“Sap,” she said with an exhausted smile “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Shaya, you come for me?”
“Of course, we’re friends.”
Sap smiled and struggled to get to his feet “How we get down?”
Before she could even speak a skulker jumped down from above and landed between her and Sap. The branch swayed and creaked again as the creature swung its skeletal arm hitting Shaya square in the face and sending her sprawling back. The branch shook, pieces snapped and fell into the mist below. Shaya was dazed, her head was spinning, her vision blurry, it looked like there were three of the beasts. The fleshy skeleton sat crouched like a spider, it’s long arms gripping the branch as its head swayed from side to side grinning, bearing it’s rotting teeth. Its stomach was covered in blood, from Sap’s earlier attack. It looked at the frightened Rootling and snarled. Jinx shot right in front of the monster’s face.
“Leave my friend’s alone,” she said with venom.
Rowan dropped the arrow on the floor, and he fell to his knees as he tried to pick it up. He had finally gotten his bow back, but now he scrambled to get the arrow latched on the bowstring.
“Rowan,” he heard Jinx shout “Shoot me.”
“What!?” he yelled up in surprise as he clambered to his feet.
“I said shoot me damn it.”
Rowan aimed at the murky golden light he could see through the fog.
“Do it now!” Jinx screamed desperately.
Rowan closed his eyes, prayed and let the arrow fly.
Jinx heard the twang of the bow and the sound of the arrow cutting through the air. Suddenly it pierced the fog and Jinx dashed upwards. Rowan’s arrow stuck straight into the skulker’s hideous face, and it slumped back onto the branch. With her sword outstretched Shaya tried to sit up, her vision came back just in time to see the creature slowly slide off and fall out of sight.
“Did I do that?” She said, still a little groggy. Jinx just shook her head.
Rowan watched the monster fall with a loud, ear-piercing screech. It hit the ground with a stomach-churning splat. The young boy dropped to his knees and thanked the Goddess he hadn’t hurt any of his friends.
“That was amazing pretty Jinx.”
“Yes, I am,” grinned Jinx as she gave Sap a hug.
Shaya rubbed her head, she had a small cut just above her eyebrow where the savage had struck her.
“Everyone alright?”
Sap and Jinx nodded and gave Shaya a big hug, she hugged them back, but they couldn’t celebrate yet.
“How are we going to get down?” asked Sap mirroring just what she was thinking.
“Well, if you can get on my back, I suppose we could climb down,” she thought out loud “Or maybe-,” she was interrupted by a terrified Rowan.
“Shaya!” he shouted, “You need to get down, now!” He looked up in horror as almost a dozen skulkers started crawling out from everywhere. From behind every rock, from every tree. Their little battle had awoken them. They were all jumping over to the tree where Shaya and rest of them were. The mutant creatures began to climb as fast as they could. Rowan looked down at his quiver, he didn’t have nearly enough arrows left.
“They’re everywhere!” he yelled as more and more crept out of the mist and leapt onto the slowly swaying tree. Branches and bark began to snap as more of the skeletal creatures started their climb. Loud crunching and cracking sounds echoed through the woods as the tree started to lean over to one side a little more. Chunks of wood exploded as skeletal arms reached out, pulling scrawny bodies from within the tree.
The decaying tree couldn’t take much more, it was a miracle that it was still standing, but something told Rowan it wouldn’t be for long.
Shaya felt the tree shift, it swayed, and a loud crack made the whole tree rumble.
It’s coming down, she thought to herself. She looked below, and she saw them, the vile beasts clambering over one another to get to her, they were scuttling up through the fog like a swarm of insects. Their dark tongues hanging out of gaping maws, putrid teeth chomping, bony fingers reaching and clawing. Shaya looked for a way down, but there was none, she looked back at a terrified Sap.
She thought of a way down, but it was stupid, it would hurt, and she had no idea if it would work. They didn’t have a choice. She told the little Rootling to get on her back, he obeyed after a moment of hesitant shuffling. Shaya could feel Sap’s little wooden body trembling as he held onto her tightly.
