The Dungeon

by June Leung

  He rolled his eyes. “Who are you calling old? I also wonder what makes you that special. I guess you just know when it happens. Anyways, time to call Helen?”

  “In fact, if you don’t mind, I want to see her in person.” Lia cupped his face in her hands, looking straight at him. He struggled to keep eye contact, wrapping his hands around Lia’s.

  “I’m sorry. Not now. Since your disappearance, William and Eric have been keeping a close eye on Helen and Patrick. They’re not even allowed to leave the clan without being accompanied by one of them. Somehow your Elders think that someone is after magicians.”

  “They don’t know I’m safe.”

  “You don’t think I’m going to tell them, right? Although Helen knows you are safe, without being able to show you to them, she couldn’t tell them.”

  “I can tell them I’m fine. So I can meet Helen.”

  “You think coming out from nowhere after disappearing for a few days is going to cut it? They wouldn’t believe a thing from you.”

  “They may find out about you…”

  “I’m sorry, I can’t take the risk.”

  “But us waiting here won’t help either. They will still try to find me.”

  “I’m working with Benjamin for a solution. We’ll go call Helen. After that, just take a rest, will you? You are still recovering. With Evelyn lurking around, I want you to be in your best shape.”

  Lia searched his eyes; he was determined. She sighed, nodding.

  Adrian brought Lia out of the dungeon and into the city for her to communicate with Helen and for him to buy her tacos. Before he left the car, he warned her to not get out. With the tinted windows of the car, the outside was dim.

  Lia stared at her phone while it came to life with internet connection. It buzzed for a few seconds, loading all the messages she hadn’t received. Almost all of them were from Helen. The day she disappeared, Helen had sent a lot of messages wanting to know whether she was OK and where she was.

  Scrolling down, Lia’s heart sank. She wished she could have let Helen know she was fine earlier. Looking at all the emojis and randomly-capitalized letters, Helen must be very worried about her.

  The frequency of the messages slowly decreased. Helen had given up messaging her, knowing something must be wrong and she probably wouldn’t be able to reply if the messages weren’t even delivered. Lia winced, those probably were a few terrible days for Helen to know nothing about what happened. Adrian did say he told Helen, but it was probably not the first thing on his to-do list. Lia couldn’t blame him, though.

  She snapped a photo of herself and sent it to Helen before slumping back in her seat. Now not only she had to deal with her power, but there was this woman named Evelyn that was after her. It didn’t help when she also had to stay away from Helen. When would all this be over? Why was it so hard to live a comfy and easy life?

  She stared out of the window, the afternoon sun dimmed from the tinted glass. Its cool surface sent a chill down her spine. It felt like ages since she had seen the sun and the trees outside. She never treasured all that until now. She reached for the handle of the car door, but her hand stopped mid-way. Was that a good idea?

  There seemed to be no one nearby—maybe she could just get a breath of fresh air. She reached for the handle to push the door open, but it was locked. She leaned towards the panel, trying to fumble with the buttons until she found the one to unlock all the doors. But the car door was still. Am I locked in?

  Lia jumped when there was a buzz; it was her phone, a lot louder than she expected in the silence and more of a shock when she was trying to do something forbidden. Helen had messaged her back, the screen filled up with emojis of all kinds. Lia smiled, releasing a sigh of relief. They updated each other on their current state. Helen seemed to be very happy to know she was safe. She was as pissed as Lia was for not being able to see each other.

  A low thud of the car door closing interrupted her smile and texting. She jumped, almost dropping her phone. She looked up to find Adrian smirking at her, his blue eyes shining in the dim car.

  “You scared me.” She poked his chest. He chuckled, sitting down before putting the takeaway bag on the console between them. Soon the car was filled with the tasty smell of freshly made tacos and other Mexican food. She beamed, reaching for a chip.

