“So,” Sapphira said, tapping her fingers on the stone floor, “Yara made it through the whirlpool along with the other eleven who came before us. But I wonder what happened to Taalah and the spawns who came later. And what about the little embryos that Mardon incinerated?”
“Before you came and freed us, the man we listened to told us that some girls burned in the magma, and some burned elsewhere. He said their souls traveled to other destinations, but he wouldn’t tell us where. He pretty much said, in a kind way, of course, that it was none of our business.”
“Your teacher is the person inside the Ovulum? And you listened to him for centuries?”
“It sure looked like him, but we didn’t listen to him all the time. He would tell us stories for a while and then we would sleep. I think we slept for very long periods of time, but I’m not sure. I never dreamed, so it was hard to tell. It never got boring, and we never got hungry or sick.”
Sapphira nodded at Yara. “The only difference between these girls and the ones who didn’t survive the magma is when they were spawned. Why would that be?”
“That couldn’t be the reason,” Acacia said. “Paili survived, and she was spawned after we were.”
Sapphira raised her knees and propped her chin on them. “Well, then Paili is the real key. Why is she different from Taalah and Qadar?”
Paili leaned forward and whispered in Sapphira’s ear. “They ate Morgan’s fruit.”
The words echoed in Sapphira’s mind and dredged a painful trench in her heart. She swallowed through her tightening throat as tears welled in her eyes. The truth behind “They ate Morgan’s fruit” rang like a clear bell.
“Is something wrong?” Acacia asked.
Sapphira nodded. Her lips quivered, and her voice cracked. “It’s my fault! I shouldn’t have let Paili use that fruit in the stew. I should have thrown it all in the river.”
Paili laid her hands on Sapphira’s back. “You told them,” she said softly. “They not listen.”
Sapphira shook her head and kicked a protruding scroll farther into the fire. The flames leapt up and crackled louder, masking her squeaking voice. “I could’ve stopped them. I really could have.”
Acacia squinted at her. “What are you talking about?”
After taking a deep breath, Sapphira related the story about Morgan’s fruit from the tree in the museum. She added most of her other significant adventures, from the tower collapse to the amazing midnight dance with Elohim. As she spoke, Acacia paid close attention, glancing at the tree in the museum from time to time and stoking the fire whenever one of the girls brought a new scroll for fuel.
When Sapphira finished, she exhaled loud and long. “There’s a lot more to tell, but I’m getting tired.”
“Don’t worry,” Acacia said. “I’m sure we’ll have time later. I don’t think we’re going anywhere for a while.”
Sapphira raised her eyebrows at the drying clothes. “We’d better get dressed before Elam gets back.”
The girls hurriedly changed clothes, giving back the outer dresses to their owners. As Yara continued to feed the flames, Acacia ventured into the museum library and browsed through the scrolls that lay within reach, picking up a few and blowing dust off their yellowed exteriors. “Are there any maps that show the layout of this place?” she called. “We could use one for exploring.”
“Yes,” Sapphira replied, pointing. “Check the third shelf up, near the back, over by the ladder with the broken first rung.”
“I think I see the shelf.” Acacia grasped the ladder and began climbing.
Sapphira strode to the corridor, stepped over the dead snake, and peered into the dark hall. Elam should have been back by this time. Could Mardon have found him? Knowing Elam, he probably tried to get into every forbidden room he could find.
“Sapphira,” Acacia yelled from the ladder. “I found it. It shows everything ”
“Wait!” Sapphira held up her hand. “I hear something.” Slaps of sandals on stone echoed in the tunnel. Light appeared, drawing rapidly closer. Sounds of heavy breathing mixed in, then a shout.
“Sapphira!” Elam’s face glowed in the bouncing light of a lantern. He stopped at the end of the corridor, his cheeks red and streaming with sweat. “You won’t believe what I saw!”
“Try me.” She kicked the dead snake’s body. “At this point, I’m ready to believe anything.”
“I found the mobility training room for the spawns. It’s amazing!”
“How did you get in?”
Acacia walked up, an open scroll in her hands. “Through the ceiling, I’ll bet.”
Elam mopped his brow with his sleeve. “How did you know?”
Acacia held up the scroll. “This is a map to the layout of this place. There’s a heat release vent and tunnel above the mobility room ceiling.”
“Did they see you?” Sapphira asked Elam. “They’re all giants now, right?”
“They’re huge!” he replied, spreading out his arms. “But, no, they didn’t see me. I just peeked in from above and closed the trapdoor real quick.”
“Was Mardon in there?”
“Uh-huh. He was showing the biggest giant how to train the others.”
Sapphira shook her head. “I’ll bet that was my spawn, Yereq.”
“Yes!” Elam pointed at her. “That was the name he called it. Yereq.”
Acacia took the scroll closer to the firelight and rolled it out on the floor. “Here,” she said, pointing to the upper right portion of the map. “This one’s labeled the mobility room.”
Elam pressed his finger on a room at the bottom left. “We’re way over here.”
“That’s strange,” Acacia said. “The room we’re in isn’t labeled.”
“I remember looking at this a few years ago.” Sapphira tapped her finger next to Elam’s. “I think this was an empty chamber before the museum dropped in. Mardon probably drew this map long before that happened, and he still might not know about it. Morgan never told Mardon anything he didn’t need to know, not even about the abyss.”
“The abyss?” Acacia tilted her head at Sapphira. “What’s that?”
“Something only Morgan, Paili, and I know about. Paili and I found it while mining and almost fell in, but we had no clue what it was.” Sapphira scanned the map. “Where’s the mining level?”
Acacia rolled it out farther. “Let’s see. . Laborers’ quarters. . Ah! Mining level.”
Sapphira slid her finger along dark lines that represented the trenches. “This is an old drawing. We mined past the end of this before I got promoted to the control room.” She pointed at a spot off the map. “If you extended the drawing, the abyss would be about right here. It’s a deep hole, so deep I couldn’t see the bottom.”
“Then I guess you wouldn’t know what’s in it,” Elam said.
“Not for sure. We heard someone moaning, and I read something in a scroll that told me what might be down there. I assumed the scroll was right, so I never went back. One thing’s for sure; Morgan seemed interested in it.”
“Well, I don’t know about you girls,” Elam said, “but if Morgan’s interested in it, I want to know what’s going on.”
“What’s your hurry?” Sapphira asked. “It seems safe enough where we are.”
“Until we learn everything that’s going on here, I won’t assume we’re safe.” He picked up the lantern. “Anyone want to join me?”
Sapphira sighed. “I guess I should. I know exactly where it is.”
“No!” Paili shook her head and grabbed Sapphira’s hand. “Not the deep hole!”
Acacia gently pulled Paili away from Sapphira and hugged her close. “I’ll stay with the girls. If Mardon doesn’t know what’s in this chamber, maybe we should set up a home here.”
Elam nodded. “That sounds perfect.”
Sapphira picked up a scroll from the fire and tapped out the flames. “I’ll use this if the lantern fuel runs out.”
Sapphira and Elam hurried along the corridor, Elam staying a step or two in front. They passed the original portal chamber and wound through the meandering corridor that led to the laborers’ hovels. When they reached the lift platform, Elam paused and stared at the cudgel and metal plate hanging on the wall. “We don’t want to wake Chazaq, that’s for sure, but he might not be down there, anyway.”