“Okay,” she said nervously “Hold on tight.”
“What are you doing?” asked Jinx
“Something really stupid,” she said, “See you at the bottom.”
With that, she jumped.
“Shaya!” Jinx screamed and bolted down after her.
They picked up speed quickly in free fall, quicker than she had thought. Shaya’s heart was pounding violently. She gripped her sword as tightly as she could and plunged it into the creaking, cracking trunk. It ripped a long, deep fissure into the bark. As she fell, she left a gaping gouge all the way down the tree as she continued to plummet. It slowed her descent but by not much. The skulkers tried grabbing and biting and swiping at her as she fell.
She landed with a painful thud, a blast of agony shot up her legs. Her and Sap tumbled onto the ground, battered but safe. Jinx shot down next to her.
“You’re mad, girl,” she said.
“It worked though,” panted Shaya as she shakily stood up on aching legs and slid her sword into its sheath. Sap got up and smiled.
“Shaya, are you alright?” asked an astonished Rowan as he ran up to them clutching his bow and Shaya’s bag.
“I’m fine, it’s just my legs, they-,”
A roaring, shattering sound of splintering wood sounded out, they all looked up to see the tree coming apart. Branches big and small were falling from the fog above, as were the screaming monsters, landing in crumpled piles all around them. The ones that weren’t falling were frantically trying to climb down the collapsing tree.
“We need to go,” Shaya said as they started to walk backwards. They all turned and began to run, Shaya was limping badly. Rowan grabbed her and practically pulled her with him. Shaya glimpsed back just as the tree hit with an all mighty earth-shattering crash. The ground seemed to ripple beneath their feet. The group stumbled and sprawled out on the floor. Splintered bark sprayed in all directions and there was a massive explosion of dirt and dead leaves. When the dust settled, they all sat waiting for more of the pale-skinned skeletons to appear, but none came. They all froze, thinking if they moved, that would trigger another barrage of monsters. After a few moments, Jinx floated up into the air.
“Maybe this isn’t the best place to have a rest,” she said.
“Agreed,” said Shaya as the rest of them begrudgingly stood up. She rubbed her right knee as Sap told them which way the stone totems were.
They followed Sap’s lead, Shaya a little slower than usual. Each one of them kept looking over their shoulder, waiting for the next attack, but it never came. After a short walk southeast, they soon came across a welcome sight. Six stone towers as big as any tree they had seen in the poisoned woods. They were intricately sculpted with markings none of them understood inscribed from the bottom to the top, they assumed, as the tips were obscured by the fog. The pillars were made of smooth, shiny grey stone, it almost looked as if they were made of coloured glass. Rowan placed his hand on one of them, it felt somehow silky. Shaya took a moment and sat down on the base of one of the pillars, her legs were throbbing, and the cut above her head was really starting to hurt. She swung her bag off her shoulder and dropped it on the floor. Luckily it was light now, there wasn’t much in it anymore, just a very crumpled map, the small water flask that she had filled up in the village, some very flat and crumbled bread and of course the crown wrapped in a thin blanket. She had left everything that wasn’t essential behind as it was too cumbersome. She rubbed the cut on her head and winced, it wasn’t deep,
just painful.
“How bad is it?” asked the prince as he sat next to her to catch his breath.
“Just a scratch.”
“Are you sure?” he said looking at her cut with a concerned expression.
“I’m fine, thank you, Rowan.”
“That was a brave thing you did, jumping out of that tree.”
“I don’t know about brave, but it sure was stupid,” she smiled “Thanks for your help, you’re a pretty good shot.”
“I was always better with a bow than I was with a sword, it’s just been a while.”
“I helped to,” huffed Jinx as she landed on Shaya’s knee.
“Yes you did,” said Rowan “But I nearly shot you.”
“You’re not that good,” grinned the sprite.
“You save my life,” said Sap staring at Shaya with those great big brown eyes “How I ever repay you?”
“No need Sap, you’re my friend, and if I had to, I’d do it again.”
