Chapter 29: CHAPTER 29

The cold gazes of the hirishu followed Delilee as she ascended the Temple stairs. To calm her nerves, she remembered the hirishu watched out for trouble, and she had the right as Tecalica to enter the Temple. Her actions weren’t treasonous. She could tread these steps without repercussion, even if late at night.

But Jalice rarely went to the Temple. The simple truth was that this was out of character for the Tecalica, and it drew undesirable attention to Delilee. There were too many witnesses who could whisper to the Ikaul Elders or speak to the Sachem himself about this. Delilee had an excuse prepared: that she went to the Temple for spiritual devotion. But she doubted anyone would believe that.

The alarmed voices in her head refused to quiet and, together with her pounding heart, brewed a storm of panic. The urge to turn back and retreat tugged at her heels. If it hadn’t been for the two figures accompanying her, Delilee would have done it.

The itch across her skin had only grown worse over the past hours. Coupled with the craving for lyprow root, it ate away at her concentration, and she regretted her decision to partake of the last drops while at the bathing pool. Korcsha’s delivery wouldn’t arrive until the next morning.

Only a half-step behind Delilee’s strides, Geshar showed no obvious discomfort under the hirishu’s vigilant watch. The talimai had said little since she and Delilee left the tent.

Upon Delilee’s agreement to aid them, the decoy had discovered that the tent stood hidden from any well-trodden paths. Part of her had expected to be in the middle of the Vekaul encampment, but in hindsight, it made more sense that she’d been denied the true location of the rebellious tribe.

The two men inside the tent hadn’t removed their masks. After a secretive exchange with Geshar out of earshot, the two men had fled into the forest and disappeared. From there, Geshar and Delilee had trekked to the Fortress alone.

Upon arrival at the mass of tents that preceded the Fortress, Geshar had resumed the expected, submissive demeanor of a talimai accompanying the Tecalica. She’d quickly introduced Delilee to Yetu, the Vekaul man who was now accompanying them under the guise of an Ikaul warrior.

Clad in the expected armor, lines of skin ink crawled over exposed patches of his tan skin and peeked out from a pelage tunic wrapped around his torso. The tribal markings ended on his face, clouding around a set of coal-stricken eyes. Thick brown hair, matted with sweat from the quickened pace up the long set of Temple stairs, curled into wavy locks around his ears.

Delilee hadn’t been able to determine if he truly was an Ikaul defector or instead hailed from some other tribe and was playing the part. Aside from a few murmurs to remind Delilee and Geshar to stay calm, the man had said little. His constant gaze, sweeping back to check on them, seemed dutiful at first, but Delilee noticed on several occasions his particular care towards Geshar. An offered hand, or a quick check to make sure she was keeping up—it struck Delilee as overly attentive. More so than would be expected of two allied vigilantes.

Delilee risked a nervous glance behind her shoulder from beneath her drawn hood. Geshar hissed, and Delilee quickly turned back around. Acting nervous and glancing about would only raise suspicion. She just wanted to escape those pestering hirishu eyes.

“What if we’re confronted by twisters?” Delilee asked in a hushed tone.

“Quiet,” said Yetu.

Her question went unanswered as they came to the last step. Another pair of hirishu guarded the doors that led into the Temple. Like with the set of guards at the first steps, Delilee averted eye contact. Out of the corners of her eyes, she could make out the white-bladed weapons they held.

Delilee pulled back her hood to reveal her identity. The Temple warriors turned in sync to open the stone doors with mystifying strength. Then the trio entered. Delilee quickly yanked her hood back over her head and kept her eyes to the floor as she walked. The moonlight left behind, only the torches and lanterns dotting the entrance hall provided light.

“I’ve done my part,” whispered Delilee once they were safely out of earshot. She scrunched her face. “Where is the Stone? How far do you need me?”

“We don’t know for sure,” Geshar whispered. “We think it’s in the Star Sanctuary.”

Delilee halted, while Geshar and Yetu careened forward a few steps before noticing her absence. The talimai woman glared furiously at her.

“You can’t go there,” said Delilee as Geshar rushed back towards her. “That room is forbidden. It’ll have dozens of protective wards that’ll tear you apart.” Delilee yanked away from Geshar when the talimai tried to tug her forward. “How are you going to get around aether wards?”

“We can’t,” said Yetu. “But you can. You’ve got the Tecalica’s wards. Otherwise you wouldn’t have lasted this long pretending to be her. That room was built for the Tecalica and the Sachem. It was a gift to her.”

Delilee’s eyes grew wide. “I’m not going anywhere near that chamber. My wards aren’t the same as hers. They’re replicants meant to trick the Sachem, but they aren’t the same.”

“We have to go,” Geshar said impatiently. “If you leave without us, it’s going to raise an alarm. And if that happens, those hirishu are going to have a lot of questions for you.”

