“You have what?” my voice had risen drastically as the realization of what she meant hit a nerve in my brain.
She laughed. “Not on purpose! But yeah, I have seen you naked before.”
As we had taken the road back to our habitations, we had decided that a long and restful shower inside the Maors’ pond was the best decision after our fight and workout.
Once we had finished our little battle, Kâl had wanted me to show the kind of training my father had put me on. I explained how long it was, and tiresome but she needed to decompress in her own way and wanted to be so drenched, sleep would swipe her in a matter of seconds later tonight.
So, after hundredths of repetition and about fifty different exercises, she figured it was enough. She laid on her back for an entire hour and I waited for her to regain her strength to start the stretching part. She swore at me, but couldn’t stand up. “You really should be stretching or you won’t be able to move at all in two days.” I had said and she had sighed loudly, but finally accepted, complaining and groaning the whole time. Until we were so soaked our clothes were clenching on our bodies.
Whilst we fantasized about the pond, the water and the cooling, she had blurted out of nowhere, that she had already seen me naked once. “Care to share the specifics or are you going to leave me hanging?” I insisted.
“I was roaming around your area for a while,” she explained, watching straight in front of us when I had my eyes over her poetic profile. “Since you’ve started to get closer to the Jalyon territory, and had a certain reputation, I figured having a little more information on you would be beneficial for my hunt. This was way before your father had asked for…” she let the sentence float into the darkness around, batted the rest away with her hand. “It took me a while to find your cottage because it is so up the hill, from the downside we cannot even see it.”
“Hidram had always said it would protect us from prying eyes,” I replied with one corner of my mouth lifting. Kâl chuckled before continuing.
“He wasn’t around because there was only light in your room. At least I didn’t know it was your room until later, but I stepped inside the living area and realized it was going to be impossible to stay quiet with all the mess.”
“You entered the house?”
She grimaced, worries of my reaction tearing her features. “I did.” I laughed. “I had a hard time climbing the stairs quietly but then I arrived into the bedroom and heard the shower. Since you were occupied, my little hands scattered around to find some interesting material but then I lifted my head up and the shower was right there, visible, and you were facing the wall, so I was seeing your back… but it was all blurry, I couldn’t discern a thing, could only… imagine.”
My blood froze. If she had seen my tattoo, she would have talked about it already. Would have asked. Or maybe she guessed it was a simple tattoo, like the Jalyons had covered their bodies with, not meaning one particular thing at all. I let her continue although my mood had completely changed. “It was like the shower never could have been large enough for you to fit in. And then, you turned around and I escaped through the window.”
“That damn busted door. So, it was you. I had persuaded myself I had forgotten to close the window when I had arrived.”
“It was me. And this was one of the first times we actually saw each other.”
“I didn’t see you,” I corrected. And she nodded, smiling. “True.”
After a few more minutes of walking, we finally arrived in our room and Kâl dropped her weapon and bag on the floor while I reached for clean clothes. “Did you find anything useful on me?” I queried, searching for another t-shirt and some loose pants.
“Besides your black underwear, no, nothing,” she joked, her arms up, releasing her long hair from the bun she had done hours ago.
I laughed with her and had to kneel beside my bag because the clothes I sought seemed to have fallen at the very bottom of the large bag I had brought. And a blue tint glazed at the back of my eye. I frowned. The little light inside could have reverberated on anything but as I passed through the clothes with my hand, the blue gem found its way to my fingers. Kâl realized my stillness. “Is something wrong?”
Blue. That color was familiar. From the moment I had it in my possession, it had reacted strangely to me. And during the ritual. The blue and green and red that mingled in front of my closed eyes. I thought it was for the blue of Krolea’s dress standing in front of me, but what if it wasn’t? “The stone.” I only said, slowly getting back up, the little rock twirling around my thumb and index.
Kâl had her brows frowned but she was attentive. Waiting for me to elaborate on what was going on inside my mind. Only I didn’t really know. Besides the weird sensation I felt once it had ended in my hands, nothing else happened afterwards. Vishan had pretended not to care for it and Hidram had lied about the great power it held. It wasn’t the stone, really. It never had been. It was what it would bring to us. Freedom. At least, that is what he hoped.
But right now, I wasn’t so sure. “Yes?” Kâl insisted, getting closer to snap my attention back to her.
