Kara dried her eyes on her sleeve. “Why not follow the road? Has the enemy been sighted on this side of the city?”
“No enemies yet, but the road will be clogged with refugees that could turn into a stampede if the fighting moves to this side of the city.” He put his hands on her shoulders and his face became grave. “You must be careful. There’re a lot of desperate folks out there and a sweet girl like you would be easy pickings for the more unsavory types.” He inclined his head toward the city. “All the guards are defending the walls and they won’t be able to help you if you run into trouble.”
“Thank you, my lord,” Kara replied. The innkeeper let go, and she went back to Aemon and winked. “Shall we get going?”
He scowled at the innkeeper and then followed Kara to one of the front windows. She peered through it, trying to see if Kahan was around. The crowd out front had grown, making it impossible to see beyond the people pressed up against the glass.
Giving up, she glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of a metal door at the back of the inn. She grabbed Aemon and started toward it. The rear side of the inn had no windows, which meant they’d have to open the door blind.
Reaching the door, Kara took a deep breath and opened it. Ducking to the side, she waited for the sound of running feet or any other indication Kahan was outside. When nothing happened, she nodded to Aemon and he bravely headed through the door. A moment later, he reappeared and motioned her out.
Once outside, she found herself in a deserted alley. Someone shouted from inside the inn. She jumped, then slammed the door shut in case it was Kahan.
Pulling her hood over her head, Kara quickly led Aemon along the alley. It ended at a narrow thoroughfare filled with people milling around arguing with one another about what to do.
Why weren’t the people heading toward Radashan Crevice? That seemed like the smart thing to do.
The two pushed their way through the crowd until they got to the edge of the hamlet. Pointing to a mushroom plantation, Kara said, “We need to head that way but it looks like we’ll be out in the open until we reach the other end of the fields.”
It was hard to tell what was on the far edge of the farm, as the ground seemed to drop away. Yet the cavern wall was a good three miles beyond. She saw no reason not trust the innkeeper’s directions. There must be something beyond the plantations.
Aemon stared out at the fields and grimaced. “There is no one out there. How are we supposed to blend into the crowd?”
Kara scanned the nearby people. Some were dressed in dark clothing and others carried weapons, though none wore masks over their faces. “We have to risk it. The innkeeper told me the road would be dangerous and that our best bet was to head this way.” She forced a grin. “Kahan might stick to the roads with everyone else, assuming we would too.”
Aemon chewed on a fingernail but followed her into the fields. The din of battle and frightened voices followed them as they ran away from the hamlet.
Another enemy projectile roared over the city and struck the roof of the cavern several hundred feet to their right. Jagged chunks of rock, stalactites and a glowing bacterial colony cascaded to the ground in a shower of phosphorescent debris.
The enemy is going to bring the whole roof down on us if they keep that up!
They arrived at the edge of the fields and found themselves overlooking a deep crevice filled with huge, colorful mushroom caps. Kara didn’t spare a moment to admire the view, as she caught sight of people fleeing the hamlet she’d just left.
Her heart lurched when she saw what had made the people flee. A group of dark figures had entered the hamlet and were attacking anyone not swift enough to get out of their way.
Kara grabbed Aemon by the arm and half dragged him down a winding path that led to the bottom of the crevice. When they were out of sight of the hamlet, she let him go but didn’t slow her pace. “Kahan was back there.”
Aemon glanced up the hill. “Did he see us?”
“I don’t think so.”
She touched the hilts of the two knives hidden in her cloak to reassure herself they were still there. Little good they’d be if Kahan found her.
As they continued down the path, the light became dimmer. Aemon relit the torch and held it over his shoulder, the flame spluttering as he ran.
Reaching the bottom of the crevice, the two raced under the canopy of brown mushroom caps twenty feet above their heads. The din of battle was muted, though the occasional thud of a projectile hitting something in the distance filtered down to them.
