Between the Lines, page 14
The higher they went, the narrower the hollowed peak became. “This space could fit inside the house, it’s so narrow,” Fiona mused.
Outside she could see the ash storm rage below. Tendrils of smoke wafted into the tunnel but didn’t encapsulate them. Above the windows, the space within the spire was only big enough for three people or so. Fiona could just make out above them a flat surface instead of the empty peak she was expecting.
“Soots, please come and shine a little higher.”
They cast a warm golden glow across the ceiling, revealing a black stone circle. Mottled gray flecks twinkled throughout its surface and thin lines of crimson like the lava outside swirled within it. They pulsed, slowly fading in and out as Fiona watched the ceiling in concentration. It looked like some sort of mechanism. Not specifically mechanical but unnatural either way. She saw nothing that connected to it from the wall, and with only a moment of hesitation, she reached out her hand to caress it. Smooth and solid. Cool to the touch.
The air vibrated with a grinding noise as the ceiling rotated in a full circle. Soft rosy light shone down on Fiona, and she heard a sizzle, smelled the burning of stone as three runes in Claire appeared around the edge. It wasn’t just a ceiling. It was a gate.
Fiona sighed deeply once again wishing she had learned a bit more of the language than the required basics.
“Soots, can you read this? I’m not good at the ancient version of your language.” They always seemed to know what people were saying. Perhaps they’d have better luck.
:Fire?:
“Yes, that makes sense for one of them.” Fiona traced her fingers over the runes trying to remember what she had learned in training. The first one was fire, its wavy fork pattern familiar. That much she was certain for how often she had seen it on Guild signs in the past. The third one was harder. Perhaps wave? Why would that be on a gate in the fire page? Before she could puzzle it out, a scorching clawed hand grabbed her ankle from the dark wall.
She shrieked and kicked trying to remove the claws from her leg, but its grip was tight. It pulled her from the air and slammed her against the wall. Fiona managed to get her arms up in the nick of time to protect her head, but she felt the impact on her arms and ribs as she made a human-sized dent in the brittle wall.
A growl, low and crackling, echoed through the spire. Wisps of wings made of curled bright blue fire flew out from the darkened creature’s spiked back, lighting up the area. It was about the size of a salamander with none of their softness or smoothness. Its jaw jutted out from its face and there was a flash of sharp iron-colored teeth. It pulled Fiona down away from the gate. She dug one hand into the crumbling rock to slow herself from being dragged into the darkness. With the other she swung the grapple she had been clutching and threw it against another wall. It clicked on the wall and dug in. She held on for dear life between the two walls as the creature pulled with all its might. Bits of the rock began to crumble beneath her fingernails as she slipped.
A bolt of scarlet shot past her from above. Soots barreled into the creature, causing it to drop Fiona’s leg. Flying back through the creature’s wings, Soots transformed from scarlet to a fiery indigo slamming into the creature’s chest. In the middle of the tunnel the two struggled, the creature dwarfing Soots. It grabbed Soots and tried to shove the flame sprite toward its mouth. Soots quickly shifted into a thin line, moving out of the creature’s claws.
Fiona reached past her cloak and dug around for her scarf. Holding on to the leather of the grappling hook, she pulled out her whip with her other hand. She lashed out at the creature, aiming for its mouth. She prayed to Larrakane that her whip could withstand a few blows from its heated skin.
It howled in pain and turned its attention to Fiona. Soots shot like a slender burning arrow through the creature toward Fiona, creating a crack in its rocky exterior. Fiona could see now that whatever this was, it was just like the walls of the spire. She lashed at it again, targeting its chest where Soots had injured it. Pieces of it tumbled away.
The creature lunged at them growling and snarling and knocked Fiona into the cool stone gate ceiling. She swung her arm trying to hit it with the manacle; perhaps the metal would do some damage. Its sharp teeth grazed Fiona’s arm and she grimaced, bracing at the pain.
