Imber

by Tyffany Hackett

  “I’ll figure out what to do. I have to.”

  “You will. I know you will.”

  I glanced up at him. “Why do you do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “Blindly offer me your loyalty? Your faith?”

  “I don’t blindly offer you anything”

  “But I feel like . . . like neither of us knows all that much about the other. Yet, you’re always there,” I paused. “That came out wrong. I mean, you don’t owe me anything, and I’ve done nothing to be worthy of your loyalty.”

  Camion turned to lean on his shoulder. “Tyli, you’re my friend. Honestly, you’re one of the only people I’ve been able to call a friend in a long time. Your family gave me a job when I desperately needed one. Granted, when I accepted the spot I could never have dreamed that I would follow you into a really ominous catacomb and, as a result, be trapped in a room that keeps getting colder.” He shivered but reached up, tilting my chin with a finger. “I had no idea going into all this how much I would actually care about my charge.”

  I released a breath. “I mean fair point, but you didn’t have to come, there was nothing in it for you. I offered you a job, but you didn’t even have that when you agreed.”

  Camion moved closer. His hand dipped to tug at the end of my braid which hung over my shoulder. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

  Blood rushed to my cheeks, and I wasn’t sure if my chest had shrunk or my heart had grown, but it thumped loudly against my ribs. My lip slid between my teeth, and I bit down, hard.

  “Natylia, Camion, are you awake? Meryn has an idea.”

  Jyn’s voice was barely audible over the loud sound of his fist against the door. Camion’s lips quirked as he stepped away. “Yeah, we’re awake, what have you got?”

  I shivered. The ice was in my bones, my skin pale with chill. Tightening my cloak around me did nothing to improve the situation. My breath fogged in the air before me.

  “Tyli, try that.”

  “Try what? Sorry, I wasn’t listening,” I stuttered quietly. So cold.

  “Trace the rune patterns on the door in blood. Meryn thinks that the glow means they’re waiting for their other halves to be activated.”

  I pulled the dagger from my boot again. The silver caught in the torchlight, and I pricked my fingertip. Thankfully, the wood of the door was smooth and didn’t tear at the wound. For several seconds the door didn’t respond. Then the marks lit up, glowing in bright colors that matched the runes that re-lit across the way. The air around us warmed dramatically and there was a soft click. The door swung open.

  Chapter 34

  I almost lost my balance when Jyn slammed into me, but he grabbed me into such a tight hug I immediately started to fear for my ribs instead. Camion and Meryn snickered at my alarm, and I shot them a glare.

  “Jyn, I’m okay, there was nothing in there.”

  “Spiders,” Camion coughed. I stared at him over Jyn’s shoulder.

  “There was nothing much in there. Seriously, I’m fine.”

  He dropped me the small inch he’d lifted me, and I rolled my eyes while he ran a quick assessment. When he was satisfied that I was in one piece, he cast a grateful look at Camion.

  “I worried, okay? There’s a horrifying sort of fear that takes over when there’s an impenetrable wall between you and a member of your family.”

  I grabbed his hand and squeezed gently. “I’m fine. Really, that wasn’t the worst thing we’ve faced. Other than leaving me alone with him.” I jerked my chin at Camion, winking as his eyebrow rose. He smirked.

  Jyn flicked a glance between us. “Yes, I’m sure that was the worst experience you’ve ever been through.” He rolled his eyes.

  “Come on you three.” Meryn slung her pack over her shoulder. “Jyn and I found the next room and cleared the one beyond as well. More spiders, I assume similar to the ones you two found.”

  “Were they black and the size of rabbits?”

  “Yes?”

  “Well, then, they were the same.” I grinned.

  Jyn had missed a tripwire in the room they’d found the spiders in, but he disarmed the trap easily enough. The spider corpses had been moved to the side, but I noted that a few lacked eyes. I didn’t want to know why Meryn needed those.

  I tugged my cloak tighter around my shoulders while Jyn pried open the next door. The chill from that room lingered. I hadn’t mentioned the cold to Meryn or Jyn and Camion had long ago put his cloak away. Maybe I was broken. At this point, I wouldn’t entirely be surprised.

