Chapter 9
Chapter nine
The Above
The tunnels are bathed in soft pink light, quiet and empty as I slip silently out the entrance of Eztia sub-cavern. It’s mid second shift and it won’t be long until Dom comes looking for me. I quicken my pace. I need to be topside before he reads the letter I left for him and tries to stop me.
A chill creeps down my spine, accompanied by the feeling of eyes watching me from the dark. I spin around to find the corridor empty. Slowly, I turn back, checking my surroundings more carefully, but I am alone.
“Ilunahēi'àn you bastard.” I mumble a blasphemy to the god of darkness.
I continue on to TóuKita Canyon, but I can’t shake the feeling that the very shadows are watching me.
I climb my favorite route slower than necessary.
I know I should hurry. I know that Dom is likely already on his way to my home.
Maybe he has my letter clasped in his hands right now.
Maybe he has crumpled it and let the hemp-paper fall to the floor.
Maybe he is already running through the halls after me, and yet I can’t push myself to go faster.
To end this chapter of my life without saying goodbye.
The rock blurs behind the tears that build in my eyes, and I splay my fingers out over the cool stone, letting the energy that flows through these rocks surge across my skin.
I remember the first day I completed the climb, my father spotting me from the canyon floor, prompting me to place my anchors properly.
I remember racing Dom and Caius and beating them both… I should go.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
This time when I roll onto The Above, I don’t linger, as much as I want to, with the sky streaked with shining stars.
Three moons hover overhead, casting the world in cool light and deep shadow.
A thick, rocky belt stretches out behind them, and I wonder what it would be like to climb those moons and run along that stretch of sky.
But I have to stay focused. The Above is dangerous, even when the skies are stormy, and the sun lurks behind the clouds.
But on a night as clear as this one, it is downright deadly.
Out in the open, I’m easy prey, not just for the beasts that roam these forests but for the dragons that rule the skies.
I cinch my pack tight and set my course east. I’ve never ventured far from the confines of Bǎodela.
Now I’m striking out into a world I hardly know, with only my father’s tales to guide me.
I hope that I’m making the right decision.
I hope that he told me those stories for a reason, that he knew one day I would need them.
I wonder if he knew the magic of The Below would one day fail—
Snap. A twig breaks behind me. I whirl around, pulling my dagger.
But I am alone. My heart thunders in my ears, and I strain to hear over the sound of my own panic, but the forest is silent.
Slowly, I turn back and start again. I chide myself for getting carried away in my own thoughts.
In the caverns, it kept me sane, but out here on my own, losing focus could cost me my life.
The night deepens, turning black as the last of the three moons sets behind the horizon.
The trees have grown high enough to brush the sky.
They tower at least as tall as the TóuKita canyon walls and are more than ten times as thick as me.
They blot out the sparse light of the stars above, and I struggle to make out the ground in front of me.
I had wanted to make it further from Bǎodela before resting, but at this rate, there’s no point in continuing. With how dark it is, I could wander off the end of a ravine and end this quest before it’s even started.
Thick branches cluster around the ancient tree before me.
At six meters off the ground, they would provide enough safety to rest until dawn.
I climb up onto a branch wide enough for me to curl up and fall asleep, strap my rope into my harness and anchor it to the trunk.
You never know when a few seconds of caution will save your life.
My father’s words echo through my head. While a fall from this height might not kill me, I’d likely break a leg, and out here on my own, the result would be the same.
Curled up in my bedroll, I close my eyes and listen to the strange sounds of the forest. The breeze rustles the pine needles.
Small animals scurry over the branches and through the underbrush.
Every once in a while, the sound of wings carries on the night air, and I wonder if they belong to bats, or birds, or dragons.
Glowing gold orbs meet me in my dreams, as they do every night. I reach out my palm, and the gold-scaled beauty bumps its nose into my hand. A gust of hot air blows my hair back from my face; the heat of it lingers, caressing the shell of my ear and traveling the line of my jaw—
Bright green eyes stare back at me through the pitch of night. I draw in a breath to scream, but a rough hand clamps over my mouth. I draw my dagger, pressing the blade to his throat.
