Chapter 4
We find another torch by the table and light it with Mina’s candle before walking around the perimeter of the cavern.
It doesn’t take long for us to find another way out.
We’re lucky we only find one. As we make our way down the sizable passageway, our footsteps echo on the stone.
It’s mostly smooth rock along our path, with small pockmarked holes every so often, probably from the water dripping from the ceiling.
I can faintly hear it trickle down the walls, and the scent is fresh like that of a mountain stream seeping through rock.
We’re quiet, contemplative, on the trek, and I work through the last several days.
So much has happened, so much has changed.
Between finding out who the true enemy is to losing one of our own, it’s a wonder we’re still functioning.
Mathilda leads the way, her hand upraised with the torch lighting our trail.
I’m glad she’s leading the way. Her quick pace stirs the air.
With no breeze down here, the silence is disconcerting.
Mina’s small hand finds mine, and I give it a light squeeze.
“You okay?” I turn my head to take in her expression. Worry creases her brow, a small pout plumping her lips.
She shakes her head. “I don’t like it down here. I can’t hear the wind.”
I smile softly, having thought the same thing. “We’ll find the guys and get out of here quickly, I promise.”
Mathilda stumbles, and my head whips forward in time to see her catch herself. Her arm pinwheels comically as she steadies herself.
Mina giggles. “Are you good?
“Yeah, the fucking floor slanted downward, and I wasn’t paying attention,” Mathilda grumbles.
Mina and I take our time placing our feet for a few steps, and sure enough, the floor declines. It’s not super noticeable when you move at a snail’s pace, but I can see how, with a quicker gait, it would trip someone up.
“Shit. Looks like we gotta go down before we make our way back up.” Mathilda holds the torch higher, the path darkening as it dips lower.
Mina groans loudly, her face paling. “I hate this. We should just go back and wait for the guys.”
The flames flicker, and we share a look. They shouldn’t be moving at all while we’re standing still.
“There’s air coming from somewhere,” I mumble. “Let’s go a bit further, and if it gets too treacherous, we’ll turn back.”
Mathilda seems satisfied, but Mina does not.
There’s a plunk sound. Like something small dropping into water. The torches cast shadows across our faces as we stop to listen. I tilt my head, trying to pinpoint the sound.
“Was that water?” Mina whispers, clinging to my side.
Mathilda shrugs her shoulders, looking at me. “It sounded like it came from close by …”
Holding the torch up higher, the flame stays still. The golden light reflects off a stream a few yards in front of us.
Mina sighs, her eyes glow in the torchlight. “Ah man, water. So treacherous. Time to head back.” She pivots on her heel.
Mathilda snickers as I walk to the edge of the stream, if you could even call it that. The water is completely still. “Mathilda, I need your torch too.”
Footsteps resonate behind me, one set slow and dragging, the other quick and light. Holding both torches up high, the light illuminates a soaring ceiling over a broad body of water. But the path is easily visible on the other side.
“It doesn’t look too treacherous. Let’s just wade across,” I suggest, looking from Mina to Mathilda.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mina mumbles under her breath.
“I wish we had our wings. We could just fly across.” Mathilda tilts her head, cracking her neck.
Her words creep over me, settling like a weight in my stomach. “You guys could …”
Mathilda throws me an apologetic grimace. “Sorry.”
The air suddenly feels heavy, pressing down on me. A Valkyrie queen who can’t fly. I’m an embarrassment.
Mina crosses her arms over her chest, shuddering lightly. “As soon as magic is fixed, and it’s safe to teach you to fly—we will.”
“Thank you,” I murmur, my eyes on the path before us. The water ripples, a tiny wave raising the water’s level against the stone floor as I take a step in. There’s something on the other side of this water, something tugging me along, urging me to hurry. “Looks like we’re swimming for now.”
Warm water rises to my ankles, then my calves, before stopping at my mid-thigh. I hand Mathilda her torch again, and they follow with trepidation behind me. Mina has a death grip on Mathilda’s arm as they walk arm in arm.
“It doesn’t look too deep,” Mathilda calls ahead to me.
Looking side to side, I can see straight through the water to the stone floor below.
But further to the left, the floor slants downward, dropping off completely, the water as black as the shadows beyond our light.
There’s movement in my periphery, though, like something is there, lurking in the darkness.
