The Dungeon

by June Leung

  “I don’t think he would, even though he pretty much despises every other living creature. But I can’t stop myself from thinking that could happen. When William asked, I also worried about my power. It is… not going that well.” Lia grabbed on the blanket as her gaze dropped.

  “It is getting closer for you to go back.”

  “I think so. And I hate it,” she sobbed.

  “You still haven’t talked to him since then?”

  Lia sniffed, rubbing her eyes. “No. What’s wrong with me? I… sometimes still think about him, about something more than my power.”

  “What’s so bad about talking to him? Like, at least send a message?” Helen ached for Lia. It seemed she was really upset.

  “I don’t know how to feel about that. I am the one who blocked him, and now I am the one begging him to take me back to fix my power…”

  “I can’t say for sure, but I think he understands. That’s better than if something bad really happened.” Helen frowned, gently shaking Lia.

  “I know. I will talk to him when I am ready. I can feel how my power is going.”

  Chapter 13

  Lia

  Lia walked into the arena, her eyes half open as she struggled to stifle a yawn. “Hey, Lia. How are you? You look tired,” Helen asked with furrowed brows.

  “I know… I can’t help feeling a bit tired recently.” Lia shrugged, sitting next to Helen on the bench, waiting for William and Patrick. She stared blankly into the void in front of her.

  “Did you play video games overnight again?” Helen asked.

  “Nah, I actually got into bed early. Around eleven if I remember correctly. I don’t even know why I am still tired.” Lia tore her eyes back to Helen.

  It was another week of messing around in the clan, uneventful days since there was that monster, well, she didn’t even join that. She was just dragging the fate of eventually having to face Adrian yet again. There was a small tingle on her side, where he touched her and healed the wound.

  Helen rested the back of her hand on Lia’s forehead. “Hm, you aren’t sick.”

  “Maybe I have been playing video games too much regardless.” Lia covered her mouth as she yawned. Part of her knew it probably had to do with her power, but she didn’t want Helen to worry about that.

  Helen didn’t seem to be convinced. She leaned closer, whispering, “Think it has something to do with your power?”

  She had been trying to calm her power almost daily, but there was no telling how long she could help herself. There was once she almost gave in, and since then, for the past few days, she didn’t dare call it up again.

  “I don’t know. It could be, but hopefully not.” Lia shrugged.

  Helen opened her mouth to talk but was interrupted by a click of the door. Patrick and William walked in together, discussing something with smiles on their faces. Lia raised her brows; the two seemed to get along well.

  “Finally, all of us are here, huh?” Patrick waved to them as they met up. He looked to be a bit too cheerful for the early morning.

  “Something good happening? Look at you,” Helen said, patting his shoulder.

  “I learned a new skill yesterday. I’ll show you soon.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest with a smug smile on his face.

  “Super confident, huh?” Lia chuckled. It was great he and William seemed to be on good terms.

  “If any monsters dared to appear, I’m kicking them real hard.” Patrick winked.

  William cleared his throat. “Enough chatting. Just get things done, will you?”

  As Patrick prepared for his session, Lia and Helen went up to the spectators’ stand on the side. Lia yawned again, leaning into Helen.

  “Are you sure you’re OK?” Helen asked with a frown.

  “I guess?”

  “Think you need more rest?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe I didn’t sleep well.” Lia shook her head, taking a sip of water from her bottle.

  Down in the field, Patrick was flinging fire balls at the virtual monsters, occasionally sending fire blasts that burned a few in one go. The session looked easy for him.

  “Is my memory wrong? I don’t remember Patrick being this strong,” Lia nudged Helen and asked. She pressed her voice low, though the glass walls were quite good at insulating noise.

  “That’s because you always hide in your room. He has been much stronger since last week. He seems to be really happy about it.”

