CHAPTER XVII #7
He’s right. I need to stop trying to cut through the vines and cover the massive dark problem that’s looming towards me.
I hastily shove my blade back in my boot, hoping beyond anything that these vines don’t have a mind of their own and attack my now free hand.
Hiro’s air summoning flows through my fingers just as I’m pulled violently forward by the thick limbs.
The hard barrier below catches my trembling legs.
I quickly jump up to Cal’s step and the sturdy ground holding him, reaching for my blade to begin hacking away again.
Wait.
My mind halts.
Wait.
Keane used this same kind of magic on me that night under the Shadow Oak, summoning the tree’s limbs to bind my wrists together and hold me in place.
He did the same in Bardot, snaking the small oak that rested around the archway in my room to come down and grab me again.
Both times I was able to loosen them, to summon the magic away so I could free myself. Could that happen here?
I look down and see vines now covering every finger on my hand and the full skin of my forearm, reaching up to capture my elbow.
I envision their hold loosening, watch in my mind as the limbs retract and snake back into the wall from where they came, willing it to become true.
To my complete astonishment the vines do exactly that, slowly withdrawing and moving back down my arm until they unwrap around my wrist and fingers.
The vines fall loosely to the ground, sneaking away against the cold stone under my glare and becoming one with the wall again.
“That’s great, Alex,” Cal laughs frantically, “now can I get a little help over here?”
The vine that reached out for Cal’s thigh is now wrapped around the full of his leg and is angling to pull him into the darkness of the missing steps below us.
I quickly place both of my hands on the roots, willing them to let go of their hold with narrowed eyes.
In an instant, they start to loosen, unwinding around Cal’s thigh before they sink back towards the wall again, creeping quietly against the black granite.
“Ancients,” I take a hard seat next to Cal just as a drop of water splashes between my eyes.
“UGHHH!” I yell, hand wiping across my face, “this damn Ancients water! The worst of it all.”
Cal’s breathing is hard, his glance still eyeing the vines on the wall and readying himself to strike if they come forward again.
“All of this for ale and smoke,” he laughs, “the rounds better be free of charge.”
“Only we would be dumb enough to attempt this,” I laugh, bringing my hands to my face as I shake my head.
“The vines?” he asks, hoisting himself up carefully with a groan.
“They should be good,” I mumble into my palms.
I try to take a deep breath, genuinely reconsidering whatever possessed us to do this.
“Nearly there, Alex,” Cal chuckles, hand patting my shoulder.
I finally turn to stand back up, my body creaking and aching, the backs of my thighs sore from the hundreds of steps we’ve now taken. My glance quickly darts towards the winding staircase beyond, eyeing it in small hatred.
We are nearly there. I can tell by the way the steps become more narrowed as they climb up. My heart beings pounding against my chest, the end looking so near. If I had to guess, I’d say we only had a quarter of a ways to go.
Ancients, I don’t even want to think about what’s waiting for us at the top.
“I’m not paying for a damn drink tonight,” I grumble, taking a cautious step forward.
The stone remains, as do the rest for the continuation of the slow turn.
The vines continue their slow movements against the outer wall but leave us be in our walk side by side.
My glare on them never ceases, daring the limbs to try to do their worst.
The full of me is tired and exhausted, and the backs of my arms are aching from the pain of the gashes against the stone from my fall.
My ass is on fire, getting the best workout of its life, and I can feel my wrist and the forearm that the vines held starting to bruise.
I’ll have thick welts on my skin come tomorrow.
Cal looks to be in the same shape as me, his body moving slower but his face remaining determined. I let that confidence fuel my own, one hand gripping my blade tighter as my eyes narrow ahead on the bend.
“There’s a door!” I exclaim, spotting the outline of a wooden frame at our next turn.
The night sky pushes through the cracks around it, providing a small light and beacon if we ever did need one.
Cal nods excitedly, our next step coming down with impatience as our eyes are only trained on the door.
The moment our boots land on that stone, the ground below us begins to rumble, the walls trembling at our side in a foreboding warning to continue forward.
The rumble turns into heavy vibrations, my legs shaking left and right as we both lose our stances, shoulders pressing against each other to try to steady ourselves.
