“Lie to you? I haven’t lied to you.”
“Yes, you did! You told me that time doesn’t work, that the watch didn’t mean anything! So how do you explain this?”
She yanked the watch from her pocket and thrust it in his face.
“Well?”
“It’s nothing!” he insisted, dismissing her with a wave. He seemed nonchalant, but for a moment, Laice thought she saw a sparkle of glee awaken in his eyes.
“It’s NOT nothing! There were other watches, Seph, just like mine! I saw them outside of the camp!”
He pursed his lips.
“What did you see?”
“A cave, Seph, filled with people! They were dying again and again, tortured and burning with no escape! Each of them had a watch, and there was a woman―”
“It must have been one of Eli’s tricks,” Seph told her, rolling his eyes. “A plot to get you to leave. One of the first things I said to you when you woke up was that the darkness out there was dangerous, remember? I know the area around the camp like the back of my hand, Laice, there’s no cave anywhere close.”
“I know I saw it, I know it was real! Please, Seph, you have to believe me!”
He studied her face, silently reading the desperation in her eyes.
“Okay, Laice,” he told her finally, letting out a sigh. “I trust you. If you say you saw something, I believe you.”
She gasped, surprised at how quickly she had managed to convince him.
“So now you trust me? Just like that?”
“Yes, I do,” he continued. “But that doesn’t mean you should be here! It’s not safe, let’s go back to the camp and you can show me what you saw.”
For a moment, her heart wavered, but Eli’s words resonated in her mind.
“I can’t.”
“I don’t understand, Laice, I just want you to show me―”
“Eli told me that my time was running out, and it is. He told me that I couldn’t remember unless I left that place, that I need to find the mountain. Seph, I saw all those people burning! They were trapped, and I think…”
She paused, taking a deep breath.
“I think that’s what will happen to me if my time runs out. I think that’s what will happen if I don’t go to the mountain like Eli said.”
“You’re a fool!” Seph cried, his frustration instantly flaring back up. “How can you trust that man? He is our enemy, Laice!”
“He said you’re my enemy!” she shot back, equally flustered. “Who am I to believe? I can feel it, Seph, I know in my heart that I have to do what he said!”
“In your heart? You want to risk everything because of a feeling?”
“What am I risking?” she demanded, her hands on her hips. “Tell me!”
“You’re trusting our enemy, Laice! Are you really that foolish?”
“I’m not changing my mind,” she informed him, her voice lowering as she crossed her arms defiantly. “Go back to the camp without me. I’m staying here.”
Seph stared at her openmouthed for a moment before letting out a yell of frustration. She ignored him, turning back towards the bridge and stepping forward, when she felt him take hold of her hand once again.
“Fine!” he growled, stopping her. “But if I can’t talk any sense into you, I’m going with you!”
She shot him a sideways glance.
“Really?”
“Yes. At least if I come along, I can try to keep you safe.”
“With what?” she laughed. His sword and armor had disappeared just like hers, and he was dressed in the same tunic and trousers as she was.
“Well, you won’t be alone! That’s better than nothing!”
His voice grew soft, and he reached out, gently resting his hand on her cheek.
“I’d never forgive myself if I lost you, Laice.”
She pursed her lips, contemplating, then nodded. She began walking towards the bridge, only for Seph to stop her yet again.
“What now?”
“It isn’t safe,” he answered, moving in front of her and blocking her path. “Don’t go that way.”
“There’s no other way to go!” she protested. “Besides, Eli told me to stay to the left―”
“If nothing else, at least trust me on this,” Seph interrupted. “Watch!”
He stepped onto the bridge. The rock lurched the moment his foot touched the surface, and he leaped back as the loud crack of fracturing stone pierced the air. Laice let out a shriek, mouth agape, as the narrow bridge sheared away from the edge of the canyon, crumbling into a thousand pieces and disappearing into the depths of the void.
He turned, a smug look on his face.
“See?”
As she stared in shock at the empty space where the bridge had just been, she felt a flash of doubt well up in her heart. Why would Eli tell her to go that way? Maybe Seph was right, maybe she needed to go back.
Eva’s burning face filled her mind, and Laice swallowed hard. She couldn’t go back.
“So what now?” she asked.
Seph grunted in dismay; it was obvious that he had expected her to abandon the idea of continuing.
“Well, if Eli said to go left…”
He turned to the right, then gave a triumphant chuckle.
“That means we do the opposite.”
He pointed, and Laice caught sight of something hidden in the shadows off to her right. She squinted, trying to make out the shape, then quickly realized that it was the dark opening of a tunnel.
“Let’s go,” Seph prompted. “The sooner we find this mountain and you see for yourself that Eli’s a liar, the sooner we can go home.”
She silently obeyed, following Seph towards the tunnel, when a strange feeling began tugging at her heart. She glanced over her shoulder, and her eyes grew wide with disbelief: the bridge was back in its place as if it had never moved.
“Seph, look!”
He turned, following her stare, then gave an undaunted shrug.
“What of it?”
“What of it?” she echoed, dumbfounded. “We both saw it fall! How is it there?”
He shrugged again as he continued towards the tunnel.