  “Of course he would be.” Lia nodded. He had been trying to get stronger since the meteorite monsters, to an extent that he’d decided to find out the secret to Lia’s power. Under Adrian’s very close watch on her, Patrick didn’t succeed. However, if he was getting stronger, it was for the best.

  After Patrick’s session, it was Lia’s. Lia and Helen managed to convince William to let them handle their own sessions. William reluctantly agreed, leaving the three of them in the arena. Maybe he also wanted more time to find the dark magicians. Otherwise, there would be no way he would agree to it.

  “We can pretend you got your training if you really are too tired,” Helen said with concern in her eyes.

  Lia shook her head, walking down to the field. “It’s OK. It will be done soon.”

  She stood in the center of the field as Patrick and Helen went up to the balcony. The field felt bigger and more spacious than before, or maybe she was feeling smaller. She took a deep breath, bracing herself.

  At least William wasn’t there. Whatever happened, Helen would be on her side. Patrick probably couldn’t sniff out the dark magic. She touched the kyanite necklace, its chill surface grounding her.

  A few monsters began spawning from the corners of the field. Lia focused, wielding her ice razors to throw at werewolves that ran towards her. A few bat-like creatures flew in the sky, shooting fireballs from their mouths. She pulled up an ice wall, blocking off a wave of fire. As the monsters got ready for their next attack, she sent ice blasts towards them, hitting a few. One of them landed on the running werewolf, and it stumbled. At this chance, Lia shot at the werewolf, freezing it into a large block of ice.

  She turned to another werewolf, sending an ice beam at it, but it leaped away. Lia growled, ducking away from its claws. It wasn’t that she would actually be killed by the virtual monsters, but getting clawed would still sting, as if being shocked. She moved behind the monster, grabbing its neck.

  Lia willed an ice blast in her free hand, she could already picture the large block of ice. She almost dropped the virtual monster when her hand on it felt cold. She snapped her attention from her free hand to the monster. It was already a block of ice before she took her shot.

  There wasn’t enough time for her confusion; the other werewolves were closing in. Lia dropped the iced monster, turning to fight the rest of them. After shooting and firing shots, finally the last of them was beaten.

  Lia could barely stand as the glass shield retreated, her heart hammering in her chest. Even her vision started to blur in the corners. She barely managed to reach the bench and took a seat. She almost fell to the floor on her back. Luckily, Helen wrapped her arm behind her back quick enough. Patrick seemed to be oblivious.

  Something cold and smooth touched Lia’s arm. She snapped her eyes open at Helen. Whatever it was made her feel better as the dark power that was creeping up seemed to calm itself. Slowly, Lia’s breath levelled and her heart stopped racing.

  “Feeling better?” Helen whispered. Lia nodded. Both Helen and Patrick were looking at her with concern on their faces.

  “I’m fine.” Lia twisted open her bottle, gulping down the water. “Maybe I should have eaten breakfast before training.”

  Helen shot her a knowing look, retreating her hand back to her pocket. The coolness on Lia’s arm disappeared. “I told you to get up earlier, you sleepyhead. You had me worried.”

  “Maybe you should grab a big lunch then. Can’t work with an empty stomach.” Patrick gave her a reassuring smile.

  “Sure
, I will take a rest. Let me know when you are done.” Lia nodded to Helen and waved a goodbye to Patrick before leaving the arena.

  She barely managed to get on her bed, and as soon as her head touched the pillow, she fell asleep.

  Later, Lia stirred, her stomach rumbling. The pillow and blanket were a bit too comfy for her to get up. She squinted; from the gap of the curtains, it seemed to already be evening. How long had she been asleep? She didn’t remember Helen calling her for lunch. Maybe she’d taken a nap that was too long.

  As she pushed herself up, a jabbing headache hit her. She winced, rubbing her temple. Her every heartbeat sent another surge of pain into her head. She swore under her breath. Her limbs were numb and tired. Maybe she had fought a few virtual monsters in the arena, but it felt more taxing than it should be. She curled her body into a ball. The darkness in the room was strangely comforting.