Delilee craned her neck to gaze longingly at the doors they had just passed through, now closed. She should’ve never agreed to this. But Geshar was right. Leaving now could prove just as treacherous as following through with their absurd plan. She turned to face them with reluctant resignation.

“Let’s go,” she muttered.

Yetu resumed the lead, taking them down tucked-away passages that Delilee had not been aware existed until now. Their quickened pace left little time for her to make sense of the chambers that the hidden passages cut through. What she did witness made her skin crawl.

Some rooms appeared like dungeons, with writhing figures suspended in the air by invisible tethers. Their screams echoed down the passageways as Delilee and her companions scuttled past. Another chamber hosted a dozen angled tables with disfigured bodies strapped against the slabs and slathered in dark red ooze. Delilee pressed against the passage’s wall and looked away before she could pick out further details.

This used to be a place of worship and purity. She wished she could purge her mind of what she’d seen and heard. So much blood. Too many dead things—abominations of a demented Realm.

Between the horrific sights and near run-ins with Temple residents, Delilee’s nerves gnawed away at her resolve. The lyprow itch burned more with every horrid room she passed. She discovered the ailment worsened with her stress.

Sahruum, I beg you to please end those sounds of torment. She needed the screams to stop. She jolted when she ran against something solid. Yetu turned slightly and cocked his eyebrow.

“Why did you stop?” she asked as she blushed with embarrassment.

“The Sanctuary is in the hall beyond. We don’t know what’ll be in there—or who.” Yetu fixed Delilee with a serious look. “You have to act as if you belong—that you have every right to be in there. If you don’t, and someone catches you acting otherwise, this plan will collapse and be for nothing.”

Delilee gawked at Yetu. Occupied with trying to avoid the horrible sights in the chamber, Delilee hadn’t realized they had reached the Sanctuary, the highest chamber in the Temple. She imagined sickening images of what might lie in the observatory. The Sachem had managed to desecrate all other corners of the Temple, so she doubted the observatory had escaped his touch.

“You’re coming with me,” said Delilee. She searched Geshar’s eyes, silently pleading with her to concur.

Geshar cupped Delilee’s hands in her own. “You said it yourself—that room is warded. The aether would eat me alive if I tried to enter. Same for Yetu. We’ve come down these passageways because the wards are thin inside them; very few know they exist, so they weren’t protected like the well-traveled corridors.” Geshar paused. “I’m afraid this is where we part.”

Delilee fell against the wall, ripping away from Geshar’s touch. The world burned like fire as the itching escalated. She dug her fingers into the sleeves of her dress and scratched with an insatiable need to breach skin.

“If I’m caught,” said Delilee, “I’ll end up in one of these Temple chambers, forgotten and chained to a fate worse than death.”

“You can do this,” said Yetu. “The tribes need you to do this. If not you . . . then who?”

Delilee’s eyes shot up to meet the look of blazing confidence on Yetu’s face. This stranger thought she could brave this impossible feat. Yetu’s unanswered question looped in her head. She shoved off the wall, took a deep breath, and smoothed out her dress while exhaling.

She had a responsibility. This is why Annilasia placed you here—to be brave and make a difference. She exhaled another breath through her nostrils.

“Where will the Stone be?”

“We don’t know,” Yetu said. “It could be anywhere in there.” The words slipped reluctantly from his lips.

Delilee balled her fists. She could do this—she had to.

Without another word, she pushed past Yetu to the edge where the passageway ended and led into a well-lit corridor. She looked in both directions to verify its vacancy and stepped forward. A line of red candles ran down either side of the passage, casting her in an eerie glow. She turned to face the set of closed doors that opened onto the Sanctuary.

A war of thoughts waged in her mind as the seconds passed. She was torn between fleeing and pressing on. Knowing that further hesitation would lead to an incapacitating fear, Delilee stepped forward and braved the aether that guarded the observatory.

She couldn’t see the aether yet knew without question that it emanated from the door’s invisible wards. As a borrowed—or these days, stolen—energy element from another Realm, it didn’t assume the same tangible form it boasted within the Apparition Realm. Like a soul or emotion, only its effects suggested its existence in the Terrestrial, and it was otherwise rarely seen by the naked eye.

If the wards covering the Sanctuary determined she was an intruder, she’d be obliterated. Yet Delilee didn’t flinch. A silent prayer raced through her head—for protection, bravery, and a painless end if the worst should occur. Time dragged as Delilee grew ever more certain of her imminent demise.

When the doors swung open, she exhaled, unaware she’d been holding her breath.

Like most others in the Temple, these doors groaned loudly as stone scraped against stone. The noise made her flinch, and she worried the loud pronouncement of granted entrance into the Sanctuary would cost her the secrecy she’d maintained thus far.

