Medice Ceres

Chapter 25

Waithe peered out the window at the starry sky. A quarter moon provided scant light, barely revealing the mountains that towered in the west. He turned his head back. "It be time."

Alden asked, "How will you get past the guards? Surely we are being watched."

Ceres answered with a grin, "Oh, do you mean the ones who sleep the night away?"

He raised his eyebrows. "They sleep?"

Ceres put on a sly grin. "They shall. Give me a few moments." She turned to Jenn. "Bring your soldiers close by, lest they too would succumb to Lun's Magic."

Ceres sat down cross-legged in the middle of the room and invited Eira to join her. The rest gathered in a circle around her. She closed her eyes and softly hummed.

In a moment, Lun, the Spirit of sleep and dreams, appeared above. Her pale orange light gently throbbed like a heartbeat at rest, creating a soothing effect on the amazed onlookers. A bright green light then appeared and zipped around the room. Eira grinned as she watched it.

Ceres sighed but kept her eyes closed. "Yes, Phy, you may go with us. We shall need you, but you must behave."

Ceres took a deep breath. A gray fog emerged from her outstretched hands and spread out, but bypassed the group that assembled nearby. The walls of the cottage were of no hindrance as the fog continued its expansion into the night.

After several moments Lun's light faded away and Ceres opened her eyes. "The guards in the hall of archives snooze along with those near the front gate. The Magic could not reach those further away."

Waithe nodded. "It be enough. Let us go."

As Waithe opened the door Alden stood with them. "I would go with you."

Waithe glanced at Ceres, then answered. "No Alden. More would increase the risk of detection. You must stay."

Alden frowned. "I cannot just wait here while you..."

Ceres put her hand on Alden's shoulder and gazed up into his eyes. "My dear Alden, I trust the judgment of my protector. Please look after Eira for me. We shall return before dawn."

Alden pulled his lips together and reluctantly nodded. Ceres pulled him into an embrace. He whispered in her ear, "Be safe, my dear Ceres."

Waithe and Ceres pulled dark cloaks over themselves and disappeared into the night. They walked briskly in the cool still air toward the hall that housed the Medice archives, the only sound being the slight crunch of dry grass under their feet. Phy's green light came to Ceres' right shoulder.

Waithe shook his head. "Phy be not one for stealth. Tell her to dim her light."

Ceres turned her head to Phy and narrowed her eyes. Phy's light then changed to a dull faint green and followed them low to the ground.

Two Medice guards lay snoozing on either side of the large wooden door to the records hall. Waithe nodded with a smile to Ceres as they stepped inside. A few candle lanterns hanging from the ceiling and Phy's faint green glow provided dim light. The door led to a short plain corridor lined with wooden shelves, some empty and some haphazardly strewn with books and stacks of paper. They walked to the end of the corridor before another large wooden door, this one dark stained and reinforced with metal straps.

Waithe scanned the door for a latch or handle. Finding none, he asked, "How do we enter?"

"Only a Lady of the Order may open the door, and only with Life Magic."

Ceres closed her eyes and held her hands up. Phy's light shown and came to rest just above her. A shimmer of Magic flowed from her hands and surrounded the door. With a creak and a scrape, it opened slowly. When just open enough to enter, she pulled down her hands.