“So, that’s the cabin.” Hirani gave us all a broad smile. “If you’re hungry, there’s a spirit in the kitchen who can whip up something for you. Is there anything I can do to help you in the meantime?”
“What can you tell us about the Gauntlet challenges?” Abi asked. “We know there are three of them, and that’s about it.”
“Let’s sit and have tea like civilized beings, and I’ll answer what I can.” Hirani guided us through the kitchen, where she called out an order for tea to the spirit, and into the dining room.
I’d have asked for coffee if I didn’t think it would ratchet my anxiety up even higher than it already was. Tea would have to do.
Once we were all seated, and Hahen had taken up his usual position on the table at my right elbow, Hirani leaned back in her chair and cupped her hands behind her head. She stared up at the ceiling for a moment to collect her thoughts, then dove into answering Abi’s question.
“The exact details of the Empyrean Gauntlet challenges are unknown, because they change every time,” Hirani began. “We do know that there are always three challenges that correspond to the trinity of Empyrean powers: swords, auras, and serpents. Challenges tend toward the martial, though puzzles are also quite popular. Other than that, there’s not much I can tell you. I don’t even know the specifics of the three previous Empyrean Gauntlets, because the contestants are sworn to a geas of silence regarding the challenges.”
“That’s unfortunate.” Clem took a sip of her tea. “No wonder Brand has dodged so many of our questions. No one knows the answers.”
“I wish we could have been more help to you.” Hirani gave Clem a sorrowful smile.
“You can,” I said. It was now or never. “I need you to perform surgery on my core.”
Hirani leaned forward so suddenly I thought she might hit me. Her eyes burned into mine with an intensity I’d never seen in them before. She was so kind and patient it was easy to forget that she was also an incredibly powerful Empyreal who could as easily strike me down as look at me.
“If you thought I could repair your core, why didn’t you ask before now?” Hirani sounded interested rather than angry.
The truth was, I’d hoped Hahen and I could find a solution without involving the elders. The way Ishigara had reacted to my impromptu bit of animal grafting had made me leery of bringing up stitching my core back together with anyone else.
“Because my back is against the wall,” I confessed. “My team is strong thanks to the work we’ve done with Brand and Professor Song. We could be so much stronger, though, if my core wasn’t mangled. I know what I’m asking is dangerous. I’ve tried everything else I could think of, though, and nothing has worked. I’m out of time. Please. I need your help.”
Hirani clasped her hands around her mug of tea and peered into its murky depths. For a moment, her brow furrowed, and her ageless mask slipped. She didn’t seem old, exactly, just worn thin from untold years of stress and hard decisions. She had a long, long life still ahead of her, but the toll the years had demanded so far had been much higher than I’d imagined. She’d seen darker days than any of us and knew that darker ones still lay ahead.
“I want to help you.” Her voice trembled with a thread of vulnerability at odds with her power as an Empyreal elder. “And that’s why I cannot. I’ve tried to do the impossible before, Jace. It did not go well.”
The rest of my team shifted uncomfortably in their seats. I felt the weight of their attention against my wounded core, and it stung like a case of fresh road rash.
“You have to try,” I insisted. “I’ve considered doing it myself...”
“You mustn’t.” Hirani had regained her composure, and her words carried the full weight of her authority. “You’re clever, Jace. Using a soulscript to reverse the delamination seems like a good idea. The slightest mistake, though, could accelerate the delamination. And if the scrivening failed under stress, it could tear your core apart. If you’d only come to Bogotá, maybe...”
Hahen blew out an exasperated sigh.
“Thank you, honored Elder,” the rat spirit said and bowed low. “I’m afraid we have overstepped our bounds here. Perhaps Jace and I should retire to rest before tomorrow’s challenge.”
“Please, stay, venerable Spirit.” The elder’s warm, pleasant demeanor returned in full force. “Jace’s request wasn’t unreasonable, given the information he had. For now, though, drink your tea. You’ll need it to get through what I have planned tonight.”
All of our eyebrows shot up at Hirani’s ominous final sentence.
“You didn’t think I’d bring you all this way and not be ready for a strategy cram session, did you?” Hirani laughed. “The spirit added a little something special to your tea. You won’t need sleep tonight. Let’s find out just what Professor Song and Elder Brand have been teaching you.”
The First
HIRANI HADN’T EXAGGERATED about the tea. It filled us with energy, without the jitters you’d expect from caffeine. I needed to get the recipe for whatever potion Hirani had used. That night, though, we had some serious strategizing to do.
While we didn’t have any
