Children of Blood and Bone - Tomi Adeyemi Page 0,49
as a large tile slides away from the floor. The opening reveals a staircase spiraling down into a room so dark it masks everything in blackness.
“Is it safe?” I whisper. The darkness makes my heartbeat spike. I lean down to get a better look, but there isn’t a source of light in sight.
“There’s no other door.” Zélie shrugs. “What choice do we have?”
Tzain runs outside, returning with a charred femur bone wrapped in a torn bit of his cloak. Zélie and I recoil, but he brushes past us and lights the cloth with our flint, creating a makeshift torch.
“Follow me,” he says, his commanding voice diminishing my fear.
We begin our descent with Tzain leading the way. Though the torch’s bubble of light illuminates our steps, it touches nothing more. I keep a hand on the jagged wall, counting my breaths until we finally reach the next floor. The moment my foot leaves the last step, the opening above us slams shut with a deafening crack.
“Skies!”
My shriek rings through the darkness. I fling myself into Zélie. “What do we do now?” I tremble. “How do we get out of here?”
Tzain turns to run back up the stairs but stops when we hear a hissing in the air. Within seconds, his torch blows out, leaving us in total blackness.
“Tzain!” Zélie shouts.
The hiss grows louder until a warm gust of air hits me like rain. When I inhale, it instantly slows my muscles then begins to cloud my mind.
“Poison,” Tzain manages to croak before I hear the thud of his body hitting the ground. I don’t even have a chance to feel afraid before the darkness takes hold.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
INAN
A HUSH CUTS THROUGH the air when my legion descends into Sokoto. It doesn’t take long to figure out why.
We’re the only guards in sight.
“Where’re the patrols?” I whisper to Kaea. The silence is deafening. It’s like these people have never laid eyes on the Orïshan seal. Skies only know what Father would do if he witnessed their complete lack of respect.
We dismount our ryders by a lake so clear it reflects the surrounding trees like a mirror. Lula gnashes her teeth at a group of children. They scamper away as she takes a drink.
“We don’t post guards at traveling settlements. It would be a waste when the residents change every few days.” Kaea unlatches her helmet and the wind runs through her hair. My scalp itches to feel the same, but I have to keep my white streak hidden.
Find her. I inhale the clean, brisk air, trying to forget about my streak, if only for a moment. Unlike the heat and smog of Lagos, the small settlement is fresh. Revitalizing. The cool breath dulls the burn in my chest as I try to keep my curse down, but my pulse races as I scan the surrounding divîners. I’ve been so focused on ending the girl.
I didn’t stop to think of how she could end me.
I grip the hilt of my sword as my eyes flick from divîner to divîner. I have yet to see the extent of the girl’s magic. How would I defend against her attack?
And what if she fights with her words? A prick of terror hits; the magic inside me spikes. All she’d have to do was point to my helmet, identify the curse hidden beneath. Kaea would see my white streak. My secret would be out for the world to see—
Focus, Inan. I close my eyes, holding the warm sênet pawn tight. I can’t keep spiraling. I have to fulfill my duty. Orïsha is still under attack.
As the numbers force order into my head, I reach for the curved handle of my throwing knife. Magic or not, the right throw will disarm her. A sharp blade will still cut through her chest.
But for all my plotting and maneuvering, it’s obvious the girl isn’t here. Though there’s no shortage of glaring divîners, her silver gaze is not among them.
I release the throwing knife as something I can’t place deflates in my chest. It sinks like disappointment.
It breathes like relief.
“Take these posters,” Kaea instructs the soldiers. She hands each of the ten men a roll of parchment inked with the girl’s smug face. “Find out if anyone has seen her or a bull-horned lionaire—you usually don’t find them so close to our coast.” Kaea turns to me, lips pursed in determination. “We’ll search the merchants. If they really came south, this would be the first place to gather supplies.”