The walls of the cave narrowed until they formed an arched doorway. Its polished edges were proof of its man-made origin but the seductive dark beyond held the presence of an ancient origin.
I knew what could happen if we failed. This was a necessary risk. Death would multiply with Eryx unleashed, spreading his violence from town to town until all were captured and enslaved.
I imagined the horrors of what could be possible with no one to stand up to his monstrous tyranny. Our fear of this darkness felt temporary and small compared to the opportunity for destruction if we decided to quit now.
We needed Dommik. Alive. To stand up and fight back. And not just that…but I couldn’t admit anything more, even to myself. Not yet. Not before I saw him safe.
I took the torch from my sister and led us into the passage.
Soon, the cave began to whisper. It hissed welcome and tidings off of the stone walls.
“Comeeee. Comeeee closerrrr. Doooon’t beeee shyyyy.”
An opening came into view, and beyond it, swirling smoke. Dancing shadows. Rattling irons. It was the scene from my dreams. The wide open space, the slithering shadows, their heavy shackles. All was as it appeared in my dream. I squinted into the room and was able to see the large, stone-carved casket between the wisps of smoke.
“What now?” Cova whispered.
One shade violently turned its translucent head to us. Then another. A ripple of awareness spread throughout the cavern and a furious wind rushed down the hallway we’d braved as a wall of shades charged us.
They snarled as they fought each other, to get to the front, to get to us. But they could not breach the threshold of the stone hallway where Cova and I stood. Wherever the weavers were, their wards still held.
“Come, children. Come stay with us,” one shade beckoned through its pointed teeth.
“The darkness is like a warm blanket.”
“Yes. Come stay.”
My skin pricked at their shrill voices and terrifying invitations.
I cleared my throat, stepped forward, and said, “We need your help.”
“Our help?” many shades repeated at once. The question traveled like a retreating sea wave had carried it to the back of the cavern. And just as it had ebbed, it flowed, returning the question back to us. “Our help?”
“Yes,” Cova said, voice breaking slightly. “Something terrible has happened.”
“The regent, Rhazien Kyrell, is dead,” I announced. The words slammed against my chest like I’d been thrown from a horse.
“We know,” dozens of voices responded. “But what concern of that is ours?”
Our bargaining chip was a dangerous one. And we only had one shot at this plan. I nodded to my sister who stepped forward and declared. “We can free you.”
And all of the echoes of the shades went perfectly still.
“She speaks the truth.” The shades parted and one, darker than the rest, approached the front of the misty mass. Their red eyes gleamed with curiosity. “I see the shadows in her.”
The air shifted, sparking with the energy of anticipation.
Smoke curled and fell away from the shade’s head before it asked, “And what do you ask in return?”
Without pause or doubt, I implored, “You will kill everyone that bears the red token of the Northern Hive.”
I wasn’t a warrior. Far from it. I’d never trained or wielded a blade before today. I’d never had the need or desire. But as I walked through the heavy double doors that opened from the Southern Hive ballroom to the upper steps of the Moon Garden, I looked fierce and battle-worn.
My arms were heavy from calling forth my magic and the weight of the thirsty steel in my hands. I spotted Dommik immediately. The rust of dried blood and hues of purple from bruises in various stages of healing littered his bare chest and face. His hands were fastened behind a large pole. My lip curled with Eryx’s final disrespect—the red token of loyalty he’d given to the ballroom hanging from Dommik. He was a spectacle at the center of the wicked crowd.
“Eryx Morvain!” I roared from atop the stone steps. Dozens of heads turned to face me from below. Some I recognized. Corralled into agrouping of what looked like high-ranking Rhazien loyalists stood Gorvin and Oddo. They were noticeably huddled together and their surprised reaction to my appearance was a synchronized event.
There were no murmurs. No order to seize and capture me. Just the slow, steady sound of clapping as Eryx stepped in front of the mangled commander. The broad form of the Northern Hive regent shielded Dommik entirely.
