Minion? Kaina wondered. Unmaker? Kaina's heart sank and she placed a hand over her mouth to keep from gasping.
“What about the other one? When can we eat him?” the other goblin said with drool seeping from his teeth.
“The shaman wants to sacrifice him to the Unmaker,” the first said, “and then he will carve his flesh and serve it to everyone.”
Kaina could feel her skin crawling at the thought of Tristan being carved up like a dinner roast, but the fact that he hadn't been killed yet gave her a small shred of hope.
The second goblin let out what Kaina could only assume was a chuckle and then he said, “Their horse was so tasty, so I can only imagine what he would taste like. I just wish we could eat the female too!”
“The Unmaker demands that she lives...for now...”
Both goblins laughed and headed down the tunnel where Kaina had just come from, so she knew it was only a matter of time before her absence would be discovered. She made sure that the goblins were out of earshot before she headed in the opposite direction to find Tristan.
At the end of the tunnel, Kaina found a stack of barrels and ducked behind them as she examined the next area. She listened in for anything helpful for finding her companion, but all she could hear was several other goblins yelling at the workers to move faster. She crept along until she saw the opportunity to sneak past, and then in a flash she was in the larger chamber again, but on a lower level.
Kaina made it to another ledge, but this time it was for a walkway that wrapped up against the wall to get to the lower level. She headed down the walkway, careful to stick as close to the wall as possible and crouching as low as she could manage to avoid detection. She made it only about halfway down the path when she heard a horn sounding from up above. Fearing that this was because of her, Kaina darted down the rest of the path and ducked into one of the tunnels.
Seconds later, she heard rapid footsteps approaching from the walkway just above. She darted into the tunnel and went deeper until she found a crevice, where she ducked inside just in time to avoid being detected by another goblin who rounded the corner. He stopped and sniffed the air, holding a spear out in front of him that was no doubt meant for her. She held her breath as two more goblins approached him.
“The female is gone,” one of them said.
“I can't smell her,” the goblin with the spear said, “the surface walkers always smell funny, but this one doesn't...”
“The other one smells funny. I can smell him as soon as I enter the prison tunnels. Good thing they took him to the Unmaker's chamber, but the smell is still there!”
Kaina held her breath again and listened.
“The shaman will be angry when he finds out the female is gone,” the third goblin said. “Break our bones, he will. Expose us, hang us by our entrails!”
“Where should we look? She can't be far.”
“Probably went to the surface to get away. Left her companion for dead, she did.”
“I say we forget her and go to the ceremony.”
“The Unmaker will punish us for letting her go. His minion said so.”
“You two get to the chamber and get more guards,” the goblin with the spear said, “I go up to the surface. Drag her back down by her hair, I will!”
The other two goblins nodded furiously as the goblin with the spear ran off down the tunnel in the direction that Kaina came from, and then the other two ran off snickering and chattering in the opposite direction.
Kaina knew that her best bet for finding Tristan was to follow these two, and as much as she didn't want to see the “Unmaker's chamber,” she knew that it was where Tristan would be, and she refused to allow him to suffer whatever fate those vile creatures had in store for him. A mental image of a fresh pair of bones added to the growing pile in her cage was all she needed to get her feet moving again as she delved further into the goblin tunnels.
Kaina followed the goblins further down, taking great care to avoid detection by slipping behind piles of boulders, into tunnels, and eventually behind makeshift buildings that appeared to serve as homes. She didn't have to follow them after a while, for it seemed that every goblin in the colony descended further down into the tunnels. She eventually came to an opening with a path that hung over a pit, and she soon concluded that it was the same chamber as before and the path led to the same tall structure in the middle. Dozens of goblins marched along the path, so she hid among a pile of boulders to keep out of sight. As far as she could tell, this was her only way into the chamber, so she thought quickly of a way to get inside undetected.
Just then, Kaina saw a wagon that was packed full of barrels that was pointed in the direction of the chamber, and it appeared as though they would provide good cover for her to get inside. She crept to the back of the wagon and covered herself with a sheet that was hanging over the side. She kept perfectly still as the wagon lurched forward, and a quick peek out from her protective cover confirmed she was headed in the right direction.
As the wagon bumped along the crude path, Kaina could hear echoing cheers as they entered some kind of hollow chamber. When the wagon came to a stop, she peeked out to see that she was facing the chamber wall. She jumped out and darted for cover before any goblins came around to find her. She found a walkway that led up to a ledge overlooking the whole chamber, so she climbed up and crouched down to give herself a vantage point. When she looked out over the ledge, she could finally see that the goblins all had their gazes pointed to one spot on a raised stone platform. When Kaina saw what was on the platform her heart dropped.
The most notable part of this platform was the enormous statue, at least twenty feet tall, of some kind of creature that was straight out of nightmares. With its curved horns, human-like face, and clawed appendages, Kaina could only assume that he was “Unmaker.”
However, this was not the part that alarmed Kaina.
Just in front of the statue, between two pillars with glowing runes creating a spiral pattern along the edges, was an altar. On the altar, bound by ropes at his wrists and ankles, was Tristan.
