Kilani extended her hand into the stream of water, expecting the force to push it down. She was surprised to feel little resistance. Carefully, she leaned forward and let the water run into her mouth. Neither of them had drank since early that morning and she could immediately feel the energy rushing back into her body. When she had her fill, she stood upright and motioned to James to drink. He drank greedily from the falls once he also realized the pressure of the water was not a concern. His dark hair, only a fraction shorter than Kilani’s, was plastered to his head as he pulled himself back into the tunnel.
“Take my arm,” she said, extending it to James.
Without question, James grasped her forearm, just above her wrist. He was confident his reenergized strength would find no difficulty in holding her. Kilani handed James her torch and leaned into the stream of water. James held her by the arm as her head disappeared. Almost immediately, she straightened, a smile on her face.
“It’s okay,” she shouted over the noise. “Take a big step and you’ll be fine.”
“What about the torches?” James asked.
“There is light on the other side,” she replied.
Before he could respond, she released his arm and stepped through the water. James followed quickly, carefully laying the torches on the tunnel floor before stepping through. He immediately found his footing as he passed beneath the falls. The deafening noise ceased the instant he crossed to the other side. He looked up. The light source appeared to be the water itself for all around the perimeter of the cavern a soft white light emitted from it.
Every wall in the circular cavern was draped in a curtain of water that spilled over a ledge that also encompassed the cavern. It was absolutely silent. In the center stood a rock structure James immediately recognized. It was identical to the structure they’d found on the first widow. Careful not to touch it, James and Kilani circled the stone spire. Rather than one column of unidentifiable markings, this had two, each on opposite sides. The top of the stone tower stretched to such a height, the light from the flowing water could not reach.
James tried to consider how much time they had spent inside. He wasn’t exactly sure, but he knew they must find a way out quickly or their friends would be stranded on the first widow. He looked back to where they entered the cavern and realized he wasn’t certain where that was.
“Do you remember where we entered?” he asked, looking at Kilani. She jumped at the sound of his voice, which was loud in the silent room.
“Of course, it was right over-” she too stopped to consider. “We stepped in and made our way to the center where the tower stands. The side we approached the tower had no markings, which limits it to one of two sides.”
As she said this she moved around the circular spire looking for some indication of where they had entered. “It’s only been a few minutes, we should be able to follow the water that dripped from our-” she reached down and felt her clothes then her hair both of which, to her surprise, were completely dry. “Either way, we entered in that direction,” she said pointing behind James. “Or that direction,” She said, pointing past the tower to the opposite side of the room. “I’ll check one. You check the other.”
James nodded and moved off in the opposite direction. The logic of this approach was sound, but it left much room for error, which made James uncomfortable. He began to circle the stone spire, but he stopped exactly halfway between the two columns of writing and began moving toward the curtain of water opposite his position. He looked over his shoulder repeatedly to confirm he was maintaining the proper heading. When he reached the water, he marveled at its beauty as it shimmered in its own luminescence.
Cautiously, he extended his hand into the water. His fingers contacted the wall behind before his entire hand was through the stream. He placed his hand flat against it and began walking, letting his fingers feel in hopes of finding an opening. James looked across the cavern to see if he could spot Kilani. The tower between them obstructed his view.
“Did you find it?” he called, knowing despite the size of the cavern, sound traveled well.
No reply. James kept moving along the circular wall, his hand feeling for an opening. He called out again, this time much louder. No reply. James was about to break away from the wall and go looking for Kilani when he felt the beginning of a depression in the stone behind the curtain of water. He slid his hand along the depression until his entire arm was engulfed. The opening they had come through was a clean-cut entry into the cavern. This was more of a gradual tapering away from the water curtain.
He looked around for anything he could use to mark the depression. Neither displaced stone nor wayward debris littered the cavern floor. Allowing his concern for Kilani to override his desire to mark the possible exit, he pulled his hand from the wall and headed across the cavern. As he approached the stone tower the strange glyphs etched into the black granite reminded him once again of the black metal key, and he reached for it in his satchel.
James had an overwhelming desire to touch the spire, which looked strangely familiar. His mind lost all focus. His arm lifted and reached his hand toward it, guided by not his body but the tower itself. James could feel an energy radiating from the stone as he drew nearer. His hand pressed this energy. Like an invisible membrane, it gave but did not break. James pushed harder until he penetrated the membrane. As he moved his hand through, James could feel the barrier wrapping his wrist. As his arm stretched closer to the spire, the invisible barrier moved up his forearm like a sleeve.
Deep inside his mind a futile cry attempted to prevent contact, reminding James of Luno’s instructions. The draw of the tower was too strong. James’s fingers barley contacted the stone when a massive surge of energy pulled him forward until his palm lay flat against it. His vision went white. James could feel his mind with more clarity than ever before. He could feel it connecting with his body. He could feel it connecting with his surroundings, and he could feel it connecting with the tower. Then everything went black.
Kilani watched James step toward the tower and stare at the inscriptions. By chance or fate or the will of The Never, she had decided to see if he had discovered the exit, having had no luck herself. They must have passed each other on opposite sides of the tower. When she doubled back, he was there. The instant his hand lifted toward the spire, she began to panic. She shouted his name as he ran toward him. As she reached him she could hear muttering. Some of the words sounded familiar, but most she’d never heard before. She shouted again and reached out to him. A force stopped her from touching him. A barrier just inches from his body. She shouted his name again. He did not reply but continued to mutter in the strange language.
His eyelids fluttered but remained closed. His lips moved impossibly fast but otherwise his body remained still. He wore an expression not of fear but almost… pleasure. Kilani tried to step between James’s body and the tower, but the same invisible barrier that surrounded his body extended outward to the tower preventing her. She pulled her dagger from its sheath and drove it into the barrier. The blade snapped and a jolt of pain shot up her arm and down her spine, sending her to the ground. Slowly, she got to her feet. She looked around for anything she could use to break him free. There was nothing. She cursed the place. Her magical powers were limited here unlike back home where she could think of at least a dozen incantations that would break the barrier.
Growing increasingly frustrated, Kilani decided to try the only thing she could think of. She ran to the curtain of water and said, “ Poikelo.”
A gust of wind rushed from her hands and blew through the curtain of water, refracting off the wall as it carried the water with it speeding toward the tower and James.
The force of the impact was incredible. At first, Kilani feared she had crushed him. She ran back to the center of the cavern as the water settled on the floor. As she drew closer, her heart sunk. He still stood in the same position and was looking the same direction, yet something was different. His hand was at his side. Not only that, but he was dripping wet. She ran, bare feet slapping against the wet stone. He turned to her as she approached.
“Do I smell that bad?” he asked.
“Like rubbish,” she said with a smile, taking him in her arms.
“What happened to you?” she asked.
“It spoke to me,” he said.
“What did, the tower?” Kilani asked.
“The castle,” James replied.
“How?”
“The towers and the castle are one,” said James.
