by A. Lawrence
Bel had found a stream pretty quickly. She'd showed Rhyss and they'd followed the meandering, weedy stream in hopes of finding food. They weren't disappointed, the stream must have been part of an irrigation system for what had become an overgrown orchard. Black trees with thick, claw-like root systems were heavy with pale, ghostly globes that ended up tasting a bit like apples, but lighter and sweeter. Whatever they were, Bel practically inhaled two the moment Rhyss figured they were safe.
When they got back, the ruined house was almost comfortably warm from Rhyss's fire script. Once she'd eaten, Bel had flopped onto the floor, exhaustion pulling her down like rocks, and announced that the moss was surprisingly comfortable. It didn't take long for Heln and Rhyss to find out if she was right.
"Maybe it wasn't always underground." Rhyss almost sounded relaxed. She was lying on her other side, though she had curled up so she was facing the hole that served as a doorway, her cloak pulled up over her. It was starting to look a little worse for the wear, though her jacket wasn't much better. A cleaning script couldn't mend tears, which was unfortunate for Heln.
"Maybe." Heln turned towards Bel. He seemed okay. He'd been dozing when they got back from finding food, but now he seemed as wide eyed and alert as anyone could be. "So… we have food and water, after we've rested do we push forward or try to head back the way we came?"
They were all quiet for a moment.
"I think we should try to find another exit." Rhyss broke the silence. Her breathing had been so even Bel had thought she'd fallen asleep. "We know what's behind us, constructs and a magic eater. I'm pretty sure we only survived that because it was out hunting and we surprised it, so I really don't think we're getting back through there. There were other tunnels, but this cave makes me feel like we're going in the right direction. Bel?"
"You're asking me?" Bel was genuinely surprised, but she supposed even Rhyss couldn't think all of her ideas were the best ones all the time. Of course, it had been nearly an hour since Rhyss told her that she was stupid, maybe she was fishing for a reason.
She wasn't going to tell her that she hadn't actually even thought about it. She assumed they would go along with whatever Rhyss suggested. She mulled it over for a moment, before nodding a bit. "Surprisingly enough, I agree with you. I don't think the other tunnels went anywhere and for all we know they could be blocked by more things like the magic eater. Like a nest of magic eaters. Or actual giant man-eating spiders because magic. Besides, we can always turn around, right? Heln?"
"I don't know." Heln admitted. "Part of me thinks we could go back. We can avoid the constructs if we're careful and we'll be able to dodge the magic eater now that we're prepared and know that it's there. Probably."
"And what does the rest of you think?" Rhyss turned to face both siblings. The fire script reflected off of her eyes.
"Well, that's the thing. The rest of me wants to know what's down here. I want to know why we didn't know about the tunnels, where they lead, who's creating them… Listen I know it's not really a time for curiosity, but honestly do you think we'll ever get down here again?"
"Honestly? I think I'm going to get arrested and if you two aren't, then you're probably never leaving your dad's house again." Rhyss sat up. Bel and Heln followed suit. It was the sort of discussion that at least required being partially upright. Moving felt like lifting a thousand pounds. Now that she wasn't hungry or thirsty, the walking, climbing and running—not to mention the near constant terror—had really caught up to her. She was definitely not cut out for the Guard.
"So, what, one last hurrah?" Bel managed a grin despite everything.
"I'm saying that we're all in agreement that we move forward, but also in agreement that we turn back if it gets too dangerous." Rhyss didn't even glare at her when she answered. Amazing. Maybe there was something soft underneath all of the layers of literal and figurative armor after all. "And if we happen to figure out what this place is along the way then it's a bonus. There's enough water to keep us alive and we know there's food here. Most of the mosses are edible—yes, Bel, they're edible, don't make that face at me—so we're not in any immediate danger of starvation. Does that sound okay?"
Bel continued to make the face, waiting to see just what kind of reaction she could pull out of Rhyss. She expected Rhyss to roll her eyes, but she just sighed.
"I said starvation, Bel, you can stop that now. I really think this is the best course of action."