  When the door finally popped open, I looked past Jyn. We released a collective groan when we saw what waited—a stone bridge, triple the length and half the width of the ones we’d crossed so far, surrounded on either side by cavernous darkness. Every step we took thudded around the room and bounced back to us. Each tiny sound made me jump.

  I walked at the end of our little four-person procession and rubbed nonchalantly at my temples. Camion paused for a second and I almost slipped—I was struggling to find a balance between relief for my head and not falling from the heinous drop beside me. His sudden stop had shattered the already precarious harmony.

  “Take my hand.” He extended an arm and even in the dim light of Meryn’s orbs I could see the rough calluses that speckled the surface of his palm. I raised an eyebrow. He sighed. “If you slip, I want to stand a chance of catching you. If I slip, you’re going to have to catch me. It’s only fair.”

  Camion’s lips were curved, but I could see the anxiety in his eyes. I gripped his hand tightly, too proud to admit that I was scared of the very fall he wanted to prevent. His hand was warm though, securely wrapped around mine. A welcome reassurance in such darkness.

  The door at the end of the bridge was already open but there didn’t appear to be any light from inside. I traced nervous lines over the patterns on the hilt of my sword and tightened my grip on Camion’s hand. He didn’t waver at the change—ever the fortress of stone with a world of secrets that chipped away at him from inside. Meryn threw her lights ahead of us to illuminate the room but nothing moved. No shadows flicked. I could hear something though. The soft rattle of chains. We froze. Jyn slid his daggers loose before he passed through the door, Camion close behind. Meryn followed me, her voice a cycle of soft whispers as she braided together a strange silvery thread that gained an unearthly sparkle after passing through her fingertips.

  I jumped as a scream echoed through the room. The torches that lined the walls blazed to life. Both doors, before and behind, slammed shut. I recoiled.

  “You would think we’d see that coming at this point,” Jyn scoffed. “We should really start leaving something in the door frame.”

  The creature before us was almost human. She had the features of a once-beautiful woman, now gaunt with age and decay. Her dress was light and fluid, long, and smelled horrendously of mold. I gagged and quickly swallowed the bile that raced up my throat. Camion and Jyn only spared me a glance before they stepped in front of Meryn and me, brandishing their blades at her. I pulled my bow from my shoulder and nocked an arrow. I straightened my stance, wincing only slightly at the pull on my arm as I drew back. Meryn spoke faster now, her soft chants racing musically from her lip. I wasn’t sure what she meant to accomplish but the threads lengthened rapidly under her touch.

  Before us, the woman cackled, a hollow sound that echoed off the walls and reverberated through my bones. From the sounds she made, I didn’t think she could talk. Instead, she lifted a slender finger and pointed in the direction of the far wall.

  Two final torches lit to illuminate a thin man chained in an x against the wall. His skin was marred with scratches and my eyes slid back to the female’s fingers—long, sharp nails trimmed the top of them, each caked with dried blood. Her face split into a wide grin when she noticed my stare.

  I looked toward the wall again, eyes drawn to the panicked look on the man’s face. He hadn’t been here terribly long from what I could tell, but I coul
d only imagine how much time he felt had passed. His pants had been torn off at the knee, the only clothing he seemed to be wearing.

  “Camion,” I said quietly. He tilted his ear toward me, unwilling to take his eyes from the female. “That man has a key around his neck.”

  His eyes shot to the far wall and widened. A slender cord hung from the man’s neck, weighted by the small silver key. Jyn and Camion exchanged a glance, likely to decide who could possibly hold this creature off the longest. I shot a glance at Meryn and the silver coil at her feet. She met my eyes for the smallest of seconds, and I knew that whatever was in front of us was a creature she knew far too much about. This creature brought nothing good.

  I took a tentative step from behind Camion and loosed my hold on my bow slightly. The female watched with amusement, but she didn’t seem to have any real interest in me as I took several more steps forward.

  “Careful,” Jyn said suddenly, his eyes at my feet.

  A minuscule line of runes ran in front of my boots. I paused for a moment before I stepped over them. For a step, nothing happened. When I took another, the man shrieked in pain as the chains rattled and tightened, tugging at his limbs. I backed up immediately, right into Jyn who had moved closer. His gaze flicked between the man, myself, and the creature.

