Children of Blood and Bone - Tomi Adeyemi Page 0,72
over our footsteps. We slip beneath a stone archway.
“It’s here,” I hiss, pointing to a large iron door. Bright light shines through the slits, filling the archway with the heat of the sunstone. I run my fingers over the metal door’s handle, a rusted turnwheel caught by a giant padlock.
I whip out the dagger Tzain had given me and jam it into the lock’s narrow keyhole. Though I try to push forward, I’m blocked by an intricate pattern of teeth.
“Can you pick it?” he whispers.
“I’m trying.” It’s more complex than the typical lock. To get through, I need something sharper, something with a hook.
I grab a thin rusted nail on the ground and press it into the wall, curving its point. When it’s bent, I close my eyes and concentrate on the delicate touch of the lock’s teeth. Be patient. Mama Agba’s old lesson echoes through my mind. Let feeling become your eyes.
My heartbeat spikes as I listen for the sound of any footsteps approaching, but when I push my knife, the teeth yield. One more shimmy to the left and …
A small click sounds. The padlock breaks free, and I’m so relieved I almost cry. I grab the wheel and pull to the left, but the metal won’t give.
“It’s stuck!”
Amari keeps watch as Tzain yanks at the rusted wheel with all his might. The metal groans and screeches loud enough to drown out the shouts of the guards, but the wheel doesn’t budge.
“Be careful!” I hiss.
“I’m trying!”
“Try harder—”
The wheel rips off with a strained crank. We stare at the broken metal in Tzain’s hand. What in gods’ names are we supposed to do now?
Tzain rams his body into the door. Though it shudders with the impact, it refuses to give.
“You’ll alert the guards!” Amari whispers.
“We need the stone!” Tzain whispers back. “How else are we going to get it?”
I cringe with each thrust of Tzain’s body, but he’s right. The stone is so close the heat of its glow warms me like a freshly lit fire.
A string of curses runs through my mind. Gods, if only we had another maji’s help. A Welder would be able to warp the metal door. A Burner could melt the handle right off.
Half a moon, I remind myself. Half a moon to do this right.
If we’re going to recover the sunstone in time for the solstice, we need to get it tonight.
The door budges a millimeter and I gasp. We’re close. I can feel it. A few more knocks and it’ll fly open. A few more pushes and the stone is ours.
“Hey!”
A guard’s voice booms through the air. We freeze in response. Footsteps pound against the stone floors, thundering toward us with frightening speed.
“Over here!” Amari gestures to a section just past the sunstone’s door, lined with cannonballs and crates of blastpowder. As we crouch behind the crates, a young divîner dashes into the room, white hair glowing in the dim light. In seconds he’s cornered by the announcer and another guard. They skid to a halt when they see the half-open door to the sunstone.
“You maggot.” The announcer’s lips peel back in a snarl. “Who’re you working with? Who did this?”
Before the young boy can speak, the crack of the announcer’s cane cuts him down. He collapses to the stone floor. As he screams, another guard joins in the beating.
I flinch behind the crate, tears stinging my eyes. The boy’s back is already ripped raw from former beatings, but neither monster lets up. He’ll die under their blows.
He’ll die because of me.
“Zélie, no!”
Tzain’s hiss stalls me for a second, but it’s not enough to stop me. I burst free from our hiding spot, fighting my nausea when I see the child.
Angry tears cut through his skin. Blood streams down his back. He clings to life by a thread, one that frays before my eyes.
“Who the hell are you?” the announcer seethes, withdrawing a dagger. My skin prickles as he nears me with its black majacite blade. Three more guards run to his side.
“Thank gods!” I force a laugh, searching for the words to fix this. “I’ve been looking all over for you!”
The announcer narrows his eyes in disbelief. His grip tightens on his cane. “Looking for me?” he repeats. “In this cellar? By the stone?”
The boy moans, and I flinch as a guard kicks him in the head. His body lies motionless in a pool of his own blood. It looks like a killing blow. But why can’t I feel his spirit?