Puma shrunk at this accusation. “I…I didn’t mean—"
“By doing so, you’ve sealed his fate,” Ore interrupted. The crystal lights above us began to dim. “I warned you girl. Forbidden rooms contain forbidden truths.”
My mother’s mouth straightened to a thin line.
Ore continued, “I am overcome by the feeling your own lives may be in grave danger the longer you stay in this tree.” She pointed upwards. "These lights are lit by the God Tree's own energy. The intermittent dimness only happens on two occasions: when there is lightning or when there is death.”
As if on cue, thunder cracked for the second time that night. “Lightning then. Good, for now. What are you waiting for, boy? Go! Follow him at your own peril, doctor. Puma, we must evacuate.”
I bowed my head. My mom kissed my forehead, wide eyes full of secrets kept.
Glass and I made our way to the throne room. The only people inside were Sharp and Piranha standing guard over the undead king. When she saw her father, Sharp expressed no joy. Daggers glowed from lavender eyes. “Dad? What are you doing here?”
“Making sure you kids are safe,” he answered simply, pulling her into a short hug. “I was afraid something had happened.”
The light flickered again. A crack of thunder punctuated Sharp’s command. “You should evacuate.”
“I won’t abandon you now,” Glass said. The words were quiet, but heavy with some other meaning. I’ll risk my life to know you’re safe.
“Where are the others?” I asked. “Did they find Melodia? Pyrite was drawn in by her voice and I don’t know where he went.”
Sharp gave her father what I can only describe as a loving glare. He would not be moved, so she exhaled and said, “They’re trying to prevent her from entering this room. Whatever happens, we can’t let her carve her name on that wall. Breaking the ceremony tradition will anger the God Tree and put us all in danger.”
Glass turned his attention to the man on the throne. “Y-your highness?” Like a good doctor, he knelt beside him. “Is he…”
“Dead?” The king creaked, possibly finding a little joy in giving strangers a small fright. “Not yet, unfortunately.”
After a cringing laugh, Glass touched an index finger to the king’s weak wrist. He blinked and frowned.
“Nothing you can do.” Obsidian donned an odd, happy smile. “Gold-and-Silver said as much, last we spoke. Today is the day I die.”
“Are you sure? I could–”
If the king had the energy, he would have yanked his arm away, but instead his hand twitched like a twig in a breeze. “One hundred and forty years doctor, that’s how long I’ve been alive. Death is not my enemy, she is my friend.”
The City doctor stared, and after a moment, bowed his head. Sometimes, the merciful choice is the one that goes against instinct.
Sharp opened her mouth to give an order, but something froze her. Her eyes became glassy and transfixed, while her arms fell limp at her sides. The black voice had reached her first.
In the face of direct danger, Reaper was my ally, shrouding my ears from the eerie notes. I was immune but the same was not true of the others. Piranha’s eyes took on the same faraway look, and their bow clattered on the ground. Glass slumped over, hand slipping from its place on the king’s arm.
“No!” I shouted, gripping the gossamer rope in each hand. My eyes locked on the threshold where the voice was emanating, getting closer and closer. Had Ivory and the others failed? My worst nightmare was coming true.
Now I was alone.
Chapter Fourteen
The Goddess and the Reaper
“Hide,” hissed a ghostly voice from the king's throne.
I remembered Sharp’s advice. Take your advantages whenever you can. I hadn’t seen Melodia yet, so I could make sure she didn’t see me either.
A dark blue mass floated into the throne room as the Unseen surrounded me. The song on Melodia’s sinister lips had a form of its own, wispy black smoke full of a sweet wordless sorrow. The sound had an uncanny volume, like multiple people were singing the same notes at the same time.
“No more waiting,” Melodia spoke, producing another cloud of smoke in the Unseen. “Release him now.”
My heart sank as Pyrite’s patchwork light moved through the doorway with a machine-like steadiness. One of the patches was a swirling dark red. At her order, the stitches snapped away from this section, until the red illumination was free, floating unattached in midair. It was the remaining piece of Obsidian soul, held by Pyrite for the last five years.
Instead of moving back to its body, the red soul moved upwards, through the wooden ceiling and out of sight. When it became clear it wouldn’t return, I looked back to Obsidian’s body. A scar of dim soulburn had been left behind. He was dead, and Melodia’s attention was on the wall of the Divine Pantheon, where his name had vanished.
The reality of what was about to happen struck me. With the king finally dead and Ivory presently out to stop her, Melodia was going to carve her name. I had no choice.
The cool touch of the gossamer fabric in my hands eased my fear enough to act. I couldn’t see her body, but the black smoke indicated the source of danger. I inched closer, holding the rope tight in front of me. I would have to be precise and forceful to restrain her voice.
I heard the subtle scraping sound of a silver-steel pocketknife being unfolded. Think fast. Act faster.
I threw my arms like a lasso over the source of the smoke and returned to the real dimension, pulling the rope tight across her mouth and forcing her away from the wall. The first reaction of the scrawny, silvery-haired woman was to reach for the thing covering her face, so I quickly wrapped another layer of rope, securing her arms to the side of her head.
She started to struggle wildly, and it became clear I couldn’t hold her long. I locked eyes with Pyrite, who was staring dumbfounded at this awkward struggle.
“Help me!” I shouted, hoping against hope he could break through the hypnosis. He blinked away the stupor, and I watched in slow motion as a light returned to his eyes.
“Badger…” he mumbled. The blank expression curdled into fear. He jumped into action, trying with desperation to help me fully restrain her.
He wasn’t fast enough. With a clawing effort, she managed to pull the rope down and speak. “Get him off of me!”
