“So am I,” scoffed Jeom, folding his arms across his chest. “What a big waste of time,” he mumbled.
“Hey! You said you were going to be neutral,” said Lessa in a sweet voice, trying to use her charm to sway his beliefs.
“It won’t be that easy,” whispered Arianna. “Here, look. It’s a revealing spell I saw earlier. It can expose something that’s hidden by magic, but I’m not sure if it’ll work since we’re looking for an exit…” she said, uncertain.
“Yes, I think the parchment will know you’re cheating,” said Jeom.
Arianna narrowed an icy gaze over the scroll towards the snarky boy but said nothing to antagonize him more. She knew it would take time for him to trust, but now she realized why Solomon’s mind exploded not so long ago when she refused to believe the truth he knew so well.
“Do you want to have a go at this one, Les?” she said.
“I suppose.” She peered over Arianna’s shoulder at the instructions in the script. “Magic sure does come in all shapes and sizes, doesn’t it?”
The incantation didn’t call for a foreign tongue as the one before. Instead, the scroll instructed one must recite a short, rhythmic verse with a specific request to reveal what one searched for. The spell could work in many ways, depending on how the verse was put together and the person behind the words; or it may not even work at all. Regardless of the riddle-me-this directions, neither of them felt sure of the outcome.
“Okay, really concentrate on it,” said Arianna. “I don’t know if it’ll be too difficult or not.” Lessa nodded and closed her eyes as Sano stayed his ground on her shoulder.
“We cannot find what was never lost, so reveal to us the path to cross,” said Lessa in a shaky voice. She peeked open an eye but saw nothing happened. “Maybe I wasn’t specific enough?” She shrugged, looking to Arianna for answers.
“Or maybe you really just aren’t strong enough. I mean, when I did that little charm earlier, I felt weaker right away, and that’s probably because I’ve never actively used any magic before. Neither have you. Talis said it takes a lot of practice and energy. Here, let’s try this,” said Arianna, taking Lessa’s hands in hers.
“What are you doing?”
“Maybe we can do this one together? Solomon said the exercises I did in practice could also double as training for sorcery, and he’s an advocate for teamwork. Try completely clearing you mind and focus only on the spell. That’s what I did before a battle. I would only concentrate on my goal and then the adrenaline would flow all around me.”
“Truly?” said Jeom, crossing his arms. “This is completely ridiculous.”
Lessa and Arianna ignored his lack of faith and repeated the rhyme Lessa had fashioned, wanting to try anything rather than do nothing at all. This was a time for last resorts. Together they let the words fall from their lips as they concentrated on every one, “We cannot find what was never lost, so reveal to us the path to cross.”
As soon as the last word left their lips, they both felt a surge in the pit of their stomachs and a strong tug on their energy, but, when they opened their eyes, there was nothing to be seen. Nothing at all miraculous had happened.
“I guess it’s not going to work…” said Lessa, dropping her gaze to the floor. “I do feel a lot weaker though… Strange.” She rubbed at her dizzied head.
“Suppose not,” said Arianna. She scanned the scroll once more, hoping she missed some key element to the spell. “Okay, have at it now, Jeom,” she said without bothering to look up from the parchment.
When he didn’t reply, both girls glanced to find him in a state of shock. His mouth hung slack and his eyes wide as he tried to form words on his lips. “What’s happened?” said Lessa, running to him to check for some kind of illness.
They waited but still he said nothing. “Spit it out!” said Arianna.
“It worked,” he breathed. “Look up.” He lifted his eyes and pointed to the high ceilings.
Both Arianna and Lessa raised their heads, and what they saw struck them mute as well. A green-dusted trail shimmered above them, trickling back down the long tunnel like a never-ending emerald python.
Jeom retold the events all in one breath. “After you said your strange, witchy spell, that light just spilled out of your hands and shot off down through the tunnels. Your eyes, they were glowing! It was astounding…” he said in a whisper, not really knowing how to react. He slumped against the wall of the cave and hugged his axe to his chest in a daze. “Just incredible…” He let a smile trace around his mouth as his boggled mind readjusted his opinions.