She almost stopped making a face to smile. Maybe she was growing on Rhyss, like definitely non-edible moss.
"I think this is what they mean when they say there's a difference between living and thriving," Bel muttered. Something nagged at her about what Rhyss had said. She talked about the best course of action, but Bel thought Heln was right and they probably could go back. It was the only sure-fire way they knew out of there and the search parties must have already cleared the entrance.
Going back was really their best option, but Bel didn't even want to try. Just the thought made her feel heavier. The idea of moving forward was vastly more appealing, even if they'd taken a wrong turn and the tunnel going to the Temple was a lie.
"At least a little further, then." Heln's voice broke through her thoughts.
If they were all in agreement, for once, then she wasn't going to voice her doubts. The tunnels had to go somewhere, so Bel nodded. "I liked how 'one last hurrah' sounded better."
"That makes it sound like we're going to die," Rhyss told her, flatly. There was the glare, she'd almost missed it.
"You're always so negative." She moved to her knees and held out her hand. "Now give me your dagger knife thingy so I can set up a barrier, because I'm about to fall asleep."
*~*~*
Bel slept hard, deep and dreamless, but woke up feeling arguably worse than she had they day before. Her entire body ached. Most notably, her legs were sore and when she tried to stand up she yelped and nearly fell over. The bottoms of her feet were so tender it felt like she was walking on crushed glass. She hadn't taken her boots off, it was too cold to sleep without them, and now she didn't want to. She really didn't want to see her feet. If blood started oozing out of her soles she didn't think she would be surprised.
Rhyss called her a baby and told her it was because she wasn't used to walking very far. She seemed fine, even stretching a bit before leaving to get more water.
"Are we sure we're doing the right thing?" Heln asked. He looked less pale, though it was hard to tell in the perpetual twilight. He said the scratches on his back didn't hurt, but Rhyss had handed Bel her ointment and told her to smear it on Heln's back again anyway.
"Probably not, but I don't think there's really a right thing and a wrong thing in this particular situation." Bel reminded him. She smeared green goop on the last scratch and Heln shuddered. "Stings?"
"It's freezing." Heln tugged his shirt back down, shivering. "I'm cold and I'm tired. My feet feel like they're probably permanently stuck in these boots, and I think we're heading off towards certain doom…"
"Slow down there, Heln, we've already hit rock bottom." Bel looked down at the moss and grass. "Well. Close enough. Remember? It only goes up from here."
"Or we smash through the rock and fall into a gaping black abyss of death and despair," Heln muttered.
"See, the point I was trying to make was that optimism is going to do us a lot more good then what you're doing."
"Being realistic?"
"Actually, the reality is that we have no idea what could be on the other side of this room," Bel reminded him with a smile that was probably a few shades off from winning. She had tried scrubbing her teeth with a stick after Rhyss told her that was what the Guard did when they were out on the field. It had left a lot to be desired and she was pretty sure Rhyss was laughing at her.
Heln didn't even try to smile. "Are you still voting dragons?"
"I'm voting a giant room full of fluffy beds and kittens. Maybe some rainbows. And attractive people serving us
apenberry juice in crystal goblets."
"I'm voting another tunnel full of glowing moss." Rhyss walked around the corner of the building they had used for shelter the night before, adjusting the strap of her bag. "Do I win?"
"You know what? I figured out your problem. You have absolutely no imagination." Bel folded her arms. "None at all. And you're just as pessimistic as he is."
She jerked a thumb at Heln and it took very little imagination to almost hear Heln rolling his eyes.
With Rhyss, she didn't even have to picture it, she just did it, right in front of her face. "Well, I don't really need imagination to get us out of here. It looks like you have your stuff, so let's go."
There were still little lights on the other side of the castle. More buildings loomed suddenly from the trees, more like the ghosts of structures than anything solid. The light grew weaker the farther they walked until Bel had to spin an illumination bubble despite the natural glow of the forest. She wasn't sure if her own imagination was getting away with her, but she thought the path was more defined. The little white stones seemed more plentiful.