Sap grinned and hugged Shaya tightly. It hurt her back, but she didn’t care, she embraced him with a smile and closed her eyes.
“Talking about saving lives Sap,” the prince began, Sap looked up at him confused “You saved mine.”
“Oh, you don’t have to thank me, Rowan Prince.”
“Yes, I do my friend. You saved my life, and I will never forget it, for the rest of my days. Thank you.”
“You welcome,” Sap smiled, a little embarrassed.
“I bet Floret will be impressed,” grinned Jinx.
“You think so?” Sap said excitedly.
“Of course, you’re a hero now,” said Shaya.
Sap stared at her for a moment “Hero,” he said to himself, beaming proudly.
They rested for a few minutes longer, but they didn’t want to stay
there too long, they were exposed, and they weren’t convinced that those monsters were actually gone. Shaya swung her legs back and forth as she sat on the base of the glass-like podium, the pain was subsiding thankfully.
“We should keep moving she said,” as she hopped off the base. Her feet hit the floor, and instead of making the squelch of mud she expected, it sounded like she had landed on something hard. With her muddy boot, she brushed aside the dirt and leaves on the ground, to reveal a flat stone tiled floor. The colours were faded, the stone was cracked, they had clearly been there for ages. She wiped away more ashen soil, and she could see that they followed the totems. It was a path, with a row of columns on either side. She followed the stone, the others followed behind her wondering what she was doing. As she passed the last pillar, she looked up at the mountainside.
“There must have been an opening here once,” she said finally.
“What do you mean?” Rowan came up behind her.
“Look,” she pointed up.
There was a gap between the mountains, or at least there had been long ago. Now huge rocks blocked the way, a landslide a lifetime ago. The boulders looked as if they were part of the mountains, covered in weeds and moss. Strong green vines had wrapped themselves around the massive stones as if they were holding them in place. Those olive-coloured creepers were the first glimpse of colour any of them had seen in the poisoned woods. The thick tendrils were covered with leaves and the occasional blossoming flower. Shaya looked confused, why was this so alive when everything around them had decayed and rotted away.
“Now what?” said Jinx
“Sap?” said Shaya as she looked down at the little Rootling.
“Chieftain say, follow mountain walls to the east,”
Shaya nodded and did as her wooden friend said. As they continued east along the side of the mountain, they began to notice, just the smallest bit of greenery. A few strands of grass here, a flower or two there, all along the mountain walls. Sap wandered on ahead, his stump-like legs moving quickly to stay ahead of the humans with their big strides. Shaya wondered how they were supposed to know when they got to the secret entrance. Wasn’t the whole point of a secret entrance, was that it was secret? Rowan walked behind her, no doubt thinking the same thing. He ran his hand along the wall, feeling for anything that felt out of the ordinary, as Jinx flew around him looking at every nook and cranny. A curtain of long winding green tendrils began to hang down from as high up as they could see, all the way to the floor completely covering the grey cliffs. Rowan brushed his hands through them, they were leathery and damp.
Suddenly he was gone.
“Prince?” Shaya heard the surprise in Jinx’s voice and turned around.
“Where is he?” she asked as she looked around.
“He was here just a moment ago.”
Shaya saw the vines swaying gently. She brushed them aside to see Rowan sitting on the floor, dusting himself off.
“Did you fall?” she said with a smirk.
“No, I found the entrance,” He said.
“You fell,” she teased as he stood up and brushed the dust from his bronze coloured tunic. Sap, with Jinx sat on his shoulder, poked his head through the wall of creepers.
“Come on,” Rowan said irritably as the rest of them sniggered “Shale awaits.”
Chapter Eleven
The Guardian of the Forgotten Temple
The cave walls reflected the lights from the small glowing mushrooms that littered the ground, giving the cavern an otherworldly glow. The mushrooms were bluey green and shone brightly, there were hundreds of them, some even grew out of the cave’s ceiling. The walls were covered with tiny gems that mirrored the beautiful colour. Drops of water fell from the cavern’s roof making the floor soft and damp, the smell of the mushrooms was sickly sweet and very strong. The fog hadn’t followed them far, so they were able to see the magnificent cavern in all its glory. As the group of friends walked, they began to hear the sound of rushing water in the distance bouncing off the shimmering walls.