  Maybe it is finally the time to head back to misery?

  Lia glanced at her phone. Would Adrian be mad at her? She swallowed. Maybe she’d told him off and blocked him, but they had never been together. It would be awkward. She closed her eyes, but a warmth surged through her body as she thought of him. She didn’t want to, but she recalled being in his arms, feeling his warmth. It felt great to be around him. Maybe she shouldn’t block him on every app and phone call.

  Maybe Adrian didn’t want to be friends with her, but he said he would be her mentor. He’d always kept his words and fought for her. If she went back for training, he’d still help her, right? She reached for her phone, grimaced at the bright light from the screen.

  She’d already caused enough trouble by running away from her training, so maybe it was about time for her to learn. She didn’t like every part of the process, but she shouldn’t let people around her take the risk. She already attacked Helen and Benjamin; she didn’t need another episode of that. If she killed another innocent, she would live in guilt for the rest of her life. If she attacked any of the Elders… Lia’s blood froze. If Adrian was right, she would get herself killed.

  It was already one in the morning. It wasn’t a good idea to call Adrian or send him a message this late. She would be asking for a favor with the training already. Maybe she shouldn’t try her luck with waking him from his sleep. She would talk to him tomorrow. She could live another day.

  Chapter 14

  Lia

  The next day, it was almost noon, but Lia was too tired to get up despite sleeping through the night. She kept rolling from side to side. It seemed lifting a finger was too tiring. She didn’t have training scheduled, so William wouldn’t know. If he didn’t know, he wouldn’t get suspicious.

  As she slowly drifted back to her dreams, a ring from her phone cut through the tranquillity. She jumped from her sleep. Before she could see the message, Helen rushed in. “Lia, come! A new case for us!”

  “I really have to go?” Lia asked. She picked herself out of the bed, despite the nausea in her stomach and her body aching. She should have at least grabbed dinner last night.

  “William insisted. Patrick and Eric are out on another case. We need you. It seems to be a big deal that needs everyone, but only the three of us could make it in time. That’s if you get out now!” At Lia’s reluctance, Helen added, “William is one of the three of us. It should be fine.”

  “Isn’t that what makes it not fine?”

  “I don’t think it would help to hide things if you don’t go.”

  Lia took a deep breath and nodded. Maybe it was just a bad day for her; she may as well try to help to the best of her ability.

  They got into William’s car, speeding off and arrived at a building that was on fire. She barely stomached a protein bar in William’s car before they arrived at the scene. She had never seen a fire that severe in her life. It could have been a movie scene. Flames swallowed the building’s lower levels, still growing upwards. One of the sides was charred black. Thick smoke was coming out of the windows, or what was left of them. The heat radiating from the fire was warm on Lia’s skin even from a distance. A few fire engines were already there, with firefighters busy gearing up.

  “I’m not sure whether we should go in…” Helen said.

  William said, “Come on, of course we aren’t going in. I need the two of you to help from outside. Put your power to use.” He pointed to a few people waving their arms frantically from the windows. All the aerial ladders were already busy, but there were more in need. Lia and Helen hurried to help while William went to talk with the firefighters.

  Helen carefully hoisted herself up with her vine wrapping around her waist, getting close to the victims. Luckily, magical vines wouldn’t catch the non-magical fire easily. Lia was on the lookout, shooting at burnt stuff that fell from upper floors while shielding Helen and a few firefighters on the ladders. The fire made the weather hotter than it should be, she soon drenched in sweat.

  The firefighters were working quickly, running into the building and pulling out whoever they could reach, sending them to the paramedics. All fire hoses were on full force, with a helicopter overwatching the situation.

  William seemed to have connections everywhere, making it possible to help in random police cases or… maybe fire cases. Lia sighed; it looked to be a tough day ahead. Whatever magic people saw, the strange force of Zitannas would push it out of their memory soon.

