Page 43 of Iris of the Crowned Flame
“Not currently. Our healer evaluated him personally, and she believes that whatever magic he has is helping to mend it quickly. It’s not as fast as what our healers can do, but he is healing faster than he should.”
“Do we know where this magic is coming from?”
“Our Priestesses back home are still trying to find any historical documents about that, but we don’t know. All our texts showed that magic was traditionally granted to create a level playing field. There is one ancient text that hints that individual gods could grant powers to mortals at will, but we have no signs that any gods are awake, so that doesn’t seem to be the answer.”
“What are signs that gods are awake? Could they be happening in Scoria Bay, but not here?” Amyra asked.
“There are many signs, but the biggest one is that when a slumbering God wakes, the earth shifts and creates a mountain to welcome them home. There haven’t been any newly formed mountains.”
“Could this God have been awake the whole time? Maybe that’s why Scoria Bay is so secretive about what they do?” The question came out before I even understood what I was saying.
‘Astute guess, Princess.’ The voice was unfamiliar, not Emberly’s or Spencer’s. It echoed in a weird, unsettling way that others hadn’t.
My eyes widened. I motioned for a pen and paper. As soonas Juniper handed them to me, I wrote,A man just spoke to me in my mind: Astute guess, Princess.
All eyes shot to Spencer. He held his hands up and shook his head. I wrote again,I’ve never heard this voice.
Juniper rushed to her desk and pulled out a fresh bundle of twigs, lighting them to search the room for ears.
‘That’s right, Princess. We haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet.’ The voice shared again. ‘Though you have certainly shared many other pleasures with me. You’re quite the naughty little girl.’ A grotesque laughter fills my mind.
And again, I wrote. ‘And he’s able to read what I’m writing.’
I laid the pen down. I didn’t know who or what this was. Emberly snatched the paper and showed it to Juniper. They turned to me, and the fear between the three of us was so heavy.
“OK, well, I think that this meeting has gone well. I’ll send a message when it’s time to reconvene.” Father said, standing. Everyone else nodded, getting up to leave quietly.
I remained almost frozen in place. The only place to get answers was with a priestess, so I was not about to leave yet. Spencer and Amyra stayed too. I wasn’t sure if it was in solidarity and support for me, or if they had questions for the Priestesses too.
We spent an excruciating ten minutes of waiting, while Juniper checked the walls and Emberly disappeared into the next room. Once Juniper checked her other room, both returned and addressed me.
“Come, we have a place.” Emberly said, with a tone that left me feeling incredibly nervous. Amyra and Spencer stood with me, each placing their hands on my shoulders, offering the most support they can. I followed Emberly through the doorway.
Emberly opened another doorway within that room. Calling it a door was generous. It seemed like a giant hole cut out of the wall and shifted to the side. Emberly gestured to me to follow her through the hole.
The smell in this passageway once we left the room was moist, slightly mildewy, like this space was rarely used. The cobwebs and fine layer of dirt on the floor further hinted at that fact.
We walked down a set of stairs, lit only by a torch that Emberly had picked up. As we came to a twist in the stairs, I looked up to see Juniper use her wind magic to pull the boulder closed and light up her own torch. I had a horrible feeling about this, but it’s too late to back out now.
‘We got this, Lyla.’ Spencer’s voice was such a comfort to hear inside my head. Not like that other one. That voice felt so violating.
We reached a chamber, mostly empty. The room seemed to be carved out of a cave, with a solid stone floor turning to stone walls slanting into a ceiling. The only thing in the room was a boxy stone in the middle, that seemed to serve as some type of table.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Not yet,” Emberly chided. She pointed to Juniper, who was rolling a thick stone disc to cover the doorway. The two of them then joined hands and chanted a spell. As they chanted, a glimmering wind swirled around the room up to the peak in the ceiling and then fell to the stone table.
Once the shimmering stopped, Juniper finally spoke. “This space was carved before the Great War and was used to facilitate conversations without mind intrusions. There are ways to block people from your mind, but it takes time to learn.”
A sob escaped from me, before I even knew I was reacting. Amyra reached out to hug me, and Spencer held his hand on my back. After a moment, I gathered myself together. “Uh, thank you. His voice was so intrusive, I felt so violated.”
Emberly nodded, a look of compassion and comfort crossing her face. “Can you describe what he sounded like? Any details?”
I recounted the words said, the echoey, surreal sound of the voice, the unease it created.
“If I ever find him, he’s dead.” Spencer clenched his fist and clenched his jaw.
“Easy, killer,” Emberly teased. “The sounds she described are reminiscent of one person described in our books. If it is, then we might have just found the answers we have been searching for, and it’s not good news.”
