by S. M. Boyce
Victoria nodded once, her expression relaxing. “I would have never have let that happen, Audrey.”
“I know.” Audrey smiled and relaxed against the wall. She needed to sleep off the fatigue, and even being in the enchanted tunnels didn’t assuage her exhaustion. She closed her eyes and let sleep take her.
***
Victoria watched Audrey as she curled up against the pack the Lochrosians had given her. If she was able to fall asleep that fast, the whole ordeal had been even worse than Victoria had thought. Audrey had to have become incredibly strong, if she had held on for so long.
Styx hummed happily from within Victoria’s locks, his hands weaving her hair like the strands of a willow until he had crafted a place to sleep. Too bad, because she needed to sleep too, and he would have to move or be crushed when she laid down.
Diesel set his newly-filled pack on the ground and rummaged through it. Even though he didn’t need it, he had refused to let go of his staff after it had finally been returned to him, and it swung about as he sifted through the bag’s contents. “They gave us enough food to last a month, and maps of everything they have. Queen Angelique wasn’t kidding when she said we would have everything we needed.”
“Do they know where the Rhazdon Artifact is?” Victoria asked.
Diesel rummaged through a few of the parchments in the bag. “I think so, my love. At least vaguely.”
Victoria shook her head at his pet name. Hopefully she would learn to ignore it in time. He had once said he liked it when she played hard to get, so maybe ignoring him completely would bore him enough to shake off his advances.
Ha, right. When hell freezes over.
It was too much to hope for, but she would try it anyway.
“You did well, Victoria,” Fyrn interrupted. The old wizard leaned against his staff, a small smile on his face.
Victoria hesitated, but ultimately smiled back. “Thank you. But please, Fyrn—don’t gamble with our lives like that again. I won’t trust you any more if you do.”
Fyrn nodded. “I apologize. I had my reasons for what I did, but I didn’t take into account the queen’s power. She is frightening, and yet you faced her as an equal. You should be proud, Victoria.”
Her smile widened and she nodded to him once in thanks. They didn’t need to say anything more. Besides, Fyrn wasn’t the sentimental type. That she had gotten this much from him was truly a gift.
“We should probably begin here,” Diesel said, handing Victoria one of the maps and pointing to a small circle in the top right. He leaned in, most likely in an attempt at an intimate gesture, and Victoria did her best to simply disregard it as he continued. “It’s the suspected inner lair, the space where the cavern no longer shifts—or at least not as much. It won’t change every time we turn our backs like last time.”
“Quite the contrary,” Victoria said with a yawn. “I think we should start with a nap. Fyrn, you promise to not let us get caught this time?”
The old wizard shook his head, grumbling to himself as whatever tender moment they had shared began to fade. “Lazy woman.”
“I heard that,” she said, crossing her ankles as she lounged on the floor. It wasn’t a featherbed, but after everything they had endured thus far she didn’t care.
***
Audrey was starting to get used to the absence of time within the tunnels. It gave her a sense of harmony and immediacy, a feeling that nothing existed outside of the now. She smiled more, despite the oppressive darkness, and found a startling new sensation in her chest. Peace.
It was weird as hell.
She was the feisty one. The jackass. Peace wasn’t exactly her thing, but she went with it.
The tunnels mostly wove on and on in an endless gem-lit stretch, but they were treated every now and then to an alcove or even a small meadow illuminated with otherworldly light. Audrey suspected it was merely a leak from above, but with all the darkness it looked like a slice of heaven was shining through.
She shook her head at the thought. What’s with all this flowery shit?
In her mind, the koi chuckled. I suppose inner peace isn’t for everyone.
Audrey laughed. Nope, definitely not. She couldn’t wait until she had her gym and her sense of time back again.
