Revelations (20 page)

Nora stopped and inhaled the air. It smelled…empty. Not empty like a clear space would be, but empty as in completely vacuous, as if…as if the spot they stood in didn’t even exist.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Nora said. Had it been this way before? She had been too preoccupied to really notice, earlier. “It’s the same building I’ve been to before. We’ll go around back.”

“Let me go first, then,” Alexander said. “Be on your guard.”

Cautiously, Alexander made his way around the building. There was nobody else around, but his discomfort made Nora feel uneasy as she trailed behind him. The rear door was closed, and when Alexander tried the knob, it was locked.

“Maybe she’s away,” Nora said slowly. But Selaine
knew
Nora would be coming here today, which is why it didn’t make any sense. Where could she have gone?

Abruptly, the loud noise of snapping wood broke Nora out of her thoughts. She looked to Alexander, who was holding the doorknob in one hand, with splinters of wood coming off it. He had ripped the lock right off the door!

“Why’d you do that?” Nora demanded.

Alexander looked at her for a moment. “You said this is the place, right? I’m worried something may have happened to your friend.”

“And so we break into her home?” Nora asked indignantly. Never mind the small voice in the back of her head that said
she
had broken into a shop only a day ago. That was different!

“She won’t be alarmed if she sees it’s you.” Alexander pushed the door slowly open. He poked his head in, first, and then went inside. Nora followed.

There was no light inside, but Nora’s eyes were sharp. It took a moment for them to adjust to the dark, nonetheless. And when they did, Nora’s jaw dropped.

“I… don’t understand,” Nora said, as she surveyed the first floor. All the things that had been there the day before – all the shelving and tables, all the various trinkets and ornaments and garments for sale – all were gone. There was not a single thing left. The entire room lay barren, abandoned. It was as empty as the barn.
More
empty, in fact. “This place was
packed
only yesterday!”

“But not anymore,” Alexander said. “It seems Selaine chose an odd time to clear her inventory.”

“Upstairs,” Nora said, regaining some composure. “She lives upstairs. That’s where she’d be, if she’s still here.”

“Let’s go up, then.”

The stairs creaked as Alexander ascended them slowly, and Nora trailed after him. As she followed Alexander, a sinking feeling started to develop in her stomach that the upstairs level would look the same as the first floor.

Alexander topped the stairs and came to the door at the end of the hall. It was closed. “Through here?” he asked. Nora nodded. Alexander reached out, took the door handle, and twisted it open. Then he very carefully pushed the door forward.

Nora inhaled sharply as the door swung open. The upstairs level had also been wiped clean. Some of the desks and shelves Nora remembered were still there, but they were completely empty. Even the thick layer of dust that had coated some of the unused portions of the top surface was gone. And the light bulb – the single, hanging light bulb that swung from the middle of the ceiling – was gone.

Alexander looked back to Nora. “You said she lived here?”

“That’s right,” Nora said. She walked into the room, to the far window where the blinds had been drawn. She didn’t open them – there was no need. “I…I don’t understand. I was here only last night.” She walked over to the desk that Selaine had sat behind when she gave Nora the flask with the brown liquid. “Right here,” Nora emphasized, “was where she sat when I spoke to her.”

“An old woman couldn’t have done all this on her own,” Alexander said. “The question is, where did she go? And why?”

“I don’t know.” The realization of what this meant was starting to sink in. With Selaine gone, it meant that even if they
did
get the mushroom, they couldn’t make the antidote that Alexander required. And without it, there was no way Nora knew of that Alexander could return to full health. The sinking feeling in her stomach grew much stronger.

Alexander walked around the room slowly, eyeing everything carefully. He brushed his fingers against the tabletop and looked at them. “Nothing,” he said. “Not even a speck of dust remains.”

Nora lowered her head into her hands. What was going to happen now? What would they do, now? How long would the remedy from last night be able to mask Alexander’s symptoms?

She watched, solemnly, as Alexander picked his way around the room, examining all of it. But there wasn’t much to examine. Eventually, he came to stand beside her, in front of the window. “Don’t worry,” he told her bravely, as he started to lean against the windowsill, “everything’s going to—hey!” He jumped, turning around suddenly. “What’s this?” He pulled aside the blinds. The light blinded her temporarily, but when her vision returned, she saw what caused Alexander’s exclamation.

There, sitting on the windowsill, was a small wooden box. No larger than a regular jewel casket, really. And beside it was a yellowing piece of paper. Nora saw letters scribbled on it. A note?

Alexander picked both items up slowly. He looked at the paper for a second, then handed it to her. “It’s addressed to you,” he said.

Chapter Twenty-Four

~The Archive~

Nora took the note and frowned. At the top, in relatively large, flowery letters, her name was written. And below it, a simple note:

This may help in your time of need.

Nora read it out loud, then looked to Alexander. “From Selaine?” he asked, and she nodded. “She must mean this box, then,” he said, handing it to her. Nora took it carefully.

“What could it be?” she wondered out loud. She looked at it, flipping it over. It was seamless, a solid block. It looked like it was made of wood, but felt varnished and slick. And a little bit…cold. Like stone.

“My time of need?” she asked, looking the box over, trying to figure out what it was. Maybe it could be opened? She shook it by her ear, and heard a dull tumbling noise from within. There was definitely something
in
there, but she had no idea how to get it out. She twisted the box over in her hands, examining every side and corner, but couldn’t figure out for the life of her how to get it open.

“Another trick?” Alexander asked.

Nora shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Although… I don’t see how it could possibly come open. You try.” She reached out, handing the box to Alexander, but he took a step back and shook his head.

