Page 85 of The Surviving Sky
Ahilya nodded to the Disc that was ascending again, taking its new batch of architects. The change of shifts had been swift; the bark closed behind the last off-duty architect. She and Megha stood alone in the temple courtyard.
“Iravan. Is he up there?”
“No, none of the Senior Architects are. Have you contacted him on his citizen ring?”
Ahilya shook her head. Iravan had been missing his rudra beads. That seemed like a bad sign. Perhaps the council had stripped him of it for some reason. Perhaps her being therenow—usinghisbracelet—wasonly going to get him further into trouble. Unwilling to worsen the situation, Ahilya opened her mouth to thank Megha and leave, but before she could form the words, the temple floor began to vibrate.
Megha shot out an arm, clutching Ahilya.
Sounds of consternation spilled from the Architects’ Disc. Megha’s skin lit up. The patterns on her skin flickered. Her grip on Ahilya’s arm became painful.
“What’s happening?” Ahilya asked.
“Ecstasy,” the woman replied, through grit teeth, and Ahilya could tell she was tamping down on her terror. “An architect is in Ecstasy. It’s the only explanation.”
Iravan, Ahilya thought at once, her pulse racing.What has he done? What have I forced him into?“Let me go,” she said, but the architect’s grip grew tighter.
“You must know the dangers of Ecstasy! You’re practically an architectyourself—”
The light from the Disc sputtered, shrieks reverberating. Wind churned through the temple, as though the courtyard was exposed to the storm outside. Leaves rustled in the sudden gale. Wood cracked and bark peeled.
The next instant, the rudra treescreamed.
The high-pitched whine pierced through Ahilya like needles in her ears. She clutched Megha and the architectflickered, tears running down her face, mouth dropping in a small O. The scream went on and on, the single most chilling sound of Ahilya’s entire life. She could see her terror reflected in Megha.
Shouts ricocheted off the Disc, and the ground in front of Ahilya rose like a mountain forming. Megha staggered back, pulling Ahilya with her. A jagged mound of earth shot up in the sky, raining down soil and roots, covering the both of them in dust. The temple shook, and for one horrifying instant, the light of the Architects’ Disc disappeared as though extinguished; they were submerged in total blackness.
Then trajecting light flickered again. The incongruous column of earth reared next to the rudra tree, like a monstrous pillar reaching from floor to ceiling.
“I have to find Iravan,” Ahilya cried, trying to shake Megha off. “Let mego!”
“There’s nothing you can do right now. There’s barely anythingwecan do.”
Megha’s grip became vise-like and a wave of powerlessness washed over Ahilya. She was useless; she was worse than useless without the ability to traject. What was happening? What were the architects doing?
She must have asked the last question out loud. Megha shook her head. “We’re trying to contain it. But the Ecstatic Architect is too powerful. The tree is going to shatter.”
The rudra tree trembled in front of them, a blackness pouring out from it like thick smoke. Its scream echoed in Ahilya’s mind. Something burned; it smelt like flesh. Megha began to swear, a torrent of filthy words, but the patterns on her skin grew more furious.
The rudra tree arched like a spasming body,and—
Stilled.
The chilling whine silenced like someone had cut the scream from its source. Ahilya glanced at Megha, seeing her own fear and confusion there.
“The Ecstatic Architect,” Megha breathed. “They’ve stopped. It’s stopped.”
Terror clawed up Ahilya’s throat. This was Iravan’s doing. He had unleashed this destruction. She had forced him to it. She was sure of it.
The column of earth near the tree descended; it disappeared back into the floor that reknit itself. The wall next to Ahilya burst open and nearly a hundred Maze Architects rushed into the temple, some in their uniforms, most dressed casually. The Architects’ Disc descended again, and architects stumbled out and sank to their knees, retching. Others poured into the Disc, shouting instructions. Ahilya realized she was standing all alone, trembling; Megha had left her. Disjointed voices came to her. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
“—citizens’ infirmary isfine—buttheresidences—”
“—the Academy hascollapsed—there’schildrenburiedunderneath—”
“—Gaurav, Megha, report to the Academy. I’ll bring the otherhealers—”
Ahilya caught a glimpse through the doorway out of the temple. The corridors leading to the temple had completely disappeared. Great swathes of foliage had ripped apart like broken limbs. A tree trunk lay across a teetering bridge. In the distance, an unchecked fire burned, a horrifying sight in the leafy ashram. Ahilya took a step forward, wanting to help, wanting to dosomething.
