His eyes widened. "You’ve been…"
Ella was surprised. "Why are you upset? The runes on that amulet simply give it an ability similar to shadow. A novelty — now you see it, now you don’t. Unlike armoursilk, which is a complex fabric, it’s simple to cloak a pendant. And it doesn’t even work, the runes drained a long time ago."
"What? That’s not true."
"How much do you know about lore?"
Killian shrugged, "I don’t know. People draw runes with essence, that’s about it."
"Where did you get it?"
Ella held her breath. Killian took a long time to answer. "My master… The Primate. He gave it to me. He said it was magic, that if I copied the runes onto my skin and said the words it would turn me… well… invisible."
"Killian," Ella said softly. "Lore doesn’t work like that. The runes on the amulet simply give you something to copy."
"What do you mean? That I could copy any runes onto my skin, any at all?"
"I think so. I don’t know what this power you have is, but it is completely new to me."
"Why wouldn’t he tell me that?"
Ella knew she was in dangerous territory now. "I don’t know. Perhaps he thought that was how it worked. The templars don’t have their own lore, after all."
Killian shook his head. "No, he’s very smart. He knows."
Ella could only see one answer. That the Primate didn’t want his prize thief to understand too much about the great power he possessed.
"Does essence ever hurt you?" Ella asked.
"No. It gives me a strange feeling, a tingling sensation, but that’s all."
"What about when you activate the runes, when you say the words?"
"I don’t feel anything. I simply look down at my skin, and I can see through it."
Ella breathed in awe. "Amazing. Have you ever tried any other runes?"
"No, I don’t know any runes."
"Killian, why did you choose me? What does the Primate intend to do with our Lexicon?"
Killian took a deep breath. "Are you sure you want to know?"
"What do you mean? Is it because I’m an enchantress, and that you thought I was an easy target?"
"No, Ella. There’s much more to it than that. The Primate knows who you are, Ella. He made me study you."
Ella felt a chill in her breast. What was Killian saying?
"The Primate said you might be able to tell me the location of the Alturan Lexicon."
"The location? How would I know? Only the High Lord and the High Enchantress know where it’s kept."
Killian stayed silent. Ella felt lost, adrift. She took Killian by the hands. "Tell me!"
"I’ll tell you," Killian said, regarding her with grave eyes. "You deserve to know." He gripped her hands in return.
"Many years ago, there was a war between your house and Tingara. The Halrana fought also, and the Petryans."
"The Rebellion," Ella said.
Killian nodded, "It was when you were only a babe. The Alturan High Lord, Serosa, was captured by the Emperor at the end of the war. He was given up by the man closest to him, Tessolar."
Ella looked into the distance, "They call him Serosa the Dark. They say Tessolar wanted to end the war, but Serosa wouldn’t listen."
"Whatever happened, the Alturan High Lord was scheduled to be killed by Moragon, the Emperor’s executioner. In an attempt to save her husband’s life, High Lord Serosa’s wife visited the Primate to see if he could intervene."
Ella looked up. This was a part of the history that she had never heard. "I didn’t know that. What happened? Did the Primate help her?"
"He said he couldn’t help. So Serosa’s wife offered the Primate the only thing she thought might sway him. As the High Lord’s wife, she knew where the Alturan Lexicon was hidden. She copied part of the book and offered to give the Primate more if he would help her.
"Her attempt was in vain. Serosa was executed. They crucified him on the Azure Plains, while his wife looked on from the walls of Sark."
Ella put her hand to her mouth.
"The Primate had no use for the information Serosa’s wife had given him, or so he thought. The templars had no lore, what would they want with it? Until one day Primate Melovar Aspen discovered a passage he’d missed earlier. It said that it was possible for a Lexicon to be destroyed. There was a method of changing essence into something else. The Primate came to a conclusion. If he could destroy all of the Lexicons, he could remove magic from Merralya completely.
"The Primate investigated, spoke to the other loremasters, but none of the other Lexicons mentioned this new substance. He knew that the only place he could get more information was from the Alturan Lexicon.
"So the Primate visited the woman, who was still traumatised by the death of her husband. He used her fatherless children to threaten her, but it was no use. There was a new High Lord, Tessolar, and the Alturan Lexicon had been moved."