  “You have to go for that key,” he said under his breath.

  “That thing is killing him.”

  “She will kill us, if we don’t get that key.”

  I hesitated. “I can’t.”

  “If she attacks, you can’t fight.”

  “I can.” Jyn glared at me but I added, “I have my bow. I can at least help Camion hold her off so you can get the key. You’re fastest anyway.”

  Jyn’s eyes shot to Meryn, who was tying off the end of her braid, and Camion who met his eyes and nodded subtly. Before I could blink, he was off, his strides long as he crossed the floor. I tried to ignore the man’s wails. He paused his screams and locked his attention on me.

  “Please,” he wailed. “Make him stop. If he comes any closer, I’ll die. Please. Please.”

  My hands shook where I held the bow but I kept my eyes steady on the creature. She only seemed amused, her eyes not on Jyn but me, as though she enjoyed every second I suffered the anguished cries.

  “Pretty girl, pretty sweet girl. Please don’t let your friend do this to me. Please!” The man’s voice broke into another scream as the chains tightened further.

  I could see the strain on his joints, the white of his skin being pushed too far. Jyn was stone-faced, but my eyes burned with tears. His screams were consistent now. They tore through the tension that shook my muscles as I waited for the female to move. Her eyes followed Jyn now and when he was within two steps of the man she burst into flames. Her face was angry, ravenously so, and she screamed again—that glass-shattering shriek we’d heard when we entered the room. She went for Jyn, who dove at the man. He clawed at him for the key—and then the man was gone. He and his chains vanished at Jyn’s touch, leaving him to scramble to catch the key as it dropped toward the floor. I drew back my bowstring and fired an arrow, sure I’d do little more than piss her off. Sure enough, she spun on me. Her arms swung for me in a frantic rage. She was inches away when Camion stepped in. He thrust his blade into her stomach. Another loud shriek burst from her throat. She wasn’t wounded, though. There was no mark where the blade had been. Camion backed up and pulled me behind him, even as I launched another arrow over his shoulder. The shot hit—but didn’t. Instead the arrow zipped through her and the creature screamed again. She blazed up into a new wave of flame.

  Meryn stepped up and the creature’s full attention immediately snapped to her. No, not her. The rope in her hand. She swung for Meryn, flung the witch into a wall, but Meryn jumped up. She limped slightly as she flicked the silver cord at the creature. The braid became lithe and thin between her fingers and wrapped around the female’s arm. Where the braid touched, the skin burned. The creature was infuriated. She launched herself at Meryn who simply snapped the cord. A crack rang through the room, loud enough that if I hadn’t seen the slender silver strand before my eyes I would have assumed the weapon to be a proper whip. She flicked her wrist and the cord spun around the woman’s wrist. The female clawed at the cord, tore at her flesh to break through.

  Jyn made a small gesture to Camion to join him as he leapt at the creature and sank his blade between her ribs. Camion plunged his sword into her side. She didn’t even flinch. They were thrown back. Jyn tumbled over himself before he landed in an awkward pile. But there was Meryn, taking advantage of the momentary distraction. She snapped her corded whip at the creature’s throat. I ran for Jyn as she pulled, grateful that I didn’t see when I heard the sickening crunch of bone and the flop as the body fell. Jyn was unconscious, but he had a pulse, and to my untrained eyes nothing seemed broken. Camion limped over and dropped to his knees beside me.

  “That’s becoming a habit,” he groaned. Unconsciously, he rubbed at his side.

  I reached out and brushed my fingertips over the back of his hand. “Too much?”

  Camion caught my fingers briefly and lifted them to his lips before he shook his head. I flushed when he released me, his eyes sliding to Meryn. She poked eagerly at the creature, no doubt collecting any number of strange potion ingredients I wanted nothing to do with. The weapon she’d used was gone, no more than a silvery trail across the floor behind her. After a few moments, I heard her move toward the door we’d come through and glanced up in time to see her chuck the creature’s head off the walkway.

  “You can’t kill a banshee, not really,” Meryn said quietly. “You can only separate the head and hope for the best.”

  I cringed. Jyn moaned. His hand shot to the side of his head. He swore loudly and winced at the touch.