Victoria, now at the head of the group, lifted her hand to warn them they should be silent. She hid behind a boulder and peered around a bend, and Audrey followed suit. She peered over her friend’s shoulder to find another small meadow illuminated by a few thin rays of golden light that filtered through from overhead. This time the clearing was filled with knee-high deer that had two tube-like ears and a long snout. Their tiny tails flailed back and forth, and they chittered to each other as they maneuvered over the mossy floor and nibbled on it as though it were grass.
“Maybe we should shoot one,” Diesel said.
“We have more than enough food,” Victoria said with a shake of her head.
“Perhaps we do for now, but we could easily be down here for weeks, if not months. We should conserve the rations.”
Victoria shrugged. “Fair point, but with what we’ve seen so far, that could be a special breed of deer whose sole purpose is to poison wizards.”
“Or Atlanteans,” Audrey added, considering her luck thus far with the wizards of Lochrose.
“Right, exactly,” Victoria said with a chuckle. “So you can go ahead and cook it for me if you’re feeling generous.”
“Of course, my love,” Diesel said with a wink. He stood, and she smacked his side until he knelt again.
“I was kidding, obviously,” she snapped.
Audrey chuckled.
When the two wizards stood and continued down the tunnel, Audrey tugged on Victoria’s sleeve. Her friend spun on her heel, concern on her face, but this wasn’t anything serious. Audrey had merely been processing something since their time in Lochrose, and she had to speak her peace. “When we were returning home after escaping Atlantis and General Cato, you told me being a host wasn’t all that great. I didn’t believe you.”
Victoria laughed. “I believe you said hosts were all adored, actually.”
Audrey sighed at the stupid comment. “I did, and I’m sorry. I know I wasn’t on my game back there, but now I realize the danger you were in, too. If I had known what it was like to be you, what it was really like, I never would have asked for this. Truly.”
Victoria pulled Audrey into a tight hug. “We have each other, Audrey, and I’m going to need you once I have multiple Rhazdon Artifacts. We know nothing about the ghost tied to this next one, nor do we fully understand its power. Promise me you’ll always be there to help me, even if it’s to slap some sense into me?”
Audrey laughed. “I will most definitely be there for you if slapping is involved.”
Victoria chuckled but continued after the wizards, who had paused to wait for them and watch the deer. The deer, to their credit, didn’t seem to care about the strangers’ presence.
Audrey, meanwhile, hung back and watched her friends pool by the creatures. Diesel tried to put his arm on Victoria’s shoulder, but she smacked it away. He chuckled.
Why do people hate Victoria so much? Audrey wondered. Very few people had bothered to learn who she was or even ask basic questions to understand her motives. Audrey had seen it for herself in Lochrose, and that kind of blatant hatred was scary.
Fear twists even intelligent minds, the koi’s soft voice interrupted her thoughts.
“I suppose so,” Audrey said softly as she joined her friends.
Chapter 18
Victoria was about fed up with this “not knowing what time it is” bullshit. She wanted out of these caves, and fast.
Too bad it hadn’t worked that way. She tried to ignore her growing impatience and just let things happen. They would get there when they got there, regardless of how anxious she was to kill this sphinx.
“We’re at the inner cavern,” Fyrn said softly as he lifted one hand in a gesture for them to
slow down.
“Finally.” She paused as the tunnel ended in a steep drop. They waited at the entrance, and she peeked around the edge without sticking her head over the threshold. The gentle slope of the wide trail cut into the cliff face to her left and led down into the abyss.
After the disaster last time, they needed a game plan before they charged in with all guns blazing.
The gentle hum of Styx’s wings buzzed in the tunnel as he did laps overhead out of boredom. She debated telling him to stop, but it kept him out of harm’s way.
Victoria peeked over her shoulder at Audrey. “Do you have your mojo back?”
Audrey nodded and gave a mock salute. “Ready to shoot laser beams, ma’am.”
Victoria chuckled. “Laser beams, huh?”
“You’re just jealous.”
Fyrn stroked his beard as he surveyed the cavern. “Audrey won’t be able to use her Atlantean magic while she’s shifted into a witch, so we should only have her shift if absolutely necessary.”
