Page 118 of Rising Out of the Darkness
What was Oria? If I remembered the old language I’d read about once, the word could be translated to “gods’ light.” Was this a person, a euphemism, a place?
Intrigue pulled me back to the pieces of parchment littering the dusty desk. I began scanning once more, pulling out information that leapt out at me.
“…they’re disappearing at a rapid rate. We need to do something before it’s too late, L.”
Were they talking about Elysians…or humans?
“…we’ve noticed as well. It seems after each Ascension ceremony Elysians keep coming out with lesser dynamis.”
I’d always thought something wasn’t right.
“…he’s found a way to suppress dynamis.”
Gods. Sweat began to bead on my forehead.
“…we are moving groups of humans out, a few at a time. Your boys have been a tremendous help. We couldn’t have done any of this without them. Thank you for sending them our way. Thank the gods we started building so long ago.”
Boys? This was the second mention of them. What had these two been building?
“You’ve done it! I can’t believe we’ve finally figured out a cure. Gods bless us that the first test was successful. I would have never thought to use the gods’ tree. I’m beginning to think you were right about there being a connection. Please be careful and make a few more batches so we can test again. This just might be it, L, we might finally be able to turn the tide.”
My eyes wandered over the date penned in the corner of the last letter. This one had been sent just before the first one I’d read.
Someone had found a way to suppress our dynamis.
I’d always questioned why those who lived outside of the great cities of Ehora seemed to have lesser dynamis. Even more puzzling was the fact that elders, those who had fled the cities, were also beginning to lose their strength as well. It appeared, however, that these two mysterious rebels had figured out a way to solve that problem.
Something snapped inside of my brain with such force, I slapped my forehead.
Gods.How had I not pieced this together sooner? Will and I, that day of our Ascension, we’d come out of it with dynamis stronger than anyone had seen…especially from those living outside of the cities.
Had we been given something to unleash our powers, something to take away the suppression?
A bead of sweat rolled down my cheek. The walls in the room were closing in on me. I tried my best to control my breathing and my thoughts. The last thing I needed right now was to unleash my dynamis by accident. With all the parchment in the room, it would build to a roaring flame in seconds.
My fingers trailed back over the papers that contained lists of plants and herbs. After a few moments, my brain made the connection. It shocked me so much that my teeth pierced through the flesh of my bottom lip. As I read the words, the taste of copper that filled my tongue became surprisingly appropriate.
“…ginger, rosemary, thyme, hawthorn berries, peonies, blood of an Empath…”
Blood of an Empath?
These weren’t just lists for planting, these were recipes, lists of different elixirs. Someone had created a potion to help stop the suppression of dynamis.
The final ingredient was blood.
Meaning they had to use blood magic.
Hells.
Grabbing every piece of parchment I could, I shoved them inside my back pocket. My mind was working faster than my feet, and I stumbled over the stairs I was taking two at a time.
“Damn!” I cursed as my forehead hit the rough stone wall.
Reaching the top, I closed the door behind me. Again, it made a thud. However, instead of silence, this time I heard something else.
“What in the Hells?” shrieked a female voice from behind the peony bush.
“Shh…stay back.” A familiar voice hushed the female as heavy footsteps began to make their way towards me. Slowly, I rose, finally meeting the speaker’s eyes.
