Page 129 of The King of Koraha
The King showed her his palm. “Mine looks like a crown. Najib’s is a quill and a jar of ink, although he insists it’s a sword and a bottle of poison. It’s different for everyone. Well, of the five I’ve seen, they were all unique.”
They turned their attention to Rendor. He hadn’t moved, but he stared at Shyla in shock. Or was that pain? Tears glittered in his eyes and tracked down his face. Then she understood his reaction.
She walked over and wrapped her arms around his neck. “There’s my answer. Turns out I didn’t need to think about it that long. And I didn’t want to wait untilafter.”
He hugged her tight and buried his face in her neck. His shoulders shook, but he made no sound. Finally he lifted his head. “Joy is an inadequately weak word to describe what your pledge has given me.”
Then Rendor took the knife from her hand, slashed a line on his right palm and pressed it to the mural’s heart, which was no longer stained with Shyla’s blood. Had it burned off?
“I swear I will be true to the King, myself, Shyla, the Invisible Swords, and the people of Koraha.”
Once again the glass rattled and a wave of energy erupted, pushing Rendor back, but he remained on his feet. Show-off. He uncurled his fingers and Shyla and the King peered at his almost healed scar. It matched Shyla’s exactly. Her heart did a strange little twirl in her chest.
“Let me be the first to congratulate you on your union,” the King said. “I’m honored to have witnessed it. May the Sun Goddess bless you with a dozen children.” He laughed. “Don’t look so terrified. It’s a standard blessing. And now I’ll leave you torest. You look like a couple of drowned rats.”
“What about the Room of Knowledge?” Shyla asked before he could leave.
“When you wish to enter, just press your scar to the heart of the mural and it will open for you.” Then he disappeared from sight. Soon the sound of rushing water reached them as the King left his hidden chambers.
When the quiet returned, Shyla said, “This was—”
“Unbelievable,” Rendor finished.
“Unexpected, yet perfect.” She kissed him. Then stepped back with a sigh and glanced at the mural. “We don’t have time to rest. We need to work on ensuring we have an after.”
They approached the stained-glass wall guarding the Room of Knowledge. Shyla opened her left hand.
The scar had faded to a deep purple. She pressed it to the heart of the mural. A click sounded and the mural split open along a welded seam. Instead of a straight break, each half of the “door” was jagged, as if two pieces of a giant puzzle. The panels swung inward, inviting them inside. They glanced at each other before Rendor grabbed a trol lantern. Then they entered.
Since the booby trap was still fresh in her mind, Shyla moved cautiously, keeping an eye out for anything unusual. The white trol light soon revealed the room. It was square with a long low table located in the center surrounded by cushions. A plush rug covered the floor. Shelves filled with scrolls, tablets, and small chests lined all three walls from the floor to the very high ceiling.
Rendor held up the lantern and craned his neck. “It’s about ten meters high. Good thing there’s a ladder.”
She’d missed it. It was attached to a bar at the top and had wheels on the bottom. Handy.
“How can I help?” he asked.
“Can you please get another trol lantern?”
While Rendor went to fetch the lantern, she inspected the lower shelves, hoping they were labeled. Most of the libraries and Rooms of Knowledge kept the documents in order from oldest to youngest. Or they were grouped together by subject. Much to her vast relief, the information in this room was organized by each king’s reign.
Rendor returned with two trols. He set them down on the reading table. With the added light, she found the shelves for King Marett, the first King of Koraha. Guessing that the oldest documents would be on the bottom shelf, she collected as many scrolls as she could and carried them over to the table. Rendor grabbed the rest and added them to her pile.
“What about the chests?” Rendor asked. “Are they important?”
“They probably contain artifacts and not information. But if we get desperate, we can take a look inside.”
Shyla picked a scroll up at random and unrolled it. It crackled and a few flecks from the edges broke off. It smelled…odd. Not the familiar musky aroma she was used to, but dusty with the scent of some kind of plant. It was also yellow and the faded ink was hard to read. Then she realized the scroll wasn’t velbloud skin, but parchment—an ancient medium for writing. She sucked in a breath.
“What’s wrong?” Rendor asked.
“These documents are originals. We must be very careful with them.”
“That will slow things down.” He peered over her shoulder. “Is that the language of the Kings?”
“Yes.” Translating it would also cause a delay and Rendor wouldn’t be able to help. But would she need to read every word? They were searching for specific information. Shyla knew the ancient words for sunfire, blackfire, and pendants. An idea formed. She dug into her pack for her stylus and a scrap of velbloud skin and wrote them down.
“Here.” She tapped the skin. “These are the words we’re looking for. You can scan the document and if you see them, let me know.”
