AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What will it say?”
There was something dark in his expression. “It’s different for everyone. I don’t know how this particular Vulcan looks, so please be alert and don’t respond to anything that feels strange. Come on.”
They walked into the archives, Nava’s steps stiff, her neck aching from the tense set of her shoulders. Flickering candelabra on the walls illuminated the room with magical candlelight so dim that it was hard to make out any detail.
“Easy there.” Arkimedes soothed her with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. His wide hands grasped her shoulders, and her quickened heartbeat eased to a pleasant drumming that made her skin tingle with awareness.
She took a deep breath to calm her heavy breathing. “I’m fine.”
“You’re glowing.”
Nava looked at her arms. She was shining such a bright yellow she was easily the most intense source of light in this place. Her energy rolled like waves from the magical core beneath her skin, and she didn’t even feel all that threatened now they were inside the room. The bees that had accompanied her from the castle still circled her body.
Something was wrong, and she couldn’t ignore it any longer. Did it have anything to do with the mirror? Perhaps, perhaps not. She was just happy Cameron was as far away from her as possible.
The archive wasn’t quite a library. Two of its walls held bookcases that extended to the tall ceiling. The other two were covered in large glass cases that contained old weapons and unfamiliar gadgets. In the center of the room, several circular wooden desks surrounded a mirror sphere that rested upon a limestone pedestal.
Any spot on the walls that wasn’t hidden by books or artifacts was covered in beautiful landscape paintings and portraits.
Nava followed Arkimedes deeper into the room, glancing at Devon, who stood frozen before the scrying mirror.
A song flowed down from the ceiling, gentle like the buzzing of bees and leaves rustling in the open air. The globe in the center shone white and yellow, like her own aura. Ari’s voice called for her to return. She only had to touch it, and she would be back in the forest with him.
The sphere’s yellow glow flickered, and Ari’s voice grew distant. He was asking for her help. He was hurting. The Zorren had returned.
She collided with a mass of muscle, and strong iron-clad arms wrapped around her body right before she could sprint toward the Vulcan. The warm air of Arkimedes’s breath hit the side of her ear, and panic flooded Nava. She couldn’t move.
Her body began to lose matter. She had to transfer… “I have to answer Ari’s call!” she shouted, pushing against the wall that held her.
“Ignore its call,” Arkimedes urged.
It took several long seconds for his words to filter past the fog in her mind.
This wasn’t real—it was a trick from the artifact, designed to get her to touch it. Hadn’t Arkimedes warned her?
She let out a shaky breath and sagged against his hold. “I don’t know what happened to me…”
His hand caressed her arm in a soothing motion, before he intertwined his fingers with hers and pulled her in the opposite direction. “The Society trained us to handle the calling, but it’s very hard to ignore the first time you experience it.”
Nava’s limbs felt heavy. She’d been tired ever since she’d woken up, but adrenaline had fooled her into believing she could push through. “Why is it called a Vulcan?”
“It’s named after its creator, the god of truth and vision. He designed the mirrors to spy on our world.”
Nava watched Devon as he threw his tunic onto the floor and rolled his shoulders. His forehead wrinkled as if he was sinking into a state of deep concentration.
“Is he preparing for a fight? Will the mirror hurt him?” Nava hated that she knew so little about all of this. It made her feel like a little girl asking silly questions.
“Devon has handled other Vulcans in the past. He will be fine,” Arkimedes attempted to reassure her. However, the feeling coming through their bond didn’t match his stoic face.
“I can sense you’re nervous, Arkimedes. Why are you lying to me? And if he has handled a Vulcan before, wouldn’t it poison him?”
A smirk tilted Arkimedes’s full lips. “I didn’t lie. Devon has handled the Vulcan before. The poison shouldn’t be an issue because members of the Society use a potion that allows us to use it again—once enough time has passed. But I don’t remember when he took the resetting potion, so…”
“You don’t know if he’ll be successful.” She nodded, feeling dizzy.
“It’ll be fine. Devon’s not an idiot. And you know how much he values his life.”
Nodding again, Nava stared at Devon as he reached for the orb. His hands glowed white as he clutched it. Energy buzzed through the room, making her hair stand on end with static.
