By the time the two men reached their marked destination, Reven wanted to hang himself in one of the tall trees. The cave was so blessedly cool compared to the outside he nearly wept with joy. He even went so far as to plaster himself against the cave wall for several minutes just to cool his aching skin. It was dark inside the cave, with a sharp smell of fresh mud. Somewhere there was a water source that trickled through, leaving tiny puddles inside the cave or creating slick falls along the walls. It was the most glorious thing he’d seen all day.
“Now where?” Reven asked, cautiously stepping further into the cave. The ground angled down, the tunnels narrow but damp, with a few vines growing overhead.
“He didn’t give me a map o' the cave, just how t’get here,” Liam admitted. Reven stopped, turned, and fixed the other man with a glare that could shatter
stones. Liam only grinned. “Maybe we’ll see one o'them mortal gods they all worship, yeah?”
“I’m going to hit you,” Reven intoned. He was about to do just that, raising his fist, when he stopped. Liam flinched, expecting the blow to land, but Reven ignored him, turning back toward the darkness of the cave tunnel. He felt something that made the spot between his shoulder blades tingle uncomfortably and his stomach twist into knots.
Power.
The thought came to him in an instant. There was something terribly Powerful nearby. It pulsed through the ground, the energy of it running up through the soles of the bard’s leather boots, all the way to the tips of his burnt ears. It robbed him of breath, making him sway in his stance enough that he would have fallen backwards were it not for Liam’s steadying hand.
“You a‘right?” Liam asked, with genuine concern in his voice. Reven shut his eyes, frowning as he ‘listened’ to the Power beneath them sing its terrifyingly beautiful song. It sounded oddly familiar to him, like the echoing voice he kept hearing in his nightmares. It made him cringe and take a step back right into Liam.
“Rev?”
“Fine,” he managed to breathe out. “I’m fine.
There’s something Powerful here…”
“Oh dandy,” Liam quipped. Reven glared at Liam but kept moving, following the pulse beneath his feet rather than exploring at random. If there was something Powerful, chances were good that there would be treasure nearby. He had his theories about the mortal gods that the people of Kalaegh worshiped.
Dragons were very Powerful beings and known to hoard all manner of things. He could see how the uneducated might look to the large mythical beasts as gods. It sent a thrill down his spine, followed by a shiver to think of it that way. He did not want to face off with a dragon. Or get too close to the Power making the terrifying song in his head.
Liam followed, muttering to himself. He was always muttering. It was a nervous habit of the thief- taker that Reven had not yet puzzled out. Nervous ticks and deep secrets. He was an odd man, Liam.
“Where are we goin’?” Liam whispered against the back of Reven’s burnt neck.
“Toward the source of the Power,” he whispered back.
“Why? I thought we was supposed t‘be findin’ treasure?”
“We are,” Reven sighed. “If I can find the source of the Power, the treasure might be theeeEEEHHHHHHRRRE!!!”
The last of his statement was wrenched from his lungs and throat as the ground beneath him gave way into a steep, jagged hole. The flesh tore off his back and sides as he fell, Liam’s voice echoing after him in desperation to help, without the ability to do a damned thing. It was desperation Reven felt as acutely as each jab of rock or slice of stone raked across his bare skin. The hole ran deep, all of it black as pitch until the very end when a rush of bright blue light blinded him just before his feet collided with a loud crunch onto the stone beneath him. Pain radiated up through his legs. They gave out from beneath him, landing him face first on the floor. He had no breath, no strength to move, and just groaned, listening to his partner holler his name from above.
Chapter Two
“REVEN!!” Liam hollered. He could not see the other man nor did the bard answer Liam’s frantic calls. “Shit!”
He glanced around the cave for something to help his friend, feeling desperate and helpless. He had no real Power except to sometimes hear the thoughts of others if he concentrated. It would do nothing for him now that he needed to reach Reven. First Ajana, now Reven. Anger welled up inside of Liam as he sucked
in a sharp breath. He would be nothing without the other two; nothing. Every part of him depended on their talents, Power, and the gullibility of others.
“Yer entirely useless, ya know tha‘!” he snarled at himself, shimmying his way down the hole that opened beneath the bard’s feet. It was mostly soft earth and the occasional jagged rock that scraped his palms or bruised his knees. Twice his sack caught on a stone or a vine, entwining it around his neck and nearly choking him. Halfway down, the walls of the hole gave way, sending him sliding. His fingers dug deep into the dirt and rock as he slid, the toes of his boots rubbing away with the grating stone until he tumbled out as if spat by a creature that did not like the taste of him.
Liam took a moment to regain his bearings, shaking himself of the soreness that would surely come. A river of bright blue molten liquid flowed through the larger cave they’d fallen into. It flowed downward, allowing him to find an exit path along with Reven’s still form.
“Rev?” he said, crawling over to the bard using the heels of his palms. They stung, both bleeding and both peppered with tiny stones. “Reven?”
The bard did not answer. He lay face
