“At least you’re honest,” Minard said.
She snorted. “It saves everyone getting angry at me if we get lost.”
Wrynric drew his sword. “Quiet, I heard something again.”
The men moved as one to form a circle around Kara. They’d been hearing noises behind them the last three hours, an occasional thump or falling pebble. The sounds would’ve been easy to miss in the inhabited parts of the caverns, but so deep into the Great Dark it was eerily silent. Beyond the eternal drip of water or the odd, distant cry of some primordial horror, the only sound was their own breathing.
Erinie shut the device down and the map dissipated. Minard handed Kara the torch and told her to stay behind him.
You must hurry; the enemy is on the move again. They will not stop until life is extinguished.
With the voice coming to Kara so often now, her paranoia and anxiety had grown until they felt like a physical entity gestating inside her ribs. The Great Dark terrified her, and the growing fear of what was happening inside her was near to breaking her resolve.
The closer they got to the Dead City, the stronger the negative feelings became. More frightening was that twice now, for more than a minute, Kara felt like she’d lost control of her own body. The sensation made her feel like one of the puppets from a show she’d watched during a Den Sveta celebration. Her arms and legs moving, without her saying so, controlled by an invisible puppeteer. So far, the invisible puppeteer had done nothing untoward, but what if that changed? What if it did something bad, like make her attack one of her companions? She’d lost control before and struck Aemon. Next time she might kill him.
She suddenly started to feel paranoid again, like she had back at the Bellhole Tavern. With the paranoia came a rising tide of anger seething in her guts. Please, let this end, Kara cried to herself, struggling to keep the rage at bay. I don’t think I can take much more of this.
If Minard learned of what was happening to her, he’d make good on his oath. An oath she’d made him swear.
To kill her if she became a threat.
Minard was probably the only one in the group to have the fortitude to do it. For all Wrynric’s stalwartness, he’d rather see the world burn at Kara’s hand then lay a hand on Arden’s precious half-blood daughter. Kara snarled. Servile old wretch.
Aemon was weak too. No doubt, he’d fair no better than Wrynric. She’d wager Aemon had lied to her face about being willing to kill her if she became a threat. She could make him do anything she wanted, for he was servile just like the old man—except for this one thing.
Kill her.
He wouldn’t do it, even if she begged him. Pitiful boy, playing at being a man.
If what Kara feared was happening to her was true, someone would have to put an end to her—whether they wanted to or not.
Kara caught herself. Was the anger she felt toward Aemon and Wrynric hers, or did it belong to the presence inside? It was hard to tell anymore. She bit her lip. If she could hold it together a little longer, they would get to the Dead City and find the Metal Man. He would help her.
In her visiondreams, the Metal Man had called her Imogen, just as the voice on the surface had done. He said he knew Imogen and that he waits for her return. What would he do if Kara wasn’t who he thought she was?
Hurry. You must hurry.
Kara stiffened as urgency overwhelmed her. When she could breathe, she said, “We need to keep moving.”
Wrynric glanced at her over his shoulder. “We wait a few minutes. If we don’t hear anything again, we’ll move on.”
They listened, but heard nothing except their own breathing and the trickle of water. Reluctantly, Wrynric motioned them forward. Minard took the rear, while Erinie and the old warrior walked vanguard.
Aemon hovered near Kara, like he’d done since leaving Safehold. Twice she’d stumbled and twice he’d caught her. It gladdened her to have him so close, for without his calming presence, the raging torrent of emotions would’ve swept her away.
When they got to the edge of the chasm, Wrynric said, “Tread carefully, all of you. Aemon, if Kara looks like she’s going to fall, do whatever you can to stop her.”
Aemon stepped so close to Kara that she feared if one of them fell, the other would go with them.
They walked along a narrow ledge, keeping as far from the edge of the chasm as they could. To their left was a wall of stone and to the right, a fathomless black void that seemed to feed on torchlight.