I rolled it under the press of my fingers and the sensation reminded me of another. Reminded me of the golden one. “Hidram had said the stone was powerful. He had a glint in his eye when he talked to me about it. He wasn’t usually intrigued by the objects themselves, rather how much money they would bring to us, but for this…”
She took the gem inside her own palm and watched it carefully. “I thought it was because giving it to Vishan would grant us the freedom to leave for better horizons but what if he meant something else?” I wondered, ogling Kâl’s concentrated expression. “Doesn’t it look like the gold one?”
She lifted her head so our eyes would meet. “I think…” her expression lit up as if some great revelation flashed before her and when she had her mouth open again, I was hanging on her lips with much fierceness. “I think I’m too exhausted to think.”
She grabbed my hand and shoved the gem back inside. My chuckle escaped. “Please. Isn’t it rather odd?” I still insisted but she was already heading for the exit.
“For now, I need some peace and quiet while I relax in a cool, refreshing bath. Enjoy yourself brainstorming with the Maors. I wouldn’t be of much help anyway.” She replied without waiting another second. I, as well, would have liked showering after such a demanding workout session, only this was too important to postpone further.
I rushed outside and in a few large steps entered the common area. They were mostly there, seated around tables and shuffling cards, or throwing some cubes while writing scores on a piece of paper. It was curious seeing them having so many expressions over their faces, the enjoyment of playing games, of beating their adversary.
On another table, I spotted Shay-In, speaking with the Protector and the eldest, all three gathered in a conversation tearing smiles from them and I figured they had reconciled. On the table, three glasses, and inside, a certainly flavourful beverage. The gem still in my hand, I shoved it inside my pocket and walked toward them. When I arrived at their level, they realized my presence. “Hello, Nolis,” Krolea welcomed me and hearing them saying my name felt relieving but some other part rejected all kinds of compassion for them. I bowed humbly. “Have a seat with us, please.” He gestured to the last empty chair around the table and I obeyed.
Both Shay-In and Krolea took a sip of their drink and Hei-Tria served them from the pitcher resting in the middle. They both groaned. “We had enough,” Shay-In admitted, almost blocking his cup with his thin fingers.
Hei-Tria shook his head. “Nonsense. We have to finish this.”
“I’m afraid I might not be able to,” the Protector affirmed, his broad smile as terrifying as hypnotizing. “Your old age is giving you an advantage, it seems.”
“Ah! Do not utilise my years as an excuse. Last one, friend.” And they grunted, but finally caved. “I do not propose to the human here.”
“Surely not,” Shay-In shared a glance my way and winked. “You couldn’t handle.”
“I believe you,” I responded, reminiscing the terrible feast we had crashed the first time we arrived. It had felt like so many days had passed, being under that night dome. Although we had taken a sort of habit of living under the dark, the notion of time had become obsolete. And while we had been occupied on other matters, drawing our attention on anything but the time, we had lost its track moments, hours, days ago. “I’m not thirsty.” I lied. I had drenched every single drop of water sweating during the work out, and hadn’t taken the time to drink. But they were too concentrated on their soiree, they didn’t insist. On the contrary, they acted like they didn’t care at all.
“I am glad you have decided to talk, Shan,” Krolea continued, touching his fellow’s shoulder with an impressive hand. “It has hurt in more ways than you could imagine when you asked about being alone.”
“I needed time to digest,” their eyes fell upon mine rapidly, and didn't linger. “But we shouldn’t let disagreements get the best of the synergy we have.”
Hei-Tria intervened, his particular voice deeper than usual. “I agree.” The intervention of the latter did surprise me a little. The way they had treated us once we had found out of our imprisonment here, it had rung for long moments before I was able to take some steps back and acknowledge their point of view. They seemed to be concentrated mostly on themselves and hadn’t regretted doing this to Kâl and I. They were not, still. Shay-In’s eyes fell upon me and for some reason I could understand what they were thinking.
They hadn’t really forgave their Maor friend, but was hoping this evening, and the drink would help untie the tongues. Both them and Krolea waited, and I figured they wanted for Hei-Tria to say a little bit more of what was happening in their head. Their glare wandered past everything around them, looking far away and not looking at all at the same time. The false horizon driving their attention to a place in their mind they finally felt comfortable sharing. When the old Maor opened their mouth, we were all three hanging on their lips.
