Chapter 8 #2
The tug in my chest brought me back to myself, and I hurried up the remainder of the stairs and straight through the front doors of the Priory.
Once in the foyer, my magic tugged me to the right, and I followed it without hesitation, the heavy steps of my guards echoing through the halls as they followed along in my wake.
Further and further into the heart of the Priory I strode as I obeyed each twist and tug in my chest. I never once questioned the magic as it led me into a stairwell, and I circled down and down the winding stairs to levels I never knew existed.
I’d gone on a scavenger hunt once recently in the Priory to test this very power, and I’d learned just how big the temple was, but it seemed as though I’d only scratched the surface of the place.
Finally, I came to the bottom of the stairs, my guards still hustling along behind me.
There was a door there, the only way to go without ascending back up, but it was locked when I tried the handle.
I tested my seeker magic by moving back, but the magic’s pull assured me what I sought was through the door.
I held a hand over the lock and loosed a small forcefield into the mechanism to break it open, but I was shocked when – instead of the door opening – something pushed me backward.
I furrowed my brows and held out both of my hands toward the door.
I loosed another forcefield, intending to blow the door off its hinges, but I cried out when the same force blew back, sending me sprawling into the guards behind me.
Two of them caught me and set me back on my feet as I snarled at the door and lurched forward to slam my palms against it.
“Let me in!” I yelled at it, but the door remained immovable.
“My lady…” One of the guards laid a gentle hand on my shoulder, but I shook him off.
I ran my hands along the door, trying to sense what I needed to do to open it. It had a keyhole, but instinctively I knew there was more to it than that. Still, having the key would be a good start.
I turned and held my hand out, palm up, as I concentrated on summoning the key to me.
I had no idea how far away it was, nor had I ever tested just how far my summoning power reached.
I’d never tried to use it on anything that wasn’t in the same room as me, but I tried now, letting my power snake through the Priory to find the key and bring it to me.
Very faintly, I felt my power seize on something, and I concentrated on drawing it to me.
I waited for close to a minute while nothing happened, and I was about to give up when something metal finally slammed into my palm.
I looked down in wonder at the set of keys now clutched in my hands.
The guards around me only stared as if they had no idea what I might do next despite the set of keys in my hand.
I turned toward the door and tried the keys on the ring until one of them finally fit. The tug in my chest grew more urgent, like a second heartbeat as it pushed against my ribs.
The door didn’t move as I turned the key in the lock, though. I threw my shoulder into it, but it didn’t budge, and I screamed my frustration.
“Let me in!” I yelled again.
“My lady, would you like us to get one of the priests or priestesses?” the closest guard asked.
“Yes, find Phaedrus!” I ordered, then winced as my body felt strange.
The guards around me all recoiled back, and I frowned at them.
“My lady, you’re…,” one guard said.
I frowned deeper. “What is it?”
The guard unsheathed his shortsword and held it up so I could see my distorted reflection in the polished blade. I gasped as I took in the brown skin and male face looking back at me. I lifted my hands to see that they too were dark-skinned and manly.
I understood a second later what had happened.
The assassin, Talyn, was a masque, and I’d syphoned her power to shift into other people. When I’d ordered the guard to find Phaedrus, I’d unconsciously shifted into the priest.
Wondering if it might make a difference, I turned back to the door and tried the key in the lock again. This time the door clicked open, and I smiled. I pushed it wide and strode through, the seeker’s tug once again in control.
I strode forward down another hall until it branched left and right, and I waited for the tug to direct me which way to go, but it seemed to pull me straight toward the wall.
I frowned and tried to go left, but the tug pulled me back.
I turned right, but again the tug pulled me straight ahead toward the wall.
I stepped closer and ran my hands over the stone, looking and feeling for a seam. The wall must open somehow.
“What’s going on?” Phaedrus’s voice came from behind me sounding angry. “Why has the Citadel invaded the Priory? What are you all doing down here? How did you get through that door?”
I turned to face the priest, and he stopped dead as he caught sight of me, then recoiled back the way the guards had. I’d almost forgotten I was still wearing his face, and I shifted back into myself.
“Cyra?” Phaedrus asked incredulously. “What are you doing here?”
I blinked as I looked at him. I thought I saw a white glow flare around his body, but it was gone a second later. It must’ve been a trick of the lights, a halo created when he walked through a particularly bright area.
I tossed the keys I’d summoned back to Phaedrus. “What’s behind this wall?” I asked, ignoring his questions.
Phaedrus looked at me for a long moment before speaking. “Send your guards back upstairs. They can’t enter.”
The lead guard started to protest, but I held a hand up to cut him off. “I’m safe with Phaedrus,” I told him. “Go back up and wait for me.”
None of the guards moved for a few long seconds, and I didn’t need to read their minds to know they were weighing if they were more afraid of what I might do if they defied me, or of what Bressen would do if they let anything happen to me.
“Go,” I said, “or I’ll make you go.”
The lead guard swallowed and ordered the rest back upstairs. He started to leave as well, but then thought better of it and turned back to me. He unsheathed a dagger from his waist and handed it to me.
“Just in case,” he said.
I took the dagger and smiled at him. “Thank you.” I didn’t bother to tell him I already had a dagger sheathed to my thigh under my dress. It seemed to make him feel better that I accepted his, and I didn’t want the fact that I wore one of my own to make him rethink leaving me alone with Phaedrus.
When the guards were finally tromping back upstairs to the main level of the Priory, I turned to examine the wall.
“What’s behind it?” I asked Phaedrus again as I continued my exploration of the stone.
My hand skimmed over one spot that seemed smoother, and I frowned.
It didn’t look smoother, but it felt so, as if the touch of thousands of hands over the centuries had worn it down.
Behind me I heard Phaedrus hold his breath as I pushed on the stone.
To my surprise – and apparently Phaedrus’s as well – the stone glowed green for just a moment, then the seam in the wall I’d been looking for earlier appeared.
“How did you do that?” Phaedrus asked from behind me. “Only Priory workers are allowed…” He trailed off, then answered his own question. “You’re a Hand of the Gods.”
I didn’t acknowledge Phaedrus but only pushed open the hidden door that was now visible. I stepped into the cavernous room it revealed and gaped at what I beheld.
Phaedrus appeared at my side and gestured for me to enter further. “Lady Cyra, welcome to the Priory’s library.”