After a short distance, the ledge narrowed and the ground became increasingly uneven and slick with moisture. It wasn’t long before they had to walk so close to the edge that one misstep could cost them their life. Kara grew so tired she could barely keep her eyes open, nor stand without leaning heavily on her staff.
An hour later, Erinie stopped them. “Not far from here, we’ll have to jump across the chasm.” Erinie smiled at Kara. “This is where things start to get hard, scion. If you feel you need help, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Aemon groaned deep in his throat. “I thought things were already hard.”
Erinie chuckled. “Wait until you see some of the cliffs we have to climb. You’ll look back over the last few days with fondness.”
“How far is it to the Dead City from here?” Minard asked.
“It depends on how fast you can climb, sweetheart,” Erinie said with a huge, toothy grin. “We’ve a lot of climbing ahead of us and need to keep our pace slow for the scion, so it’s going to take at least another three or four days to get there.”
“Most of our journey from here is going to be heading upwards,” Wrynric said. “It’ll be long, grueling and dangerous. We’ll be lucky if we don’t encounter some of the monsters living out here, so keep your weapons close and eyes open.”
Aemon muttered something under his breath that Kara couldn't make out. She ran her fingers through her wet, matted hair. Why did he care about what lay ahead? Nothing mattered anymore.
The chasm twisted and turned, the path uneven. Rounding another corner, Erinie and Wrynric came to an abrupt halt.
“Alright, that’s where we have to jump.” Wrynric pointed at a flat ledge some eight feet away, on the far side of the chasm. “I’ll go first, then Erinie. Monk, I want you to throw Kara over to me and come last.”
Kara didn’t argue with being thrown over by Minard, for she didn’t have the strength to make it on her own. Aemon went rigid, his eyes wide. He saw her watching him and stood as tall as he could. “Do not worry about me; I can handle this.”
Minard slapped him on the back. “Of course you can. All you have to do is jump.”
Aemon stumbled forward. When he righted himself, he spun to face the monk. “I could have fallen, you...”
The monk grinned. “You what?”
“Shut up, both of you,” Wrynric snapped. “Aemon, guard the rear until you’re ready to leap across.”
Aemon took position as Wrynric and Erinie tossed over their equipment. The clangs and thuds their equipment made as it landed echoed along the chasm.
Kara gazed back the way they’d come. Did they have to make so much noise? What if something heard?
When the last item was across, they fell silent and listened until the echo of their labors faded to nothing. Kara breathed again. Perhaps nothing was out there, and her fear had been for nothing.
You must hurry!
Wrynric leapt over the chasm and landed deftly on his feet, chain armor jangling. Minard tossed over the torch and the old warrior caught it and waited for Erinie to jump. She leapt over, and he caught her and pulled her away from the edge.
“Your turn, scion,” Minard said.
First, the monk threw over Kara’s staff, then picked her up. After the count of three, he hurled her into the waiting arms of Wrynric. The old warrior held her until he was certain she could stand on her own. “Stay close while we wait for the others,” he told her and motioned her to go stand next to Erinie.
Kara watched Aemon walk to th
e edge and peer into the darkness below him. “Don’t look down,” Wrynric said. “Back up a bit, then run and jump.”
When Aemon didn’t move, Minard dragged him back. Aemon fought free of the monk’s grip. Then without warning, he raced toward the chasm and leapt into the air. Wrynric lunged forward and grabbed him as he landed. “Give me a bit of warning next time, boy,” the old man snarled.
Aemon went and stood next to Kara, his legs shaking so violently she offered him her staff. He waved it away. “I never want to do that again.”
She gave him a distracted half-grin, then watched Minard make the jump. When the monk was safely across, Erinie took out the map device to plot the next step of their journey. When she was done searching the map, they gathered up everything and moved off.
After what seemed like half a lifetime on their hands and knees in cramped orange-brown tunnels, they arrived at a cavernous chamber. They moved some distance in, then stopped to stretch tight muscles and rub sore knees. While she stretched, Kara used her dark-vision to scan ahead. Her eyes were drawn to several large, circular mounds about sixty feet away, near the center of the chamber.