“I have lived long years.” They swirled their liquid inside their cup and watched at the bottom, as if it was withholding terrible truths. “I have seen a lot without having seen anything at all.” Their eyes searched for mine and the sadness that reflected inside sent a punch directly in my gut. I swallowed. “I am old. And rough. Rusty. My patience had thinned to the point where there might be no patience left at all.” they drifted back again to the black surroundings and their tiredness, despair, nostalgia imbued the whole room. “We had realized there were no other options a long time ago but—”
“You couldn’t bring yourself to do it,” I finished their sentence and their attention snapped back at me. I let myself show a semblance of a pity smile, not really sure they would take it as I intended to.
“Until we had enough.” they finished. Krolea had closed their eyes at the reminiscing of hard and lonely years. Shay-In nodded, watching their elder finally expressing the reasons for their actions. Although we had understood them, this was the closest from an apology we would hear from Hei-Tria. His old age might have reduced their patience, it was their personality entirely that would prevent them from being too eloquent. “I had enough,” they still added, this time, watching Shay-In dead in the eye.
“I know, friend.” the latter responded.
Krolea smiled and slowly laughed while sipping the end of his beverage. “This feels too good to be true, brothers.” The cling of the glass being smashed on the table a little too hard drew the attention of the others playing on the side. They lifted concerned brows but shook their heads seeing the Protector a tad bitten by the alcohol. At least, if it was. “We have secured the passage to the Door. Have discovered an Orulis. And… Hei-Tria apologized.”
“I did not!” The latter exclaimed, almost choking on his drink.
“Oh, you did, you silly kshnaï.”
They all laughed vividly and loudly as I wondered which name they had called the oldest Maor. Something not too scandalous, I imagined, since the main subject had their head bent back with the force of their joy, mouth wide open. A functioning family it seemed. Capable of communicating their doubts and fears and realizing their mistakes, without losing their essence, without being reproachful of others because of their character. It made me feel so little among them, in many ways, that I only smiled, and stayed very silent, not comfortable enough disrupting their happiness.
“Nolis,” Krolea said, their mouth still stretched upwards, their fingers clenching around their glass. “Did you come here for a specific issue?”
My lips parted and froze. I had come for a reason, the blue gem weighing tremendously in my pocket. And for a moment, I felt insecure bringing them so little information attached to a possibly immense bag of hope in their hands. I could just say I had come to talk, and see them, and apologize for my own stubbornness, my own infantile reaction. Afraid to bring the subject of that blue stone, so far from what they expected of me. But wanting to become as fluid and loquacious as them about my feelings was bigger than all the rest. And as I slid my hand inside my pocket, I thought of the words I would use. “When I was living in the capitol, I was a mercenary for my father.”
My eyes had a hard time meeting the ones of the Maors, but I was only rewarded with all their affectionate attention. “I had many missions, had to retrieve lots of trinkets, and one of them was this.” My fingers dropped the gem on the table and they all three bent their impressive torso for their heads to be closer to the object. Their brows were frowned with curiosity, and their lids squinted, as if this was about to make them see better. “It seemed useless at first, so I had kept it among my clothes, but,” they were looking at me now, “when I had it in my palm earlier, I couldn’t help but think its shape and general aspect resembled—”
“The golden one.” Shay-In ended my sentence.
They watched each other with great care, and then, Krolea grabbed the stone, made it roll against their large palm. “Where have we taken the artifacts that were used for the ritual, advisor?”
“Inside the library, if I am not mistaken,” Shay-In answered, brows still frowned, their eyes glued on the gem. “Should you want me to seek it?”
“We will go together,” the Protector affirmed, before turning my way. “Do you have an idea?”
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Nothing had come up while I was playing with the rock, and the feeling had been so disturbing I had decided to come find them immediately, but as I was remembering everything that had happened, a thought occurred. “The amber stone could dislocate from the dagger. If I’m right, and both the gems have similarities in their form, the blue one could be inserted in the slot at the tip.” This was a long shot, and probably a wrong one. I couldn’t help but reminisce at the sound of Vishan’s voice saying the stone had meant nothing from the beginning. Well, his exact words were; the stone was just an excuse for a bigger objective, you dumb little man.
“And what would you think would happen?” Krolea continued. That, I had no idea.
“The dagger was the key to the Door, right?” They all nodded. “And Dreyma’s stone, once inside, has unraveled a purpose for the weapon.” Hei-Tria changed their gaze and massaged their lips with their fingers before saying slowly.
“The blue stone might unravel another purpose.”
They were quick to think, for drunk Maors.
“We know where to head next, then.” The Protector chanted. And we followed.