The forest floor was covered in roots, uneven rock—where the roots had broken through—and dirt that smelled of rot. Their progress slowed, but they pressed on without rest.
Peering up at the underside of the living fungal roof as she waited for Aemon to climb over a root, Kara shook her head in wonder. She’d never dreamed mushrooms could be so large. They were nearly as tall as the trees that grew under the powerful sacred lights in the Priest King’s garden. Like the trees, the stems of the mushrooms were so thick she wouldn’t have been able to encircle one with her arms.
From what Berda had once told her, the stems of the larger mushrooms were used to make torches or were cut into firewood. The stems could also be used in the construction of wealthy homes or important public buildings.
“At least we are alone down here,” Aemon puffed, sweat dripping from his face. “Maybe we can stop a moment to catch our breath.”
Kara leaned against one of the stems, weary and afraid but feeling somewhat comforted by the cloistered feel of the crevice. “This mushroom flesh feels like stone. How do they make them grow like this? The ones we eat are tiny and squishy.”
He collapsed to the ground beside her. When he spoke, it was between breaths. “I read a book by a brother of Ibilirith that claimed the ancients created them with something called genetics. I do not know what genetics is and the author did not either.”
“Maybe it’s magic.”
Aemon studied her, the corners of his mouth twisting upward. Then he giggled. “Sorry, I tried not to laugh, but how can you believe in magic? I stopped believing in that years ago.”
“Why wouldn’t I believe in magic? Lots of stories speak of it and there’s even an old woman in the Great Markets who sells magical scrolls and potions.”
“That woman sounds like she is profiting from other people’s...” He swallowed more laughter. “Sorry to say, but stupidity.”
Kara put her hands on her hips. “How do you know it’s not real? You can’t possibly know everything.”
“Have you seen any?”
“The artifact might be magical. That could explain why it made me sick when I tried to leave it behind.”
He stopped looking so amused. “No one has ever been able to conclusively prove magic exists, so I am certain there is another explanation for what the artifact does to you. We should not dismiss—”
Kara dove to the ground. Grabbing Aemon, she pulled him onto his belly. “Quiet,” she whispered. “I saw something.” She tried to swallow her fear but failed. Her voice quivered. “It looked like one of the things attacking the city!”
He covered the torch in dirt to extinguish it. They peered ahead, trying to catch a glimpse of movement but couldn’t see much in the low light.
Then something thudded onto the mushroom cap above their heads. Freezing, Kara held her breath, not daring to move. An unnerving silence fell upon them, and seconds seemed to become hours. Then a burst of sound—like a cat hissing—filled the air. It went on for several seconds, then fell silent.
Kara felt an almost overwhelming urge to get up and run. Somehow, she managed to resist and keep still. Aemon’s mouth opened and closed, but he seemed to be able to keep a lid on his fear.
Then they saw it.
The metal creature leapt through the air and latched onto a mushroom stem fifty feet in front of them. It had four long, spindly arms that ended in hooks, which were buried in the flesh of the fungus
. A strange conical head with two large, circular red eyes swiveled from side to side, as if searching for something.
Its gaze passed over where Kara and Aemon were hidden and then moved on. Evidently, not finding what it was searching for, the beast leapt to the next stem and then the next until it disappeared into the distance.
Maybe it hadn’t seen them, or perhaps it hadn’t cared that they were there. Either way, it was gone. Kara dug her fingers into the moist, pungent dirt. What if it comes back?
They waited a long time before they were brave enough to move again. “I do not know what that was,” Aemon said, never taking his eyes off where the creature had gone. “It certainly was not human, nor like any animal I recall ever seeing.”
Kara felt a chill creep down her spine. “Let’s get out of here in case it returns.”
It took close to an hour to make their way through the forest and emerge out the other side. They were close to the cavern wall, in a wide valley spreading along the edge of the cavern. The battle still raged in the distance, the odd boom or crack echoing around them.
