Page 39 of Wicked Curses
Orin studied the witch before focusing on the road and the buildings beyond. He couldn’t see the pit from here, but it was out there.
“What about the arrows?” he inquired. “What do they mean?”
“I have no idea,” Sahira admitted. “I’d like to go back to the pit.”
The sun was setting, and he was scheduled to be at the pub soon, but he wouldn’t miss this. She might be onto something.
What that something was, he didn’t know, but he could handle Belda’s wrath. Besides, no one got banished after their first offense.
Belda would understand they were chasing possibilities. He smirked, as even he didn’t believe the lie, but he would see where the witch took this.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
Sahira stoppedat the edge of the pit. Dirt kicked out from under her feet and clicked against the sides as it tumbled to the bottom of the large hole.
She wouldn’t consider it a canyon, but it was a good two hundred feet in every direction. It was wider than deeper, but that was probably because they were searching for the mark to be etched into stone.
“What if they hacked the mark away while digging?” she asked.
“Belda said they were extremely careful not to do that,” Zeth said. “It took them years of excavation to form this pit. Before then, they settled disputes in a ring.”
“What if they have to go deeper to find it?”
“They can’t. They couldn’t dig any deeper with the tools they had. There’s about a foot-deep layer of dirt over it now because of the wind and drifting sand, but it’s solid rock underneath. Not even the witches had a spell to break through it.”
Blowing out a breath, Sahira lifted her head to examine the rocky mountains in the distance. Despite their inability to open a portal out, the town was safe and remote, except once a year when the scarogs came to play.
“Has anyone explored beyond those mountains?” she asked.
“Many of the banished have headed for the mountains; no one’s seen them again,” Zeth answered.
“They never left this realm,” Orin said.
“How do you know?” Sahira demanded.
“Even if only one of them escaped this realm, they would have told their story to anyone who would listen. And that story would have gotten around.”
“That doesn’t mean we would have heard it. We’ve been preoccupied with other things recently.”
“Iwould have heard it. I have immortals who report to me from all over the realms. Such a story would have made its way back to me. I’m sure of it.”
Sahira planted her hands on her hips, but she didn’t argue. Hedidhave immortals all over.
“I went out there for a couple of days a few months after I first arrived. It was the same old scenery to me, except there’s no food, no drink, and no shelter,” Zeth said.
“But what if we’re meant to go farther than the mountains?”
“And then onward for an eternity?” Orin asked.
She had to admit that sounded a little ridiculous and impossible, but… “I’m just trying to figure it out. If the symbols and original buildings are meant to form a compass rose, then there should be one here, but there’s not. The symbol is an eight, so there should also be eight of them, but there’s not. And since it’s not here, maybe it’s meant to be an infinity sign showing us this should go on forever or at least farther than we think.”
“So, instead of being trapped here for eternity, we’re meant to wander out there for one,” Orin said.
He didn’t sound sarcastic but more resigned and curious about this. When he turned to look at her, a calculating gleam shimmered in his eyes, and she could practically hear the wheels spinning in his brain.
“Is going out there worth the risk of death?” Orin asked.
“Is that any worse than being trapped here for eternity?”
