CHAPTER XVII #6
“I do. She’s been such a steady presence at our side since Red Falls that I’ve never been given the chance to miss her. But I do now. A lot. And I know she won’t be done with whatever she does for the brothers anytime soon. So I don’t mind waiting in Knowledge while she moves in and out.”
I bump my shoulder against his, smiling in understanding.
“If it helps, Keane and I plan on making frequent travels back to Bardot. He has a small residence in the Palisades that we’re going to stay in when we do, so we’ll be close to you. Holis will travel with us, of course-”
I’m falling, stomach lurching up to my chest in a gasp as my hands move frantically in front of me to catch my quick descent.
The stone step below my boot completely gave way, not crumbling from the weight or the oldness of the tower but disappearing entirely once my foot landed on it.
There’s nothing below me now save an open hole, one that has my legs swinging frantically around and my arms straining on the step above, hands grasping to keep me upright before I tumble down.
“Shit! Alex!”
Cal’s hands wrap tight around my shoulders from behind.
My full upper body is barely hanging onto the step above, muscles aching as I try to hold on.
Cal’s heavy grip is strong, lifting me up with the help of my own strength before he tosses me forward, my chest heaving on the stone as I try to catch my breath.
“Ancients,” I pant, daring to lean over the step and stare into the empty darkness below.
“A trip step,” Cal scowls as I hoist myself up.
I pound my boot on the new step under me to make sure it doesn’t disappear.
“You would’ve broken your legs landing on that fall,” Cal grumbles.
The thought makes me scowl just as a sharp pain starts to shoot up the backs of my arms. I lift them carefully, elbows pointed towards Cal who is now two steps below me as I feel blood oozing down my skin.
“Completely scraped,” my friend grimaces.
He tilts his head to the side, willing me to move closer to the wall before he takes a big leap over the missing stone and lands on mine. He turns to me once he’s situated and takes one of my elbows.
“We’ll get you wrapped up when we come back down. You okay? There’s a lot of blood.”
“I’m okay,” I glare at the dark opening below us. “Just pissed off.”
“There may be more,” Cal sighs, eyes darting to the staircase ahead.
He takes a timid step forward, foot pausing mid-air.
“Please don’t fall, Cal,” I laugh sarcastically, “I don’t have the same strength to lift you up as you did me”
“I’m not planning on it,” he chuckles, boot landing on the stone as it holds steady.
I follow behind him, landing to the side of the step as we both slowly, meticulously, take the next turn of the staircase.
Another trip step decides to give out the moment my toe touches the stone. It’s a clever use of summoning, the magic mimicking Esme’s to make the stone appear as if it was real when all that waits under it is a gaping hole.
“This is messing with my mind,” I grumble, wiping off another drip of water that decides to land straight in my eye. “We can jump to the next step, but what if that one is just an illusion, too?”
Cal frowns at the thought.
“How much do we value our limbs?” he turns to me with a nervous chuckle, “enough for a full night of drinking?”
Our gazes quickly find each other’s, eyes sparkling in the dark as we grin sheepishly, knowing the answer.
“Ancients, we’re a pair of drunks.”
“You’re just realizing that now?” I laugh, eyeing the missing step and the possibility that another may be lurking just after it. My glance narrows in thought, hand wiping another fat drop of water off of my temple as I quickly form a plan.
“I’ll go first,” I tell Cal, “if the second step is fake and I fall, I can try to catch myself with a barrier wall of air. Perhaps I’ll be quick enough to catch myself before too much momentum takes me under.”
“Or I could go first,” my friend considers, “you wait behind me and stand ready to deliver your air for the fall.”
“That’s actually smarter,” I nod, hands lifting in front of my torso with a wince. “Ready when you are.”
Cal rolls his eyes at my nervous smile, the gesture reminding me so much of Alanna. His big body flexes on the stone under him, leg pushing off in a leap and landing firmly on the step.
“All good.”
I make the jump next to him, our grins wide as we continue onwards.
“I’d like to think we’re a little under half-way,” Cal takes another careful step up.
“Yes,” I agree, “trip rocks, water in the face and a few cuts and bruises. I’d say we’re doing just fine. More stairs than I care to walk, though. This tower could rival Auclair’s.”
