“I’m not hurt,” she says, struggling to a sitting position. “Not really. One of those twins hit me in the head. I passed out.”
I inspect the back of her head, there’s no blood, but I feel around and find a knot. “What about your hand?”
“They took my blood and they used it to break open that orb.” She points at the statue. There was no longer an orb, just the curved, clawed hand it had been resting in. “They found the stone—the key—both. Someone has been feeding them information.” She rubs her forehead, leaving a red smear. “They’re going to open the door at the bottom of the staircase.”
“They found the key?”
“Yes. It’s made of stone—the key is the stone. The temple, and whatever comes next in this mission, is on the other side of that door.”
“Fuck,” Marshal mutters under his breath. He and I share a look. We need to get back to Agis. “Where’s Armin?”
Hildi gasps and scrambles to her feet. “Oh gods, I was coming for help when they stopped me. He’s on the grass by the outer wall. We fell over the edge, to the outside, and,” she shudders, “there’s something outside the gates. Something dark and dangerous.”
“Is that what’s been shaking this place?” I ask.
“Maybe. It’s very strong and powerful. It took a chunk out of Armin’s leg.”
She starts in his direction.
I pause. “We can’t leave Agis.”
“We can’t leave Armin either,” she replies. “He needs our help.”
Marshal looks like he’s being pulled in two.
“Maybe I can help,” a voice says from the shadows by the building. I raise my sword and Marshal shifts into fight position. A small girl steps out. Her eyes widen when she sees the weapons and she holds up her hands. “Woah, I’m friendly. I swear.”
“Elizabeth? What are you doing here?” Hildi asks.
“I was waiting for you to get back when I felt the tremor and saw the flash out the window.” She frowns at the blood trailing down Hildi’s hand. “Who needs help?”
“Armin,” Hildi says. I give her a cautious look. We don’t know this girl, but Hildi seems to trust her. “He’s by the wall. Injured. Will you help him?”
“I’ll get him back safely.” She holds Hildi’s eye. “I’ll make sure he’s ready.”
“Elizabeth?”
“Yeah?”
“If you hurt him, I will hunt you down and pull out your fingernails and teeth one by one, then I’ll feed them to Odin’s wolves and make you watch. When I’m finished, let his crows pluck out your eyes. They love eyes.”
Marshal’s lips curl into an approving grin.
“Gotcha, roomie. Loud and clear.” She gives Hildi a double thumbs up and trots off.
“Make sure he’s ready for what?”
“The apocalypse,” Hildi says, “Because that’s what’s going to happen if they open that door.”
“And you trust her?” Marshal asks.
“She wants to be on the winning side,” she says, heading toward the door, “and she knows we’re going to be on it.”
40
Hildi
The building vibrates with a strange energy as we rush back inside. Where the rest of the student population is, I don’t know. Maybe they don’t care, or maybe, right now we’re the only ones involved in this.