Assassin of Truths(56)

"I guess so. The beam must be connected to the waterfall." I stared at the crown in my hand before saying the charm to change it into its original form. "Modificare," I said.

The crown shrunk and thinned until it became a metal rod. I turned it in my hand, the blue tint to the metal reflecting in the rays of the sun. I followed Royston around a corner in the cave to a sealed entry.

Beside the rock barrier was an imprint the shape of the Chiave badge. I removed it from my skin and put it into the wall. The rocks tumbled inward and rolled left, down an inclining trough big enough to fit a person. It reminded me of how marbles rushed down the ball shooter lane in a pinball machine.

I converted the badge into its rod form and tucked it into my pocket with the others. There was one Chiave left. We followed the tunnel to a large cavern at the end.

There were torches on the wall, so I created a fire globe and lit them. The minerals in the rocks glittered under the light.

Turning on my heel, I inspected every wall. "It's a dead end."

"Impossible. It must be hidden." Royston ran his hands across the smooth surface. "What is the last Chiave?"

"An hourglass," I said, joining him in the search.

We'd combed every bit of the cave and came up with nothing. I rested my back against the wall and slid down to sit on the ground. Tired and cold, I just wanted to go home.

Home.

It was a foreign word to me now. Could I ever go back to Boston? To our cute apartment in the North End? I seriously doubted I'd ever see that place again. Basically, I was homeless. And then I remembered what Nana Kearns always said. The place didn't make a home. People you loved did.

Royston sat beside me, crossing his legs. "What shall we do? Sit on our backsides and wait until it magically appears?"

I opened my coat, lifted my shirt, and placed my pointer and index finger on the final Chiave. "Reditum," I said, releasing the hourglass from my skin. It grew and floated in front of my face, the sand in it glittering in the light coming from the torches.

The sand. It's the same as the minerals in the wall.

There had to be a reason they matched. I snatched the hourglass from the air and turned it around, inspecting every inch. There was nothing on it. I tugged on both bases and the arms. They didn't budge. When I pushed on the glass, it moved slightly.

"There's something here," I said, gently pushing the hourglass until it popped out of the stand. Engraved on the inside of one of the wooden bases were instructions.

Royston glanced over my shoulder as I read: "Sprinkle the sand into the crevice aligning the wall without torches, and light it. Then shall past meet present, stopping time and revealing the Tetrad's prison. Make haste for once the granules burn out, the spell will be broken."

Pushing myself up the wall, I stood and crossed the cave to the other side. A thin line had been dug into the ground, and it ran the length of the wall. Gingerly, I sprinkled the sand in the crevice and down the line.

Royston grabbed one of the torches and touched it to the sand. Like a fuse, the fire rushed across the crevice. The wall of the cave lowered into the floor, exposing a metal door with seven holes forming a circle in the middle.

"We found it!" Excitement flushed my cheeks, and I hugged Royston tight.

When he didn't respond, I let him go. He wasn't as excited as I was. His stare on the door said it all. This was the end of the line for him. The end of his life.

"What is next?" he asked, his eyes still stuck on the door.         

     



 

"The rods go in those holes. Then the door will unlock and the Tetrad will be freed. You drink the potion, and you will be able to destroy it. I'm not sure how. I have no idea what will happen."

"Then we shall see. I am ready."

I put the glass back in its wooden case. "Modificare," I said, and the hourglass changed its form to match the others. One by one, I removed the rods from my pocket and placed them on the ground. Next, I tugged the leather canister from my boot, uncapped it, and removed Gian's notes.

"Let's see what's next." I unfolded the parchment and read Gian's notes. "You have to light each Chiave, by saying accendere and then insert it into one of the locks-the holes."

Royston picked up the first one and said, "Accendere."

The rod didn't light.

"I haven't magic. You must do it."

I took the rod from him and said the charm. It glowed blue, and I inserted the key into the door. I picked up another one and repeated the process for each Chiave until I had one left to insert.

An electric charge hit the ground by my foot, and I dropped the rod and parchment. I spun around.

