Chapter 23
Calypsta
Somewhere in the Jungle
The trail began to widen, the packed soil gradually giving way to a series of stone slabs and the first unmistakable signs of a lost civilization emerged.
The head of a stone statue lay on the ground, partially shrouded by tangled brambles and wild vines.
Overturned stone pillars, remnants of grand structures, were scattered on both sides of the path.
The ancient road was a sight for sore eyes—or in her case, sore legs. There was no mud to slip on or protruding roots or loose rocks to trip over. Her knees and ankles would appreciate the reprieve.
They hadn’t been on the road long before the unmistakable sound of a twig breaking sounded behind them. They both turned at the jarring noise. Reyne moved beside her and motioned for her to remain silent with a finger to his lips.
They both stilled and listened.
Another sharp snap resonated through the quiet, followed by another, much nearer than the others. Vegetation rustled as something substantial moved through the dense undergrowth in their direction.
A creeping ominous nightmare.
Her pulse leapt to life. Please don’t be another predator looking for dinner. The earlier encounter with those frightening gryphons was enough terror for one lifetime. She doubted her heart could handle a similar life-threatening ordeal.
Another sharp snap sounded, followed by the rustling of leaves. Moments later, a dark long-haired boar-like creature, with golden-yellow eyes, black whiskers, and curved tusks sharpened into points, emerged from the thickets.
At first, it seemed the hideous creature didn’t notice them, until the beast’s black snout lifted and flared as it sniffed the air.
Its glowing eyes locked on them.
Reyne thrust Kendra behind him and yanked the dagger from his boot, wielding it before him, ready for battle should the beast attack. “Stay behind me and retreat with caution,” he commanded in a calm, soothing tone. “And do not make any sudden movements.”
“What are you going to do?” She whispered, her heart pounding against her ribs.
The beast snorted several times, each exhalation releasing steam from its heaving dark nostrils. Its powerful legs pawed the ground; the motion deliberate and forceful. The assertive movements of its hooves grinding against the stone slab created an unmistakable show of dominance.
“Kill it, of course.”
Ignoring his sarcastic tone, she cautiously retreated several steps while the beast continued to paw the ground. Upon reaching what she believed to be a safe distance, the stone slab beneath her feet unexpectedly shifted, jarring her.
Before Kendra could react, the massive stone slab beneath her tilted on an invisible diagonal axis.
The sudden movement sent her footing sliding, and she instinctively flailed her arms in an attempt to regain her balance.
Panic surged in her chest as she realized how precarious the situation had become.
“Reyne.” she called out, still flailing, her voice edged with desperation. “This road isn’t stable.”
The beast charged at Reyne, who crouched just in time and buried his knife into its heaving chest with an upwards thrust, but the momentum of the predator’s fierce attack knocked Reyne backwards, and into her.
With the added weight, the slab completely tilted.
Reyne, Kendra, and the beast all slid into the deep pit below.
Kendra grunted in pain as she landed on the ground with an unceremonious thud and tried to catch her breath. Above them, the slab began to rotate back into place. She jumped up, attempting to grab the edge of the stone to prevent it from closing, but it was out of her reach. Fuck.
She glanced at Reyne, who was pinned under the weight of the creature’s body, which, to her immense relief, appeared dead.
“Reyne, you are bleeding again,” she cried out, seeing crimson.
She dropped to her knees beside him and tried to inspect him before the light from above was completely snuffed out.
“Not mine,” Reyne informed her with a grunt as he struggled to thrust the beast’s dead weight off him. “It’s dead. My blade pierced its heart before we fell into this pit.”
Above them, the slab closed with a slow grinding rumble, throwing the dank hole into complete and utter darkness.
So dark, Kendra couldn’t see her fingers even though she had raised her hand to within inches of her face.
“What now?” Kendra whispered, her pulse racing.
“Can you help me remove my pack?” Reyne asked with a roughened groan that suggested he was in pain. “Luckily, I tossed in a couple of glow sticks.”
Kendra groped in the darkness until her fingers found the straps and she helped him shed his heavy burden. He rummaged in the dark, and a second later, she heard a soft snap, and a glowstick lit up.
The glow offered dim light at best, but it was better than nothing.