  He grabbed her wrist. “Don’t you dare to eat in my car, the mess you are capable of creating…”

  Lia rolled her eyes, letting the chip drop back into the bag, puffing her cheek. “C’mon, it’s just a chip. How messy can it be?”

  “With you, everything is messy.” He wrapped up the paper bag. “Had fun talking with Helen?”

  “It would be better if I could call her, but she was worried that the Elders would hear.” She sighed, putting down her phone on the seat beside her.

  “You will soon be able to see Helen again. Pinkie promise?”

  “Wait! What happened to the Adrian I knew, he wasn’t into pinkie promises? What have you done to him?”

  “Sadly, the Lia he knows is into it, no way for him to not bend down to her height.”

  “How dare you.” Lia laced hers with his, but not without rolling her eyes.

  “I’m telling the truth. Let’s head back before the tacos get cold and before you spill food in my car.”

  Chapter 22

  Lia

  After Adrian drove them back to the mysterious dungeon and got them settled, Lia dug in, filling her mouth with the tasty tacos and nachos. It was great to finally have some food in her system. They were sitting on chairs in a brightly lit lounge room. Everything looked great except there’s no television or video games.

  “Are you sure you should eat that fast?” Adrian laughed, shaking his head. She rolled her eyes, her mouth too full to respond. He leaned closer, gently brushing away a flicker of spicy sauce on the corner of her mouth with his thumb. The touch sent a tingle down her spine. He licked the sauce off his thumb and winked at her as their eyes met.

  “You’re cute when you wolf down your food,” he said. He picked up a chip, throwing it towards his mouth. Lia huffed, snatching it before it arrived at its intended destination. His eyes widened. “That’s mine!”

  “Not anymore,” Lia stuffed the nacho into her mouth, smirking at him. “You’re just showing off. Who really eats chips like that?”

  He groaned, picking up another. “I thought you would be more pissed to have to stay here.”

  Who says I’m not?

  “Nah, it is fine. I know you’re just trying to keep me safe.” Lia put away the wrapping of the taco back into the paper bag after finishing it, sipping at her soft drink.

  “I really need you to be safe.” He stared at the last chip on the table, his mind seemingly elsewhere. She snuggled up to him. He nodded, still staring. He almost jumped as Lia swept the nacho off the table into her mouth.

  “What’s on your mind? Obviously not this chip, huh?”

  “Just thinking about us. Maybe I should have told you earlier.”

  “At least you have half a brain.”

  He nodded faintly, resting his head on hers. They remained pressed against each other for a while longer before they stood to clean up.

  Afterwards, Adrian showed her more of the dungeon. Lia walked very close to him, wrapping her arm around his waist.

  “Can you even walk on your own?” He rubbed her side.

  “Fine. Of course I can.” She rolled her eyes, taking back her arm.

  He clutched her with a grin. “I’m not stopping you.”

  “You are insufferable.” She huffed and leaned into him.

  He gestured to the branches of the corridors. “There are a lot of rooms here. You will get to know them better as time goes on. Before that, don’t wander too far. It would be hard to find you.”

  “Sure.” She stared at the crossroad, flicking her eyes between halls. She had been trying to remember all the rooms he showed her, but she barely remembered. Everything looked too simil
ar, not to mention she found his company a lot more interesting than remembering corridors.

  “You can stay here in the meantime, just to be safe,” Adrian said, turning on the light in one of the many rooms. The walls were covered up with some type of material resembling wood. She traced the surface of the wall, along the pattern of wood, and the coolness of it sent a shiver down her spine. Either it was cold in the dungeon or the material was more like metal than wood. The wood did make the room a bit warmer than the bricks.

  “Thanks?” Lia said half-heartedly, still looking around the room. After noticing the wall, she turned to the desk and chair set in a corner of the room. Both were made of wood. The bed by the other corner looked comfy and large enough for her to roll around freely.

  “I hope you will like it here,” He said.

  Something feels off, but I don’t know…

  “Sure, thanks! Hopefully no one will find me.”