"Bravo, Gianna." Conemar's voice came from the entrance to the cave. He was in Sentinel gear, shorter than the Sentinels flanking him, yet more menacing with his fierce glare on me. "You led us here, and you even left the traps open for us. Such a considerate girl, you are."

On Conemar's right stood Nick, an electric ball zapping between his hands. His eyes were almost gray. It wasn't Nick. Some other wizard was compelling him.

"Accendere la stun," I said, creating a purple globe and pitching it at Nick.

He released his power and it exploded my globe, snuffing it out before it could hit him. I quickly formed a fire globe.

"Grab the Chiave," I ordered Royston, nodding to the final one on the ground.

As he reached for it, Nick shot an electric charge that barely missed Royston and hit the rod, sending it flying across the cave.

Royston stepped back.

"Nick. Stop. It's me, Gia," I pleaded with him.

He ignored me and formed a fireball between his hands this time. Two Sentinels came to Nick's side wielding their battle globes, one green and one yellow-wind and lightning. Conemar created an electric charge on his palm.

"They outnumber us!" Royston stated the obvious.

One of the Sentinels shot her green globe. I threw an ice one at the blast of wind with so much force that frozen shards flew back, hitting the Sentinel and knocking her to the ground. The other Sentinel released his lightning, and I stunned it with mine.

My eyes went to the canister on the ground by my boot, then to the rod against the wall a few feet away. "They'll control the Tetrad," I said.

"Before we could release the creature," Royston said. "They'd have us. If we do not run, you will not have me," he whispered. "They will kill me. Then no one will be able to destroy the monster."

They had us trapped. I glanced around trying to find an escape. The trough where the rocks went down was our best bet, but I had to drive back Conemar, Nick, and the two Sentinels so we could have a chance to make it.

"Get ready to run to the trough where the rocks went down."

He nodded his understanding.

Dashing for the rod, I created fire globe after fire globe and hurled them at Conemar and the others. Nick dodged the exploding flames and charged after me. He collided into me, and we crashed into the metal wall.

I pushed him off me and threw a knee strike to his stomach. He stumbled back, and I snatched up the rod. A wind globe hit me, and I landed hard on the ground, the rod jarred from my hand and pain exploding across my back.

My head throbbed, and fear shook my body.

Get up. Don't stop. I rolled onto my knees and grasped for the rod. Nick's boot came down on my hand, and I shrieked. He picked up the rod.

"No, Nick," I pleaded. "Don't give it to him."

Nick tossed the rod to Conemar.

"No!" It was as if the ceiling of the cave crashed on top of me and all hope punched out of my soul.

Conemar caught the rod, a sinister grin twisting his lips.

Royston tackled Nick and slammed a fist against his jaw, and then another. Nick lay motionless on the ground.

Nick. I couldn't think about him right then. I had to get Royston out of there.

I repeatedly launched fire globes at Conemar and his Sentinels. The balls bursting into flames created a wall between them and us.

Conemar and his Sentinels backed out of the cave.

"Run!" I yelled.

I grabbed the canister and note and shoved them inside my boot. Royston took off for the trough, and I sprinted after him. I ignited another fireball and threw it at the entrance before jumping into the trough behind Royston. We rode it down like a slide, pebbles flying up, pelting my face. It went a long distance before I shot out of it and landed on top of Royston at the bottom.         

     



 

Crawling over the rocks, Royston and I went out of an opening in the cave. The light blinded me for a few seconds before my eyes adjusted. We'd ended up at the base of the mountain. We needed Bastien's and his guards' help. I fumbled to get the window rod out of my pocket. It was broken in half. I tossed it to the ground.

"We have a head start," I said. "They're going take time releasing the Tetrad." Saying that caused my stomach to drop. I'd failed. Because of me, both worlds were in danger. No telling what Conemar would do with his new weapon.

"How do we get out of this place?" he asked.

I hadn't thought about that. "Let's just go to where we entered. There has to be a way out."

Screeches sounded above us. A half dozen Writhes, changed into menacing creatures by Conemar, slithered down the mountain heading in our direction. Their deformed bodies, contorting over boulders and through cracks, moved inhumanly fast.