Deyalou was unfazed by the jolt. He spun his body around as he passed, pitching the object in his off hand back at the beast. The identity of the projectile became clear as it smashed on the ground before the creature. The lantern, recently held by Ceado, sprayed shrapnel and oil across the ground, the beast and the churning water of the river.
“Vox. Fire!” Deyalou screamed as he backpedaled from the creature as it snapped its jaws closed with a clack that echoed through the cavern.
Though he was still working his way back to his feet, the elementalist responded immediately. Still on his knees, he released a small ball of fire that went screaming from his hand. The detonation as the flame hit the ground before the creature was minor, but the effect was dramatic. The oil from the lantern caught immediately. A brilliant fire blossomed to life, stretching high into the air, illuminating the river in near daylight. The creature hissed as it withdrew, the fire filling in the space cleared by its passage. The blaze spread outward across the surface of the water as the beast plunged back into the depths from whence it came.
Chapter 45
The fire that had spread across the chamber and water faded quickly as it greedily consumed the oil that sustained its life. Soon, only small pockets of flame floated across the calming waters where the beast had emerged. Ryl, the Leaves burning in his hands, staggered through the group toward where the phrenics now stood. As his concentration and focus resolved, the light from the blades increased. The scene they illuminated was chaos.
The four phrenics formed a rough line in front of the remaining Vigil, weapons drawn and ready. A ball of fire burned in Vox’s hand. Behind them, Andr was holding back Nielix, the man’s obscenity laced tirade echoed through the tunnel.
“Gather your things,” Ramm boomed. “We need to move now. There’s no telling if that thing will come back.”
Andr pushed Nielix back to their closely grouped belongings. The fuming guard glared at Ryl with hatred burning in his eyes, and he spat as he past.
“Ryl, are you hurt?” Andr asked, turning his attention from the heated Nielix.
“I’m fine,” Ryl stammered. He could feel the blood running down the side of his head. “What was that thing?”
“I haven’t a clue, nor the time to care,” Andr said. “It’s too dangerous to linger.”
Ryl nodded in agreement before moving to take his place among the line of phrenics.
“Whatever that was, it doesn’t like fire,” Vox added. “I don’t care to know what else waits below the water’s surface.”
“We need to make haste,” the calm voice of Deyalou cut through the dark.
There was no time to mourn their fallen comrade.
With eyes trained on the water, the group collected what was left of their belongings, Ramm shouldering the pack that Ceado had carried. They continued on in their closely packed single file line. Their usual cautious pace had been quickened to a hurried retreat.
Hour after hour, they continued along the narrow path at breakneck speed. The last remaining ripples that had disturbed the surface of the black water had long since stilled, yet their eyes remained vigilant, weapons in their hands at the ready.
Fear drove them to push their bodies to the brink. They paused briefly and rested for only hours at a time. None had any desire to linger in the darkness of the river’s tunnel.
Days passed without sign of the beast from the depths. Did the snakelike creature return from whence it came, or did it stalk them from the beneath the concealment of the water? What other horrors remained undiscovered in the hidden subterranean waters?
Adding to their alarm, food was running short as was the fuel to keep their lanterns lit. They’d traveled for four days since the attack with only a few hushed words shared between them. The overriding fear of the unknown silenced them as they raced along the path, yet anticipation that the tunnel must soon reach its end spurred them faster.
They had witnessed scattered ripples from the water, heard the popping of bubbles from beneath, yet thankfully nothing had emerged.
Ryl had taken the lead as the group staggered to a start at the beginning of the fifth morning since the attack. They’d been underground now for nine days.
Nine days since they’d seen the light of the sun.
Nine days since they’d breathed the fresh mountain air.
The noise of the water ahead had been growing steadily over the last day of travel. The distant roar of rapids was amplified as it carried through the cramped confines of the tunnel. Ryl slowed as the path came to an abrupt stop several meters ahead of him. The sound of rushing water was now nearly deafening.
Ryl shuffled forward along the path to its end, peering his head around the corner. He let out an audible gasp, loud enough to be heard over the din of the water.
“Ryl, what is it?” Deyalou asked, placing his hand on his shoulder.
The vision around the corner was spectacular. A wide lake stretched out before him.
To the left, the opposite end of the lake was lost into darkness. In front of him, the water along the wall bubbled with the fury of sudden and dramatic rapids.
The pathway they’ve been traveling narrowed to a step wide as it made a sharp corner to the right. From there it continued along the edge of the wall. In the distance, however, was the vision that had taken his breath away.
A narrow, yet solid beam of light pierced the darkness from the wall of the chamber high above. The ray, reflecting off the particles in the air appeared to undulate with movement.
Ryl turned back to his companions.
“There’s light ahead,” he beamed.
The cheer that escaped
