“What is that?” I whispered.
“The power of Bethalial,” Adara said in my mind.
“Like the chest we’re after?”
“I do not know of any chest.”
Her reply made me uneasy. What if we were searching for something that didn’t exist? What if the chest was no longer in the ruins?
“What do we do if we can’t find the chest?” I asked Dash as nerves and uncertainty welled up inside me. I’d been so focused on getting to the ruins I hadn’t yet considered what we would do when we reached them. “What if it’s not here? What if I can’t complete my favor?”
He looked over at me, concern flickering through his gaze. “I don’t know,” he replied. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that. The chest will be here. The nameless one can see the future and wouldn’t have sent us here if it were gone.”
I nodded and tried to remain calm. If the chest wasn’t here, I would need to search the ends of the Earth for it to fulfill my favor. But Dash was right. I couldn’t think why the nameless one would send me on a mission I couldn’t complete, and I could tell how badly he wanted the object inside the chest. Adara must not be aware of the chest. She had said the power we could sense belonged to Bethalial after all, so we had to be on the right track. I blew out a deep breath, realizing that it was fruitless to worry. The chest would be there or it wouldn’t, and I would cross that bridge when I came to it.
The ancient structures around us grew taller and more expansive as we got closer to the wall that was becoming more and more visible through the mist. The ruins had been little more than rubble when we’d first started out that morning, but now I could see old doorways and empty windows that provided some insight into the civilization that had once lived here.
The rich scent of magic also became more intense with every step Adara took. I hoped that meant we were getting closer to the chest. If it was really in the ruins somewhere, I felt like the chest and the object within had to be at the source of the magic I could smell.
When we finally made it to the imposing wall, I had to tilt my head back to look up at the towering barrier. Mist still ebbed and flowed over the top of the wall, and as the fog drifted through the air, I could make out large gaps where huge sections of stone had crumbled away. We rode along the base of the wall until we came to a large gap we could pass through. Huge chunks of rock were mounded across the opening, and the mari lwyd had to step carefully as we made our way over the debris and to the other side.
My grip on Adara’s back tightened as we got our first glimpse of the ancient palace that must have once stood proudly behind the wall. A large area of fractured pavement stretched out before us, and beyond that was a set of wide steps that led up to the majority of the ruins. Several cracked and broken pillars marked what must have once been the entrance to the main section of the palace. Only one of the pillars stood tall and unblemished with the rest either lying shattered on the ground or leaning against one another for support.
The ruins beyond the pillars didn’t look much better. Most of the palace was little more than blocks of rubble covering the ground, but off to one corner I could see part of the structure remained standing. The tall stone walls rose up several floors in height. Fog curled around old archways and formed a screen over the empty hollows of ancient windows. Large sections of the walls were missing, and the remains didn’t look stable, but I knew that was where we needed to go, and I could feel the power of the place pulling me toward it.
I tried to imagine what the palace had once been like, and I wondered how it had been destroyed. The place was a silent grave for a civilization no one would ever know about though, and the thought saddened me as we started into the palace ruins.
We rode up the steps and headed toward the portion of the building that remained standing. The mist continued to roll and swirl among the ruins, briefly revealing hints of the structures around us before obscuring them from sight once more. It was cold, but it was the kind of chill that settled in your soul rather than cooled your skin. I could almost feel the horror the place must have endured in the air around me, and I felt like I was intruding upon something that would rather be left undisturbed.
As we rode over the rubble, I noticed the cracked head of a small stone statue among the scattered rocks. It was the face of a stone fairy with a spout coming out of its mouth. It looked just like one of the fairies from the water feature in front of the Northern Realm castle, and the sight of it upset me more than any of the other rubble around me did. It was a small reminder there had once been life in the palace, but something so terrible had happened that not only was that life destroyed but all memory of the inhabitants who lived here was gone.
I pushed down a shudder and tried to focus on the way ahead. I was here for one purpose only, and I didn’t need to be sidetracked by worrying about a past that wanted to be forgotten.
Dash came to a stop as he reached an open archway that led into the part of the palace that remained standing. Two floors of the building appeared to have endured despite the destruction surrounding them, and I could feel the tug of strong magic beckoning me from deep within. I knew we were going in the right direction.
I eased myself down from Adara’s back, and Dash joined me on the ground. Looking through the archway, I could see the way ahead was not easy. There was rubble covering the ground and some large gaping holes in the floor. We would have to leave the mari lwyd and go on foot.
“I will wait here for your return.” Adara spoke into my mind, having realized the same thing
“Thanks, Adara,” I said, patting the cold, smooth bones of her neck in farewell.
I didn’t want to leave her and journey farther into the ruins that put me so on edge, but I let out a breath and squared my shoulders as I turned to Dash.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” In my heart, I felt like I wasn’t prepared. The stillness and sadness of the decaying palace made me nervous, and the power I sensed was so strong that I was worried about what we would encounter if we journeyed any farther inside the ruins. I didn’t have a choice though. I’d come this far, and I had to continue, whether I wanted to or not.
