by Bailey Dark
“Instructions for what?” I ask calmly.
“Lilies grown beneath the first moon of Winter. A sliver of Usulyni stone drown in the ethereal pool. Blood of...I can’t, Kane. It hurts.” She trembles and I pull her hand away.
Briar curls against my chest. I feel the heat of her breath seeping through my shirt and run my fingers through her untamed waves. She nods after a moment and I release her. The bashful little smile on her lips is almost too much to resist, but I must. If not for myself, I must resist for her.
“You’re almost there. I can feel it.”
Briar closes her eyes and exhales slowly. When her eyes open, they glow blue for a moment. I say nothing, but the reaction is strange indeed. She returns her hand to the door and I see the runes ripple. I snatch her hand away and replace it with my own, frowning curiously at the way they shift for me, but differently. It’s as if the runes are spelled to keep those who don’t truly understand the ritual out. It has to be a believer, a worshiper of Lux or Lux herself.
“What is it?” she inquires. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No. Come here.” I lay her hand at the center of the door and step away. Briar stays put but she frowns at the lack of my presence. “Concentrate.”
She closes her eyes again and when she opens them, the runes move. Actually move. They form a circle around her hand. Briar jumps away with a frightened little squeak that brings a smile to my face. “What was that? Did I do that? Kane, what was that?”
“Which question should I answer first?” I ask. The sarcasm in my words earns me a very sassy eye roll that does nothing to hinder my amusement. “I don’t know, Briar. I just noticed that it reacted differently for you than it did for me. Your power is connected to these runes in some way.”
My brilliant mortal bride crosses her arms and taps her foot as she stares up at the door. “There are two parts to a riddle, right? The question and the answer. When I touch the door on my own, I get half of the question and part of the ritual. When you touch the door, you get the other half of the question, but you can’t see the riddle. The rest of it is just nonsense otherwise. But when we touch the door together, I see the rest of the ritual. There’s an order to this...a pattern. First we need to know the full question.” She grabs my hand the way I had done with hers and presses it to the door before standing back. “What do you see?”
“How do I see beyond the….when I’m….”
Briar claps happily and pulls me away from the door. She closes her eyes and concentrates. The runes form a circle again. “How do I see beyond the endless night when I’m cradled in the darkest light? It makes no sense. What is it about...Love! It’s about love and light and darkness. No, not just love, but promise. Marriage? Come here.” Briar’s cheeks flush. It’s the most excitement I’ve seen in her since we left Phaendar.
“Lux and Drogaem,” I reply. She looks happy that I understand what she’s trying to say. Our hands rest upon one another and the runes shift once more. “Someone else did this. It wasn’t the Inati who created these doors, nor was it Qenta. A follower of Lux came here at some point and put up the barriers so only Lux or one of her worshipers could enter the tomb.”
“That’s smart,” Briar replies.
I give a small grin. “I agree. Do you see anything?”
“Just the part of the ritual about the lilies and the sliver again,” she answers. I remove my hand and she paces back and forth across the short distance of the hall. “Lilies grown beneath the first moon of Winter, a sliver of Usulyni stone drown in the ethereal pool, and the blood of the immortal mother. It’s...how she created the dagger.”
Briar’s breathtaking smile nearly knocks me off my feet. But it disappears quickly as another wave of pain causes her to miss a step in her pacing stride. I hold her as it runs its course. Her eyes are blue again.
“Is it the tomb that does this to her or something else?” Willem asks from where he leans against the wall.
He attempts to say more, but Briar stands up in a daze. She walks over to the door and retrieves her dagger. Willem holds me back as she removes the makeshift bandage from her hand and runs her blade along the cut already there before slapping it against the door. Sweat falls from her temples, but her eyes never blink.
The runes form a circle and that light begins to flow from her hands once more. Briar flinches away and the grey of her eyes return just as the door creaks open.
“How do I see beyond the endless night when I’m cradled in the darkest light?” I ask.