“Reyne, I’m scared,” she confessed, watching Reyne inspect the walls. “What if there is no way out of this pit? What if we are trapped in here?”
“We will find a way out,” Reyne assured her as he found and removed a wooden torch from a wall sconce.
His confidence gave her a small glimmer of hope, even though fear was running rampant through her veins. “I think I need a swig of that, um…stuff.”
Understanding, he chuckled and extracted the whiskey bottle.
Kendra snatched it and took a deep, satisfying sip. She was proud that she didn’t gag this time.
Using his flint, a bright flame leaped to life. Reyne held up the torch. “That’s much better.”
Instead of the walled pit Kendra assumed they fell into, it appeared they were dropped into some type of cavernous tunnel with dark, roughened walls.
She expelled a sigh of relief. At least with a tunnel, there was a decent chance they could find a way out of this newest nightmare. “Which direction?”
Reyne raised the flickering torch above his head to cast the most light possible and pointed. “That way. It’s heading in the right direction.”
She sighed, and without seeing any other choice, she trailed Reyne as he journeyed further into the dark, dank tunnel.
After a couple of sharp turns, they came upon a set of stairs roughly cut from stone that led up to a large round chamber, with a network of smooth passageways heading in multiple directions—like the spokes of a wheel leading away from the center.
Shadows parted just enough to reveal a deep, round well embedded in the center of the alcove’s stone floor. A milky moonstone hovered just below the inky surface. Beside the well, there was a pile of small moonstones, all equal in size to the one nestled securely between her breasts.
Kendra gasped as excitement replaced her earlier fears. “Reyne, do you know where we are?”
“No clue.”
“We are in Lux. Deep inside the Temple of the Archives, to be exact. This is where the archives are created and stored.”
“How do you know?” He flashed her a skeptical look.
“My tutors taught me about the temple and its importance to our interconnected history. Not just Valeria, but Talear and Calypsta as well. Aren’t you at all interested?”
“Not really. I don’t need a history lesson. I’m only concerned about finding a way out of here.”
“Well, I'm going to give you one anyway.”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course you are.”
“The keepers place moonstones into the inky water.” She pointed to the darkened well.
“As our history is captured, the moonstone will grow.
Once it reaches full size, it floats to the surface, ready for removal.
The archive is then stored in the temple passageways.
When important events occur, events deemed significant by whatever unknown force connects them all, the moonstones glow simultaneously, alerting the keepers that the event needs to be recorded.
Reyne moved towards the well and lowered the torch, peering into the darkened water.
“There are twelve keepers in all. Just as Valeria has twelve priests who guard their royal moonstone. Just as Talear has twelve druids who guard theirs…Reyne, are you listening to me?” she snapped.
“Did you say something?’ He glanced at her with a casual smirk.
Kendra released a sigh of frustration.
When Reyne noticed the pile of small stones, his expression turned to delight. “These should earn me some forgiveness for losing my armband.” His pack hit the floor as he scooped up a bunch of round stones and tossed them inside.
“Reyne. Put those back.” Kendra demanded and she pointed to the pile of tiny stones. She couldn’t believe his audacity. “You cannot steal from the Temple of the Archives. This place is sacred.”
“Sacred to you, maybe.” Reyne shrugged into his pack. “But not to me.”
She would expect something like this from Quinn. After all, he was a petty thief. But for some reason, she didn’t think Reyne would sink that low. But then again, she really didn’t know him. She glared and continued pointing at the pile. “Put. Them. Back.”
“I. Will. Not.”
“And what if the grobets come looking for them? Then what?” She huffed.
He blinked. “The who?”
“The grobets. You know, the keepers of the archives.” Then she tsked and tossed his own words back at him. “Didn’t your tutors teach you that?”
Reyne stared at her, his gaze appraising her from head to toe. His lips twitched right before he threw back his head and roared with laughter. He laughed so hard that Kendra had to restrain herself from sending her balled fist into his amused face. “What is so funny?”
“You.” He gestured in a way that indicated he was speaking about her whole person.
Kendra considered herself and how comical she must appear standing there, hands on her hips, glaring daggers at him and started to giggle. She threw her hand over her mouth to cover her own humor, but her mirth bubbled up, and she began laughing.
“Are you going to put them back?” She asked, wiping away a stray tear.
His cocky grin widened. “Nope.”