“Believe us now?” said Lessa with her hands on her hips.
“I’m finding it hard not to after that display, yes,” he said. “At the same time, I can’t find the imagination to believe in it at all.” He just shook his head in bewilderment.
“Well, come on!” said Arianna with an excited gleam in her eyes. “Who knows how long it’ll last.”
She grasped both their hands and pulled them back down the tunnel at a jogging pace. The emerald trail twisted and curved high above their heads, snaking in and out of the jagged ceilings of the tunnels. The three believers followed the light, testing many different directions along many different paths. As they moved further and further through the perplexing labyrinths of the mountains, the light grew stronger and thicker.
“I hope this is right,” said Lessa. “This deep in, we’ll never find our way out on our own.”
“Don’t worry,” said Arianna. “I have a good feeling about—”
“Did you hear that?” said Jeom, yanking the group to a stop.
“Not again…” said Lessa, stroking a sleeping Sano.
“I really think I heard voices this time. Listen.” Jeom put a finger to his lips.
Arianna listened to the still air of the caverns and the drone of the firebugs as they paused. Jeom was completely on edge and even Sano awakened, his bright eyes growing alert as he listened as well.
“What if it’s those ghosts seeking revenge?” said Jeom in a whisper. Lessa kicked him in the shin.
“They’re not haunted,” said Lessa and Arianna in chorus.
“You expect me to believe in magic when you can’t even appreciate a little ghost story? Let’s not be biased now.”
“For the last time, there are no such things as ghosts! The only ghost I know is Lessa, and she’s on our side,” said Arianna, pulling her cloak tight around her body as she glanced around. Please don’t let it be ghosts.
Lessa tried changing the subject. “Well, I don’t hear anything. Let’s just keep mov—”
“Wait.” Arianna put a hand on Lessa’s arm. “Someone’s coming.” She was staring at Sano.
Lessa and Jeom stopped their bickering and followed her gaze towards the monkey. Their expressions fell too as they realized Arianna’s reasoning for her claim. Sano’s fur stood on edge, and he clung to Lessa’s robes as his eyes stayed fixed on the mouth of a dark tunnel where the enchanted trail did not enter.
Everyone tensed as fear settled over the group.
Always follow your instincts.
Arianna lifted her hand to draw a single sword from her back, but she froze as a hooded figure stepped forth from the shadows. The scene looked all too familiar and a distant image flickered before her mind.
“Arianna Belvedor,” said the man from the shadows. An accustomed shudder ran down her spine as she recognized the voice, such a horrible one.
“General Ivo.” Arianna clenched her blade tighter, trying to stop her shaking. From fear or anger, she did not know.
“My, my, what trouble you’ve caused. I do admire your commitment to life, but I think you’ve outlived your time, twenty-two.”
He lifted the hood from his face, and Arianna saw the jagged scar across his cheek. She clutched the hilt of one of Solomon’s swords and let it slide from its scabbard. As she did, she saw a beguiled expression cross his face.
He looked past her, taking in the group of
outlaws. Then his gaze lifted to the ceiling, and he recoiled as the magic came into his view. He didn’t know what to make of it. How could he with such a magicless soul?
“My time, general, has barely begun,” she said, feeling a surge of courage build up inside of her. Information was power, her friends were power, and she would not cower in a fair fight.
The general completely ignored the magic before him. “Oh, on the contrary, slave. You’re done here.”
Arianna moved a step forward but felt someone holding her back. She turned to see Lessa clutching at her robes. “Look around,” she whispered in her ear.
Arianna saw General Ivo’s face light up with vengeance as he stood waiting, smiling, but something else caught her eye. In the mouth of the tunnel, more hooded figures began to emerge. She heard guarded murmurs as they too witnessed the miracle of magic snaking across the ceiling, but the general silenced them with only a gesture.
