Curseborn Saga - Fade to Black Page B

had disappeared.
    Remi would have agreed, had it not been the Force Corps who were summoning them. The Force Corps and the Shield Corps were almost as powerful as the Empress of Soria. There was absolutely no one who ignored their orders. “It’ll be fine, Maile, I’m sure it’s safe,” she lied.
    “Hurry up, you two! This is Force Corps tower – the Force Corps tower!” yelled Baelie, who was already plunging down the strange dark passage.
    Remi and Maile took a deep breath, and followed their sister. The pathway was so narrow they had to walk in single file, and the sides of the walls were lined with hardened earth. Small chunks of dirt and rock occasionally fell into the pathway, startling them, and Remi regretted the moment she reached her hand out to touch its sides, feeling a chill of cold rock and moisture. Upon glancing at the rocks in the dirt, she noticed they had glowing blue veins running through them, and with that light, they were able to make their way through. The smell of mud and dirt loomed around them like an invisible cloud and it wasn’t long before they came upon a tall stone door with the insignia of the Empress carved upon it – a lone shield positioned behind a rising spear with a fire-blowing dragon twisting up the shaft.
    “Should we—” Remi was interrupted as the towering door shook and slid to the sides, releasing a sound of rock scraping over rock and revealing the entrance to the tower. Inside, two female guards stared at the three sisters as if a stray dog had just appeared on their doorstep and they knew not what to do with it.
    “Reporting as ordered!” said Baelie, and gave the Sorian salute, which involved thrusting her fist inwards and positioning it before her chest with her elbow was bent out to the side.
    “Eh?” said one of the guards in a voice that could barely be recognized as female. She wore light armor, a skirt of silver and a tight black tunic covered with links of steel. It was the basic uniform given to all female soldiers of Risia. She had short violet hair that barely reached past her ears and wore a harsh expression, as if she had been forced to open the tower door too many times that day.
    As the three sisters stood there motionlessly, the other female guard broke the silence. “These are the ones ,” she said, “the pretty little adopted daughters of the Empress. How blessed we are to be graced by your presences.”
    Something about her voice made Remi feel as if she were looking down on them, almost like she had offended the soldier in some way, yet had no idea as to how. Maile stood cowering behind her, trying with all her might not to be seen.
    “No need to fear, I have arrived!” boasted Baelie.
    “Excellent,” said one of the guards, rolling her eyes.
    “Maybe not all pretty” the other guard muttered with a smirk.
    Remi glared at the guards, “Are you going to let us pass or keep us out in the dirt all day?”
    After a brief hesitation and few more glances of unexpected contempt, the two female soldiers lifted their silver pikes with dangling red ribbons and allowed the three sisters entrance to the tower.
    “By all means, enter oh royal ones.”
    “I mean no intrusion,” whispered little Maile as she entered, but the two guards ignored her.
    Remi watched as Baelie walked quickly into the center of the massive circular room. The inside of the tower glowed with such a pure white that Remi could not believe it was the same stone used to build the exterior of the tower. Bright lanterns gave off a bluish glow from crevices in the stone. Dozens of ancient weapons were hung all around, each one before a deep black shield with the engraving of the Empress’s Insignia on it.
    “Never thought I’d be standing in here …” muttered Remi. Maile clung to her side.
    At the far end of the room stood a silvery glass container the size of a small room. Tiny emerald stones were placed with perfect precision around its base and circling around it