CHAPTER 38
The surface of the water was fading away into darkness.
My arms were pinned tightly to my side by the tendrils, and we were plummeting down towards the sand and rock bed at the bottom of the lake.
The pressure of its grasp was squeezing the air out of my lungs, and little bubbles leaked from my mouth, floating upwards.
The panic of needing air was rising in my throat; the urge to breathe inwards was suffocating.
I wanted to claw at my throat, but the creature wouldn’t let me move.
I kicked my legs furiously in every direction, hoping to land a blow that would loosen its grip, but nothing made contact, except for another tendril now wrapped around my legs, preventing them from moving.
This was it. This was how I was going to die.
Everyone I loved flooded my thoughts, tearing through my mind in a flash: Maya, Mom, Ares, Ulric, Zen…
The only comfort was knowing they would be free of me and the danger that seemed to follow me everywhere.
Stars danced at the edge of my vision, as the lack of air became too much to handle; darkness crept in, but it wasn’t Zen’s shadows, no, this was death greeting me with open arms. The creature holding me stopped moving and came into view, its golden-yellow eyes hidden behind a mask of seaweed, shining through the darkness that clouded my vision, and it was looking deep into mine.
A moment passed, and my eyes became too heavy to hold open; my body was going limp and lifeless.
The creature leaned towards me, and a stream of bubbles escaped from under its mask of seaweed.
They circled me before forcing their way into my mouth and down my throat.
Air immediately filled my lungs, and the creature's grip around me loosened, letting my body go.
My vision returned within a few blinks, as I floated in place, held up by the water's invisible hands. The creature in front of me was exactly as the Professor had described. A Myravine. Its golden eyes narrowed behind its mask of seaweed. Its hair was a tangle of seaweed and kelp that flowed down along its body and lay weightless in the lake's currents. Its body blended in well with its surroundings, and it was easy to see how they had stayed hidden for centuries. Its figure was womanly, with curves like mine, leading into long, elegant legs covered in kelp-like strands. I hadn’t realized from the shock of everything that had just happened, but I could breathe underwater. I took in a deep breath, and the Myravine’s eyes turned upwards…
a smile? It turned and motioned for me to follow. What other choice did I have? So I did.
We swam for what had to be hours, but within the lake's darkness, there was no sense of time; the Myravine kept pace with me.
I knew it could probably swim faster, but I appreciated the slow and steady pace we were making.
Other Myravine casually swam by us, glancing our way, curiosity getting the better of them, and a trail of what I could only imagine were children followed behind.
They blew bubbles in our direction, trying to see if they could hit us or who could blow the biggest one.
Carefree giggles lit up the dimness of the lake's floor.
We stayed close to the base of the mountain, taking a couple of breaks here and there when my body tired.
The creature seemed to know when I had to stop, as it would stop swimming and relax on a rock or the ground below us.
On our last break, I thought about the horror stories the Professor had told me and how scared the guards were when they saw its tendrils around me, but, from what I could see, they were nothing to fear.
Unless this was a trap and they were taking me somewhere to kill me, but right now, these odds were better than the ones that were waiting for me on the shore of the lake.
The small Myravine children were getting braver, and one even swam up beside me, inspecting me, and tugged on my hair.
I smiled at their touch and curiosity, but it quickly darted away back to the group of children who were now laughing together.
They were just as scared of us as we were of them.
The creature that was leading me motioned for us to begin swimming again, so I trailed behind it as it led me to my new fate.
The group of children didn’t follow us any further after our last break, and after a couple more hours, the creature suddenly stopped.
We faced a gaping hole at the base of the mountain, hidden under the water's depths.
The opening stared back at us, and not a single drop of light could be seen in its wide mouth.
The Myravine grabbed my hand and began swimming towards it, pulling me along.
I hesitated for only a moment before I let it drag me into the dark abyss.
The darkness pressed in on me, but somehow the Myravine was navigating the twists and turns of the cave.
Did the Myravine know where to go from memory, or could it see in the dark?
The lack of light was getting to me; the black void surrounding us brought back memories of Zendryk and his shadows.
My emotions began to take over my body, but a tug on my hand kept me moving until we finally turned upward, I think, and swam up.
We broke the surface of the water, and I didn’t have to gulp down the air.
It was such an odd feeling, as I continued to breathe in the same way I had moments ago under the water's surface.
I glanced around the dimly lit cave to see what surrounded us, only to find a pathway that ran beside a small stream of water.
“Follow the path, your future awaits.” The Myravine whispered to me, then vanished beneath the water's surface.
My future awaits? What did it know? What was about to happen?
Shaking my head of the questions flooding it, I swam to the edge of the dirt and pebbled-stone path and pulled myself out of the water.
The air was cold, and I instinctively wrapped my arms around myself, shivers taking control of my body.
