Skulduggery 9, page 27
We pulled our hoods back up as we moved forward, but I kept glancing around to watch out for Tevian or for any other nosy elves. The pale streets were a little busier than they had been earlier, but the night elves who were out and about kept to themselves, and enough of them had human slaves or mistresses with them that our little party must not have seemed too out of place.
Just as the blood-red streets came into view up ahead past the marbled area of the fortress, I glanced to my left at a two-story pillared building with a massive dome for a roof. It didn’t look particularly different from the rest of the buildings we’d passed, but when I looked up at it, I suddenly felt the Keys flare with warmth inside my pocket.
There! the Rainbow Keys cried.
As soon as I swiveled to face the domed building, my surroundings faded from my vision and then everything promptly turned black.
Chapter 17
I thought for sure that I was about to hit the ground or that I would wake up minutes later, but instead, I could still sense everything around me, only it felt like everything was frozen in place except for me.
When I blinked, the darkness faded, but nothing reappeared how I expected it to. The domed building had vanished from in front of me, and all of the marble around me was now nothing but scorch-marked stone. The stones were slick with blood, but when I looked down, there was as much red blood as there was blue, and the sight of it tightened my stomach into a knot.
A trumpet sounded from the rubble ahead of me, so I looked up again, and this time, there was a glimmer of light on the horizon. It flashed red at first and then green, but after a few more flashes, it settled into steady pulses of blue and yellow until the whole sky looked like it had been consumed by the sun that flared and faded with each beat of my heart.
I blinked again, and everything was just as it had been. The domed building in front of me was still intact, the streets under my feet were still marble instead of rubble, and there was no blood anywhere that I looked.
One of these days, I was going to need to have a chat with the Rainbow Keys about the timing of the visions that they sent me, but for now, I knew that I would need to follow along with their directions, or they were just as likely to continue to interrupt me with their vague visions until I finally paid attention.
I felt Ava lay her hand on my arm, and then I felt Penny slip her arm around my waist.
“Wade?” Penny murmured. “Is everything okay? You just stopped moving for a second.”
“We have to get inside that building,” I said. “I don’t know why, but there’s something in there that I need to see or maybe that I need to get. I’m not sure, but either way, we have to get in there.”
“Do you know what that building is, Clodia?” Ava asked.
“I actually don’t,” the guild master said, “but I don’t see any guards, so we should be able to get inside without a problem.”
The Rainbow Keys were still warm in my pocket as they pulsed in rhythm with my heart, so I nodded and hurried toward the domed building. The steps up to the front door were in bad need of some repair work, but even though they were cracked and some of them had even started to crumble, they held up as we made our way to the top.
The front door itself was locked, but it was an easy lock and only took Penny half a minute to break through, so as soon as the door was open, we all stepped inside and closed it behind us. Clodia immediately spun together a small blue flame, and she flung it at a few torches scattered around the inside of the building, so we could see where the fuck we were.
Just past the small entryway, the room opened up into a circular chamber a lot like the guild masters’ headquarters in the City of Slaves, but there were pillars built in a circle around the room to support the dome above us. The rest of the round chamber was empty, but there were smaller archways off along the sides that all led to separate, smaller rooms.
And somewhere in here, there was something that the Rainbow Keys very much wanted me to see.
“So what are we looking for?” Ava asked.
“And not to be too nosy about it,” Clodia whispered, “but why exactly did we come in here?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure,” I said, “but something told me that we needed to come inside, so here we are. I don’t know anything more than that.”
“It was the Keys, right?” Penny asked. “Did they show you something?”
“Yeah, but I’m not sure what,” I replied. “I’m sure I’ll know it when I see it, or at least I hope so.”
“What Keys?” Clodia demanded. “What are you talking about?”
“I’ll tell you later,” I said, “but for now, let’s split up to cover ground faster. Look for anything that… I don’t know, I guess anything that seems odd or out of place or like something that might be… magical.”
“Should we be worried about elves in here?” Ava hissed.
“I doubt it,” Clodia laughed as she reached up to run a finger down one of the pillars of the room. “Look at all this dust. I don’t think anyone’s been in here for quite some time.”
“Then what the fuck is in here?” Penny demanded.
“Let’s find out,” I said. “If you find anything interesting, give a whistle, and I’ll come take a look.”
I pulled down a few cobwebs between the pillars, and then I moved toward the first archway on my right. I stepped into the first room, but there were only a few closed chests around the room. They were all unlocked, and when I opened them, they were empty, so I imagined that someone must have stolen the contents a long time ago.
The next room was basically the same, but instead of empty chests, there were empty glass cases all around the edges of the small chamber. It seemed like these had been display rooms at one point, but since there was nothing left on display, I couldn’t figure out what had been here.
I bent down to examine something that glittered in the bottom of one of the glass cases and let the Opalstone amulet start to glow so I could see more clearly. But it turned out to be nothing but a broken arrowhead, so that didn’t help me very much. Still, I knew there had to be something in one of these rooms, so I just needed to keep looking.
