Chapter Seven #8
“What about these scrolls? These records are shorter than the ones our parents have been helping with.” Marcus started rattling off titles. “The Hidden Forest. The Silver Crown. The Music Box.”
“Those are first-hand accounts from relevant allies,” Takahashi said.
“These particular stories come from people close to your parents— Ava’s relatives, Imogen and Jonah, and Kallie’s relatives, Odette and Theo.
Even your own Aunt Talia and Uncle Grant gave their accounts.
I am certain some of these supporting materials will be declassified one day, but others— stories from family and friends close to the chosen ones— may remain in the Hidden Legends Archives forever. ”
“Kazim’s going to be thrilled when he learns about this.
He’ll portal here himself to read our parents’ story.
” Kallie gave a light laugh, before she paused.
“On second thought, he’ll probably want to add his own account of what’s happened in Malovia during his rule.
It’s fae history, so it belongs here in the Archives. ”
“As you are all important to supernatural history, any one of you here are welcome to add your story to the records when it is time,” Takahashi offered.
“Mm…” Marcus mused. “Maybe one day I’ll be ready to tell my story of how I got sent to the Institute.”
Something dawned on me. “Ava and I were chosen. I suppose if we win this war, you’ll want an account from the two of us as well.”
“Indeed,” Takahashi said thoughtfully. “When the time is right. But your legend is not yet finished, and it still needs to be written. We still have work to do. Which brings me to this…”
Takahashi led us past one of the long shelves, and we came upon a study area. My fingers roamed over the backs of velvet couches and thick mahogany desks. Two women were already seated there, and their voices trailed off when they saw us.
“So it’s time?” one of the women said.
“Yes,” Takahashi replied. “You all remember Professors Wykoff and Amber. They are our chief record keepers responsible for compiling and maintaining the Archives.”
“You’ve done a wonderful job,” Kallie praised.
“Even I’m impressed,” Danny admitted. The library must’ve been even grander to the eye than I could comprehend, because it took a hell of a lot to impress Danny.
“Thank you,” one of the professors replied. I thought it was Wykoff, because I remembered her voice was deeper than Amber’s, whereas Professor Amber talked in a soft, almost dream-like manner.
“It really was no trouble!” Amber said cheerily. “I can’t tell you how much joy it gave me to transcribe the finer, more intimate details of Liam and Sophia’s story. Truly a sensual delight!”
“Everyone take a seat,” Takahashi instructed. “We have much to discuss.”
He started out by bringing the professors up to speed on the events that had transpired today.
“Unfortunately, Emperor Cameron is about as useful as a discarded toothpick,” Takahashi said.
I’d never heard him insult anyone before, so that was new.
Cameron deserved it, though. “Ava’s shield around Ilamanthe has ensured our survival for now, but it’s only a matter of time before the Warden destroys everything beyond this city, and we’ll collapse with it.
We’re still alive, which means we have a chance to beat him. ”
“But he’s more powerful than ever, and we’ve never been able to defeat him before,” Marcus remarked. “What makes you think this time will be different?”
“The Warden is more powerful, but so are we,” Takahashi said.
“That can’t possibly be true,” Kallie argued.
“Recall we’re in a library, princess,” Takahashi emphasized.
“Knowledge is power. We have six of the seven Divinity Keys sitting in the royal vault. All we need is the right piece of information leading us to the Astromancer key, then we’ll have the power to open the Elven Gate, restore our connection to the Blessed Haven, and overpower the Warden for good. ”
It seemed we were beyond that point already, but I had to hand it to him— the Archives intrigued me. There could be information here that would help us win. “What knowledge do we have that we didn’t have before?”
Professor Amber spread a piece of paper over the table.
Everyone leaned in to look, so I assumed it had to be a map.
“After the Warden seized Octavia Falls, but before Ilamanthe was sealed off, Professor Wykoff and I went back to her hometown to salvage any clues we could find in the aftermath. We discovered that the tar pits which opened there during the Warden’s attack were not merely pits that sucked people to their deaths like we assumed.
They were modified versions of the Pits of Despair. ”
“Those nasty pits we fell into during the Darke Games?” Marcus asked.
“The very ones,” Professor Amber said. “We know now that the pits on Darke Island were portals to hell, which is how monsters came through to our realm during the Darke Games. What we discovered in Octavia Falls is that the Warden modified the pits with his magic and connected them to different points on Earth.”
“In short, the Warden used these tar pits to transport people to the Main Facility,” Professor Wykoff said.
That explained it. We could never figure out how he moved so many people undetected.
“That’s how The Mission is getting around,” Kallie realized. “Which means we can weaken his army by alchemizing the tar to become solid, so they can’t serve as portals anymore.”
“That’s exactly what we were thinking,” Takahashi stated.
I leaned back on the couch. “This is great intel, but it doesn’t help us find the last key.
We could find a way through Ilamanthe’s shield and go close the Warden’s portals, but that doesn’t stop him from opening new ones.
Plus, opening the shield— even the tiniest bit— puts us at risk of him finding a way through. ”
“I agree with Charlie,” Danny said. It had to be the first time he’d ever sided with me on anything.
“We can’t risk leaving unless we’ve got our eyes on the Astromancer key.
We can target the Warden’s portals, but we need to save that for the opportune time.
No point in weakening his army just so he can come back stronger.
We’ll target him when it’s time to move. ”
“These are good points,” Takahashi agreed. “We’ll attack only when we find a lead on the Astromancer key.”
“How close are we?” I wondered.
“Close,” Takahashi promised. “There are more records here in the Archives than the first-hand accounts I showed you. We have scrolls and artifacts dating back centuries, and we’ve uncovered a handful of records on the Astromancers— more than we’ve ever had before.
Some of these need translating from the Astromancer language, which takes time, but we’re getting closer and closer every day. ”
Takahashi seemed optimistic, but I wasn’t convinced.
We’d spent so long looking for these damned keys, and we had yet to make any progress on the Astromancer key.
The Astromancers mostly kept to themselves, and Takahashi was the only one of them among our allies.
If he hadn’t uncovered where the last Divinity Key was by now, I wasn’t holding my breath.
Even if it was our only option left.