  “That’s the goal.” He smiled weakly with a faint sigh.

  “Things will be fine, right?” She squeezed his hand.

  He lifted their hands, kissing her knuckles. “I will make sure you’re safe. Just take a rest. You better get in shape for whatever is coming.”

  Lia nodded as he tucked her into the bed. He leaned onto the wall next to the bed, staring blankly at the door.

  Lia asked, “Something on your mind?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing. How’s your power feeling?”

  She closed her eyes briefly, trying to catch signs of it. It was a small warm stream now and didn’t feel threatening. “I think it’s fine for now.”

  “Any pain?”

  “Nope. I guess I am just a bit tired. I’ve had better days.”

  He nodded. “I still didn’t know why you went into a coma. Things we don’t know with our magic, huh? At least you are fine now. At least I’m not fooling myself anymore.”

  Her heart skipped a beat and her smile reached her eyes. She sure was glad he didn’t push her away. “Will you stay with me?”

  “If you mean in this room, not now, sorry. I have something to do, but I’ll join you later.”

  She frowned deeply, staring at him. He gulped, then straightened and headed to the door. “I’ll be back sooner than you know.”

  Lia lay in bed, rolling around. It felt great to finally have a glimpse into Adrian’s mind and to know that he reciprocated her feelings for him.

  The thought of a dark magician with equal power as Adrian coming after her life sent a shiver down her spine. After witnessing what Adrian could do in the gang’s headquarters, she wondered what would happen when the two factions fought. Evelyn had her people, and she knew Adrian had his. Although she met some of his acquaintances at the bar, none of them were magicians except for Benjamin. If they were, they hid their power very well. Maybe those were people that had trades with Adrian.

  As she learned her dark power, her senses became stronger, especially with detecting magical power. But it still required her to focus on feeling it in the air. Lia rubbed her temple, contemplating the chance of staying highly alert every moment to keep herself safe from other magicians.

  No way. That seems too mind-numbing… But Adrian is keeping me here anyway…

  She yawned. After walking around most of the day in the dungeon and finishing the meal, she was getting drowsy, but she wanted to find out more about the den. She flicked her eyes around the room, finally knowing why it felt off: there wasn’t a clock. She reached to the bedside table instinctively, then she realised her phone wasn’t with her. She’d given it back to Adrian as they went back to the dungeon.

  Crap… This is going to be boring. Although without an internet connection, it is going to be boring regardless…

  She rolled around on the bed, willing herself to sleep, to stop worrying about the ones seeking her life, but to no avail. Instead, she got up and paced around the room. Something was stirring in her stomach. She was pretty sure it wasn’t the Mexican food she ate, but a hunch of some kind, making it hard to fall asleep. Before she knew it, she pushed open the door and peeked out to the corridor. Nothing other than the flickering light was outside.

  Maybe I should go to the bathroom before trying to sleep. I think I may have remembered the rooms.

  Carefully, she put on the sneakers she kicked off earlier and wandered along the corridors, worrying that a ghost may pop up.

  She successfully found the bathroom and finished her business there. But on the way back, she may have mixed up a few corners. She pushed at a door she believed to be her room, but it was locked, the wrong room.

  She looked around at the very similar corridors and doors, and sighed.

  Good luck finding the way back… Why couldn’t he make it a bit simpler… At least make the corridors distinguishable…

  She was now wide awake. May as well get to know the place. She wandered around, trying to find her way back. Most of the doors were locked, and the ones that weren’t usually only consisted of a table and a few chairs, nothing noteworthy.

  She walked until she was quite confident that she wasn’t making any progress. She leaned on the wall.

  Hopefully Adrian can find me… I don’t even know where I am. Hopefully he won’t be too mad to find me missing from my room…

  It was then she heard a noise behind the thick door beside her. Someone was talking. She pressed her ear against the door, there were a few muffled voices.

