Page 44 of Dawn of Hope

There is only one way to find out.

Hope swells in my chest at the thought. Could this really be a clue? Was the story riddled with images of clues that I need to put together? I need to get back to the library and look at each of the drawings. Maybe there was some kind of code that gave directions?

That would be a task for tomorrow. In the meantime, I can at least try to find the fountain and see if I notice anything that might point to Dawnlin, or a cipher of some kind.

I don’t remember where it is exactly in the city. None of our maps had any fountains on them, which also seems odd. Why would it not be depicted, especially when there are buildings surrounding it I know are on the maps? I walk faster, excitement fueling me, and look down every alley I pass.

Not a single person is around now, and the low burning torches lining the main roads are not giving off much light. A chill that has nothing to do with the cold mist in the air runs up my spine. I am alone, in the dark, far away from the castle and anyone who would help me.

I reach back and graze the dagger tucked into my waistband, feeling a small twinge of comfort that Brynne reminded me to bring it.

I round a corner and peer down the way, instantly recognizing where I am.

There.

This is the same place I had run into Dane before. I’d all but given up hope that I’d run into him tonight, especially since there is no one walking the roads this far out. My sole focus now is finding the fountain and figuring out if there really is a connection to the story.

I glance over my shoulder, making sure there is no one approaching, and creep into the alley. It is as empty as the first time I saw it, the surrounding buildings lifeless and dark. The cobblestones are broken and uneven, and not the same shape or quality as the rest of the roads in the city. It’s as if this alley isn’t connected to the rest of the city at all, or like it has been here for so long, the structures were built around it.

I glance around the alley as I enter, making sure there isn’t anyonehiding in the shadows. The weight of my dagger in my waistband reminds me I am not vulnerable, alone in this dark alley in the middle of the night. I can protect myself.

As I slowly step closer, I get a clearer view of the structure in front of me. The fountain is old and worn down, very different from the one depicted in the story. There is no water flowing, as you would expect in a fountain. Not even a trickle. It just stands in the middle of the alley, stagnant and lifeless.

The carved white stone takes shape before my eyes. A pedestal rises out of the center and atop it sits what looks like a mountain. Empty holes are carved into the sides, which would most likely cascade into small pools below, creating waterfalls down the pedestal before falling into the large round base.

I lean in to examine it and see the design is far more intricate the closer you get. The small, empty pools are carved with animals and creatures, some that seem to be of other worlds. A beautiful woman has her hand dipped into the pool she is sitting above, which then pours into the base of the fountain. There are others like her, all with different carved designs but completely void of water.

I circle around the fountain, in awe at the beautiful carvings, when I stop short.

This is it. This has to be it.

There is a cup…no, not a cup. A chalice, positioned to catch water that falls from a hole in the mountain. Just above the lip of the chalice, as if it is rising out of the cup itself, is the sun.

Dawn.

Is this a sign? The symbol of dawn rising out of a cup of the elixir?

The fountainhasto be connected to the story.

My heart pounds quickly in my ears, blocking out all other sounds. There has to be something to decipher, something that would lead me there. My eyes rapidly scan the carvings on the chalice. Families with babies, animals, flowers.

All things that are signs of life and growth.

Life that this magical elixir would bring back to anyone who drank it.

I’d found it.

I’d found the key to getting to Dawnlin.

Edmond was right. He said I had all the information I needed and had faith that I could figure it out. It was so subtle, the fountain in the back of the drawing in the story, but something about it stuck in my memory, pulling me back here to find it.

It must have known I needed it.

I want to tell Dane. He was looking for it too, to help his sister. Well, I assume he was, since he brought it up to me. I need to figure out how to call the Guardian, and then go find Dane tomorrow. We could go together and have twice the chance of being successful. I’d save my mother, and he, his sister.

I run my hands over the fountain, looking for anything and everything that might lead me to how to call the Guardian. A switch, or a button on the stone, even something that looks like the puzzle boxes Edmond gave me as a child. I search every square inch, but there is nothing obvious. I don’t find any inscriptions or directions, no set of carved images that look like the story. There is nothing more indicating that this is the key to Dawnlin, other than the sun over the chalice.

Siting on the edge of the pool, I lean over to look into the water. The bottom is hidden under the layers of dirt and needles from the Blackwood trees, possibly hiding any inscriptions there. I scan the surface and hesitate. The water is less than inviting, and I cringe before I stick my hands into it and run them along the smooth stone, feeling for any hint, but my fingers find nothing.