When the sound finally ended, Delilee stood paralyzed. She listened with expectation for dozens of footsteps converging on her location. None came, and the deafening silence reigned on.

Delilee’s steps clipped the air like stones ricocheting down a well. In one sweeping gaze, she observed the enormity of the room. She’d had no certainty of what to expect, as it was one of the few areas Jalice had gone without her decoy on the few occassions she did venture here.

Where under Sahruum’s eyes could the Stone be? A giant orrery in the center of the Sanctuary seized her attention. Jalice had hinted about a grandiose gift from the Sachem long ago, but Delilee had no idea the gift furnished the Sanctuary. The orrery appeared custom made. It certainly couldn’t be a construction for the Sachem’s amusement. The Ikaul didn’t favor the stars like the Vekuuv did.

Aside from the red glow from the hallway candles, only the aperture above the orrery offered any light. Starlight seeped through the oval window and caressed the model planets suspended by rotation rings. The dim lighting revealed other customary pieces of furniture arranged throughout the chamber, such as lounging couches and decorative desks layered with scrolls and books.

Seconds of indecisiveness slipped by. Although Delilee was unsure where to look, she began her search for the Stone. She was tempted to start with the desks but she quickly chided herself. The Sachem wouldn’t have hidden the Stone in a drawer.

In the corner, a spiraling metal staircase led to a balcony that intentionally curved around the orrery. Deciding that she’d at least have a better view of this level from above, she ascended the stairs. Unfortunately, the aerial view offered no significant clues. The balcony itself was empty. Traveling from one end to the other revealed nothing but a heightened view of the glass window and closer inspection of the orrery.

Delilee paused. She leaned against the railing and scoured the room once more. She was overlooking something—she had to be. The room was by far the tamest space of the entire Temple, and she wondered why the Sachem would’ve placed the Stone here.

Her timetable surged cruelly inside her head. Delilee returned to the stairs. Maybe she’d been too quick to dismiss the innumerable desks and cabinets. Maybe she’d overlooked something deeper in the room.

She halted abruptly. Something in the air had changed. She’d heard something too, though it had vanished so quickly that she wondered if it’d been a phantom sound in her mind. To be certain, she turned around and retraced her steps on the balcony.

She froze. There it was again. One step back. A shift in the atmosphere, and a vibrational hum that swallowed all other sounds, even the silence itself.

Delilee faced the wall, her back to the railing and the room’s vast space. It took a moment for her eyes to trace the thin lines that outlined the frame of a door, carved into the stone so impeccably that it had been easy to mistake it as a part of the wall. Delilee edged forward. The balcony’s width was no more than seven feet, yet each step increased the vibrational charge beating around her.

She shivered. An almost cathartic wave of calm wrapped her in a gentle hug. The vibrational waves reverberated in her ears, canceling out any noise and enveloping her in a peaceful void. Her muscles relaxed, a collapse of bottled tension accumulated over years of stress and sorrow, her emotions melting into a deep serenity.

Delilee placed a hand on the door and closed her eyes. The Stone resided beyond it. Nothing else could create this level of tranquility. Geshar and Yetu had been right. The Stone was here.

Seeing no handles or keyhole, Delilee presumed aether fastened the door shut. Yet it remained unresponsive to her, unlike those that had granted her entrance to the chamber. Perhaps Jalice wasn’t permitted access to the Stone. The Tecalica was probably oblivious to its presence within the Sanctuary.

Stars’ fates, what do I do now? Delilee pulled her hand back and took a few steps from the door. The vibrational serenity diminished, and the urgency of her visit resurfaced in its absence. The minutes accumulated and edged ever closer to the half hour mark. Translating would require meditation, and meditation meant a lengthy, uninterrupted stretch of time. She wasn’t even sure translating was the answer to breaching the door and retrieving the Stone.

Awful realization set in. She was going to have to go back empty-handed.

Delilee swiftly descended the stairs, careful not to trip over her dress while she wracked her mind for a solution. None came. She wasn’t a templite; meditation wasn’t a skill she possessed, at least not well enough to perform under these circumstances.

The turmoil in her mind vanished when she realized she wasn’t alone. A figure loomed in front of the Sanctuary doors, watching her in silence. She froze as her heart skipped a beat. The itch she’d been ignoring scourged her skin, and her lungs burned for air as she held her breath.

The Sachem stared at her with a dark expression. He furrowed his eyebrows and pursed his lips. The darkness and shadows blanketed him as naturally as the cape that trailed off his shoulders into the hallway from which he’d entered.

Delilee’s lip quivered. Something in Hydrim’s eyes told her she was finally caught. Even if he hadn’t yet figured it out, the terror smeared across her face—too raw and genuine to hide—betrayed her secret.

“What’s wrong, Jalice?” asked Hydrim. “Are you not pleased to see your Sachem?”