set."
Kaled raised an inquiring brow toward Aegaz and a few others in the room, his trusted advisors.
"There is nothing below Kest but the dungeons and the cistern," he said. "The only structures older than Kest for a thousand miles are the pyramids in the Valley of the Dead."
Murin sighed, his huge chest heaving. "This is no ordinary door. It may not even look like a door at all. It might look like a slab of flat stone or perhaps just a boulder. It would have writing on it in a language no living person today would recognize."
Urus recognized that description; it was the stone Aegaz had described. If there was a chance he could resist going to that vault before, it was gone now. His mind raced with possibilities, conjuring up images of ancient books of magic and dragons and power and puzzles, just waiting for him to solve.
"And why do you seek a simple slab of stone, and why sneak into our dungeons like a brigand instead of asking our aid directly?" asked Kaled.
"I must find it before the Order does," Murin signed.
Again Kebetir stepped forward. "Highness, I must protest. All this talk of doors and ancient ruins is madness. This prisoner is beyond your capabilities. Please, let me take him and use a special potion on him so—"
Kaled cut him off with a sweep of his hand. "One more interruption from you, shaman, and I will make sure that you are taught your place."
Kaled returned his focus to Murin. "What order?"
"The Order of the Sanguine Crystal," Murin began, having to spell out much of the phrase because the old tradesign dialect simply lacked the right words. "They are all that remain of a race of people called the Ibumai, but most historical texts simply call them blood mages."
Urus watched Kebetir's eyes grow wide at the mention of blood mages.
He said those words last night, Urus thought. Had the shaman's frustration and interruptions all been intended to keep the prisoner from mentioning them?
"I have never heard of these blood mages," said Kaled.
Urus began signing Kaled's words, as he had been doing throughout the interrogation, his heart beating hard in his chest, his skin slick with sweat. Between his worry over eavesdropping on Kebetir and the insatiable need to get inside that vault and see those journals, he could scarcely breathe.
As he signed the words for blood and mage , his fingertips grew warm and thin blue arcs of light shot from fingernail to fingernail, creating an eerie azure spiderweb.
He stopped short. Murin stared at him, a single, white eyebrow raised.
The warmth and the blue light—it was the same blue light that had saved him from jumping off the palace roof, the same light that his uncle said was some kind of family magic.
Had anyone else seen it?
Murin addressed the emperor as he signed. "You would not have heard of them. The Ibumai were believed extinct over a thousand years ago. The Order is all that remains of their kind. They are a fanatical people, and their mere existence poses a danger to the entire world."
"What would such supposedly dangerous people want with a door? You do realize how ridiculous this all sounds."
Murin nodded. "It is what it is. I must find the vertex before they come. It must be moved before they can destroy it."
Kaled shook his head and turned to Aegaz. "What do you make of all this nonsense about doors and mages, Commander?"
Urus watched as Aegaz scanned the crowd, his gaze resting on Kebetir. There was definitely something very strange going on with that shaman and Aegaz knew what it was. Urus could barely hold still. He needed to talk to his uncle and go find that vault.
"I've never heard anything like it, sire," Aegaz said, making sure Urus could see his lips as he spoke.
"If the Order destroys the vertices, it will be the end of our world and countless others," Murin signed.
"Countless others? What does that mean?" Kaled asked.
Before Urus could sign Kaled's words, the door to the chamber burst open and a
Kaled raised an inquiring brow toward Aegaz and a few others in the room, his trusted advisors.
"There is nothing below Kest but the dungeons and the cistern," he said. "The only structures older than Kest for a thousand miles are the pyramids in the Valley of the Dead."
Murin sighed, his huge chest heaving. "This is no ordinary door. It may not even look like a door at all. It might look like a slab of flat stone or perhaps just a boulder. It would have writing on it in a language no living person today would recognize."
Urus recognized that description; it was the stone Aegaz had described. If there was a chance he could resist going to that vault before, it was gone now. His mind raced with possibilities, conjuring up images of ancient books of magic and dragons and power and puzzles, just waiting for him to solve.
"And why do you seek a simple slab of stone, and why sneak into our dungeons like a brigand instead of asking our aid directly?" asked Kaled.
"I must find it before the Order does," Murin signed.
Again Kebetir stepped forward. "Highness, I must protest. All this talk of doors and ancient ruins is madness. This prisoner is beyond your capabilities. Please, let me take him and use a special potion on him so—"
Kaled cut him off with a sweep of his hand. "One more interruption from you, shaman, and I will make sure that you are taught your place."
Kaled returned his focus to Murin. "What order?"
"The Order of the Sanguine Crystal," Murin began, having to spell out much of the phrase because the old tradesign dialect simply lacked the right words. "They are all that remain of a race of people called the Ibumai, but most historical texts simply call them blood mages."
Urus watched Kebetir's eyes grow wide at the mention of blood mages.
He said those words last night, Urus thought. Had the shaman's frustration and interruptions all been intended to keep the prisoner from mentioning them?
"I have never heard of these blood mages," said Kaled.
Urus began signing Kaled's words, as he had been doing throughout the interrogation, his heart beating hard in his chest, his skin slick with sweat. Between his worry over eavesdropping on Kebetir and the insatiable need to get inside that vault and see those journals, he could scarcely breathe.
As he signed the words for blood and mage , his fingertips grew warm and thin blue arcs of light shot from fingernail to fingernail, creating an eerie azure spiderweb.
He stopped short. Murin stared at him, a single, white eyebrow raised.
The warmth and the blue light—it was the same blue light that had saved him from jumping off the palace roof, the same light that his uncle said was some kind of family magic.
Had anyone else seen it?
Murin addressed the emperor as he signed. "You would not have heard of them. The Ibumai were believed extinct over a thousand years ago. The Order is all that remains of their kind. They are a fanatical people, and their mere existence poses a danger to the entire world."
"What would such supposedly dangerous people want with a door? You do realize how ridiculous this all sounds."
Murin nodded. "It is what it is. I must find the vertex before they come. It must be moved before they can destroy it."
Kaled shook his head and turned to Aegaz. "What do you make of all this nonsense about doors and mages, Commander?"
Urus watched as Aegaz scanned the crowd, his gaze resting on Kebetir. There was definitely something very strange going on with that shaman and Aegaz knew what it was. Urus could barely hold still. He needed to talk to his uncle and go find that vault.
"I've never heard anything like it, sire," Aegaz said, making sure Urus could see his lips as he spoke.
"If the Order destroys the vertices, it will be the end of our world and countless others," Murin signed.
"Countless others? What does that mean?" Kaled asked.
Before Urus could sign Kaled's words, the door to the chamber burst open and a
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