Fire, I needed fire, but there was nothing to use to make one.
I got to my feet and had no choice but to follow the path.
It took me a moment for my eyes to fully adjust; the cave's walls and ceiling were adorned with small gem-like flowers that glowed with shades of blue, white, and purple.
The glow from them lit the pathway ahead; it was slender and close to the wall, with the small trickle of water streaming beside it.
With my arms wrapped around my shaking body, I moved forward into the unknown.
My pace was slow; my body frozen from the water and the chill in the air.
The pathway was agonizingly long, but I kept pushing myself.
There had to be something ahead, there had to be.
I didn’t make it this far for nothing. I kept pushing myself until finally, the pathway came to an end and opened into a large, cavernous room.
The walls and ceiling were illuminated by the glowing flowers, and stone-white, rocky thorns hung from the ceiling.
Large rock piles littered the cave floor, making it difficult to see beyond them.
The room was empty, except for a small pile of debris that looked like an old encampment.
I cautiously approached it in case there was something alive in it, but there was only a tent, torn and hanging, from a rock protruding from the ground.
Beside it was a small, broken wicker basket filled with old twigs, branches, and dried leaves.
Fire! I could make fire! I ran over to the basket and promptly got to work, pulling out twigs and debris in hopes of starting a flame.
I found two of the sturdiest sticks and began rubbing them together in a sawing motion.
What the fuck was I doing? I could make fire!
I’m a fucking idiot. If I ever saw Ulric again, I definitely would not be telling him about this part; he would never let me live it down.
I calmed my mind and shaking body. Focusing on the debris in front of me, willing the leaves and twigs to catch.
A small puff of smoke streamed from the crumpled leaf on top of the sticks.
I focused harder, putting everything I had left into the smoke dancing in front of me, until a flame erupted!
I placed more twigs and branches on top, hoping to let it burn long enough to warm up and dry off.
The warmth was glorious after hours of cold water and crisp air.
A couple of hours later, I had burned through the pile of sticks and branches and was working on pieces of the wicker basket.
I wasn’t sure where I would get more wood for the fire, but someone who was down here before had managed to find some.
Once I was completely dry, I dismantled what was left of the tent and pulled it over me for a makeshift blanket; the dirt and stone floor did not retain heat well.
Fucking great. I just got warmed up, and now I had to deal with this on top of everything else.
But was I really shocked? Nothing good had happened in the last twenty-four hours.
The emotions and events from the day finally consumed me, and I broke down.
Ares… He died saving me, another life affected by me being there.
Maya… I hope she was okay; Ulric will take care of her.
Zendryk... I didn’t even say goodbye… but did I even want to after he hid that my mother was dead?
My mother… if only I could have stayed with her...
she might still be here. A sob escaped me, followed by another, until I was full-blown crying and bawling; my sobs echoed off the emptiness of the cave.
I curled up on the cold, damp floor under my makeshift blanket and cried myself to sleep.
I only awoke when the cold air nipped at my nose through the holes of my “blanket” that I had pulled over my head.
A chill coursed through me as I turned towards the fire to find it smoldering out.
Shit! I scrambled over to it on my hands and knees and blew on it.
I looked to where the wicker basket used to be, but nothing remained.
Fuck. I contemplated tossing the tent on it, but that would only give me heat for a short while, so I gave up and sat back against a large pile of rocks.
I rested my head against it and closed my eyes.
The rocks were oddly warm, probably from my fire, but I soaked in what heat they offered.
A rumble resonated throughout the cave, and the ground began to shake.
Small pebbles and shards of stone rained down from the ceiling, the stone-white thorns wiggled from side to side until one broke free from above and crashed to the floor, sending pieces flying everywhere.
I jumped up and ran over to the wall of the cave, and curled up against it, hoping to avoid getting hit by one.
The rock pile I had been sitting against was shifting.
A spike from the ceiling slammed into the remnants of my fire, completely stifling any hope of another.
The pile of rocks beside it moved, growing taller, and a large protrusion stretched towards the cave's roof. Small clumps of dirt and stone fell from the top of the moving rock formation, and spikes began to form on its… back, leading down the long protruding piece… the long…. Holy fuck! It’s a neck!
Two giant flaps expanded from the larger portion of the back, stretching outwards, debris flying off as they did, and a cloud of dust engulfed the room.
I had lost sight of the rock-like creature in front of me.
A moment passed before the cave stopped shaking, and the sounds of debris falling ceased.
Coughing through the dust, I wafted it away from my face, staring at the spot where the rock was a moment before, but I couldn’t see anything through the thickness of the dust. A shadow moved silently in the distance, growing larger as it came closer to me.
Shock and fear coursed through my body as I realized that two large silver glowing eyes were staring right back at me, drifting closer to where I was until they stopped inches from my face.
I’ve been waiting for you, Avyn.