Page 38 of Firstborn of the Sun
‘Who are these women?’ she asked, looking around the room.
‘This must be the birthing square. Those must be all the wives of High Priests who gave birth here.’
‘Hmnnn …’ L’?r? said, her eyes fixed on the portraits. ‘So every king and queen of Oru has been born here?’ L’?r? felta connection to these women that she couldn’t understand. One frame, in particular, called out to her. Unlike the others, it didn’t have the image of a woman. It was just filled with black sand.
L’?r?’s fingers moved to touch it, and Kyà grabbed her. They heard footsteps approaching down a nearby corridor. Even with only six surviving priests of the Order itself, the temple was still full of hundreds of apprentices, scholars, servants and of course, maidens. ‘Don’t touch anything. Let’s go!’
L’?r? allowed him to pull her out of the room, but the image of the black portrait remained in her mind.
They returned to the tunnels and snuck into the south tower – the Àlùfáà tower. The first room they came to was much bigger, and L’?r? led the way this time. Decorated pillars held up the roof on both sides. Everything in the room seemed placed to lead the eyes towards the carved image of the sun at the front of the hall. In its middle was a large red flame that cast flickering light across the walls. ‘I think we’re here.’
‘They’re definitely in this tower,’ Kyà said, moving around the large dining table in the middle of the hall.
‘At least they feed them,’ L’?r? said, picking up one plate. A cold shudder ran down her spine as she noticed the number of places set on the table. Three.
She couldn’t let herself believe that Alawani wasn’t alive, so she turned to Kyà as she held the handle of the door that led out of the dining hall. ‘Quick and quiet. In and out.’
‘In and out,’ Kyà gave her a firm nod.
The door opened and shut behind them soundlessly. L’?r? and Kyà stood with their backs glued to the door, which had opened straight into the tower – its huge circular walls stretching above and below. L’?r? walked forward tothe railings that went around in a circle, shielding her from the large hole in the middle of the floor that sunk deep into depths she could not see. The inside of the tower was much larger than L’?r? had thought it would be. Darker too. On each side were winding stairs leading to the level below. L’?r? leaned further over the railings, peering into the shadows cast by the moonlight seeping through the circular skylight at the tower’s ceiling. She could feel herself falling from a great distance and crashing into the unknown. She stepped back.
‘How do we know what door is his?’ she said, spinning round and looking at the four doors around them. Two on their side and two on the other side of the railings. ‘Baba-Ìtàn said we’d know by the markings on the door, but these are all plain.’
A door slammed shut from below, and L’?r? instinctively brought out her blades.
Opposite her, Kyà already had two knives in his hands, ready to attack. Guards weren’t allowed this far into the temple – there was no talking their way out if they got caught. L’?r? raised a finger to her lips and pointed to the stairs on the other side. Kyà nodded slowly and crept down, one step after the other, in sync with her.
As L’?r? walked down the stairs, she hoped with all her heart that Alawani was still alive. Even now, as the drumming in her heart threatened to expose her, she had one thought that echoed in her mind.He’d better be alive.She’d burnt too many bridges and broken too many hearts. There was no going back. He had to be alive.
They reached the next landing, and L’?r? hid in a tight corner where the moon’s light did not reach. She peered out to see Kyà hiding in a similar spot on the other side, his knives still in his hand. The floor was quiet and empty.Thank the sun, L’?r? thought, scanning the area. This floor had fourdoors too, but unlike the ones on the level above, two of them had markings. Even better, she recognized them. One door had three horizontal lines etched into its centre, and the other had three lines that met at a single point, like cat whiskers. Baba-Ìtàn was right. L’?r? found Kyà’s eyes, and she could see his hand move to touch his temple. He knew what she was thinking. The marks on the door were identical to the tribal marks for people from Ìlú-Òdì and Ìlú-Oní?nà. They only had to find the door with a single dash – the tribal mark representing the capital city. That’s where the Prince Àlùfáà would be.
Another door slammed.
Without thinking or turning, she moved back into the dark corner. So fast that she hit her elbow. The collision with the sharp edge of the tower’s old, rugged stones sent jolts of pain throughout her body. She crouched and forced down the pain in silent gulps, hoping no one would have heard. She clenched her teeth and hoped the voices they heard were descending the stairs and not ascending towards her. Not daring to peek again, she pushed her back further into the wall, digging its jagged surface into her skin, trying to disappear.
L’?r? held her breath until the voices died out. Whoever had opened any doors on the lower levels was gone. She peeked out again, and it was all clear. She used one of her blades to reflect the moonlight into Kyà’s corner, and he put his head out, looked around, and then pointed down. They had to keep going.
The next floor was identical, with two of the rooms marked for Ìlú-p? and Ìlú-Idán. The floor directly below had to be the rooms for Ìlú-Ìm and Ìlú-?ba – Alawani should be there.
Halfway down the stairs, a door opened on the level below,and L’?r?’s heart stopped. In the blink of an eye, she saw Kyà’s long legs carry him in a single jump to the downstairs landing, and he disappeared into the corner. But L’?r? didn’t have time. A maiden turned and spoke to someone on the other side of the door that L’?r? couldn’t see – she glanced around for a hiding place. If she ran upstairs, her footsteps would surely attract their attention – but maybe she could still slide down the last few steps and into the shadows, as Kyà had done, if she was quick. But just when L’?r? thought she had found a chance to run, Milúà walked out of the door.
L’?r? knew what it was to be afraid. She’d felt it when she walked alone at night. When her home was burnt by the villagers. She’d felt it earlier tonight when she thought Baba-Ìtàn might never forgive her. This was different. Her head throbbed. She could hear her heartbeat as if she was holding her own heart in her hand. Her entire body froze as she stood mid-step on the stairs. She was unable to command her body to move.
She tried to move her fingers. Her toes. Anything. Nothing happened.
All she could do was pray as hard as she could in her mind,Please don’t let her see me. Please don’t let her see me.
And then the pain hit from deep within her. It was so intense that L’?r? could feel her eyes burn and tear up. It felt as though she was being burnt alive from the inside. Knowing that the slightest whimper would mean instant death, she did not scream. She could feel herself trembling, but her hands were still as stone. The hairs on her body rose to attention. It felt like tiny needles digging into her skin, twisting deeper whenever she tried to move. Somehow she remained still, one hand on the stair railing, her other hand clenched by her side, hoping the shadows would hide her as the two maidens approached.
‘I don’t know why she’d think I’d ever steal from her,’ Milúà said to the maiden next to her.
‘You mean, you don’t know why she ever thought you’d allow yourself to get caught,’ the other maiden said.
Milúà smiled and shrugged.
‘You need to be careful if she reports to Mother –’
‘Ha! And admit that she’s too incompetent to run her temple? She’d rather die than give Mother any reason to return here.’
