Forsaken (15 page)

Below her lay an epic cavern. The tunnel exited onto a ledge above it, which connected to a set of crudely carved stairs that led down. There, an enormous opening at least the size of a football field had been carved in the rock. Cracks in the ceiling provided enough light to see nearly everything. Nora noticed the gurgle of flowing water and looked down. Directly under the ledge ran a small river – more of a creek, really – that fed into a clear pool off to the side. And right beside the pool lay beautiful crystalized boulders.

“What is this place?” Nora’s voice echoed across the chamber.

“This,” Hunter replied grandly, “is the sanctuary. Come. I’ll lead you down.”

Nora took his hand, and he walked her down the steps which curled around the outside wall of the enclave. Looking around, Nora realized the steps did not only lead down, but also
up
on the other side – to another ledge above the one they were descending from.

“Hold on,” Hunter said, when they got to the bottom. “I think I see something.” He let her go and walked over to a side wall. He did something with his hands, and suddenly a small flame appeared in front of him. It flared to life, growing much larger. Nora saw that it came from the top of a thick wooden club.

“A torch,” Hunter laughed. “And it still has tar on it!” The flickering fire cast shadows that danced across his face and the surrounding rocks. He picked it up from the wall and carried it over to her.

“Are there more?” Nora asked.

Hunter looked around before nodding happily. “Yes, there are. All along the walls! I’ll be right back.”

Nora felt a rush of wind as Hunter moved away from her with impossible speed. It was the first time she’d actually seen him make use of his enhanced physical abilities. She followed the trail of light from his torch as he ran all the way around the vast chamber, stopping only momentarily to light the other torches along the wall. When he got back to her, only a few seconds later, all the torches were emitting light, providing her eyes, and the chamber, with much-needed luminance.

“There,” he said, satisfied, “that should be much better for you, no?”

“It is, thank you. How fast you moved…that was amazing. How is that even possible?”

He laughed. “Sometimes I forget you’re only human.”

Nora stuck her tongue out at him in reply.

“I saw something that might be interesting.” He said, ignoring her taunt. “Come, I’ll show you.”

Again, Nora followed him as he led her across uneven ground to the center of the chamber. From there, a small pathway was carved in the rock that ran directly underneath the entrance ledge. They took it, and as they got closer, Nora saw the far wall had been polished smooth and shone with a slight green luster. The river ran along the wall, making it impossible to reach. But they could get close enough for Nora to realize there were symbols carved into the stone.

“It’s a mixture of the two scripts on the towers outside,” Hunter told her. “The Vassiz one and the other one, written interchangeably. Whoever made this was fluid in both tongues.”

“Do you know what it says?”

“I think they’re directions.” He paused to study the lettering. “This cave extends much deeper, I believe. It says there are tunnels crisscrossing far into the depths of the earth. There’s a warning…a warning to ‘take the Proper path’. But…I don’t think it says what that is.”

“What else?”

“Oh! It says here there’s another level.” He looked up above. “Yes, I think I see it.”

“What’s up there?” Nora craned her neck to see, but it was no use. The light didn’t extend that far up.

“We won’t know unless we check, will we?” He set off back toward the stairs.

“Hunter, wait.” He paused, turning to look at Nora. “You’re not planning on taking the tunnels deeper in, are you?”

“I don’t know yet,” he said thoughtfully. “If we keep going through the forest, we’ll be more vulnerable to attack. But if these tunnels can lead us through the mountains… well, if we get that far, we’d almost be scot free.”

“What if we get lost?” she asked worriedly. “At least outside we know where we’re going.”

“Let’s just check the upper level out first and then decide. At any rate, this is as safe a place as any to spend the night, even if we don’t take the tunnels tomorrow.”

“Fine.” Nora didn’t want to pout, but she just didn’t feel comfortable here beneath the earth. And the prospect of going deeper in, without knowing how long the journey might take, almost brought on a full blown panic attack. She fought to suppress it, concentrating all of her attention on breathing in and out.

She followed Hunter up the chipped rock stairs, past the ledge where they entered, and higher still. The flames from the bottom pit sent large shadows flickering against the walls.

They reached the highest level. Another ledge jutted out from the side of the rock, built to overlook the entrance. Rocks that looked an awful lot like tombstones sat in neat horizontal rows. Panic squeezed Nora’s lungs.

Hunter took a step forward and stopped. “Wait.” He paused, extending an arm to hold Nora back. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” She held her breath.

Hunter shifted his weight in response, and Nora thought she heard a tiny echo of crumbling stone. She wouldn’t have picked it out if she wasn’t actively searching for it.

“The structure’s weak here.” Hunter bent down to one knee to examine the ground. “There are cracks in the stone. I don’t think it’s very stable.”

“Should we go back?”

“Not yet. You stay back. I want to see what these stones are.”

“Be careful,” Nora urged.

“Don’t worry.” Even in the dim light, Nora saw him flash his teeth in a grin. “I’m very agile, remember?”

“Of course,” she said drily. Like he needed to remind her.

Nora watched as Hunter picked his way across. He went from stone to stone in the first row, analyzing each one carefully. The last one stood at the very end of the ledge, almost like a baluster. Hunter placed a hand on it to support himself as he leaned closer, and it shifted. He jerked back, hissing.

“What is it?” Nora asked.

“I nearly fell.” He barked a laugh. “You distracted me.”

“
Me
?” Nora was incredulous. “I didn’t even do anything!”

“I felt your eyes on me,” he said.