Cal chuckles, nodding his head. “Could you imagine Lord Crisjan making this trip?”
“Not for one moment. That man’s hands would be too full of books to pay attention to what was going on here.”
“Oh…” I gasp in realization, the torch on the wall now making more sense.
“Fucking mind games!” I laugh heartedly in pure enjoyment and deep admiration. “Fire, Cal. We could have revealed the illusion with the torch.”
“Mind games indeed,” he scowls as another drop of water lands in his eyes.
My pants are now completely drenched, the murky water running down my legs and starting to seep into my boots. Cal has the water gracing him in all the same places, the two of us looking like complete fools as we continue.
“I’m not sure how fun a full night of drinking will be after this,” I muse, “no one’s going to want to come close to us with the way we smell.”
“I’m tossing this shirt into the fire the moment we get back to the pub.”
“Do it,” I laugh, a sly grin gracing my lips, “and any woman who sets eyes on you will regret it once Alanna rides through.”
“True,” he chuckles, then stops in his tracks. “Alex…”
“Hmm?” I turn with a smile.
“Pull out your blade,” he warns, eyes staring straight ahead as he does just that.
My hand quickly reaches for my bicep, fingers wrapping around the hilt as I notice what he’s looking at.
“Vines,” Cal frowns, hand gripping his dagger.
I swiftly tuck my smaller dagger into my waistband and reach down for the larger in my boot, spotting how thick the limbs are.
“What do you suppose they’ll do?” I ask him quietly, eyeing the creeping movements as they slide against the wall.
“Attack us, most likely,” Cal grimaces, taking a step forward. “Lash at us. They’re only on the outer wall from what I can see. Follow behind me on the inside and catch me if I fall. We’ll deal with them as they come.”
I nod and let him lead the way, our steps timid as we try to keep our sounds as quiet as possible.
I don’t know why we walk in silence, it’s not like the vines can hear us.
Or maybe they can, I don’t know. But there’s just something eerie about the way they move, as if waiting to sense someone walking by before they spring into action.
“My eyes are on your steps,” I tell Cal quietly, alerting him that I’ve got his back while he watches our front. As much as I wanted to keep my eyes trained on those limbs, I couldn’t let a single moment of distraction grip me if I was to catch my big friend.
He nods as we pass by the first limb, brown length slithering against the cool black wall and waiting to pounce.
We make it up a full turn of the tower without disturbing them, their presence foreboding and lingering, always there.
Cal carefully places a toe onto the next step, the stone disappearing instantly as my free hand darts forward at the ready.
I’m quick to bring the air summoning firmly under his boot, prompting my friend to turn around with a wide grin, feeling the steadiness under him before he moves forward again.
What happens next passes in a swift blur.
The second stone is a trip step as well, rendering two large spaces under Cal as his body begins to fall forward.
I quickly will the air below him to extend, barely catching his feet in time before his full upper body falls onto the third step above, chest landing with a heavy thud.
But the moment the second stone gives way the vines start reaching out from the wall towards us both, latching onto my hand holding my dagger and wrapping tightly around it.
“Your boots!” I yell at Cal, watching the limbs extend around his toes and up towards his ankles.
Cal quickly adjusts himself on the ground, leaning forward to hack away.
I swiftly reach for my hand holding my dagger and barely have enough time to transfer the blade before the vines start tightening around my fingers, rendering that hand useless.
The limbs are quick to move up my forearm, still extending out of the wall and now pulling me forward, as if wanting me to fall into the open pit below.
I plant my feet firmly on the step, my hand cutting against the vines as I pull my arm forcefully back to my chest. The vines tug back at me strong in response and I find myself slipping in my step, toes nearly crossing the edge into the darkness under me, too close for my liking.
I hurriedly begin hacking at the vine, the limbs too thick against my blade to cause any real damage.
My movements become frantic, knowing that even if I fall below, the vines will continue to hold me tight in its grip, most likely snapping my arm when I fall.
“Forget the blade, Alex!” Cal yells, feet kicking at a new limb that reaches out to grab his thigh. “Cover the opening. Protect your fall first!”