Forged Steel

by H A Titus

  I grabbed it as I scanned the area. Boulders and chunks of rusting metal lay scattered around me, spilling from a rocky wall a football field's length away. I watched the area, waiting to see a flicker of movements, but the debris field appeared empty. I just hoped it really was empty, and that nothing nasty was just waiting for me to turn my back before it charged.

  "Anything?" Eliaster hissed.

  "Nope, I think we're good."

  "Great. Here comes our gear."

  Eliaster and Larae's backpacks came over, then my messenger bag, treated much more carefully than the rest of the gear. Dywor came clambering over next.

  Larae came after him, and a few seconds after she hit the ground, David's backpack came sailing over the wall. The fence shuddered, and his head appeared with a grunt. He rolled over the top and landed heavily on our side.

  "Well, that wasn't too hard. I'd thought we would have more trouble with a guard patrol," David said, grabbing his backpack.

  Eliaster flipped himself over the fence and landed in a crouch beside Larae.

  "Hard part starts here," Dywor said, jerking his head at the boulders. "Lots of hiding places. Be alert."

  "He's right—we'll have to keep on our toes." Eliaster rubbed his palm on the hilt of a sword.

  "Sounds like it'll be a nice jaunt in the park," I muttered.

  There was a slight incline of loose gravel leading up to the cavern's edge. The gravel, mostly made up of rocks the size of my palm, turned and slid underfoot as we walked, making me constantly shift and throw my arms out for balance.

  As we drew closer to the cavern wall, I realized the lower half of the wall was made up of huge pieces of rock. Jagged edges created fissures and overhangs, making the entire thing look like a pile of blocks ready to tumble down on us. Dywor led us to a deep black rip in the collapse and stepped inside without a word.

  Eliaster paused and glanced back. I followed his gaze. The globes over the city shone bright, and from the slight rise we stood on, we could see over the fence into the Chicago Market, golden and glittering with flairs of brilliant color. For a moment, I wished I could go back, sit with Aifric, and forget about this stupid quest. From the tight lines around Eliaster's eyes and mouth, it seemed he was thinking the same thing.

  "Are you coming?" Larae asked.

  I turned around. She stood just inside the passage, half-turned toward us. In the beam of her flashlight, I could see Dywor and David waiting.

  Eliaster sighed. "Yeah. You first, Josh."

  We wound single file through the passage, twisting and ducking to avoid the rocks and timbers that protruded in odd spots. The flashlights flickered and made weird shadows on the wall. Gravel crunched underfoot, and our breaths sounded loud in the claustrophobic space. The taste and smell of dust clogged my nose and mouth.

  After some time, the passage widened and started becoming more like a maze, with tunnels branching out from ours. At times the roof was supported with single boulders. Here and there, I caught glimpses of painted, sculpted wood or stone, the last shreds of the grandeur before the Chicago Fire.

  Eliaster moved to the head of the line beside Dywor. As we walked, snatches of their conversation echoed back to me. Eliaster was explaining everything we knew about the relic and the cipher to the sniffer.

  "What's he doing?" I asked Larae.

  "Sniffers need clear pictures in their heads of what they're searching for. Don't ask me how they do it."

  Her answer reminded me of what Opti and Eliaster had said regarded Opti's sword-smithing. "So, in essence, magic?"

  She smiled. "You humans always call what you don't understand 'magic'."

  Thanks a lot. "What would you call it?"

  "One of the most wonderful things the fae ever discovered."

  That was way different than the answers Eliaster and Opti had given. Why would she have that kind of attitude toward it, when the others didn't seem to want to talk about it at all? I shrugged. Maybe it had to do with different kinds of upbringing.

  Dywor broke into a jog, his nose angled into the air like a hunting dog. We hurried after him. After a few minutes at that pace, I fell behind, only able to see the others by their bobbing flashlights.

  Before long, we ran into an area where the floor was made up of huge boulders, probably several tons each. We had to jump from rock to rock, over gaps either big enough to swallow us or just big enough to break a leg in. In some places smaller rubble filled the gaps, but those stones were an awkward size—not small or big enough to walk on, but just right to wrench an ankle.

