Chapter 43 Bechora #2
When I was sure the thing was dead, I tilted my head back to glance at the timer counting down in the sky.
Less than a half hour left to find a relic, or I failed the trial.
Turning back to face the cathedral, I sprinted across the sopping ground, praying to anyone who was listening that I wasn’t going to have another surprise creature to deal with, or find myself suddenly swallowed up by the mud sucking at my boots.
To my relief, I made it past the last line of trees, the ground giving way to uneven stone at the edge of the cathedral grounds.
Water lapped at the base of the structure, dark and sluggish, creeping up the worn steps that led to the entrance.
The doors were gone. Just a gaping archway, filled with unnatural darkness that sent a shiver of fear up my spine.
For a split second, I hesitated. Everything in me screamed that stepping through that doorway was a mistake.
My eyes flicked to the ticking time in the sky, and it was enough to force my feet to move.
The darkness in the entryway seemed to reach out for me, swallowing up the sights and sounds of the swamp behind me.
I used the spell I’d learned last term to summon a ball of light to my hand, and blinked.
The inside of the cathedral stretched out in front of me, vast and crumbling.
Broken pews littered the floor, some half-submerged in murky water.
Massive pillars rose toward the ceiling, lost in shadow, and cracked and worn with age.
What remained of stained-glass windows cast warped, shifting colors on the water lapping against my feet.
I realized it was slowly rising, just another thing counting down toward my failure.
I took a step deeper into the cathedral and looked around.
Balconies, broken walkways and partial staircases leading to higher levels.
They all seemed to beckon me forward, as though they were the answer to a question I hadn’t asked.
I shook my head, trying to clear away the pull to move to higher ground.
There was no way the trial would be that simple.
My eyes dropped back to the floor, and I noticed something shimmering, where the water seemed to pool thicker near the center of the cathedral. A slow breath left my lungs as understanding washed through me.
“Of course it’s down . Wouldn’t be the ‘drowned cathedral’ without a little drowning”, I huffed as I stepped forward.
I kept my steps slow, testing the ground before shifting my weight.
The water sloshed softly around my boots, each movement echoing louder than it should have in the eerie silence.
As I drew closer to the center of the space, dripping sounds rang out like thunderclaps.
I paused, trying to detect where it was coming from.
Before I could, the sound shifted and the water around my feet rippled. Something beneath the surface moved.
“Fuck!” I hissed. “Please, no.”
The ripple stilled. For half a second, I let myself hope. Then the floor cracked. A jagged line split through the entire stone beneath me with a sharp snap, and I barely had time to react before the ground dropped out completely. I fell.
Cold water swallowed me whole. It slammed into me like a physical force, sending me spinning every which way and stealing the breath from my lungs.
Darkness closed in instantly, thick and blinding, the ball of light in my hand snuffed out.
I kicked hard, fighting the drag of an invisible current as I forced myself toward what I hoped was the surface.
By some miracle, my head broke through the surface of the water, and I dragged in a sharp gasp of air.
I blinked water from my eyes as they adjusted to the dark.
The space around me slowly came into view as I treaded the water, struggling to catch my breath.
Spread out, a short distance before me, was a stone ledge; a softly glowing altar situated in the center.
With no other option, I swam to it and dragged my body onto the dry, rocky surface.
I wasn’t given a moment to linger and catch my breath.
A rushing sound caused me to look back at the water I’d just pulled myself from, and my eyes widened in horror as it began to rapidly rise in angry waves.
Shoving myself to my feet, I raced toward the altar, the only thing in this god-forsaken place.
My footsteps echoed loudly around me, mingling with the harsh pants of my breathing, to add another horrifying layer to the terrifying cacophony of sound.
My eyes landed on a small, round object resting on the altar, which seemed to be the source of the soft, glowing light emitting from it.
Cold water splashed against the back of my legs as the water continued to rise, and I reached out my hand for the object.
My feet stumbled along the now slick ledge, and I shut my eyes in a silent prayer as my hand wrapped around the small sphere.
My legs slammed against something hard just as the sounds of rising water vanished.
My eyes flew open, to find I was back in the dining hall, dripping wet.
And the thing I’d run into was the table where I’d been sitting with the others before the trial started.
A relieved breath whooshed out of me, and I jerked out a chair before collapsing into it.
Miles was already there, seated across from me, skin ghost-white as he trembled.
“That was fucking terrifying, ” he whispered. The sound of him swearing shocked a laugh out of me, and I nodded.