With a shiver running down her spine, Ru wondered if they had known somehow. Or had even guessed at the connection she shared with the artifact. She shuddered, remembering the hard glint in their eyes, just before she fainted.
She was determined to find out exactly who they were, what they wanted from her research, and what part the regent played in it. But they couldn’t know she suspected them of anything untoward, of not trusting them. They might remove her from the research project, or worse — take the artifact from her. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing the artifact, as dangerous as it was. She hadn’t yet come to understand it, to prove what it was. And now, more than ever, she was aching to know the nature of her connection to it.
If they took it from her, if they stalled her research, then all of her pain, the loss of innocent lives, would have been for nothing.
Increasingly restless as the night wore on, coming up empty time after time, Ru made one last stop at the only remaining library. It was located in the laboratory wing and was not much larger than Ru’s own bedroom. It contained almost entirely books of diagrams and illustrations, a surprising number of them fantastical or fictional. She thought perhaps she might find a collection of celestial or at least esoteric diagrams, something in the spiritual vein. Anything that might point to the Children. It was a long shot, but she wasn’t about to give up.
Yawning, Ru flicked through oversized leather-bound books about constellations and cloud formations, seeing nothing that caught her eye. Finally, her fingers brushed a book that might be useful:Ancient Gods and Demons Depicted: A Pictographic History Of Natural Occurrences Through the Lens of Miracles and Curses.
She knew it was a long shot, but it was the only vaguely religious or spiritual book she’d come across in the library. And now, it was well into the small hours of the morning, the sounds of the Tower having faded to quiet stillness.
Stifling another yawn, Ru decided to bring the book with her.
Returning to her room in a sleepy haze, she set the book on her bed and flipped briefly through it, but its illustrations were almost meaningless at that late hour. There was a drawing of a dragon under the earth, blowing smoke up through the crust that appeared to be geysers from above. She flipped to another page to see an ancient god forging weapons in the clouds, his hammer strikes forming shards of lightning, and booming thunder. There was a painting of a night sky scattered with crescent moon and stars and thin wisps of cloud, and something that looked like trees at the very bottom edge of the paper.
The book’s text was so small and Ru was too tired to read it. They were all lovely depictions, but useless.
Still driven by a need to dosomething, despite the heaviness of her eyelids, Ru was struck with a sudden thought. Setting the illustrated book aside, she went to her desk and pulled out a parchment and quill. If there was no information to be gleaned about the Children here at the Tower,surelythere would be something at the palace. And if there was something at the palace, her brother would know of it.
Hastily scribbling a letter, Ru made certain to omit any specific mention of the Children. When she was satisfied that Simon would understand exactly what she meant, and that any other readers would see nothing but innocent questions from a sister to a brother, she rolled up the parchment and slid it into a small leather tube.
She made her way, heavy-limbed, across the Tower and up several flights of narrowing stairs to the dovecote, an octagonal stone structure set with circular windows and humming with the coos of sleepy pigeons.
A low whistle left her lips. In response, a pigeon came fluttering out and landed on her outstretched wrist. She tied her letter to its leg, gave it a kiss on the head, and said, “Please bring this to my brother Simon Delara, at the palace in Mirith.”
Instantly the pigeon was off, southward bound toward the palace.
CHAPTER28
When she rolled out of bed the next morning, a cacophony of birdsong in her tired ears, the last thing Ru wanted to do was face her research team. There would be concerned gazes, questions, and… Fen. So much had been shared between them in the past day. That small moment on Ru’s bed, before Gwyneth and Archie had barged in…
But it wasn’t worth dwelling on, not now.
The thought of the Children overshadowed everything else, their hovering inevitable presence, hanging over her like a storm cloud. What if they wanted her to perform the experiment again? What if they made even more sinister demands?
Increasingly dreadful scenarios played out in her mind until her gut was in such knots that she doubted she’d be able to eat anything.
Her stomach twisting as she made her way to the dungeon, coffee in hand, Ru began to mentally determine how many square meters of oxygen must fill the Tower at any given time, accounting for the exhalation of carbon dioxide by a given amount of academics, and the possibility of open windows and breezes interfering with said exhalations…
Think of something else. Make a rational calculation. Come to a solid conclusion. It will calm your mind, settle your nerves.But, as before, her thoughts scattered at the attempt, as if balking in the face of logic and reason.
She was so engrossed in her attempts to calm herself, frowning at the floor as she went, that Ru didn’t notice Professor Cadwick until she was almost on top of him. He was hovering near the stairs down to the dungeon, talking to Lyr, so thin and dressed in such somber tones that he had almost seamlessly blended into the stone wall behind him.
“Ah, there you are,” Cadwick said, smiling, his white hair standing up as if caught in an unseen gale. But there was something nervous behind the expression, a tightness. “Would you mind terribly if I joined you all in the, uh… dungeon for a few moments? I’ve an announcement to share.”
The way Cadwick said ‘announcement,’ through slightly gritted teeth, smile fading as if it was too much work to keep it in place, made Ru’s stomach churn even more.
“Yes, of course, Professor,” she said. “You’re always welcome.”
He followed her down the narrow staircase as she tried, unsuccessfully, to keep her hands from shaking, droplets of coffee sloshing over the sides of her mug.
Even though their presence was expected, Ru’s heart sank when she saw the Children in the room. They were drifting about the workstations, prowling, until they saw Ru and Cadwick arrive, at which point they drew away from the center of the room and waited in the shadows, expectant.
“Good morning, Professor Cadwick,” said Gwyneth, greeting him with what Ru could see was forced cheer. Gwyneth’s eyes darted to Ru after she spoke, which said more than any words could — she was worried.
Archie looked much the same, only he kept leveling unsubtle glares at Fen, who stood with arms crossed, expression unreadable. Ru fervently wished she could erase what had happened between them last night. Just the sight of him made her skin hot, her breaths shallow. How was she supposed to work with him in a professional capacity now?
Her wayward thoughts were cut short by Cadwick, who cleared his throat loudly, pulling everyone’s attention.
