46. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Calista
T he rain felt incredible after suffocating in the stifling humidity. Muck from the swampy marsh dripped off in clumps, blooping into the deeper water filling the corridor. I pulled on the vines that shackled me to the wall. It no longer reminded me of Astaroth, rather it reminded me too much of the sticky web I fell into and cocooned myself in trying to escape desiccation. I could still feel the coarse, barbed hairs on the spider’s legs as it crawled over me, probably because they were sticking out of my skin like a pin cushion. I shivered, expending the last of my adrenaline, and sagged against the wall, thankful that human-sized spiders didn’t exist on Earth. It would be safe to say the majority of humanity would consider it grounds for Armageddon and set the world on fire. I thought I had escaped until I sunk into the quicksand and slowly made my way across the pit. Who knew that giant spiders could walk on water without sinking? Not me. I was certain I had the upper hand, but it was on top of me before I could move even a foot in any direction, flinging its thick hairs at me.
The vines loosened, and I splashed into the thigh-high water, almost losing my footing. I plucked one of the pesky needles from my neck with a wince. Hair splinters. I was covered in them. They pulled uncomfortably against the skin on my legs as I struggled to move through the water. Instead, I focused on getting the ones off my upper body. Itchy red bumps decorated my arms and chest like a bad case of chiggers. No matter how much I scratched, I couldn’t reach the itch deep in my skin. The rain only made it worse.
“Where did the realm take you?” Astaroth’s voice echoed in my head.
I focused on the song and started humming to block him out. The more he talked, the louder I sang until I felt his fury thrumming through me, along with the sky rumbling. I couldn’t move quickly in the water. It was almost to my waist now and walking through it was zapping the last of my energy. Swimming was the only option if I wanted to stay ahead of him. With a push, I frog swam down the corridor, listening for direction as the downpour splashed water in my face.
After making it a way, I flipped onto my back and searched for Astaroth. When the lightning flickered in the sky, I spotted him atop a wall further back, shoulders hunched to the shower of rain as he stalked me. Of course, he would find an easier way while I struggled. I tried to push off the ground for momentum, but was shocked to find it was deeper, nearly coming to my chest. At this pace, he wouldn’t have to jump down when he found me. I’d float right up to him.
I took a deep breath and dropped below the surface. The deafening rain dulled to a soothing roar, allowing me to hear the realm sing. Like in the frigid arctic waters, its resonance was eerie and ubiquitous.
Right.
Kicking my feet, I put my hands out and felt for the wall and an opening and almost missed it. There was a slight current now, making it difficult to maneuver. Vines wrapped around my arms and pulled me through. A moment of panic overwhelmed me when they didn’t release me immediately, but they let go as I drifted farther along. I did my best to follow the song since I couldn’t pinpoint where it was, bobbing to the surface frequently for air before descending into the watery soundscape. It was quickly overpowered by the rush of the water.
Worried, I planted my feet and stood to get air. The water rushed against me at neck level. Astaroth leaped from one wall to another bringing him closer to the corridor I was in. I continued with my head above water so I could keep track of him. One moment he was there, the next he was gone. I floated on my back until I caught sight of him pulling himself on top of the wall where I was.
I took off, swimming as fast as my weak limbs could propel me. When I looked over my shoulder, Astaroth was running along the wall to catch up. My heart skipped wildly, giving me another dose of adrenaline I needed to get away. I dove and kicked and listened for direction, but I could barely hear the song. It sounded like the music that would keep me awake at night when I tried to sleep but was really only playing in my mind.
Please, I’m so close, I thought to myself as I surfaced.
The water moved faster, shoving me off my feet and along the corridor. A deep vibration made me look back. Astaroth paused for a second before blipping along the slick wall at breakneck speed, shouting my name.
A massive tsunami like wave crashed around the corner headed straight for me. I searched for an opening but couldn’t stay close enough to the wall. The pressure of its arrival kicked the current up and kept pulling me under. Astaroth dove ahead of the wave, using the momentum to get to me. His arm wrapped under my breasts and pulled me up. I sputtered and choked as I clawed at his shoulders for leverage.
“Hold still.”
He spun me back around and tried to shield me, but not before I saw the tower of water crashing down on us. Astaroth locked his limbs around me as the current forced us into the undertow. We toppled in the water, banging against the bricks around us. One second, he was wrapped tightly around me, the next I couldn’t feel him at all as I fought the current. I couldn’t tell which way was up or down at first, but when the sky lit up, I kicked my way to the surface.