  She wiped the sweat off her forehead while receiving a young child from a firefighter, bringing her to seek help. She was panting, looking at the firefighters in their heavy gear under the sun and the heat of the fire. She wondered whether they were human or some kind of mythical creatures. She handed the kid to the paramedics, then turned back to Helen’s vine.

  She created an ice wall just in time to block something that remotely resembled an air-conditioner from hitting Helen’s head as she was getting hold of a woman. There was something on the woman’s face that was shiny under the sun.

  As Helen slowly lowered the woman with her vine, Lia grabbed her and gasped; a sharp piece of glass dug into the woman’s face, reflecting the sun. She hurried to bring the woman to the ambulance so that Helen could focus on the next one. The rusty smell of blood slowly occupied Lia’s senses, taking over her attention. She fought to focus on heading to the paramedics nearby, who were getting the woman settled on a stretcher. She panted as the woman was moved into an ambulance. Her heart beating a bit too strong.

  Feeling lightheaded, Lia found a safe spot where she could keep an eye on Helen. William gave her a bottle of water that she downed in seconds.

  “Lia, how are you doing?” he asked. Feeling Lia’s forehead with the back of his hand, he frowned.

  “I… I should be fine after taking a rest. Maybe it’s heat stroke.”

  As Helen came back to the ground after helping everyone she could reach, Lia closed her eyes briefly, still breathing rapidly.

  A migraine started, and she winced. The rush of her dark power crept up, going wild. She tried to stabilize herself, but she wasn’t feeling in control. She squirmed, fighting her own battle.

  I should have called Adrian yesterday…

  Helen

  Helen’s eyes widened at Lia’s state. She would never forget how Lia jumped to attack her before; it looked a bit too close to how Lia was now. It would be at most minutes before she attacked people around her. Helen gulped audibly, reaching into her pocket and touching the cool amber there. But William was too close to Lia; there was no way he wouldn’t notice.

  Lia was holding her head in both of her hands, her face twisted in pain, grunting. William frowned, getting closer to her, when a loud bang came from the building. A few people screamed.

  Both William and Helen jumped, looking towards the building to catch a glimpse of flame shooting out of a window, carrying a few machinery parts. Helen’s breath caught, hoping no one was near the explosion. She took a few steps closer to the building and blocked the falling parts from hitting someone.

  “What the hell!” William’s shout
jerked Helen’s eyes to him.

  Lia was missing.

  Eyes wide and mouth agape, Helen rushed towards William. They looked around, but there was no sign of Lia. He turned and grabbed Helen’s shoulder. “You saw what happened?” he was almost screaming. Helen shook her head.

  “Dammit!” William released her and rushed to people nearby.

  Helen froze, her mind blank. Her eyes followed William. She couldn’t hear what he was saying, but everyone he spoke to shook their heads. Her stomach sank. Tears welled up in her eyes, she walked across the street and leaned on a lamp post, blinking back her tears.

  Where is Lia?

  Chapter 15

  Helen

  Helen had no idea how long she had been leaning on the lamp post, but it felt like ages. All her strength seemed to have left. She mindlessly toyed with the piece of amber in her pocket. Adrian would be very mad.

  I’m sorry… Don’t haunt me at night, please?

  She let out a heavy sigh, staring at the firefighters still busy running in and out the burning building. The fire was still going on but there was no one seeking help by the window, hopefully all of them already safe. If there’s no one she could reach from the outside, then there wasn’t anything else she could do.

  She thought about searching for Lia, but it felt futile. Lia was too weak to be hanging around on her own; if someone took her, they would’ve left already.

  A while later, William ran to her with a deep frown on his face. “We’ve got to go. We will search the surrounding area; maybe there are traces of Lia’s disappearance. Whoever dared touch her will soon be very dead.”

  Helen nodded, gathering her strength to follow William. They ran through the streets around the building, looking at every inch of the area, trying to find a hint of what happened.