Page 52 of Tear of Destiny
In the third case is an old book with a leather cover that’s come loose in places. The lettering is so faded that I can’t read the title.
The last thing I see is difficult to describe in words. A strange light dances inside the fourth case. I move a step closer. I’ve never seen anything like it before. A blue teardrop of light hovers in the air, emitting small flickering flames.
“Fascinating, no?” says Alessandro beside me.
I flinch. I’d completely forgotten about him. “What… what is all this stuff?” I ask with a sweeping gesture.
“Treasures collected by the Fabrici family over the years. I suspect that the legends surrounding some of these things aren’t true. But the objects themselves are unique and very old.”
I look up at the shelves again. All these books, the clock, the coins, knives, and figurines – they’re all supposed to be special items with some connection to the world of the key carriers? I look at the glass cases again. These are without a doubt the most valuable things in the room.
“This here,” he says, pointing at the shirt, “is supposed to be the shirt worn by Ernest Cunningham.”
I look at him cluelessly, and he continues undeterred.
“He was the first person to renounce the goddesses. He tried to convince the other people charged with protecting the goddesses of destiny that they had to be stopped. That they never did any good anymore and increasingly amused themselves by tormenting humans and taking pleasure in their misery. But part of the group that wanted to liberate themselves from the goddesses planned to take the goddesses’ power and use it for themselves. Their aim was to take one of them prisoner and force her to change their destinies, or even better, to transfer her power to one of them. Eventually there was an uprising; the group split, and in all the chaos, two of the three goddesses fled. They only managed to apprehend one of them, and it was Ernest who killed her.”
My eyes widen as I stare at the shirt. I’m stunned and don’t know what to say. But it doesn’t matter because Alessandrocheerfully continues.
“This necklace here was worn by one of the goddesses who lived around 1895. One of the first Tempes sealed her fate. According to legend, some of her power still resides in it.”
I take another look at the beautifully crafted necklace, the owner of which met such a terrible end. I know that the goddesses of destiny inflict misery on humanity and need to be stopped, but I’m horrified at the idea of being betrayed by people you trusted and who were supposed to protect you.
“This book is really special. It’s one of the five divine books.”
My pulse instantly accelerates.
“The goddesses once had their own library where they kept books that only they could access. Their entire body of knowledge was stored there. Information intended for the goddesses alone and enormously valuable. Only the goddesses could read the language they were written in. One page of this book is said to have been translated once. An imprisoned goddess was forced to do it. But, uh, she didn’t complete more than one page. It’s supposedly about the everyday lives of the goddesses.”
I can guess the reason that this woman only translated one page. Maybe she took her own life, the way Chloe did. Or she may have been murdered.
I look at the book and feel pure adrenalin shoot through my veins. This must have been part of the library I’m searching for. Will the clue behind the door in the Odyss lead me to another book? Maybe even here at some point? Is it these divine books themselves that I’m supposed to find? Or is it about the location of the library? I curse silently and wish I’d gotten some useful information out of Patricia. I’d like to visit her again, but I doubt I’d survive that.
“And that brings us to our most valuable possession by far,” Alessandro continues, stepping up to the glass case.
His expression changes to one of reverence, and when I turn to look at the glowing object, a cold shudder runs through me. I sense that there’s something very special about this phenomenon.
“It’s the tear of the goddess Clotho, the first one to be killed by the Tempes.”
I recall the name Alessandro just mentioned. “Ernest Cunningham.”
He nods slowly. “He managed to capture her amid all the chaos. Supposedly, the goddess was so horrified at being betrayed by her own people that she swore never to relinquish her power to anyone. But it wasn’t about that for Cunningham. He just wanted to stop her, and he knew the only way to do that was to kill her. As the legend goes, a tear trickled down her cheek as she drew her last breath. It contained all her hate, anger, grief, and disappointment. But what she didn’t realize was that her emotions held incredible power. It’s said that there’s nothing more valuable in the world than this tear. If you drink it, it heals all wounds and illnesses. And the best part: whoever uses the tear is supposed to find the thing that the goddess was denied – peace of mind.”
I stare at the strange formation, radiant blue with little flickering flames. “And you believe that?”
He laughs sardonically and shakes his head. “Nobody has ever dared to use this treasure for their own benefit. It’s possible that the legends surrounding her have been embellished over time and that some of the things that are said about her aren’t true. But if there’s even a grain of truth to it, then this is an incredibly powerful artifact.”
I gaze at it and feel goosebumps all over my body. I understand that this object is not just extraordinary but worth more than all the gold in the world.
Chapter 22
I’m standing near the bus stop where I agreed to meet Noah; I pace back and forth a few times. I’m tense, agitated, unsure what will happen today. Will I finally succeed in summoning the door? I’ve met up with Noah several times in the last few weeks to try again – in vain. At times, I felt like I was on the verge of a breakthrough, which only made the disappointment worse.
I keep wondering what’s behind that door. Will we find one of the divine books like the one I saw at the Fabrici house? And what if we do? What am I supposed to do with it if nobody can read it? Except Patricia of course. Maybe Noah could take the book to the goddess. The Noctu might let him in to see her. But would Patricia agree to help? And Andrew would surely want to know where Noah found the book and then confiscate it to show it to the Assembly. No, that’s not an option.
I take a deep breath and try to organize my thoughts. The party at the Fabrici house was two weeks ago. It was illuminating, and not only because I got to see the tear and the other precious objects. I also started to form an impression of the Council members, and now I know that my assumptions about themweren’t too far off the mark. A lot of them seem to care more about their position and preserving their power than anything else. So they’re interested in me for that reason, although a few, such as Alessandro’s brother, don’t have high hopes for me. I was really glad when the evening came to an end and I hadn’t been forced to talk to Claire. She was too busy mingling with the guests and comparing notes with the younger generation of Council members.
“You look pretty tense,” I hear a voice say beside me.