Chapter 55 Caspia
Fifty-Five
Caspia
The Evon was a chasm of black obsidian. The rock absorbed the fragments of light from the sliver of sky above, and even the torches were struggling to win the battle against the dark.
Our group was near silent as we descended into the ravine.
Any talk was kept to a whisper. The horses were quiet, too, stifling their whinnies and neighs.
But the steady beat of their hooves and the crunch of wagon wheels on rock was enough noise to fill the canyon, every sound echoing above and below.
Seth Hay, the merchant Andreas had hired, walked ahead of me. His shoulder-length brown hair was tied with a leather strap at his nape. The strands were streaked with gray.
He was quite possibly one of the kindest men I’d ever met, with a quiet bravery that reminded me of Andreas.
We’d invited Seth to join us for dinner last evening, getting to know more about him and his family.
When his father retired, Seth stepped into the role as head of his family’s trading company.
He was thirty-five summers and the oldest brother of three.
He blamed his gray hairs on the ravine, teasing that the walls were so jealous of the rich, warm brown that they stole bits of the color each time he made this trip.
At this point, I wasn’t sure it was in jest.
We’d been descending into the Evon for an hour, and I already felt it sucking the life from my bones. How he did this regularly was truly remarkable.
Seth glanced over his shoulder, making sure I was still a pace behind.
I gave him a nod and kept walking, one foot in front of the other. One hand skimming the stone at my side.
Ahead of us, a rock tumbled over the edge. It clattered and crashed on its fall lower and lower. The sound seemed to go on forever, until finally, it stopped at the bottom.
When we’d reached the ravine this morning, I’d marveled at how wide it was from one side to the other. I’d stood at the edge and lifted my arms, then closed my eyes and imagined beating my wings as I soared across the chasm.
Maybe, if the orbits were destroyed and the dark magic was purged from Calandra, I’d complete my ritus. And I’d fly over the Evon on wings that weren’t imaginary.
A shout rang out ahead.
Seth held up his hand, stopping those of us behind him. Then he inched past the others in the line ahead, making his way toward the commotion.
“How are you?” Andreas stood behind me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
“I’m all right.” I leaned against his chest, careful not to press too hard on his sutures.
The healer had given us herbed poultices to apply each morning to ensure the gashes from the lionwick didn’t get infected. He’d promised me that he wasn’t in any pain, but from time to time, he’d wince if he moved too quickly.
“I don’t feel anything,” I murmured. “What if there’s nothing down here?”
“Then we’ll regroup.” He glanced over the edge. “But we’ve still got a long way to go.”
I was already dreading the climb out of the ravine.
Seth had told us we’d be riding out. The switchbacks were so steep and long that hiking would not only be exhausting, but it was more dangerous than trusting a horse or mule.
I wasn’t an accomplished rider, but Seth had promised the horses we’d be riding had been up and down the ravine numerous times.
They knew the way and would bring us home safely.
“Is everything all right?” Andreas asked as Seth returned.
“A few of the soldiers seem to be suffering vertigo.” He rubbed at his lined forehead. “It’s not uncommon. But I’d rather not see anyone else killed on this journey. My advice is to send them out.”
Andreas nodded. “All right. This is your area of expertise. I’ll defer to you.”
As they talked about who would return, not just the soldiers in danger of falling but those who’d escort them out, I stared across the ravine, squinting as I tried to make out the switchback road on the opposite cliff.
But it was too far. Too dark.
How was I supposed to find an orbit in an area this large? If they were the same size as those in Nelfinex, the glass orb would be slightly larger than my favorite honey melon. Andreas would be able to carry it in one hand.
To find something that small in a ravine so large, we’d be here for summers.
It didn’t take long for word to spread through the line that our party was breaking up.
Ten men made their way past us, shuffling carefully.
The blond soldier from the lionwick attack volunteered to lead the group out, and as he rode his horse past us, he gave Andreas and me a slight bow from atop his stallion.
Once they were gone, Seth faced forward.
And we continued our march into the depths of Calandra.
The stinging pain came at the end of the trail.
At first, I’d thought it was simply the cold and my nerves that had put me on edge. But once we stepped into the bottom of the Evon, I realized it was magic.
Above us, the sky was only a sliver of white between the towering cliffs. Every soldier carried a torch, the glow of the flames tinting the rocks in shades of orange and yellow.