They didn’t look part of the cave. She crept to the edge of the torchlight to get a better look. “Scion, don’t wander off,” Erinie said.
Kara ignored the librarian’s warning and kept moving toward the mounds. She heard the jingle of Wrynric’s armor as he moved to stop her. It no longer mattered; she knew what the mounds were and could see what had made them.
“Shhh, stay quiet,” she whispered. “I can see seven bone mounds with huge, spiny creatures sitting on top of them.”
One of the creatures stood and turned toward the torchlight. It was twenty feet long, with sharp spines running along its back, its face ending in a long, toothless beak that reminded her of the birds at the zoo in the capital. She backed away. “I think one of them has seen us.”
Wrynric dragged Kara back to the others. “Erinie, find where we came in. I think we’ve run into an aurtark nest.”
Two of the aurtarks began making hooting sounds, and suddenly the once-silent chamber rang with the hoots of dozens more. The strange calls came from all around them, the sound near deafening. More of the creatures emerged from holes bored out of the rock and joined in on the chorus.
The five companions ran back the way they’d come, weapons in hand. Compared to the smaller, more agile aurtarks, the larger ones moved ponderously slow. Kara quickly lost count of how many there were. Beyond the torchlight, all around them, baleful eyes shone white in her dark-vision.
Minard shouted over his shoulder, “I see the exit, just ahead.”
A small aurtark leapt at Kara, but she ducked and it harmlessly flew over her head. Another went for Wrynric, but he sent it flying backwards with a swift kick to its face.
Gibbering, another leapt from the darkness and landed on Aemon’s back, sending him onto his belly. He screamed and tried to crawl away as the creature attempted to take a bite out of his arm but instead got its jaws caught on a bag strap. Minard brought his staff down on its head and crushed its skull. After a second blow to make sure it was dead, he kicked it off Aemon’s back and helped him back to his feet.
Erinie was busy mixing powder in a bowl as she ran and didn’t seem to notice she was running head-long at another aurtark. Kara screamed a warning and Erinie veered left, a moment before the creature leapt for her. It flew past her and slammed into one of its kin coming up behind Kara, sending them both crashing to the ground.
They arrived at the exit and Wrynric shoved Kara in. She crawled as fast as she could behind Aemon, who led the way, hoping the other three would be right behind her.
Suddenly, a wave of heat struck her from behind, launching her forward onto her stomach. The tunnel shook as a violent, earsplitting roar echoed along it. The sound hammered back and forth along the tunnel, and all Kara could do was cover her ears and pray it would be over quickly.
The sound died and she shakily got to her knees. She couldn’t hear anything beyond the ringing in her ears. What happened? Had the tunnel collapsed?
Aemon sat up, eyes glazed. Light shone from somewhere behind her. She turned and saw Wrynric racing along the tunnel toward them.
Reality set in. Regardless of what had just happened, they had to get moving.
Kara shoved Aemon forward until he started to move. Minutes later, they burst from the tunnel into a small chamber, with barely enough room to stand. There they stopped to catch their breaths. The ringing in her ears had eased, but it left her with a headache.
Aemon leaned against the side of the chamber, still dazed from the ordeal. Kara joined him and watched as Wrynric, Minard and then Erinie crawled out of the tunnel. Minard hunched against the wall, teeth gritted, hands covering his ears. The librarian quickly checked on Kara. Seeing Kara was alright, she went to check on the old man.
Wrynric waved her away. “I’m alright; my back’s been worse.”
“I could give you something for the pain.”
“No, I can deal with it. I can’t afford to be groggy.”
Minard shook his head. “What in the blessed lights was that explosion? I think I’ve lost half my bloody hearing.”
Wrynric knelt stiffly beside the passage they’d emerged from, his sword ready to plunge down on any aurtark still following them. Without turning around, he said, “I told you back at Rylore Bellholes that Erinie could handle herself.”