She recognized some of the regulators as R.J, Mundar, and the Chapin brothers, but several she did not know. She stepped back, trying to think of an escape plan, but the general read her thoughts.
This was far from a fair fight.
“If you run, that will only make my job easier,” he said. “My archers will have arrows in your backs before you can form your next thought. But if you wish for a battle, I wouldn’t mind taking the time to get a little blood on my hands. We’ve been tracking you for days, so it’ll be well worth the effort.”
Arianna heard the regulators snicker as they moved forward, closing in. She looked to Jeom and Lessa who readied their weapons. “I think we’re a bit tired of running,” she said as one of Lessa’s arrows flew through the air.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
TUNNEL OF TOMBS
Arianna wanted to press her hands to her ears to block out the sound. So much screaming. The metal screamed as weapons collided with each other, swords on shields, arrows on swords, and the people screamed as they tore into one another.
The battle was short and one-sided.
Her mind wandered to an earlier conversation with Solomon as she stood cornered with her back against the cool wall of the cavern. Beyond these mountains is a land more vast and dangerous than you could possibly imagine. She frowned at the thought as she battled for her life in the depths of Blancoren, starting to get a better idea of what she might face if she ever freed herself from the Jar.
“Don’t kill her yet!” said the general as he paced the cavern, dictating orders to his men as he watched.
One of the Chapin twins struck her across the face, and the other slammed her to the ground, pressing his knee into her back to keep her still. “You insolent child,” he said as a scream tore through her lips.
Arianna struggled under his weight, and the other brother pressed the tip of his sword into her cheek. “Don’t move.”
I am not a slave. I am not a child.
Arianna licked at her lips, tasting the salty blood trickling down her face. Her body felt sore from such a beating, but she didn’t feel defeated yet, not while she still lived. She relaxed and gathered her courage and her strength, setting her fears aside for later. Lifting her eyes, she saw the bodies of a few regulators collapsed over each other, one with an arrow in his chest and others with gashes in their stomachs.
“Let him go!”
She swiveled her head to find Lessa being restrained by R.J and Sano in the arms of the general.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of him,” he said, stroking his fur. Sano bit his finger, and the general threw him to the ground. “Damn, I’m bleeding!”
She saw Lessa smile as she watched her small friend scurry away, still following the light. General Ivo turned stone-faced and threw a punch to her stomach. Her smile didn’t last long as she heaved over from the blow, still in the restraints of R.J as she spit up blood.
“I have the boy,” said Mundar from further down the cavern.
“Good. Bring him here,” said General Ivo. “Bring them all here!”
She heard Jeom groan as Mundar shoved him towards Lessa with the staff end of his own weapon. Arianna felt her anger boiling up as the Chapin brothers dragged her over to her friends by her elbows. For a moment their eyes all met, looking to each other for a way out, but the moment was short-lived and no one could read minds.
Arianna felt her wrists chafe as one of the brothers tied them behind her back with thick rope. They were all seated with their backs to each other in the center of the cave, struggling against the restraints as the regulators and the general circled them like hungry wolves.
“Good job, men,” said General Ivo as he studied his prey.
“What are you waiting for?” said Jeom through clenched teeth. “Get on with it!”
The general moved swift as he unsheathed his sword. In mere seconds the tip of his steel pointed at Jeom’s heart. Jeom sucked in his chest, tensing from the threat, and the general let out a howl of laughter, putting his sword back at his hip.
“Are you sure, boy?” he said. “You don’t seem very ready to die, but don’t fret. You’ll meet Death soon. I’m sure one of my men would like to get your blood on their blades, but I’d like mine to stay clean a little while longer.” Jeom looked away, saying nothing.
“How did you find us?” said Arianna. She didn’t quite care, but she wanted to prolong their death sentences. She only half listened as she continued picking at the rope around her hands, wishing she knew some spell to loosen the bind. She had tried using magic during this battle as she did with Grinda, but something went wrong. Her mind hadn’t listened as she tried concentrating on the spells Solomon taught her to use alongside her swords.