“Shhh, you don’t want to wake the monsters.” That smooth baritone steals my fear and replaces it with rage. His gaze drops to the blade, recognition flashing in those prasiolite eyes, and his lips draw up into a smirk.
“Caius,” I mumble against his hand, which he quickly withdraws, batting my blade away like it was nothing more than a game.
His eyes linger on the dagger in my hand before he cocks his head to the side, appraising me. “You know, you really should be more careful where you sleep. Anything could be watching you from the dark.”
“What, like you?” I return the blade to its place at my hip.
I can just barely make out his half-grin in the dim light. “You’re lucky it was me and not a monster.”
I cock a brow. “And who says that you’re not a monster?”
Caius shrugs and leans into the trunk, sliding down to sit beside me on the branch.
“What are you doing here, Caius?” I whisper-hiss.
He simply beckons for me to come closer.
I roll my eyes, but scoot closer until we are sitting shoulder to shoulder, the rough tree bark pressing into my back.
“I came for you, of course,” he answers.
“I’m not going back.”
Caius drops his head, peering up at me through long dark lashes. “I didn’t come to bring you back.”
“But you said—”
“I said: I came for you.”
I let the words sit heavy in the air, not sure what to do with them.
“I don’t need your help.” The only thing worse than taking this journey alone is taking it with Caius.
“Clearly, I mean, I could have eaten you in your sleep just now.” He grins at me with more teeth than is settling, eyes half-lidded. “But sure, you are going to do just fine on your own.”
“Agreed, which means you can head back to Bǎodela.”
He tilts his head to the side as if considering. “Hmm, and where will you go, Izarrīa?”
I scrunch up my nose at the unfamiliar word. It has the ring of the old tongue and the names of our gods, but I can’t place it. “What did you just call me?”
He runs a finger over the bridge of my nose, trying to smooth the lines. “Never mind. Where are you going?”
I swat his hand away. “It’s none of your business.”
“Isn’t it?” He cocks a dark brow, still split from the confrontation with Suade. I wonder if it will scar. “Do you even have any idea where the hatching grounds are?”
“How did you—”
“You talk in your sleep.”
I squint daggers at him, trying to peel his flesh away and expose the secrets he holds. How many times had he snuck into my room? Watched me sleep? Garnered secrets that were not his to keep.
“And you can hunt, of course?”
I hesitate. While I may be many things, a hunter is not one of them. “I’ve packed plenty of provisions.”
“So you know how far they are?”
I bite my lip, which Caius takes as a response. He knows he’s got me.
“Fine,” I blurt out. “Fine, you can come along long enough to teach me how to hunt.”
He shakes his head slowly. “I didn’t say this was a negotiation, Oliviana. I will be joining you, and I will see this to the end. I made a promise, and I intend to keep it.”
My skin flares hot, and I’m grateful for the dark. “You don’t have to—”
Caius places a finger against my lips. “Shhh, no negotiating. Get some sleep. I’ll watch over you.”
While I want to argue, my heavy eyelids betray me.
Rough bark brushes my cheek as I curl into the branch, as far from Caius as I can manage without slipping over the edge.
A haunting howl rips through the chill night air.
Snarls and low growls follow. My muscles tense, springing at the featherlight touch on my back. I spin around to glare at Caius.
He withdraws his hand. “They don’t climb. We’re safe up here.”
I nod slowly, adrenaline still coursing through me.
I scoot a little further from the edge, close enough that I can feel heat radiating off the man beside me.
Curled up beside Caius, a familiar feeling settles over me.
This wasn’t the first time he had watched me while I slept, I’m certain of it, and I’m surprised to find that it feels safe, familiar.
Even in this alien place with its strange sounds… it feels like home.
***
Drool slips down my cheek, and I grimace.
Lifting my head, I wipe away the trail. Panic strikes when I take in the unfamiliar place.
I can’t get my bearings. Green boughs stretch in all directions.
Rough bark presses into my palms. I stumble back from the dark figure resting beside me and am met with nothing but air.
I wave my hands frantically, trying to find my balance—I’m yanked back by my harness.
“Let’s not start the day off swinging from the trees.” Caius pulls me solidly onto the branch before he drops the rope and settles back against the trunk with his arms folded.