The Seventh Stone

Chapter Seven

The rooms are on one of the topmost levels of the tree, near the branches. We passed through three different halls built into the hollow trunk, before we came to a cordless, glass elevator that would take us up to it. The car itself suspended over a small, magnetic platform built into a small corridor at the side of the hall, and up top is an opening where it's meant to ascend.

I climb into the elevator first, flinching as it drops a little with my weight. I step toward the glass and turn as Loki follows, along with the guard. As the doors shut, and the elevator levitates up and out of the hall. I turn toward the glass and see it's almost nighttime now, and only a few specks of the darkening sky are still visible through the branches above.

I look down, seeing my own reflection staring out at the city below, and realize that the marketplace we'd entered into was hardly the metropolis... I couldn't have seen it from the other side of the tree, but being high up off the ground like this means looking out into a cornucopia of twinkling lights, glowing fixtures, and multitudes of elegant courtyards. Miles away, I can see variations of dim and bright lights illuminating patches of tree bark, while the same glowing red and blue veins outline the length of the trees and roots in the distance—as well as the one we're ascending.

In the corner of my eye, I see Loki's head turn in my direction, before peering back at the scenery behind us. I turn and look at him, seeing the sides of his face glow blue and red from the veins pulsating as we rise past them.

Finally, we both turn back as the elevator settles onto a platform with a heavy thud, somewhere near the top. A cold breeze hisses as the doors open once more, letting the icy air inside, and the guard disembarks. Loki gestures for me to step off next, and we follow as the guard turns right and leads us through a catacomb of ambient hallways lined with doors and wall lamps.

The hallway itself seems to be built along the natural shape of the branches underneath, and we tread along the curves until it begins to narrow, and the guard finally stops to open one of the doors at the very end.

Loki and I exchange glances, and watch as he turns and gestures for us to enter. I blink at the guard confusedly for a moment, wondering if they expect us both to stay in this room—but I step forward anyway, crossing over the threshold, and immediately realize that the design of this room is actually built for two guests.

From the foyer, the room splits into two curved corridors—one above, and one below. Both are ambient, just like the hallway, and fairly simple in decor: one small bed on each level, a desk, and a rug.

As I step up onto the upper level, I look up to see that a giant window comprises the wall in front of the bed—the wall to my left. Beyond the little night stand nestled on the far end of the bed, the corridor squeezes into a sharp corner, leaving no more room for furniture.

I step closer to the window, and look to see the same view I'd seen from the elevator—along with a tube-like structure directly below me, which I assume is Loki's 'room.' I continue looking out at the myriad of city lights as I shuffle backward toward the bed, and plop down onto it. My body weighs heavily into the soft mattress, and just as I begin to feel a scintilla of relaxedness, I'm reminded of my accompaniment by the sudden thud of the door being shut.

I jump from the abrupt sound, and look over to see that Loki still standing there, on the foyer—also looking back at the door. I turn away slowly, listening as his boots begin sliding against the ground in my direction, and my sullen body relaxes depressively as I stare ahead into the sparkling metropolis.

"I must say," he says amusedly as he climbs the stairs and strides toward the desk, and leans on it. "You'd make quite the politician."

I don't know if that was meant as a complement or a joke, but I'm in no mood to blush or laugh. I hadn't even realized how much this entire ordeal had drained me until now, but it's as if every ache and pain has woken up inside my body, and decided to have a dance party. The bleeding in my hand seems to have stopped, but the pain hasn't, and I haven't stopped trying to keep it elevated and still.