The night before I had to leave I could not sleep.
I was not nervous. I was not afraid. My body after three weeks of training every single day did not know how to rest. My muscles were still tight. My mind was still racing. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the room where I trained. In that darkness I saw a pair of eyes staring at me.
I remembered the words: "That door has been waiting for you."
I sat on my bed. Lina was already asleep beside me. Her hand was open. It was warm. She was breathing slowly and calmly like nothing was bothering her.
I picked up my grandfather's journal from the table. I opened it. Turned the pages until I reached the empty part. After the words "behind that door—" there was nothing.
I had read this page many times. I always hoped that I would see something. There was nothing. Just empty paper.
I closed the book. Put it on my chest. Under my hand the Ouroboros scar was beating slowly.
I asked out loud: "What did you see there, Grandfather? Why could you not write it down?"
Nobody answered.
I lay back. Closed my eyes. For the time in three weeks I did not think about training. I did not think about the Mariana Trench. I did not think about that door.
I thought about Lina. I thought about her eyes shining in the dark. I thought about the room getting cold. I thought about her words: "There was a stone table with your name on it."
I thought about Maya. I thought about her silver bracelet. I thought about the scar on her wrist. I thought about her father who disappeared.
I thought about Raka. I thought about his sister who died. I thought about his flames changing colour.
I thought about Kirana. I thought about her family who died. I thought about her ice that never melted.
I thought about Bayu. I thought about his eyes. I thought about the scar on his chest. I thought about his words: "I survived, but I never came back."
I thought about Aldo. I thought about his blue eyes. I thought about the sadness in his eyes.
I thought about the headmaster. I thought about the photo of him with my grandfather and Bayu. I thought about the smile that was not there anymore.
I thought about my grandfather. I thought about everything he hid. I thought about everything he tried to protect. I thought about everything he could not write down.
I closed my eyes. Slowly I fell asleep.
---
I woke up to something on my hand.
It was not pain. It was not heat. It was a feeling like someone was writing on my skin. It was light and gentle, like cold fingers moving on the back of my hand.
I opened my eyes. The room was dark except for the moonlight coming through the window. Lina was still asleep beside me. There was nobody in the room.
The feeling was still there on the back of my hand beside the Ouroboros scar.
I raised my hand. Looked at it in the moonlight. There was writing on it. It was new, like it was written with ink, but now I could see it.
The writing said: "Don't trust Ombak."
I sat up. Stared at the writing. My hand had not moved. Nobody had come into the room. The door was open. The window was closed.
The writing was there, and it was real.
I said to Lina, "Lina, wake up."
She opened her eyes slowly. "Kael, what is it?"
I showed her the back of my hand. Lina sat up. Looked at the writing. She brought my hand closer to the moonlight.
She asked: "Is that new?"
I said, "I do not know. I woke up. It was already there."
Lina read the writing again. Her lips moved slowly over the letters.
She said: "Don't trust Ombak."
She looked at me. I saw fear in her eyes. Not fear of the writing. Fear of what it meant.
She asked, "Ombak, who's that?"
I said, "He is the guardian of Aegis. He is a hero. He is the one we are going to meet in the south. Aldo said he knows where the second artefact is hidden."
Lina said, "And your grandfather said not to trust him."
I said: "So it seems."
Lina held my hand. Looked at the writing.
She said, "Kael, your grandfather is dead. He has been dead for months… This writing—" She stopped and swallowed. "How did he write it on your hand? Now? Here?"
I did not know what to say.
I looked at the writing beside the Ouroboros scar. It was beating slowly like it was trying to tell me something.
I said: "Maybe it was not him who wrote it."
Lina asked: "Then who?"
I said, "The Ember Core."
Lina froze.
I said, "The Ember Core has been inside me since the night. It can talk. It has its mind. Maybe it is holding something from my grandfather. Something that could not be written on paper. Something that only appears at the time."
Lina did not say anything. She just held my hand.
She asked: "Do you believe that?"
I looked at the writing. It said: "Don't trust Ombak."
I said, "I do not know, but I have to believe it."
Lina held my hand tighter.
She said, "Tomorrow we leave. We will meet Ombak. We will be careful."
I nodded.
Outside the window the sky was getting lighter. Dawn was coming. It was our night at the Academy. It was the night before everything changed.
I did not sleep again. Lina did not sleep either. We sat side by side on the bed, holding hands, waiting for the sun to rise.