“Oh, it wasn’t very difficult,” said Mundar. He unrolled a parchment from his belt and shook it in front of her face. She noticed drawings similar to Lessa’s mapping of the tunnels.
The general walked out of view, and she felt Lessa squirm as he came to stand in front of her. “You all strayed down a very wrong path. If I were a lazier man, I would’ve let the tunnels do my work for me.”
“Why didn’t you?” said Arianna.
“Because I wanted to see for myself,” he said. The general walked back to Arianna with a smile stretched across his face.
“See what?” said Arianna, raising an eyebrow.
“Your hideaway.”
Arianna looked confused as he waited for her to put the pieces together.
“Oh, you know… the waterfall, the hot springs. A very intriguing place, I might add. I’ll enjoy it in the future.”
Arianna balked, and she felt Lessa tense at the mention of their utopia. Just the thought of such an evil man setting foot near their sacred springs made her want to set the world on fire, but the King had beat her to it.
“How do you know about that,” said Arianna in a quiet voice, trying to control her anger as it bubbled to the surface
“You aren’t very smart, are you? Entrusting such heavy secrets to one so… talkative,” he said.
“Cyn,” said Arianna without hesitation. She was saddened at the thought of her beloved caretaker, her trusted mother-figure, but her anger never directed towards her. She knew to take the blame for the protection of her own secrets.
“Yes, Cyn. She confessed to another caretaker of your miraculous recovery, and Sir Westing found out everything. He was on to you for a while, and just after that little stunt you pulled at the Free Falls, he told me of your hideout in the walls of Blancoren.”
Arianna remembered the day she bumped into him in her district and felt mad at herself for not being more careful. She should’ve listened to her instincts then too. They had warned her multiple times to steer clear of that man.
“Sir, I think these slaves are from different districts. Their robes…” said Mundar as he studied the captives.
“Yes, thank you, Mundar,” he said in an icy voice. “I’m aware of this.” Mundar stepped back as the general drew the attention of his men. “No one can hear of this! Do you all u
nderstand? The King would have our heads.”
“Yes, Sir,” they all said as one mechanic voice, bowing.
Arianna felt Jeom’s fingers wriggling as he concentrated on freeing himself, but the general again demanded her attention as he grabbed one of her own swords from the ground. Arianna felt helpless with her hands bound as she stared wide-eyed at the sharp end of Solomon’s sword, her sword.
“One more thing before I kill you,” he said. “I’m curious of this light.”
“It’s magic,” spit Arianna without reluctance. She knew he wouldn’t believe her regardless.
She flinched as she felt Jeom’s hand grasp her own and then Lessa’s. He gave them both a firm squeeze and then released his grip, leaving Arianna with a little reassurance. At least they would go together.
The general laughed, and the other regulators joined in as they stood back, waiting for him to strike.
“Magic doesn’t exist, and now neither will you.”
He lifted the sword.
Arianna closed her eyes and said a silent prayer.
She felt her body fall backwards to the rocky ground and heard a loud thud. Her eyes flew open to see Jeom free of his restraints. “Ta da!” he said as he tackled the general to the ground, and, for a moment, everyone stood silent. Jeom took advantage of the regulators’ shocked state and grabbed a sword from the floor, cutting the ropes from the girls’ hands.
The girls stood and gathered their weapons, preparing to fight to the death as the regulators helped the general to his feet.
“Mundar, you idiot! All you had to do was tie a knot,” he said as Mundar offered the general his hand. General Ivo grabbed his hand and stood up. Arianna didn’t even see the sword enter Mundar’s body until the tip pushed out through his back. The general shoved him to the ground, stepping around his corpse.
“Get them and kill them!” he ordered to his remaining men. His outrage gave Arianna courage, but her fear started to resurface as the regulators ran towards them with their weapons raised high.
Belvedor and the Four Corners (Belvedor Saga Book 1) Page 25