  “We should have left her to you.” Jyn glanced at Meryn. She shrugged.

  “There seems to be a lot of residual magic here. Natylia’s been finding traces, all those little sparks. A catacomb laced with arcane magic? This is the perfect home for a banshee. I’ve been wondering if we’d find one, though I had to wonder if the others before us had killed her. If anyone got this far I’d assumed they must have. Apparently, they only thought they had. Theoretically.” She crossed her arms. “That rope I used was made of unicorn hair—an extremely hard to find and expensive material, by the way. We’re fortunate I know a guy. But properly melded together the hair burns through undead flesh easily enough.”

  Jyn sat up and tossed the key to Meryn. “I guess I should have known he was an illusion.”

  “Even I couldn’t sense the illusion on him.” Meryn’s eyebrows were together, her lips a down-turned curve. “But I suppose I’m not really familiar with arcane magic, and even less so the magic of this scepter. I imagine this room was supposed to be a test of morality.” Jyn flinched, but she lowered her voice, adding, “You made a choice and for our sake I don’t consider your decision to be the wrong one.”

  “I don’t think I’ll forget his screams, illusion or no . . .” I said. I picked at a fingernail. From the silence, I knew they understood. The echoes of that illusion’s pleas still reverberated around me, and I shivered.

  A warm weight pressed gently against my side. Camion, shifting closer. I took a steadying breath. “We should move on.”

  Jyn nodded his agreement, shifting the packs on his back. Meryn looped a tie around her hair, her fingers still wrapped firmly around the tiny silver key.

  “What about the key?” I asked.

  “It seems real enough,” Meryn said. “I can’t sense any illusion on the metal so it might be a trinket, but in either case we should be wary ahead.”

  “We’ve been pretty fortunate so far,” Jyn agreed. “How’s your head?”

  “Fine. Yours?”

  He winced. “Fine.”

  What liars we were.

  Chapter 35

  A few rooms on we found another flight of stairs. As soon as we hit the lower lan
ding, the air was palpably different. I still wore my cloak, a fact for which I was grateful when the others scrambled to pull theirs on. The room was cold, not quite as cold as the one that still left me chilled, but considerably more-so than the levels above.

  I tugged at the only wooden door before us and stepped out. A long walkway stretched out, this time lined with torches whose bright, flickering flames faded into the black around us. There was a door on the far side, a massive iron door dotted with shadows from what seemed to be carved images that traced over the surface. Shivers climbed my spine, and I knew they weren’t related to the cold. I reached for Camion. He glanced at me, eyes widening slightly, but he wrapped my hand securely in his without question.

  Meryn went to the door first. She ran her fingertips across the silver metal. Images of sea creatures and water plants were etched from top to bottom. The door had no handle, only a smooth seam down the middle.

  “Arcane magic.” Meryn looked pointedly at me, and I released Camion’s hand to squeeze past Jyn. Both men stepped up behind me, a shield in case the door launched me as the angel had.

  But when I touched the door the magic felt different, tamer somehow. Warmth coursed through my fingertips and spread through my veins, completely abolishing the cold chill I’d still been carrying. The magic intoxicated my senses. My sight was clearer than ever, and I could see colors and distances I didn’t know existed. My entire body tingled.

  “Princess.” I could hear the concern in Jyn’s voice, but the tone didn’t register with the rational part of my mind. I closed my eyes, let the magic wash over me. Meryn’s hand rested on my arm but her touch felt distorted, distant, and when she tugged lightly I reflexively shook her off.

  The power was incredible. I could feel and hear and smell everything. Fear washed off the people around me in waves, but the magic devoured the emotions hungrily. My ears twitched as I picked up on distant scratches and taps, loud sounds that drew closer while we stood here. The feeling that had gnawed me since we’d entered the catacombs, that ever present shadow, was validated. Creatures climbed the walls. Pungent, hungry beings that my human, mortal eyes would have never seen but that were terrifyingly clear with the magic that coursed through my body. The creatures slithered up the walls like snakes and scrabbled over the fallen rock like lizards. I could almost taste the metallic tang of the door. The scent of iron thrust itself into the front of my senses.