  Our flashlights danced and bounced on the walls and disappeared ahead of us into the dark tunnels. Occasionally a flashlight beam caught the open end of a tunnel—or worse, something darting across the tunnel opening. Every time a shadow moved, my heart felt like it had been zapped with a defibrillator.

  I'm not sure how long we lasted like this. It must have been several hours before we came to a sort of clearing nestled down among the rocks and Eliaster called a halt. I staggered to a stop, dropped my bag on the floor, and rested my hands on my thighs.

  "Right, let's get a fire going and set up camp for the night," Eliaster said, dumping his backpack on the ground.

  Larae raised her eyebrows. "Do you really think a fire is a good idea?"

  "Do you really believe in ghouls?" Eliaster smirked.

  Larae looked at Dywor. "You're the sniffer. Back me up."

  He shrugged. "Smelled more than rats, but it's old. Could be nothing. No reason to deny ourselves a hot meal at this stage of the trip."

  "He's probably right, Larae," David said.

  She huffed. "Fine. Just to prove to you that I'm not scared, Eliaster, I'll go gather firewood. And if any misguided male tries to follow me, he's going to get kicked in an unpleasant place."

  "Yikes," I muttered.

  "Shut up." She slugged me in the arm and stomped away.

  David, Eliaster, and Dywor opened their backpacks and started going through them, pulling out silver packages of dehydrated food. I hadn't carried any of the food, so I sat down with my back against a boulder and pulled out my cell phone. No reception down here, of course. There was only one new notification, a text from my sister Lindsay. I opened it.

  Hey bro. Haven't talked for a while. Doing ok?

  That was it. Short and simple. Typical Lindsay.

  I sighed and held the power button down until my phone screen turned black. She was just going to have to wait for an answer until I got aboveground again. I should've called my family before we went to Chicago. My chest panged with a guilty ache at the thought. Would I ever see my family again? How was I going to explain this to them?

  "Hey, Josh." David chucked a tiny, rolled sleeping bag at me. "I brought an extra."

  "Thanks." I set my phone aside and unrolled the sleeping bag.

  Larae came back into the clearing with an armful of splintered wood. "There's plenty of it scattered around here," she said. "I'll go get some more."

  David glanced at me and jerked his head after Larae.

  "Why me?" I mouthed.

  "She won't hurt you because you wouldn't be a fair fight."

  I sighed and followed Larae. Our camp was set up in a little valley, cupped between several boulders that towered far over my head. Smaller rocks, still larger than me, filled in the gaps between these boulders.

  I slid between a gap in the rocks, expecting to find Larae waiting for me on the other side, but she'd disappeared. She could have taken any of half a dozen little paths that snaked through the boulders, choked with rocks and splinters big enough to impale a troll.

  "Larae?" I called, cringing. I half expected her to jump out at me any second with a drawn blade.

  No one answered.

  A stone skittered along the floor, coming to a stop beside my foot.

  "Eliaster?" I called.

  "Back here. Whatcha need?"

  His voice echoed around the cavern so much that I couldn't tell which direction it wa
s coming from—ahead of me, or behind me at the fire. Was he moving around, looking for me? I hesitated, listening hard for another sound—a scuff of shoe along rock, a gentle breath. Where was Larae?

  "Okay, Larae," I said, fitting my hand around my sword hilt. "It's not funny!"

  "Josh?" Eliaster called again.

  "Never mind!" I yelled back. Where had she gone?

  "Why don't you come back to the fire?"

  I shook off the advice, squinting into the gloom. That rock could have fallen from the walls—that would have been easy enough, since they were crumbling.

  Another pebble skittered by my foot.

  Okay, now that was stretching it a little. As much as I was tired of Eliaster trying to keep me on a short leash, I decided that maybe he was right. By the fire would be safer.

  I turned back and rounded the chunk of concrete that stood between me and the firelight. Eliaster and David lounged beside the fire, David cleaning his pistol, Eliaster holding a penlight between his teeth as he turned the pages of a book. Dywor wasn't around, presumably out gathering firewood like I was supposed to have been.

  "See?" I held out my arms. "I'm fine. All back in one piece, Mom."

