Nym's Arc

Chapter 5 of 41

Nym stepped through the broken door. Cold air met her. She followed the black cat into the dark, one hand raised, a small blue flame burning in her palm. The light spread over damp stone. Then she stopped. A great tree grew in the middle of the tower. Its trunk split the floor. Its bare branches touched the walls. Behind it stood a second door. She crossed to it. This door was different. New runes covered its face, carved in tight rows. They did not match the marks outside. They did not match her ring. She pressed her hand flat to the wood and pushed. It held. She pushed harder. Nothing moved. Nym raised her flame to the runes, as she had done at the outer seal. The fire licked the grooves. This time the marks stayed cold. No red glow. No white heat. The door drank nothing. She let the fire grow until it hurt her hand. The runes ignored it. She sank down against the tree and let the flame float above her palm to light the room. Hours passed. Her legs ached. The cat curled at her feet and slept. She stared at the carvings until the lines blurred. A voice came from the tree. "Fire won't read what it can't understand." Nym jumped up. A woman stepped out from the trunk itself. Her skin was pale green. Dark green hair fell past her shoulders, bright flowers tucked in it. Vines wound up her bare legs. She moved slow, like something that had waited a long time. "Who are you?" Nym asked. Her flame flared brighter. "Thora. I keep this tree." The nymph looked at the door, then at Nym. "You have your mother's face." Nym's chest tightened. "You knew her?" "I know whose blood carved that door." Thora touched a rune. "The keeper lays just beyond this door, he is a Rune Keeper this is his tower." "I don't understand how to get in to meet him” Nym said. "Call upon the earth magic you carry Nym." Thora said pointing at the runes on the door Nym hesitated. She pressed her hand to the runes. "Please work," she said. Nym stared at the closed door. She pressed her palms to it, her palms glow green.. The cat woke and stared at the runes. One mark, deep in the center, began to glow faint green on its own. It matched no letter Nym knew. But she felt it pull at her, like a word half remembered. She reached for it. The door opened.