“This place beautiful,” said Sap as he poked one of the glowing fungi, it wobbled like it was made of jelly.
“Yeah who knew this was here,” said Jinx
“It’s called a secret passage for a reason,” the prince said flatly.
“I thought you’d be more pleased, we’re closer to finding Shale, to finding some answers,” said Shaya.
“How did Elle expect us to find this place?” grumbled the prince “We had no directions, no nothing.”
“Yet here we are,” said Shaya putting her hand on his shoulder.
Rowan paused for a moment and exhaled a frustrated breath.
“What if we get there, and Elle and your uncle aren’t there, what then?”
Silence filled the cavern as Rowan voiced one of Shaya’s biggest worries. If Benjin and Elle weren’t there, how long were they supposed to wait? Hours? Days? She could feel a knot forming in her stomach as she walked. She could feel the prince’s gaze burning as he stared at her waiting for an answer.
“Then we do what we have to,” she said finally with as much false confidence as she could muster. They stopped as Shaya continued “There’s a reason that we, you and I have come together, travelled all this way. We’re going to find out what that is, with or without them. We don’t have a choice, Rowan.”
The prince nodded quietly and continued on. Sap waddled next to him down the glistening tunnel.
“Nice speech,” said Jinx who floated beside her “So what are we really going to do if they’re not there?” she asked. She knew Shaya too well to not pick up on one of her white lies. Shaya turned to her friend with a concerned look.
“I don’t know Jinx, I really don’t.”
“How long do we go on this journey Shaya? We were supposed to get Rowan to Shale, and that was all. How far are we willing to go?”
Shaya paused for a moment. It was the same question she had asked herself since she left the farm. It was strange, a few seconds ago she would not have had an answer, but now her decision seemed clear. There was only one option.
“Until the end,” she said eventually.
Jinx smiled a
nd whizzed around her head “That sounds good to me,” she grinned. Shaya laughed as she started walking again. She wasn’t ready for all this to be over yet.
“Shaya,” shouted Rowan “You have to see this,” he said excitedly.
The prince stood with Sap at the mouth of the cave, the daylight was almost blinding as it poured into the tunnel, making the sparkling gems dazzling. Shaya and Jinx were lagging behind, the sound of rushing water was deafening, it sounded like an entire river gushing all around them. Shaya shielded her eyes from the brightness of the sun with her hand as she reached the opening. When she brought her hand down, the view took her breath away. They had come through the mountain into a vast open glade. The grass was greener than any grass she had ever seen before, it swayed gracefully in the warm breeze. The cloak of darkness and blinding fog were gone, replaced with a beautiful blue sky as the sun shone down on them as they entered the clearing. The mountains surrounded them on all sides, four waterfalls poured out from the tops of the cliffs, cascading down into sapphire coloured streams. The tiled path they had seen earlier on the other side of the mountains, lead out from the collapsed boulders. The stone flooring was a yellowy colour and ran straight to the other side of the glade.
There, stood a large building built into the cliff face. It was tall, with two spherical towers on either side. The whole structure was the colour of sand. On top stood a statue of the Goddess, looking out welcomingly across the valley below. It appeared to have been a monastery once, a place of worship, somewhere to come to pray to the great deities of the heavens. Vines snaked their way around the beach coloured circular building. It was like a ginormous drum made of sand with dozens of windows on the upper floors shimmering in the sun.
As Shaya and the others walked towards the monastery, they gazed dumbfounded at the place they found themselves in. It was like stepping into another world, one of beauty and magnificence. Shaya brushed her hand through the waist-high grass, it was soft to the touch. Sap ran around, jumping up and down as Jinx flew around him chaotically, they were so excited. Rowan headed straight for the sand coloured structure, Shaya in tow.
The Shattered Moon (A Divine Legacy Book 1) Page 16