Shadowcry - By Jenna Burtenshaw Page 0,60
more than just a wall,” said Silas. “There are thirteen of these circles in the City Below, seven in the City Above and four that have yet to be uncovered, though they certainly exist. Each one of them can remember more than a single person could experience in ten lifetimes, and inside each of their hearts is a soul locked away for eternity to serve the needs of the living. Most of these circles have gone unused for centuries, the souls within them knowing nothing but silence. For that alone they deserve your respect. Now, do it.”
Silas pushed Kate toward the wall. Her hands went out in front of her, her right palm touched the moon, and the symbols around the circle began to move. She tried to step back, but she could not pull away. Her hand was stuck fast.
“Stop struggling,” said Silas. “It will only take longer.”
Kate watched as the stone tiles ground steadily around the circle, sinking back into the wall one by one, switching places and rearranging themselves, all of them moving at once. Kate recognized many of the symbols easily: a book, a bird, a skull, a snake, a flame, an eye, an arrow, the sun. Then the air rippled gently in front of the stones and some of them flipped over to reveal secondary symbols on their undersides, mostly numbers and arrows, as well as more complicated carvings that she did not understand.
The tiles began to slow. Kate’s hand still would not come away from the wall, and when the tiles stopped, one symbol glowed very gently at the top. It looked as if a tiny flame was flickering behind it, drawing her attention to a tile carved with a single flake of snow.
“It recognizes you,” said Silas. “That same symbol was found on the coffin where Da’ru first found Wintercraft. It knows you are a Winters. And here,” he pointed to a second symbol illuminated a quarter of the way around the wheel. “A crescent moon. The wheels use their central carvings as reference points. Simply put, it is telling you that a Winters is standing by the wheel marked by the crescent moon. It appears the spirit inside it is still reliable.”
“How do you know about these wheels?” asked Kate.
“They are well known to anyone who has lived in Fume for any length of time,” said Silas. “When people first moved into the city, they saw them as wonders and used them almost every day. The technique is very simple. You interpret the symbols in terms of your question. Each tile can have many meanings, but the simplest is usually correct.”
“So, there is a spirit trapped somewhere inside there,” said Kate. “How does it know my name?”
“Fume has many secrets, Miss Winters. It is no concern of mine that you are ignorant of most of them. Now, ask it if it knows where to find your uncle.”
“Artemis? Why?”
“Da’ru has sent many servants and wardens into the City Below these last few days,” said Silas. “Your uncle was bought at the station and sent down among them. I believe Da’ru has those people working on something and I intend to find out what. Ask.”
The tiles moved immediately without Kate even thinking about it and one was illuminated near the bottom of the wheel: a single open eye.
“That means yes,” said Silas. “If the answer had been no, the closed eye would have been chosen. Where is he?”
Kate hesitated, torn between the danger of leading Silas to Artemis and the need to find him herself. Some of the tiles around the wheel tapped together but did not move, as if sensing her indecision.
“I will not ask you again.”
Kate had no choice. Her thoughts cleared and the wheel moved at once. The tiles rattled and scraped for a lot longer this time, and Kate and Silas watched as four bright symbols settled together in a group at the top. The snowflake, a book, a doorway, and a key.
“What does it mean when they’re together like that?” asked Kate. “Where is Artemis?”
“Da’ru has opened it,” Silas said quietly.
“Opened what?” said Kate. “Where is Artemis?”
Before Silas could answer, something sharp pierced Kate’s palm from inside the wall, and the circle released its hold on her. She snatched her hand away and a bead of blood gathered on the surface of her skin as a tiny glass point sank back into the center of the moon, taking some of her blood with it.
“What was that?”
“A spirit wheel tests