Perhaps she just needs more time, he thought sadly.
He lifted her head carefully from his chest to the pillow and stood up from the bed. He removed the shoes he’d slept in, stretched his arms, and went to the bathroom to wash up. When he returned, he found Kiara awake, sitting up on the bed.
“Hey,” she said groggily.
“Good morning,” Suriel said, forcing a smile.
“Well, I guess that wasn’t too bad, was it?”
“My sleep was satisfactory.”
“I was referring to the whole situation, but I’m glad you slept well.”
“We should get moving,” Suriel said abruptly, changing the subject. “Rio and Pete are probably waiting.”
Kiara paused, picking up on his passive aggression.
“Listen,” she said. “I’m sorry about all the drama I caused last night.”
“There is nothing to apologize for,” Suriel said, putting back on his shoes. “You have endured much suffering. You are allowed to mourn.”
“Well, I really appreciate what you did for me,” Kiara said. She stood up and walked over to where he stood, taking his hand. Suriel looked up from his shoes into her bright, orange eyes, his anger extinguished by her touch.
“It meant a lot to me,” she said softly, gazing up at him.
“As it did to me,” Suriel said, the fluttering returning to his heart. “And I meant every word I said.”
A warm, affectionate smile formed on Kiara’s lips, and Suriel matched it.
“Wake the hell up already!” a raspy voice echoed from the passageway, interrupting the moment.
The two of them broke into laughter.
“We’d better get moving before Rio throws a fit,” Kiara giggled.
“And there’s still the matter of getting past that Decrepit,” Suriel said. He regretted it immediately as Kiara’s smile faded, and the mood dampened.
“You’re right,” she said, rushing to the bathroom. “I’ll be ready in a minute.”
After brushing up, Kiara returned to the bedroom, walking to the opening of the passageway.
“Rio, you there?” she shouted inside.
“Been waiting an hour,” he replied.
“Can we come over?” Pete’s voice chimed in.
“Sure,” Kiara answered.
The sounds of footsteps reverberated down the tunnel walls until Pete and Rio emerged from the opening on the floor.
“Well, I’ll be damned…” Rio shook his head, waving his lazy eye about the room. “You sure took the better room. Must’ve slept like babies.”
“Or not at all,” Pete chuckled naughtily, raising an eyebrow.
“Not funny,” Kiara growled, rolling her eyes. Suriel blushed, shooting Pete a threatening glare.
“Are we ready to leave?” Suriel asked.
“Yep, only one problem,” Rio explained. “That creeper waited all night for us, and he brought along a few friends.”
“That’s why we’re here,” Pete continued. “We were hopin’ to fool them with an ol’ trick. The good ol’ fashion knock n’ run.”
Pete opened the door connecting the bedroom and the nourishment chamber, checking that the coast was clear, then continued to the hallway door.
“Wait,” Kiara stopped him. Pete turned around and looked at her curiously. “You and Rio should go wait in the other bedroom. Suriel and I will get their attention over here and then run over to meet you. We are the fastest, so it’ll save time.”
Pete considered the idea, then nodded approvingly.
“Well then,” Rio said, heading back through the passageway. “See ya’ on the other side.”
“Hurry,” Pete said, then followed him in.
“I have an idea that can buy us even more time,” Kiara whispered to Suriel once Pete and Rio had disappeared through the tunnel.
“The hologram?” Suriel asked.
“Exactly.”
“You are as brilliant as you are beautiful,” Suriel smiled, uttering the words just as he realized how corny and revealing they sounded.
Kiara smirked as his face grew red. “Get the show started, Your Highness,” she winked. “I’m gonna go use this ‘beauty’ to catch the eyes of some unholy creatures.”
As Kiara hurried through the nourishment chamber to the hallway door, Suriel lay down on the bed and closed his eyes, trying to activate the holographic display.
Kiara peeked into the hallway, checking for any surprise guests, then opened the door fully and stepped outside. She took a deep breath and fed the heat in her body, feeling it pulse through her arms to her hands, where she used it to break the atomic bonds within molecules, releasing energy in the form of heat.