  Eliaster took the penlight from his mouth. "Forget it. Just stick around here and let Larae fend for herself."

  David sighted down the barrel of his pistol. "That's a gentlemanly attitude for sure."

  "Here's a thought. How about you go with her next time, David? Give you two time to cuddle in the shadows when you think no one's looking." Eliaster redirected his penlight at his book.

  I raised my eyebrows. So he had noticed their weirdly intimate behavior over the last couple of days.

  David glanced at me and mimed throttling Eliaster.

  I gave a weak smile and flopped down on my sleeping bag. No need to get mixed up in another one of their spats again. The black screen of my phone glinted in the flashlight glow. I grabbed it and started to stuff it in my bag when a flicker on the screen caught my eye.

  The screen reflected Eliaster and David's lights, and in the reflection I could make out the outline of the boulders behind me. A lumpy outline, darker than the rock around it, crept forward toward me.

  I slowly reached for my sword, keeping both eyes on the reflection. Two eyes glinted from the shadow. "Hey, guys?"

  The shape leapt forward. I whirled, my sword at the ready. It slammed into my chest, throwing me onto my back. One hand grabbed my wrist, a clawed finger digging into my knuckles and sending a spike of pain through my hands. I dropped my sword and, at the same time, kicked. The fae-like thing rocked back, but not enough for me to get free. I glanced over at David and saw him go down, buried in a tangle of rag-clad figures.

  Eliaster's back was to me, his hands around the throat of the monster that had tried to attack him, pinning it to the rock. Over his head, I could see another figure crouching on the edge of the rock.

  "Eliaster!" I shouted.

  My attacker clamped a clammy palm to my mouth, digging his fingers into my cheeks, making my eyes water.

  Eliaster jumped back, but not fast enough. The monster dropped on his shoulders, knocking him flat. Eliaster squirmed onto his back, throwing up an arm as the thing's teeth flashed at his throat. His cry of pain echoed off the rocks. Even before it had released his arm, the thing's hands were around his throat, thumbs pressing into his esophagus. Eliaster curled, slamming his knees into its back, but it wasn't letting go so easily.

  "Stop!" a voice called out.

  Eliaster's attacker froze and I got a good look at it.

  It was a fae—a pale, hollow shade of a fae, with bulging eyes and flaccid skin. Rags wound around its pale limbs and made it look eerily like a bad version of The Mummy. Another fae stepped into the light. He looked pretty much the same as the one kneeling on Eliaster's chest.

  Eliaster gagged and slapped at the hands still choking him.

  "Let him speak."

  Eliaster jerked his head back and drew in a rasping breath. "Thank the Almighty."

  "Is that all?" the tall fae asked.

  I glanced over at David. Three fae pinned him down, busily wrapping rope around his wrists and ankles. He stayed still, his eyes darting back and forth around the cavern. Was he looking for Larae? I tucked my chin to my chest, trying to see the other side of the clearing. Dywor was there, pinned down by two other fae, but Larae was nowhere to be seen.

  Eliaster tried to sit up, but the fae wasn't moving. "Look, I think this is a mistake. We were just passing through—we didn't know anyone still lived in the Lost Tunnels."

  "That knowledge is unknown for a reason." The tall fae clapped his hands. "Bind them. They will make good, fresh meat for our stores."

  Fresh meat? What the—

  Eliaster's eyes widened. "What? Whoa, hold it—"

  The fae jammed a wad of cloth into his mouth.

  The leader glanced at me, and his eyebrows quirked upward. In long strides, he crossed the clearing and grabbed my hair, jerking me up to look into his eyes. I glared at him. He touched the corner of my left eye, then fingered my ear. His clammy touch turned my stomach. Bile hit the back of my throat and I swallowed hard. His chapped lips split into a grin, dried blood in the corners of his mouth cracking.

  He stepped back, twisting my head to the side so my ear was exposed.

  "A human!" one of the fae whispered in a soft, awed tone, the same tone an alcoholic might use in talking about his favorite booze.

  "A human," the leader confirmed. "We will feast well tonight, my brothers."

  The fae holding me reached out and pinched my upper arm, licking his lips.

  That was it.

