“For what?”
“For what? Why, to leave here, of course. Far too long have I lived in this place. Far too much have I seen. I have hunted my final hunt and killed my final kill. I want to breathe air untainted by the smells of the belly of the world. I want to see stars shining at night, to feel a fresh breeze upon my face. I would see clean Aerisian folk, not twisted creatures of evil. Most of all, I simply want to see the sun.”
His final admission, although added almost as an afterthought, contained more feeling than the rest of his speech combined. I felt a surge of pity.
“Do you want to come with me, then?” I invited.
“Aye.” He nodded soberly. “Together, lass, I think there is a chance we may escape this pit of horrors.”
“A chance?”
The Hunter took one look at me and laughed.
“Chance? Aye, chance. What did you think, love? That you would leave the Underworld as you entered it?”
“Well, I—”
“Suppose you could,” he interrupted. “Do you fancy you could make your way again to the Gate of Despair?”
I hadn’t really considered this till now and felt betrayed all over again. Braisley hadn’t mentioned how I was supposed to leave this place. Had she presumed, like me, that I would simply leave by way of the Gate of Despair? Or was this another act of treachery, as it surely felt like?
The Hunter was watching me, the answer to my dilemma not printed on his face or revealed in his eyes.
“I don’t,” I began. “I thought—well, I mean…”
Back up, start over.
“That is to say, I’d assumed—”
It was no use. The Hunter eyed me with a cocked eyebrow and a half-smile, as if he’d known already what my response would be. “One can only assume so much in the Underworld, sweeting.” He smiled a sad little smile, trailing a black-gloved forefinger down my cheek.
Suddenly angry, I jerked away. “Don’t call me that!” I snapped. “You don’t have the right!”
Nobody had the right to call me those things. Except Ilgard, maybe. Not that he would. And not that it mattered now whether he would or not.
In the wake of these sad, bitter thoughts, anger was forgotten as all other emotions gave way to grief and despair.
“What does it matter, anyway?” I cried, dropping my head in my hands. “We’re stuck here forever with no way out. Unless… unless you know of a way.” Something inside flickered at the notion, and I raised my face hopefully to his.
“Aye, lass. I know of a way.” His visage was grim. “It will not be easy, however. But then, what in this pit ever is?”
Straightening, he extended a hand, pulling me away from the tree. Next, he passed me his bow.
“Here. Can you shoot?”
“Yes.”
“Best be prepared then. Arrows.”
I took the quiver he offered, slinging it across my back.
“What about you?”
“Never you fear for me, lass.”
Stooping, he gathered up a bundle lying in the tall, wet grass. Not only a bundle but also a crossbow, complete with another quiver of thick quarrels. The bundle he hung from his shoulder; the quiver went across his back, like mine. Crossbow in hand, he nodded to me.
“Come. Do not shoot unless I command it. When I command—I do not say if, I say when I command—then shoot to kill. See that your aim is true.”
“Got it,” I acquiesced.
“Your face is pensive, little one. Come, it is not so bad. We may yet make free of this place.”
“May,” I grumbled, falling into step beside him. “Now there’s a comforting thought.”
He chuckled wryly. “Is it not?”
Silence fell. We’d gone maybe two miles, no more, when The Hunter suddenly stopped and turned to face me.
“One more thing, my girl. I know, as I have told you, both who and what you are. Therefore, take heed as I warn you: no matter what you see or what may befall us, do not make use of your powers. Do you understand? Repeat to me what I have said.”
I repeated it.
“Good!” Satisfied, he clapped me on the shoulder before proceeding forward once more. “Do as I say, and we may yet live to see the sun shining upon our faces.”
I shivered at his words, uncertain whether they were meant to be a consolation or a warning.