After all, I was in the red city that I had seen in some of the visions that the Rainbow Keys had shown me before, so it made sense that there was something else they wanted me to see. Of course, in my visions of the blood-red city, I had been outside the walls of the city, not inside them, and it had been the site of a massive battle.
The Keys had already led me to the chest of nightshade, to the portal room underneath my own city, and to the magic compass, so I wondered what else was left for me to find. Then again, there were still four keys that I hadn’t used yet, but I realized that the four remaining keys were the same colors as I had just seen light up the sky in my vision… red, green, yellow, and blue.
“Well, that’s interesting,” I muttered.
When I entered through the third archway, I found Penny already inside, but there were more things in this room than in the first two chambers. There were metal masks and a few blunt swords on display, along with a number of clay jars painted in intricate patterns. On one side of the room, there were a few pairs of huge armored boots, but they were all so rusted that it wasn’t hard to see why no one had tried to steal them.
“I mean, this stuff is pretty, but I’m not sure what any of it has to do with the Keys,” Penny whispered. “The room I was just in had basically the same kind of shit. And who the fuck has feet that big?”
I glanced at the armored boots and thought about it for a second, because I’d thought of the same question when I saw them. The only race that those boots would fit would be a halfling, but as far as I knew, halflings hadn’t worn armor or boots since… well, since the elves conquered everyone.
“Let’s just keep looking,” I said, but when I started toward the archway, I stopped halfway there. “Penny?”
“What is it?” the redheaded pixie asked.
“How many arches are there off of the main room?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Ten, I think, but… oh, shit,” Penny murmured. “Ten rooms, just like--”
“Just like ten archways in the portal room,” I said.
“Do you think there’s a room for every city of the empire?” the pixie thief asked. “And if there is, then what does that mean?”
“Good fucking question,” I said.
I heard a low whistle from outside the room, so I grabbed Penny’s hand and hurried her toward the open archway. I didn’t know what it meant, but I did know that there had to be a connection. So far, the rooms inside this dusty building seemed like they had been meant to display things, although there didn’t seem to be a whole hell of a lot of things left to actually display.
Penny and I hurried toward the sound of the whistle, and we moved past several open archways to reach the room that was on the opposite side of the building’s front door. Ava stood in front of it, and Clodia joined us just a second later, and together, we all looked at the wide archway in front of us with the same thought.
This was the only arch with an actual door on it. All the rest of the rooms were completely open so we could walk in or out of them without a second’s thought, but this archway had a closed door, and when I reached out to grasp the doorknob, I found that it was locked.
I had this strange feeling that I wouldn’t just be able to pick it like a normal lock.
“Did you find anything else besides this?” I asked.
“A few old dwarven battle axes, but that’s about it,” Clodia said. “They were so rusted that they damn near fell apart when I touched them.”
“I found a few daggers,” Ava said with a shrug, “and some coins that I’d never seen before, but Clodia says they aren’t accepted as currency anymore, since only elven coins can be used now.”
“Shit,” I said, as I started to realize what this place might be.
“It’s a museum, isn’t it?” Ava asked. “This whole building, I mean.”
“That would make sense,” Clodia replied, “and it would certainly explain why it doesn’t look like anyone’s been inside for fucking ages. Elves aren’t exactly fond of dusty old history buildings. But still, I’ve never been in here or even heard about it, so it hasn’t been used in a very, very long time.”
“So what’s it a museum of?” Penny asked. “A bunch of old pottery and broken weapons?”
“Actually, I think it might be,” I said. “If there’s one room for every city in the empire, then each one might be a collection of spoils that the elves took from each city. There’s just not much of anything that’s still left.”
“Except probably for whatever is behind this locked door,” Ava said.
“So it’s just a building full of broken trophies that are supposed to show how badass the elves are?” Penny rolled her eyes.
“I believe that’s the idea,” Clodia said, “but there’s so little left in the other rooms that I can’t imagine what cities they were supposed to represent.”
“Oh, I don’t think any of those other rooms matter,” I said and then nodded at the locked door in front of us. “I think this is the only room that we need, and I think I know exactly what city it represents.”
“The Capital?” Ava murmured.
“Absolutely,” I said. “The true capital of the empire… the human capital.”
“Oh, shit,” Penny said. “So then, whatever’s inside this room came from our city?”
“I think so,” I replied. “It must have whatever trophies the elves took from the human capital in the great wars.”
“They probably had the best intentions to display all their spoils,” Clodia said, “but over the years, people just stopped coming to this museum, so they closed it to the public. Perhaps the overseers looted what was easy to sell, but no one cared.”
“Then let’s bust inside and see what’s there,” Penny said as she knelt in front of the door.
“I appreciate your enthusiasm,” I said but then pulled her back to her feet, “but I don’t think a normal lockpick is going to cut it this time.”
I fished into my pocket for the Rainbow Keys and felt around until I felt one that was warmer than all the others. When I pulled it out, I saw that it was the blue key, and as it caught the soft light of my amulet, it glittered and sent pale blue reflections all across the walls and ceiling of the domed chamber.
