“Let’s hope we’re not about to become roommates for all eternity,” I said to the closest skeleton before focusing on the cavern again. There was no way to know what dangers lay waiting for me on the other side of the arch, but I guessed there was only one way to find out.
I stepped through the gilded archway. Magic rippled against my skin, and I felt a soft resistance against my body as I walked through what felt like a paper-thin barrier. My nose twitched as the rich scent of brandy magic washed over me, and a feeling of warmth spread across my skin before I emerged out the other side. As I entered the cave, the frozen world I’d seen disappeared before my eyes. Glittering magic sparkled as it flowed across the ground in front of me, spreading from where I stood to the far reaches of the room, transforming the ice and revealing a vast palatial chamber instead.
Huge mounds of coins, gems, and sparkling jewels lined the walls, and in the center of the room stood an enormous statue of a Christmas tree that was made from gold. I could see toys and baubles hanging from the branches, but at the very top of the tree was an object that shone as brightly as the sun. The power emanating from it pulsed so strongly that it felt like an itch against my skin.
That had to be the object I was after. I lifted my hands in front of me and attempted to send out my summoning power toward the object but found my magic refused to flicker to life. I looked down at my hands, a frown upon my face. I couldn’t even call the same magic sparks to my fingers that I’d used out in the corridor just before. My magic was somehow blocked, and a flicker of panic rushed through me at the knowledge I was completely powerless.
I was going to have to do this without my magic.
Letting out an irritated breath, I lowered my hands and set my sights on the tree again. Ignoring the towering mounds of treasures that lined the edges of the room, I started straight toward the base of it, hoping there was a way to reach the top.
Tiny lights twinkled all over the tree, and there was a long thread of silver tinsel that wound the entire way up from the bottom to the very top. As I got closer, I could see it wasn’t tinsel at all,; it was a metal staircase that coiled around the branches of the tree all the way to the glowing object I’d just tried to summon.
The tree must have reached up fifty meters into the air, and I knew that even with the stairs it was going to take a massive effort to try to reach the top. I could feel magic throbbing from the object up there though. It was too bright to see exactly what it was, but the power had the same pull to it that I’d been experiencing since I first reached the ruins. Without hesitation, I started up the stairs.
The staircase wove up and down as it made its way under and over the massive statue’s branches. It was slow going trying to get to the top, but I could feel the power emanating from above growing stronger as I continued upward.
I was puffing by the time I got halfway up the tree, and my legs felt like jelly. I almost collapsed when I finally reached the top and stared at the blindingly bright object before me.
A smile lit my lips as I gazed on the wooden chest. It was sitting atop a glowing cube, and I felt a rush of giddy joy that I’d finally found what I’d traveled so far for. The chest was large with an old metal lock across the front of it. It was going to be difficult to carry on my own, but I would find a way to make it work, and Dash would be able to help once I got it outside.
I took a step closer to the chest but paused as I reached a hand out toward it. I could sense the intense power the object was giving off, but something didn’t feel right.
The nameless one had told me that the chest would not be what I expected and that I would know when I had found it. My gut was telling me to take a step away from the chest rather than to try to grab it. The chest was displayed too obviously and was exactly what anyone who came here would instinctively think to choose to remove from the chamber.
“It’s a trap,” I murmured, taking another step backward. I turned to survey the rest of the room. It was impossible to know where to even begin to look for another chest though. The place was massive, and with the mounds upon mounds of treasure, it was going to take me a lifetime to try to find the chest I needed.
I lowered myself to sit on the edge of the top step as I looked down at the jewels below me. There couldn’t be many chests in the room, but it was hard to know where to start. As I looked back toward the golden arch that marked the entrance to the room, I recalled the magical words that had guided me before I stepped into the cavern.
It had said that only the light could enter the cave but that the dark would remain a step away from what they seek. It appeared to mean they’d be one step away from the cave, but what if it wasn’t just referring to the cave? What if it was referring to the treasure I was after? Piles of jewels stood right by the doorway, and I’d walked right by them when I’d entered without giving them a second glance. But, what if the chest was there, hidden only a step away from where the dark beings were barred from the entrance?
Feeling a sense of hope, I started clambering back down the steps toward the base of the tree. My legs were seizing up as I rushed downward, but I pushed myself to move faster. I really felt like I was onto something.
My heart was racing when I reached the ground once more, and I rushed back over to the entrance I’d come through. I skidded to a stop as I reached the archway and went over to the pile of jewels that were mounded only a step away from the entrance.
My eyes darted back and forth as I searched the treasure for any sign of the chest the nameless one had sent me to find. It was mostly coins and precious gems, but my heart skipped a beat when I saw something unusual lying among the jewels. There was no wooden chest there, like I had been expecting, but there was a golden statue of a naked torso discarded among the piles of treasure. I almost hadn’t noticed it as the object was practically camouflaged by all the gold that surrounded it.
“A chest I wasn’t expecting,” I said with a grin. I couldn’t sense any powerful magic emanating from within the statue, but a feeling of rightness resounded through me as I stared at it. The nameless one had been right, and I knew I had found what I was searching for.
