“I told you she was smart,” Jonathan grinned.
“Never any doubt here,” Michael replied. “Call me crazy, but I don’t think
there’s quite enough of them to break into that tower.”
“Not, yet anyway,” Kari nodded. “How are we going to get in? There’s a whole army down there that’d be inside already if they could.”
“Three Heretics,” Jonathan said, scratching at his chin, “against a thousand
humans that aren’t likely well armed or trained soldiers. I bet we could take them.”
Letting her brother’s talk strategy, Kari scanned the tower. The top was lost to sight, and it was so wide at the base that it would probably take more than a day to walk around it. There would have to be more entrances than one, or some way to get the attention of the Empress Oracle. If she could just figure out how to make their presence known they might be able to get somewhere. If only she’d asked Max how the people of this world communicated with their goddess when she’d had the chance.
If they couldn’t get to the goddess first, how could she turn the people against the Apostle? She just didn’t know enough about the situation. She needed to know more about Cain, and to find out if there was any reason that the people had turned so vehemently against the Empress Oracle.
It appeared as though the great adventure the twins were hoping for would be
more about talking things through and less about excitement. If she could just get into the tower without alerting the army or the Apostle, then they’d have a pretty good start.
The tower was so massive she didn’t even know where to start looking for a way in.
“Do you feel that,” Michael cocked his head to one side.
“Feel what,” Kari asked.
“Another Heretic,” Jonathan agreed. “I think I can sense another Heretic down there in the army.”
There was an old saying that creatures of darkness, like Demons and their Heretic offspring, could always tell when another of their kind was near. Kari had never been able to sense others of her kind without straining, but the twins were a bit more sensitive to it than she.
“The Apostle,” Jonathan suggested. “I mean, it makes sense. How many worlds
are there? How can one person hope to ever convert them all in a human’s lifetime? It would take a Heretic’s longevity to even come close.”
“Creatures of darkness,” Kari muttered. “Father said the Demon that killed
Mera’s parents used to serve Cain. If there is a Heretic working for this Cain then—”
“It could be the same man,” Michael finished for her.
Before Kari could add any further commentary, she felt a strange sensation of
falling. The ground around her feet began to shimmer with pale blue symbols glowing in the dirt. Her feet lifted from the ground and she threw her hands down to keep her skirt from floating up and giving the boys a peep show they would likely rather not have from their younger sister. Her loose, waist length hair began to float upward and she was bathed in a bright flash of light.
The twins grunted in surprise and unease.
“What’s going,” Kari cried. Her feet hit the ground before she could finish her sentence and she found herself in a small, plain white room with a metal floor.
“On,” she finished slowly, looking around in confusion.
“What just happened,” Jonathan asked. “Uh, your tails are showing, sis. I think something went wrong with your illusion.”
“I think we just got teleported,” Michael said.
“You think correctly,” a young girl answered.
Chapter 8: Tears of the Goddess
Whirling with her skirt flaring around her, Kari found a girl of no more than ten years standing behind them, wearing what looked like a glass coronet on her brow. Her blonde hair was cut short like a boy’s and she wore clothes that would not be taken out of place worn by any of the boys on the farms that they’d passed on their way to the World Tower. Grinning widely, her pure blue eyes twinkled and her pale face lit up like the sun.
She was very pretty despite her obvious tomboyish nature, or perhaps partially because of it.
“Uh, not to sound rude or anything,” Michael started.
“But where are we,” Jonathan added.
“And who are you,” Michael finished.
Impossibly, the girl’s grin actually widened.
“I’m Marce, and this is one of the teleportation chambers of the World Tower.
Some people call me Empress Oracle.”
Kari could actually hear the expectations of the twins snap as they groaned in unison. They’d come all this way for a beautiful goddess and they got a nine-year-old with a spectacular smile. Marce seemed to have read their thoughts and began laughing uncontrollably.
Laughing as well, Kari nudged Jonathan in the ribs with an elbow.
“Go ahead big brother. Rescue her from her accursed virginity.”
“Pass,” the twins said in identical flat tones.
“Not what you expected, I see,” the goddess giggled. “You three are certainly not what I expected from werewolves, if it’s any consolation. You weren’t thinking something naughty were you?”
“Uh-huh,” the twins nodded in unison.
“Sorry to disappoint,” Marce said. “Though I am over a thousand years old, I
stopped aging before I reached my teens. Come, we have much to talk about and there are places with much better scenery to do it in. I have been waiting for you three for a very long time. I’ve had my servant prepare refreshments.”
Striding forcefully through a door, as much as a child can forcefully stride, Marce led them into a large, well-lit hallway with visible excitement in her step as she hummed a wordless tune.
Every few yards there was a painting, sculpture, or woven tapestry hanging on the wall or displayed on a pedestal. Most of the sculptures were of animals doing peaceful, everyday things. The paintings were mostly of flowers, and the tapestries depicted landscapes.
“My people give me these things as gifts,” Marce said, gesturing to a tapestry showing a mountain waterfall. “I display every one of them, because they mean so very much to me. It doesn’t matter if it’s a child’s drawing or a grand tapestry the likes of which would adorn a palace. My beloved people made a gift of it to me, and I honor them all equally. Who is to say which is the more beautiful, the vision and purity of a child’s wishes, or the hard work of a skilled artisan? All are welcome to my tower if they come in peace, and all can enjoy these things at any time that they wish.”
“They are very pretty,” Kari said.
“This is not at all what we expected to find inside this tower,” the twins said together.
“Ah, here we are,” Marce stopped in front of a door and pressed a button to the side that lit up with her touch. “This lift will take us to the observation floor at the very top of the tower. I expect you’d like to see the view. You can see the whole of the Ten Nations from the top of my tower.”
“Oh yes,” Kari said, aware of the fact that she sounded a little giddy. “That would be wonderful.”
Sliding into the wall with a ding, the door opened, and Marce stepped through.
Kari and her brothers followed into a small room that was little larger than a closet.
“Observation deck,” Marce said in a clear, loud tone and the little room began moving upward rapidly. Kari felt herself dragged down at the floor for a second before she adjusted to the sudden movement, causing an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach.
“Wow,” Michael said.
“We’ve heard about elevators and lifts before,” Jonathan added.