The Gates of Memory, стр. 76
Sheren and Jace spoke often as they walked. The two were ahead of her and Toren, and Jace’s hands moved so wildly Alena sometimes worried he would accidentally hit Sheren.
She tried to embrace his enthusiasm. She followed his gaze as he turned and pointed out distant waterfalls and unique peaks. She forced herself to smile as he explained some obscure detail he’d just learned.
And it worked. Between their success in the village and Jace’s infectious attitude, she began to enjoy the climb.
The whole party stopped to peer across the valley below from an overlook, the four of them precariously balanced near the lip of a boulder. Alena, distracted by something glittering in the woods far below, leaned out just as a gust of wind rushed up the mountain slope, crashing into her with surprising force.
Already near the edge of her balance, Alena stumbled forward, trying to catch herself with a foot that slipped off the edge.
Her stomach sank, but a firm grip on her wrist pulled her back before she had a chance to understand her error.
Toren.
Their eyes met, and Alena thought she saw something there she hadn’t noticed before. Their gaze lingered for several heartbeats before Alena came to her senses.
“Thank you,” she said.
He made a quick hand sign, then returned to the path. Alena watched him walk away, her thoughts jumbled.
Jace nudged her with his elbow. “About time you noticed.”
Then he skipped back to the trail, joining the others.
No matter how hard Alena glared at her brother’s back, she couldn’t quite summon enough fire affinity for his shirt to catch on fire.
Sheren led them up the mountain until they came to what at first appeared to be a square cave. As they approached, though, Alena realized there was nothing natural about the dark hole. The cave turned out to be a tunnel, sinking deeper into the mountain than light would penetrate.
“What is this place?” Alena asked.
Sheren shrugged. “It was built by those who came before. Our legends claim that these were places of refuge.” She frowned. “But I do not think that is all they were. Tunnels like these run through many of the mountains in this area. I believe that long ago those who came before may have used them for transport.”
Even after experiencing the impossible underground constructions outside Landow, Alena’s mind wrestled with the magnitude of the work she saw before her. Working by hand, such a tunnel would have taken lifetimes of effort. But even a cursory glance at the walls was enough for her to realize that they had not been shaped by human hands. They were nearly as smooth as glass.
Sheren lit a torch and led them deeper. “My people rarely use these tunnels anymore. Many consider them cursed. Using these will cut days off your trip and help you avoid most of the patrols. Besides,” she added, “most of them lead straight to Faldun.”
Jace echoed Alena’s thoughts. “Well, I’m glad we stuck around to help you.”
Alena agreed. This was exactly the sort of help they needed. The tunnel was as straight as an arrow, with no elevation change she could see. Passing through a mountain was far faster than walking around or over one. And not having to worry about other war parties would save them time, too. She lit a torch off of Sheren’s and the party continued on.
Several hundred paces into the tunnel, when the light of day had faded to a point in the distance, Sheren’s torch revealed a stone cart. As they neared, Alena felt uneasy. Something about this cart pushed at her senses.
Her reaction must’ve been noticeable, because Sheren commented on it. “You can feel it too, can’t you?”
Alena nodded. She had no idea what it meant, but this cart had a purpose greater than she could understand.
Toren spoke. “It seems to possess a stone affinity.”
Everyone turned to stare at the quiet man. “You’re saying the stone possesses a stone affinity?”
Toren gestured his agreement. “At least, that is what it feels like. I don’t actually know what I’m feeling.”
Sheren became animated. “Come on. There’s something more that I want you to see.” Alena did, driven as much by her own curiosity as by Sheren’s enthusiasm. Those who came before fascinated her, a mystery she wasn’t sure she would ever solve.
She lost track of how far they traveled, but eventually Sheren stopped. She held her torch up to the wall, where the surface was marred with drawings that Alena did not understand.
The walls portrayed a series of sketches, drawn with a confident and talented hand. The works depicted a group of people fleeing in terror from some monster in the sky. It almost looked like a giant bird, yet different. “What is that?” Alena asked as she pointed to the creature.
“I’m not sure,” Sheren replied, “but I believe it is the creature that destroyed those that came before.”
39
News of Regar’s betrayal froze Brandt in place. Though he knew it to be true, he scrambled to find some other explanation to fit the facts. Unfortunately, every proposal he imagined was far more outlandish than the simple truth.
Regar had betrayed the Falari. He’d betrayed his father, and he’d betrayed the empire.
Brandt couldn’t get any of that to match with the man he’d come to know on the journey here. He’d sensed the bitterness toward his father, but nothing that justified an action like this.
He didn’t want to believe it.
As a younger officer, Brandt had always been instructed to keep his battle plans simple. Complex strategies broke like weak pottery. What applied to battle plans applied to life, too. If two explanations for an event existed, and were roughly equal in merit, the simpler one was almost always correct.
Ana didn’t suffer the same disorientation at the revelation, but she’d never gotten along particularly well with Regar, either. What finally silenced Brandt’s disbelief was Hanns’ quiet acceptance. The betrayal cut the emperor deeply, but he didn’t seem surprised.
“Why would he do it?” Brandt asked, more to himself than to anyone