Page 19 of Skyshade
The destruction of nightbane was a massive blow. The scarcity of the drug it was used to create would only intensify unrest. Many people of Nightshade relied on it daily.
And, without the healing elixir it made, people would die from injuries that could previously be mended. They had just lost one of their greatest assets.
This had just been one storm of a season. It was just the beginning.
“We need to know about the origin of the storms, if we’re going to stop them.” They needed more information.
She needed more information.
The question was asked from desperation. She tried to keep the urgency out of her tone as she said, “You don’t have oracles here, right?”
She didn’t dare hope. She didn’t dare breathe.
“No,” he said, and she closed her eyes. Fought against the rush of sadness. Then, “The closest thing we ever had was a prophet, but he died a long time ago.” A prophet? “His order survived, but they only speak to those who make the climb.”
“The climb?”
“Up to their base. It’s at the top of a mountain.”
She blinked at him. “You never tried?”
“Of course I did. When I reached the top, they refused to let me in.”
She frowned. Grim was their ruler, and he seemed well-liked by his people. “Why?”
“My father killed the prophet.” Oh. Perhaps sensing she was going to ask why in the realms Grim’s father would do that, he added, “He refused to share his prophecies with him.”
Her desperation was so sharp, she knew he could feel it. “Maybe they’ll speak to me. I’ll make the climb.” She said the words casually, but her heartbeat was anything but.
Grim just looked at her. “It isn’t a simple mountain. There are tunnels within, and they shift unnaturally. There are beasts inside. The climb is a test, created when the prophet still lived. Only those who survived it were deemed worthy of his knowledge.”
She gave him a withering look. “And you think me incapable?”
He glared back at her. “Of course not. But all power is nullified in the mountain, it’s a sacred place of unusual ability, and—”
It didn’t matter. The bracelets did that anyway. “You think just because I can’t use my powers, I’m powerless?”
Grim blinked at her. “No,” he said, looking as though he was trying to choose his words carefully. “But without them you are vulnerable.” Vulnerable. She hated that word, even though he was right. “I’ll go with you.”
“I don’t need your help.”
“Perhaps not. I’m coming anyway.”
“I—”
“Every single person who has tried to make the climb in the last century, other than me, has died. Your death means the death of my people. Any information they can provide about the storms is critical to us all.”
That, she could not argue with.
She shifted on her feet, considering, and Grim just watched her, leaning against Wraith. She had so many secrets. She wished he would just leave her alone.
But if the prophet-followers wouldn’t allow him in...he wouldn’t hear her questions. If he could help her make it to the top, so be it.
“Fine. Where is this mountain?”
THE CLIMB
According to Grim, the ascent would take a full day. Two, possibly, depending on what they encountered.