They continued their journey to the pillar and passed a group of houses built around a small lake, lit only by the bacterial colonies growing on the cavern roof. Behind the houses were a dozen small boats moored to a wharf, and a drying rack with several fish hanging from it.
Then Kara saw the bodies.
The people who’d made their home here were dead, along with their animals. Around the bodies, blood had pooled into rivulets on the rocky ground. Limbs, torn from their sockets, had been tossed around carelessly, some landing on the roofs of the houses. The back of one man’s head had been splattered against the side of a house, spraying blood and brain all over it.
Had the metal beast they’d seen in the mushroom crevice killed these people? Or had it been Kahan? What purpose did butchering innocent people serve?
Kara felt sick and almost brought up what little she had left in her stomach. She’d seen a lot of death lately. Did it ever get any easier?
Aemon paled, and refused to look at the bodies. She felt a pang of sorrow for him. He had also seen too much death since meeting her.
They avoided the homes and made their way through the paddocks, hurrying toward the distant granite pillar. Only when Kara was safe would she let herself take a moment to come to grips with what they’d seen.
An hour later, they neared the pillar. Heading toward the entrance to Radashan Crevice, they found hundreds of refugees gathering on the road in front of a guardhouse built into the formidable ten-foot-high stone wall. Part of the wall was overshadowed by thick electrical cables that ran from the city to the edge of the cavern.
“This road leads into the sacred crevice.” Aemon pointed at the iron portcullis blocking their way. “But unless that gate opens, we are stuck here.”
Kara ran her eyes over the barrier in front of them. Did they come all this way to be blocked by a gate?
She’d climb the wall if she had to.
Beyond the wall, the entrance to the crevice loomed. It was brightly lit by dozens of small sacred lights, their glow making the entrance glitter like gold. Huge tapestries depicting the sigils of each Divine hung on wires above it.
Lydan’s silver shield, Ibilirith’s light bulb, Roryur’s healing herbs and the last, Dwaycar’s—the Divine spoken of only in hushed whispers. His sigil was the mark of a betrayer, a knife sticking out of the back of a heart.
Hundreds of refugees were still gathering at the guardhouse. Others were strewn out along the road all the way back to the city. It seemed everyone now planned to escape the battle through Radashan Crevice.
Kara and Aemon joined the people gathering at the guardhouse, the air hazy with smoke. A heated argument was taking place.
“You’ve got to let us through,” an old woman was saying. “The tunnel to the capital is under attack and there’s no other way for us to escape the fighting.”
A female officer flanked by four spear-men stood in front of the metal door leading into the guardhouse. She addressed the growing crowd, but the chorus of frightened voices almost drowned her out. “I order you to leave. You were told to flee via the Limestone Caves.”
“To the dark with ya, woman,” a sour-faced man yelled back. “We just told ya, the Limestone Caves is being attacked. Are ya deaf or somefen?”
“I don’t care. Radashan Crevice is sacred to the divines and must not be desecrated by those of lowly—”
Her proclamation was cut off by jeers and insults.
Another man shouted, “We’re not thieves, but simple god-fearing folk who will respect the holy shrines of the divines. For blessed Roryur’s sake, let us pass.”
A woman held up a baby. “I don’t want my daughter to die.”
Loud booms erupted from back at the city. The crowd waited for the sound to die down, then the argument renewed with more urgency.
“There’s no other way out,” another woman cried, her voice sharp with panic.
People in the front ranks of the crowd edged closer to the soldiers. The female officer put a hand on her sword hilt. “Stay back, all of you. Our orders—”
“To the Great Dark with ya orders,” a barrel-chested man said. “Let us pass or we’ll bloody fight our way through.”
Kara and Aemon exchanged glances. Things could turn violent fast.
As more refugees arrived, some of the more desperate people hefted makeshift weapons of cooking pots and farming implements. The female officer drew her sword, while her companions leveled their spears and formed a shield wall in front of her. Rocks and worse began to pelt them as the soldiers backed toward the guardhouse door.