֍
Kâl had her hair still wet when she joined us inside the library. I had added a stop, telling the Maors I would be with them in a second, and had walked to the pond, where Kâl was deeply resting.
I had quickly explained the situation, and had told her we were all expected as soon as possible. When she saw the glint in my eyes, the power of the revelation that might be unraveled, she had jumped out and I had turned right on time to avoid seeing her completely naked. Although, that would have only been fair, after what she had admitted a little earlier in the evening.
The lights were dimmed and almost out when we entered. No librarians in sight, the sound of relaxing silence filling the place, a soft breeze resembling a cadenced respiration soothing our heartbeats instantly. As if the place had been living the whole time. Had its own consciousness.
The Protector lifted their hands and swiftly moved two of their fingers, the candles and lightening insects heightening the powers of their rays, the details of the room uncovering little by little.
On the table, the book with the Y carved on the cover hadn’t moved.
The rest of the library was immaculate, every grimoire in its place. But this one stayed. Probably since the night I had talked with the two Maors. Why would they leave it here?
The others weren’t bothered and looked around for the artifacts. Hei-Tria walked slowly through an aisle, disappearing between the rows of manuscripts while Shay-In and Krolea laughed over a subject I had not caught. They looked closer than ever.
Kâl had approached my side, arms crossed. “So. What is this all about? I need my beauty sleep.”
“You’ll understand quickly. Was the pool refreshing?”
“Terribly. You should have joined. This could have waited until tomorrow morning. You know? After sleeping?”
I shook my head, amused. “Has the workout drained you this much?”
“Don’t even start to tease. This was horrendously difficult.”
I nudged her shoulder with my own. “Of course it was. And you handled it perfectly.”
“You’re a good coach,” she smiled, finally meeting my eyes. The green of her irises stroke even brighter under the light of the room, and the spark of amusement heightened the color. “But I won’t do that. Ever again.”
My hand resting over my heart, I gasped, falsely hurt. “You make me terribly sad.” She slapped my arm.
Few seconds later, Hei-Tria emerged from the aisles with the dagger and the gem inside in his right hand. I realized they were limping from their left leg and wondered if this sign had been there from the beginning or if the alcohol had magnified their balance troubles. The other Maors didn’t notice anything.
From the corner of my eyes, I could see the two librarians standing, their heads still low gazing at the floor but somehow aware of every single thing happening inside the walls of their home. They listened attentively. And not the Protector, Shay-In nor Hei-Tria, notified their presence. At least not until Hei-Tria carefully withdrew the golden gem from the tip of the dagger with their long and thin nails and inserted the blue one inside. Not until the markings around the shaft visibly disappeared, only to carve something else on the wood after a few seconds while the stone entered. Not until the steel receded into the nothingness, vanished from our eyes, and in its place, a beautiful blue flame waved through the soft wind that had forcened in the room. At this moment, Min and Geia winnowed right next to the dagger, that Hei-Tria still brandished, and all four of them jumped at their entrance. I was petrified.
They had lifted their heads. Their long and dark hair was no longer falling over their pearl white type of skin. The latter severed and marked as if they had been deeply burned in the past. Their eyes were glued on the flame, entirely red, no irises nor nuances, pure and terrifying blood liquid filled their eyeballs, now tainted with a blue glow from the dagger. Both Kâl and I stilled drastically. And the Maors had their attention riveted on the handle. “The markings…” Kâl hushed, almost imperceptibly. Only everyone had noticed. And Shay-In advanced, read. “Samay lives in.”
We exchanged one look with each other, completely lost. “Samay?” Kâl had understood the name and watched me with as much incomprehension as my face was torn by. Hei-Tria passed their fingers over the fire that left no trace over their skin. Even at arm’s length, no heat could be felt.
Samay was an ancient name. One I had always heard, but never had the chance to know the source from which it had appeared. It had become an expression we could use, among many different situations. It had fallen upon the long list of legends, of people, places, monuments that had been destroyed physically and from anyone’s mind. Because of how our environment was slowly, but surely, decaying, the knowledge of many events with their main characters had disappeared from our common experiences. Learning the hows and whys of the world was not our priority. Never had been since the beginning of the end. And Samay was one of the few that had lingered, without its purpose, nor its meaning.
Everyone remained silent for long seconds, closely watching the librarians, afraid and curious, as their next words took their time to reach their destination. “This is Samay’s Wrath.” they gently lifted trembling hands but didn’t go high enough to really touch. They looked possessed. In admiration. The fluid in their eyes formed a circle and swirled endlessly as they approached their disturbing nails close to the blue fire. “It came to you?”