  “That seems to be the only solution.” It sounded like Benjamin.

  “I should have done it a long while ago.” Adrian.

  “I told you even before that girl appeared.” Lia frowned at the voice she didn’t recognize.

  “Lia is not going to like it…” Benjamin said.

  “Like it or not, she is going to live with it. I can’t risk her. It’s not like she’ll know until then, and by then, there’s nothing she can do.” Adrian’s sound muffled and soft, almost impossible to catch.

  “Is it a good idea not to tell her? She would be very pissed,” Benjamin said.

  Lia pushed her ear closer to the door, hoping the words would come clearer. Her heart hammered in her chest, her palms sweating. If Adrian found her, she didn’t know what would happen to her, but she had to listen.

  “I can take care of the two on my own. She will be no wiser,” Adrian said.

  “Or should we do it instead? To spare you in case the girl really gets mad,” the stranger said.

  “She knows I’m the King. I will never get off the hook. She would be fine, I guess. It may take a while, but at least she would be safer.”

  “She’s just an Elements’ magician. What’s the big deal? Why don’t we just go with the pact?” Whoever that was, Lia didn’t want to meet him.

  Adrian cleared his throat awkwardly. “Her magical power is still valuable.”

  Wait! So Adrian got close to me simply because of my power?

  Lia covered her mouth with her hand as tears welled up in her eyes. Am I thinking too much? I really want to trust him…

  The unknown voice spoke. “Well, you are the Lord. Whatever you want, I guess. How about we just get rid of all the Elements? The other magicians wouldn’t even know. Without William and Eric, they can’t do a thing. Just to keep us safe from any revenge.”

  Benjamin said, “No way. There is that other magician we can’t kill. Otherwise, Lia will never take our deal.”

  “My Lord, is she really worth getting out of the shade, breaking the pact, and making more of a mess than is already coming?”

  Adrian said, “Whatever you think, I am doing it. I will kill the two off myself. William is no match for me, and Eric probably is even weaker.”

  So that’s Adrian’s solution so I can see Helen again?

  Lia gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth, but it seemed to be too late. The unknown person’s voice came. “Is there someone outside?”

  “Who can there be?” Adrian said.

  “I wonder…”

  Lia ran of
f as there was a squeak of a chair from the inside. She dashed down the corridors, turning all the corners she could manage to reach, hoping whoever was looking out of the door wouldn’t see her.

  Despite panting quickly for air, her throat was tight. Pushing random doors, she cursed under her breath, until she magically pushed the right door to greet the comfy bed still waiting for her, the blanket she kicked aside still in its place.

  Lia tucked herself into the bed, curling into a ball, struggling to stabilize her breath and heart. She winced, pulling the cover over her head. She grabbed the corner of the blanket, squeezing it with her shaky hands.

  If Adrian is killing the Elders, I can’t stand and watch it happen.

  Her mind ran full speed, searching for ways she could warn them without Adrian knowing.

  But if they know Adrian is coming, they will kill him.

  She coughed from the choking feeling brewing in her chest. A lump formed in her throat. In the darkness under her blanket, faint footsteps came from the corridor, echoing closer and closer.

  Chapter 23

  Lia

  The door opened and Lia lowered her blanket, peeking up just enough to see who it was. Adrian walked in with a faint smile on his face. He raised his brows at her. “Can’t sleep?”

  Lia shook her head, trying to calm herself.

  It is OK. He won’t know. Just act normal.

  She said, “I heard your footsteps.”

  “Sorry.” He whispered as he sat next to her on the bed.

  “Is the something done?” she asked.

  For a split second, his demeanor changed, and she barely caught the mischievous glint in his eyes. “It’s going great. Nothing you need to worry about.”

  He caressed her face with his thumb, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead. “You seem tense.”

  Crap! Does he know I know?

  “Yeah… It feels awkward not having a clock or a window here. I kind of… feel trapped.” She searched his face, a pained look flashed through it.