Marrow and Soul: Book 1 of the Vitalian Chronicles by Addison Horner

Author:Addison Horner [Horner, Addison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Avocado Tree Press, LLC
Published: 2024-02-05T00:00:00+00:00

BARRON GATHERS THE applicants in the western foyer, next to the mural Safran had seen on her first day in the Temple. As Seele and Marinus whisper to each other, Safran finds herself staring at the man hiding in the brush, outlined by a blue halo of painted light. The artist captured a deep, intense emotion in the man’s eyes that Safran had mistaken for shock or animosity. Now she recognizes it for what it is.

This man is a ghost. He longs for life.

A heavy shifting sound brings Safran’s attention back to Barron, who has opened a hidden door set into one of the interior walls. Another passageway to the abyss, then. Safran joins the line of applicants descending single file into the darkness.

Unlike last time, these stairs keep going. Safran loses track of time and steps as they continue downward. In front of her, Seele takes calm, measured breaths between whispered mantras.

“Life is following the light set before us. We rule ourselves by learning to see. Life is following the light set before us …”

Safran doesn’t mind the dark. To her, it feels like a form of invisibility. It’s easier to steal stuff when people can’t see you.

After what feels like hours, a sliver of torchlight splits the black. A low, thundering roar, like a herd of bovine tauruns stampeding on rock, reaches Safran’s ears. The applicants file through a narrow doorway and onto a stone platform bordered by a sturdy wooden railing. Barron stands by the railing, counting the applicants as they emerge.

When Safran comes into the light, she first sees the expressions of wonder on the others’ faces. Then she sees what caused them.

Stretching high above Safran’s head is a massive underground waterfall backlit by glittering blue light. Water crashes onto the stone floor beyond the railing, streaming off in every direction. Behind the waterfall shine dozens of blue orbs that remind Safran of the Ghost Tablet’s glow.

But these lights move. They clamber across the rock face, disappearing into tunnels in the stone and popping out across the surface. Awestruck, Safran watches the lights dance in frantic, mesmerizing lines beyond the cascading water.

“This is a test of control!” Barron yells to be heard above the waterfall’s roar. “Tell me, applicants, what is death?”

“Death is falling to the darkness around us!” the applicants answer as one. “We defend ourselves by learning to feel!”

Barron waves an arm toward the waterfall. “We carry strong emotions in our souls. When we control their expression without suffocating them, they lend us strength.”

He raises what looks like a wooden flute to his mouth and blows into it. A reedy, piercing sound makes Safran flinch and cover her ears.

“What’s wrong?” Marinus yells from directly behind her. Before Safran can answer, though, something draws her attention to the waterfall.

The lights are descending, clambering down to the waterfall’s base. They leap through the water and bound across the stone toward a broad set of stairs leading to the applicants’ platform.

More than one applicant screams. From the railing, Myra watches with narrowed eyes.

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