Page 83 of The Ninth Element

“That vendor was definitely a creep,” I blurt out.

“Maybe he sensed you were craving somethinginparticular,” he counters, with that unexpected, playful glint in his eyes.

I run a hand over my blushed face, trying to steady myself in the face of this absurd situation. “At least even in this den of sin,” I gesture at the stars scattered on the ground, “we can follow the path to righteousness.”

A sound breaks through my mortification. Time stops. My jaw drops. I stare, completely dumbfounded. Zanyar islaughingat my joke. Not a chuckle, not a smirk, but a genuine laugh, one that echoes in the suddenly quiet street.

His usual stoicism has given way to something lighter. His eyes crinkle at the corners, and his lips curve into a smile that’s both startling and… beautiful. It’s a revelation, and it makes my heart do a strange flutter-kick against my ribs. I quickly look away, not wanting to stare with an open mouth.

“Let’s follow the stars,” he says, his voice still laced with amusement. “Unless you want to walk back.”

“Absolutely not,” I reply, shuddering dramatically.

Zanyar laughs again as we walk along the star-marked path. After a few twists and turns through the pleasantly ordinary streets, we finally emerge into a massive square.

Dominating the space is a towering triangular building, as black as night, with three spires piercing the sky like obsidian needles. Short passageways lead from each corner of the building to the plaza, creating a dramatic approach to the temple’s three entrances. It’s an impressive sight, and for a moment, I forget my earlier embarrassment.

We walk toward a small stone bench on the side of the temple and sit in silence, staring at the massive building.

“I’ve been thinking,” I suddenly break the silence, “The coins… they solidified from that phantom of light in the shape of a Nohvan.”

Zanyar looks at me, and for some reason, I have a feeling he’d already pieced together the puzzle before I even opened my mouth. “You think the coins can show us the way,” he states as if it were the most obvious thing inthe world.

“Exactly! If we can transform them back into the flying light, it could guide us.”

Zanyar’s nod is almost smug. “I had the same thought back in the mountains. I tried to turn the coins into the phantom, hoping it could show the way back to Jahanwatch. But that trial was just about endurance and navigation. But here? Searching for small coins in a town this size is a fool’s errand. If these coins are the advantage we gained from past trials, bringing back the Nohvan from our coins to guide us to where the missing ones are is the only logical conclusion.”

I’m amazed that we’ve somehow come to the same conclusion without even checking with each other, and a peculiar one at that. I pull out my coins and examine them.

“Could it be why they paired us? Maybe only our combined coins work?” I ask, running my hand over my mouth in contemplation.

Zanyar thinks about it for a moment, and then he takes out his five coins. I do the same and add my two coins to the pile. We both stare at the seven coins resting in his palm, but nothing happens.

“That would have been too easy,” I say with a sigh, taking back my coins.

“But we are on the right path. I’m certain of it. Maybe we need something else besides the coins,” Zanyar says, scanning the surroundings. “Maybe something in this town.”

We sit in silence as a comfortable stillness rests between us. The sun has begun its slow descent. We should be heading back to the stables soon, but I can’t bring myself to look away from the temple. It’s breathtaking, a masterpiece of architecture that seems to hum with a power of its own.

In Firelands, we were taught to fear and despise the Faith, to see them as our eternal enemies. But now, standing here, gazing at this magnificent structure… I’m not so sure. How can such beauty inspire hatred?

“We can go inside,” Zanyar suddenly says with a gentle note in his voice, breaking my reverie. When I look at him, I see his gaze on me. “You said you wanted adventure. What better adventure than strolling into the enemy’s den?”

I chuckle. “I do like adventure. But…” I gesture toward the sun. “We need to leave soon.”

He smiles, a warm, genuine smile that is so breathtakingly beautiful that Ihaveto look away, wondering why he doesn’t grace the world with this beautiful sight more often.

The sculptures of the nine sisters, carved into the temple walls, catch my eye again. Each sister holds a different object, a symbol of each of the nine elements. I look at the elements, and the connection to that mysteriousStarhits me again. The shattered fragments are each named for an element, just like the eight pieces of the Star of the Faith. I steal a glance at Zanyar. He’s scanning the plaza, his expression guarded, revealing nothing of his thoughts.

“Do you believe the story of the nine sisters?” I ask, trying to sound casual as if it’s a mere idle question.

He turns to me with a small frown. “You mean nine women plummeting from the sky and creating the world with a wave of their hands?”

“Not the whole story,” I say, choosing my words carefully. “But… is there any truthbehindit? Some reality that became mythologized?”

Zanyar’s frown deepens. “What are you getting at?”

I hesitate. This is dangerous ground. “I don’t know. Maybe there was a power, something that could control the elements. And that became the basis for the Faith, for their symbol.”

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