Thomas Reid - The Fractured Sky

"Perhaps, but it is all I have to offer, and isn't the point to give more than you can afford?"

The archon smiled. "Indeed. It is a symbol of all that. Very well. You may enter the Eye. Do you know the way from here?"

"I think we can find it."

The archon nodded and stepped aside, motioning for them to pass through the gates.

Once they were beyond the portal, they found themselves on the edge of a plateau. The path before them wound toward the bottom, a switchback that disappeared from sight because of the steepness.

Kaanyr noticed Kael was smiling. "What are you grinning at, fool knight?" he asked.

Kael didn't answer, but Aliisza grabbed Tauran's arm and turned him toward her.

"How could you do that?" she demanded. "You gave up your sacred mace! An angel never does that!"

"Never by choice," he said. "But our need is great." Then he produced a similar weapon, which he had kept hidden in his tunic. "But that wasn't my mace." He smiled. "It was Micus's."

Aliisza giggled.

Kaanyr grimaced. "Very deceptive, deva," he said. "My bad influence must be rubbing off on you."

Tauran gave the cambion a haughty stare. "Much more than I would like, cambion."

The four of them took to the air then, flying down the side of the great plateau upon which Dweomerheart rested. No land stretched beyond its base. Instead, the whole thing floated in the great field of stars. The night sky stretched out both above and below.

At the bottom of the trail, they came to a wide ledge jutting out from the side of the plateau. A large cave mouth led into the depths from there. A second pair or guards stood on either side of the darkened entrance. As the group landed, one of them bowed.

"Welcome to the Eye," he said. "Search for the truth in all things great and small, my friends. Enter and fill your minds with knowledge."

Tauran led the way through the passage from the cave entrance. As they walked, Aliisza noted the width of the path down the center of the tunnel. Compared to the rougher area of the floor on either side, it was smooth as glass and slightly concave, like a trough.

Many, many pairs of feet have passed this way.

The tunnel ran straight and descended slightly. At regular intervals, torches illuminated the way. Ahead, Aliisza could see the passage level off and the torches end. When they reached the flat area, Aliisza slowed a step or two, awed.

The path ended at a large wooden dock. A hound archon stood at its near edge, watching them approach. Numerous small boats had been tied off to the dock. Each boat bore a boatman, another hound archon dressed in the robes of Savras and who stood in the rear of the craft, waiting. Beyond the dock, water stretched out into an immense cavern, easily as large as some of the great chambers and halls of the Underdark. Scattered throughout the vast emptiness, dozens-no, hundreds-of torches twinkled faintly. They filled the cavern like stars, both near the water's surface and high overhead.

Aliisza felt very small.

"What is this place?" Kaanyr asked in a near-whisper. "Where does it all go?"

"It is the Third Eye," Tauran answered. "The embodiment of Savras's knowledge. The whole place is a honeycomb of tunnels, chambers, and sinkholes. It goes deeper, too. Beneath the water."

"Where do we start?" Aliisza asked. She was overwhelmed with the enormity of the task. "How will we know what to look for?"

Tauran advanced to the dock. "I don't know," he said. He stepped up to the greeter. "We have come seeking knowledge," he said.

The hound archon, his muzzle gray with age, nodded. "May you find it, then," he said. "Do you understand the patterns? The dangers?"

Tauran shook his head. "We have never visited before."

"Few come twice. Trust your insight. Do not rely solely on your vision. Let the inner force of your desire for understanding be your guide. More, I cannot say."

Tauran cocked his head to one side, pondering. "It's up to us, our instinct, to know where to go," he said. "In every choice, something is revealed. About ourselves, about others. Is that it?"

The hound archon smiled, but said nothing. He merely bowed again.

The angel turned back to his companions. "We have to go on our gut feelings," he said. "If we envision what we need to learn and open ourselves to the subtleties of our subconscious, the veil may be lifted, and we may find what we seek."

"Sounds like a game that's hard to win," Kaanyr said, frowning. "Lots of opportunities to get lost."

"Some that pass through here do not return," the archon said. "Perhaps they never find what they seek, or perhaps they find… something else. Something unintended. Whatever the outcome, you are the guide, you must steer the course."

"Are you certain this is what we want to do?" Kaanyr asked. "Is it worth the risk of vanishing in this maze?"

As Aliisza stared out over the water at the distant twinkling lights, she found herself agreeing with Kaanyr's caution. I've never been afraid of the dark before, she thought. What's different about this place?

Tauran gazed levelly at the cambion. "I have surrendered everything I hold dear to right this wrong. What do you think?"

"Well, good for you, angel," Kaanyr said. "I've given up quite a bit, too, and may yet give up more. I still want to think about this before we just plunge into the darkness forever."

"I know of no other way to get ahead of Zasian," Tauran said. "So long as we keep following his breadcrumb trail, we play his game. If we succeed at this, we may have the means to stop him. I'm committed to that possibility. And you are, too."

Kaanyr glared at Tauran, but he said nothing more.

Aliisza watched the cambion and imagined his mind working, trying to figure out a way to bypass the angel's control over him. She was still furious with him for his boorish attack earlier, but at that moment, when she so feared passing deeper into those caverns, she actually felt a bit sorry for him. I have a choice; he has to go in there whether he likes it or not. Still, he might actually learn something about himself…

But that's what you're afraid of, isn't it? she asked herself. Seeing too deeply into your own heart.

"Quit fighting it," she said softly to Kaanyr, so no one else could hear. "Trust me; I know of what I speak."

"How could you stand it?" Kaanyr whispered. "How could you put up with his sneering, condescending arrogance?"

So, he begins to understand at last, she thought, trying not to smirk. He finally sees how much he betrayed me. "You'd be surprised," she said, staring pointedly at her lover. "I've had lots of practice."

Kaanyr caught her look and snorted, but she saw his faint smile nonetheless. He inclined his head at her, acknowledging her point. "Let's go," he said, following Tauran.

The angel walked along the dock, studying the different boats. He paused a couple of times, examining a particular craft more closely, but he would move on again after a short time. When he'd traversed the entire row of boats, he shrugged.

"I'm no closer to picking than I was before," he said. "This may take a while."

Aliisza thought for a moment. Then inspiration struck. "What are you thinking about?" she asked.

Tauran frowned. "Which boat feels right."

The alu shook her head. "No," she said, "not like that. Look at me. Now, what do you want to do more than anything?"

Tauran bit his lip. "To catch Zasian."

"How?"

"By knowing what he's planning."

"Exactly," Aliisza said. "Feel that. What is Zasian planning?" She looked at her other two companions. "Fix that in your mind."

The alu followed her own advice. She closed her eyes and imagined the priest, pictured his face. She watched him, studied him, waited for him to act. Then, she imagined which boat would carry her to Zasian, to his next step.