“Hey, uglies!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. “Come and get some!”
She sprayed fire in all directions, setting the hallway aflame, then waited. After a few moments, she made out a pack of a dozen dark, shadowy creatures racing towards her. She jolted back into the chamber and sprinted back into the bedroom, making sure to leave the door open. Suriel was waiting by the passageway entrance, and the holograms had begun dancing.
“Let’s go!” Kiara cried, and they ran full speed down the tunnel.
When they reached the second bedroom, Rio and Pete were waiting by the outer exit.
“Did they all fall for it?” Kiara asked.
“One way to find out,” Pete answered, and he opened the door to the nourishment chamber. The coast was clear, and he let out a sigh of relief.
“Let’s move!” Rio said urgently. They scrambled through the chamber and out the other side into the hallway, then headed the rest of the way back to the misty, red doorway.
“Let’s go before they see us!” Rio said.
“This better work,” Pete gulped, and he slid open the glass. He took a step, and then another until his entire body was swallowed by the smoky, red substance.
“Hey guys,” he called from inside. “It’s not that ba-”
Mid-sentence, Pete’s voice disappeared.
“That’s not at all ominous,” Kiara muttered sarcastically.
“No time for fear,” Rio said, stepping in next. “See you wherever this goes…or doesn’t.”
As Rio disappeared behind the mist, Kiara and Suriel looked at one another, their hearts racing.
“We can do this,” Suriel said, gazing confidently into her eyes. He took her hand. “Together.”
Kiara nodded, and they stepped through the doorway. The mist was chilly and wet, yet when Kiara touched her hand to her neck, it was completely dry. She breathed in a mouthful of the substance, feeling it clog her lungs, creating an almost choking sensation. However, when she gasped for air, it came freely. Beginning to panic, she glanced around her but could see no one. She looked at her hand, where she could still feel Suriel’s touch, but he was nowhere to be found. There was only red smoke as far as the eye could see.
“Suriel,” she tried to say, but no sound left her lips, the words swallowed by the substance.
Despite the assault on her senses, she continued to walk as straight as she could manage. Suddenly, she lost her footing upon the slippery ground and fell forward onto her hands. Gasping for breath, she tried to remain calm as fear overtook her pounding heart. And then, she heard a voice.
“Raiden, don’t do this,” the voice said, deep and brimmed with emotion. “You have nothing to prove.”
Kiara looked up in surprise, trying to locate the source of the voice. Gazing through the mist, she managed to make out the faint shadow of a large man. A second shadow appeared beside it.
“I’m sorry,” the second shadow whispered in a voice all too familiar to Kiara.
“Raiden?” Kiara mouthed with wonder.
The second shadow sprinted away from the others.
“Raiden!” a third voice called out. “Find my sister!”
Kiara blinked, and the shadows disappeared. She forced herself back onto her feet and continued walking, this time in the direction of the sha
dows.
“Raiden?” she tried to say again, the words unable to leave her lips.
As she took another step, the mist suddenly dissipated. She collapsed forward, gasping for breath, but was caught by a steady pair of arms.
“You were in there a while,” Suriel said, smiling down at Kiara. “Got us worried.”
“Us?” Kiara panted, looking up at him. “Or you?”
Suriel chuckled, lifting Kiara back to her feet. “Me.”
Kiara returned Suriel’s smile, then looked at Pete and Rio, who were waiting for her in the white, stone room, arms crossed.
“Hey,” she said. “Did you guys see anything strange in there?”
“I thought I saw a monster through the mist,” Rio said eerily.
“Really?” Kiara asked, eyes widening.
“Turns out, it was just Pete’s ugly face on the other side.”
“Hey,” Pete protested jokingly, elbowing his friend.
“Ugh, you guys are useless,” Kiara muttered, rolling her eyes.
“Why, did you see something?” Suriel asked her, his voice sincere.
Kiara opened her mouth, then hesitated.
“You know what, it was nothing. Probably just my imagination.”
