Solara Moonwhisper's Arc

Chapter 2 of 8

The door shook under Solara's hands. Something behind it pushed hard, and dust poured from the cracks. She could not force it open, and she could not let go. She needed to understand what waited on the other side. The strange marks carved into the stone might tell her. She just had to read them. She pressed her palms flat against the cold surface. All her life, words made sense to her, spoken or written, in any tongue. She poured her power into the carvings now. The marks warmed under her fingers. Then, one by one, they turned into words she knew. The writing was a warning. It named a guardian sealed below. A phoenix of purple fire, bound in the dark to keep the city safe. The last line named the key. The door would open only for the one who spoke the city's true name aloud. Solara read that name from the stone. She spoke it clear into the dark. "Ver-Sathaan." The pushing stopped. The door went still. Then the marks flared bright, and the stone slid down into the earth with a long grind. A gust of hot air rushed out. Wind lifted her curls and pressed her dress against her legs. Far below, deep in the black stairwell the door had hidden, a violet light woke and began to climb. She had done it. She had read the writing and opened the way. But she had also freed the thing the writing warned her about. The purple light rose fast. It swelled into wings. A great bird burst from the stairwell and beat the air above her. Purple feathers, tipped with fire, spread wide against the night. Its neck curved down. Two gold eyes fixed on her. The heat rolled off it in waves. Solara stumbled back. She had wanted the city awake. She had not wanted to face its guard alone. "Solara!" She turned. A man ran toward her from the glowing house behind the field, his long curly hair loose, his green eyes sharp with fear. He was the man she was promised to marry. He reached her side and grabbed her arm. "What did you do?" he said. He stared up at the burning wings, then at the open pit in the earth. "You said you were only digging." "I read the door," she said. "I spoke the name. It opened." The phoenix landed between them and the stairwell. Its wings folded. It did not attack. It watched, as if waiting. Solara straightened. The path down lay open now. The city she had chased for nights was finally within reach. But its guardian stood in her way, and the man she loved was staring at her like she had made a terrible mistake. "We can't go back," she said. "The door's open. We have to go down."