Heln and Rhyss weren't in the mood to talk. Bel tried a few times to engage them in some sort of conversation, but their short, one-word answers made her give up after a while. The forest and its ruins seemed to be a weight that pressed in on all sides, anyway, making any words feel small and flat. Thoughts were the same way, so Bel decided to focus on how much her feet hurt. The pain was, for once, an almost welcome distraction. Especially when her only view besides trees and creepy buildings was Heln's back and his shredded jacket, or the rips in Rhyss's cloak. She wondered when that had happened for about five seconds before she realized that she didn't actually want to know. Instead Bel pretended Rhyss had gotten caught on a tree branch.
The floating lights faded and the ceiling was nearly dark when they reached the end of the path.
Bel had assumed the path would lead to the wall, like where they had entered the room. She had thought it was reasonable to expect the enormous cavern to mirror itself.
Instead, the path ended in a semi-circle of large stones.
The tallest was at least three times Heln's height and jutting from the ground in a way that suggested each one sank deep into the earth. At the base they were mossy, a virulent green against chalky white. Higher up the stone was clean and riddled with carved runes. The stone in the center had the skull on it, more detailed than the one in the tunnels. Every bump and flaw of bone stood out, the socket so deep that Bel wondered if she looked through it if she would see to the other side. The plant life around them glowed a soft, soothing green.
"They look like the Rising Stones." Rhyss touched the outermost one, it was the shortest and was still quite a bit taller than she was.
"They'd be in roughly the same spot, too." Heln was staring at the carving in the center. "Maybe they were used similarly, when runic magic was… well, when it worked."
"Can you feel anything?" Rhyss asked him.
Heln gave her a sheepish look. "I, um. Never took my shields down. After the room."
"What?" Rhyss looked surprised, then faintly murderous. "We could be walking straight into something and we wouldn't even know!"
Bel stepped in before she went back to being an only child, placing a hand on Heln's shoulder. "Heln is not a tool. He's a person. We all want to get out of here alive, Rhyss, but you can't forget that we're all just people."
"Thank you, Bel." Heln looked confused, but sounded genuinely grateful, so Bel would take it.
"I am aware." Rhyss sounded like she wanted to say something quite a bit stronger than that. "However, maybe when we make finds like this we should take the time to investigate them, especially since I recall someone was curious about these ruins…?"
"You're right. About both things, I should have checked sooner." Heln shrugged off Bel's hand and closed his eyes, clearly lowering his shields and feeling out around him once more. "Well, they feel like the Rising Stones, but they're muted. It's like they're asleep. If it helps, they don't seem to be dangerous, and I don't think they're going to rise any time soon."
"Pity, we could have ridden them up." Bel sat down. Right here seemed like a good enough place to take a break if Heln said it was safe.
"That would have killed us." Rhyss folded her arms, responding to Bel's spoken words.
"Oh, well, at least then my legs would stop hurting." Bel drummed her heels on the ground, trying to get any feeling that wasn't pain in the soles of her feet. She didn't think she was going to succeed. "I dare one of you to stick your hand in that hole."
"No." Heln sat down next to her.
Rhyss looked like she was going to argue, but she sighed and set her bag down. "Fine. A quick rest, then we need to get to the wall. Today."
"But don't you remember? Time has no meaning when we're underground." Bel gave up and flopped onto her back, staring up at the cavern ceiling. It was dim here, only a few crystals shining through the gloom. "It's way darker here, have you noticed that? I thought it was because my eyes were used to the mega crystal."
"No, you're right. There's less magic here." Heln said. "Even the trees are quieter. Before, it kind of felt like if we just stopped and listened…" He shook his head instead of finishing the sentence. "I wonder what's different."
"The stones, maybe. I thought you weren't special friends with the trees?"
"What?" Heln blinked. "Oh. No, never actually stopped and listened, so I guess we don't have that special bond."
"Shame."
Bel propped herself up on her elbows and looked at the likeness of the Forest God. It was very well carved, but it was just that — a carving. She'd felt more threatened by the pillars. Maybe it was the lighting, but she thought it was just where they were.
