“Think of the prophecy again,” she said. “Does it not mention this very place?”
I rehearsed the prophecy. “Over the sea of a thousand faces, let the silver light show the way.” I paused. “Let the silver light show the way,” I repeated.
Princess Euralysia held out her hand. The beryl-shaped crystal glinted with a pale silver luminosity. “We will restore the magic,” she said, “but we can only do it together.”
I inhaled a deep breath. “Very well. I’ll do what I can.”
She nodded, then gave the Illumina crystal to Kull, and he accepted it. Moonlight fell across his chest and broad shoulders as he carefully placed the crystal into the opening. It fell into place with a click.
“Now, Olive,” the princess said, “use the Everblossom’s magic to activate the spell.”
“How?”
“The magic will show you.”
I held my hand over the stone, feeling the power inside. It was an extremely old spell, older than the spell on the pixie’s bridge in the badlands. The bluish wisps of magic were elven, although I also saw amber swirls mingling with the blue. Closing my eyes, I focused on the spell.
“Why do I feel Earth magic in the gate?” I asked the princess.
“Originally, the elves created the spell with all forms of magic—dragon, elven, pixie, goblin, and even Earth magic. They wished to ensure their enchantments stayed intact through any kind of calamity.”
I concentrated harder and found traces of inactive spells throughout the stone. “Yes, I can feel the other spells. They must have weakened with the loss of magic.”
Looking up at the princess, I was startled to find that her shadowed eyes looked ghostly in the moonlight. I wanted to trust her, but that nagging in the back of my mind wouldn’t relent. Still, if I wanted to restore the bloom to its proper place, then I knew I had no other choice but to break through the silvergate’s spell.
Inhaling, I opened my pack and pulled out the orb. I blinked as my eyes adjusted to its radiant light, such a contrast to the darkness I’d become accustomed to. With careful fingers, I touched the worn stone of the silvergate with one hand and held the orb in the other. I focused my magic on the spell. Once I found its source, I mentally pulled at its loose edges, like unraveling a thread from a woven tapestry. I pulled with a gentle pressure, enough to break the spell apart from the outside, until I felt the power in the spell’s core.
This part would be more complicated.
I applied pressure to the spell’s center, feeling the layers crack under my magic until it released and moved into the Illumina crystal.
“Was the spell supposed to move into the crystal?”
“Yes,” the princess answered. “It will remain active in the crystal until we’ve destroyed all three gates.”
Relieved, I stepped away from the stone. Dizziness disoriented me for a moment. I steadied my breathing, letting air fill my lungs and clear my head.
A faint blue light glowed from the crystal shard. With a groan, the rounded stone rolled onto its side, the light growing brighter, until a silver beam pointed to the middle doorway.
“I’m guessing we should go through this one?” Kull said.
I quickly replaced the orb in my pack, then slung my bag over my shoulder. No one answered Kull as we walked to the doorway. That feeling of anxiety increased, souring my stomach, making the darkness seem to suffocate us.
Sculptures of hooded skeletons stood at every corner in the fortress. I did my best to ignore them as we walked through the doorway and into a narrow hall. Images of broken skulls lined the walls from floor to ceiling. But who would spend so much time carving each individual skull into a wall? Looking closer, I gasped.
“Are these real skulls?” I asked.
“Yes,” Kull answered, fingering one. “Yes, I believe they are.”
It reminded me of the tunnels under Paris. I’d once read that three million skeletons had been neatly and uniformly interred underneath the streets. Most were victims of the plague or the French Revolution. Had something similar happened here? Had there been some sort of plague? What could cause so many deaths? Who were these people to begin with?
The hallway widened into a chamber. Before us stood rows of coffin-length tables. I walked to one of the tables. Years of bloody gore were apparent on its surface. Thickened, congealed blood had dried into the stone, staining it a dark brownish-red.
I walked to the back of the room and found the walls lined with blades that ranged from small to machete-length hanging on rusted nails. Most were stained the same color as the tables.
“What in the world happened here?” I asked.
Kull stood beside me and studied the wall. “These are not knives used in combat.”
“No,” I answered. “These remind me of the instruments we use in Earth Kingdom for surgeries.”
I glanced back at the tables. The princess stood away from us. Unlike me and Kull, she didn’t seem surprised by the gory scene. She stood with her arms crossed, her eyes focused ahead.
Elves were usually appalled by such scenes. But not now. Although I was half-elven, I was beginning to realize how little I knew about them.
“Your people did this, didn’t they?” I asked her.
“I cannot say for sure.”
“Why not?”
“History is always a muddled subject, especially the history of a place where so many of its accounts have been erased.”
“You’re dodging my questions. Why?”
She shook her head. “We do not have time for this. Follow me.” She turned on her heel and walked out of the room. The beam of silver light shone straight ahead until it reached a dusty, mirrored surface on the back wall. The beam refracted and then pointed in the direction of the door that the princess had walked through. I turned to Kull before following her.
“Do you know what happened here?”
He glanced in the direction of the door. “I am sworn not to reveal what I know.”
“You won’t even tell me?”
“I gave
