Rota Fortunae
Page 35
She pulled two water skins from the pack, filled them from the basin, then handed one to Aberthol and tied the other to a sash around her waist. She hoisted the pack onto her back, not giving him a chance to offer to carry it.
“We need to move on. We are not yet beyond pursuit.” She turned and walked through another opening in the room.
They traveled for quite some time, following paths mainly downward. At last, the tunnel opened into a large dark space. Their footsteps echoed off distant walls.
Elise pulled her pack off and sat down. “We will spend the night here in safety. No one without proper knowledge could have followed this far.”
“Rest at last, thou art nearly free.
Forbid thy fears to swallow thee.
A hidden gate thou will find.
Relax thy body, keep sharp thy mind.”
Aberthol collapsed in a heap, still lacking the stamina he needed. It had only been a few days since his ‘birth’ and he felt sure he had not reached his full strength. He was grateful, if not a little ashamed, that this slight woman had carried the supplies thus far.
It was cool in the room, and Elise shivered in her flimsy gown, which was now soiled and torn. She found a pile of dried sticks and set about making a fire. With the aid of her lantern’s flame, she soon had a small fire burning. Light pushed against the shadows and revealed a sparkling cave. Water dripped from stalactites into small pools and flowed in streams around them, but the area near the fire was relatively dry.
He watched the smoke drift upwards and disappear into the darkness, then turned toward Elise, who was rummaging through their stores in preparation for a meal. “Who were those creatures that pursued us?” He shuddered as he remembered the clawed hand. “The shadow creature... it did not seem natural.”
“Most servants of the Dark Master are from the natural world. They live and die as other men, although their minds have been twisted and betrayed with the lies of Threim-Zhure.” She continued to prepare the meal as she spoke. “However, some are not of this world—nightmares spawned of pure hatred.
“Grandfather used to tell me stories of dark beings who roamed the earth, wrapped in shadows, hunting the souls of men to feed their insatiable appetites.” Her brow furrowed. “I always thought them more stories to scare little children than tales grounded in truth. I never believed them to be true... until today.”
She shook her head and continued making their supper. “I know nothing more.”
Aberthol shivered as shadows danced around the cavern, suggesting images of dark, ghostly creatures with razor-sharp claws.
After a meager meal of dried vegetables and smoked meat, Elise suggested they sleep. “Tomorrow we will make our way out of the caves. If I remember my geography, a river flows forth from the lower reaches of the mountain’s feet.” She lay down near the fire. “The river should lead us to a small seaport—unless things have changed in the past three hundred years. There we will seek answers to what has befallen Nuadaim, and to why our people abandoned the Eternal City.”
With his back to a smooth rock, he sat and watched the fire. “I would not mind being free of this place. The darkness weighs on me.” He looked at the small form of Elise lying on the hard ground, and quietly removed his heavy robe and laid it over her.
She turned slightly as if to offer thanks, but then pulled the cloak tighter about her and lay still.
He sat for a while listening to her breathing. Her life would never be the same, but he sensed a deep strength within her and knew she was not broken, though the pain of her grandfather’s death was still too acute. He could not save Illiam, but he vowed he would help this girl laugh again, help her understand that her grandfather’s death may have extinguished his life, but not his spirit.
Her breathing deepened, and his eyes grew heavy.
“I am sorry,” he whispered. “I wish I had known how to save him.”
END OF SPECIAL SNEAK PREVIEW
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