The Library of Fates(25)

“Where will they take us?” I asked.

“We’re going to find out,” Arjun said. I looked up at his face, lit only by the glow of the lantern, his dark eyes watching me carefully. “Come on, let’s go. We don’t have a lot of time.”

But I found myself stalling. “I’m afraid, Arjun.”

“I know. But right now, we just need to stay alive.”

We followed the arrows, twisting and turning down the stone tunnels, until we came to a part of the Temple that I recognized.

I tripped over a jagged rock, and Arjun caught me.

“It’s these shoes,” I said, realizing that I had been running in the platform diamond-studded footwear that Mala had selected for me. I quickly removed them, thinking about how she had painstakingly chosen them for me. I couldn’t bring myself to leave them behind. I grabbed the satchel out of Arjun’s hand, stuffing them inside.

It was silly, but they were all I had left of Mala. I swallowed the lump in my throat. I will never see Mala again. Never wake up to the sound of her voice again. Never hear the stories she told me about vetalas and Diviners. Never feel her hands combing my hair.

Just as I was thinking this, we both heard the tromp of feet in the distance. “They know we’re in here,” Arjun whispered. “Faster, follow the trail!”

I looked around at the familiar reliefs on the walls. The air in this part of the Temple was filled with dust, my lungs struggling to inhale.

“Did everyone else in the palace know? About a getaway plan? An exit in case of an emergency?”

He nodded. “You’ll have to cover your face when you leave the palace. I’ll explain everything,” he said.

Spiraling farther down into the bowels of the temple, we reached a familiar doorway, wooden, with iron bars. A delicate hand reached out through the bars, and I almost screamed in terror, but Arjun grabbed me, his palm across my mouth.

“Help me!” she cried.

“Quiet!” Arjun whispered. “You’ll give us away!” His face was white with fear.

“Please release me, or I’ll be stuck here for the rest of my days. I’ll die in here!”

“Keep going, Amrita!” Arjun told me, his voice stern.

I hesitated. “We can’t just leave her, Arjun.”

He reached for my face, turned it toward him so I was looking right into his eyes. “My job is to protect you, to make sure you get out of here alive,” he said. “Amrita, listen to me. We can’t take her. She’ll slow us down. Look at her—she’s high on chamak! She’s barely alert.”

I had seen what Sikander’s men were capable of, and the thought of leaving a young innocent in their hands terrified me.

But Thala interjected before I could object. “I know what happened to your father,” she spoke quickly, in whispers. “I know Sikander killed him. I’m sorry.”

At Thala’s words, I inadvertently let out a sob, and Arjun pulled me close. “Amrita, we have to keep moving,” he said gently.

But Thala must have anticipated Arjun’s reluctance, because what she said next changed all of our fates in ways we could have never predicted. “I know how you can bring him back from the dead,” she whispered. “There’s a way. It can all be undone. Please, free me, and I’ll show you the way.”





Eleven



I STOPPED SHORT. “What did you say?”

“She’s pulling your leg, Amrita. I’m sorry, but he’s . . . gone,” Arjun said to me, touching my face with his hand, his finger tracing my cheek. “It can’t be undone.” There was a tenderness in his voice, but his words jarred me.

By now I could hear boots pounding on stone, not so far in the distance. I turned to look back. Any minute now, they would find us.

“It can be undone,” Thala insisted. “In Macedon, there’s a story about reversing fates, changing the past. If you give me a chance, I can help you.”

“She can’t help you.” Arjun’s voice was frantic now. “She’s trying to trick you, or she’s lying. Please, Amrita, we’re losing time.” I looked at his face. I had never seen such fear in his eyes.

“Oracles don’t lie,” Thala insisted. “We’re incapable of lies. And I’ve been right before. Ask her,” she said to Arjun.

It was true. Thala had been right about everything. The animals running loose, fighting in the west. An impending attack. He says he wants friendship. He says he wants an alliance. Don’t believe what he says. It had all come true.

Maybe she could undo what had just occurred. Maybe she could help me bring my father back from the dead.

The sounds of feet marching through the tunnels were getting louder and louder. We had seconds to escape. I reached for the large iron key tucked into the waistband of my sari and slipped it into the lock. It jammed, and I struggled to turn it. Arjun took a deep breath, his hands in his hair.

“Amrita,” he said. “Hurry, they’re almost here!”

Finally, something gave way and the key turned, creaking loudly.

Thala breathed a sigh of relief.

“Let’s go,” Arjun said, and as he did, I saw a single red coat turning a corner, his sword drawn.

Arjun saw him too, instinctively pulling at his sword just as Thala emerged from the cell. She was out, but the soldier stuck two fingers between his lips, and a shrill whistle pierced the air around us.