Even though she knew that the tree castle was infested with things that she didn't want to think about, the cavern had an aura of peace that was particularly palpable next to the stones. She closed her eyes and let that feeling soak into her, feeling calm for the first time in what felt like centuries.
"Well, we rested and now we need to get to the wall." Rhyss's voice made Bel's shoulders want to tense up again.
She kept her eyes closed, anyway. "Excuse you. I am having a moment and you are shattering it."
"Crack crack."
"Wow, Rhyss, you do have a sense of humor." She finally opened her eyes and was surprised to see Rhyss's hand nearly in her face. Black residue was trapped underneath every single fingernail and she didn't want to know what it was from. "What's this?"
"My hand." Rhyss shook it a bit.
"I see that. Why's it right up in my face? Are you going to punch me?"
"I'm offering you a hand up, dumb dumb, but I could—"
Bel grabbed her hand before she could finish that sentence. She grinned a bit and hauled her to her feet. It felt like this really was the first time that Rhyss was warming up to her, and Bel was surprised by how much she liked it. She definitely wanted to encourage rather than discourage it.
"Wow, you are strong," Bel told her. "I am so impressed. There are probably literally stars in my eyes."
She faltered when Rhyss actually leaned in close and looked her in the eye for a moment. "No, there aren't. Let's go."
Ah, damn. She'd somehow managed to screw it up. Again.
Chapter Twelve
Bel poured more magic into the bubble floating above her hand. It wasn't dark, exactly; nothing had really changed. The moss was still glowing, tree trunks looked like gently stirred embers, and the occasional small light floated by. The ceiling glittered above them, even though the main crystal had to be miles away.
Even with everything glowing it still felt too dark.
"Bel could you please tone that down?" Heln sounded annoyed and distracted. When Bel glanced at him, he looked like he wanted to throttle her. That was an expression she was getting far too acquainted with, between him and Rhyss. "I'm trying to figure out where the exit is."
"I t
hought you weren't clairvoyant." Bel lowered the bubble as much as she dared.
"I'm not." Heln leaned his head to one side, like he was trying to hear something just out of range. Bel wondered if Heln's magic sense worked like hearing or something else, if they were even compatible at all, and was surprised she had never really asked. "I think, though, that the next room, or tunnel, or whatever it is will have a different feel than this place. So, if I'm right and if I can get a good feel on it then I might be able to get us a general direction. Maybe. Well, probably. If I'm right, then definitely. Probably."
"Wow. And here my idea was to pick a direction and hope for the best. I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I'm really glad you're here." Bel patted his shoulder.
"Thanks. I think."
"I mean, if I had to get stuck down in the middle of the earth with anyone…"
"Yes, thank you, Bel." Heln cut her off, which was probably for the best. It was hard for Bel to walk around with both feet shoved in her mouth, though maybe they would stop hurting. "I appreciate it, and for what it's worth, I'm glad you're here, too."
Bel grinned and slung an arm around Heln's shoulders. "Thanks. Don't worry, I'm gonna get us out of here."
"I think Rhyss is the more likely candidate for saving us, but I do appreciate the sentiment." Heln didn't protest to being pulled down.
"Rude."
"Honest."
"Let him concentrate, Bel, please." Rhyss broke through their bonding moment.
Bel made a face at Rhyss, but she did step away. "Fine, since you said please and all, I suppose."
"Yes. Thank you." Rhyss held up a fist, which she realized about a step too late meant that they were supposed to stop. "Heln, just tell me which way. And next time let me know the plan before the plan starts?"
"I'm not sure it will work so I didn't mention anything." Heln closed his eyes again. Even in the dim light it was obvious that he was pale and his eyes looked a bit sunken. There was a smudge of dirt or moss on his cheek. Bel realized it was actually a bruise and winced.
Heln was taller than her and pretended that he was mature and responsible so everyone, even Bel sometimes, forgot that he was actually her little brother. Their dad never forgot. When Heln had come to live with him, the first thing he'd requested from Bel was to love him. The second was to protect him.