Moonshadow (Book 1 of the Torrent Skies Saga)

Chapter Fourteen: The Secret of the Ruins, Pt 2

As they left the forest, they walked through what remained of the lizard encampment. They got small glimpses into the mostly exploded huts. One of them remained whole, at the very edge of where the explosion had happened. A strange smell came to their noses as they moved passed it, and Katerin stopped in her tracks. Approaching the building she peeked inside, searching for an answer to the strong metallic smell.

She found its origins with ease.

Inside the one-room hut was a large, carved stone dais. Upon it was a roughly carved likeness of a lizard holding a wicked sacrificial dagger, with its lips pulled back in a snarl. A stone basin at the bottom of the statue held an assortment of daggers and knives, similar to the one in the carving. The bowl was filled to the brim with blood, and the ground around the statue itself seemed to be stained with it, small puddles still working into the rust colored moss.

She held her stomach as she looked around the room. Shrines had the ability to be the most chilling of places, and this one left knots in her stomach.

When they neared the ruins, their pace slowed, and they walked as cautiously as possible. The small buildings appeared to be houses. They were small and simple, only one story with domed roofs. The strange material almost glowed in the moonlight and crumbled like clay in Katerin's hands.

She looked at the buildings with wonder, for none of the histories she ever read spoke of architecture like this. The buildings were all round, or half-moon shaped. They came to the front of one of the smaller buildings that still appeared structurally sound. There was no door—only an archway for an opening. Dirt, dust and plant life covered the space. There were cracks in the walls with vines growing through them, and debris covered what could have once been a floor. There were several things crafted out from the walls, of the same strange material. Tables, chairs, and counters. The ceiling had strange circular designs inset into it.

Katerin walked to the far wall, a look of puzzlement on her face. A circular dais came out from the wall, with a large glass looking tube running through it up into the ceiling. A large surface came out from the wall, with a number a small square insets. Shaking her head, she turned to observe what looked to be a cabinet. Inside were a number of small carved symbols, a case made from the same material, and four small cylindrical rods. She pulled them free and set them atop the table to study, blowing dust from its surface. Fykes stood near the doorway, his sketchbook in hand.

"What did you find?" Arjiah asked, looking at the items Katerin held.

"I have no idea," Katerin said with excitement. She watched as Arjiah as she traced the runes around the doorway.

Arjiah's quiet laughter hung in the air. "This has got to be a language but it's not one I've ever seen before...I don't even know the root."

Katerin smiled, as she moved the runic pieces about the strange table. This had to be a puzzle of some kind. Maybe it formed a picture or a word? Not that she would know what it meant, but that made it no less exciting. "Maybe you'll be the first to learn a new—" she cut off as she flipped one of the runic squares over and it landed in one of the notches on the table. Bright blue light lit up the room, as energy coursed through the glass tube at the back of the strange table. She took a cautious step back, holding her breath.

Several long seconds passed and nothing happened, but just as she released her breath, a voice boomed.

Identify yourself. It was not a physical sound, but it echoed inside her head.

She looked around the room and saw Fykes' shocked expression. Her heart hammered in her chest, Katerin Moonshadow? she thought, trying to answer the voice as it buzzed inside her mind.