The Blue Tower

Chapter 1

THE FIRST THING I know: I'm treading water.

My legs and arms move by instinct, churning out circles of waves, like I'm a pebble dropped into a still lake. Beyond the ripples stretches a glassy surface into darkness. The air smells briny, with a hint of fish.

I swing my arms through the lukewarm water to turn. Behind me rises a wall as high as I can see. I take two strokes and reach it. I press my hands to the surface, my feet kicking to keep me afloat. My hands look pale and small as I push against the smooth, solid stone. It doesn't budge.

Panic grips me. Maybe the wall goes all the way around. I look up and see blackness. I peer down through the water. No bottom in sight. No creatures either. Must stay calm and breathe.

When I turn again there's a tiny dot of light that has appeared in the distance. Where did the light come from? How did I even learn to swim?

Doesn't matter. Survival, the cruel master, compels me forward. I push off the wall toward the light.

My body aches by the time I glimpse the shore. The light takes shape as a small blue orb by the water's edge. My strokes quicken. I'm breathing hard as my feet first touch the soft, muddy ground.

I crawl out of the water, then lay on my back, panting. Waves lap steadily at the shore. Beyond that there's a low rumble of moving air, like an ocean breeze in a cavern.

Then I hear a soft footstep. I open my eyes.

A hooded face gazes down at me. It is old and wrinkled and bearded, with black wire glasses that are barely wide enough to contain two blue eyes.

"Welcome, boy. I've been waiting a long time for you."

I rush to my feet and back away, splashing into the shallows. The man stands still.

"Who are you?" I ask, surprised by the young sound of my voice.

"I'm the leader of this tower." The blue light moves. It glows from the top of a staff in the old man's hand.

"What tower?"

"The Blue Tower. Dreadfully damp down here, don't you think?"

The man's gentle voice does not comfort me. The staff's light casts shadows like bruises over the sharp lines of his face. The light does not reach any walls. We're surrounded by darkness. My hands cover my face, pressing my temples, searching desperately for a memory.

The man steps closer and clasps my shoulder, his hand squeezing gently. The sleeve of his gray robe hangs down below his arm. His silver beard flows down to his waist.

"Give it time," he says.

I move to his side, keeping my distance. Surely I can outrun him if it comes to it. But then what? Another swim in the dark lake? I shiver at the thought of it.

"You're cold." He reaches into his robe and pulls out a folded cloth. He tosses it to me.

The fabric in my hands is plain but soft. I unfold it and discover a gray-blue robe. I'm wearing nothing. I slip on the robe.

"Good," he says. "We should go before the tide rises."

"There's a tide?"

"The sea rises and falls." He looks past me, into the dark cavern. "Like the towers. But maybe you'll change that. Blue is due to rise."

He begins walking away from the water. As I follow him, I realize how small I am. Maybe half his size. Something about it seems off. Either he's far too big, or I'm far too small.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"This path is long," he says over his shoulder. "But the slope is gentle. It winds up the whole tower."

The ground changes from mud to stone. The stones are immense blocks, cool under my bare feet. The path reaches a wall, like the one that was behind me in the water. I feel like the wall has cut off my memories and everything I knew before. Questions are flooding into me and begin to spill out. "How did I get here?"

He pauses and glances back. "You followed someone."

"Who?"

He turns without answering and continues ahead. We follow the path along the wall, going up. The only light is the pale blue glow from the old man's staff. His robe swishes from side to side as he climbs.

I followed someone? I don't even remember anyone... It makes me feel very alone. It almost makes me glad that this old wizard found me. "If you won't tell me who I followed," I say, "at least tell me where we're going."

"Your room," he answers, without slowing. "You may rest there, have a bite to eat, before your first class."

"Class?"

He stoops down, his spectacled eyes level with mine. "Curiosity is good. Probably why you came to Blue first."

I return his stare. His eyes are bluer than the orb on his staff. Blue like the sky on a sunny day, not like this tower and its dark water and walls.

A hint of a smile appears under his beard. "You'll be okay here. There's a way out, unlike the other place you could have gone..." He breathes deeply. "But no looking back now, not yet. First food, then rest, then class. You'll need your energy for the Scouring."

"Scouring? What's that?"

"It's the only way out."