Forbidden ~ after unlocked

Chapter 6 - Sophie

Sophie held out the small, marble-sized gadget to Oralie. This time the Councillor took it, pinching the cache in between her thumb and pointer finger and squinting at the crystals embedded in around the rim.

It seemed a bit absurd to Sophie that such an important object was so small and easy to lose. But that was the way they were designed. And if she remembered correctly...

"You said the access sequence is different this time right? Because there's more than one Forgotten Secret."

"Yes," Oralie replied, "and it's actually a bit simpler."

"So no, 'blood, sweat, tears' thing anymore?"

"No, not this time. All of the Councillor's caches are accessed differently, since they all hold different memories with different significance."

"Kenric's has what we need to know about Stellarlune and Elysian right?" Sophie asked. "And the information should have what we need to help Keefe?"

Oralie sighed. "Since the knowledge in my cache was incomplete, it should be in here. That's what we're hoping for."

The pink crystal chandelier dangling from the high arched ceilings caught the light coming in from the wide windows and casted a faint glow on Oralie, illuminating her face as she stared at the tiny object.

"Are we going to see another memory?" Sophie wondered. "Like your cache?"

The Councillor tilted her head thoughtfully. "I'm not sure. That might be the case, but it might be something entirely different."

Sophie watched Oralie for a few minutes, tapping her fingers on the arm of the chair. She tucked her feet up on the rose-pink cushion and tried not to become too agitated. At the moment Oralie was just staring at the cache, obviously focused on something. Sophie watched her anxiously, trying her hardest not to pull out an eyelash, and wishing she could sneak into Oralie's mind and see what she was thinking. But instead she waited, and waited, and waited. It was another three-hundred fifty-two seconds before Sophie couldn't stand it any longer.

"You know how to open it, right?"

"I do." Oralie paused for a moment, pursing her lips. "It needs a password as mine did. But I'm not sure whether we have to type it in somewhere, or say it. And if it's the latter, whether or not voice matters."

"Voice?"

"Yes, voice activation. Only certain people are permitted to open Kenric's cache. So in case an enemy was to have it in their possession and know the password, they wouldn't be able to access any Forgotten Secrets. But that also means we only get three tries. The cache is designed to explode if the correct person hasn't spoken after three chances."

"Great," Sophie mumbled, sinking into the armchair. Sandor definitely wasn't going to be thrilled to hear about that. Neither was she.

"It's alright though," Oralie reassured her. "I have permission to open it. The cache should recognize my voice."

"Should?" Sophie cocked an eyebrow, not liking how that sounded.

Oralie ignored her. "Once it accepts the password, there's one more step and then we'll have access to the secret."

The Councillor leaned forward and brought her face inches from the cache. Sophie held her breath as Oralie whispered the password, "Ailsa."

Sophie didn't even have enough time to figure out what that could possibly mean, because a few moments later the cache suddenly let out a high-pitched ear-splitting tone.

Oralie shrieked and the cache clattered to the floor rolling a few feet away, but the terrible buzzing noise droned on. Sophie instantly reached up and covered her ears to try and block out the horrifying sound but it was persistent, droning into her eardrums like tiny needles poking her brain. She gritted her teeth and buried her face in between her knees as extra protection. The crystals dangling from the ceiling started shaking together, only adding to the noise. When Sophie looked up again the cache was now a glaringly bright red, illuminating the surrounding marble floor. Eventually the shrill sound and light died away, leaving the living room in the state it was before.