Chapter 13 The Sun Temple, Royal Island, Kingdom of Oru #2
She couldn’t let herself believe that Alawani wasn’t alive, so she turned to Kyà as she held the handle of the door that led out of the dining hall. ‘Quick and quiet. In and out.’
‘In and out,’ Kyà gave her a firm nod.
The door opened and shut behind them soundlessly.
L’?r? and Kyà stood with their backs glued to the door, which had opened straight into the tower – its huge circular walls stretching above and below.
L’?r? walked forward to the railings that went around in a circle, shielding her from the large hole in the middle of the floor that sunk deep into depths she could not see.
The inside of the tower was much larger than L’?r? had thought it would be.
Darker too. On each side were winding stairs leading to the level below.
L’?r? leaned further over the railings, peering into the shadows cast by the moonlight seeping through the circular skylight at the tower’s ceiling.
She could feel herself falling from a great distance and crashing into the unknown. She stepped back.
‘How do we know what door is his?’ she said, spinning round and looking at the four doors around them. Two on their side and two on the other side of the railings. ‘Baba-ìtàn said we’d know by the markings on the door, but these are all plain.’
A door slammed shut from below, and L’?r? instinctively brought out her blades.
Opposite her, Kyà already had two knives in his hands, ready to attack.
Guards weren’t allowed this far into the temple – there was no talking their way out if they got caught.
L’?r? raised a finger to her lips and pointed to the stairs on the other side.
Kyà nodded slowly and crept down, one step after the other, in sync with her.
As L’?r? walked down the stairs, she hoped with all her heart that Alawani was still alive.
Even now, as the drumming in her heart threatened to expose her, she had one thought that echoed in her mind.
He’d better be alive. She’d burnt too many bridges and broken too many hearts.
There was no going back. He had to be alive.
They reached the next landing, and L’?r? hid in a tight corner where the moon’s light did not reach.
She peered out to see Kyà hiding in a similar spot on the other side, his knives still in his hand.
The floor was quiet and empty. Thank the sun, L’?r? thought, scanning the area.
This floor had four doors too, but unlike the ones on the level above, two of them had markings.
Even better, she recognized them. One door had three horizontal lines etched into its centre, and the other had three lines that met at a single point, like cat whiskers.
Baba-ìtàn was right. L’?r? found Kyà’s eyes, and she could see his hand move to touch his temple.
He knew what she was thinking. The marks on the door were identical to the tribal marks for people from ìlú-òdì and ìlú-Oní?nà.
They only had to find the door with a single dash – the tribal mark representing the capital city.
That’s where the Prince àlùfáà would be.
Another door slammed.
Without thinking or turning, she moved back into the dark corner.
So fast that she hit her elbow. The collision with the sharp edge of the tower’s old, rugged stones sent jolts of pain throughout her body.
She crouched and forced down the pain in silent gulps, hoping no one would have heard.
She clenched her teeth and hoped the voices they heard were descending the stairs and not ascending towards her.
Not daring to peek again, she pushed her back further into the wall, digging its jagged surface into her skin, trying to disappear.
L’?r? held her breath until the voices died out.
Whoever had opened any doors on the lower levels was gone.
She peeked out again, and it was all clear.
She used one of her blades to reflect the moonlight into Kyà’s corner, and he put his head out, looked around, and then pointed down. They had to keep going.
The next floor was identical, with two of the rooms marked for ìlú-p? and ìlú-Idán. The floor directly below had to be the rooms for ìlú-ìm and ìlú-?ba – Alawani should be there.
Halfway down the stairs, a door opened on the level below, and L’?r?’s heart stopped.
In the blink of an eye, she saw Kyà’s long legs carry him in a single jump to the downstairs landing, and he disappeared into the corner.
But L’?r? didn’t have time. A maiden turned and spoke to someone on the other side of the door that L’?r? couldn’t see – she glanced around for a hiding place.
If she ran upstairs, her footsteps would surely attract their attention – but maybe she could still slide down the last few steps and into the shadows, as Kyà had done, if she was quick.
But just when L’?r? thought she had found a chance to run, Milúà walked out of the door.
L’?r? knew what it was to be afraid. She’d felt it when she walked alone at night.
When her home was burnt by the villagers.
She’d felt it earlier tonight when she thought Baba-ìtàn might never forgive her.
This was different. Her head throbbed. She could hear her heartbeat as if she was holding her own heart in her hand.
Her entire body froze as she stood mid-step on the stairs.
She was unable to command her body to move.
She tried to move her fingers. Her toes. Anything. Nothing happened.
All she could do was pray as hard as she could in her mind, Please don’t let her see me. Please don’t let her see me.
And then the pain hit from deep within her.
It was so intense that L’?r? could feel her eyes burn and tear up.
It felt as though she was being burnt alive from the inside.
Knowing that the slightest whimper would mean instant death, she did not scream.
She could feel herself trembling, but her hands were still as stone.
The hairs on her body rose to attention.
It felt like tiny needles digging into her skin, twisting deeper whenever she tried to move.
Somehow she remained still, one hand on the stair railing, her other hand clenched by her side, hoping the shadows would hide her as the two maidens approached.
‘I don’t know why she’d think I’d ever steal from her,’ Milúà said to the maiden next to her.
‘You mean, you don’t know why she ever thought you’d allow yourself to get caught,’ the other maiden said.
Milúà smiled and shrugged.
