Chapter 55 Caspia #2
“By the grace of the Divine.” I covered my mouth with my palm to smother a sob.
“Set down your torches,” Andreas commanded the men. “Hide as much of the flames as you can. The monsters are mostly blind. They use the chirps to find their victims. Hold completely still when you hear them. Stay out of the light.”
My racing heart climbed into my throat as I held my breath, waiting for the monster to return.
I didn’t have to wait long.
Three chirps rang out, and then came the beat of wings.
The chiroptus swept down, landing on the rocks beside Seth’s body. It was enormous, the size of a young crux. It had four wings, and each was covered in small barbs that flexed up and down as the monster sank its fangs into Seth’s body. Slurping, gurgling noises filled the air.
All we could do was listen to the monster drink every last drop of the merchant’s blood.
Tears dripped from my eyes. My entire body trembled.
Andreas moved so slowly it took me a moment to realize what he was doing. Inch by inch, he raised his crossbow. With the monster distracted, it didn’t notice until the bolt zinged through the air.
It tore through a wing, tearing the leathery membrane.
The chiroptus screeched, the noise so loud I felt it vibrate in my chest.
“Fire!” Andreas shouted as the monster whirled toward us.
The soldiers didn’t hesitate. Arrows and bolts rained down on the monster.
It tried to fly toward us, pushing off its short legs, but as it tried to flap its shredded wings, it collapsed.
A soldier beside us let out a fierce cry as he pushed off from the wall. He ran to the creature, driving his sword through its skull.
Everyone on the line exhaled a collective breath as he stood, turning to us with a victorious smile.
The chirp came but a heartbeat before another monster swept down from above.
It slammed into the soldier, and the man’s scream was cut short by a bloody gurgle.
The soldiers killed the second chiroptus like they did the first, with a barrage of arrows and bolts. But this time, none risked emerging from the wall to ensure the monster was dead.
“Now what?” I asked.
Andreas bent to pick up his torch. “We’ll stay close to the wall. If you hear their chirp, drop and freeze.”
I pushed off the cliff, fisting my hands to hide their trembling.
Andreas looked behind us. I wasn’t sure what we’d find when we retreated to the wagons, but it wasn’t time to turn back. Not yet.
“Greater than us,” I murmured.
He nodded. “Greater than us.”
I continued on, following the sting.
When the next chirp came, we all huddled against the cliff, dropping to our knees. The chiroptus flew around us, stirring the air with its wings, but we were able to hide enough that it moved on. Probably to finish off the blood from the bodies of the men we’d left behind.
It became harder and harder to worry about the chiropti as the magic grew stronger, overwhelming my senses until all I felt was the sting slamming into me like waves.
My feet were too heavy, like someone had wrapped thick chains around my ankles. I went to step over a rock but tripped instead.
“Caspia.” Andreas caught me, holding me steady as tears streamed down my face.
“It’s close.” I breathed through the pain, gritting my teeth as I took his hand and kept going.
The bottom of the ravine curved slightly, forcing us around a massive rock. As we rounded its edge, I came to an abrupt stop.
Ahead of us was a wall. The cliffs seemed to join together, blocking us from going any farther.
“Fuck,” Andreas hissed.
“No.” My heart dropped.
This wasn’t the end of the ravine. But it was the end of our journey.
The only way past the wall was to climb over it, but it was as tall as the castle in Roslo. Maybe if we’d brought the right equipment, the soldiers could scale the face. But there was no way I could climb.
“Let’s get back,” Andreas said. “We won’t make it up before nightfall, but I’m not risking staying down here with the chiropti.”
Except I couldn’t move. All I could do was stare at the wall, feeling that push, like the rocks were screaming. Run, Starling. Run.
Maybe the Starling from long ago had found another way to the bottom of the chasm. Or maybe…
I stepped toward the wall.
“Caspia.” Andreas gripped my arm, but I wiggled free, pushing myself to go faster.
I didn’t stop until I was within arm’s reach, and only then did I see the gap. It was disguised by the dark, only visible from a certain slant. It opened to a tunnel through the wall.
“Wait.” Andreas took my elbow, pulling me behind him. “I’ll go first.”
With his torch raised high, he led us through the passage, his sword ready at his side.
The moment I stepped through to the other side, the agony spiked. The bread I’d nibbled on this morning came up as I retched against the wall, vomiting until my stomach was empty.
“We’re going back,” Andreas said.
“Not yet. We have to keep going. We’re close. I can feel it.”
His molars ground together, but he didn’t stop me as I kept walking.
The ravine’s floor looked exactly the same as it had on the other side of the wall, the ground covered in rock fragments with only a sliver of light streaming from the opening far, far above.
I looked up, taking a moment to summon my strength. And that’s when I heard the faint trickle of water. “Do you hear that?”
“Shh.” Andreas held up his hand so the soldiers would be quiet. “There.”
He pointed toward the opposite wall, to a section of rock that shimmered in the torchlight. A smooth, colorless waterfall that slicked down the obsidian.
“Water,” I whispered. “Of course.”
The Voster had fluid magic. They could manipulate water. The magic hadn’t seeped from the orbits into the land.
It had started with water.
I hurried for the wall with Andreas close behind. The closer we got to the water, the stronger the magic, but I gritted my teeth and kept moving, refusing to stop when we were so close.
The waterfall was as tall and wide as a man’s body. It came from a crack in the rock and flowed to a pool that was the size of a large bathing tub.
I dropped to my knees, the sheer force of the magic weighing me down. Then I peered into the pool to its bottom.
To a glass orbit hidden in the bottom of the Evon Ravine.
“Stay back and on guard,” Andreas ordered the soldiers, standing beside me.
I reached for the water, but before my fingers could skim the surface, Andreas snatched my hand, pulling it away. “But it’s down there.”
“I’ll do it.” Andreas dropped to a knee, rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, and clenched his jaw. But the water didn’t attack as he reached into the pool, pulling out the orbit with both hands.
The water sluiced off the glass, dripping from his hands and the ball.
The outer shell was clear, but its center was a swirl of water and wind. A magical storm trapped inside, raging to be set free.
“We found it.” A tear slid down my cheek as my body sagged.
And then the world faded away.