“Are you all right, my friend?”
The islander stepped closer and laid his hand on Hadjar’s shoulder. Hadjar snapped out of it. Not immediately, but he recovered. At the moment, he had more pressing concerns than wondering about a tiny speck of blood in his veins. So many years had passed since the Enemy’s death that star maps of the sky had managed to change several times. Many constellations had come into being and perished. Over such a long period of time, everything that had existed in the past had become not just dust, but pure emptiness. The same kind he’d seen behind the sorceress’ shadow.
“Hey, Hadjar!”
Hadjar shook his head once more, finally emerging from his own thoughts.
“I’m here. I’m fine.” He said.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
The islander’s purple eyes were troubled.
“Later, Einen. I promise I’ll tell you everything later. There are more important things to worry about right now.”
Einen didn’t answer, but he seemed to agree. Together, they approached the other squad members.
“Divination spells this, divination spells that…” Glen was obviously mocking Tilis. “Your divination spells aren’t even fit for a turn on my ‘pod’! They’re useless! When Sankesh and the others get here…”
“He’ll let you have a turn on his pod,” Tilis said. “Men! All you can talk about is your blasted pods. What was the point of bringing you here?”
“Don’t be rude now, young witch!” Ramukhan roared back. “I’m a man and I’m your boss as well! Just take it easy and watch your tone!”
“If you were actually a man, Serra would’ve gone to bed with you instead of seeking her fortune in the outside world,” Karissa spat.
“Like Paris’ damned bitch has any right to say anything.”
Ramukhan’s staff flashed, two fiery shadows flew out from Karissa’s book’s pages, and then Tilis began whispering some sort of spell.
“Calm down!”
Hadjar slammed the hilt of his sword against the tower wall. It didn’t crack, but it sounded as if a storm had suddenly erupted nearby.
A few more seconds of tense silence passed before Karissa called back her fire spirits first. She closed her book and turned away.
“We could spend an eternity looking,” she grumbled, beginning to scrutinize every inch of the rock beneath her feet, “and never find the entrance.”
“We still have time.” Ramukhan joined her.
Soon, the whole squad was crawling over the plateau. They tried to find the slightest hint of a passage, or a magic door, or a seal, or a veil. However, it was all in vain. Over the next three hours of searching, nothing changed, and their recent truce began to dissolve. Sarcastic remarks filled the air. The seekers’ nerves were frayed, and tension was thick in the air.
Hadjar straightened up, pondering, and didn’t notice that he’d dropped the sorceress’ gift. The small blue plate caught a ray of the sun for a moment as it fell and reflected it across the plateau.
“Well,” Hadjar reached down and picked up the stone, then looked through it at the sun, “The gift…”
Hadjar let a beam of sunlight pierce through the plate once more. Turning blue, it touched the rocks on the plateau.
“How cunning!”
“Damn it!”
“Evening Stars!”
The shouts were heard on all sides. Just below them, a blue light started spreading across the rocks, assuming the form of ghostly water. It seemed to fill invisible cracks, creating a pattern of exquisite beauty. At some point, the water-light came to a standstill, completing a beautiful picture. Directly atop the stones, slightly protruding, were the outlines of a door. Instead of a keyhole, it had two recesses: the first seemed to match Serra’s gift in shape, and the second — the sorceress’ gift.
Despite the delight of the others, Hadjar wasn’t happy with what he saw. He could feel fate’s breath on him. Had he truly had no other choice but to be here from the very first moment he’d entered the Sea of Sand?
“Put something in these grooves,” Hadjar said.
When that was done, he moved. The beam slid off the plate and the pattern broke, but it didn’t matter. Going over to the grooves, Hadjar placed the probable ‘keys’ inside them. As he did so, the stones beneath them began to move. As they fanned out, they gradually revealed a winding stairway leading down into the darkness.
“It’s high time we ended this.” Hadjar went down first.
Chapter 399
Hadjar lit an oil lamp as he went down the stairs. It was a simple thing, able to work without any energy or magic — a small bit of fuel in a cube of cloudy glass. Paris had given them a few so they could avoid attracting too much attention. Whose attention? Well, even before the campaign had started, it had been clear to everyone that the library wouldn’t welcome them with open arms. The series of traps was a predictable obstacle. The fact that almost no one had attacked them on their way to the library was nothing more than luck, as Serra might have given him a desert flower instead. Although that was unlikely, of course.
Dispelling the darkness with the dim lamplight, Hadjar led the way. He stepped cautiously down the crumbling steps. Peering intently at the small, blurred patch of light reclaimed from the darkness of the dungeon, he touched the rough and damp walls.
“Evening Stars.” Karissa held her oil lamp close to the wall. Pausing, she studied the almost completely faded drawings. It was only possible to distinguish the approximate contours of what had been drawn there thanks to the fact that the paint had had metal shavings in it. “How old is this place?”
“According to the information Rahaim gave us,” Ramukhan also admired the ancient remains, “the events that took place here date back fifteen eras.”
Hadjar gasped and nearly stumbled. He could barely guess what ‘era’ meant in Underworld City. Such measurements of time weren’t used in Lidus or the Sea of Sand. It seemed almost useless, as one such unit was equal to the time it had taken the Earth to form as a planet, produce life, and for him to then be born and reborn in this strange world.
Fifteen billion years ago, no less than that. The time period which the sorceress had transported him to wasn’t merely ancient, but another dimension. It was difficult for Hadjar to perceive such a vast expanse of time…
Sighing and dismissing such thoughts, Hadjar took another step. Suddenly, the stone step beneath him slid slightly downward, making a dry metallic click as it did so. Everyone froze for a moment, and then there was a dull stone crash behind them. The spiral staircase began to crumble, raining granite down on their heads.
“Damn it,” Hadjar swore, and shouted, “Run!”
As Hadjar leapt over the violently shaking steps, carrying Karissa over his shoulder, who screamed in surprise, he blurred into the shadow of the Three Ravens. Given the extra weight and how he had to travel downward, that was his top speed. Einen, gliding along the shadows, carried Tilis. Ramukhan shouted something angrily from behind Glen.
The stones around them fell like huge drops of torrential rain. The ancient drawings crumbled and the witch lamented it.
“They’re priceless!” Karissa wept.