With one last glance at Adara, I followed Dash through the archway and into the palace. We’d entered on the ground floor, and I eyed the level above with suspicion, conscious of the weight of the stone structure over our heads. Large sections of the walls were missing, and I was very nervous about the state of the roof as we walked through the dark and silent corridor. The ruins had lasted this long though, so I hoped they’d be able to hold out a little longer.
There were large chunks of rubble all over the floor, and the yellow stone within the palace had turned black with age. I became increasingly unsettled as we walked. It was too quiet and still, and I hated how dark it was now that we were no longer outside.
“Where do you think we’ll find the chest?” I asked Dash. My voice came out a whisper, but even that seemed too loud in the morbid silence we walked through. The air around me was heavy, like the very walls mourned the life that had once filled the palace.
“I think it will be near the power we can both sense,” Dash replied, his voice quiet too.
“I think you’re right,” I agreed. “The scent of magic is much stronger in here, so I think we’re going the right way.”
The corridor opened out into a cavernous room with a ceiling that reached up several stories in height. Much of the roof had broken away, and the gray sky could be seen through the gaping holes overhead. Faded red tiles ran the length of the room, and a few sad weeds were growing up through the many cracks in the splintered flooring. How the weeds managed to exist in such a place was a miracle.
As I walked into the room, I could feel the intense power all around me. It rubbed against my skin, and the rich and spicy smell of magic tingled my nose. We were definitely getting closer to the source, but I couldn’t tell which direction it was coming from. There
were so many open doorways leading off the chamber we’d entered, but none of them felt quite right. It almost seemed like the power was beneath us.
“Dash, I think it’s coming from below us somehow.” I frowned as I looked toward the ground.
Dash followed my gaze down and nodded. “I’m sensing the same thing. We should split up and see if we can find some stairs that will lead us below. I don’t see any steps in here.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I didn’t like the prospect of splitting up.
Dash didn’t seem to recognize the uncertainty in my voice though, and he was still looking down at the floor with a frown on his face as he nodded. “We’ll find them quicker that way...” His voice trailed off as he looked up and caught my expression. “Or we could just stick together.”
“No, it’s fine.” I realized I was being pathetic. I counted eight different doorways leading from the room, and any one of them could be the route we were after. The sooner we found the stairs the better.
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Dash gave me a brief smile before he turned and headed toward one of the closest doorways. “Give me a shout if you find anything,” he said, disappearing through the opening.
“Will do,” I called back.
I took in a deep breath and started to walk toward one of the doorways on the opposite wall. As I drew closer to it, my stomach pulled taut, and a shiver ran down my spine. The magic I could sense didn’t feel any stronger here, but for some reason, I felt wary, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. The entrance looked just like all the others in the hall, so I wasn’t sure what had brought the reaction out of me. Perhaps it was simply the thought of venturing to the lower levels of the palace.
I was already uncomfortable enough on the ground level of the ruins, and I wasn’t all that keen to head underground. That’s if we even could get down there. For all we knew, the chest was buried beneath tons of rubble and would be impossible to retrieve.
As I approached the doorway, I hesitated. A long and dark corridor led away from the main chamber. There were no windows or fractures in the walls to let any light in, and the only source of brightness stemmed from the hall I was standing in. I couldn’t see the end of the passage as it turned a corner up ahead and disappeared, so I was going to have to explore it to find out if it was the way we needed.
I peered over my shoulder to check on Dash, but he was nowhere to be seen. The palace was turning out to be more of a maze than I first expected, and I hoped it wouldn’t take us too much longer to find the chest.
I faced the corridor once more and took a deep breath in before I stepped into it. The moment I crossed over the threshold, a series of chills rushed through me as magic buzzed over my skin. A rumbling sound came from behind me, and I turned to see bright magic swirling over the doorway as a huge stone slab descended from the top of the entrance. I didn’t have a chance to react, and I watched on in horror as the slab slammed into the ground, completely covering the doorway. My way out of the passage was sealed shut, and I was plunged into total darkness.
I ran up and thumped my fist against the wall that barred my way. The cool stone was completely solid, and no matter how hard I tried to make the slab move, it wouldn’t budge an inch.
“Dash!” I shouted at the top of my lungs as panic started to set in. I held my breath as I waited for a response, but silence was my only reply. I tried shouting his name again and again, but I wasn’t sure if he could even hear me.
I stepped back from the doorway, and magic sparkled at my fingertips as I tried to remove the slab that had trapped me by summoning it away. The magic holding it there was too strong, and no matter how much power I called upon, the slab wouldn’t disappear. A small sheen of sweat glistened at my brow as I threw more and more magic at the barrier. It was useless though, and I let out a frustrated breath as I realized I was stuck.
I hoped Dash wasn’t caught up in a similar kind of trap, but I couldn’t worry about him right now, not when I had my own problem to solve. A part of me felt sure he was okay. The entrance I had chosen must be booby-trapped with magic for a reason, and I was guessing it was because of one thing: the chest.
