm to my elbow, and the anxiety coursing through me lessened. I stepped into the boat, and he steadied me when it rocked. “Do you do that deliberately?” I asked.
“Do what?”
“Make me feel less nervous.”
“It’s a happy advantage of being your other half.”
I fought back a scowl at his choice of words.
When I perched on the seat, the cat sprang inside. “No. No way. You can’t come.”
It paid no attention to my protest and curled up between my feet.
“It’s too dangerous,” I said.
Siren touched my arm, and the cat snapped at his fingers. He jerked back.
“And then there’s that,” I added.
“I think it should come,” Siren said.
“What?”
“I don’t know why, but I think it’s a good thing its here.”
“And I’m supposed to just trust that?” The mesmerising appearance of the little creature failed to comfort me. Wouldn’t its beauty make it dangerous?
“Would you?” he asked.
I sighed. “I can’t protect it. I barely know enough of this world to protect myself.”