I picked up the statue of the chest without hesitation and turned it over in my hands. Now that it was within my grasp, I could smell the subtle scent of brandy on it and feel the power radiating from within it. It was different from the intense power that was coming from the top of the Christmas tree. It seemed more refined, like a soft and beautiful melody of magic rather than a deafening cacophony of sound.
Smiling to myself, I went to walk back through the entranceway, but as I started to cross the threshold, magic crackled around me. It felt like hot sparks flashing against my skin, pinching and prickling against me painfully, before I was hurled backward. I flew several meters and landed heavily on my back. I groaned as a sense of dread filled me. If I couldn’t leave the cavern, that meant I had selected the wrong object.
The thought had barely entered my mind when I heard the loud rushing noise of water. I pushed myself upward, still cradling the statue in my arms, and looked on in horror as water began spilling in through the cracks in the huge golden slabs that made up the walls of the room. It seemed to splutter from every available crevice and was rushing into the room so quickly I knew it wouldn’t be long before the water started the rise.
I swore under my breath before I started racing back toward the huge Christmas tree, wanting to get myself as high off the ground as possible. The water was already a couple of inches deep around my feet and rising quickly enough to make me panic. I considered tossing aside the chest I still cradled but decided against it. Despite the rush of water pouring into the room, I still couldn’t believe I’d chosen incorrectly. It had felt so right when I’d picked up the statue.
I started to scramble my way back up the Christmas tree. Water was running down the metal stairs, making them slippery. When a sudden wave of water gushed down them, my legs were pulled out from under me, and I was dragged down a flight of
steps until I managed to stop myself by grabbing hold of one of the metal tree branches. Righting myself once more, I continued to trudge back up the stairs, keeping one hand against the tree to steady myself in case of another sudden flood of water.
I needed to buy myself some time to find a way out of the cave, but the water was rising almost as fast as I was. It seemed to snap at my heels as I climbed, and I knew that once I reached the top of the tree I’d be lucky to have minutes to plan my escape.
As I reached the top, I looked around the room, desperately hoping for a miracle. But a surge of hopelessness filled me as I scanned the cavern. The only way in or out of the room was through the archway I’d just tried and failed to use. My powers remained dormant within me, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make my magic spark at my fingertips. Terror gripped my heart as I frantically tried to come up with a solution. I had no idea what to do, and my fear was growing more palpable by the second.
My panic only worsened as the water reached my feet and then rose up to my ankles. The entire room was flooded now, and I could no longer see the ground. The piles of sparkling treasures were all submerged beneath the water, and there were only a few meters of free air between me and the ceiling above.
Tears wet my eyes as I continued to search the water for something I’d missed. The water had reached my knees, and I was beginning to lose all hope that there was a way to get free. I felt like I was simply waiting for my impending death. I refused to go down so easily though, and I started trying to recall if there had been anything in the riddle that could help me escape.
“Pick poorly and you will pay the ultimate price, but pick correctly and freedom is within your grasp,” I said, repeating the final line of the riddle to myself. My eyes darted to the chest in my hand. If I had picked correctly, then according to the riddle, I’d be holding my key to freedom. I’d been so certain I’d chosen the right object, and as I stared at the chest, I wondered if the statue itself could be my way out.
But how?
The water was now at my waist and rising centimeter by centimeter every second. I didn’t have long to solve the puzzle. I tried to focus on the magic within the chest. I could sense it was in there, but I had no idea what it did or how to access it.
I was turning the statue over in my hands, trying to work out the secret behind its magic, when I spotted something glowing in the depths of the water. It was right against one of the walls, at the far end of the room to the archway I’d entered through, and was sparkling with the same golden magic as the cavern’s entrance. It glowed brightly in the darkness of the water far below me, and my heart started fluttering with a sudden burst of hope. Could it be the way out?
The water was at my chest now and rising fast. Adrenaline and panic had my mind racing as I tried to figure out what to do. The water had risen so high that the golden magic I had spotted was now deep below me. I might be able to swim down to it, but I knew I’d only have one shot, and I’d be taking a huge risk if I committed to it. I wouldn’t be able to get back up to the surface to draw another breath, and even if I could, it was likely the room would be entirely filled with water by that time. I was really wishing I had my powers right now so I could summon myself some scuba equipment.
“You can do this, Clio,” I said, giving myself a fairly unconvincing pep talk. My heart was pounding hard, and I tried to calm its rapid beating by taking several deep breaths in. I kept telling myself to swim, but my body wouldn’t move. There was no way I would survive if the golden magic below me didn’t provide the escape I so desperately needed.
The water was now lapping at my neck, and I knew I couldn’t delay any longer. It was now or never. With one final large gulp of air, I pushed myself under and started swimming frantically toward the sparkling golden magic.