They didn’t talk to anyone in particular and didn’t really wait for an answer. They were too absorbed by the moment, transcended by the discovery. We were all lost, hanging on the words, the actions, the revelations. Krolea took one step closer to the librarians but imposed a generous gap between them. They talked with much care, like they were speaking with one of the most powerful creatures that ever existed. Even greater than themselves. “Does it have a purpose?”
They switched their attention abruptly, and the Protector startled. It lasted only a second but was noticeable enough to be concerned. “It has. Orhtris.” The word hissed and they smiled whispering it. After they had closed their eyes for a second, they seemed to recompose themselves and explained. “The power to reignite. To animate.”
The Maors straightened and breathed loudly as the realization hit their brain. “This will activate the Orulis.” Krolea said, as they were expelling a difficult truth to keep from themselves. Min and Geia grinned even more and nodded in a terrifying way.
“Take it,” the two librarians claimed, to my intention, pointing at the dagger and the flame. Kâl shared a troubled glare with me but I obeyed, nonetheless.
Nobody moved or talked while the two Maors stepped back in front of all of us and opened the passage once more. Again, as the frame formed, we could distinguish the gigantic ebony door, no longer hidden behind unequally carved stones. Min and Geia were the first to enter, troubling the water veil as they traversed and crossed the portal, walking toward the Voice on the other side, now depicted as a painting.
I joined second. The handle in my hand trembled and tremendous power flooded all over my skin. My palm had a hard time clenching over the shaft, and I almost dropped it a few times. All the energy around was so mystical and otherworldly, I had never felt more like an outsider than this moment. The magic traversing me through the artifact roared strangely inside my ribcage, and I imagined for a second what having boiling power felt like.
The door opened, without demanding anything this time, and the Orulis unraveled again before us. Min and Geia crossed their opposite hand around their backs and used the one left to invisibly trace a pattern in the air. Kâl marched and stopped next to me while Shay-In, Krolea and Hei-Tria stayed afar, near the portal. The Protector looked positively stunned and Shay-In opened their eyes even wider, small drops dripping over their white and bony cheeks. “All this time…” Krolea started. “Right in front of our noses.” Hei-Tria finished.
As we waited for Min and Geia to talk again, we felt the vibrations before we heard the Voice, its tone neither high nor low as much as being both, speaking with the force of thousands. The two little Maors responded and exchanged for what felt like minutes before they turned around, their dreadful crimson stare over us.
They pointed one finger at me. “Come closer.” With the blue flame in my hand, I obeyed and stationed near Min and Geia, as much as near the Orulis. Something deep and within myself channeled the humility to attend without interrupting, to assist without causing problems, as I could have done in the past. My fingers dug over the handle hooked me to this place and time, forced me into the moment, reminded me of where I was and what I was doing. But all the power, the magic flooding the dark and wide room was too much to bear and I hoped it would be all over soon. “Here.” They ordered.
The sisters pointed at the very center of the Orulis, where nothing apparent seemed to be standing out. By the way I looked at them, they understood I was completely lost. “Hold out the flame inside. You’ll see.”
I obeyed again. And the Orulis awoke.
Spirals of blue fire lightened the whole place and swirled around the room before being restrained by the perfect O shape of the portal. The fire kept crippling inside, creating a fictitious hearth that was nonetheless getting the place colder than it was, as impossible as it might seem.
One second later, two enormous feline eyes appeared on each side of the door, and Kâl and I backed away towards the library. I was speechless. Way out of everything I ever dared imagine. My life had always relied on concrete actions, robberies and manipulation. I was constantly told I wasn’t capable of magic. I wasn’t surrounded by magic, although many objects were animated through it in Kendara, the cottage stood strong against anything related to that trembling power. And here I was. Among people and entities bursting with it. It wasn’t legitimate for me to speak.
Instead, I fixed the two almond eyes, which decided they would look back at me. The stare traversed me whole and shaped something inside. I was completely naked in front of it, even my arsenal of weapons wouldn’t have protected me. Only two straight and thin pupils, but I could see how much it enjoyed stripping off my walls, reaching as far as it could inside my soul. The Voice purred. Attentive. I grasped the correlation. The eyes awoke with Samay’s fire, but the Voice wasn’t just a voice anymore. The entity had evolved.
“Where is Samay?” Kâl asked, to no one, but the librarians answered. “Elsewhere. For now. Time needs adjustments.”
