Chapter 19 #2
At that query from Josslyn, Avera shrugged. “I’m not quite sure, but it seems to have something to do with my lineage.”
“The Voxspira line has been ruling as far back as our records go, and your blood obviously has some deterring effect on this thing under the ice, but the real question is how did this Zhos manage to influence Benoit? The Spire and the mist are nowhere close to the capital, and Benoit never ventured far from it,” Gustav pointed out.
“I don’t know and never thought to ask.” Avera glanced over her shoulder. “Perhaps we should have stayed to ask more questions.”
“And deal with that bugger trying to control our minds? No thanks,” Gustav grumbled, still disgruntled by what had transpired.
“Not to mention, Opal seemed pretty determined to have us leave,” Josslyn reminded.
“A little too eager if you ask me, which leads me to wonder why, if she knew this Zhos was acting up, did she not send warning or word to the capital?” Gustav asked.
Avera had no reply. “I don’t know.”
“Then how do you know she hasn’t sent us on a fool’s errand? You have only the word of a stranger that this path will lead us out of the mountain.”
Avera’s mouth opened and shut. Gustav raised very good points. “I don’t think she was lying.”
“Good liars are rarely caught.”
“If she wanted me to come to harm, she would have let you kill me,” Avera stated.
“She’s right.” Josslyn came to her defense and Opal’s. “If that old woman hadn’t done that spell with Avera’s blood, you’d have murdered the queen.”
“Might have been kinder,” Gustav grumbled. “I can’t seriously believe you’re contemplating travelling to Verlora. There’s a reason no one goes there.”
“And what else should I do? Return to the capital so Benoit can finish the assassination? Ride around, evading those backing him, trying to garner support whilst convincing people I didn’t actually have my family killed? All the while waiting for Zhos to finally emerge and destroy the world?”
Gustav’s reply emerged stiff. “I don’t know what the next step is. I can say that I don’t think sailing into danger should be a part of it.”
“And if Opal is right and Zhos is attempting to escape and bring back its reign of terror?” Avera countered.
“Then wouldn’t we have some mention of it in our histories?”
To which Josslyn quietly murmured, “Perhaps they hid it, fearing the less-savory would try and free this Zhos. After all, isn’t that what Benoit and his cronies are attempting?”
An astute observation that left Gustav silent for a moment.
Avera changed the subject. “What did it feel like when the mist took you?”
“Discomfiting. I became a passenger in my own body,” Josslyn said. “I lacked control my limbs even as I could see and hear and think.”
Gustav grunted. “The worst part was I didn’t even mind being taken over. I heard the singing and had to obey. I didn’t want to fight the control even as I understood what was happening.”
“You remember everything?”
“Ayuh.” Gustav went silent for a moment.
“My task was to slaughter the useless for the fire. I was about to raise my sword against an older gent who couldn’t work when I was commanded to kill you.
” His head dropped. “It’s a terrible thing to not be in control.
To feel something cold and malevolent invading your mind. ”
“I had to dig at the frozen lake,” Josslyn complained. “Me, doing manual labor. My hands are blistered and for what? Barely a few scratches. I’ve never encountered ice so hard.”
“Could you see anything through the ice?” Avera asked. “Any hint of what lay beneath?”
“No. It was black, opaque, and had a smell about it as if it weren’t just water.”
“We’re coming to an intersection,” Gustav announced. The fork appeared in a small chamber of sorts, large enough to hold them all and their steeds. Parts of it appeared natural, the roof jagged as well as part of the walls, though the openings had been smoothed. “I think we should go right.”
“Opal said to always choose left,” Avera stated.
“Left smells rank,” was his blunt reply. “The right has a hint of freshness.” The faint breeze from it made the torch flicker.
“But that doesn’t mean it exits where we need.”
Gustav uttered a long sigh. “I swear, if that old woman leads us astray, I will return and remove her head.”
He headed down the left passage, rougher hewn than the previous tunnel. The torch he held remained steady. No air moved through this passage, making Avera wonder if perhaps Gustav was right. Why did she trust Opal?
Gut instinct? Knowing Opal had spoken to her mother was certainly a part of it.
The fact she’d freely relayed information also helped, but at the same time, the guardian had only meted out enough to whet Avera’s curiosity.
Why the rush? Surely, given the fact Avera could dispel the mist with her blood they could have spent a few minutes learning more about Zhos and the threat it posed.
The seed of planted doubt led to Avera looking back more often than ahead.
Was second-guessing every decision part of being a ruler?
What of the angst that would follow if she made the wrong choice?
Being responsible for Daerva had been bad enough, but now being told the world depended on her, a woman who until recently had been practically a nobody?
How had she gone from being unimportant to being the focus of so many?
“Another fork,” Gustav stated, and this time he didn’t argue, just took the left turn.
Avera couldn’t say how long they walked. The torch sputtered as the oil soaking the rag burned off. Gustav paused to extinguish it and replaced it with a rag newly soaked.
During that moment of intense darkness, Avera’s other senses heightened.
Her nose twitched, detecting a new scent amidst that of rock and dust. What was that sweet scent?
Her skin pimpled as the air suddenly felt colder.
She heard a whisper, not of a voice, but more like something dragged across stone. Were they no longer alone?
“Let there be light,” Gustav declared, holding up the newly lit torch.
While it might just be paranoia, Avera took no chance. “I thought I heard something.”
“Me too,” Josslyn piped in. “Glad to know I didn’t imagine it. This place is spooky enough as is without me making up things.”
“From behind or ahead?” Gustav didn’t mock them.
“I don’t know.”
“The horses don’t seem unsettled.” Gustav’s remark had Avera eyeing Luna at her back. The mare appeared steadfast for the moment.
“Just advising you in case.”
