The Keeper's Flame (A Pandoran Novel, #2) (28 page)

But I didn’t want Stefan to see it—any of them see it. I had made this decision, convinced them of why I’d had no other choice, and I didn’t really want to hear a load of “I told you sos,” from Stefan, which would be exactly what I would hear.

“Yeah,” was all I said.

Stefan stretched his arms and yawned, following Thad out my door. A few moments after they left, someone rapped on the door.

“Back already?” I shouted.

No one replied.

Curious, I walked over and opened the door with a creak, but no one was there. The hall was empty and dark and quiet. As I started to close the door, I noticed a silvery cloth on the ground wrapped around something round. I bent over and picked it up; the object inside was solid and a little heavy. I stepped back inside my room and shut the door.

I unwrapped the cloth and paused. The round object beneath was bronze and fit perfectly in my palm, and I recognized the engravings on the surface.

It was Cicero’s directional. But who had left it?

I pushed in the knob on the edge and the lid clicked open. Strange symbols lined the perimeter as the arrow spun round and round.

There was ink on my hand. I glanced down at the cloth and saw a note.

The decision’s been made.

You’ll need this.

Chapter 18

The Wall

I
stared at my ceiling for hours. I stared while the candles dimmed and burnt out, until the moon’s white glow was replaced by something dull and grey and dreary.

I had stared the night into day.

I pushed back my covers, slid into my slippers, and crossed the cold stone floor to my window. It was a strange feeling, missing sleep, as though time had moved forward and I had been left behind in the past.

I pressed my nose to the glass and jerked back. The glass was freezing. Each panel had frost around the edges, making them difficult to peer through. With my robe, I wiped some of the steam from the glass and squinted through my new small window.

The sky was grey, covered in a homogeneous veil of clouds that seemed to go on forever. They were the kind of clouds that brought snow and didn’t stop bringing it. Even though it was cloudy, even though the world was darkened, my eyes hurt. My lids persisted on shutting themselves, tired of holding themselves open for so long.

The games.

I wondered what the powers had decided upon, what my fate would be for the remainder of the week, and looked back at my nightstand.

There sat the little bronze directional, open as I had left it. Why would I need it? I hadn’t even figured out how to use it with Cicero’s help; never mind trusting me with it for whatever lay ahead.

There was a soft rap-rap-rap on my door, and before I could reply, the door clicked open.

“Fleck!” I gasped as Fleck sprinted towards me with a big toothy grin and wrapped his little arms around my waist, holding on tight.

I squeezed him back as Dad walked in. His blue eyes were weary and dull, and when he smiled it didn’t touch his eyes. Looked like he’d had about as much sleep as I’d had.

“I miss you so much, lady,” Fleck mumbled in my stomach.

“I’ve missed you, too,” I said, brushing his hair with my fingers.

He sighed as his relief and happiness swelled.

“Master Antoni is just outside the door,” Dad said. “No one else knows he’s here.”

I held his gaze and immediately understood. It had been with great risk that he’d brought Fleck here to see me.

“You only have a few minutes,” Dad said.

I pulled Fleck back so that I could look into his large, flecked eyes.

“I’ve been so worried about you,” I said softly, searching his gaze. “Are you still…?”

He nodded as he glanced past me, at the door. I saw the despair in his eyes. “But I didn’t tell them, lady,” he whispered. “I’m…I’m…scared. The headmaster…” His voice trailed.

I squeezed his hand reassuringly. “What about the headmaster?”

“I…I heard him talking about me and…they’re going to send me away after the games, but I don’t want to be away from you.”

A fat tear rolled down his cheek and my chest squeezed so tight that for a moment, I forgot to breathe.

“Fleck, I wish more than anything that I could keep you here with me, but...” I swallowed. I hated that I could do nothing.

Not yet, anyway.

Fleck’s big eyes dropped as he hung his head, but I felt his understanding as strongly as I felt his disappointment.

“Hey.” I tipped his chin up and looked into his big wet eyes. “I’m working on it, though, okay?”

“I know,” he said, and dug in his pocket. He smiled as he held up the rook I’d given him.