A loud rumble in the distance made everyone stop and turn back toward the city. Kara put a hand over her mouth and froze. The precipice on which stood the great stone castle of Deep Cave was breaking apart, sending thousands of tons of rock and metal cascading down onto the city.
The roar of falling stone and crumbling buildings boomed so loud that Kara covered her ears, gritting her teeth in pain. The stone walls surrounding the city started breaking apart as they withered under another sustained barrage of fire. Hundreds of soldiers ran along the defenses to escape, but disappeared as the wall fell apart under their feet.
The metal beasts destroyed the whole city! How could they do such a thing? The evil...
Long after the last tower had fallen into ruin, the sound of the dying city echoed off the cavern walls as if the ancient stone itself mourned its passing.
The sacred lights throughout the cavern began to go out. The power cables running over Kara’s head strained as they were wrenched toward the city, the mushroom-stem poles they were hanging from tilting sideways as the cables threatened to rip them from the ground.
Aemon pulled Kara away just as the cables snapped. An eruption of sparks exploded from the ends of the broken wire, showering those unfortunate enough to not get out of the way in time.
People screamed as they fled the sparks, slapping at their clothes as they caught fire. The sacred lights strung up around the guardhouse flickered, but remained lit. Light still flooded from the entrance to Radashan Crevice.
But for how long?
A billowing cloud of dust and smoke rapidly spread beyond the destroyed city, extinguishing the dimming light still visible from the bacterial colonies on the cavern roof.
“By the divines, they’ve destroyed everything,” someone cried.
The refugees turned back to the soldiers at the keep door. Deep Cave was destroyed, along with the army defending it. Now nothing stood between them and the mysterious enemy. If that didn’t make the officer let them pass, nothing would.
The officer slowly lowered her sword as she stared into the darkness where the city once stood. She looked defeated. Ash and dust began to blanket them, choking the air with the pulverized remnants of the dead city.
It didn’t take long for the officer to come to a decision. She called out to someone inside the guardhouse. A momen
t later, the portcullis began to rise.
As the crowd flooded toward Radashan Crevice, Kara and Aemon were swept along with it. Before they got to the entrance, Kara grabbed Aemon’s hand to make sure she didn’t lose him.
He was all she had.
Chapter 8
AEMON
The crowd took them into the thirty-foot-wide Radashan Crevice. Aemon held tightly onto Kara’s hand as the press of bodies grew. All he could do was hold her and try to prevent one of them from falling. The few who had fallen were quickly trampled underfoot, their wails of anguish lost to the sound of stomping feet.
He glanced back at the billowing dust cloud smothering the entrance to the crevice. Deep Cave was gone. A city that had stood for years beyond count, reduced to rubble in hours.
Unbelievable.
Someone elbowed him in the ribs. It was a young woman clutching a baby, her face covered in dirt and streaked with tears. She seemed to be in shock, her eyes glazed and her hands shaking. Deep Cave had been her home and now it was gone. Maybe her loved ones were gone too.
The young woman’s look reminded Aemon of his late grandfather Rodnie, a veteran of the Second War of the Abyss. He had that same look sometimes, the look of someone who had seen things that would forever torment him.
Aemon took out a silver coin and tried to give it to the woman, but she ignored him. Not giving up, he slipped it into the baby’s blanket so she would find it later.
He wanted to blame someone for her loss, the enemy—whatever they were—foremost. But the young woman would have known conflict long before the enemy had come along to finish off the destruction of the city. The true blame fell on the shoulders of the noble houses of Deep Cave. Why had they not gotten everyone out days ago, back when the first group of refugees had fled through the Limestone Caves?
Each house had likely been too busy working out if they could somehow use the enemy against the other noble house, and neither had come to their senses until it was too late.
Heir to a Lost Sun: A Caverns of Stelemia Novel Page 12