The noise didn’t repeat or at least couldn’t be heard over their footsteps and the clomp of hooves. Anything hiding in the tunnels most likely fled at their noisy approach.
Gustav eventually said, “Tunnel’s getting bigger, and I think I see light.”
Had they already found the exit? The hope of exiting this dark and somber place had them all hastening their steps. The glow of the torch multiplied as Gustav stepped into a cavern.
A place of wondrous beauty.
Avera gaped as she looked around at the huge, naturally hollowed space.
Stalagmites and stalactites jutted from the floor and ceiling, the flames of the torch reflecting off their sparkling surfaces.
The walls held a layer of moss that glowed faintly.
In the center of the cave, a small lake, the waters smooth and reflective, but also clear enough to see the pebbled bottom.
No plants grew. No fish swam. Closer to the center, a dark spot indicated a sharp drop. Probably the spring that fed the lake.
“Is it safe to drink?” Josslyn asked, glancing at Gustav.
“Dunno. Don’t see any bones, though, so that’s a good sign.” A reminder that the Lake of Tears had its edges littered with the carcasses of the wildlife that took a fatal sip.
“How can we test it?” Avera asked. While they had flasks still mostly full, refilling them might prove challenging on their route.
“We need something to drink it. I don’t suggest we volunteer, though.” Gustav glanced at Josslyn’s horse which wandered close to the edge.
“Perhaps we shouldn’t take a chance,” Avera stated as Josslyn’s mare lowered her head.
“No.” Josslyn slapped her horse on the rump, sending it cantering away from the water.
“Let’s see what the water does to fabric,” Gustav suggested. A good idea since the Lake of Tears had a corrosive effect that began to deteriorate materials the moment they touched its waters.
Gustav dipped one of the rags he’d brought for the torch. It emerged intact. “Not acid at least,” he surmised.
“But is it poisonous? We can’t tell by wetting a tiny piece of cloth.” Josslyn planted her hands on her hips and frowned at the lake.
“Personally, I say we avoid it. We have water.”
“For the moment. Opal said the trip would take about a day, but also mentioned she’d never done the crossing herself.” What if it were longer? The Spire extended many leagues, and underground, they couldn’t tell how far they’d travelled given the tunnels slightly curved and they’d taken two forks.
“I would have liked to soak my feet,” Josslyn sighed. “I’m not used to so much walking. Think these tunnels will get taller anytime soon?”
“Not looking too likely. As for your feet, hold off on the submerging part since we can’t be sure the water is safe.” As Josslyn’s whole body drooped in disappointment, Gustav added, “but we can rest here for a while. Eat some rations. Get some rest. This cave is as good a place as any.”
As if his offer conjured the fatigue, it hit Avera suddenly. Her weary limbs would like nothing more than to lie down.
“We should find a spot big enough for us to gather close.” Avera glanced around, seeking an area where the jutting stalagmites didn’t cluster as thick.
She pointed. “There by that wall with the moss. Room enough for us to lie down and for the horses.” Speaking of which, they had little to feed them.
Travelling outdoors, they could usually rely on the natural foliage.
No such thing in this network of tunnels.
Luna followed Avera to the spot that offered the most open space but didn’t stop there. Her horse went right to the wall and began licking it.
Licking and chewing, actually, as her steed tugged the moss free and happily munched. The other two horses followed suit.
“Is it safe for them?” Avera asked as they devoured the moss they could reach.
“Animals are pretty good at knowing what’s good for them or not,” Gustave stated.
“Not the ones who keep dying trying to drink from the Lake of Tears,” Avera pointed out.
“That lake is unnatural.”
“And what makes you think this one isn’t?” Avera countered.
“I never said it wasn’t, hence, the caution.
Now help me clear some of the stones so we don’t wake with bruises.
” Gustav bent over to grab and toss the loose rocks away.
Avera and Josslyn joined him, grabbing and throwing.
The clatter was loud in the echoing cave.
Loud enough Avera didn’t notice Luna wandering.
Or hear Luna slurping.
Avera found out when she straightened to stretch her back and saw her mare with her head dipped, siphoning the water. “Luna!”
Her horse ignored her as she continued to drink.
Everyone watched her. Long enough Josslyn whispered, “How long before poisoned water would have an effect?”
“I don’t have much experience with it, but I’d venture it’s usually fairly quick to show signs,” Gustav said.
Luna finished her hydration and wandered back to the wall for some more moss licking. She seemed fine.
“If the mare shows no signs of distress after we have our meal, you may try soaking your feet,” Gustav offered his sister.
Their dinner of hard tack and cheese passed in silence but also observation. The other two horses drank as well and the three showed no ill effects.
Once they’d finished, Gustav waved a hand. “Go ahead, bathe your toes but no crying later if your skin peels.”
“Really?” Josslyn showed no qualms about stripping off her boots, rolling up the cuffs of her pants, and wading in. She sighed. “This is so nice.”
Given she didn’t scream, Avera ended up joining her.
The water, while cool, didn’t numb the flesh with its temperature.
She waded out a little deeper, the lake barely getting waist deep except for in the center with its sudden drop, deep enough she couldn’t see the bottom.
She steered clear of it, not because she couldn’t swim if she lost her footing, but because wet clothes would take forever to dry.
She crossed the lake to the other side, noticing a tunnel entrance.
Would they exit the mountain soon after they resumed their journey?
“Avera, get to shore, now!” Gustav shouted.
She whirled to see him on the edge with his sword in hand. Josslyn stood just past him, eyes wide and frightened.
“What’s wrong?” Spoken as she noticed the lake’s surface rippling from the center outward, and not because of her.
“Out now!” he bellowed, splashing into the shallows.
Before Avera could make it to the nearest shoreline, something exploded from the hole!