Page 54 of Forsaken Secrets

I grinned and traced my fingers along the edges of the burned wood, trying to imagine what the room had looked like.

The floors would have glistened a pale white as people moved quietly through the towering book shelves, pulling books and leafing through them.

I could practically smell the aged pages and leather …

"Well, it looks like it was some sort of mage library, at least." Eli held up a charred rectangular piece of metal, a dozen steps behind me. "It says, Archivist — Spirit Order."

Heart racing, I rushed to his side, holding my hand out to inspect it.

"Where'd it come from?"

He pointed to a skeleton, stretched lengthwise near our feet. My breath caught, and I searched the room with fresh eyes.

There were bodies … dozens of bodies!

How had I missed them before?

My skin crawled as I bent to examine the remains closest to me.

The skeleton was all that remained, and even that was crumbling in places. Now that fresh air was coming in, it probably wouldn't last much longer.

The arms were outstretched, as though the person was reaching for the area we'd come through …

"Normal fires leave people curled up in balls, trying to protect themselves." Eli motioned to a skeleton by his feet. "I don't think this was a normal fire."

I nodded and walked to the next one.

Another body with arms outstretched.

"This one has a sword and looks like they were facing into the building when they died." Lynk's voice echoed from deeper in the room.

"So it was something they thought they could fight. Maybe an experiment with an unstable relic?" I'd never heard of one that strong, though.

Excitement fluttered in my chest. Could Eli have been right? Was there a strong relic down here somewhere? Even a twisted one would have value to the Empire!

"Perhaps we should turn around." Eli's voice was quiet.

I turned and cocked a brow at him. "Really? You climbed down the cliff that almost killed you, but this is where you draw the line? If these were mages, and it was before the Fall, this had to have happened at least a thousand years ago, Eli. I highly doubt whatever caused it is still lying around."

He shuddered. "Fine. I'm not taking the lead, though."

I grinned and stepped past him, slipping the metal badge into my pack. The little object wasn't a relic, but perhaps it would fetch some money?

"Which way should we go?" I pointed to the main hall and several smaller hallways off to the sides.

Eli pulled out his book and pointed to a place that vaguely looked like the area we were in. "There are a series of small rooms back here." He pointed to a hallway to our right. "I'd guess they'd be our best bet to find relics. Though, with how long it's been and the state of this place, I'd guess most have reverted already."

I nodded. "Where's Lynk?" He'd told us about the swordsman skeleton and I hadn't seen him since. "So much for sticking close together …"

Eli's eyes were wide in the lyphos light. "What if something happened to him? You never know what's down in these ruins. I've heard stories of wraiths lurking in them for years, then killing any Reapers who come through."

I squinted into the darkness. If some creature had taken Lynk, it had been extremely sneaky about it …

"You two coming along?" Lynk's voice reverberated like a gong from down the hall, as though we'd called him with our worries.

"Coming!" I shouted, winking at Eli before walking towards Lynk's voice.

"Oh, come on." Eli followed me. "You know you were worried, too."

I shook my head, then ignored him until we reached Lynk. He stood with his arms crossed, glaring at us impatiently.

"You sure seem to know your way around,” Eli said.

Lynk shrugged. "It's just common sense, lordling. If you're looking for something big, powerful, and scary, go where the people are leaving. These people were obviously scared of something back here."

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