Kara flattened herself on the ground just as the mushroom’s body passed over her head.
Whoosh!
Her bangs lifted off her forehead in its wind, and a bit of earth spattered on her face. She rolled over and jumped to her feet brandishing her sword.
Her friends were already in combat.
Jenny kicked at a large mustard—yellow mushroom creature and leapt over it just as it tried to wrap its limbs around her ankle.
“It’s an ambush! What kind of magic is this?” she screamed as she hit the mushroom with her bow and it snapped back with an angry mouth.
“We should have packed frying pans instead of daggers,” yelled David as he hacked away at a blue and white polka dot mushroom. “We could have stopped for lunch.”
More mushroom creatures shot out from the darkness and surrounded Peter. He jumped back in surprise and hit at the attacking beasts desperately with his moonstone.
“Kara!”
She heard David’s scream before she saw that he was surrounded by a mass of swirling mushrooms. “Get out of here! Run back to the entrance and get out!”
Crazed mushrooms launched themselves from the shadows and attacked him from every side. He hacked away at their limbs with his soul blade, but the ground trembled and responded by sprouting more of its creatures. For every one David cut, ten more thrashed out at him. There were just too many.
But Kara wasn’t about to give up—too much depended on her. She took courage from her friends and jumped into the fray with the violent mushroom beasts. She hacked and whacked with all her mortal strength. With every hit of her soul blade, her bones reverberated all the way to her chattering teeth. But she didn’t give up. She screamed in rage as she cut, kicked, punched, and pulled at every giant vegetable that came near her friends.
“It’s a trap!” cried David as he kicked back at a large purple maw that tried to puncture his abdomen. “The witches sent us to our deaths! They’ll wish they’d been separated at birth when I get through with them.”
“Then why don’t you find us a way to escape, genius,” said Kara breathlessly.
David jumped over the tangled mess of snapping chops. The moonstone’s light bounced off the black cave walls as he ran. He was covered in black earth. He fought his way through the tangle of mushrooms and slipped into another passageway to the right side of the cave.
After a few seconds of silence, his voice rang out. “The cream—of—mushroom soup didn’t follow me. It’s clear! Come on guys—we can’t fight these things—hurry!”
His moonstone’s light wavered.
Kara waited for Peter and Jenny to make it through before she jumped over the mushroom militia and slipped into the network of underground tunnels. She landed softly next to Jenny and Peter who were dusting themselves off. They were a little shaken and covered in dirt, but otherwise they didn’t look harmed.
David inspected the new tunnel. “Mushrooms belong on pizza—they don’t normally grow arms and legs and want to eat us. First giant water fists, then man—eating mushrooms—what’s next? Killer carrot sticks? Actually, that would be really funny.”
He walked further down the passageway. The moonstone’s light made his blue eyes sparkle.
“Don’t get too comfortable,” said Kara. “I have a feeling we haven’t seen the worst of it yet.”
Peter adjusted his glasses. “The Fay sisters warned us about the cave—about the evil that was in here. They said it wouldn’t like the spirit walkers.”
“I don’t care what those stupid women said,” said Jenny. “I hate them.”
She flung her bow across her shoulders, and her face hardened. She looked at Kara questioningly. “Which way do we go now? There are more tunnels up to the right.”
Kara strained through the darkness. “Look, there’s light at the end of this tunnel. It could be a trap, but it could also lead us to the witch. I say we follow it. What do you—”
The rest of her words were lost as a sudden dark presence overcame her. It was a warning. She couldn’t shake off the feeling of danger. Her friends were in danger—she was sure of it. Whatever was inside this cave—she knew it would be the demise of the guardians—she would have to make them leave and go on alone.
“Uh...guys, I think you should go back,” said Kara.
She addressed her friends as calmly as she could. “I can feel something dangerous coming. The witches were right—this is suicide. Your souls are in danger in here.”
“Never,” David raised the tone of his voice. “I’m not abandoning you here in this freak show. It’s not going to happen.”
“David’s right.” Jenny squeezed Kara’s arm gently. “We knew what we were doing when we took the assignment. We knew the dangers.”