The air nearly seized my begging lungs with each gasp. Walls rushed past as the flood whooshed me through the corridors. If I didn’t want to drown, I needed to get out of this raging river. The next time the water sucked me around the wall, I grasped onto a vine and began pulling myself up. I couldn’t do it in gym class, and I couldn’t do it now with how slimy they were. I wrapped it around my wrist and tried again. It moved and started to pull me farther up until I gripped the top of the wall. Panting, I hoisted myself onto my elbows and kicked my leg up several times before I caught the ledge with my toe. I laid there, thankful for a strip of land, even if it was only two feet wide.
Run.
I raised my aching neck, wondering which way, and knew exactly where to go. The opposite direction from Astaroth jumping walls to reach me. My jello legs didn’t want to cooperate. They shook as I got my footing.
“Don’t you dare move,” he growled in my head.
I wasn’t listening to him. I was already shuffling along the top of the wall, trying to keep my balance as the flood swept by on both sides of me.
Faster.
I took a deep breath, focused on the wall ahead instead of the water below, and forced myself to run.
“I will lock you up until you forget who you are!”
His declaration ripped open a piece of me I hadn’t reconciled with yet. The heart of the young girl inside me loved him unconditionally and promised him forever. A forever of forevers with a monster. Tears blurred my vision and were washed away by the rain that threatened to destroy us.
Thunder rolled above as he gave chase. I could feel his intensity and promise thudding closer. He would do exactly what he said. Astaroth was done with my resistance. Now, he was going to do it his way. That terrified me.
The hairs on my body rose and my ears clogged as the air charged around me. I pushed harder and debated on jumping in the water, but I wasn’t the tallest target on this wall. He was. Then it struck, bright and white and blinding with a painful, whip-like crack of pressure that popped my eardrums. The wall shuddered, and I stumbled to my knees. Behind me, the stone crumbled to bits and disappeared in the flood as easily as my tears vanished in the rain.
Astaroth skidded to a halt, arms out to balance himself. The disbelief on his face spoke volumes. He backed up, but I didn’t wait to see if he cleared the chasm. The wall shook and that was enough to push me on. It split beneath my feet, the crack spreading faster than I could run. The entire wall was going to fall. I glanced back at Astaroth trying to make ground, but the wall fell apart beneath him with every step he took until the water swallowed him again.
The corner column loomed ahead. Regardless of his comment, guilt ate at me for leaving Astaroth behind after he saved me from the tidal wave. He was fae. Strong and resilient. He could survive almost everything. I couldn’t, and yet I’d made it this far. I wasn’t stopping until I made it home. Kaiden will help me come up with a game plan. We’d find Gina and defeat Astaroth.
Prepare.
That ominous word startled me and left a sour taste in my mouth.
Astaroth’s upper body appeared farther up the wall. He pulled himself up and blocked my path, hands flexing ready to grab hold and whisk me off to erase my memory of anything but him.
Dive.
Without hesitation, I dove into the rushing waters below. I heard a splash behind me, but never saw where he went as the realm rushed me into the next corner. Bruises formed as I hit the hard, smooth ground. A sizzling steam rose as the water spread out around me and disappeared. Warmth soaked through my clothes and into my bones. It was almost soothing until the heat made it unbearable to breathe. It was way too hot for comfort. Where the desert was dry and the swamp was humid, this place was a blazing inferno with no air flow. A furnace the likes of a car in summer with the windows rolled up tight, suffocating you slowly. After everything I’d been through, I was terrified to face what I had to do next.
Exhausted, I lifted my battered body up to have a look.
“Ho-ly shit.” I scrambled to my feet and checked all around me to make certain I was safe where I stood. My head spun from the movement, and I leaned against the rock wall behind me.
Neon bright magma cascaded down hills to form a flowing pit. It reminded me of blown glass when heated, thick and gooey. The lava gurgled when it hit the pool and expelled noxious sulphuric farts into the nonexistent air that coated my tongue and made me nauseous. I covered my nose with my damp shirt and sucked what little water I could from the fabric.
This would be the most difficult leg of my journey yet. How was I supposed to traverse the bowels of hell and survive? There were no exits I could see inside the cave. The lava seemed forced between cracks in the rocky terrain like Play-Doh.
I wanted out of this hellhole. Focusing on the song, I walked the bank far from the edge of the bubbling goo. At times, I hugged the wall and stepped over gaps. The rubber soles of my shoes became slicker as the heat flattened the tread to nothing. There would be nothing separating my feet from the ground soon.
