Free Quintessential Tales: A Magic of Solendrea Anthology by Martin Hengst Page A

It’s the whole reason we came here. We’re not leaving empty handed.”
    “Just come look, okay?”
    Declan’s uncertainty made her stomach do a little flip. Her brother wasn’t cursed with an overabundance of morality. He’d been a willing enough accompl ice in their scams and schemes. If he was worried about something here, there was probably a good reason. She kicked off the blanket and rolled to her feet in a single practiced motion.
    They went to the door. Serena was surprised to see that the entire wall on either side of the door was marked in chalk. She didn’t know how long she’d been asleep, but it was apparent that Declan had been busy. The torch in the brazier had burned down nearly to embers. How long had he been working on this?
    “Okay,” she said slowly. “What am I looking at?”
    Declan scurried up to the door, tracing over a series of symbols near the floor with his finger. “I translated this bit first. The closest translation I can get in the common tongue is , ‘To the land where all sleep but never wake, seek the eternal light.’ That’s easy. That’s how to open the door.”
    He pointed to a series of symbols inscribed in the door. One of them Serena thought she recognized. It was the symbol of the Lyr, the Rune of Life. Serena reached toward it and Declan slapped her hand away.
    “Hey!”
    “Not yet,” he snapped, his tone grave. “It’s the rest of this inscription that you should hear before we open the door. The rest of it reads , ‘An open portal the darkness makes, comes it who wakes but never sleeps.’”
    “So it’s a riddle.”
    “No, Sera, it isn’t.” Declan shook his head. “It’s a warning. This isn’t a temple. It’s a burial chamber and whoever built it ensured that the rest of those inside wouldn’t be disturbed by putting a guardian inside with them. If we open that door, there’s no telling what could be in there waiting for us.”
    “It’s probably been a thousand years since anyone set foot in there, Declan. Whatever magic they used to protect it has to have worn off by now, right?”
    Declan tugged at his lower lip. “I don’t know, Sera. I’m not a Quintessentialist. My only understanding of the Ethereal Realm comes from what I’ve read in books. There are some powerful artifacts that have retained their power since ancient times.”
    “Both those are artifacts. They were maintained by someone, created by someone. This is just a glorified cemetery. Who would put that kind of protection on a tomb?”
    “I don’t know. I’m not sure we want to find out.”
    Serena ground her teeth. They’d come so far to turn back now. If they went back to Overwatch, they’d be broke. Again. She wasn’t sure she could handle another round of conning travelers out of their purses just so she could get a meal to eat or a room to stay in for a night. She wanted more. No, she needed more. No matter what, she couldn’t do it without Declan. Without his intelligence and wisdom, she was going to be at a serious disadvantage.
    “Listen, I know you’re worried. We’re together though. Haven’t we always been able to face things together?”
    “Yes, but—”
    “But nothing, Declan. This is just a different type of puzzle , and I know you can figure it out. If things get weird, we’ll leave. Let’s at least open the door and see what happens. We’re still safe out here, where we can get away, right?”
    Declan didn’t look convinced. He rubbed his face with his hands, as if he was trying to rid himself of a particularly unpleasant thought.
    “Okay, but if I say I want to leave, we leave, right? No arguments?”
    “I promise.”
    Declan said nothing, but his fingers sought out the symbol of the Lyr. He hovered over it for a moment and swallowed so loudly that Serena thought it would echo the length and breadth of the cavern. He pressed in and a square section of the door’s surface moved inward. There was a series of muted clicks and a rumble that