“It’s yours,” he explained. “Besides, when I picked it up, I felt a sort of…vibrancy. And it felt dark. Kind of like this place.” He rolled his shoulders uneasily. “Whatever it is, I don’t like it. This whole building, the entire area, it doesn’t feel natural.”

“Really?” Nora didn’t notice anything particularly unnerving, aside from finding the building completely empty. Perhaps it was the poison returning, working somehow on Alexander’s mind? She shivered at the thought.

“We should go,” he said. “Take the box or leave it, it’s up to you, but we should be gone from this place.”

“I’ll take it,” Nora said. She had a suspicion it might yet help with Alexander’s condition. Somehow.

Alexander went down the stairs first, and Nora followed. Only when they were outside, and a good two blocks away from the building, did Alexander let out a relieved sigh. “It feels good to be away from there.”

“Maybe.” Nora was all too aware that leaving the shop behind meant not finding Selaine, and that did not bode well for Alexander’s condition.
He
seemed to be more concerned about getting away from the building, though. Which made little sense. “Now what?”

“Well, if we can’t find Selaine—”

“Wait a minute,” Nora interrupted, suddenly remembering. “
You’re
the one who told me to find the healing woman, and
you’re
the one who first said there was an antidote to the poison!”

“I did? Really?”

“Yes! Right after you took the arrow! You said that you knew the ingredient that would help stave it off.”

“Uh…” Alexander pressed his fingers to his forehead. “I’m…trying to remember. But it’s all spotty. When I try to think back…there are holes in my memory. Anything to do with taking the shoulder wound, just…can’t be reached. Dammit!” He slammed his fist against the side of a building, causing Nora to jump. “I’ve never felt like this! It’s like having a word on the tip of your tongue, but being unable to speak!”

“I’m sorry,” Nora said quietly. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to go through something like that. But believe me when I say, I will do everything I can to help you recover.”

“It’s not you,” Alexander said, shaking his head. He moved his hand away from the wall, and Nora saw a crack in the mortar that wasn’t there before. “It’s me. I’ve never felt so helpless before. And what you told me this morning, about the poison, and my health… I would have never imagined it when I got up.”

“We’ll find Selaine,” Nora said reassuringly. “And she’ll help get you healed.”

“I don’t know about that…” he began, but cut off as his eyes suddenly lit up. “Wait. I know! The archive!” Quickly, he started down the street. “I don’t remember what I told you about the antidote,” he said over his shoulder, “but if there’s any place we can find more about it, it’ll be in the archive. Follow me!” He increased his pace, and Nora had to run to follow. After a moment, though, she realized he was going the wrong way.

“Wait,” she said, confused. “Where are you going?”

“The archive. It’s not far from here. It’s in the basement of an ancient home. All the books and manuscripts we were originally looking for are in there.”

“Hold on,” Nora said, thinking. She had come to a stop. “You think that’s where the archive is?”

“It’s where it was last time I was here,” Alexander said. “It’s where it’s always been.”

“No,” Nora said, shaking her head. “It’s not a library. Is that what you think it is?”

“Of course. Unless you know something I do not…?”

“I think found the real archive,” Nora said slowly. “It’s underground, in the mine.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

~An Unknown Box~

“Wow,” Alexander breathed, as he looked upon the doors of the vault for the first time. Nora hurried down the pile of rocks and stood next to him. The stone vault was as imposing – and as impressive – as ever. The intricately carved patterns of the inside rings looked even more spectacular the second time. And the lettering along the outer edge still glowed in that pale fluorescent blue.

“This is as far as I got,” Nora said. “I think – no, I’m
sure
– we can get past it, but I don’t know how to open it.”

“I’ve read about this,” Alexander said. He sounded absolutely awestruck. “In the library, there were manuscripts that mentioned ‘The Glowing Doors’. I had no idea they would be so close…” He walked up to the circular stone and brushed his fingers over the surface. “You were right. This must be the real archive. The one Rafael spoke of.” His hand continued along the stone, tracing the delicate patterns inside. “Do you feel that, too? A sort of pulsating…resonance?”

“Yes,” Nora said. “I felt it the first time as well.”

“It’s coming from behind the doors, I think.” He took a few steps back to take in the entire stone.

“There’s a crack along the middle,” Nora offered. “It’s difficult to pick up unless you’re looking for it, but I think that’s where the stone doors can open.”

“A crack? Hmm…” Alexander stepped close again, right to the middle of the vault, and brought his eye close. “Yes…right here, right?” His hand stopped along the thin crack that ran vertically along the stone face.

“Yes. I think the doors are made of two perfect semicircles.”

“I believe you’re right.”

“Do you recognize any of the lettering? Or the symbols, maybe?”

“Oh?” Alexander seemed surprised at the question. He nodded. “Yes, I think I do. But it’s been a long time since I’ve seen them…” He stepped back again and took in the whole stone. “
Courir maltarra souinte.
”

“What?”

“
Courir maltarra souinte
,” he repeated, “…
necrolla courir avi’anhd
.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“The outer rim,” he explained. “That’s what it says.”

“You can read it?” Nora was shocked.

“Only some. And it’s not reading, per se. Rather, I remember seeing a translation of
these
symbols, once.” He pointed to a small selection to the right.

“So,” Nora said, “what do they mean?”

“I think it’s a riddle.”

“A riddle?”

“Yes. A puzzle, to open the doors.
Courira maltarra souinte.
‘The Glowing Doors will come open.’
Necrolla courir avi’anhd.
‘By that which is the same.’”