It appeared I was going to have to track it down on my own. It was fitting really, seeing as I had been the one to get myself into the whole mess in the first place.
“I better get this over with,” I muttered. The corridor before me was pitch-black, and I kept a small flare of magic dancing over my fingertips to light the way.
I was wary as I started into the darkness. I’d already been caught out by a magical trap once, and I didn’t want to be surprised again. I kept my palm out in front of me, spilling light onto the floor ahead. The passage looked completely different from the ruins I’d traveled through to get here, and it was in much better shape than the rest of the palace. The stone slabs that made up the walls were all solid, and the floor didn’t have a single crack running through it. It was almost like this part of the building hadn’t been affected by the destruction that had crippled the rest of the palace, and I wondered if the power I was tracking had anything to do with it.
The sense of unease that swirled in my gut grew stronger as I continued along the silent passage. It was getting cold as I walked, and I struggled with the chill that caressed my skin. I could feel the power I was seeking growing stronger with every step I took. I could almost feel it pulling me onward and urging me to move faster.
When I turned the corner in the corridor, I came to a set of steps that led down into a pit of darkness below. I hesitated as I looked down into the depths. I couldn’t see the bottom of the stairs, and a rush of nerves ran through my veins as I considered them. My feet didn’t want to move, and fear froze me to the spot.
I knew beyond doubt that the magic I could feel saturating the air around me was coming from down the stairs. My blood buzzed in response to the power—it was calling to me—but my limbs stayed taught. Every fiber of my being was telling me not to descend the steps, but there was no other way out of the corridor. My only hope of ever getting free was to see where the stairs led.
“Here’s hoping this passage gets me out of here,” I grumbled as I started down the steps. I really didn’t like my chances though.
The chill in the air grew more pronounced as I descended the long and narrow stairway. I was generally quite good with the cold, but my skin felt like ice, and my breath started coming out in little puffs of vapor. My fingers felt numb despite the warmth of my magic that swirled around them.
As I continued down the stairs, the route became tighter until the walls on either side of me were almost brushing my shoulders. Even the ceiling had dropped, and the space was becoming more and more enclosed by the minute. I was both curious and fearful of what I would find at the bottom of the staircase. It seemed to go on forever, and I was beginning to wonder if they would ever end.
When I saw a hint of light in the distance, I perked up and clambered my way down the rest of the stairs in my desperation to reach it. The ice-cold air was now biting harshly into my cheeks and nose as I rushed toward the light. I ignored the arctic chill, relieved I was about to get out of the darkness.
I came to a sudden stop when I reached the bottom of the steps. A few meters in front of me was a large golden archway that was almost identical to the one that marked the entrance to Incarceror. Through the archway, I could see a massive cavern that was covered entirely in ice. It glowed an intense shade of blue that was so bright after the darkness I’d been stuck in that I lifted a hand to shield my eyes.
I took a careful step toward the archway, but I sucked in a breath and jumped back as my gaze dropped to the small stretch of dark corridor that separated me from the frozen cavern.
I wasn’t alone in here.
Chapter Seventeen
My heart thundered as I stared in shock at the horror before me. The skeletons of long-dead magical beings were scattered all over the floor betwe
en me and the golden archway. Most of them seemed to be gathered close to the arch, which made me think twice about whether I should enter the icy cave.
I scanned the many skeletons that covered the ground, trying to understand what could have happened to them. There must have been dozens of them, but there was no evidence to suggest what had caused their deaths. If I had any other choice, I would have turned around and gone back the way I had come.
Trying to ignore the death that surrounded me, I started to creep toward the archway. I was light on my feet as I tried to avoid the skeletons that lay on the ground around me. Their bones had deteriorated, so I knew the beings must have died many years ago. There were some weapons lying on the ground, and I wondered if there had been a battle.
As I neared the entrance to the cavern, golden magic started glittering across the opening, and words began to appear along the top of shiny metal arch. I tilted my head back to watch as the lettering materialized.
“Only the light may enter the cave, while the dark will remain a step away from what they seek,” the words read. “A million treasures lie within, but only one can leave. Pick poorly and you will pay the ultimate price, but pick correctly and freedom is within your grasp.”
“What?” I muttered to myself. I started to repeat the words over again so I had them clear in my mind, but they disappeared before I was halfway through rereading them.
“Only the light may enter,” I whispered, focusing on the entrance to the cavern once more as I mulled over the warning. It had to be referring to light beings—I knew I could be wrong, but it seemed like the most obvious part of the riddle.
I couldn’t see any treasures beyond the archway though. The cavern seemed empty with only ice and snow covering the ground. Perhaps the treasures would only be visible once I got inside. I glanced down at the skeletons beside me. Did they choose wrongly? Or did they die before they even had a chance? I pushed down a shudder and tried not to think about the answer.
Christmas Chaos (Christmas Magic Book 2) Page 18