The rumbling becomes fierce, the tower shaking all around us as small stones begin to fall from above. Both Cal and I bring our arms to shield our heads, the sharp rocks falling on our bodies and becoming larger with every moment we remain standing here.
“The tower is going to collapse!” Cal yells above the rumbling in disbelief, “we’ve got to run!”
“The steps!” I shake my head, feeling a sharp stone slash against the side of my eyebrow before it falls to the ground.
There are a total of ten steps left to get to the top, and there’s no doubt in my mind that one or two of those will disappear out from under us.
“I’ll go first!” Cal swings an arm around my waist, pushing me behind him, “same as last time. Watch my feet and I’ll watch-”
“-Fuck!”
A large boulder the size of my head falls straight on Cal’s shoulder, the sound deafening as stone meets bone. The tower around us is moving now, our bodies pulled left and right and unable to stand in one place.
“Are you all right?” I yell, watching as Cal’s hand grips the top of his arm in support.
He nods his head in pain, eyes darting frantically to the steps ahead as he takes a shaking step forward.
Another small boulder quickly falls from the ceiling, angling for Cal’s ankle and nearly missing it in the process.
“Dear Ancients, I’m an idiot!” I yell, hands moving up just in time to summon a wall of air above us to catch the rocks.
The ceiling above begins to shatter, the black granite falling down in droves.
The weight of all of them is straining, the magic from this summoning trying to push through my own.
The muscles in my arms begin to quiver as I follow behind Cal’s ragged steps, our bodies still thrown sideways to the full shaking that wants to toss us around.
“I don’t have the ground!” I tell him with only three more steps to go. “My wall can only hold above!”
“Keeping holding it, Alex, that’s more important!” he reaches a toe lightly for the next step. “I have a feeling this one is going to give out, and the next.”
“Shit,” I curse, watching as the step does just that. Cal quickly retracts back to my front, face clouded in thought as my arms begin to give way.
“I don’t have much longer!” I yell to him with a violent shake of my head.
I truly do not know how I’m supporting this weight. There are hundreds of rocks now, all hovering above us and ready to drop on our bodies, waiting to crush us on the staircase.
“A full leap!” Cal yells, his wild grin scaring me when he looks back.
His eyes are alight in the danger of the thrill. “From this step to the last. Skip the next two and land before the door!”
“You’re crazy!” I laugh wildly.
“I am,” he agrees, scooting over tightly to let me stand next to him, “but so are you. Let’s do this together, Alex!”
“Shit! Ok, yeah!” I exclaim, moving next to him. “Fuck it, let’s do this.”
Cal and I steady our feet as good as we can on the step below us as the full tower still quakes and trembles.
We give each other a final look, heart racing out of our chests before we turn towards the door and jump with all of our might towards the final step.
The boulders come crashing down behind us the moment my hands land on solid ground, my fall staggered and arms barely catching my body before my face slams into the stone.
Cal’s landing is just as bad as mine, falling heavily on the side of his good shoulder as his head connects with the hard stone beneath us.
We’re both groaning, pulling our legs quickly into our bodies so as not to have our feet crumpled by the rocks.
I begin crawling over the last ledge, the shaking of the tower completely stopping the moment my fingers brush against the wooden door.
“Dear, fucking Ancients,” Cal starts to laugh, the two of us captivated into near hysteria.
“Never again, Cal,” I shake my head, “I think my body is in actual shock. Never again on my life.”
“I’m with you there, Alex,” he laughs, moving to my side as we both take a much needed break. Our breathing is ragged, bodies aching at every single joint and bone, but the sense of pure euphoria begins claiming my soul, head turning to the door as I look up at the handle.
“Let’s ring that damn bell.”
Cal’s hand reaches up to his side, fingers gripping the handle as he pushes the door open.
We fall with a rush of cool night air, toppling to the ground backwards with even more laughs.
My eyes widen on the massive drinking bell above us, the huge iron structure being held from the tip of the tower by three wide chains that fall from the ceiling.
I groan and prop myself onto my hands and knees, watching as Cal takes a kneel next to me.
“You ready?” Cal stands, hand reaching down to mine. I let him hoist me up, his arm slinging around my shoulder as we walk together to the bell.