Dreams Come to Life
It was the cave of my dreams: the dark, fearful one. Claustrophobia struck as we stood at its mouth, and I had to breathe down the panic. I didn’t know what awaited me at the end of this shadowy place. A black hole? In my dream, I’d rolled and tumbled through the cave until I dropped into a black hole, through which I’d passed into my bedroom back home in Colorado.
If, in here, I fell into a black hole, what would I find? Surely not home.
Dauntless, the Hunter stepped into the cave and I followed, clutching fearfully at his arm. Where was my courage? Robbed by Illsa’s interpretation of my dream?
“Steady, lass.”
Absently, my companion patted the hand grasping his forearm, his dry tones soothing. I knew if he hadn’t been with me I could never have entered this place. Never mind that the shadows didn’t shift and the stone floor beneath my bare feet was firm. When would it give way to nothingness?
I recalled the Interpreter’s words, her explanation of my dream.
Dreams such as this are comprised of things that are, things that will be, and things that might be. Often, they are warnings of danger. I cannot tell you everything you desire to know, for I do not know it myself. These things I can tell you from the images I have seen.
You will be tempted by what was in another place. The choice you make is solely your own. You must, however, think of others when you make it.
Henceforth, in every action you make, every decision you render, and every path you take, you must beware of grave danger. Do not seek it: it will assuredly come to you.
Part of this dream has already found fulfillment. You have entered the mountainside and, through it, the Underworld. Now, leaving the mountain will test you further.
She’d edged closer then, her face cold even though her eyes were lit with secret, malicious pleasure.
You have been deceived in a matter that concerns you and your loved ones. Loved ones that time has swept away from you.
Had she really looked pleased to reveal that dreadful secret?
Beware of false friends, she continued afterwards. Beware of surprise—of great surprise. Sometimes those who are not, are, and those who are, are not. Prepare to face new foes, as well as old.
In the end, should you be overcome, the Light will come to your aid. You will fall into the Light, and you will become the Light, even as the Light will become you.
Her glee vanished. If I hadn’t known any better, I would’ve sworn she actually looked, if not disappointed, then at least subdued. Could I be mistaken? Braisley had told me the Dreamers were neither good nor evil. They simply… were. Did the same hold true for Interpreters? She hadn’t tried to harm me, not beyond answering in detail what she’d meant when I asked about her curious statement of time sweeping loved ones away from me.
I can’t think about that now.
If I did, I’d collapse, and I knew if I wanted to leave the Underworld I had to work with The Hunter, as well as rediscover my courage.
Now, leaving the mountain will test you further…
That phrase now came back to haunt me. The black hole from my dream must lie somewhere ahead. Was that what she’d been referring to?
A dark rock wall loomed unexpectedly before us. We pushed around it. The tunnel widened into a circular chamber pulsing with an unearthly glow. In the center of the cavern floor was a round hole, which turned out to be another mirror coated with silver gel, much like the one the Interpreter had used to view my dream. The flickering light in this stone chamber emanated from the mirror and cast weird dancing shadows on the walls about us.
I started to s
hrink back, but The Hunter slipped an arm around my shoulders, forcing me to step forward and face that mirror along with its half-circle of guardians. They stood quite still: silent, hooded figures observing the two of us approach. Their eyes glowed olive from the recesses of the cowls eclipsing their faces, and I could smell a musky, animal scent.
“Hunter?” I whispered fearfully. “Who are they?”
“Don’t be alarmed. Stay close to me. Act as I do. Do as I say.”
There was no chance of my doing anything else. Pressed close to his side, we stopped at the mirror’s brink. The robed guardian in the middle was a bit taller than the rest, and I gathered he was the leader. After eyeing us a long moment, he finally reached up to push back his cowl. It was then I discovered this was not a he at all but a she, as the woman shook her head, freeing a mane of tawny hair that fell to her waist. In perfect unison, her companions did the same. They were all alike—beautiful, bewitching, with wavy hair and cat-shaped, olive eyes.