Then there was a yelp. Deep and pitiful. The creature released her, backing away, heat retreating from Fiona. One of its claws was ashen and gray. It cradled it near its broken chest, wings flapping to keep it aloft.
Fiona threw her curiosity out the window and turned toward the gate. The gray flecks within were now lit up as well. “Soots, watch my back.” She focused on the runes in Claire. The creature had been hurt, but it would attack again. They couldn’t outfly it. They had to get through the door.
Fire. Wave. And something in between. She pinched the bridge of her nose, mumbling the various runes she could remember. Nothing fit.
The warmth of Soots left her back as she heard the creature howl again. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw it grab the flame sprite, but Soots was shifting too quickly for it to keep hold of them. They flickered like a tiny flame from side to side.
Flickering. Fire flickered all the time. Why did that sound familiar? “Fire flickering?” she said to the gate. Nothing happened.
A grasping claw raked across her back, the pain worse than the heat. She arched and spun around kicking, hoping to connect in some meaningful way. She heard a crunch and sent the creature back a few feet. Soots moved in between the two to protect her.
The gate probably protected something. Something old enough to be covered in runes, a language from long before the inking. Perhaps this was where the Blackstone had been held.
Fiona thought through her conversation with the salamanders, the elementals, and the Ashborn for clues. Fire flickered in her vision, blinding her for a moment.
She turned away but something caught in her mind. “Like the light…” Fiona murmured, working it out, “…of a thousand flames.” She remembered what the Ashborn had said about the stone. “Flames of a Thousand Lights! Flames of a Thousand Lights!” she shouted toward the gate in Claire.
The pulsing crimson lines on the gate flowed into each other as the gray flecks became muted. The gate dissolved to reveal a dark interior. Fiona pulled herself up into it quickly. She turned back, looking down at the creature and Soots. She lashed out with her whip and yelled, “Soots, hurry!”
They flew faster than she had ever seen, directly toward Fiona. The creature gave chase in the small space. As Soots flew past her, Fiona kept striking out to discourage the creature from following them. The creature pressed as close as it could toward the small opening, trying to fit its body within. As Fiona cracked the whip once more for it to get back, the gate congealed back into solid material as the creature rushed it again. There was a loud bang and then a terrible howl of pain from below.
Fiona winced. The gate had not been kind to the creature, it seemed. She reached out a hand and pressed it against the gated floor. It was still cool. Curious, she slipped her hand free of her glove and touched it again. It was ice cold. The chamber was cool as well. How was that even possible?
“Soots, are you feeling the cold?” she said, watching the flame sprite.
:Cold,: they said simply.
“Oh, little one, come here.” Fiona put out a gloved hand for them. She reached into her scarf with the other, pulled out their suit, and opened it up for them to dive in. “There, that should keep you warm until we can get out of here.”
The area was almost tall enough for her to stand up all the way. She watched her head as she began investigating the small cavern. Soots’s shrouded glow brushed against the top of the chamber, and Fiona saw the peak she had been looking for. Within the wall of the chamber near the peak was an oddly shaped inset, about the size of her stove but not as deep. It was short, sort of round, and not meant to seat a creature by the looks of it. A crumbled pile of rocks was lumped to one side of it.
Fiona ran a gloved hand around the inset, Soots’s light showing all the nooks. It looked far more natural than the gate had. She sifted her hand through the dark black rocks and debris that looked as though it had been chipped from the wall. Had someone made the hole here bigger? To pry out the stone?
The light reflecting off glass caught her eye, and she pulled from the pile of rock a chipped piece of obsidian the size of an apple. She dropped it immediately, scorching heat piercing through her glove into her fingers like pinpricks. She narrowed her eyes as she waved her hand trying to get the feeling to stop. “Probably part of the Blackstone,” she murmured to Soots. It had circumvented all her fire protection in the blink of an eye.
Stooping to get a closer look, she saw its wicked sharp edges. It had been broken off. Probably when whoever had taken the stone dug it out of the wall. She wanted to bring it with her, but she wouldn’t be able to hold on to it. Certainly didn’t trust it anywhere near her scarf. “This must’ve been where it was originally from. Why was it here?”
