This was where Kami proved himself to be efficient and good at his job because he broke everything down into grids, and they started searching from the top down. It stood to reason that nobody would hide something they considered truly valuable on the bottom floor and have it still be there when they showed up.
He was dragging ass a little bit, but his magic was building back up. He knew he’d be able to slide soon. They just needed to find this stone because if they didn’t, they’d end up coming back here every time the stone sang its song to Kami.
Something moved when they reached the giant banqueting hall that was on the third floor. It was a shadow of whatever it had been once, with banners trailing along the windows in tatters, and green schmutz covering what you could see of the windows.
The scent invading his nose was foul—brackish water, spongy mildew, and all of the things that he hated having come from the sea.
There was nothing alive in this place, at least nothing good, nothing worth dying for.
His eyes filled with tears as they passed these long trestle tables, one of which was just smashed, broken in half. “So much hate here, there’s just so much.”
Kami nodded. “We’re just trying to get the stone. That’s it. We get the stone, and we’re solid.”
“All right, well, let’s do it. Which way?”
“Up.” Kami sounded so sure.
“All right. Let’s go.”
At least it was less wet up here. The higher they went, the drier it was, but it was cold and dark and more than a little scary.
This place had been huge. Not as big as Cain’s keep, but bigger than anyone could explore in a day or even two.
There was room after room after room, all of them dusty and ransacked. One or two even had lumps on the destroyed mattresses that were suspicious, and he wasn’t going to go look. Mercury didn’t want to know.
“It’s going to be okay. I can hear it. I just got to get these stones.”
“I thought you said there was one in a box.”
“There is one in a box. There are others too, though. Let’s go.”
He kept walking with Kami. “I’m really scared.”
“Well, this isn’t the most brilliant idea I didn’t have!” Kami grinned at him. “We’re going to have to watch that. Me going ‘I need to see a man about a stone’ and then just grabbing your arm. I didn’t mean to do this.”
“I know. I didn’t mean to let you do it. It was just so immediate. I’ll have to talk to one of the seers. There’s got to be a way where I have to agree to go at least a little bit, especially in the keep.”
“I think that’s a good idea. The kids are going to get old enough where they would just want to grab your arm and have you pop them somewhere because they don’t want to walk.” Kami waggled his eyebrows. “I mean…kids.”
“They’re sort of like you…impulsive. They don’t think about what they’re doing.” Mercury bared his teeth at Kami, who laughed heartily.
“That’s the spirit, man. Get mad instead of getting scared.”
“I’m not mad at you, Kami. But it does help to get this fear response wiped out.”
“Ah. Fake it until you make it, right?” Kami nodded, then tilted his head. “Follow me.”
Kami forged a path through the next few rooms, ignoring all sorts of detritus. In the fourth room they pushed into, the door half shut and stuck on gunk on the floor, they found a box tucked into a niche along the wall.
“Oh. Do you think that’s it?”
“I sure hope so.” Kami looked at the niche. “You think it’s booby trapped? Maybe that’s why it’s still there.”
“Well, you’re the expert on that stuff, right?” Mercury had lived more than half his life in a single large chamber. So he had no idea what there might be to disarming a booby trap.
“Let me look. I might need you to boost me. Clearly an alphahole put this up here. Or someone with a ladder.”
“Okay, but if snakes pop out and fall on me, I’m going to bite you myself.”
