by Logan Byrne
“Rigormorio!” I said, the bolt shooting through the film and directly into Regelius. He seized up, his body locking completely, and we ran through the gate before that stupid little elf could do anything to stop us.
“Ah!” he shouted, before backing up slowly. “Stay back!”
“You’re a thorn in my side, elf. I should kill you right here and now,” I said, pointing my wand directly at him.
“Please don’t hurt me,” he said, shrinking away. “I’ll tell you how to reach the cave, the real cave, just don’t hurt me or my master. Please.”
He cowered in place, looking like he would wet himself. I looked at the others, all of them looking a bit unsure of what to do. Did we spare him and let him stay? We could try to call it in and have them both arrested by the resistance. Maybe they had some kind of intelligence against Kiren, given that Regelius was definitely working for him in some capacity.
“How can we trust you?” Blake asked.
“You can’t, but you have to. Here,” he said, handing the compass back to Faus, who happily grabbed it like it were the last one on Earth.
“Tell us which way, and how long,” Blake said.
“That way, I swear,” he said, pointing to his left. “You must only hike a few miles and you’ll run into it. Follow the creek just past this crossing and it will lead you there. It runs out of the cave. But beware the others.”
“What others?” I asked.
“The duskhowlers, they’re in the forest somewhere. They’re looking for the same thing, the same place. They’ll kill anybody who stands in their way under orders from him,” the elf said.
“If you’re lying to us, we’ll find you,” I said.
“I know,” he replied.
“Rigormorio,” I said, pointing at him. His body seized up, dropping to the ground near Regelius. “It will wear off soon enough. You’ll be fine.”
“Should we get out of here? Who knows what other friends these freaks have,” Charlie said.
“Let’s move,” I nodded.
We’d lost so much time because of them, time that we couldn’t get back. I knew in my heart and my mind that if we lost the Malum due to those two that I wouldn’t be so kind. I would arrest them and make sure they were put on trial for all the crimes that I was sure they’d committed. How many others had they kidnapped in the forest? Surely we weren’t the first, considering they already had a prison set up.
We traversed the crossing, finding a tiny creek that came down from upstream. This was it, the one he’d talked about. The trail was grueling, my calves beginning to burn just ten minutes in as I trudged up the incline, my feet periodically slipping on leaves and patches of mud that had formed around the edges of the creek.
Charlie was smart, shifting into his jaguar form, his four paws and claws more adequately digging into the ground as he comfortably made his way up.
“Finally,” I said, as we got to the top of the hill, my legs beginning to tighten up as I stretched them out.
“I feel something,” Britta said.
“What is it?” Faus asked.
“Energy,” she replied.
“I feel it as well. I think that stupid little elf did tell the truth this time around. I guess a wand to the face will do that to someone,” I said.
“Keep a lookout for duskhowlers. They have to be near,” Blake said.
“Already monitoring,” Charlie said, looking up at Blake, his ears twitching.
I heard a twig snap in the distance and I looked to see something moving. It wasn’t humanoid, so I knew we were safe. The smell of death haunted us as we moved in closer towards the direction of the energy and the cave entrance.
“What is that?” I asked.
“Bodies,” Charlie said.
We walked over a mound, seeing it for the first time. The cave.
It was dark, the opening a black void in the ground that seemed to suck up anything that came its way. The entrance was surrounded by a collection of rocks, some sharp and jagged, while others looked smoothened over centuries of elemental bombardment. A smooth stream of water came from inside and trickled down the hillside towards where we were standing.
“Lexa,” Britta said, grabbing my arm tightly, before pointing forwards.
We walked closer, seeing hooves lying in the leaves behind the rocks. Nervously we walked up around the rocks and saw two bodies before us. I winced a little. They were battered and bloodied, a fawn and a centaur. They had weapons in their hands, but they were no match for the Spell of Death. I could see where it scalded them and penetrated their skin.
“They weren’t blooded from that spell. They were beaten,” Blake said.
“Punished for being here,” Charlie replied, turning human again.
“That means they’re here, and they’re inside already,” Blake said, looking at the entrance of the cave.
“What does that mean for us?” Charlie asked.
“That we’re too late,” Faus said. “Those stupid creatures held us up too long.”
“We don’t know that, and we’re not too late. They could’ve just gotten here, or they could’ve been in there for hours. They might’ve beaten us already, we’ll never know. I do know it’s not over, though. We aren’t giving up,” I said.
“You want to go in there, knowing that they’re inside?” Faus asked.
“That was the plan all along, was it not?” I asked.
“I agree,” Britta said, sniffling a little, before looking back down at the bodies. “We came here for this single purpose. Blood has been spilled, and I can’t let them get away with it. I won’t let them get away with it. We must get that Malum before they can find it.”
“Faus,” Blake said.
“You’re right, I know. I’m just nervous. If they took down these two with such ease, what’s to stop them from doing the same to us?” Faus asked.
“Easy. We have one another. We’re a unit, and we won’t be taken down, especially when the stakes are so high,” I said, smiling.
“Time to do work,” Charlie said, cracking his knuckles.
8
A damp, moldy smell permeated the air as we walked into the cave. The rocks were wet, slippery, and the darkness engulfed us even when we stood in the doorway.
