20. Barrett
BARRETT
T he flames pressed against the cage of my body, pulling me back in the direction we’d come from as we descended the stairs into deeper caverns.
I drew a deep breath, running my hand over my face as I tried to focus on anything but the thought of her, of how she had looked from the moment we’d set foot in Elythias and how fucking stupid I felt for even caring.
“How is Vivienne settling in?” Lucia asked, glancing at Marcus as he held the torch up to light her path. A few warriors separated us as I took up the rear, watching for any signs of an ambush or creatures that might follow, but I could still hear them clearly.
“She’s doing all right,” he said, a hint of hesitation lacing his words, as if he himself didn’t believe them.
“She spoke with Salwa yesterday, seemed a bit disoriented when she got home. When I asked her about her trip, she couldn’t seem to remember parts of her visit.
That, or she was confused as to when things happened. ”
“Did something happen?” Lucia asked .
“Tobias said she started acting strange in the last couple of days before their return. I’m a little worried about her.”
I tried not to focus on their conversation, instead checking the stairwell at our backs as I extended my hand, flames dancing within my palm to the stairs behind us. It proved near impossible, though, in the tight confines of the stairwell.
“If there’s anyone who can help her, it’s Salwa,” she said.
“Thanks,” he said and slid her a teasing grin. “Maybe our resident songbird will grace her with a visit. She always enjoyed listening to you sing.”
She swatted at him. “You catch me singing to myself in the Archivallia once, and now you won’t shut up about it.”
My nose wrinkled as the air grew fouler with each step, the stench becoming near unbearable as we reached the base of the stairs. “Fuck, it smells foul down here.”
“They once held a creature in captivity here,” Lucia explained as we stepped into a large, dark cavern. It was empty, void of any signs of activity, but as I stepped forward, Marcus lifting his torch and I my hand, I could faintly make out bars built into the stone wall on the far side.
It wasn’t only animal waste I smelled or the damp, moldy scent of stagnant moisture—it was death, fear.
Not just fear, but pure terror, the sort that shredded your insides and left you unable to sleep.
I searched the dark corners of the room, listening for signs of anything that might be here with us, every inch of my body keenly aware of how wrong the air felt against my skin.
What had happened here that would leave this space tainted with the scent of terror so many years after it had been cleared?
“Thalia said this was where the Pit Master tested the children they took,” Lucia explained, and something crawled over my skin.
“Tested?” I asked, frowning.
She lifted her hand, and flames sparked to life in her palm as she stepped forward. Her hands swept through the air in front of her, more torches lighting along the walls.
“Marcus, Alec!” Lucia called, and Marcus and another male swiftly approached. “Guard the stairwell. Make sure we aren’t taken by surprise.”
“Understood,” they said in unison and hurried to the stairs.
I lowered my hand, dousing the flame as I took in our surroundings. An old wooden table stood nearby, broken down the center and covered in dust and cobwebs. Dread curled in my gut as I neared it to find small shackles littering the ground amidst the bits of wood and debris.
“How exactly did they test them?” I dared to ask, my stomach twisting.
“The creature hunted them,” she said as she paced toward the bars. “They either escaped or died. ”
She came to a stop at the bars, reaching out to the cell door that lay ajar, the bars twisted and marred. “Looks like the creature finally got free.”
“Please tell me the fucker got what he deserved,” I said through gritted teeth as I came to a stop at her side. The cavern beyond the bars smelled far fouler than I thought imaginable, and I found myself stifling the urge to let the flames consume everything that remained.
“Not the death I would have preferred for what he’d done,” she said, something darkening her silver eyes, and the flames around us flickered.
“We continue the search,” she said, turning to the others as we gathered in the center of the room. “These tunnels go farther, and there’s no telling?—”
Her steps halted, and I stiffened at the presence skittering over my skin and the sound of a low growl at our backs. I twisted around and looked skyward to meet the gaze of something in the darkness.
A shrill cry pierced the air as a creature launched at us from the dark ceiling above the bars, the monstrous, cat-like beast stretching out clawed paws for us.
I crashed into Lucia, knocking her out of its path, and it collided with another warrior.
They both fell to the stone before it bit down on his throat, tearing and shredding at flesh and bone as the other warriors drew their weapons.
Shouts erupted around us as Lucia and I jumped to our feet, drawing our own weapons.
“Lucia!” Marcus called.
“Stay your ground!” she shouted, and he and Alec halted.
The dark creature lifted its bloody maw from the fallen warrior’s throat, its feather-tipped ears pinned back as it growled at us. It was cloaked in fur and feathers, its tail tipped with long plumage that reflected the light of the torches in hues of green and blue.
“This the creature you spoke of?” I asked, flames snaking from my hand down the blade of my short sword.
She widened her stance. "It is.”
The few warriors stepped in, shouting, trying to get a hit on the creature, just for it to twist and swat their weapons away. I steeled myself and launched forward. It twisted around, yellow eyes latched onto me before it shrank from the flames I wielded.
It leaped away, plowing through the few warriors and barreling for the stairwell where Marcus and Alec steadied themselves. Marcus drew his sword, and Alec bristled before shadows consumed him and fell away to reveal a bear.
The warriors followed it, but as the creature reached the entrance, it seemed to hit something, as if an invisible door barred its exit.
It clawed at the air—tore and ripped in desperation to get free, and something like unease pooled in my gut as carved text around the entrance began to glow.
I blinked, my brows furrowing as what appeared to be a collar of light glimmered faintly beneath its fur in response.
My pulse roared in my ears as I stepped closer to Lucia. “Lucia…”
She gasped as the creature started to break through, the text glowing brighter, and a sense of dread wound around my stomach. “It’s warded! Get ba?—”
Light erupted, and the stone beneath our feet shuddered as a strange energy tore through the air, the magic knocking us back.
I groaned as I pushed myself up, and cracks crawled and wound through the stone above us, debris and dust falling on us before it began to collapse in massive chunks at the entrance.
“Lucia!” Marcus shouted before rocks blocked the entrance, cutting off his voice and separating us from them.
Pain splintered across my head, and I twisted around to Lucia as she stepped back.
“Get down!” I shouted and shoved her under me as the ceiling collapsed, casting everything in darkness.