“You still have it?” I clasped his hand with the rook inside.

His nod was big.

“I promised I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, Fleck.” My throat tightened.

Another tear slid down his cheek as he nodded. I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight, letting him feel as much love and protection as I could, but the funny thing was that it was his love and protectiveness that gave me strength. Made risking everything—even my life—seem inconsequential compared to his safety. Knowing that this little, vulnerable person depended on me for so much, made me feel as though I could do anything.

“Daria.” Dad’s voice was low and urgent.

I met his worried gaze, looked back at Fleck, and rustled my hand through his hair. “You’ve got to go now.”

Fleck wiped his eye and nodded.

I squeezed him fiercely. “I won’t let them take you, Fleck. I swear it.”

Master Antoni peered in the room. Master Antoni had a kind disposition for being a guild member, his eyes were an honest blue and his smile had a way of making you feel that everything was going to be all right.

“We must hurry,” he said quietly.

Fleck nodded and I squeezed his hand before he padded toward my door. He took one last look at me and said, “Goodbye, lady,” before disappearing down the hall.

Dad closed the door behind him, his features grim. “I thought it would help you to see him.”

I swallowed, my chest heavy. “It does. Thank you.”

Dad nodded and raked a hand through his hair.

“What is it?” I asked.

Dad’s countenance sagged with weariness. “I left the assembly hall no more than an hour ago.”

All night. He’d been with them deciding what to do about the games all night.

“And?” I asked, almost afraid for him to continue.

Dad paced, his brow furrowed. “Headmaster Ambrose made the final decision. They’re combining the remaining challenges into one.”

That couldn’t be good. “Which is?”

He stopped and looked at me. “They’re moving the games to the East Ridge. Hell’s Peak.”

I didn’t know anything about Hell’s Peak, but I did know about the East Ridge. That was where all the sightings of the shadowguard had been, and where the scouts had been sent.

The scouts who hadn’t come back alive.

“Why?” I asked.

“It was the only place nearby deemed challenging enough,” he continued. “The headmaster has just left to hide the unity stone, which you are expected to find.”

“He’s going to hide the stone in a mountain? Didn’t someone just try to steal it?”

Dad kept pacing. “The headmaster believes the stone will be safe, because it wouldn’t do any good to steal the stone without the shield. Not to mention a thief would never be able to retrieve the power since all of your blood is sealed.”

“Maybe they couldn’t, but they could use it as a bargaining chip,” I said.

“The headmaster is willing to take that risk. He feels Hell’s Peak is dangerous enough to keep any minor thieves at bay.”

Minor thieves weren’t what I was worried about.

“Dad, what’s Hell’s Peak?” I asked.

Dad stopped pacing and stared absently at the window. “It’s one of the mountains on the edge of this valley. Great evil lurks there, which is why a wall was built around it.”

“To keep people from going in?”

“No.” His gaze was heavy. “To keep evil from coming out.”

****

The wall was enormous.

It seemed as though it touched the dark clouds above, running endlessly in either direction, looming grand and powerful as though it were a boundary between worlds.  The stones had eroded slightly from centuries of wear, but that somehow augmented its power. Erosion was the mark of the mighty, the pride of the strong. It said, “Bring your storms, your magic and battles, but I will stand regardless, watching you come and fade like your ancestors before you.”

“Not a real comforting sight,” Thad said, chewing a piece of grass as he stared at the giant wall.

My breath was slow and even.

No, it’s not comforting at all.

Stefan’s lips formed a line. “You sure about this, D?” he whispered.

I nodded but said nothing.

I wasn’t sure about this—not at all. But I had no choice, not anymore.

The entire population of Gaia must’ve gathered before the colossal barrier. They blanketed the snow-cover with colorful warm robes and boots and small fires to warm their hands.

So many faces I didn’t recognize. Those from the Arborenne stood off to one side, elegant and fierce, faces set with determination. Ehren waited at the front of their group, watching the wall with those sharp purple eyes, thoughtful. He didn’t look afraid, not like I was afraid. He was more circumspect, seeing things beyond the wall I could not see, with a sagacity and skill I did not possess.