“By the fucking Ancients,” Clodia swore and then looked up at me with wide eyes. “Is that… is that one of the Rainbow Keys?”
“You bet your blue elven ass it is,” Penny answered for me.
“Fuckkkk,” Clodia gasped.
“Are you really surprised?” Ava arched an eyebrow.
“Well, yes, actually,” the guild master replied as she placed one hand on her hip. “Do you know how long it’s been since anyone used those fucking things?”
“How long, exactly?” I asked.
“Okay, so I don’t really know the answer to that question,” Clodia said, “but let’s just say it’s been a very, very long time. In fact, it’s been so long that I don’t know if there are any elves left who even know what the Rainbow Keys open.”
“Do you know?” Ava asked.
“No,” the guild master said as her lip curled. “As much as I would like to lie so I don’t have to admit it, the truth of the matter is that I have no idea what they open. They are a legend, and they were a legend before my grandfather told me they were a legend.”
“So you don’t have a single clue?” Penny grinned.
“Well, obviously the Rainbow Keys must open the greatest treasures of the elven empire,” Clodia said as she rolled her eyes at the redhead. “And my guess is that these treasures are magical in nature, but other than that… no, I don’t know.”
“Oh, this is too much,” the pixie said, and she clapped her hands together. “I never thought I would enjoy being in a museum so much.”
“I’m so delighted that my ignorance on this subject amuses you,” Clodia growled.
“You’re close to right,” Ava said. “But they’re not the greatest treasures of the elven empire.”
“But they’re the Rainbow Keys,” the guild master said. “They belong to the elves. In fact, there was a time when I tried to get them for myself, but I could never get anyone competent enough to find them and bring them back for me. I was just so… curious.”
“With good reason,” I said.
“But of course,” Clodia sighed, “now I know that you had them this whole time, Wade, and I can’t even be mad about it. Not when they so clearly belong to you.”
“Okay, hold on,” Penny said. “Ava, how can you be sure that the Rainbow Keys aren’t supposed to open the greatest treasures of the elven empire?”
“That’s just what the elves want everyone to think,” the blonde assassin said as she folded her arms across her chest. “Just like they want people to think that only elves can use magic.”
“Well, that’s certainly what I always thought,” Clodia said, “and no one has ever proven me wrong before now, so if you say that the Rainbow Keys don’t belong to the elves, then perhaps you’re right.”
“Oh, Ava’s definitely right,” Penny said. “Otherwise, why would all the things that the keys have opened so far not have anything to do with the elves at all?”
“So you’ve already used them before?” the night elf asked. “How many are left? What have you found? And Wade, just how the hell did the keys come into your possession?”
“Oh, I think it’s probably best if we save the full story for another time,” I said, “because I’d very much like to get in this room and see what’s inside. After all, the Keys wouldn’t have told me to come in here if there wasn’t something important for me to see.”
“Wait!” Clodia wrapped her fingers around my arm. “Are you saying that the Rainbow Keys… do you mean that you’ve heard them? That they’ve talked to you?”
“Yeah,” I said with a shrug. “They’ve really come in handy before, too.”
“What do they say?” Clodia murmured. “What do they tell you?”
“Where to find things that I need, when I’m in danger, that kind of thing,” I said. “Oh, and sometimes they show me visions of the future.”
“I can’t believe it,” the guild master whispered.
“Don’t tell me that you’ve never heard of magic visions,” Penny said. “Don’t your temple priestesses go into trances to have visions?”
“Mmm,” Clodia said as her lip curled again, “well, they do go into trances, but between you and me, it’s only because they’ve had a bit too much of their own temple wine after a week long fast or other such nonsense.”
“Then what can’t you believe?” I asked.
“Wade,” Clodia said as she looked up at me, “I may not know much about the Rainbow Keys, but my grandfather told me one thing: Only a true elven king can hear the Rainbow Keys speak.”
“But Wade isn’t a fucking elf,” Penny snickered.
“Yes,” Clodia agreed, “but if Wade has actually heard them, and he isn’t an elf of course, then…”
I raised my eyebrows when she trailed off, but I shook my head when Penny started to open her mouth. I wanted to hear whatever Clodia planned to say because she was right on the verge of telling me something important, and it was essential for her to recognize my right to rule before I told her the rest of our plan, since I would only tell her about our plans for the revolution once she realized and admitted that I should be the king.
“Then what?” I demanded.
“Then you must be a king,” Clodia whispered. “Actually, you must be the king, and that means… well, I guess that means that the elven empire is on its way out.”
The night elf paused and bit her lip, so I just waited for her to continue. But to my surprise, before the guild master said anything else, she dropped to one knee in front of me and grasped my hand.
“I’ve already pledged my loyalty to you, Wade,” Clodia murmured, “but let me now pledge my loyalty to you as king. If the Rainbow Keys have finally spoken after all this time, then the empire is about to end, and that means your reign must be about to begin.”
