Page 144 of Grave Situation

“What?” Jaimin asks. “What did it say?”

“It showed me a room, but there wasn’t a locat?—”

“Showedusa room,” Master interrupts. That’s quite a feat when he needs to use my mouth to do it. I think my tongue got tied in a knot. “And I know perfectly well where that room is. I just don’t think anyone’s been in it for about thirty years.”

“Thirty years?” Jaimin’s voice has a peculiar note. “Exactly thirty years?”

Master hesitates. “I don’t know. The archives were reorganized when I was an apprentice, and we were directed to put the most unused and unreferenced documents and relics in there. Things nobody had looked at for over a decade. It’s possible that someonehasgone looking in there since.”

~No~

“Or not,” Jaimin says, showing that he heard the stone this time. “It was thirty years ago that the documents went into that room?”

“I… Well, maybe not quite. Sorting and moving things was the task that took up most of the second year after I attained level-2. That would have been… twenty-eight years ago.”

Jaimin nods and repeats, “Twenty-eight years ago,” in that same peculiar tone. “I think it’s imperative that you begin your search in that room—and the stone clearly agrees.”

~Yes~

“I’ll begin as soon as the archives open for the day,” Master promises. “This will help the search considerably.”

Since the archives take up the basement of the entire academy, I’m certain it will.

Master says goodnight and withdraws from my head, and I turn my attention to Jaimin. “Are you okay?” I ask softly. His face is drawn into tense lines, and I wish he felt he could tell me what this is about, if only so I could share the burden with him.

He sucks in a deep breath. “Yes. I’m… This could have ramifications, if I’m right. But even if I am, I’m okay. I’d tell you if I wasn’t, because I believe honesty and communication are vital in a relationship.”

Whoa. This is going in an odd direction. “I do too. Not that I’ve had a relationship before this, but I believe anything you want is vital.”

His lips twitch in a smile, but it’s a pale reflection of itself. “Just… remember that, okay? I’d tell you upfront if I wasn’t okay or if I was… dealing with… problems. And I’d want you to do the same.”

I put a hand on his cheek. “I will. I swear.” I hesitate. “Jaimin, are you sure you can’t tell me what’s worrying you?”

“Soon,” he assures me. “Even if I’m wrong, I’ll tell you soon. I hope I’m wrong, because then we can laugh about it. But if I’m right… I’ll still be okay.”

I just promised to believe that, but I think he needs to convince himself first.

There’sno breakfast the next morning, just tea. Peiris is aghast when they hear.

“I have corn meal! I could have brought it. You should have told me you were low on food.”

I’d agree, but the thought of gruel is unappealing enough for me to concede that I’m not starving yet.

“We need to resupply,” I say instead. “As kind as your offer is, I doubt you have enough extra food to keep us all going for very long.”

They look around at our faces, then up and down Coryn’s big form—and sigh. “True.”

“Are we leaving here, then?” Arimen manages to make the question sound pathetic and gives me big eyes. He’s spent the time since waking wandering around the temple, clearing away debris and spiderwebs. It’s disconcerting.

I shake my head. “Not yet. Until we know where we’re going, it doesn’t seem worth fighting our way out through the hills. Instead, I thought I might take Leicht south along the river to the nearest good-sized village and get some things there. The rest of you can spend the day exploring, resting… mending,” I add, because weeks of travel tend to take a toll on clothes, tents, blankets, and everything else.

“The horses need to graze,” Jaimin reminds us. “So we’ll need to take them up to Leicht’s hilltop.” He gazes toward their makeshift pen, then glances at Arimen. “We might need to muck out, too.”

Mucking out an abandoned building in an abandoned city would seem insane to most people, but he’s right—Arimen willprobably insist on it. If we’re staying a while longer, the horses will need a clean space, anyway.

“Do we need to stay here?” Peiris ventures. “I know we’re not sure where to go next, but since we don’t have enough supplies to stay here indefinitely, wouldn’t it be wiser for us all to go to the village and wait there for more information?”

“It would take more than a week to get there with the horses,” I explain. “We’d need to go around the lake and downriver, and there aren’t any roads until the first village.” I glance at Coryn to confirm. “Right?”

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