“Noted,” Audrey said. “Only shift upon threat of immediate death by the wizard army.”
“Pretty much,” Fyrn said with a grumble.
“We need to find the Rhazdon Artifact.” Victoria scanned the darkness, hoping something would give it away. A glint of light among the shadows, maybe or—
“There,” Diesel said, his hand on Victoria’s shoulder as he pointed off to the side. He didn’t remove it after he spoke, and she shook her head in annoyance. She needed him to focus.
Staring down his finger, she noticed a few amber rays of light streaming over an apparently empty pedestal. Her heart skipped a beat in panic. “Someone already took it.”
Fyrn shook his head. “It’s small, Victoria. Barely the size of a ping pong ball. I assure you the Rhazdon Artifact is still here, because the creature is still alive.”
Victoria breathed a sigh of relief. “We need a plan to get to it undetected. That thing will likely know we’re here the moment we step into the cavern.”
“We could set up a diversion somewhere else,” Diesel suggested.
Victoria thought it over. “That’s not a bad idea.”
“It’s a risky one,” Fyrn interjected.
“How so? A diversion would keep its attention away from whoever steals the Rhazdon Artifact.”
“Yes, but at the expense of lives. Once you enter the outer lair, there’s a risk of never returning. The fact that we got out at all is luck.”
“And my quick wit,” Diesel said with a grin.
Fyrn stared at Diesel, head shaking with annoyance, but he continued as if the younger wizard hadn’t spoken. “Whoever acts as our diversion will likely die. With the creature on their tail and an ever-shifting cavern confusing them, they could be lost forever in its depths or just flat-out killed. Even if they live and we somehow kill the beast, we might never find them.”
“Oh,” Victoria and Diesel said in unison.
“Whatever we do, we have to do it in here,” Fyrn said with a gesture toward the inner lair.
Victoria tapped her finger on the nearest boulder as she tried to think up a plan. “That’s tricky. This area is much smaller, and the monster is massive.”
“This inner cavern is larger than it looks,” Fyrn said with a gesture toward the map in her hand. “There are corridors and hidden chambers within the lair where our volunteer distracters could lead the sphinx.”
“Why doesn’t this sphinx tell riddles? In the lore, they have to let you by if you solve their riddle.” Victoria chewed her lip in anticipation, a plan starting to form.
Fyrn shook his head. “That’s human lore. Fiction. The reality of it is, these are brutes who want nothing more than supper. They have no laws or moral code, much less a desire to play word games with their food.”
Damn. There goes my plan.
“Why haven’t we seen it yet?” Audrey asked. Her jaw tensed, and her hand inched toward the sword at her belt.
Victoria nodded, equally concerned. She didn’t like the quiet, not when that creature was out there somewhere in the shadows.
“It may be patrolling its outer lair,” Fyrn said with a shrug.
“What if we go for it?” Audrey asked with a nod toward the pedestal.
Fyrn stroked his beard. “I doubt it will be that easy. We will have to move exceptionally fast and keep to the path on this map. If we deviate even a little, the illusions and shifting floors of the inner lair could make it impossible to leave.”
“No pressure,” Audrey added sarcastically.
Victoria sat up straighter. “Can you summon the Rhazdon Artifact magically? Make it float up here?”
“I’d have to be closer,” Fyrn said, shaking his head.
Diesel grinned. “I know it seems as though we can do anything, my darling, but even great wizards like me have limits.”
Victoria shut her eyes in irritation, trying to clear her head and focus even if Diesel wouldn’t.
“How close do we need to get?” she asked.
“Twenty feet, give or take,” Fyrn answered.
She nodded, a new plan forming. “Audrey and I will be the distractions. You two need to get as close to it as you can, swipe it, and run back. When we see you retreat, we will too. Once the Rhazdon Artifact is secured, we all need to attack the creature with whatever we have to make sure it’s kept at bay until—”
She stopped talking mid-sentence and sighed, already disgusted with herself. She was going to say, “until we escape,” but that would mean going back on her promise to Queen Angelique. She might not have admired the woman, but she refused to lie.