The librarian jiggled the fingers on her right hand. “I used my magic, sweetheart—so you better drag me back to Stelemia to face trial for heresy.”
Minard rested his staff across his shoulders and stretched out his spine. “They’d probably just banish you to the Great Dark, but you already live out here so it wouldn’t be much of a punishment, now would it?”
“Or they might throw me into the Well of Remorse,” Erinie added. “Or drown me in Crystal Lake.”
Minard held the stretch. “Or that.” He lowered his staff. “Now are you going to stop making fun of me and tell me what you really did?”
Wrynric sheathed his sword. “It was alchemy. Erinie just saved our lives.”
“I blew up the entrance to the tunnel using an explosive concoction I made, so the beasts couldn’t follow us in. Even still, we should get a move on before they find another way to reach us.”
“Was the nest there the last time you were here, or did you take us the wrong way?” Minard asked.
“I told you the map device is not always accurate. You better get used to me taking wrong turns and leading you to dead ends.”
The monk chuckled. “Well, next time you make us go the wrong way, see that you don’t lead us into another nest of hungry beasts.”
She gave him a playful slap on the cheek, then gestured toward a small opening in the wall. “Get back on your knees, boy, for you’ve got crawling to do.”
Minard groaned, then got on all fours and followed her into the tunnel.
FOUR HOURS LATER, AFTER a strenuous journey through tight, rib-squeezing passages, they arrived in another chamber. Near where they entered, a limestone flowstone had naturally formed into an arch, its surface bathed in a sickly green luminescence.
Erinie looked up as she walked toward the arch. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Why does it glow like that?” Aemon asked.
She grinned. “You’ll find out when we get there.”
Kara leaned on her staff as she followed the others toward the glowing arch. As they approached it, her curiosity was piqued when the light became so bright it nullified her dark-vision. All she could see was the arch and a wall of impenetrable darkness beyond. It looked like a doorway to a void of infinite black.
Finally, she saw what was creating the glow. Growing over the flowstone were colonies of phosphorescent bacteria, but the light they emitted was different to the ones in Stelemia. It was weaker and more diffuse. Kara had never seen the bacteria up close and was surprised to find that it was little more than a
thin, translucent film. The film coated the entirety of the arch but not the rock around it.
Aemon tentatively touched the glowing rock and the bacteria made his fingertip glow. “Why does it only grow here?”
Erinie shrugged. “That’s one of the many mysteries of the Nether that’ll never be solved.”
They passed under the arch and left it behind, and were once again bathed only in torchlight. Soon they reached the edge of the chamber and stopped.
“We have to climb here,” Erinie said, then took the torch from Wrynric and held it over her head, and revealed a rope hanging from the wall.
Wrynric tugged on the rope. “We left it behind when we were out here.” He started unpacking their climbing equipment. “Don’t worry, it’s not a long climb. Once we’re at the top, we’ll make camp.”
After the old man handed out the equipment, he helped Kara attach herself to Minard’s back. Minard started up the rope, the old warrior following close behind.
The ascent was no more than fifty feet, and they all got to the top without issue. They made camp a dozen feet from the edge, on the only part of the ground that bore any semblance to being flat.
Aemon helped Kara off Minard’s back, then fussed over her until she was comfortably seated. “Thank you,” she said.
He nodded. “How are you holding up?”
She forced a smile. “I’m tired, sore and I could do with a wash. What more is there to say?”
A lot really, but how could she tell him how she really felt without the others hearing?
“You would tell me if you thought something was wrong with you, right?” He studied her closely. “I worry about you.”
“I know you do. With each passing hour, we get closer to the Metal Man. It won’t be long and all this will be over.” She shook her head. “Well, except the long walk back and facing down the enemy in Stelemia.”
“Yes, and fighting the Final Battle to end our exile.”
Heir to a Lost Sun: A Caverns of Stelemia Novel Page 34