“As long as we walk straight, we should be fine,” I point to the deeper side, “it’s a drop off over there.”
Something moves.
It’s shrouded in shadow, so I can’t make it out, but something was definitely there.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I take a deep breath before opening them again—to nothing. The dark is playing tricks on my mind. I continue walking forward, one slow step at a time.
Mina groans, and Mathilda snickers, but suddenly my feet halt.
A prickling sensation washes over me, reminiscent of a long-ago day when a raven watched me from a tree.
I scour the water and the path on the other side, but I can’t see a thing outside the torchlight.
Water laps at my thighs, causing a shiver to walk down my spine.
“Lena? Is everything okay?” Mina asks, as she and Mathilda close in on my location.
A loud plunk echoes through the space. We freeze, still as statues.
“What was that?” Mathilda whispers. Mina breathes sharply through her nose, the sound whistles as her breathing speeds up.
“It was probably just water dripping from the ceiling.”
Mathilda slowly turns her head towards me. “That was quite a large drop of water.”
I grimace, looking sidelong at Mina. She squeezes her eyes shut and balls her hands into fists.
“Let’s move. Quickly and quietly.”
The water rises rapidly around us, almost to our chests, before dropping back down to our thighs, as something massive moves close by.
“Move. Now.” I grit out between clenched teeth.
We sprint. Water splashes up and soaks our necks and faces as we hurtle across.
With each step, I prepare for something to pull me under the clear surface.
Ice-cold fear surges through my veins, quickening each step.
My chest heaves as I breathe in through my nose.
Mina flings herself out of the water and onto dry stone. Mathilda and I—right behind her.
“I am NEVER following you two ever again!” she yells, bending over at the waist to catch her breath.
Mathilda and I look at each other before bursting out into laughter.
“It is not funny!” Mina slams a foot down on the ground, leaving a footprint against the stone. “You two are crazy!”
Mathilda slaps my back as she laughs. “Ach. We’re fine, see?”
I throw a wary glance at the water still sloshing from our run through it. “Yeah. Totally fine.”
Mina rips the torch from my hand and stalks off down the path. Her waterlogged boots and leathers squeak with each step.
We walk for what seems like forever, the pathway turning this way and that. Sometimes it feels like we’re going farther down, but it stays relatively easy with no more passes through water. The stone, however, turns a glittering onyx, so I can assume we have made our way even farther down.
A light appears way off in the distance, and Mina pauses. But there’s a tug again on my chest, urging me forward.
“Do you guys see that?” she whispers, as if a loud noise will cause it to vanish.
Mathilda slams into my back and curses. “Why did you—what is that?”
“That’s what Mina asked,” I giggle. “So we all can see the light. Great.”
“But we didn’t pass the guys?” Mathilda murmurs, her head swivels as if we had overlooked them somehow.
My necklace warms, the heat prods me forward. “They probably just haven’t found the entrance yet. Come on,” I reply, brushing past her and towards the light.
There’s something down here, something we need to see.
My pace quickens, and I’m relieved to be getting out of the darkness. It’s unnatural being underground this long, and my skin itches with the need for sunlight.
The small dot of light grows, enveloping the entire passageway. My eyes burn, and I shield them with an upraised hand as I continue on. My breathing quickens, my lungs aching for fresh air. But as I burst through the opening and into the light, my feet falter.
We haven’t found the entrance. We’ve found a cell.
Sunlight streams in through a small hole in the domed black roof and is reflected by hundreds of mirrors strategically placed around the cavernous space.
Glittering black stone makes up the entire room, except for small veins of amethyst. My attention is immediately drawn to the slab of amethyst in the middle of the room and the body on top of it.
Luna.
“Is she—dead?” Mina whispers behind her hands. Fear or concern widens her eyes.
Luna lies still, but there’s slight movement I can see from where I stand. “I don’t think so. It looks like she’s breathing.”
Sure enough, there’s a slow and steady rise and fall of her chest, as if she’s deep in slumber.
Her body is shrouded in a burgundy dress, the rich color violently clashing with her pale skin and hair.
But there’s a color to her cheeks that I never noticed before.
The flush of blood in them is another sign of life.
We walk towards her. Our footsteps are purposefully quiet to not startle her awake.
Mina’s voice breaks the silence, and I flinch. “What is she doing here?”