Soots hovered above Fiona’s head and then bobbed down away from the inset to the rest of the chamber. Fiona watched them, head tilted and smiling. They were becoming quite nosy themself. She loved it.
:One,: they said closer to the floor behind Fiona.
Fiona looked down to inspect what they had found. She had assumed she was trudging over rock and debris but saw there were a few piles of powder on the floor. Picking up a handful, she let it sift through her hands back into the pile, its gritty texture smearing her glove gray. “Ash. I think we have an appointment to get to, Soots.”
Fiona was relieved that the same command opened the gate for them to get back out. She had never seen anything like it before and wondered who had made it. Anything that seemed a little advanced or miraculous was either from the Court of Copper or Larrakane herself. Considering that it had seemed unnatural and no one had seen or heard from Larrakane since the inking, Fiona assumed it must’ve been the former.
She watched for any signs of the winged creature that had attacked them. They’d been in the chamber for a good while. Maybe it had run off to get reinforcements. She grimaced at her own thoughts and pulled herself back down into the spire. “Soots, perhaps you pull me out of here? It’ll be quicker that way.”
They encircled themselves in the manacles still attached to Fiona and pulled her back down toward the window. Fiona was surprised her grappling hook was still stuck in the wall and yanked it out as they went down. Through the highest window they moved out of the spire and away from Obsidian’s Tooth.
“Let’s make haste before I plummet to the basin and get boiled.”
Fiona directed Soots as best as she could in the direction of Radiance Peak. The map had put it on the other side of Obsidian’s Tooth and high above. Rubbing the back of her neck, she let out a deep sigh as the darkness continued. Besides Soots there was little light here. Fiona ached. Her back hurt from being slashed, her arm from being bit, and her brain from being overused. She wasn’t sure if she was livid at the Ashborn or herself or anyone at all. All she knew was that she was tired.
The smoke began to dissipate around them, and Fiona saw a small dot of light in the distance. As they continued flying up, milky and golden beams of light shone vibrantly in the far corner of the page like a beckoning sun. It broke through the darkness like cream poured lovingly into a cup of coffee.
Radiance Peak lived up to its name. It was a gorgeous summit of glow, heat, and thirsting flames. Here Blaze raged on, though in a different hue and warmth.
She removed her glasses and shielded her eyes lest she go blind. “Soots, if you see land, go for it. I’ve pushed my luck enough for one day.”
They stopped on a small inlet of what looked like white-hot metal. It was smooth as glass and too shiny and bright to look directly at. Soots set Fiona down on the condensed fire that flared up around her. It was like walking on the muddy bottom of a lake. Her boots felt suctioned as she moved farther in, but with it came the assurance that she wouldn’t float off quickly. Why didn’t alchemists make potions that could be controlled?
She trudged, back aching, to the bright light of the peak. Eyes half-closed, she made her way as quickly as she could until they broke through the piercing light. Before them stood an immense, luminous structure of sculpted silver. Perhaps not the metal itself but definitely the sheen and glint of it. As tall as a castle from her human page but not the same shape at all. Natural or molded—she couldn’t tell—it rose up from the ground high above them, but instead of coming to a point, it opened up like a flower blooming at its top. She saw specks in the distance. Elementals perhaps. Hopefully friendly ones.
“Soots, have you ever been here before?” She never knew what to expect when she asked them questions. What had their life been like before they were with her? She was worried about upsetting them.
:No,: they said, a wave of wonderment washing from them.
“Well then, I won’t be the only one new here. That’s comforting.” Fiona tightened her cloak, readjusted her scarf, and kicked off toward the tower.
