The Witch Woman's Prophecy

58 | Blue Light |

It wasn't the aftereffects of the blow to my head; Polemmy really was illuminated by a deep blue light. I raised a hand to protect my eyes from the azure brightness that came from the crystal dome of the Temple. It glowed so brightly it lit the city all around and bounced back from the clouds above, making my eyes water with its intensity. I was like a worm used to living beneath a stone that was suddenly exposed to the light and heat of the sun.

Soni steadied me and we staggered together towards the Temple. The majority of the crowd had fled from the square; only a few of the braver guards lurked in the corners of the square, eyes shielded from the glare. Although I was drawn to the Temple, I also had an urge to run from it as fast as I could. My head throbbed where the guard had punched me. When I touched my scalp, I could feel a lump growing there. Added to the dizziness caused by the pellets, the world took a long time to settle around me.

A terrible wailing noise screeched through the air and bored through me. I tried to nerve myself up to go closer, but it grew to a level that made my ears ache. I clamped my hands over my ears and crouched down with my eyes shut tight.

The noise stopped. Only then did I look up to see that the door to the Temple had slid open and a figure was silhouetted against the blue glare coming from inside the Temple.

'Thamet, come here.' It was Vorsti.

'I'm not being left out this time,' Soni said, her voice harsh with determination. She clamped her hand around my arm and walked me to the old man.

'Thamet. It is time for you to help the Forgotten People,' said Vorsti with a bow to us both.

'I don't know how to speak to them! I've already told you that,' I said, alarmed that he again expected something of me that I couldn't do.

'They need you now. You must come with me.'

'He's not going anywhere without me!' Soni snapped at Vorsti.

Vorsti sighed. 'Come. Come both of you. I only know that this is the moment a descendent of the kings is needed and you are the closest we have.' He turned and walked through the glowing doorway. Soni and I followed him into the overpowering blueness.

'We could not let the Council take you,' said Vorsti as we walked along the corridor to the room beneath the crystal dome. 'We have certain protections, left by the Forgotten people. I summoned them, although I had not realised what they would do. It seems to have been more effective than I dreamed.'

'It scared me,' I admitted, as we stepped through the last doorway into the huge circular room.

The blueness inside the dome was so intense that I had to blink away the water that came to my eyes. Beside me, Vorsti tutted and hurried off into the middle of the room. After a breath or two the blue lights faded away. I opened my eyes to see him with both hands on the column in the centre of the room. More doors around the room opened and the vorhisti streamed from them, joining us beneath the crystal dome.

The vorhisti's faces were all full of smiles, and they made the hand over heart bows to me again and again. My face reddened at their gratitude, not entirely sure that I had done anything to deserve it. Several vorhisti had faces wet with tears, although they were smiling too. I looked for Umae, but I could not see her. I was worried that she might have been swept away when the Greater Harn burst its banks.

'Later, later! Time for all that later,' said Vorsti, rushing to the door that led down to the room where the Forgotten People lived. Soni looked at me and shrugged. We had no choice but to follow him.

As we trotted to catch up with Vorsti, Soni put her hand against the wall. 'It's metal, not stone like the Ustelin. I don't know why, but I always thought they would be the same beneath the ground. This is completely different.' She held her hand to the smooth wall for a moment longer before she began to run along the curving corridor after Vorsti.

The room where the Forgotten People lived looked very much the same as it had done before. I was about to ask how Vorsti knew they needed help when he stepped aside and I saw the metal box he was standing in front of. Unlike the others which all had slowly blinking blue gems, this one was brightly lit with gems of red, yellow and green as well as blue. They flashed and sparkled in a dizzying pattern of colours.

'Now you see! You must talk to them!' Vorsti's voice was shrill with excitement and another emotion that might have been fear.

'I can't! I told you. I don't know how!' My stomach and my fists both tightened. Why didn't he understand that I did not know how to talk to them?

'Please listen. You are their only hope. Without you they will be trapped here forever. Just listen, I beg you.'

As he requested, I listened. There was nothing to be heard in the stillness of the room. I calmed my uneven breathing and strained to hear even the faintest whisper. Still, there was nothing.

As I looked towards him, Vorsti put his finger to his lips to stop me from speaking. I wanted to shout at him that he was being foolish. He knew I couldn't do what he wanted.

As I opened my mouth to tell him so, I was struck by a wave of sadness for the Forgotten People in their metal boxes. The thought of their long confinement horrified me. How many times had I been trapped in the dark since I had been forced from the safety of my family? I could not imagine a more terrible fate than to be enclosed in a small dark space for the rest of eternity.

I was so sorry that I couldn't help them. I knelt down beside the box with the flashing jewels and lowered my forehead to it. I wanted to tell the occupant just how sorry I was for my failure. To beg forgiveness for not knowing what to do.

Love and gratitude filled me. It took me a breath to realise that this was not my own feeling. It was powerful and close.

Basata!

A vision hit me, so strongly then that my body shook with its force. I heard Soni gasp but then my mind was full of Basata's voice. Her hands showed me the sequence in which the jewels needed to be pressed.

I followed her instructions, pressing them carefully, somehow I knew that I must not get them wrong or something terrible would happen. The metal box began to hum and the lid slid back by some mechanism I could not see.

***

Thamet has reached the point of no return. Who or what is inside the metal box? Give me your best guess!

Any feedback good or bad is truly appreciated, I am trying to make this the best story I can. Please let me know if you find anything confusing or if you think I've left anything out.

And finally, if you liked it, please press the little yellow ⭐️ to let me know!

Anni X