They had decided to follow the ancient road southward. Again and again they had lost the faint tracks in the underbrush and were forced to stop and make a laborious search. The loss of time worried Mari.
“This path divides in several directions,” Kellen noted in his grave manner. “Which way do you think we should go?”
“Whichever way leads fastest toward something to eat, besides hardtack and acorns,” Cormik said forlornly. He picked futilely at the dried leaves and burrs that clung to his once-elegant attire.
Jewel parted her ruby lips in a wicked smile. “Personally, I think our strict regimen is doing you good, my sweet, expansive elephant. Sparing amounts of food and generous amounts of exercise are exactly what you need.”
With his one good eye, Cormik glared darkly at her. “If I had wanted your opinion, my dear geriatric tart, I most certainly would have requested it. I know exactly what I need, and it involves large and plentiful quantities of roasted pheasant, sweet subtleties, and red Amnian wine. And soon!”
“This path has gradually veered east, away from the River Reaching,” Morhion said. “Let us try west. Perhaps that way leads to a ford. We have to get across the river if we’re going to pick up Caledan’s trail again.”
The green forest light was fading to dusk when the narrow path broadened, and they came upon the ruined city. The endless wall of trees parted before them, and the voice of the river roared like thunder on the air. Here the paving stones were intact, though late wildflowers and sweet herbs pushed their way up between the cobbles. Most of the city’s structures were little more than jumbled heaps of stone, tangled with vines and crowned by stands of oak and ash. However, in the center of the city was a circular plaza, in the middle of which rose a tapering, step-sided building.
“I think this was a city of the Talfirc,” Morhion said, raising his voice above the rushing river.
“What happened to them?” Mari asked in wonder. “Why did they leave?”
Morhion shook his head. “It is a mystery. The Talfirc dwelt in this land for a long age. However, by the time our ancestors came westward over the mountains, the Talfirc were already centuries vanished. No one knows where they went, or why.”
“They built this city awfully close to the river,” Cormik noted. “I wonder if they built a bridge as well.”
Morhion’s eyes gleamed brightly. “Let us find out if you’re right.”
The Talfirc had indeed built a bridge. Unfortunately, the river had shifted in its course over the centuries. The ancient yet solid span of stones now arched over the verdant floodplain. The river came nowhere near it.
“Well, that’s about as useful as a rowboat in the desert,” Jewel said drolly.
“Not even that,” Cormik chimed in.
They made their way back to the central plaza. The light was failing rapidly.
“We might as well camp here,” Mari said, though she shivered as she did. The years rested heavily on this place.
“What’s that boy doing?” Cormik asked with a scowl.
Mari followed Cormik’s gaze, then gasped. Kellen was climbing nimbly up one side of the stone pyramid. “Kellen!” she cried out in alarm. “Come back down!” He seemed not to have heard her over the roar of the river, for he kept climbing. It was unlike him to behave so rashly, but she could see now what had attracted his attention. Atop the pyramid was a gleaming golden orb.
Morhion was the first to the pyramid. He leapt from the saddle and swiftly scrambled up the side after Kellen. Seconds later, Mari, Jewel, and Cormik dismounted and started up the stone steps after the mage. These three were perhaps a quarter of the way up the pyramid when Kellen reached the summit. Glancing over his shoulder, he grinned when he spotted Morhion right behind him. But there was something wrong with Kellen’s eyes, Mari realized. They were dull, vacant. And Kellen never grinned, Mari remembered. Sometimes he smiled, but he never bared his teeth and grinned.
“Look at it, Morhion,” Kellen said in a strangely flat voice. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
Morhion also sensed something was wrong. He reached a hand out toward the boy. “Kellen, don’t touch the—” But the mage was too late. Kellen had already laid his left hand on the orb.
Green lightning split the sky. A bolt of sizzling energy shot down from the angry clouds and struck the golden orb. Both Kellen and Morhion were thrown backward by the blazing force of the strike, tumbling down a dozen steps before coming to a halt. Kellen staggered to his feet, dazed, but Morhion lay still, sprawled upon the stones. Mari could see a red stain spreading across his forehead.
Mari scrambled up the side of the pyramid, quickly outpacing Jewel and Cormik, who followed behind her. A heartbeat later, the golden orb flashed. There was a hissing noise, like air escaping through a crack, and a grating of rock on rock. Mari cried out as the stones beneath her shifted. In moments they no longer formed a staircase, but instead a smooth, steep ramp down which she slid backward. Over her shoulder, she could hear screams. She twisted her neck just in time to see Cormik and Jewel disappear into a dark pit that had opened at the base of the pyramid. Mari clawed at the stone to slow her descent. Then she heard Kellen’s frightened cry.
“Mari, look out!”
She looked up in time to see Kellen and Morhion sliding rapidly toward her. She tried to twist out of the way, but she was too slow. Child and mage struck her at the same time. She lost her grip on the stone, and they all went tumbling down into darkness.
Surprisingly, it was Cormik who took charge. The corpulent crime lord was accustomed to a life of luxury; nonetheless, he reacted to their predicament with coolness and aplomb.
The five had fallen through an opening into a perfectly spherical chamber formed of seamless black stone. Moments after they struck the bottom, there came a low grinding noise. The entire hollow globe seemed to rotate. Mari scrambled on all fours, trying to keep from tumbling end-over-end like a rat trapped inside a spinning ball. When the sphere’s movement came to a halt, the opening through which they had fallen was no longer above them, but was instead situated halfway down one of the curved walls. A second stone wall now lay beyond the opening; apparently this sphere was contained within another, larger stone globe. Only a small slit breached the outer wall at this point, a narrow window through which came the faint gray-green light of dusk.
Kellen remembered nothing of what had occurred outside. Whatever power had compelled him to climb the pyramid seemed to have no influence here. He was back to normal, as dazed as the rest.
Cormik began issuing orders. “Jewel, examine that opening in the far wall and see if there’s some way out of here. Kellen, please assist her. You have smaller hands and may be able to reach things she cannot. Mari, we’re going to need more light—can you do something about that? I’ll see to Morhion.” The mage had not stirred. He lay on the ground, unmoving, his skin like alabaster against the black marble floor. The wound on his forehead had blossomed into a grisly crimson flower.
Numbly, Mari set to her task. She rummaged in her pockets until she found a stump of candle, flint, and tinder. Creating fire was no simple feat. She struck the flint repeatedly against the edge of her steel eating knife. After many failed attempts, a glowing spark landed directly on the tinder. Quickly, she blew on the bit of fluff. There was a wisp of smoke, and suddenly a bright flame curled out of the tinder. She held the candle’s wick to the flame. The candle caught, golden light filling the dark sphere. Mari took a deep breath. Concentrating on the mundane chore had calmed her nerves. She realized that this was probably one of the reasons Cormik had assigned her the task.
She approached Cormik, who bent over the still-unconscious mage. He had placed his velvet cloak under Morhion’s head for a pillow, and the crime lord was deftly binding a bandage over the wound on the mage’s brow.