Once I was completely dressed, I was taken back to the bench and was motioned to sit down. One of the stewards produced an orange paste and four brushes. Every steward, except the eldest, took a brush and chose an appendage, working to create pretty floral designs intertwining from both sets of fingertips to shoulder blades, or from toes up my feet and stopping somewhere along my calf.
I was worried the clay like henna would stain the ivory sari but through a series of gestures the eldest steward relayed to me that I needed to dry it quickly with magic. And so I did, protecting the beautiful garment and my arms and legs from smudging.
Once the henna art was finished, the eldest steward approached me with make-up. I closed my eyes and let her go to work, painting my face, applying thick eye liner and shimmering eye shadow and finally when she was finished the customary red dot in the middle of my forehead.
I was allowed to stand and admire their handiwork in the mirror of the vanity and I almost didn't recognize myself. I stood in awe at the beauty they created and half wondered if I could take them home with me. I turned around, pressing my palms together and offering the half bow that was the only way I had to display my appreciation. When I looked up, back at the eldest woman there were tears in her eyes and her head was bobbing back and forth. She smiled at me graciously and I returned the expression, truly thankful for the steward’s service.
The women turned around in unison and the youngest steward beckoned me to follow them. The halls of the palace wing I experienced so far had been empty; outside of my room the splendor of the palace did not cease. We walked through hallways with vaulted golden ceilings and all kinds of intricately designed wooden pieces of art, displaying statues of Hindu gods, or wildlife native to the jungle, paintings that seemed to be thousands of years old and colorful, fragile vases that I was afraid my footsteps would knock over.
I was led into a dining room adorned in the same beautiful motif. There was an incredibly long table placed in the center that stretched from one side of the room to the other. At one end of the table, a spread capable of feeding twenty people waited for me.
I walked over to the table, gesturing for my stewards to sit down and join me, but they just smiled at me and bobbled their heads while walking away. Apparently I was to eat alone.
The exotic smell from spices I had never experienced before drifted my way and my stomach rumbled. I was suddenly famished and so I sat down, consuming as much as I could. Fresh, local fruits and delicious Indian breads, eggs with curry and turmeric, fresh soft cheeses and homemade yogurt surrounded me, and I was determined to try some of everything.
The stewards returned somewhere between deciding I should stop eating and my sari suddenly feeling too tight. I was nervous about leaving the dining room, but I also knew that I wouldn't be eating again until after I completed my walk and that was only if Lucan decided not to kidnap and imprison me directly following. This could potentially be my last meal, I decided to enjoy it.
I gave up trying to finish the meal made for twenty and the stewards led the way out to the elephants, a staircase waiting for me to climb aboard. I dreaded the idea of another bumpy ride, and decided to be more liberal with my magic and get to the Cave of the Forever Winds in one piece.
Once, carefully aboard my living transportation, I held on tightly, until the stewards had boarded their own massive mammals. Today our elephants were decorated in colorful paints and head pieces matching either the stewards purple saris or my ivory one. We looked like an elegant parade, marching forward through the jungle and into what felt like very uncharted territory.
The day was not as hot or as humid as it had been before and I was thankful I didn't have to be concerned about sweating through my ceremonial sari. We continued deeper into the jungle, the canopy above blocking out direct sunlight and curious monkeys keeping us company, swinging through the dense vegetation right along with us. The journey was slow and treacherous, but the elephants navigated a make shift trail expertly. My seat swayed back and forth with every step the elephant took and I released more magic forcing myself to trust the gigantic creature.
After what seemed like hours of steady travel the elephants came to a halt, without command, in front of the ruins of a stone temple. Vines and greenery had nearly blanketed the old crumbling stone, but the original foundation stuck stubbornly out. The stewards swung expertly down from their high seats and then led my elephant over to a worn, stone platform so I would not have the fall that the native women had to take.
I did my best to mimic their smooth decent, but landed rather awkwardly on the hard ground. The five women surrounded me closely and moved me in front of the darkened expansive doorway to what at one time had been the entrance to a temple.
The stone ruins were not a full structure like I had originally thought, but instead the front of the entrance to a wide-mouthed cave. Inside the cave, there was no light and I couldn't make out much past a few feet in.
Once in front of the door the earth shuttered beneath my feet, and afraid of an earthquake, I reached out to the women. They steadied me carefully before bobbing their heads with gentle smiles. A surge of magic rushed through my blood, an answer to the tremor and I realized the earth itself was reacting to my magic.
Pinpricks stabbed at my skin and the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight. I was afraid. I had no idea what to expect inside, but the calling of magic was not going to let me leave.
The women began to turn away from me and I prepared myself mentally to take the brave step forward and inside the cave. The eldest woman was the last steward blocking my way and before she moved she reached out to cup my face in her hands. I was surprised by her gesture so I paused, giving her my full attention.
