But it also wasn’t normal at all, Jonas thought as they walked past two massive stone wheels that lay in the stretch of green land between the meadow and the crystal city itself.
“What are they?” he asked.
“Those are the gateways immortals use to enter our world,” Lucia explained. “In their hawk form.”
Jonas realized then that he hadn’t seen any hawks lately. At least, not the kind that were as large and golden as the ones he knew to be spying immortals.
Perhaps he just hadn’t been paying close enough attention.
After the stone gateways, Jonas spotted other differences between the Sanctuary and the mortal world. The colors here were more vivid and jewel-like. The grass was a bright emerald green, and the red flowers that dotted the field resembled sparkling rubies.
The sky was bright blue—the true color of a perfectly cloudless summer day.
But there was no sun here, only an undetermined source of light.
“Where’s the sun?” he asked.
Lucia looked up at the sky, shielding her eyes from the brightness. “They don’t seem to have one. But it’s always day here.”
Jonas shook his head. “How is that possible?”
“Let’s focus on getting to the city, shall we? Then you can ask Timotheus any question you want. Hopefully you’ll have better luck getting answers than I ever have.”
The city had tall protective walls, much like the City of Gold, but its gates were open and unguarded.
Lucia hesitated only a moment before she walked through them and into the city itself.
Jonas couldn’t keep up with all the sights before him. The City of Gold and Hawk’s Brow were the two wealthiest cities in Auranos. Gold was inlaid into the stonework of the sparkling roads, and both cities were immaculately clean. Both cities, however, paled in comparison to the beauty and wonder of this one. It seemed to be entirely created out of crystal and silver and transparent, delicate glass. Shining, colorful mosaics coated the maze of roads that led them deeper into this waking dream.
The buildings were taller than anything Jonas had ever seen before, even taller than either the Auranian or Limerian palaces, with spires that reached high into the sky. Here, the individual structures were narrow, with angular, jagged edges that reminded him of the monolith itself. They stretched up twice as tall as a sentry’s tower, but he’d never seen a tower made from anything but stone and brick.
“Incredible,” Jonas muttered. “But where is everyone?”
Lucia didn’t seem to be as awed by the sights as he was; she was far too busy walking deeper into the city. “There are not many immortals here, considering the size of this city,” she said. “Perhaps two hundred or so. It makes this place seem completely empty.”
“Yes, it certainly does,” he agreed.
“Strange, though,” she said with a frown. “I would have thought we’d have seen someone by now.”
He heard the uneasiness in her tone, and it worried him.
Jonas followed Lucia to a clearing that looked to be two hundred paces in diameter. In the center of this space stood a tower three times as tall as any other in the city, one that stretched high into the sky like a shining beacon of light.
“This tower has been home to the elders,” Lucia told him. “It’s like their palace. When I was here, all the other immortals gathered in this square to hear an announcement from Timotheus.”
Jonas scanned the vacant area, frowning.
“Something seems wrong, princess,” he said. “Do you feel it?”
He couldn’t exactly put his finger on it. It was like the same chill in the air he’d felt in the Forbidden Mountains, just before they’d reach the crystal monolith. For all its exquisite, otherworldly beauty, this city felt like . . .
Death, he thought.
Lucia nodded. “I feel it too. Where is everyone? This isn’t right.”
“Wouldn’t they be concerned that two people just strolled through the city gates unexpectedly?” he asked.
“They didn’t notice me the last time, not right away. But then I met Mia, the girl in the tavern.”
“The one who couldn’t remember anything.”
Lucia nodded gravely.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, Jonas saw something flicker on the wall of one of the towers nearby. Light and dark, light and dark, like the rapid blinking of an eye.
It was changing color from a shining silver to . . .
The image of an old man.
Lucia gasped. “Timotheus?”
Jonas stared up at what indeed looked like a very old Timotheus, with white hair and a wrinkled face.
“Yes, it’s me,” the image said. “Your eyes do not deceive you.”
Jonas realized then that this wasn’t just an image—it was Timotheus, somehow appearing on the side of this tower to look down upon them standing in the middle of the massive, empty square.
“What happened?” Lucia asked, her eyes wide. “Why do you look like this?”
“Because I’m dying,” Timotheus replied, his voice was small and distant.
“What do you mean you’re dying?” Jonas demanded. “You’re immortal. You can’t die!”
“Immortals most certainly can die,” he replied. “It just takes us a lot longer than mortals.”
“Timotheus . . .” Lucia stepped forward, her shoulders tense. “It’s urgent that I speak with you.”
Timotheus shook his head. “You shouldn’t be here. I saw in a vision that you would both come, but I hoped very much you would change your minds. Alas, you didn’t. But now you need to leave immediately.”
Lucia’s hands fisted at her sides. “I can’t leave! Kyan’s taken my daughter and my magic . . . it’s weak right now. I don’t know if I can imprison him and the others.” Her voice was shaking. “I need to save my daughter, and I don’t know how. I came here to ask for your help.”
“I can be no help to you,” he replied grimly. “Not anymore.”
“But you have to be,” Jonas said, stepping forward. “We need answers. We came all this way. I don’t even know how it’s possible I’m here.”
“You don’t?” Timotheus chuckled. “Young man, you have so much magic within you right now I’m surprised it’s not bursting through your very skin.”
He could sense that? Jonas didn’t feel any different than ever before. “How do you know that?”
“I know that because I’ve placed a great deal of that magic within you myself.”
Jonas gaped up at him. “You what?”
“Some mortals over the centuries have proven themselves to be excellent carriers of magic. You are one of them.”
Lucia looked back and forth between the two of them. “What do you mean, he’s a carrier of magic?”
“Just like a rich mortal uses a bank to store his gold—and the same bank to borrow from,” Timotheus explained. “This is Jonas’s purpose and part of his destiny. I thought he would prove very useful, and he has.”
“Wait,” Jonas said. “What are you saying? You put most of this magic inside me? How did you do that?”
Timotheus gazed down at him patiently. “You wouldn’t understand even if I told you. And there’s no time to explain.”