The bottom was narrower than I’d expected. The cliffs tapered only slightly from top to bottom, but over such a vast distance, it meant down here in the depths, a person could cross from side to side in less than one hundred paces.
The ground was rocky and uneven. A path had been cleared between the switchbacks on one cliffside to the next for horses and wagons, but otherwise, it was jagged and rough.
It had taken half a sun to make the descent. Seth Hay said only a fool would sleep at the bottom of the ravine, and normally, they immediately began the climb on the opposite wall.
We had supplies to make camp, though I hoped we wouldn’t need to stay that long, especially considering it would be impossible for the horses to accompany us over the rock. The rest of our journey would be made on foot.
Some of the soldiers would stay behind with Seth to watch over our supplies and protect the mounts from monsters. The rest came with us, their weapons at the ready.
Each had tucked either a pick or hammer into their belt. Our horses were all tied to wagons or the larger rocks scattered around us.
Some soldiers looked stoically into the darkness, searching for threats. Others looked wholly terrified, ready to leave the moment they were given permission.
I wasn’t going to make them stay any longer than necessary.
The Evon ran sea to sea. On one end was the Krisenth Crossing. On the other, the Marixmore. The switchbacks had been carved closer to the Krisenth side. It would take suns, maybe weeks, to reach the ocean on the other end.
I hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
“I can feel the magic,” I told Andreas. “It’s down here.”
Closing my eyes, I focused on the prickle and the way it vibrated against my skin.
I walked in the direction of the Krisenth, ten steps, then twenty.
The sting lessened, barely. So I turned and followed the magic in the other direction, toward the center of the ravine, and as the sensation gradually grew stronger, I let the pain pull me along.
It was different than the ritus, yet the concept was the same. My blood knew where it was going. Toward danger.
“This way.” I lifted the torch Andreas had lit for me and started along the rocky floor, careful to pick my footing so I didn’t slip. Most rocks that fell from above had smashed to gravel. But there were stones of every size, all made of the same black obsidian.
“Let me carry that.” Andreas took the torch, following close. His other hand remained poised at his sword’s hilt.
The soldiers divided, most accompanying us while some stayed with Seth Hay to watch the wagons and horses. Heavy footsteps and dull murmurs followed Andreas and me as we made our way along the ravine.
I blocked out the noise, focusing on that irritating buzz. It didn’t take long until we lost sight of the horses and wagons, the darkness swallowing the light from their torches.
We walked and walked, so far that Andreas finally forced me to stop and catch my breath.
“It’s getting stronger.” My face was damp with sweat. I rubbed at my arms, but the magic’s sting couldn’t be erased. Where the ritus pulled, this sensation almost pushed me away.
“My lord.” A soldier cleared his throat behind Andreas. “How much far—”
Two shrill chirps came from above us, the sound bouncing off the cliffs.
A moment later, a body dropped onto the rocks beside us.
Seth Hay’s lifeless eyes were open. So was his throat.
I screamed.
“Run. To the wall,” Andreas shouted.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Seth’s face, frozen in horror.
“Caspia.” Andreas gripped my arm and hauled me away, pulling me toward the cliffside.
The other soldiers all clustered together, weapons raised, as they searched the dark for whatever had killed Seth.
Andreas set the torch on a rock and pulled me against his body, flattening us against the ravine’s wall as another shrill chirp resounded around us.
Then came the beat of wings and a blast of air that blew the hair out of my face.
The monster came at the soldiers like an arrow, swooping down from the dark, its wings as black as the obsidian.
“Down!” Every soldier dropped to a crouch as the beast flew overhead, snapping at them with its massive fangs, two on the top row of its mouth overlapping with two on the bottom.
Its beady, opal-white eyes caught the torchlight as it loosed another chirp. Its short tail had a spiked club at its end. Its long, pointed ears were fuzzy and turned upward, listening for any sound.
The monster missed each of the legionnaires, flying over them and disappearing into the dark.
“Stay against the wall,” Andreas bellowed, holding me close to his side as he raised his sword.
“Chiroptus,” I whispered, but saying the monster’s name aloud still made it almost impossible to believe. Andreas had told me about the giant bats that drank blood.
Seth had warned us both about them before he died.