Briar lets out a little giggle as she collapses against me. I bind her hand again.
“Wake up,” she says lifting her head.. “I think Lux compared her love for Drogaem to a dream she couldn’t escape. It’s like he had her under a spell, one she was willing to be bewitched by in the beginning. But when that love went away...all she could do was wake up.”
I close my eyes for a moment realizing exactly what she is talking about. “And forge the dagger that killed him.”
Briar flushes and puts some distance between us again. “I don’t know how I knew what to do. Something came over me and I couldn’t help myself.”
Her hand brushes mine before she walks through the door. I follow closely behind, not wanting anymore surprises.
“You said you see Lux’s memories, right?” I hurry beside her.
She nods, her focus on what comes next. “Sometimes. I don’t know if they actually are memories or something else, but yes.”
“When did they start?” I hold her back a bit as Willem walks ahead of us to scout the hall in case there are traps. It’s too easy to get used to the way Briar leans into me. I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and wait for her answer.
“I’m so tired,” she yawns.
“Try to think,” I say.
“Not long after we arrived in Phaendar. The headaches were constant and then I began to see things I couldn’t explain. I was going to ask you, but you never really give me any answers. I thought it was best to keep it to myself.”
Willem comes back and nods from a distance. We continue down the hall, seeing even more mummified women tucked into the walls. I catch Briar looking at them with tears in her eyes. She wipes them away and whispers something under her breath that sounds like a prayer. Her soul is too bright for a place like this. She’ll never be the same when we leave, but I hold on to hope that she will still have some light left.
I put my hand on her shoulder. “Once we’re finished, I’ll release their souls.”
It’s simple. A small gesture to bring her a bit of comfort, but I know she’s grateful. Willem is careful not to cause any noise as we walk along the hall. I hold my hand out to stop Briar and call out to Willem to do the same. I push my way forward and point to the sudden drop in front of us. The moment I step close to the edge, a light appears in the center of the large cavern.
Emerald light fills the room, illuminating the mounds of bones that litter the ground. Armor, tattered robes, and boots scatter the floor, along with a thick layer of sticky, congealed blood. Briar covers her mouth with her hand and gags.
I roll my shoulders, preparing. “We’ll have to fly down. It looks like there was a bridge here at some point, but it’s gone now.”
“Wait!” Briar grabs my hand. “Are you sure we should do this?”
“The door we just came through is already locked. We can’t go back until we go forward.” I lift her up into my arms and fly us to the bottom of the cavern.
The smell is stronger here. No more Nightshade and apples, just the disgusting stench of death. Briar shakes her head when I attempt to set her down.
“Wait. Just...give me a minute.” She struggles to gather her bearings.
Willem utters something about ‘weak mortals’ and that snaps her out of her fear. I don’t know whether to thank the Reaper or pound his face in with my fists for upsetting her when she was finally at ease in my presence. Briar wiggles out of my hold and looks toward the glowing light at the cent
er of the cavern.
“A sarcophagus?” she whispers. “It’s open.”
I follow her gaze and slowly approach, but Briar grabs my arm again. “Kane, wait. Please. I have a bad feeling about this.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but she’s right.” Willem runs back to us, falling into formation and flanking Briar’s left side.
Lifeless skeletons crawl out of the piles of bones, creaking and crackling as they crawl toward us. Some jump to their boned feet and begin to pace quickly toward us. I use my shadow blade to carve a path through them, but they keep coming. Briar fights alongside me, dagger in hand, and I find myself held captive by the sight of her. She fights with grace and fluidity until I forget she’s fighting and imagine that she’s dancing. Briar uses her surroundings to her advantage, throwing the pieces of armor at the skeletons and taking cover whenever she can.
It’s hard to associate this brazen warrior with the meek bride I met when she arrived in the underworld. There are times when Briar knows when to run and times when she understands the importance of standing and facing her fears. She inspires me to do the same, fueling the fight in me without needing to tap into that darkness that turns me into a ravishing beast.