“Candelae,” I said, Britta doing the same. It provided some light, just enough, though it wasn’t what it should’ve been.
“The magic here is dampening your spells,” Faus said, pushing up his glasses.
“This might help,” Charlie said, before shifting. “I can see pretty well.”
“Charlie will lead the way up front with Lexa. Britta and I will take the rear, and Faus in the middle. Protection on all sides,” Blake said.
“Who would’ve thought we’d end up here? Stark difference from Morocco,” Charlie said.
“We’ve been on a lot of missions together, but this one might just take the cake,” I said.
“Promise me something,” he whispered, the others close but still far enough behind so as not to hear.
“What?” I asked.
“If anything happens, you’ll take my body back to my parents,” he said.
“Charlie,” I said, taken aback.
“Promise me,” he insisted.
“I—I promise,” I said, trying to hold back tears and choking up.
“Just needed to know that,” he said, a little smirk coming out on his cat face.
We reached our first trick, three separate tunnels that decided to test our intelligence. Charlie walked up, sniffing each one, before nodding.
I threw a rock into the first one, letting him listen to the echoes, before he shook his head. I did the same in the second, and he nodded, telling us it was the correct one.
We ventured inside, slowly, before Charlie stopped in his tracks. “I can smell them, they were here,” he said, sniffing the air with his nose up high.
“We must be on the right track. I wonder how they found the right tunnel,” I said.
&n
bsp; “They might’ve taken a different one before circling back. Seems possible,” Blake said.
A few minutes later we approached a new set of tunnels, this time only two. Charlie seemed annoyed—not because he couldn’t figure it out, but because he wanted a challenge. I knew he loved using his shifter abilities to their fullest extent. It was kind of his thing, usually much to my annoyance.
We heard talking coming from ahead, so we stopped in our tracks and listened.
“What do you think they’re even trying to get in there?” the first man asked.
“Some old thing, you know how it is. Always searching for ancient objects, I guess. Weird we have to stay behind here to guard the entrance,” the second man said.
“They said something about the resistance coming for it. As if they could even get through or find this place. It took us days to get here,” the first man said.
“So how did your date go the other night?” the second asked.
“Good! She suggested tacos, it was good,” the first said.
I looked at Britta, rolling my eyes, before nodding.
“Wait, what are you two doing?” Blake asked.
“Just watch and learn,” Britta said.
“Rigormorio,” we said, each of us pointing our wands at the same guy. The spell hit, locking him up, as the other man, Mr. Taco, shot up from where he was sitting.
“They’re here!” he shouted, shooting a bolt of energy towards us.
“Glacio!” I shouted, hastily flicking my wrist and the tip of my wand. I missed his body, hitting the edge of his right foot instead as he tried to run down the tunnel to alert the other duskhowlers inside.
His foot became encased in ice, connecting to the rocky cave floor beneath him, and he fell to the ground. Charlie ran towards him, swatting the man’s wand out of his hand as he cowered and begged for mercy.
“Please, please don’t hurt me! I don’t even want to be here!” he said desperately.
“Then why are you here?” Blake asked, his eyes turning red.
“I only joined these people because my parents made me. They said it would bring honor to our family name. My parents know everybody in this circle. I swear it!” he said.
“There’s one way to know for sure,” I said, raising my wand.
“Are you sure?” Britta asked.
“Cranius Redundo,” I said, transporting myself into his mind.
I saw it all, like a flipbook, his childhood, his adolescence, and even up until this moment. I felt his fears, his anxiety, and more importantly, I saw his parents. They scowled at him, yelling at him, making him join the duskhowlers. I was him, standing in front of them, as they told him that he wouldn’t embarrass them and that a greater purpose needed him. Kiren.
They talked about his plan. It was brilliant, like I were there, and then suddenly I wasn’t. He forced me out, sending my vision being back into the cave, before I snapped out of it and saw him crying. “Stop it, please. Don’t make me relive it.”
“What did you see?” Britta asked.
“He’s telling the truth. He’s not a threat,” I said.
“Please don’t kill me,” he said.
“Unlike your boss, we don’t do that. We can’t, however, allow you to alert them to our presence. Tell us why he wants the Malum,” Blake asked.
“The Malum? I was told we were here to retrieve some necklace,” the man said.
“Not even close,” I said.
“I didn’t even think the Malum was real. I thought it was a myth! I don’t want to be near that thing!” he exclaimed. I believed him, but only because I’d been inside his head. He wasn’t trying to trick us or lead us into a trap by any means. He was a desperate man who’d never developed emotionally. He could thank his parents for that.
“I promise I won’t tell them. Nothing bad needs to happen,” he said.
“What do you think?” Charlie asked, looking up at me from his shifted form.
“Dormio,” I said, zapping both of the men to sleep.
“That should keep them safe for a while, or at least until we’re able to get the Malum and get out of here,” Britta said.
“Guys, we don’t know what else lies down these tunnels, but we need to get moving. He was going to alert them before we stopped him. That means they must be getting close,” Faus said.
“Agreed,” I said, nodding. “Let’s just hope we aren’t too late.”
