Page 95 of Requiem of Silence

She sagged against the town car’s seat, fearing her Song was nearly tapped out. She’d tried her best, but could do no more. Then the wraiths she held immobile with spells began to shudder and convulse.

“Stop the car!”

The driver complied and she focused within. She couldfeelthe wraiths under her power tearing themselves away from their hosts. The amount of Earthsong within the people rose dramatically and that feeling of distance and wrongness faded.

“They’re leaving!” Bareen shouted. Dozens of pillars of black smoke were retreating into the sky, forming a writhing mass there. The churning, dark cloud hovered until all the spirits had joined, and then it was gone, winked out like a dying star.

She took a few deep breaths and opened the door of the vehicle, standing on wobbly legs. Guardsmen were at her side in seconds.She closed her eyes and unburied all of the people who were now suffocating underground. They would all need healing and she had precious little Song left with which to do it.

The streets were suddenly quiet, except for moans of pain. The wonder and apprehension of the men surrounding her pulsed through her.

“We’ll need to triage the victims,” she said to Bareen. “Round up any Earthsinger with a Song left. Get a message on the radio, gather the Lagrimari translators. Those in the city with Songs will likely be Keepers and children.”

The captain began issuing instructions. Jasminda tilted her head up toward the sky, once again beautifully painted with the sun’s dying light.

A dark figure in silhouette up above made her tense, then she recognized Oola. Thank the Sovereign. The Goddess swooped down from the sky and descended a few blocks away. There would be many to heal and Her help would be vital.

The day they’d been fearing had come at last, and one thing was clear—they were severely outmatched.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

A bridle may restrain

and shackles may retain

but the freedom patience provides

cannot be trained.

—THE HARMONY OF BEING

Zeli stood in the darkness, waiting for her eyes to adjust. Cool damp air chafed her skin and she shivered. Overhead, the sky was visible in a perfect circle. Remi’s head popped into view, but he was backlit, so she couldn’t see his face. She waved, hoping his childish curiosity wouldn’t impel him to try to follow.

The sound of trickling water echoed softly, and she could make out a tunnel of stone, which curved subtly outward. The space down here was larger than she’d imagined, about twenty paces wide, and tall enough for two of her, if she could stand on herown shoulders. A trench ran down the center of the tunnel. She couldn’t get a feel for how deep it was in the gloom, though the odor wafting up made her crinkle her nose. The smell wasn’t as putrid as she’d feared, though. Honestly, she’d been subjected to far worse back when she was locked up with dozens of children and only a bucket to relieve themselves. The aroma down here was delightful in comparison.

She could only move forward or back on the narrow walkway, and the Archives was in front of her and to the right, about two hundred paces away. Zeli started walking, lighting a match to get her bearings. Stepping carefully and afraid of slipping into the foul water, she grazed the wall with her fingertips, shuddering in revulsion at the occasional slick spots. She couldn’t focus on what that might be.

The match burned out and her footsteps echoed eerily through the space. She steeled her nerves, reminding herself of her purpose even as the creepy atmosphere made her a bit dizzy. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before the darkness was splintered by flickering light up ahead. Her pace quickened. Torches were lit down a corridor to the right. This was about where she thought she should turn to get to the pyramid.

Her steps grew more cautious as she peered into the opening in the tunnel. This new passage was narrow. The trench disappeared and the rough stone of the ground and walls was replaced by smoothly honed limestone, the same material as the bottom layer of the Archives’ exterior. Only fifty paces ahead, an iron gate blocked the way; metal between its unadorned bars obstructed the view to the other side. The metal wasn’t rusted or corroded from being down here in all this dampness; by all appearances it could have been brand-new.

Where the latch should be there was a knob that looked like itwas made of dark glass. Multifaceted and irregular, though generally spherical. She reached for it, but paused. Though it wasn’t bloodred in color, it reminded her of a caldera.

The only calderas she was familiar with were the king stone—the heavy, oblong thing that now stored all the Songs stolen from the True Father, and the death stone—a smaller caldera that had been retrieved from deep in the ocean by Queen Jasminda’s family several years ago. Zeli had given the death stone to the Poison Flame on the Goddess’s instruction. And the king stone had been stored in the vault in the Elsiran palace, under lock and key since the True Father’s capture. At least that’s where it was supposed to be.

She’d been advised by the Goddess to never touch the death stone—it gave Singers, and perhaps even former Singers like her, horrible visions. However, Zeli had been given no such warnings about the king stone. The Goddess had told her that each caldera had a purpose, certain requirements for its use. Some, like the death stone, could affect a whole swath of people, and others would do nothing at all unless touched by the person it was meant for.

If this knob was a caldera, then it was likely part of the challenge. She held her breath and grabbed hold of it.

Nothing happened at first. Her vision didn’t black out, she didn’t see anything strange, but a low hum began in her ears.

“What kind of hunter are you?” a voice whisperedinsideher head.

“I… ah.” She cleared her throat. “I seek knowledge.”

“And who will this knowledge benefit?” It was more like the suggestion of words than an actual sound in her mind, but it made her shiver.

“My people, the Lagrimari. And others, too. If we can stop what is coming—the wraiths and the True Father—then everyone willbenefit.” Silence reigned around her. She kept hold of the knob, waiting for the next question.

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