“I already told you,” he called. “You can’t be sure of anything you see here.”
Laice didn’t move; her eyes were locked onto the bridge as she tried to understand what she was seeing. Did it really fall or had she just imagined it?
“Come!” Seph prodded, jolting her from her thoughts. “I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to be!”
Tearing her gaze away from the bridge was difficult, but she managed to force herself to turn. She followed Seph into the tunnel, doing her best to ignore the cloud of nervous anxiety that had begun to settle over her.
“This place is filled with tunnels,” Seph told her as they moved through the passage. “We should be able to avoid most of the real danger if we can stay inside.”
Every inch of the tight space was covered with a thick coat of black soot. The ground seemed to radiate a faint, orange light, and she looked down, watching her toes leave patterns in the soft dust beneath her. She coughed; the air smelled like sulphur, and her lungs ached with every breath she took.
“What danger?” Laice asked, holding tight to the back of his shirt to keep herself close to him. She kept her eyes focused on the ground, placing her bare feet carefully as she walked.
“You can’t begin to imagine,” Seph answered, ducking beneath shards of rock that protruded from the ceiling. “Watch your head.” She followed suit, losing her balance for a moment as she ducked. It felt like they were moving down deeper into the earth.
“How do you know so much about this place?”
“I’ve been here before,” he answered, grunting as he stepped over a large piece of broken stone. “That’s how I know Eli’s lying about the mountain.”
“You’ve been to the mountain?”
Seph didn’t answer.
“Well?”
“Y
es, I have, if you must know,” he snapped. His tone surprised her, and she got the distinct impression that he hadn’t intended to reveal so much.
“Why didn’t you tell me? You made it sound like it didn’t exist!”
“It exists, all right,” he muttered. “But it’s not what you think it is.”
“Then what is it?”
“A lie, just like everything else that comes out of his mouth. Not that it matters anymore, he’s already managed to bring you here. We’re walking right into his trap, he’ll capture us both!”
“Like on the battlefield?” she mumbled sarcastically. Seph cursed under his breath.
“Maybe he didn’t take you then, Laice, but that doesn’t change anything! Like I’ve been trying to tell you, it’s all a trick!”
Another thought occurred to her, and she held her breath for a moment, trying to decide whether she should ask.
“What about my watch? It has the same roses as the enemy shields. Does that mean it came from the king?”
She studied his posture as she spoke, and she saw his shoulders tense up.
“I’ve no doubt,” he answered after a long moment, his voice strained. “And that’s why it’s so dangerous for you to have.”
“You knew that the moment I showed it to you, but you still told me you didn’t know where it came from! Not to mention your attempt to convince me to give it to you!”
Seph stopped and turned to look at her. The darkness of the tunnel hid most of his face in shadow, giving him the appearance of an emaciated ghoul, but his eyes flashed bright with anger.
“You’d just lost your memory, Laice! Forgive me for thinking there were more important things to deal with than a worthless trinket!”
“So instead you lie to me?”
“I didn’t lie to you about anything! I simply chose not to answer!”
“At least have the decency to admit it,” she spat, rolling her eyes. “You should have just told me the truth!”
“Tell you that the cursed thing came from the enemy you don’t remember? The enemy you still don’t remember? Yes, how stupid of me to think you would have understood such a simple explanation! I’ve been trying to tell you how foolish this idea is, but you can’t even understand that!” He grunted with frustration as he spun around to continue walking.
“I might be more inclined to believe you if you hadn’t lied to me in the first place!”
“But you trust Eli?” Seph replied, and she could see his back trembling with anger as she followed behind him. “I’m your friend, I actually care about you, but here we are on this idiotic venture because you’ll trust him instead of me?” His voice dripped with sarcasm, and Laice sighed with annoyance as she fell silent.
The angle of the path dropped sharply and she stepped down, only to collide face-first with a section of low-hanging rock. Stars filled her vision as she cried out, clutching her face in her hands. Warm droplets of blood leaked through her fingers, and the wet edges of her torn skin were slippery beneath her fingertips.
“You’ll be fine,” Seph told her, turning just long enough to give her a condescending glare. “Hurry up.”
Seething at his uncaring response, Laice tried to force herself to calm down as she waited for the pain to fade. Sure enough, as the moments passed, she felt her skin begin to mend itself, the wound quickly disappearing without a trace. Her hands were still slick with blood and she moved to wipe them on her tunic, then paused as the memory of her dream flashed through her mind. She could almost feel the blood seeping up into her eyes and mouth, and she reached out, wiping her hands on the rock walls, instead.
The stone trembled beneath her touch, and her anger and frustration evaporated instantly. She froze, her eyes wide, as a piece of brittle rock broke free and crashed to the ground.
Seph whirled around, his face turning white as he glanced up at the ceiling.
“Go back!” he whispered fearfully.
Laice turned to run, but she had only gone a few steps when a low rumble shook the ground beneath her and a blast of hot, acrid air hit her full in the face. The part of the tunnel they had come through was collapsing.
Panic ripped its way through her stomach, leaving an aching terror in its wake.
“Run!” Seph cried, grabbing hold of her tunic and hurling her ahead of him as the stone above her cracked. “Go!”
