Chapter 16 #2
“Not mine!” Rylan quickly clarified. “Great-Grandfather knew some mages. They did it. So yeah, if the beams give out, then we’ll be protected by their magic. Great-Grandfather always had a fail-safe, or so I was told.”
“Those mages didn’t happen to wear awful hats, did they?”
Rylan shrugged. “I don’t know. I wasn’t born yet. All this has been passed through my family for generations. I’m the current caretaker.”
“What about your parents?” I asked as I took in the objects on the shelves.
Glass bottles filled with colorful liquids sat, carefully labeled with yellowing parchment, and scrolls were stacked in pyramids.
A gnome’s hat perched on a small hat stand.
A faery’s wing was encased in a cube of glass.
A griffin feather floated in place on one of the higher shelves, suspended by its own magic.
A small collection of gold emanated dragon magic, the caress of it a warm tingle against my wrist where my bracelet was clasped.
“Gone,” Rylan replied.
“Huh?” I asked, snapping out of my own awe at the collection. “Oh. Right. I’m so sorry.”
“No!” He ran a hand through his hair. “Not like that. They moved away. Got sick of the earthquakes.”
“Ah, makes sense.”
Farrah wandered the room wide-eyed and open-mouthed, taking in all the oddities and knowledge that this one room held. She paused at a low table near the center of the room and sat on the lone chair, then reached out to touch a bronzed goblet.
“Farrah!” Aven barked.
She startled.
“What have we learned about touching things?” I asked, walking closer, the steps of my boots softened by a large area rug decorating the floor.
She pouted. “I thought that was only creatures.”
“Not only creatures. Apply it to everything.”
She nodded quickly.
“So,” I said, peering closely at a stack of parchments, the top one bearing a drawing of a creature I’d never seen before, “where is this map?”
“In here.” Rylan gestured toward one of the mountains of scrolls. “Somewhere.”
It’s never easy. Why would it be easy? “Okay, new rule. You may touch parchments and scrolls, but that’s it.”
Farrah eagerly rubbed her hands together, darted from the chair, and touched every scroll in reach.
“Bring all the scrolls and parchments to the middle,” Aven said, gathering a pile in their arms. “We’ll go through them together.”
We assembled in a half circle on the plush carpet.
The first scroll was a recipe for a soup that could cure all ills.
The second was a map focused on the migration of common geese versus the migration of Harpies.
The third was a treatise on the worship of the Lady in the Sea by the people on the southern coast. The fourth was an itemized shipping receipt from a town that no longer existed.
And that’s how we spent the next several hours.
My knees started to ache, and my eyes began to blur in the low light of the flickering torches.
According to Rylan, the torches would not burn out, since they were lit with magic, but the fire in the hearth had dwindled enough that the coldness of the cave seeped back into my bones.
Wrapped in my cloak, Zig huddled next to the dying fire. Farrah yawned. And Rylan hadn’t blinked in at least fifteen minutes.
It had to be early evening by now. If we didn’t find the map soon enough, we’d have to camp and try again in the morning.
I moved another scroll to the no pile and unrolled the next one.
Immediately it had my attention. The map was yellowed with age, and at a quick glance I caught the position of a Harpy’s nest at the top of a mountain and the accurate depiction of the location of the manticore.
Both were ancients. Other locations were marked with single-colored dots and no descriptions, but there was a faded key at the bottom.
“This is it!” Rylan said, yanking it from my hand. “Each dot represents a different primordial. The key is a bit faded, but I’m certain in the sunlight we’ll be able to discern the colors.”
My heart soared. This was what we were looking for! This was what made the faery, the Simmer, and the fire salamanders all worth it. I could save Zig!
Giddy with the discovery, I looked up and met Aven’s gaze, my cheeks hurting from how wide my smile stretched. Aven grinned in return, their expression softer than I expected, not near as excited as I’d thought they’d be.
“Okay,” I said, brushing the dust from my hands. “Let’s get out of here. It’s cold and dark. We’ll make camp nearby, and in the morning we’ll study the map in the daylight.”
Rylan quickly rolled the map back into a scroll.
He tucked it into the travel bag at his hip.
I pulled Zig to standing, slightly worried at how sluggish he’d become as the day had progressed.
Was it the toll of the traveling? Or was the magic of the bargain affecting him?
Whichever it was, the quest wouldn’t take much longer.
This misery was almost over. And I didn’t even need to use that stupid scrap of cloth the mages had tried to trick me into taking. Suckers.
“Rylan,” I said, slapping his shoulder. “Lead the way.”
Rylan nodded vigorously. He stepped toward the edge of the room, near the way we’d entered, Farrah on his heels, Zig trailing behind.
As soon as Rylan’s boots passed the threshold of the open door, the floor suddenly jolted beneath our feet. A deep rumble echoed around the space, and the shaking of the ground quickly grew into great lurching heaves.
“I thought you said this was earthquake-proof!” Aven yelled at Rylan as they tripped their way toward our escape.
“It’s the magic!” he shouted back. “I don’t think I’m supposed to remove the map from here. It must be a fail-safe!”
Objects fell from the shelves. Glass bulbs and vials burst into small shards as soon as they hit the stone.
The scrolls in our no pile rolled about the room as the floor pitched.
Dust rained down on us from the beams above, and they gave an ominous groan in response to another forceful tilt of the ground.
When I glanced upward, a sheen of purple cracked down the middle, larger fractures spiderwebbing out from the center. Magic. The magic had broken.
Oh no. No. No. No. A few small rocks fell in front of the door. My heart pounded and I ran to Rylan, pushing him forward, because that map was leaving, magic or no.
“Go! Go!” I yelled.
Farrah stumbled to her knees. I grabbed her hand and yanked her upward. Rylan reached out for her and entwined their fingers, pulling her toward the passageway. Okay. Rylan and Farrah and—
A larger rock fell, and I dove out of the way to avoid being crushed into fleshy goo.
I landed awkwardly on my shoulder, a loud crack echoing in my ear, but I didn’t have time to evaluate injuries.
Using my hands for balance, I scrambled to my feet.
We had to get out of here. I could worry about snapped things later.
“Come on!” Rylan yelled.
Another epic quake shook the cave. Aven tripped on the carpet, slamming into a shelf.
I slipped on liquid pouring from a broken vase and fell flat, knocking the breath out of my lungs.
More rocks tumbled and slid down the sides of the room.
The table fell completely over. A beam snapped in half overhead, raining splinters on us.
Rylan and Farrah shouted for us from their position on the other side of the threshold, their hands outstretched.
But I couldn’t find my balance.
“Run!” I yelled at Zig.
He ran for the exit, jumping over a fallen beam, heading for Rylan and Farrah.
But he stopped, hesitated, and looked back at me.
A large stone overhead broke loose, and I watched in abject horror as it started to fall.
I couldn’t make it there in time. My heart pounded in my ears as my boots slipped on the slick floor, and I fell again.
Out of nowhere Aven lunged and pushed Zig hard in the back. Zig stumbled through the door and into the arms of Farrah and Rylan just as the stone struck the ground, sealing off our only exit.
The trio yelled in shock. But they were safe. I knew they were safe.
Then the rest of the wall came tumbling down.