Dropping the subject, she turned around and inspected her new surroundings. They were in a small antechamber made of polished stone tiles. The ceiling was high, and royal, red draperies hung down along the walls. Bowls of fire sat along the periphery between the draperies, illuminating the room, similar to the hallway they’d come from. The room was empty, other than the iron door on the other side.
“Shall we?” Pete asked, gesturing towards the next door.
The others followed him across the antechamber. When they reached the door, Suriel walked to the front of the group and read the inscription.
“Ready for the next directions?” he asked.
“Go for it,” Kiara answered.
“Between the legs of the old king’s throne, guide the Nexus through the unknown. But only the human prince and his nemesis, can pass on through to the Chamber of Genesis,” Suriel read. He turned to face his friends.
“Does this make sense to anyone?”
“Nope,” Pete answered. “Well, not yet at least. Let’s go take a look.”
Suriel opened the door into a vast chamber, similar in design to the smaller antechamber. A series of stone steps led up to a towering, golden throne at the far end of the room. The sides of the wall were lined with a series of tall, sculpted pillars, between which were situated a plethora of misty, red sliding doors.
“Great,” Kiara sighed. “More of those things.”
“By the time we try each one, our access will wear off,” Rio pointed out.
As they gazed around the room, Pete climbed the stairs to the throne and inspected it.
“Between the legs,” he murmured to himself, noticing the throne did not have legs but was instead a solid block of gold.
“Suriel,” Pete called. “Get over here.”
Suriel looked up from his conversation with Kiara and Rio and joined Pete.
“Do me a favor and get up there, will ya’?” Pete requested.
“Me?” Suriel asked, looking up cautiously at the ancient throne of the God King.
“Well, you’re the royal prince, ain’tcha?”
Suriel shrugged, then lifted himself onto the golden seat, his legs dangling off the edge.
“Now, hold your legs still.”
Pete placed his decoder exactly between Suriel’s legs. Sure enough, the device began to beep, sensing an electrical signal.
“That wasn’t there before,” Pete thought out loud. “Must’ve only activated when you sat down.”
He typed a few lines of code into his decoder, and a small, square flap on the throne’s gold casing opened outwards, revealing an iron latch underneath.
“What is it?” Rio asked, intrigued as everyone gathered around Pete.
“I-think-it’s,” Pete spouted as he struggled vainly to turn the latch with each word. “Some-kinda’-secret-door.” Finally, Pete stepped back, panting.
“Whew,” he exhaled. “That thing ain’t movin’.”
Rio pointed a hand at the latch and focused his magnetic powers to turn it, but for some reason, he couldn’t get a hold.
“Let me try,” Suriel offered, hopping down from the throne.
As soon as Suriel placed his hand on the metal, his amulet began to shine.
“Um, Suriel,” Kiara said as he pushed with all his might. “You’re amulet’s doing something.”
Ignoring his necklace, he Suriel his attempt, and sure enough, the handle began to turn. He moved it in a full circle, until finally, with a resonating clang, it fell into place. Not a moment after, one of the red doorways lit up.
“Showoff,” Rio grunted, watching Suriel with a raised eyebrow. “We loosened it.”
“Something tells me we need to take that door,” Kiara said, walking towards the light.
“Can’t argue with that,” Rio said, and he slid the glass open and walked inside, followed by Pete.
Kiara hesitated, dreading to repeat the experience.
“It’s okay,” Suriel told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You can do this.”
Kiara nodded, then walked into the red mist. Instead of walking, this time she ran, keeping her eyes closed.
It’ll be over in a minute, she thought. It’ll be over in-
“Oh, dear, oh dear,” a voice called from beside her. It sounded like an old man.
Kiara opened her eyes but saw no one.
“Who are you? Is something wrong?” she mouthed out.
“He broke the doorway, that dastardly Shadow,” the man continued, sounding panicked. “Agius will be furious. Wait, is that him over there? Agius, is that you? And you’ve brought a guest! Let me show you to the chamber.”
