“What’s the matter, Seth?” Calvin asked, looking up at him. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”
“Maybe I did,” Seth said.
“What do you mean?” Serena asked.
“There are beings underneath us,” Seth said. “Lots of them. Gibbering in confusion.”
“Can you still hear them?” Calvin asked.
“If I try,” Seth said. “Give me a second.” He engaged his senses and again was assailed by a confusion of words and feelings. Were they wraiths? Phantoms? Patient listening revealed a mix of voices. Definitely some wraiths. A few phantoms. And uncountable presences.
“What do you hear?” Merek asked.
“Many voices,” Seth said. “They seem unaware of us. Some are undead, but mostly I hear presences. Like when I first met you.”
“Disembodied memories?” Merek asked.
“I think so,” Seth said. “A host of them. They sound confused. The majority are asking about themselves. Their advisers are wraiths and phantoms. It’s the blind leading the blind.”
“Sounds terrible,” Serena said.
Seth concentrated on the voice of a single wraith.
Alone, the voice lamented. Surrounded and alone.
That struck Seth as a sentiment he could work with. Can you hear me? Seth projected to the wraith.
You speak to me?
I hear you and I’m speaking to you, Seth affirmed. You must feel lost.
Forever alone, the voice mourned.
Not right now, Seth said. I hear you. Can you come see me?
No way out, the wraith bewailed. The Old Ones forbid it.
Who are the Old Ones? Seth inquired.
Ancient and immovable, the wraith declared. I am trapped. We are all ensnared. So alone.
I can hear you, Seth said.
You are living, the wraith affirmed. You hear me.
I need to find the Unforgiving Blade, Seth communicated.
Above us, the wraith said. The blade can harm us. The blade can end us.
Is the blade gone? Seth asked.
Above us, the wraith repeated. Above you. High above. The blade remains.
How do we get to it? Seth asked.
I am trapped, the wraith grieved. Find your way up. Beware the blade.
Seth took his focus from the wraith and zeroed in on a forlorn phantom.
It never slows, the phantom complained. Broken minds shattering into ever smaller pieces.
I can be patient, Seth assured the phantom.
You hear me? the phantom asked.
It’s noisy, but I hear you.
The ceaseless babbling haunts me, the phantom shared. You are an island in an agitated sea.
Can you help me find the Unforgiving Blade? Seth asked.
That edge is sharp! the phantom warned.
I need a sharp edge, Seth stated. Can you help me?
I cannot rise to where you stand, the phantom moaned. The blade is higher still.
How do I reach the blade? Seth asked.
Find the gaps, the phantom suggested. Climb.
Seth targeted a couple more wraiths and one more phantom, but the first two he had spoken with proved to be the most coherent. He tried to focus on some of the presences, but none could hear him.
“The blade is still here,” Seth said.
“According to the memories?” Calvin asked.
“According to a wraith and a phantom,” Seth said.
“Do you think your memories are down there?” Calvin asked.
“I considered the possibility,” Seth said. “None of the memories could hear me. They are sealed deep under this place. The entities down there can’t get out. Even if this is where Humbuggle stores the memories he steals, remember, the Diviner believed my memories had escaped.”
“I’ll take that as positive news,” Serena said. “With hope that your memories are not among these entrapped wretches.”
“Wraiths can be helpful when I’m looking for things,” Seth said. “Or in a fight.”
“Any other hints?” Merek asked.
“Supposedly the blade is above us,” Seth said. “We need to hunt for gaps or maybe try to climb. They didn’t give good instructions.”
“Not much to climb in here,” Merek said, eyes roving the stony walls. “Could they have meant to climb the exterior?”
“I felt like they meant to climb in here,” Seth said. Closing his eyes, he drew on his power and probed for locks. Anything to unlock. Anything to open.
After a moment, he sensed a simple mechanism. A small mental effort released a catch, and what looked like a rectangular boulder slid slightly ajar, like a door.
“Did you do that?” Merek asked, responding to the unexpected movement.
“I try to make myself useful,” Seth said, jogging over to the rectangular rock. It pulled open smoothly on hidden hinges. Beyond, a crude stairway led upward. “Who wants to climb a pyramid?”
Kendra, can you see?” Warren asked as they left the entrance behind.
Kendra realized it must be getting dark for her companions. She could see just fine in any nonmagical darkness, and there was still some extra light from the open doorway behind them. They had tried to shut it to no avail. The heavy stone door had refused to budge.
“We’re in a grand hall,” Kendra said. “There are four big dragon statues on each side.”
“Let us know if they start to move,” Warren said. “Or breathe acid. Or even if they wink.”
“We’ll have light shortly,” Tanu said, mixing two solutions into a clear container. A moment later the concoction shone like a lightbulb.
“Yep,” Warren said, glancing around. “Dragon statues. She wasn’t bluffing about her night vision.”
“I think they’re only decorative,” Vanessa said. “They look too primitive to come to life.”
“But sometimes that’s exactly how they get you,” Warren said. “You let your guard down, and the crudely rendered dragons attack, all the scarier because they’re so unrefined.”
“We could run into the first guardian at any moment,” Tanu said.
“This hall is safe,” Raxtus said. “I would sense a dragon.”
“Any idea who we’re up against?” Vanessa asked.
“The guardians of the Dragon Temples were established long before I hatched,” Raxtus said. “Few dragons know who was selected. The guardians will possess uniquely challenging abilities.”
“Can you help us survive?” Kendra asked.
“I’ll do my best,” Raxtus said. “The only dragon I ever defeated was in human form at the time.”
“That’s only because you’ve never fought a dragon in his natural shape,” Kendra said.
“Is that anything to brag about?” Raxtus asked.
“You’re undefeated,” Kendra encouraged.
“Any living dragon you meet is undefeated against other dragons,” Raxtus explained. “My kind don’t give second chances.”
“You’ll have