“There’s a second wave coming!” I warn as even more skeletons crawl out of the darkness. “Don’t let them surround you.”
Briar groans. “First mummies and now this? What’s next?”
“Goblins?” Willen supplies sarcastically. “Or perhaps a dragon guarding a horde of treasure. Sooner or later we’ll find Drogaem and we’ll be too tired to fight.”
“We’ll face that when we get there. For now, keep fighting.” I shove a skeleton away from Briar and use the momentum to push a few more back.
Willem uses his wings and forces a group of skeletons to the ground. Briar shocks Willem and I when she lets out a very loud, uncharacteristic curse that sends us both into a fit of laughter for a moment.
It’s not long before we delve back into the fight. I groan as a shield bashes me in the back of the head. Willem tears a skeleton’s spike out through his mouth and I whirl around, slamming my attacker against the wall of the cavern. My shadows curl around the bones. I snap my fingers and the darkness pulls the skeleton apart one piece at a time.
Briar runs to my side. “They’re pulling themselves back together. I don’t see any jars or boxes like before.”
I shake my head, using the force of my body to knock back several more. “No. There would be a different spell. Keep looking, I’ll cover you.”
Even with a streak of blood running along the width of her cheek and some unknown substance causing her tunic to cling to her skin, Briar is beautiful. She stabs her dagger into a skeleton and kicks it in the sternum before sheathing the blade. Her hands quickly braid her hair back from her face and she wraps it up into a messy bun atop her head. She then squares her shoulders and calls out in battle cry as she runs into the wall of skeletons closing in on us, and I follow.
Willem and I extend our wings and create an opening for her. We fly up to the ceiling before diving down again, knocking the skeletons to the floor. It feels nice to fight beside my friend and second in command again.
Willem laughs sadistically as he grips a skull and uses it to bash the other skeletons in the head. “Briar!”
“I’m ok!” she shouts. “I can hardly see in this gods forsaken tomb!”
“Focus!” Willem and I reply in unison.
We’re quickly becoming overrun by the undead. They crowd me, but Willem is there to stop them. We fly up and see a group of skeletons heading right for Briar. She doesn’t see them. I try to call out to her, but something knocks me out of the air. Willem spins and drops down to catch me before I hit the ground.
We right ourselves and fight our way toward Briar.
She spins around in time to push a skeleton off of her back. “Use your fire, Kane!”
“What fire?” Willem asks.
Briar rolls her eyes with a huff. “He’s Death. He can command the fire that lights the tomb. Summon the fire and cleanse the restless souls here. If you don’t, they’ll just keep coming.”
I send my shadows through the cavern and create a circle around the three of us. “Close your eyes.”
Briar and Willem hesitantly obey my orders. I feel my eyes change and my nails lengthen. I test the strength of fangs against my tongue and groan at the taste of blood. Darkness swells inside of me. I press my hands together and slowly pull them apart. My fire is different here in the tomb, blue like the phantom flames that light the halls.
The power builds to a beautiful crescendo.
“Keep your eyes closed,” I warn.
The fire explodes from my hands, sweeping through the cavern and laying waste to every skeleton in sight. Black smoke roils towards the ceiling, looking for a way to escape but, like us, it’s trapped here. I pull the smoke, fire, and shadow into my body and drop to my knees. Briar runs over. She brushes the hair out of my eyes and checks me over for any sign of harm. I reach up, putting my hand over hers.
She smiles at me sweetly, looking at me as if we were anywhere else then the dark dank tomb of the most powerful purveyor of death that had ever lived. “You’re okay.”
Now I am.
Chapter 17
Briar
He wipes his hands against his legs and stands up. “I’m alright. My wings got a little rustled and I might have bruises in places that’ll be tender for a few weeks, but I’m not dying and that’s enough for me.”
“Kane,” I sigh.