The leader smiled a feline smile that put my back up. Cutting a glance at the man next to me, I tried to ascertain if he were being affected by these lovely creatures, but his scowl told me their beauty was not impairing his ability to think, as I’d half-feared.
“Welcome.”
The word was practically purred. I swung my attention back to the woman, the leader, who had spoken.
“Ah, the mighty Hunter,” she went on, advancing slowly. “I see you have brought with you a companion. What is it that you seek?”
“You know what it is I seek, Merelda.”
“You wish to make use of my mirror?”
“Aye, but not as you would have me do.”
His harsh tone erased the seductive smile from her lips. Clearly, he was in no mood for games.
“That, you cannot do, Hunter.”
In response, he removed his hand from my shoulders and crossed both arms over his chest in a posture of stubborn defiance.
“I must and I will, Merelda.”
Her hand also moved, her fingers fiddling thoughtfully with the folds of the loose, floor-length cloak nearly swallowing her. Slowly, she unfastened it at the neck. In one smooth motion, she took a step forward, and the brown mantle fell to the floor. Her companions did the same, and in the next breath I could see they were all dressed alike in barely nothing.Merelda raised those olive cat eyes, an almost feral smile pulling at her full, scarlet mouth.
“Are you so sure, my mighty Hunter? Stay with me—with us. We can offer you a great deal more.”
It was open invitation that hung in the air between the three of us. I shot a fearful glance up at The Hunter, thinking few men could ignore something like this. Fortunately, his features remained as flinty as the stone on which we stood. In the flickering light, his eyes flashed blue fire.
“You may as well forget any dreams of seducing me into forgoing my plans, Merelda. I am not some pliable lad, drooling over any fine female form.”
“And you forget another thing,” he went on sternly, uncrossing his arms. Settling his hands loosely on his hips, he leaned forward, a dangerous glow to those piercing eyes. “I have met with your kind before. I know what you are.”
He practically spat the words. The venom in his tone surprised me.
Merelda, then, did spit. She spat in disgust on the floor at her feet.
“So much for you, mighty Hunter. You will regret this, I promise you.”
She turned then to me, all traces of the angry, spurned seductress sloughed off like a snake shedding its skin. What remained was simply a beautiful woman who glowed with an honest, friendly warmth.
“My dear girl, welcome.”
She dropped into a low curtsey, and her maidens elegantly followed suit. I winced at the amount of cleavage exposed, but beside me, The Hunter took no notice. Or if he did, he gave no sign of it.
She straightened gracefully, her olive eyes glowing with sweet sincerity. From his place beside me, The Hunter whispered bluntly, “Beware, my girl. She will now try to seduce you in a different manner.”
“Come closer, my dear,” Merelda, ignoring her nemesis, encouraged kindly. “Come, I will show you my mirror. You have not looked in it before, have you? Come, you must do so now.”
Her voice was pleasing, and suddenly I was so pleasantly warm. When she beckoned to me, I found myself moving her way until I stood at the edge of the mirror itself. She approached the rim from her side until she stood facing me from the opposite side.
“Look,” she breathed, low and soft. “Look into the mirror. You would see things that could be, if you would only allow them. Good things.”
“Look,” she repeated, “and I will look away. What you see shall be for your eyes alone. Look.”
“Look, look, look…” the other women began to chant, their drone hypnotic, appealing. The mirror’s silver light pulsed over my face. I felt slightly dizzy and so warm.
“Lass—”
The Hunter’s warning punctured the perilous state into which I was slipping but only briefly. Poised on the edge of both Merelda’s mirror and dying mental alertness, I leaned over. And looked.
Narrow Escape
It was my dream. It was the mountains of Colorado. It was home.
Raw hunger overwhelmed me, yet all the while a doubtful mental voice screamed loudly that this was a trick. I ignored it. Gazing into that mirror, I could see myself there: at home on the beautiful mountainside, my house not far away. I could feel myself there. I wanted to be there.
