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“I’ll finish this later. I need a break.”
I take out my phone. Still no message from Noah.
“Something’s not right,” I say to Yoru. “Noah’s still not replying. Since I told him about the soul link, I haven’t heard a peep from him.”
Suddenly Yoru stands up, walks a few steps, and looks at the door.
“You think we should go look for him?”
The timing’s not bad. The Fabricis are at a Council meeting tonight, so it’s one of those rare times that my training session is canceled. I have a couple of hours in which nobody will notice my absence. And I’ve been meaning to go back to the Odyss anyway to look for Frida.
“This is a rare opportunity, and we shouldn’t waste it,” I concur. I pull out my key, which hangs on a chain around my neck under my sweater.
I’ve succeeded once before in sneaking into the city where Noah’s family lives. None of the Noctu suspected that I could be a Tempes. Why would they? Normally, their enemies would never dare go there. But I have a bad feeling.
“I’ll be alright,” I reassure myself. I walk down the corridor and climb through a window.
Yoru wants to follow me, but I shake my head regretfully.
“Sorry, but you can’t come with me. If I go into the city to look for Noah, it’s too risky.”
It’s clear that my little fox is not happy about this. But in the end, he sits and obeys my instructions.
Outside, I summon a door, glance back one last time at Yoru, and step through it. I land in darkness, which is broken only by the glow from all the doors.
“I should make the most of this opportunity and try to find Frida too,” I think aloud. I look around. I’m alone, so far so good. I really don’t want to run into any of the fallen right now.
I take a few steps and then summon my courage. I know the risk I’m taking – it won’t just be Frida’s attention that I’m attracting. But if one of the other fallen does show up, I’ll just leave and go search for Noah instead.
So I take another look around and call out, “Frida, are you there? Please, I need to talk to you.”
I also let some of my odeon flow out into the darkness, but without Yoru, it’s only a small amount.
The seconds pass, and my eyes scan the gloom, which is punctuated here and there by the faint glow of a door. I can’t hear a sound, and that’s almost more unsettling than the infinite space stretching out all around me.
“Frida!” I try again, a little louder. I call out her name over and over, turning in all directions and keeping my eyes peeled for some sign that she could be nearby. But there’s nothing here.
Feeling drained, I pause and take a deep breath. I let my eyes wander. Was she so badly injured after the fight that she still hasn’t recovered? Or is she too deep in the Odyss to hear me? Does she not want to come? But why would she avoid me? It doesn’t make sense.
I run my hands over my face and frantically think about what to do next. At that moment, a door catches my eye. It looks old and weathered. The wood is dark and rotten. But what really grabs my attention is the small symbol at the top of the door. It must have been carved into it many, many years ago. An open eye. I have no idea what it means, and I definitely don’t want to risk opening that door. But it gives me an idea. A symbol. What if there are others? I’ve found clues here in the Odyss before that helped me in my search for the library. What if that’s what I’m supposed to do now? Should I be looking for a door with a symbol of the crescent moon?
If it weren’t for my practice with Noah, I wouldn’t stand a chance of finding it. But now it’s worth a try. I take a deep breath and try to empty my mind. I need to somehow let go of my fear too because it might interfere, and I can’t take that chance. So I close my eyes and banish all thoughts of what could happen to me here, as defenseless as I am.
I calm my breathing, slow it down. I let myself fall deeper and deeper into this state of calm, and suddenly I can sense all the doors. I drift past them, one after another, moving deeper and deeper into the Odyss. So many doors – an endless sea of them. And finally I hear something. Or rather, I sense it … something calling to me, very quietly, almost imperceptibly. I move toward it. And then I see it: a dark blue door with most of its paint chipped off. It looks battered, and the frame is warped. But none of that matters. All I care about is the symbol just above the handle: a crescent moon. I try to maintain my focus, breathing calmly as I reach out for the handle. Now comes the hardest part: I need to pull it toward me. Not only does that take a lot of energy, but it will also take time because it’s far away. I think of Noah, who can summon the most distant doors in seconds. But I’m less practiced. It moves toward me very slowly – far too slowly for my liking. My arm begins to tremble with the effort, but I can’t let up. It comes nearer and nearer, and just when I think I don’t have the strength to hold it anymore, it’s done.
I open my eyes and see the door directly in front of me. I did it! I give myself a moment to relax my arm and gather my strength again. Then I take a step forward, reach for the handle, and turn it.
The door opens, and a dense forest appears before me. I still feel uneasy without Yoru at my side, especially not knowing what awaits me in here. But I need to keep going. If I want to find an answer to this puzzle, it’s a risk I have to take. So that’s what I do. I step through the door onto the soft forest floor strewn with leaves and twigs.
It’s cool and shady. The canopy is so dense that I can barely make out the sky, which appears to be heavily overcast anyway.
It doesn’t take long for me to decide which way to go, because there’s a trail stretching out in front of me, although it’s hard to make it out. It snakes around ferns, shrubs, and large rocks. My heart is pounding, and my senses are heightened in anticipation of danger. I have no idea what could be lying in wait for me here, but I have an uncanny feeling that something’s not right. The fact that I can’t hear a single sound is enough to set off alarm bells. All I can hear are my own footsteps as I tread on grass and fallen leaves. Chirping birds, the wind in the trees, animals scampering through bushes – I hear none of that.
And there’s this prickling sensation on the back of my neck. It’s as if someone’s reaching out with a cold hand to grab me. I keep turning around, unable to shake off the feeling that I’m being followed.
I come to a point where the trail stops. A large rock formation blocks the way. It’s imposing, but not so high that I can’t climb over it. At least I hope I can.
I reach up, place my foot in a crevice, and slowly pull myself up. I carefully feel my way, and bit by bit I scale the obstacle. I’m seized by that uneasy feeling again. If I were in a horror movie, everyone would know at this point that I’m walking into a trap. Is that what’s happening?