There are hundreds of tiny cuts on his face and neck. I use my power to heal them. He laughs and thanks me when it works. It should feel like a small victory, but it doesn’t. Nothing could feel like a victory when I see how much this journey has taken from him. Kane’s face is thinner. The lack of food and blood is taking its toll on him whether he wishes to admit it or not.
I stand up and look around. “We should go.”
He scowls at me. “We can’t. We need to get the crown first.”
Kane stands on unstable legs. He stretches above his head, causing the end of his shirt to pull free from his trousers and ride up his abdomen. There is less muscle on his body and I notice the way his clothes fit loosely. Why hadn’t he come to me when his hunger was too much to bear? I am his bride. Surely, he can trust that I will offer what I have willingly no matter how angry I am with him. I realize then that I haven’t felt upset with Kane since the main entrance to the tomb opened. I watch as he flexes his wings, reminding me of his might and power. Things have changed so much between us since the castle. I do not fear him, though I probably should, and instead, I am in awe of his might and strength.
His movement forward, shakes my stare and I let out a quiet sigh. Time to look around the cavern, I suppose.
A sea of bones cover the ground. Without the mounds of skeletons blocking the eerie green glow of the sarcophagus, I can see clearly through the cavern. The floor is cobblestoned with the skulls of those who died here, laid out in a grim pattern that was obviously intentional. Everything in this room feels like an offering. Willem stands off to the side, head down as he breathes slowly. I step closer and his eyes snap up to mine.
“There are Reapers and Nephilim here,” he says. “Humans, fae, demons, and creatures I can’t even identify. I think even Beldroth might be here. Look at the insects and decaying leaves. Some of them are recent, others are older, some ancient. The things that find their way into this tomb take their last breath and their bodies rot and decay at his feet. It’s disgusting, but more, it’s a good sign we shouldn’t be here.”
I know he is heading a warning but my mind stuck on one word. “Recent?”
He points to several corpses on the ground. “Those couldn’t have been dead for more than a week. The spells here are strong, but that doesn’t mean they can preserve a body that well. And all the blood…it takes a lot to build up this much grime.”
I furl my brow, a shiver r
unning down my spine. “Are you saying someone brought them here?”
Willem shakes his head. “I’m saying either we aren’t the only ones to get this far or these are all the creatures that never returned from the island. We didn’t see any corpses or bones on the shore. Elluine told us that anyone who travels here never comes back. I think she was right.”
I look around, my hands running down my arms. “How’d they get into the tomb?”
The Reaper shrugs. “Magic? Maybe we’ll never fully understand what really happened here. I don’t really care about the past. All I care about is getting out of here before Kane does something foolish. My skin is crawling just thinking about it.”
I step forward, pressing my fingers to my chest. “Willem, there’s something bad here. It doesn’t just feel like death and decay. I can sense someone or something that isn’t exactly dead.”
“It’s the crown,” he says dismissively. “You’re probably picking up its energies. Even I’m having a hard time staying in this room. Drogaem was many things, but he wasn’t a decorator, that’s for sure. The sooner we’re out of here the better.”
“No,” I say while shaking my head. “It’s something else. I think you were right. We shouldn’t have come here. Everything is happening too quickly and I feel like something wanted us to stay away no matter how drawn to this place we are.”
He steps closer and hisses angrily at me. “If you had done what I told you to do, what you swore to Aiden would have been done by now, we wouldn’t be in this situation. We can’t go back now unless you figure something out with the runes. Look around at the walls while I distract him.”
I grit my teeth and look him straight in the eyes. “It isn’t that simple.”
He scoffs, throwing his hands in the air. “I don’t care. Figure it out, Princess. This is on you just as much as it’s on me.”
My lips purse and I follow him, jabbing my finger into his chest. “In case you haven’t noticed yet, I’m not exactly trained to read ancient runes and use magic. Mortals aren’t even supposed to have magic. This little quest might have been about the crown to you and Kane, but I feel as though while you two are finding something, I’m losing myself. You have no idea what that’s like.”