CITY OF THE GODS: FORGOTTEN by M.Scott Verne, Wynn Wynn Mercere

Burning sticks were inserted close by many of the statues, infusing the air with a fragrant haze. Behind the stone figures were screens festooned with garlands of flowers or colorful streamers of cloth. Others were decorated with banners that displayed odd lettering. Aavi thought she might be able to read them if the light was better, and if it hadn’t been so smoky.
    “Approach the Oracle,” Nianzu instructed, backing out of the room.
    “Where is it?” Aavi asked. She saw no other person in the place. But Nianzu said nothing more and a large door slid shut as he left her alone in the chamber.
    Aavi started walking from statue to statue. Was one of them the Oracle? Or perhaps the person Kafele sent her to see was hiding behind one of the screens. She circled the room, unsure of what to do. At length, she decided to sit on the edge of the central fountain and wait, hoping that someone would come. She looked down into the water, reaching to touch one of the waxy pink-petaled candles that drifted there. As she pushed it aside, Aavi regarded her own reflection. It smiled back at her.
    “You know that true wisdom lies within,” her watery double spoke. “That is promising.”
    Aavi started back in surprise, then leaned in close again to verify that she’d really just seen and heard her own reflection addressing her. “Oracle?”
    “Yes. What do you wish to know?” As the image spoke, the candles on either side of it floated away, as if a field of power banished them to the fringes of the fountain.
    Aavi was eager now. She had so many questions. “Who am I? Where did I come from?” she asked her smiling reflection in the water.
    “You are the one responsible. You came from outside this experience,” the Oracle responded without hesitation.
    Aavi bit her lip, thinking. The Oracle’s pronouncement that she was ‘responsible’ made her worry that she had done something wrong. But she was more concerned that the question about whence she came had been misunderstood. She tried again. “Can you tell me why I can’t remember anything from before I woke up in the City?”
    “Perhaps you were dropped on your head,” the Oracle with Aavi’s face laughed, then grew serious again. “I will tell you a secret. You don’t belong here. You were supposed to go to Earth.”
    For a moment, Aavi felt relieved. If she was not meant to be among the gods, it would explain why she felt so alien and confused here. Perhaps the people on Earth would be more like her and could help her understand her place and her past. Then another thought crossed her mind. “Did I come from Earth, but just can’t remember it? How do I get to Earth?” Her words were very earnest, for hope was rising that she would regain her memory if she traveled to that place.
    “Find your companion. You cannot leave here alone,” the reflection answered.
    “D’Molay,” Aavi said to herself. He’d helped her through so much already and he knew everything about this world and the gods. Surely he could take her to Earth. That must be who the Oracle was referring to.
    “Find your companion quickly,” urged the Oracle as its image began to waver and its voice grew fainter. “You must unite before the Queen in the night sky has blossomed again.”
    A soft bell rang and at that very moment the Oracle completely disappeared. This was immediately followed by the sound of the door sliding open and Nianzu clearing his throat. Aavi turned to see the scribe waiting for her.
    “Your audience is concluded. A meal awaits you in the courtyard.” Nianzu eyed the girl perceptively, seeking to determine how much of an impression the Oracle’s words had made. Aavi looked very nervous and worried. Dealing with hysterical pilgrims undone by prophetic words was a large part of Nianzu’s job, and he had perfected speeches to distract them from their fates. “Do not trouble yourself over the Oracle’s words. In time, you may find they mean less or more than what they seem