Once my eyes locked hers, she seemed to say something without saying it at all. Her eyes screamed at me to be careful, to be smart, but most of all to be strong. She did not speak any words out loud, but I felt her heart crying out to me. I shuddered feeling suddenly emotional and not knowing how to express my gratitude.
She let go of my face, pressing her palms together in the bow that had become our sign of gratitude. I mimicked her, trying to relay the utter respect I felt for her. My palms pressed tightly together, my nose touching my middle fingers, I looked down at the ground for longer than necessary, until I knew that she was gone and that I would have to face the caves alone.
I was ready, completely ready, or as ready as I would ever be, but then Avalon's words rang out clearly in my head, in a voice that betrayed fearful concern and I had to muster all of the courage I had to continue.
Eden, no steward has ever behaved that way before. Not ever. Be careful.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I didn't know much about what would happen during the Eternal Walk, but I did know that it would take a while. I also knew that for the most part I would do the Walk alone. There was no way for the King or his advisors to observe the majority of the Walk. But towards the end, when every Immortal would be at their most vulnerable, each Walk was watched from an observation deck that sat high up in the caves.
I knew that I couldn't let Lucan see the truest part of me, but I still didn't know how I was planning on masking that, if this Walk was really as treacherous as I had been led to believe. I did know that I had a little bit of time to figure it out, though, once I experienced what the Walk would actually be like.
I stepped one unsure bare foot inside of the cave and then the other. A gust of colored wind blew past me in a violent way, blowing my hair and shaking me to the core. The cave was actually reacting to me, and that, in itself, was an unbelievable phenomenon.
I took another step forward, willing myself to be confident. Another colored gust of wind whipped past me, only this time wrapping me up inside of it. I was picked up for only a second, but it was enough to want to turn around and leave. The wind that appeared in an iridescent rainbow of glossy colors was more than strong, it was hot.
I swallowed my fear and took two steps forward. This time the painted wind blew past me as if angry, wrapping me up in a whirlwind of fire and burning my skin before setting me down five more feet inside of the cave.
This was not what I expected. I didn't know what to do. The wind whistled through the cavernous ceiling as if getting angrier and angrier at my presence. Another gust of wind and this time when I was set forcefully down it was in a heap on the dirt floor, there were blisters on my forearms and I could smell burning hair.
Avalon is this normal? I demanded, wanting desperately to run back through the mouth of the cave and give up.
No. It's not. He said with dread weighing on him heavily. I could sense he was on the phone with Amory and I could feel his near-hysteric panic. He was not as close by as he had originally planned; I felt him jump down from somewhere high and begin to move towards me.
The wind was there again, a tornado of angry violence, picking me up in its swirling rainbow current and thrashing me about before throwing me down to the ground. My sari was stained with dirt and the skirt was ripping every time I landed hard against the floor.
Avalon. I cried, terrified that Lucan wouldn't have to bother killing me because this cave had a serious issue and would claim me first; but there was nothing. For the first time since I had discovered our connection, Avalon was not on the other side.
I was now fifty feet inside the cave and whatever magical powers the stone walls held, one of them was to cut off the telepathic connection I had with my brother. I looked back at the peaceful jungle out of reach and remembered the elderly steward.
The wind whistled loudly again, angry and vengeful; I knew this was what she meant. I had to be strong. I was strong. I was the most powerful Immortal to ever enter this damned cave and I would be the most powerful Immortal to walk away.
I stood up confidently, mustering all of my strength, staring defiantly forward and daring the wind to fight. And fight it did. The gust of air came at me again, picking me high up into the air and tossing me about. The whirlwind held on to me tightly, burning everywhere it touched, scorching my hair and melting my clothes.
I lashed out in panicked electricity, sending magic from every direction. The colorful wind clashed with the lightning bolts of energy in a resounding sound and brilliant light show. Individual colors seemed to fight my magical force in a torrent of heat and wind.
I struggled to hold on to sanity as my skin burned and my equilibrium was tested, flying wildly about in midair. The tornado took me deeper into the cave, flashing in every color from royal blue, to iridescent purple, to neon green, and canary yellow. The light was blinding and the flashing colors happened in such rapid succession that I had to hold my eyes closed for fear I would lose my vision.
The whistling wind and roar of the circling cyclone grew to an unbearable pitch and I felt like I would go crazy if it didn't stop soon. I sent out more magic, fighting against the destructive current threatening to destroy me.
The heat grew impossibly hotter and I felt as if I was being burned alive. I screamed for help but knew even if Avalon was out there he wouldn't be able to hear me over the roaring winds tossing my body in midair like a rag doll.
What was most disheartening was that I knew even Avalon wouldn't be able to stop this force of nature from tearing me apart and incinerating every last piece of me into nothing.