Chapter Eight
She was falling.
The arrow she’d notched flew in a strange arc as she let it go in surprise. Vi watched it whiz past the jungle fowl harmlessly, missing by a large margin, and the creature continued its escape. That was the last thing she saw as the light of the jungle quickly faded.
Ditching her bow, Vi’s hands moved on instinct to try to brace her. Vi saw only stars as her body struck against a tall, wide stone. Her bow clattered, finally hitting the ground. She tried to calculate how far down it must be, but there was just pain and tension as her body rolled down the stone. When her body met the ground, Vi flopped onto her back and wheezed.
She could breathe. That much was good, at least.
But she couldn’t use the word “good” for the rest of her situation. Vi stared up, blinking at the circle of light above her. It was a green oculus to the jungle she’d fallen from. Vines swayed down into the cavern she now found herself in, dirt padded the ground under her, and the creeping plants that had masked the hole she’d fallen into were torn to leafy bits and cast about like confetti.
Groaning, Vi wiggled her fingers and toes, then moved her elbows and knees. She stretched her arms above her head, slowly, feeling the muscles in her chest expand over her ribs. Nearly every corner of her body hurt, but the stone pillar that stretched at a diagonal through the cavern had broken her fall enough that nothing seemed worse than bruises.
Pillar.
Vi rolled onto her side and pushed herself up from her elbow. Blood trickled across her skin, and she felt the same warmth rolling down her temple. Bruises and scrapes weren’t so bad, all things considered, and Vi had more important things to focus on—like where she was.
The cavern was dark, the only source of light from the hole she’d fallen through. It cast long shadows on the ominous, gray underground she now sat in. But what fascinated her the most was how those shadows clung to sculptures carved into the far walls, barely filling their cracks and carvings enough for her to make them out. Her eyes darted from pillar to pillar, to the domed ceiling above her.
It was a ceiling. Not a naturally formed cave someone had decorated—which would still be incredible—but a man-made structure.
There were stretches of stone beam with small, black, shining bits of glass or stone placed between them, like dark stars glittering on a gray sky. There were supports around the edge of the room. And an archway, half collapsed, that led further into the mysterious darkness.
She tried to force her mind to ignore the pain and think. Had she seen ruins on her maps in this area? Vi couldn’t recall, but likely not. She trusted her memory of her maps more than their accuracy, especially when it came to Northern ruins. No one seemed to think them important enough to mark. Or, if they were known, they were taboo—either too sacred or too cursed to traverse. The two facts combined resulted in precious little information on them.
“Vi!” Ellene’s face appeared in the hole above. “Oh thank Yargen.” Worry melted instantly into relief. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Vi finally stood, fighting a small wince. Her left elbow ached the worst. It was her non-dominant arm, but also the one she used to hold her bow. “Bruised and scraped is all.”
“I’m sending down a vine.”
“No, wait.” Vi took a step forward. “This is some kind of ruin.”
“So?”
“None of my maps have ruins anywhere near this area.”
“Vi,really?” Ellene groaned. “Forget about your maps this one time and come back up.”
“Don’t you want to know what this is?” Vi looked up at the girl. “It looks like it’s from the early days of Shaldan.”
“I’m sure it’s old if it’s completely buried and unmarked. Do you ever consider that maybe there’s a reason for that? Some things are best left uncharted and undisturbed.”
“I don’t know if that’s true…” Vi turned her eyes back toward the archway, peering into the darkness beyond. It was utterly impenetrable from where she stood. There would be only one way to know what lurked in that blackness. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Vi, no, please,” Ellene whined softly. “Don’t go exploring, come back up. We need to get going.”
“I’m sure Jayme isn’t far behind.” Holding all the packs likely slowed her down. “I’ll only be a minute and I’ll be back before she gets here. It won’t slow us down and then I can mark my maps.”
“It looks dangerous,” Ellene said, even though she could barely see the whole of it.
“It’s been standing for a while like this. I think it can stand a little longer.” Vi took a step forward, toward the edge of the circle of light the hole cast on the floor.
“Vi—”
“I’ll only be a minute,” Vi said firmly, looking back up at her friend. “Just wait there.”
Ignoring the soft whimper from above that was equal parts worry and frustration, Vi stepped into the shadow.