The entrance was overly formal with a short barrier on either side of a direct path toward the structure. Beyond the railing the pathway dropped on either side. The glass-like condensed fire that she walked on gave way to rocky terrain more like the cap below. Did the Ashborn have this place constructed, or was it always here? She could see it was a well-worn path, much like the salamander streets in Arden Rock. This layer of the page went far above them, a mixture of burnt orange and stark white beams immolating beyond the tower.
On the edge Fiona could just make out an abrupt jut of void. Not inky darkness like the rest of the page. Nothingness. The dark edge. She frowned at the oblivion. Too close for her comfort. She had never been this close to the edge of a page in all of her days as a page turner.
Her attention was pulled away as they crested over the threshold of the opening and were stopped by a flarion, its oozy and flickering shape barely outlined by the inky ichor flowing through it.
“And how may I help you today?” they said brightly, crackle and hisses, toward Soots.
Soots bobbed in the air. :One?:
“We have an appointment with their eminence,” Fiona cut in, smiling.
“Ah.” The flame creature rolled in place; the only evidence of it shifting was the veins of fluid within moving. They began moving off. “If you please, you may wait for the Ashborn this way.”
They moved farther into the silvery structure. The walls dripped with thin rivers of undulating liquid. Fiona had never heard of anything like it. She rubbed her finger across it, the liquid giving way and pooling into her hand warm. She’d hate to think what would happen if she wasn’t wearing protective equipment.
The elemental took them to a small chamber. There were no seats that looked comfortable for Fiona to sit on. She guessed they didn’t have many human guests. There was a brazier of indigo fire in the center of the room and some flat rock benches surrounding it. It was very reminiscent of the salamander clan council chamber. Did they steal the setup from the Ashborn, or the other way around?
“Fiona,” the Ashborn boomed, entering the small chamber. They seemed to shrink themself down to not take up any more space than necessary. “Welcome to our radiance.” They glanced at Soots but quickly swiveled their piercing gaze back to Fiona.
Now that the Ashborn was in her presence, all her aches and pains flared up. Narrowing her eyes, Fiona ignored the pleasantry. “You didn’t tell me this would be such a difficult place to access. I don’t like being tested.”
The Ashborn, instead of huffing with anger as she’d expected, bowed their birdlike head. “I assure you, no test of your fine mettle was conducted. An oversight on my part, merely forgetting to give you the required instructions, was all. I keep the pagemark to my realm a secret from all who are outside.”
Prepared to duel with words, Fiona was surprised at how apologetic they were. She tilted her head and watched them, trying to understand their intentions. “Be that as it may, I ran into a bit of trouble making my way here. I expect my favor at the end of this to live up to my experience.”
“As you wish.” The Ashborn looked to say more but seemed to stop themselves. “Shall we adjourn to the location the relic was stolen from?”
Fiona nodded, holding her tongue. This interrogation would be difficult enough without riling the Ashborn up at the start of it.
They flew out of the chamber and down the long, wide hall. Fiona let out an exasperated sigh and followed with Soots behind her. Other elementals, salamanders, and one particularly tall black-and-red-mottled humanoid were going about their business. All stopped to throw out greetings and what bordered on merriment as the Ashborn approached or flew by them. No one bowed—well, none of the salamanders—and no one spoke formally. It was as if they were saying hi to a beloved neighbor. A bit unexpected to Fiona.
The phoenix led the way through a wide archway into another chamber. This one was open at the top, and radiant light from outside cascaded into the room. The walls went all the way up with alcoves only someone flying could get to. The Ashborn’s chamber. The central area within the tower.
The large ground room held another brazier, stone benches, and a brass statue in the likeness of the phoenix. Soots went straight to the brazier, but Fiona walked toward the statue. The carving was softer than the Ashborn looked in real life. There was an arch to the neck, a curvature of the wings, a gentle flow to it that was beautiful. Ethereal even. Whoever saw the Ashborn in this way had admired them, that much was evident.
On the back silvery wall was an empty hole the size of a wood stove. Fiona examined the area. It was perfectly rectangular. There was no dust or crumbly rocks out of place. It looked more like it was waiting to be filled than like it was missing something.