‘You need to be careful if she reports to Mother –’
‘Ha! And admit that she’s too incompetent to run her temple? She’d rather die than give Mother any reason to return here.’
‘I guess so,’ the other maiden said. ‘Why did you even take it?’
‘Take what?’ Milúà said. They were so close to L’?r? now that they could touch her, but somehow their eyes slid past. How was this possible?
The other maiden laughed, ‘You like trouble.’
They both walked right by L’?r? and down the other stairs where Kyà had hidden in the corner. He was well hidden so they could not see him. But she was right there, and they didn’t even look at her once.
L’?r? let out the groan she’d been biting down. Her body felt heavy as stone, and every breath stung. When she tried to call out for Kyà, a white mist came out of her mouth. Her eyes darted back and forth, the only part of her body that was still under her control.
‘L’?r?, where are you?’ Kyà whispered, peeking out of his corner. ‘L’?r?.’
‘I’m here,’ she breathed, but he didn’t hear her.
She said it louder, but he kept searching for her, looking right through her.
Only then did she realize her lips hadn’t moved, and she didn’t appear to be breathing.
She tried to force air out of her nostrils, but it was like her entire body was covered in a thick layer of something, leaving her unable to move, breathe, or speak.
An icy shiver went right through her. Her frazzled mind struggled to regain control of her body.
Terrified that she’d walked into a cursed trap set by the priests, she fought with everything in her, trying to move every part of her body until, finally, a crack.
Like a hammer to a slab of ice, her hands looked broken.
Lines like veins trailed around her body like a cracked clay pot about to burst. She didn’t have time to think about it.
The moment her finger could move, a crack ran through the length of her and as she inhaled her first breath, freeing herself from the mould, she jumped into Kyà’s arms. A loud sound like that of crashing mirrors echoed through the tower.
Kyà recoiled and shoved her off. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.
L’?r? forced down a scream as her head slammed against the wall.
She flexed every part of her body to break off the ice shards that clung to her skin.
The world blurred, and the ringing in her ears was loud enough to drive her mad.
All she could think about at that moment was that she must have touched or triggered an old magic spell or trap within the tower.
With her shaky breaths, she cursed the priests who had built the àlùfáà tower.
Kyà took a step closer, squinting as if checking it really was her and then rushed to her side, scooping her into his arms. ‘Oh, gods, L’?r?, I’m so sorry, you scared me, you came out of nowhere, I thought –’ He paused and looked back at the stairs, then back to her. ‘Where were you?’
‘What was that?’ Milúà’s loud voice boomed from the level below.
Kyà pulled L’?r? into a corner just before the staircase, and they both squeezed in. It was almost too small to fit two people, so their chests pressed against each other, and they held their breaths.
L’?r? struggled to breathe. She wasn’t crying, but tears poured out in streams from her eyes and dripped from her nose, and she was sweating by the bucket.
The next few agonizing moments seemed to drag on until finally, she couldn’t hear the maiden’s voice, footsteps, or even the sound of the wind.
Then she shuffled out of the corner, shivering, sweating and soaking wet.
‘Are you okay? How are you so drenched?’ Kyà asked, looking at his own soaked clothes.
‘I – uh –’ Panic cut her words off.
‘How did you do that?’ Kyà asked, still bewildered. ‘I swear, I was looking right at those stairs. One moment, there was nothing, and the next, you were falling into me.’
‘I … I don’t know,’ L’?r? said, still looking at her trembling hands. ‘I don’t know what just happened. I felt like I was suffocating, dying. I couldn’t move.’
‘You were invisible! Those maidens walked right past you. If they’d seen you, you wouldn’t be alive. How did you do that? What did you do?’ he asked, pointing at the ice that now melted away on the floor.
‘I don’t know! This place is cursed,’ L’?r? replied, still shaking and shivering.
She wanted to tell him that whatever had happened could not have been from her since she had no agbára, but this was not the place to reveal such secrets.
Her heart raced in her chest, and she felt the burning within her.
She was terrified and hoped that whatever curse the temple had placed on her, Baba-ìtàn could remove it the moment she got home.
‘Let’s find Alawani and get out of this place. ’
L’?r? reached to touch her necklace, and this time, rather than the usual comfort, she felt a surge of energy flow through her.
On instinct she snapped the necklace from her neck.
Kyà put his hands around her to hold her.
She groaned as she fought the pain, but it felt like something had exploded in her core.
Sweat continued to pour out of her, and for a moment, she didn’t think the pain would ever pass, but after what felt like a thousand heartbeats, it dulled into an ache.
She forced her head down to see the spot where the necklace had been, and she could see a blistered black scar. ‘Is there something on my chest?’ she whispered to Kyà.
Kyà narrowed his eyes, focusing on the spot, then shot them back at her.
‘You’re burning up,’ he said, touching her skin.
‘I’m not sure what’s happening but I don’t think you should wear that anymore.
’ He tried to touch it, and she flinched back.
‘It’s left a mark the shape of the pendant’s crescent moon,’ he added.
She could feel herself unravelling as her body continued to surge with heat and the pain seemed to build with her panic.
Of all the things Baba-ìtàn had taught her, she didn’t know what to do when attacked with old magic.
She was wildly unprepared for this. She needed to get out of this damned temple.
She shoved the necklace into her pocket, seized with panic, and all she could think was, Why in the world did Alawani say yes to this?