Diesel seemed to read her mind. “We can steal the Rhazdon Artifact, train you on how to use it, and then go back for the sphinx once you have more power.”
Victoria shook her head. “Someone has to die to allow me to fuse with the Rhazdon Artifact, remember?”
Diesel’s smile faded, and his gaze flickered to the arm where her dagger was embedded. “I sometimes forget that detail, at least with you.”
Victoria didn’t appreciate his advances, but he was still her friend—and she didn’t like the haunted expression on his face at the thought of someone dying for her to have this power. “Diesel, it’s not like that—”
“She didn’t kill for that Rhazdon Artifact, Diesel,” Fyrn interrupted. “Not that it’s your business.”
Diesel cleared his throat and plastered on another charming smile, and Victoria was surprised she could tell it was fake. She had been spending too much time around him, and it bothered her how much she hated to think he thought less of her.
“Victoria,” Fyrn said sharply.
She tilted her head toward him, fists clenched with the desire to fix whatever she had done to upset Diesel. “What?”
“We will find someone who deserves to die. A criminal. A murderer. Then we will return, and you will keep your promise to Lochrose. Does that suit you?”
She nodded.
“Good. Ready?” Fyrn asked, standing.
“Ready,” Audrey said, an Atlantean crystal in one fist.
“As am I,” Diesel said, spinning his black wizard’s staff.
Victoria stood as well. “Let’s do this, then. Styx, are you joining us?”
The little pixie hovered in front of her face and saluted, his tiny features scrunched and exaggeratedly serious. She chuckled despite the dark mood. “Make sure Fyrn and Diesel get the Rhazdon Artifact. If they drop it, you grab it and come back here.”
He squeaked in affirmation, apparently ready to perform his duties.
Victoria stretched her arms a bit, readying for the onslaught. “We do this together. One. Two.”
“Three,” a haunting voice said.
Before they could move an inch, an eye as tall as the cave exit appeared, blocking their way into the inner lair.
Victoria swallowed a scream, and everyone jumped backward.
“Hello, little dinners,” the echoing female voice said.
“Retre
at!” Victoria shouted.
Audrey shot a brilliant blast of light that caught the monster in the eye. It shrieked in pain, and the wizards covered their retreat with a few well-placed spells aimed at the sphinx’s face.
To her astonishment, the sphinx didn’t shield its face as the attack ravaged its head. Instead, it reached for its neck.
Its neck must be vulnerable! Her heart leapt with joy at the thought, and she skidded to a stop. She scanned its neck, about to strike when the creature shook off the pain and glared at her.
Apparently her revelation would have to serve her in a future battle. Right now the sphinx had the upper hand, and Victoria had to get her group the hell out of reach.
Breath caught in her throat and thighs aching from stress and a lack of sleep, Victoria led their small band back down the corridor. Seconds later, a long paw topped with razor-sharp claws swiped into the tunnel. The claws dug up rock, gouging the entrance like a knife through butter.
Foiled, the creature put its mouth at the entrance and roared. In the tiny space, the overpowering sound knocked them off their feet.
“This way!” Fyrn charged toward solid rock, and for a moment Victoria thought he had lost his mind. But he disappeared through the wall and out of sight, and Victoria realized this was another illusion. She charged after him, with Diesel, Audrey, and Styx hot on her heels.
The side tunnel looked identical to all the others, and Fyrn led them quite a ways down it before he paused, shoulders heaving, to catch his breath.
Apparently out of harm’s way, Victoria slumped against the wall in defeat. She wanted to pull out her hair and hit her head against something. This creature seemed to know everything. Every breath. Every move. It owned these caverns, and it knew all that happened within them.
“I will have you first, Atlantean!” the monster screamed, its voice muted through the rock.
“Aw, I feel special,” Audrey said with a forced laugh.