Before Kiara could hear any more, she emerged from the mist.
As soon as she did, Rio’s hand clamped itself over her mouth. Her eyes widened in surprise, but before she could protest, Rio placed a silencing finger to his lips, and Kiara saw the fear and urgency in his eyes. She looked out as Rio released her mouth and pointed across the room.
They were in some kind of giant, rocky cave, pitch-black with only a single torch hanging by a chain from the ceiling to light the way. Hundreds of fossils of all shapes and sizes decorated the cave’s walls. Some of them looked similar to creatures Kiara recognized, while others were as mysterious as the beasts of fantasies. The floor of the cave, including the ground they stood on, was littered with a multitude of bones belonging to dozens of different species.
In the center of the cave floor was a large, circular pond. Its thick, luminescent waters cast an eerie, blue glow throughout the room. On the other side of the pond, near the shore, rested a creature more terrifying than Kiara’s darkest nightmares. The beast had the form of an enormous insect, a gruesome mix between scorpion and tarantula. Its shell-encased body was lined with a layer of white, blood-stained fur, and five long, jagged legs protruded from each side, along with a pair of sharp, pincered arms. The creature had no eyes, but rather its mouth took up the entirety of its face, armed with hundreds of razor-sharp teeth.
Kiara’s eyes widened, her heart raced with fear. She glanced behind her, hoping to return back to the throne room, but to her dismay, the doorway was gone, and Pete and Suriel were nowhere to be found.
Kiara jumped, startled as the creature shifted in its sleep, its pincers splashing against the water. The beast seemed to have dozed off while taking a drink, its mouth inches from the rippling pool.
“The others?” Kiara whispered as softy as she possibly could.
Rio shook his head in disappointment. He pointed to the area behind the creature, where Kiara could barely make out an opening through the cave.
Of course, it has to be on the other side of the monster, she thought sarcastically.
Rio raised his eyebrows as if to ask if
she were ready.
Not as if I’ll ever be more ready. Either get eaten now or in a few minutes.
Kiara nodded.
Rio led the way, creeping as slowly and silently as he could around the pool. Kiara followed his lead, struggling to avoid stepping on bones. As they passed the water, Kiara looked inside, seeing a beautiful school of glowing, blue fish. Despite the horrors around her, she couldn’t help but admire them.
Crunch!
Kiara froze as the sound emanated from beneath Rio’s feet, where he’d accidentally stepped on a small, rotting bone. Their panicked eyes shot towards each other, then at the creature. The beast shifted again in its sleep, the sections of its body slithering one after the other. Then it lay still.
Kiara exhaled in relief, and they continued walking. Rio finished crossing the side of the pond, with Kiara following not far behind. To her left, Kiara inspected the fossil of a gigantic creature, spanning the entirety of the cave wall up to the towering ceiling. It looked like a ferocious, carnivorous dinosaur, only with a pointy pair of wings. Beside the fossil lay a skull five times the size of her body, its fanged mouth opened in a slim, angry growl.
Walking around the skull, Kiara happily reached the other side of the pool and walked towards Rio, who stood waiting a few steps ahead of her. As she glanced at him, excited to be almost there, his eyes suddenly widened with fear as he looked towards the lake. Kiara’s heart dropped, and she turned around to where the creature had been sleeping. The beast slid its slithery body around in a circle to face them, opening and closing its pincers as if to check that they were working. It emitted a faint, high-pitched buzzing.
“Run,” Rio whispered, his voice chilled. He took off in a sprint towards the exit, paying no attention to the bones crunching beneath his feet.
The beast sounded a shrilling, violent shriek.
Just before Kiara could follow Rio, a tremendous crash sounded from the lake, water splashing in all directions as a second scaly beast emerged from the pool, even bigger than the first, with four jagged legs supporting a large, muscular torso. Long, vine-like tentacles protruded from the creature’s face and arms and wrapped themselves around the giant insect. The insect struggled and shrieked as the water monster hurled it across the cave in Kiara’s direction.
The Chamber of Genesis Page 19