Laice staggered forward as sheets of rock began to crash down around her, the tunnel quickly falling in on itself as she tried, desperately, to get ahead of the cave-in. Dust and rubble clouded the air, and she thrust her hands out in front of her, blindly feeling her way forward as she ran. Just up ahead, she could barely see where the tunnel began to open up into a larger space, and she tried to move faster. She was almost there.
A large boulder crashed to the ground right behind her, the force of the impact knocking her off her feet and throwing her forward. She screamed, curling up into a ball and cradling her head in her arms as she held her breath. Her heart thumped loudly in her ears as bits of rock rained down on top of her, and she squeezed her eyes shut.
Then, silence filled the air as the dust and debris settled. Laice lay there for a long moment, trying to calm her racing heart, then she slowly sat up. Behind her, the tunnel was completely gone, and there was no sign of Seph.
Tears welled up in her eyes; she was alone, and there was no way back.
“Seph? Are you there?” she called out. She craned her neck, listening, but there was no answer. “Seph!”
“I’m here!” a faint voice cried, and she leaped to her feet, running to the wall of collapsed rock.
“Did it fall on you?” she called, anxiously holding her breath. “Are you trapped?”
“No!” Seph’s voice called back, and Laice sighed with relief. “What about you?”
“I’m fine!” she answered. “But how do I get to you?”
“I’ll have to find another way!” he responded.
She looked around. She was standing in a small cave lined with jagged stalactites, and ahead of her was a tiny crevice that seemed to lead out of the cramped space. The very sight of it made her sick to her stomach, but it was agonizingly obvious that there was no other way out. The rocks around her began to settle, and she jumped back as a few fist-sized pieces rolled down the pile and landed near her.
“Get away from here, Laice!” Seph called out. “It’s not safe! I’ll be there as soon as I can!”
The ground rumbled as the wall of rock shifted again, almost like it was trying to force her to move as it threatened to send several larger boulders in her direction. Clenching her teeth, she darted forward and ducked into the crevice, hoping Seph wouldn’t take long to rejoin her.
CHAPTER NINE
Laice’s fear instantly disappeared and was replaced with surprise and wonder as she passed through the opening, finding herself standing on a ledge that overlooked a deep, underground valley contained within a small cavern. Azure sapphires glittered on the ceiling above her, filling the place with an eerie blue light. The cool air smelled sweet, a sharp and welcome contrast to the suffocatingly hot, caustic cloud that had made every previous breath burn her lungs with agony.
A small, silver pool lay below in the center of the valley, its bright surface calm and perfectly smooth. Near the water’s edge, a single, skeleton-like tree stretched its black branches up towards the ceiling of the cavern, rainbow-colored flashes of light sparkling on each tendril, and curiosity filled her heart. It was beautiful, and it seemed to call out to her, beckoning her to come closer.
Her mouth agape, Laice stepped onto the steep path that led down into the valley. The fine, glittering black sand was soft beneath her feet, and as she made her way towards the pool, she grew more and more captivated by what she was seeing.
The tree wasn’t a tree; it was made of stone, yet somehow it seemed alive. The smooth, obsidian trunk reflected gleaming gemstones that sprouted from bare, leafless branches, each facet casting forth a brilliant rainbow of co
lored light that danced across her skin.
Unable to resist, she reached up, her fingers gently brushing against the smooth gems, and the branches began to dance and sway beneath her touch. The surfaces of the stones tinkled against each other, filling the air with the sound of chimes, and Laice couldn’t help letting out gasp of awe.
She moved closer to the pool, inhaling sharply as she reached the edge. Reflecting through the surface of the shallow water, she could see thousands upon thousands of gemstones lining the sandy bottom, and she realized that this was the source of the cavern’s light. The heart of each gem was somehow burning, radiating through the pool and illuminating the cavern with their glow, and she leaned forward to get a better look.
Laice could see her reflection in the crystal-clear water, and she reached up to touch her neck. The thick, purple bruise stretched wide across her throat, and she swallowed hard, feeling her aching muscles move beneath her hand. She winced in pain, making a face.
A ripple passed through the water, distorting her reflection. She glanced up to see a bright ball of pink light appear in the center of the pool, slowly twisting and turning as it rolled beneath the water’s surface. She watched it move closer and closer, unable to tear her eyes away from it, until it reached the bank where she sat.
The light stopped, hovering at the water’s edge as if watching her. It was mesmerizing, and she was overcome with the sudden need to get closer. A warm calm passed through her body as she knelt down, gingerly reaching out to touch the beautiful, glowing orb.
The moment her fingertips disappeared below the surface of the pool, a sudden flash of dread raced over her skin. Something was wrong. Her body tingled as her senses screamed at her, but it was too late.
A pale, clawed hand shot out of the water and latched onto Laice’s leg, and she reacted instantly, falling backwards onto the bank as she tried to wrench free of its grasp. Fear tore through her body, and she opened her mouth to scream.
The fingers were impossibly long, coiling around her ankle and dragging her towards the water. She kicked and fought, shrieking with terror as she clawed at the sand, then another hand appeared, and another, until they had taken hold of both of her arms and legs.
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