The irises of the Voice switched focus from all of the people that had come, and waited. Sometimes the eyes would close, as if the voice was feeling things. “Orhtris codishrai. Ranos. Orulis sreiat.”
“Orulis?” I recognized, and waited for Min and Geia’s response.
“The word is Trushzai. From the very first language. It followed time and space, and was implemented inside every tongue.”
The fire kept swirling and swirling and had gained significant speed by the time the eyes had closed again. Only when they opened, they were deep gold. And humanlike.
The place charged yet again in power, every atom of air weighing ten times more than usual. The Orulis, in between the two eyes, deepened in color and the fire engulfed the entirety of the room. We were not burning, on the contrary. The chill that embraced our bodies planted shivers on every pore. And we were all totally petrified, from the cold as much as from the fear. Even more so, when the Voice had changed. And when the first words echoed around us, the range had drastically dropped. A masculine tone emerged. There was no doubt about who we were speaking to. It was a feeling gripping my bones with an unparalleled certainty. “Who are you?” he asked in a way that left no room for discussion.
“Samay… You speak common tongue?” Kâl whispered.
“I know every language. Who. Are. You.” He repeated harshly. We could only see his eyes but the whole wall seemed to shift to embrace his features. Light traces of gold flickered between the cracks of the ebony stones and pulsed at a heart’s pace. My own, heart, had decided to stop beating.
The force of the magic around my being was too much. I had trouble breathing, trouble keeping my eyes open. Trouble managing my thoughts and even more trouble using my tongue and mouth to actually speak. I was thrown off.
Min and Geia seemed to be as startled as I was. They didn’t think we would be able to speak with Samay in person, and I sensed something was wrong, not really knowing why. The eyes were harsh, but I could also recognize fear. The stones around shifted and enlightened the expressions. Samay was nervous. Suspicious. Frightened. “Speak!” he yelled. And we all shivered.
“Humans,” Kâl blurted, as if the voice had controlled her will and Samay grasped the answer from her body inside. “We are humans. From Zelian.”
“Why are you detaining me? What did you do?” His tone was raging. His power, unlimited, although contained by the Orulis and the Door. Kâl stepped back toward me and the librarians did the opposite. Bowing at the waist, their hair was kissing the floor.
“Lord, we have freed you from your torment.”
“I do not feel very free, at the moment,” he answered, the black rocks shifting into a frown. His eyes were moving to each one of us but couldn’t really register our details. Like he was watching through us. “Why are humans with Maors? Where are the others?”
His voice had lost his anger and was now filled with apprehension. Even his questions seemed conflicted. And we didn't know how to respond. Min and Geia straightened just a little before answering. “Time has passed, Lord.”
The eyes widened and the stones shifted. The words had stricken some particular place in him because his expression was undeniable. Hurt. “Answer.”
“Maors have been excluded on another planet. They seek return upon Fryor.”
“Why can’t they?” Samay retorted, truly disoriented.
“Communications have been severed. Orulis destroyed. Because of your disappearance.”
“What happened?”
“We do not know, Lord,” a pause, while their eyes fell upon Samay’s. “Don’t you remember?”
The latter didn’t respond, but the features that the Door displayed was cruelly upsetting. He was shocked. And while the pupils searched for souvenirs back and forth around the room, it seemed the eyes filled with water. “You are back now,” the sisters insisted, the swirling blue flame reverberating inside their red bloody orbits.
Samay sighed. “Not entirely.” The eyes closed, as if gathering some time to reminisce. To calm down. To adjust. The three Maors had stayed behind and watched with intense quietness. I could see them whisper inside each other’s ears sometimes, but they kept close to the Glaze. “The portal is offering me some semblance of presence and consciousness but it is not enough.”
“What do you need, Lord? Anything.” Min and Geia granted.
“My Orb.”
I stilled. “An Orb?” my lips opened and asked, as the name reminded me of something I had seen. A long time ago.
“Yes. It is made of glass. And is perfectly round. Just like the Orulis.”
“I know where it is.”
The words came out of my mouth before I even realized it. The images of that orb rushed back in my mind like a slap across the face. If I was right, it meant many things. It meant going back on our steps. It meant returning to Kendara. It meant we were at a dead end because there was no way out of this place...
“Where?” Kâl asked, her gaze riveted on me with an exasperated expression and I was sure she knew what I was about to reveal.
“In Vishan’s office.”