Kara shook her head. “But these dangers are not what we’re used to. This magic this is different. We’re not fighting against demons anymore. I should go in there alone. You can wait for me back at the entrance. I’m sure it’ll be fine—”
“Forget it.” David set his jaw. “You don’t have a choice. We’re coming with you and that’s the end of it.” He turned around but not before Kara saw the anger on his face. She felt a stab in her chest.
Jenny let go of her arm and smiled gently. “Like it or not, we’re coming with you.” Kara opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again. She knew it was no use to argue.
“Keep your eyes open for any more killer mushrooms.”
David lifted the moonstone and lit the path in white light again. He looked up the side of the passageway and raised his arms.
“We come in peace,” he said out loud. “Keep your broccoli and asparagus in their pots.”
Kara sighed. “Come on then, we have a date with a witch.”
They walked in silence. The cave looked identical everywhere. It was a labyrinth of underground tunnels. Water dripped and their treads echoed and were amplified by the cave until they sounded like the beating of drums.
Suddenly, the cave wall to their right was illuminated with spots of multicolored light. At first Kara thought they were minerals in the rock, but she soon realized that they were moving like glowing worms. They twisted and coiled around one another until they formed a series of symbols. Then they held themselves in position. They looked like words on a blackboard.
“Hang on,” said Kara as she halted. “Look—do these look like words to you?” She edged closer for a better look.
“Don’t get too close,” said Jenny suspiciously, “it’s probably another trap.”
Kara’s eyes widened. “I can read it...it says, ‘Spirit walkers beware. Go back if you value your soul.’”
“We already know that, cave.” David held the moonstone closer to the worms. “Tell us something we don’t know.”
The glowworms shifted and rolled and another series of words appeared.
“Beware of the witch,” read Peter. “This is fascinating. The cave walls are actually communicating with us. Clearly, they’ve been bewitched or something.”
“Really, you think?” said David sarcastically. “What—the killer fungi didn’t give it away. I hadn’t noticed them attacking us.”
Kara watched him take a slow step back to keep more distance between him and the glowing worms.
Kara agreed that this was some sort of magic. And yet, she wasn’t frightened by it. In fact, she felt drawn to it, curious as to how it all worked. The worms were cute, in a slimy way.
The letters shifted again and a new set of words appeared. “Watch out for the big rocks, spirit walkers,” read Kara.
She frowned and looked to the others. “What do you think that means? What rocks?” she searched the shadow covered path. “We’re in a cave—there are rocks everywhere. Do you guys see any big rocks that stand out from the others?”
“Nope.” David scanned the area with the moonstone. “The witch is toying with us. She’s probably watching us right now and having a good laugh. Come on out, witch!”
Pe
ter scratched his head. “It could be a clue...”
“I doubt that,” said Jenny, “considering the cave’s murderous intentions.”
Kara turned back to the sign. “What do you mean by big rocks? Can you tell us where they are? We don’t see any rocks?”
She stood waiting for a moment for the sign to change, but it didn’t. When it finally did shift, the words faded, and the worms disappeared back into cracks in the wall as though the sign had never happened.
“So much for that,” said Jenny.
Kara shrugged. “Come on, let’s keep moving—”
BOOM!
The thick cave wall splintered in an explosion of dust and shards of rock. Two eight foot tall man—like creatures stepped out from the shadows. They were stocky and massive—if mountains could have offspring Kara decided they would be them. Their thick chests rose and fell with every breath, and instantly she knew they weren’t demons—they were magic forces sent by the witch.
Their crusty gray hide looked like stone. Like great apes, they moved slowly, as if they were struggling to move their stone bodies. The tallest and widest of the creatures held a battle—axe in his massive hand. The other dragged a spiked club. Their yellow eyes glowed with supernatural intelligence.
“Uh...guys,” said David. “Who called for reinforcements?”
In a great leap, the giants hurtled towards them.
Chapter 11
Attack of the rock—men
Marked, Soul Guardians Book 1 Page 119