We shuffled our feet as quickly as we could through the tunnels. They were slick, the water soaking into the cave’s every orifice, as jagged rocks waited menacingly to slice our flesh should we venture too close.
We saw a light ahead, disappearing into a room, before the cave tunnel we’d just been in closed behind us with a rumble, the rocks pushing in on themselves and sealing us inside.
The room was large, maybe thirty feet tall, and perfectly round. In the center lay something—not the Malum, but something else. It was a puzzle. Runic symbols were etched into stones, each one of them able to be shifted and moved around. We were supposed to move them into order to create something, but what?
“I’ll start analyzing this. We need to get it right,” Faus said, as he stood over the puzzle and began to work.
I looked to the ceiling, and a door opened. “You did it!” I said, smiling.
“Lexa, I haven’t done anything yet,” Faus said.
Something moved inside, a creature, as the door began to close. “I see something, but I can’t make it out,” Charlie said.
“I think this is going to be a challenging obstacle,” Blake said.
A hiss rent through the air as something came towards us. “Arma Maximus!” I shouted, the shield taking the brunt of the blow. It was green, bubbling, and looked to be acidic.
“It must be some kind of naga. Keep working on the puzzle, we’ll take care of this,” Blake said to Faus.
The naga came near, hissing as it slithered towards me. “You dare enter my domain and try to steal my most sacred totem? The others may have gotten past, but you will not. You will die here, humans!”
“Guys, we have another problem,” Britta said, and I noticed another door opening in my peripheral vision. A Minotaur walked out, a giant battle axe in its hand, and let out a monstrous roar.
“We need to split into our teams,” Blake said, before Charlie hopped over to me.
“It’ll be like riding a bike,” Charlie said, standing next to me in his jaguar form.
“I sure hope so,” I said.
The naga struck, hitting my shield weakened from the acid, and shattered it. Charlie pounced, jumping towards the naga, as it spit a stream of acid towards him. I saw his eyes open wide before I shot a gust of air with the Ventio charm to blow him out of the way, and he landed on his feet as always.
“We need to get closer,” Charlie said.
“We can’t! Not with that acid!” I yelled back.
I looked behind me, seeing Blake shifted and slashing at the Minotaur, who didn’t seem to falter. Britta shot off spells, but they seemed to only tickle the beast.
What do I do, I wondered to myself, as I gritted my teeth and clenched my stomach. “Eruptico!” I said, but the naga shot backwards, avoiding the spell.
I noticed something then, the spell making it clear. We were in a cave, with rocks all around. My spell hit the ground and shattered the rocks around it, breaking them completely off. This wasn’t like the cage we were in before. We could use our environment to our advantage.
“Britta! Blake! Move out of the way!” I screamed, catching their attention.
“Eruptico Maximus!” I yelled, the tip of my wand glowing hot before a bolt of energy slammed into the high ceiling above the Minotaur. Blake grabbed Britta and pulled both of them backwards as rocks and boulders crashed down from the ceiling.
The Minotaur roared, dropping its axe and covering its face with its arms. The beast was buried in rubble, the rocks not moving, before I turned my attention back to the naga.
�
�You may have buried my brother, but you cannot bury me!” it hissed, before lunging towards me. The naga hit me in the chest and I flew backwards, skidding against the ground. I groaned, gripping my wand, as I heard Blake and Charlie both roar and pounce on the naga.
I looked up, seeing Britta running over to me, before she put her hands under my shoulders and raised me up. “You have to get up, it’s too dangerous to stay down,” she said.
“I’m almost done!” Faus said.
“No!” the naga hissed, before slapping back both Charlie and Blake like they were ragdolls.
Faus was looking intently at the puzzle, mumbling to himself, as the naga ran towards him. “Ventio Maximus!” Britta cried, blowing at the naga. He flew into the cave wall, but his hands pushed against the rocky floor and he started at it again.
“Faus! Look out!” Britta yelled as the naga lunged towards him.
“Done!” Faus said, locking the final piece into place. The tablet began to glow, locking the naga into place, and it started screaming so loud I felt it pierce my chest. Both it and the Minotaur, emerging from the pile of rocks, began to glow fiery red, as if they were being lit from the inside out. The flames consumed them, each one of the naga’s scales lighting on fire.
They quickly disappeared, and the tablet sank into the pillar on which it sat before another door opened. This one had to lead to the Malum.
“Are you okay?” I asked, walking towards Charlie and Blake.
“Yeah, he hit really hard, but we can walk it off,” Blake said.
Charlie shifted out of his jaguar form and stretched, rubbing the back of his head. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Britta asked, wrapping her arms around Charlie’s waist before examining the back of his head.
“I’m fine, I promise. I wouldn’t lie to you,” Charlie said, with a little smile.
“What about you?” I asked, grabbing Blake’s right hand with my left.
“Yeah, it’s just a scratch. Luckily I have a great medical plan. It’s called built-in werewolf healing,” he said, smiling, joking to let me know it was nothing serious.
“It’s great that you all are in love, but we need to get moving. They’re already well past this step, and we need to stop them,” Faus said, slinging his backpack over his shoulders as he goaded us along.