Kaina gasped as Tristan struggled in vain against his bonds, but she was thankful to see that he hadn't been harmed yet. He was shirtless, with only his trousers and boots covering the lower half of his body, and Kaina could see that his sword was missing. This didn't surprise her, as even goblins couldn't very well have their sacrifice fighting back.
Standing in between the altar and the statue was a larger goblin with a staff and a crown made of what looked like bones. Kaina could only assume that this was the “shaman” that she heard the other goblins talking about, and he was in the midst of some sort of ritual before the sacrifice was to begin. The goblins cheered as the shaman gave some kind of speech in a foreign tongue, and try as she might she couldn't recognize the language.
The shaman finally finished his chant and raised his staff. A hush fell over the crowd and even Tristan had stopped fighting his bonds to listen.
“For too long we have shunned the day and caught any surface dwellers foolish enough to walk into the Black Forest after dark. We goblins were once a proud folk, now reduced to scavenging for food and using our prey's bones and skins for our clothing and tools. We once walked on the surface, but now we fear the day and embrace the night only to be ridiculed and forgotten.
“But now the time has come. A minion of the Unmaker has sent us this sacrifice, one whose blood will mark the way for his inevitable return and one whose heart will give me the sustenance I need to channel our master's will. As I cut the heart from this surface dweller, may the Unmaker's glory be spread to all walks of life and his power extinguish the sun so that we may never fear the day again!”
The goblins cheered, and Tristan thrashed helplessly against his bindings. That was when the shaman produced a dagger, ornate, silver, and curved, and then he said, “I will carve out this surface dweller's heart and feast upon it. Once I have gained his strength, I will present the rest of his body to the re
st of you, and we will all feast upon this wretched fool, so that his pain and suffering will please the Unmaker...”
Kaina's heart pounded in her throat as she desperately searched for a way to stop the ritual, but all of a sudden she noticed something else. She thought it was her imagination at first, but she soon realized that time had indeed slowed down.
Why do you hesitate, Kaina Haventhorn?
A voice, clear as day, spoke to Kaina like an echo in an ancient chamber. She searched for the source of the voice, but she realized that it came from no where or no one at all when it spoke again.
Such is not the way of a true wizard.
But I'm no wizard, Kaina thought.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when the voice replied, You will be, but only when you summon the willpower to save your friend.
Confused, Kaina silently wondered how this voice could read her thoughts, but then she remembered her thoughts in the Black Forest. She removed the book from her pouch, stared down at it, and sure enough, the blue gem was glowing again.
If you wish to save your friend, all you need to do is ask, the voice said, the gem glowing brighter with each word.
“Please,” Kaina said. “Please help me save Tristan and get us both out of here.”
Kaina placed her finger upon the gem, and the voice spoke to her one last time.
It shall be done, the book said.
“With this sacrifice...” he said, “...all those who walk under the sun...”
Kaina felt warmth at her fingertips like one would get while taking a walk in the summer sun. She could almost imagine a warm breeze whipping her hair around her shoulders and the sun's rays kissing her skin...
“...never again will our people be mocked...”
With the book resting at her side in one hand and her other hand slowly raising in the air, Kaina stood up and looked out over the crowd of goblins. One by one, their eyes turned to her. Even the shaman had ceased his speech and lowered his dagger to stare at her. Tristan craned his neck, and he too saw her and stared in shock.
“It's the female!” the shaman screeched. “Get her!”
Goblins swarmed up the walkway, but something in Kaina felt no fear. She simply shut her eyes and allowed the sun to come forth, and before long all she could see through the veil of her eyelids was pure, golden light.
The ear-shattering screams of the goblins assaulted her ears as a ball of light, almost like a small sun at her fingertips, formed in the air above her. It remained floating there even as Kaina removed her hand and turned her attention to Tristan.
As Kaina fled down the walkway, she could see that the goblins not only feared the light, but it actually harmed them. Their skin blistered and they scurried around in terror, bumping into each other in an attempt to find shelter. Even the shaman, who dropped the sacrificial dagger on the altar in the chaos, crawled on the ground in agony as Kaina hopped up onto the platform and rushed over to the altar. She then grabbed the dagger and cut Tristan's bindings, allowing him to pull himself free.
Tristan hopped off of the altar, looked at Kaina, and said, “You used the book again, didn't you?”
“Yes,” Kaina admitted. “But it was the only way to save you.”
Kaina slipped the blade of the silver dagger under her belt, grabbed Tristan by the arm, and dragged him towards the cavern's exit.
“How long do you think that spell will last?” he asked her as they dodged he writhing goblins.
“I don't know, and I don't want to stick around to find out,” Kaina replied. “Let's just get out of here before they can come after us.”
Kaina and Tristan ran out onto the suspended walkway just as they noticed the light fading behind them. Neither stopped nor looked back, but Kaina could hear the screaming dying down and she knew it would only be a matter of time before the goblins came after them. She ran towards the tunnel she came through, and just as they were about to run inside, she could hear scurrying up ahead and a goblin shouting, “I heard screaming in the chamber, get in there!”
