Itwasa very odd mountain, growing straight out of the ground to an astounding height, the sheer cliffs and drop-offs peppered the vertical climbs, and dangerous spires and crevasses broke up the climbs even more. Even as the best mountaineer made their way up the side, no one had ever crossed over because there was no air at the top. There was no way to cross the peak, and the peaks ran like a spine the length of S’Kir, all two hundred leagues.
The magic hadn’t been messing around when it lifted the land.
Caves dotted the bottom, and animals, residents, even hidden water springs, lurked inside. None went more than a half league in before ending abruptly, but the water there was sweeter than any other in S’Kir.
One of these caves was the origin of my itch. I headed straight for the opening that called me, without regard for the danger I could be marching into.
Elex, however, lacked my enthusiasm for an impromptu spelunking expedition because I had an itch. He grabbed my arm.
“Kimber. Stop. We aren’t prepared for this.”
How right he was.
“I’m going in there, Elex. With or without you. I need to find out what’s going on. This is—” I halted my words as I realized what was going on, and I couldn’t contain my surprise. “This is magic.”
“We’re drenched in magic.” Skepticism, not magic, dripped off Elex’s words.
“No, this is the mountain’s magic, pulling me toward it. Telling me to discover what’s inside.”
For all my years in the temple, this was the first time the magic had reached out to me instead of me reaching for it. It pulled on me, asking me to come and find it, deep within the cave I was standing at the mouth of.
I held my palm out and up, and a globe of light appeared, hovering there. “I’m going in, Elex. I’m an acolyte. If the magic calls, I answer.”
Not waiting forhisanswer, I passed into the mouth of the cave. I made sure the globe of light would stay where it was and let it float ahead of me. I was going to need more than one of the globes to dispel the darkness of the cave if the first few hundred feet were any indication.
Inclining sharply, boulders of all sizes from tiny to enormous littered the ground. There was hardscrabble between each of them, making footing dangerous and unstable. Still, they could be useful as I grabbed the boulders around me as handholds. I climbed into the shadows and through the rocks to get to a platform that allowed me to catch my breath and let my muscles rest.
The entrance wasn’t all that far behind. This was going to be a hard climb.
Elex stumbled into a rock next to me, panting. “You’re insane, Kimber.”
I grinned at him in the light of my magic. “Who followed me in, though?”
Glancing ahead, I could see there was just more darkness, but it didn’t seem to be too much more of an incline. “Do we know if anyone has explored this cave?”
“They’ve all been explored. But when and how much is the real question.” Elex sighed, giving the cave a perfunctory study. “I think this is Cave S’Kir Prime Park North Twelve, but I can’t be sure. It fits the profile, a sharp incline, and a boulder-strewn entrance. It’s been explored, pretty deeply if it is, and we’ll have a slow incline from now on.”
He gripped my arm. “Please, Kimber. Think about this. If you really want to do this, let’s go get the proper equipment. For the love of the Lost God, you’re wearing sandals.”
I shook my head. “No. We have to go now. I have to go now. You don’t have to come with me. But I have to do this.” Pursing my lips, I studied the rocks and walls of the cave. “This is the first time I have ever heard the magic tell me what I needed to do. So I have to.”
“I won’t let you go alone. If you break your leg, I can go for help.”
I nodded into the cave. “Let’s go. I need to find out what this is. I’ve never—”
How could I ever describe what it felt like to have the magic pulling on me? There was an urgency to it as if I needed to be somewhere immediately or I’d miss something spectacular. Elex didn’t need much more convincing than I had given him, so we trekked deeper into the cave.
It was a desperate urge for me.
So desperate, I didn’t even realize I was running after another few minutes of walking into the cave. Elex pulled me to a stop again, and let me—and him—catch our breath.
Before he could scold me, though, the magic shifted, and my light shook in the air and was yanked to the right.
Even Elex couldn’t miss that.
He stood up straighter, searching the cave with a glance. “What—”
“This way,” I said and then maneuvered around the boulders, toward the light. The cave grew narrower and sloped down. I didn’t travel another twenty paces before Elex pulled me to yet another halt.
