“We’re not certain who it was at this point, Your Eminence.”
Jeven sighed. “It was probably vandals or some such lowlifes. Still, they must be dealt with.” He turned to Aluriel. “Will you go and seek out these vandals? I’m sure it is nothing, but it would put my mind at ease to know our tombs are safe.”
“Of course,” Aluriel said. She gave me a sidelong glance as she stood, but then she left the room with the guards.
My mind raced. Had Kull broken into their tombs? If so, did Aluriel suspect him? The look she’d given me made me think she had.
“I apologize,” Jeven said, bringing me out of my thoughts. “The city has devolved to chaos, I’m afraid, with the arrival of more villagers from the surrounding communities. As the only sanctuary safe from the Regaymor, it’s difficult to keep law and order in a place such as this. Even our tombs have been desecrated and used as asylum.”
“I understand.”
Jeven stood and held out his hand toward me. I hesitated before taking it. If Kull had broken into the tombs, I wanted to know why. Then again, Kull could take care of himself. Rushing after him would only attract unnecessary attention, so I turned to Jeven and took his hand.
He gave me a careful smile, then turned to the doors and led me outside.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“You will see.”
I got the feeling that he wasn’t going to show me where he kept the sword until he was ready, and I had no idea how long that would be. Nervousness nagged me. I had to find the sword soon. Assuming Maveryck and Heidel were successful in disabling the magic, I’d only have a limited amount of time to take the sword and escape, and the more Jeven stalled, the greater chance I had of failing. But I didn’t dare rush him and make him suspicious of my motivations. The amulet’s spell didn’t seem to have as much influence over him as I would’ve liked, so I had no choice but to wait for him to be ready.
Jeven led me down a series of hallways. We stopped in an open foyer with a set of doors on the far side. He led me to the doors, opened them, and ushered me inside. When I stepped into the room, I gasped as I stared overhead.
We stood at the base of the tower. A large, black globe spun slowly overhead, and quiet whirring came from the spinning object. There were no cables or wires holding it up; it floated on a cushion of magic. As I scanned the tower, I saw a staircase winding up to a platform surrounding the globe.
“Come,” Jeven said, leading me toward the stairs. As we climbed, I noticed the globe’s surface was etched with mountains, lakes, and oceans. We reached the top of the platform and stood facing the globe, its steady rotation whirring quietly, the hum of magic resonating throughout the tower.
The faint glow of black magic tinted the sphere’s glossy texture, although in places, landforms had been etched in gray over the surface of the globe.
“It’s amazing,” I said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Jeven’s guarded smile returned as he studied me. “Tell me,” he said. “What part of our world do you come from?”
My heart sped up as I studied the globe. I wasn’t prepared for this. Focusing on it, I studied the mountains and plains, the southern hemisphere, and a large continent to the north. Finally, I decided one place couldn’t be worse than another since the whole world was practically dead, so I pointed to a mountain range near the equator. “There,” I said.
He raised an eyebrow. “There?”
“Yes.”
His eyes narrowed as he scrutinized me. “You’re not from this world, are you?”
My heart rate shot up. This wasn’t good. “Where else would I be from?”
Jeven grabbed my wrists, then pushed me against the railing. Gasping, I felt magic in his hands. His eyes burned red. The power of the amulet reacted, but its magic was too subtle to compete with his rage.
He reached up and wrapped a hand around my neck, then pulled down my collar. His clawed fingers scraped my skin as he revealed the amulet’s chain around my neck. My heart pounded against my ribs as he pulled the chain from beneath my dress to expose the amulet.
Jeven removed it from around my neck and held it up for inspection.
“I thought as much,” he said, then tossed the necklace over the railing. It landed with a clatter on the floor far below.
“As soon as you and your companion entered my tower, I knew there was something different about you, but I didn’t know what. Whenever I tried to concentrate, my mind felt clouded. I knew some sort of spell must have been at work, but couldn’t focus long enough to figure it out until I brought you here. The magic in this tower negates all other magics, making your amulet a useless trinket.” He grabbed my wrists and pinned them to my chest, his claws cutting into my flesh. “Did you really think you could trick me?”
My heart pounded. I forced my mind to stay in control and not panic.
“Who are you?” he demanded. “Where do you come from?”
I had to come up with something convincing. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I knew you wouldn’t listen to me without the amulet. I used it only because I had to warn you. I lied to you about where I’m from, but I assure you, I’m not here to hurt anyone.”
His grip tightened. “You didn’t answer my question—where do you come from?”
“Another world.” I gasped as his grip tightened. “The world where the sword was forged.”
“Such a place doesn’t exist.”
“Then how do you explain its magic?”
He was silent, lips pursed, his shrewd gaze boring a hole through mine.
“I come from a land where the blue magic is plentiful. I swear