“I’ll be sure not to do that anymore,” Nora answered laconically. Suddenly, the ground groaned, and Nora flinched as the sound of rubble crashing down reached her ears. The last tombstone was still there, but it now leaned precariously over the edge.

“Looks like we disturbed some of the rock beneath us.” Hunter gingerly picked his way back to her. “There’s nothing up here to see. We should get back down to where we at least know the ground is stable”

Nora sighed in relief. The whole situation
had her on edge.

She turned around and had started walking down, when suddenly Hunter was on her, pressing her against the wall.

“What are you doing?” she tried to say, but it jumbled as Hunter placed his hand over her mouth.

“Sshh!” he hissed in her ear. “Someone’s coming.” She nodded her understanding, and he released his grip on her mouth.

“What?” Nora whispered urgently. “Who?”

“I don’t know. Stay here, and don’t move.” And just like that, he was gone, a blur streaking down the stairs.

Chapter Nineteen

~A Fighting Chance~

Nora’s breath caught as her ears picked up on the noise.

Footsteps.

Carefully, she inched closer to the edge of the stairs. Hunter stood in front of the entrance below, his shoulders stiff.

The footsteps came from the same tunnel Hunter and Nora had come from. They echoed loudly across the chamber, amplified by the hollow space of the cave. Whoever was coming wasn’t afraid of alerting them to their presence.

“Well, well, well.” A voice boomed through the air. Nora instantly recognized its source. The voice of the Vassiz who had held her captive. “Look who we have here.”

Nora crept silently back from the ledge, willing her body to stop trembling. Her heart pounded fast with fear. How had he tracked them so quickly? Hunter had said they were
days
ahead of any pursuers!

“You shouldn’t be here.” Hunter’s voice was grave.

A wild laugh answered from below. “
I
shouldn’t be here? You
dare
tell me what to do? You are an outcast, forever damned for having committed treason against the Vassiz. You have forsaken your race, broken the ancient doctrine that binds us to who we are. You have spat on everything you have been gifted. And for what? A
human
?”

“Leave now,” Hunter warned. “You saw what I did to your friend.”

“I’m not going anywhere. Vladimir was a fool, and he paid the price for his ineptitude. He took you lightly. I won’t make the same mistake. When I deliver you and your human
to the elders, all their glory shall come upon me. I will be exalted as the one who delivered the rogue to them, and I will take my place amongst the most revered of our kind.”

Nora couldn’t see anything. She couldn’t take the unknowing, the uncertainty of what was happening below her. Summoning all her courage, she dropped to her belly, crawled to the edge, and peeked over.

Hunter still hadn’t moved.

The bounty hunter’s silhouette blocked the entrance to the chamber. “They sent out a call, you know. The first in hundreds of years.
All
of the Vassiz
know what you have done, and they have united against you. The packs smell blood on the water. They’re coming for you. But once I’m done, they will be too late.”

The creature took one step forward, and the flames from the torches glinted in his eyes, giving Nora a glimpse of the true evil reflected there.

“So, traitor, tell me, where is your human? Her scent is weak, but I know she is here.”

Hunter growled. “You will not have her.”

Nora’s breath came in sharp, ragged gasps. She struggled desperately to keep them quiet. There had to be something she could do. Her gaze tore frantically through the sanctuary for some means of escape.

Wait. The tombstone!
The one Hunter had nearly dropped! It still hung precariously over the edge. She looked down at the Vassiz standing directly beneath it. Could she reach it?

“Oh?” The bounty hunter laughed cruelly. “We have been through this before, have we not?”

“I
have
spared your life once.” Hunter’s voice had hardened to something barely recognizable to Nora. “This time, I might not be so kind.”

“No. This time, you won’t have the opportunity. Once I defeat you, I will make you watch as I have my way with your human
bitch
. You will watch her scream, watch her squirm under my touch, and you will be helpless to interfere. Yes, I think I’ll quite enjoy that. I haven’t taken a young girl like her in quite some time. The elders have asked for both of you alive. They made no mention of your…condition.”

Nora pushed up to her hands and knees and held her breath, praying fervently that nothing would tumble down and alert the Vassiz to her presence. She crawled slowly toward the last tombstone. With each movement, the earth shifted underneath her.
Please don’t let it fall! Please don’t let it fall!
She fought desperately against the urge to hurry.

“So be it,” Hunter said. “If that is your choice, I’m prepared to face you. Although I do not look forward to having the blood of two of my fellow Vassiz on my hands.”

The bounty hunter laughed again. “You are weak, Hunter. Your conscience holds you back from reaching your true potential. A pity, what I will have to do to you…”

Nora’s dress caught on a rock, and she pulled it forward. Her breath caught at the sound of thread ripping. She held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut.

“…you would have risen high in the ranks of the ancient blood…”

He hadn’t heard her. She released the pent up breath and crept another inch forward.
I made it! Okay, take a deep breath in. Hold it. Release it.
She couldn’t control the frantic pounding of her heart as she pressed her hands against the cold surface of the tombstone. It stood, balanced by a hair. She breathed in deeply again and pushed.

Nothing happened. It didn’t budge.

“…the elders would have taken you for one of their own…”

“One of their own?” Hunter sounded shocked.

Desperate, knowing she was almost out of time, Nora backed up. She only hesitated for a fraction of a second before throwing her weight against the stone. It shifted ever so slightly under her shoulder. Again, she backed up and thrust herself against the rock.

A loud crack sounded, and the earth gave way. She scrambled back.

“What was—” The terrifying voice cut off with an ear-piercing scream. An enormous crash cut off even that.

The earth below her shifted, rocked. The ledge was caving in, falling down. She’d broken the entire structure!