The chest was difficult to swim with, and I knew it was slowing me down as I urgently swam toward the golden glow. It was on the opposite side of the room to the entranceway I’d initially come through, and as I drew closer, I could see the magic was dancing around a hollowed area in the wall. My chest was tight as I continued swimming, and I could feel my lungs constricting as they begged me to take a breath.
I wasn’t the best swimmer, and my arms and legs were struggling to power quickly through the water. Each stroke felt harder than the last, but I had to ignore the lethargy flowing through me as I tried to swim faster. When I finally reached the golden glow I’d been aiming for, my head was spinning, and I had to fight against my body, which was desperate to gulp in some air.
The water was dark, but the mounds of golden coins around me seemed to give off of a dull shimmer of light as they reflected the sparkling magic. I barely considered the magic before I pushed the chest toward it. The chest fit perfectly inside the hollow in the wall, and a click echoed under the water as it slotted into place. I waited for something to happen, but one moment passed, and then another, without any indication I was about to be freed.
I could feel myself losing consciousness, and I knew I was seconds away from drawing in desperate swallows of the water around me. Suddenly, the magic in front of me grew brighter, almost blinding me as it expanded and swirled rapidly around the chest. The wall split in two, spreading apart and revealing a wide opening, and before I could fathom what was happening, I felt the water around me rush forward, tugging me through the narrow gap and out of the chamber.
I didn’t have a chance to try to grab the chest as I was pulled away. The water flowed into a dark tunnel, and my body tossed and turned as the rapid water moved around me. I was briefly pushed to the surface, and I managed to draw in several hurried breaths before I was dragged under the torrent of water once again.
As I spun around in the churning water, I caught sight of a bright light ahead of me. The light quickly grew larger as I hurtled toward it, and I suddenly emerged from the tunnel into the outside world and was thrown to the ground as the water flushed out around me. My body slammed against the hard pavement, and I coughed as I tried to draw another breath.
My wet clothes clung to me, and my bedraggled hair hung over my face. Somehow, I had managed to survive, and I couldn’t believe it.
“Clio?” I heard Dash calling my name and I finally looked up. I was in a large, open area of the ruins outside the palace. Water still flowed over the ground around me, but it wasn’t nearly so turbid, and it calmly washed out across the flat ground and disappeared down the cracks in the stone paving.
“I’m here!” I tried to call back to him, but my words came out a croak. I was shivering, and I started coughing again. I’d choked down far too much water, and it all felt lodged in my throat.
I heard footsteps slapping against the wet ground and glanced over my shoulder as Dash raced toward me. He was distinctly dry, and his face went white as he caught sight of the state I was in.
He swore as he reached me and joined me on the ground. He pushed the wet hair back from my face and cradled my cheeks in his two large hands as he looked me over. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, my throat too sore to speak. I felt battered and bruised, and my lungs still burned from being under water for too long, but I was alive, and that was all that mattered. Then I remembered the treasure I’d left behind. “The chest…” I spluttered.
I looked frantically around me and let out a relieved breath when I saw the chest had washed out of the tunnel not too far from where I sat. None of the other treasures from the room had come out with it, but I wasn’t really surprised. The riddle had said that only one item could be removed.
“You found it,” Dash said, his gaze landing on the golden statue not far from us. “And it’s a statue of a chest?”
I gave a weak laugh as he frowned at the statue. “The nameless one did say the chest wasn’t what we’d expect. If he hadn’t said that, I might have gotten it wrong.”
“Gotten what wrong?” Dash asked before shaking his head. “Never mind. You can tell me all about it once we’ve got you dry. Let’s get back to
the mari lwyd and get you changed into something less wet.”
Dash helped me to my feet before pulling off his jacket and placing it over my shoulders. I snuggled into it, enjoying the warmth that lingered on the soft material.
I walked over and went to pick up the chest but paused as my hand reached out to it. The golden statue had a large crack down the center of it, and I could see it was hollow inside.
“It’s broken,” I said, as Dash came to stand at my side. I crouched down and picked up the chest, but as I lifted it off the ground, the fracture splintered farther, splitting the statue in half. The two pieces fell open revealing the object that was hidden within.
A dark cube the color of midnight lay between the two broken pieces of the golden statue. The way the deep colors ebbed and flowed across the hard surface reminded me of the night’s sky. I frowned as I considered the object and reached out a hand to pick it up. It was surprisingly warm to the touch, and it was clear the magic I had sensed since the moment I arrived in the ruins had been coming from the cube.
I glanced up at Dash to judge his reaction. He was frowning at the cube, and his eyes were fraught with worry. “So, this is what the nameless one wants,” he said.
“I guess.” I looked at the cube once more. “I have no idea what it is though.”
“Neither do I,” he said.
I struggled to look away from the cube. It was a mystery to me I’d like to solve. I could sense it was magical, and I wished I knew what powers it held. I didn’t want to hand something so powerful over to the nameless one without knowing what it was.
“We can worry about the cube later,” Dash said. “We should get back to Roan.”
I pulled my eyes away from the cube and deposited it in one of the large pockets of Dash’s jacket.
Christmas Chaos (Christmas Magic Book 2) Page 19