How had I ever allowed Thad to convince me to do this?

The persuading factor in my decision to enter the games had been safety in numbers. The arena would have been that. The arena would have been my armor and shield.

But behind this?

Nothing could’ve separated me farther from Dad, from Thad and Stefan and the Del Contes.

A black bird cawed overheard and landed on a snow-covered branch. Snowflakes fluttered like dust to the ground, right beside Cicero and Sonya. They stood on the fringe of Valdon’s huddle, speaking with Sir Armand, who had dressed himself with anxiety and a large green feather.

Where was Alex?

I wanted to see him, talk to him. I wanted him to tell me it would be okay, even if it wasn’t.

But he wasn’t anywhere.

I could feel the darkness behind the wall, pulsing and writhing, pressing against the stone with all its might, trying to break through. The wear on the wall’s surface and the small cracks and crumbling stone weren’t a result of centuries of weather. They were a result of great strain from whatever lived on the other side.

My limbs tingled and I broke out in a cold sweat.

I wasn’t strong enough for this.

“You okay, Rook?” Thad nudged me in the ribs.

I nodded, wiping my brow.

“You’re whiter than the snow,” he said.

“I’m fine.”

He arched a brow.

Remember why you’re doing this. Remember Fleck.

Thinking of him—his face when he ran into my room—helped, but only a little. His memory was like a small flame inside of me, melting away at the chill of despair.

“Champions!” the king bellowed near the wall. The headmaster stood beside him, as did the Master Durus, and a few guards.

Steerforth stepped from the crowd. He looked mighty proud of himself as he walked, swinging his arm and winking at the crowd. He winked at Isla, too, who was standing a few yards from me.

“I swear,” Thad said, “someone needs to stick that guy with a needle so he deflates.”

Stefan grinned beside me.

Ehren stepped forward, and Kenley, and Vera. Vera looked angry, not afraid. She stared at the wall as though she were trying to intimidate it and, knowing Vera, she just might succeed.

“Well, Rook,” Thad said, “I guess this is goodbye.” Egan whimpered at my feet.

“Maybe you could say that with less finality?” I asked, scratching Egan between the ears.

Thad smiled. “Sure. Don’t get yourself killed so that I can see you again. Better?”

I glowered at Thad as Dad grabbed my shoulders. He searched my face before pulling me into a tight embrace. “I love you,” he whispered, holding my head to his chest. “Please…be careful.”

He pulled back, searching my eyes. I swallowed; my throat tightened.

Stefan stepped in, looking worse than I felt. “D, if anything happens to you…I swear to Gaia…”

“Stef,” I said. “Don’t worry about me, okay?” My voice shook even though I’d tried making it strong. “But if something does happen, will you take care of Fleck…?”

He held my gaze a long moment before nodding, and then he pushed me forward. I stepped out of the crowd, right beside Danton.

Danton regarded me in silence, face withdrawn, eyes blue and…deeply hurt. He bowed his head and motioned for me to go ahead. “After you, princess,” he said respectfully.

I took a deep breath and walked past him, toward the others, and he followed.

Master Durus was already handing something to each of the contestants. When I approached, he glared at me a long moment before handing me a small pack. I took it in my gloved hands and slung the rope strap over my shoulder; the pack felt empty.

Master Durus turned to the group. “Inside, you’ll find an assortment of supplies.” His voice rumbled quietly. “Those smarter than you have deemed these necessary for your survival.” His gaze settled on me, and I glanced away.

Right into Steerforth’s bright eyes. He winked.

I turned to the wall and started studying the stones.

Master Durus stepped back, bowed his head to the king, and the king stepped forward, hands clasped before him. His face looked particularly sharp as his eyes scoured each and every one of us, until at last he turned from our group and gazed at the wall with respectful admiration.

“Headmaster Ambrose has hidden the unity stone behind this wall,” he said, and turned to the group, the shadows in his face deeper. “The moment the stone is found, the game has ended, and you are all to use the amulet in your packs to return you to this point.” His pale eyes moved slowly about our group. “Remember: The other champions are not your enemy.”