“Touch it,” Merelda’s voice purred. So heady, that voice, the images of home and all things familiar. “Only touch it, and you may go there.”
“Touch it,” I repeated stupidly, her spell taking hold. Drunkenly, I swayed towards this miracle that could take me away and transport me home. It would be so easy…
Stop! that pesky voice in my head screeched. You’re being seduced, you idiot, just like The Hunter said. Don’t touch it!
But I couldn’t obey. I was so close…
THUMP! A hard body slammed into me, knocking me off balance and driving me to the floor. My head hit stone, and I yelped at the pain. The Hunter, who had thrown me down, bounded lightly to his feet, kicking my bow towards me.
“Get up!” he snapped. “Take this. Prepare to use it.”
The pain of my collision with the floor had shattered Merelda’s spell. Once more, I could think. Grabbing the bow, I hurled myself upright, fitting arrow to string in the same motion. By the time I’d gained my feet I was prepared to fire.
My eyes widened at the sight that met them.
Gone was the sublime, overpowering beauty of Merelda and her maidens. In the blink of an eye, they had changed to creatures half-feline, half-human. Tattered tunics scarcely clung to skin patchy with fur, and all were at least partially bald. Their once glorious, tawny hair, now mostly gone, hung in ragged, dirty strings to their waists. Sharp fangs protruded from faces not quite animal or human but both. Human ears were replaced by triangular cat ears, but the eyes remained the same feline-shaped, olive green. Though they stood upright, on their hands and bare feet I could see wicked claws.
“Beware the teeth and claws,” The Hunter warned. “A scratch from them is poison to us.”
“Do I shoot?” I managed to get past slightly chattering teeth.
“Not yet. Hold.”
I didn’t understand. Hold for what?
Merelda crouched, spreading her arms as if preparing to leap over the mirror and attack us. Her maidens stooped as well, their movements exact copies of hers.
“Hunter?”
“Hold, I say! While we remain on this side of the mirror, and they on theirs, they cannot harm us. However, we cannot harm them, either.”
“So we wait for them to attack us?”
“Or we must attack them.”
“Hunter, why do we have to attack them? Isn’t there another way?”
“None, I fear. Merelda’s mirror is the way out of this place. We must leap through it.”
>
Recalling the draining, sucking agony of contact with the Interpreter’s mirror, I wanted no part of his plan.
“There’s no other way?” I reiterated, desperate.
“None, my girl. Stand strong. We will see this through.”
“Why can’t we make a running dive for the mirror? With luck, we could probably jump through before they could hurt us.”
“Impossible. To touch the mirror while Merelda, the leader, lives is to invite catastrophe.”
He shot me a frown, and I felt shame heat my cheeks.
“So we have to kill her first?” I asked, glad to change the subject.
“That is the size of it.”
I threw a glance across the flickering mirror to where our enemies crouched. They had all the time in the world on their side. We didn’t. We couldn’t afford to play their waiting game. Something had to be done, and suddenly I had an idea.
“Hunter?”
“Aye, lass?”
“Have you got a sword?”
He peered at me quizzically. “Aye, I have a sword. A sword, though, is of less use at this point than our bows.”
I ignored his observation. “Doesn’t matter. Can I have it?”
He shrugged but tucked his crossbow under his arm long enough to retrieve a sword from the pack on his back and hand it to me.
“Here you are.”
“Thank you.” I laid my bow on the ground, along with the sword’s sheath, to test the feel of the weapon in my hands. “This is a good blade. A fine, strong one.”
“So it is,” my companion agreed. “But why did you want it?”
“We’ve got to get out of here,” I explained. “And since we can’t wait around all day, I’m going to do something about it.”
“Have a care, lass. Do not—”
But I stepped forward, cutting him off.
“Merelda,” I said calmly, poised on the brink of her mirror. “You can’t harm us from there, and we can’t hurt you from here. What do we have to give you to use your mirror?”
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