“They're coming,” Kaina said. She looked around and saw a smaller tunnel to their left, and without needed prompting Tristan ran alongside her as they headed straight for the new tunnel.
“We'll get lost down here if we aren't careful,” Tristan said. “And if the stories are true, there are far worse things lurking down here than goblins.”
“I can't imagine that anything could be worse than those vile creatures,” she said as she and Tristan went further into the tunnel, and it may have been Kaina's imagination playing tricks on her, but she could have sworn at one point that when they passed a tunnel, she saw a white, grinning face staring at her from the darkness.
Chapter 14
In spite of Kaina's best efforts to memorize which direction she and Tristan ran, she soon came to the dreadful conclusion that they were lost in the goblin tunnels. She could hear little to no sound save for the frantic pounding of her heart and Tristan's heavy breathing. Kaina was fortunate she still had the book, however, for when she held it out in the dark, a blue light surrounded them and gave them enough light to see in the otherwise pitch black tunnel.
Tristan hadn't said a word since he and Kaina escaped the underground hoards, and she wasn't sure if it was from the trauma of almost being cut open or that he feared he might alert something worse of their presence.
Kaina decided to break the silence and said, “How far into the ground do you think we are now?”
Tristan didn't look at her, but she could sense the hesitation in his voice when he said, “I'd rather not think about that.”
“As frightening as it is, we have to,” Kaina replied. “Figuring out exactly how deep we are is crucial to getting out of here.”
Tristan stopped in his tracks and said, “Has it even occurred to you that we aren't getting out of here alive? I don't suppose you ever had to worry for your life back at your manor with your every need being met.”
Kaina's eyes flashed with thunder and she replied, “As a matter of fact, I have considered the fact that we might die in here. In case you didn't realize, I didn't have to go back for you. Just about every goblin in this place was waiting to watch you get gutted and I could have just as easily run with the book and left you to die. Yet when I try to find every single way possible for us both to survive this horror, you accuse me of being an empty-headed idealist with no sense of reality? How dare you!”
Tristan's expression fell and as Kaina closed the gap between them, he took several steps back.
“And who are you to tell me that I had an easy life? I wonder if your mother ever beat you when you were three years old because you got your clothes dirty, or if your father ever locked you in a closet for not addressing his friends properly? Did your father ever destroy the only things that brought you joy because you refused to marry someone you didn't love?”
Kaina stared into Tristan's warm brown eyes, searching for some hint of apology or even for a negative reaction at her audacity. She fought back the flood of tears in her eyes, and said, “My family thought nothing more of me than someone they could use to advance their own interests, which is why they tried to marry me off to Prince Casimir. I may not have your experience, but I left because I was willing to do anything just to have a life of my own and make my own choices. You have absolutely no right to judge me when I have done nothing but try to help you, an ungrateful whelp who only sees it fit to treat me like I'm a naive child.”
Tristan still said nothing, so Kaina scoffed and marched off into the tunnel. She felt her eyes welling up and tried not to let him see, but she soon heard his voice calling after her.
“You aren't the only one who felt used,” Tristan said.
Kaina stopped, but she didn't turn around. Instead she clenched the book and held it closer to her chest.
“I left home about five years ago,” he continued. “Like you I refused to be used for my family's own purposes. My mother died just before I left, and she was the only
one who I could safely say actually loved me. I suppose I was lucky enough to just have her...”
Kaina still didn't turn around, but she felt a tear trail down her cheek as she said, “That must have been nice...”
She heard Tristan's footsteps approaching behind her, so she made a subtle move to wipe her tear away before he came up beside her. He stood there for some time, and she wondered what he was doing until she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She didn't respond, but she felt him slowly retract his hand soon after.
“Come on,” he said, “let's get going.”
They walked on in silence for several minutes, and Kaina kept looking at Tristan in the corner of her eye. She caught herself staring at his arms and shoulders, broad and toned, and then blushed when she realized she allowed herself to fall into such a trap.
“So,” Kaina finally said to ease the tension, “what did you do after leaving home?”
Tristan glanced at her through the corner of his eye, then began, “I found a trainer who taught me everything he knew about swordplay. That's actually how I met Abigail; she was already his apprentice at the time. I lived with them for four years until our trainer was murdered by the king's forces.”
“Why?”
Tristan shook his head. “It was rumored that he was a conspirator against the crown, but we always knew that the only thing he ever did wrong was to speak the truth. Abigail and I left for a hunting trip one day and came home to find him hanging in the village square.”
“I'm sorry,” Kaina said. “Was that why you started the rebellion?”
“Among other reasons. Perhaps you didn't have an easy life, but I'm certain that growing up with the Haventhorns didn't give you the opportunity to see what happens to people who don't pronounce their eternal loyalty to King Torald III. He's not overly fond of people who question his motives or speak their mind about anything he has influence over.”
“Tell me, then. I'm nothing if not open to other points of view,” Kaina said.
Kaina's Dawn (Kaina Saga Book 1) Page 14