Page 159 of A Tower of Half-Truths
She thought back to the time Alain had diverted her from his storage room. But now, instead of sending them around an apartment, the ley line took them through woods that were even more dense than the ones they had just traversed.
They walked for nearly half an hour, until they reached the remains of a small cabin. Most of its stone walls had crumbled, and it had no roof. Scattered all around the area were tall plants bearing six-pointed white flowers.
“Asphodel,” Mavery said.
“You’re right,” Ellice said, giving the white petals a closer look. “Strange, I thought these grew further south, closer to Maroba.”
“Then someone must have planted them here.”
Mavery recalled what Selemin had told her: the Order of Asphodel’s meeting place had been a cabin in these very woods, and the Dyadists had burned it to the ground. Though that had happened centuries ago, she could swear the scent of burnt wood lingered in the air.
“This place must have belonged to the Order,” Mavery said.
“Indeed,” Alain said, pointing at what remained of the longest wall. Carved into the crumbling hearth was that same flower symbol from before. Unlike the one on the temple’s pediment, this one had worn away with time; little more than an impression remained.
Alain crouched beside the ley line and pushed aside a tuft of grass. At first glance, the ley line simply ended. But upon taking a closer look, Mavery realized it sank beneath the dirt, in what had once been the center of the room.
“It’s a shame we didn’t bring a shovel,” Alain said.
“No, but wedohave a mender,” Mavery said.
They both turned to Ellice.
“All right,” she sighed. “Let’s see what we’re dealing with.”
She lowered herself onto the ground and pushed up her sleeves, then closed her eyes and placed her palms flat against the dirt. Mavery’s small dose of potion had worn off, and so she Sensed saltwater in the air, though more faintly than when Ellice had created a hole in the fence at the Roven estate. Mavery realized that Ellice was simply probing the ground, trying to determine what lay beneath it. Ellice’s brow furrowed as her fingers gripped the dirt.
“There’s definitely something buried down there.” She opened her eyes again. “At least six feet deep.”
“A body?” Neldren asked.
“No, it gave too much resistance to my magic. It’s inorganic—maybe some sort of metal.”
“The anchor,” Alain said. “Can you dig it up?”
She frowned. “This amount of dirt is going to be heavy, which means it’ll requirea lotof magic. Probably more than I have to spare, if I’m being honest.”
Mavery turned to Alain. “Did you bring any extra anchors?”
“Only the sort that would help with the spell’s longevity or area of effect. What she needs is something that will amplify her arcana.” He sighed. “If only I still had my gems, or if I’d thought to bring a potion…”
“What if she used one of us?”
“Using another mage as an anchor?” He considered it for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, that should work.”
As he stepped forward, Mavery threw out her arm, stopping him. “You’re still recovering, or have you already forgotten?”
“I’m all but fully recovered, which means I have plenty of arcana to spare.”
“But what if you end up too drained to destroy the anchor, not to mention deal with whatever is inside the temple?”
Alain scoffed. “I hardly think a simple Faisancy spell will—”
“I’ll do it,” Neldren said.
The other three turned to him in unison.
“Seeing as how my magic’s been useless so far.” There was an edge of bitterness to his voice. He lowered himself beside Ellice, then sat back on his heels. “What do I need to do?”