  I wrenched my arms free and whirled, slamming my knuckles into the fae's mouth. He staggered back, blood dripping down his face. Pain shot through my hand. I sprinted across the clearing and dove into the fae pinning Eliaster down. We rolled head over heels. Clawed nails raked across my face, one scraping across my eye. I tucked my head down, grunting.

  Eliaster's kick sent the fae flying, just as another fae launched onto his back and dragged him to the ground. A hand landed on my shoulder. I didn't even look, just slammed myself backward, crunching the fae between me and a boulder.

  "Josh, stop!" David shouted. "Eliaster! Don't make them hurt you!"

  Yeah, right. Like I was going to sit still while these guys talked about me like I was a prime rib. I spun around.

  A heavy, thudding pain burst in the back of my head. Stars sparked in my eyes. I dropped to my knees, tried to shake away my tunneling vision. Something cracked into my head again, and the last thing I saw was the ground inches from my face.

  #

  "Josh."

  Someone kicked my leg. My eyelids fluttered, and I caught quick, photographic glimpses of a rocky ceiling, lit by firelight—a face, leaning over me—

  "Josh!"

  Another kick caught my shin, and the pain sharpened my senses. I shook my head to stop the fluttering eyelids, and a throbbing ache awoke like a monster at the back of my skull.

  I barely turned my head, afraid to move any more.

  David leaned over me. "You idiot. Just had to show off your new fighting skills, didn't you?"

  "What happened?"

  "A crow-taken fae clobbered you in the back of the head with your own sword."

  I focused past him. Bars formed a grid pattern over our heads. I eased myself upright, wincing as the pounding in my head intensified. We sat in a cage that was pressed against one wall in a huge cavern, big enough to contain several football fields. Eliaster slumped against the bars beside me, head lolling to one side. His face was bruised and dried blood crusted his nose and lips.

  I gingerly patted my face. On the back of my neck, a thin trail of dried blood crumbled under my fingertips. My t-shirt collar felt stiff. Other than that, I didn't feel any injuries. "They were much more precise with me than with Eliaster."

  "You've still probably got a concussion. Besides, they're not going to
beat up the ones who are most valuable," David said. "Here, look at me."

  I obeyed him. He clicked on a penlight and shone it into my eyes. I squinted and cringed, but forced my eyes to stay open.

  "Eliaster was stupid," David muttered. "Should've just let them take him rather than putting up so much of a fight. The loss of one fae wouldn't hurt them." He clicked off the light. "Okay, you're good. Just be careful."

  Something moved in the shadows past Eliaster, and Dywor's drawn face appeared from a corner of the cage. He stared at me, then leaned back and fumbled at the pocket of his army jacket.

  As my head slowly stopped pounding, I realized that we weren't the only occupants of the cage. We had our own little bubble of space, but pressed against the other side of the cage sat five or six other fae. Every few seconds, one of them would flick a glance at us, but for the most part we were studiously ignored.

  I looked at David and jerked my head at them. "What's up with them?"

  "We have humans in our group." Dywor had found what he wanted in his pocket—a limp, stained cloth pouch. He opened it, dug inside, and came up with tiny crumbs which he sprinkled in his mouth. "Not good, not good. Running out," he muttered under his breath. "Not good."

  "How about some focus on our situation, rager?" David growled.

  I looked around the cage again and realized there was still one face missing. "Where's Larae?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

  "Never saw her," David murmured. "They didn't bother looking for more prey, once they found out you and I were human. What's a fellow fae when you have humans?"

  "That's the second time you've alluded to something. What aren't you saying?" I said.

  Eliaster groaned. I leaned over him. He moved his head from side to side, but his eyes didn't open.

  David cleared his throat. "A few years ago, I heard some rumors about fae that believed if they ate humans—specifically, human brains—they would be human-smart."

  "Human-smart?"

  "You've noticed that the fae hardly touch technology? When they do bother with it, it's always the simplest stuff they can find. Technology tends to go a little haywire around them. I've seen Eliaster blow up a perfectly good laptop just trying to log into email—though, granted, he's worse than any other fae I've seen. Most fae simply can't seem to wrap their minds around how technology works."