Just when I thought this might be easy, the ground quaked. I bent at the knees and braced for what was to come. I wasn’t expecting the rocks to split under my feet and drift apart on the rising lava.
“Oh my God!” I jumped to a larger piece and nearly fell in. “The floor is literally lava.”
Terrified, I studied the shifting checkerboard ahead of me as I surfed over my nightmare. This put a new spin on my childhood game. Only this was real, and if I so much as touched the liquid fire, I was dead. Game over. No extra lives, and no starting over. Sweat rolled down my face and sizzled when it hit the rocks. The temperature elevated the farther I drifted to the center, leaving me foggy. I had to move and now or I’d pass out and incinerate in the molten pit.
Pieces of rock floated closer to me and bumped the one I was on. I tested my weight on one of them. It wobbled but didn’t sink. As carefully as I could, I moved onto it, the other stone drifting away when I pushed off. With the speed they drifted, I had to trust they could hold me, or I would lose my balance. This proved to be a quick reminder that I couldn’t doubt, or the realm would leave me stranded in a place I couldn’t survive. The song was well ahead of me, and I had some catching up to do.
Every step made my confidence grow until I leaped over bigger gaps and progressed quicker through the pit. The tune was clearer, so I knew I was nearing the end of this insane gauntlet. But as I rounded a bend, the floating steppingstones became fewer and there was no ledge on the sides to aim for, only walls going straight into the lava. I floated there, waiting for more stones to meet me. None did.
I was close to collapsing. The other corners didn’t kill me, and this one wouldn’t either. Well, that’s what I kept telling myself. I focused on Kaiden and the fun we always had inventing ways to get around the house without touching the floor. Sometimes we created our own rules, but I had nothing to climb onto and no household items to use to my advantage. Maybe this was the realm’s plan all along—not an escape, but a punishment for trying to leave in the first place.
A glint far across the gorge caught my eye. A solid bank of glassy stone glittered in the neon glow, much like my stone flashed when I made a wish. I lifted it from my chest. Never doubt and never lead. There was no mention of altering my circumstances to help me navigate the terrain.
“I wish for rocks to rise so I can pass.”
The stone pulsed and the lava bubbled in front of me. Excitement renewed me as I cringed from the awful smell the single stone emitted when it emerged from the depths. Then irritation set in. After everything I suffered, I could’ve done this all along.
I waited a moment for it to cool before stepping forward. Nothing else happened.
“Rocks, plural,” I reiterated.
Nothing.
Exhausted and frustrated, I screamed, “Give me rocks!”
My voice bounced off the cave walls back to me. There were no other branches to travel or openings that I saw. Only a lagoon of lava.
A dull rumble responded. The pool began to churn until it jumped like boiling water. Steppingstones bounced to the surface, riding the waves. I choked on the fumes blurring my vision and winced when something sharp hit my head, then my shoulder. Pebbles sprinkled around me and over the pool. I looked up as the ceiling fractured and chunks of rock tumbled into the pit. Lava geysered into the air and splatted over the rising stones as it landed. It was going to bury me alive.
I took off, bouncing from one stone to the next as rocks pelted me from above. I understood how Chicken Little felt when he screamed, “The sky is falling!” Only, it wasn’t just the ceiling falling. The stones immediately sank as I stepped on them. I didn’t have time to think or balance, just move my ass. Hardcore parkour.
Lava burned holes in my clothes, the fibers melting to my skin, as it splashed around me. I sizzled like a piece of bacon frying in my own grease. It popped on my already welted arms and legs with each jump. I labored to breathe in the increasing heat and gases rising into the air. Fear of death and adrenaline held exhaustion at bay. For the moment. Blisters formed on my soles and immediately ruptured from the melting rubber oozing into my shoes. It was pure, unequivocal agony, and my predicament was dire.
A loud crackle reverberated through the cave. Every hair on my body rose to attention. I couldn’t see what was happening or how much farther I had to go, because if I took my eyes off the dancing stones, I’d jump right into the lava. I had nothing left to give. My body blew through its reserves and operated on fumes. I’d expended it all to get me to this dreadful place.
The glittering bank came into view as massive rocks fell around the cave. Survival was within reach. I had to keep moving. Autopilot kicked in as I jumped from stone to stone, raising my arms up to protect my head from the debris. When I reached the last stone, I launched myself across the bubbling gap and crashed onto the sharp, jagged rocks with a shriek that rattled my eardrums and shook the remainder of the ceiling loose. Massive slabs dropped and with it an ocean of magma. I curled into a ball and screamed as it enveloped me.