by A. A. Volts
“Yes, not only that, we’re undead as well,” I confessed. “We came here to help him.”
“Jonas is my brother, have you seen him?” Carla said, stepping forward cautiously.
“I saw him earlier, but I haven’t seen him since my father came back,” said Nyx. She looked us straight in the eyes, and it was as if she could see our very souls.
“I believe you,” said Nyx. “You’re going to need my help to find him.”
“But what about your father?” I asked.
“He won’t be back until later,” she replied.
“Where should we start?” asked Carla.
“First things first, I’ll help you on one condition,” added Nyx.
“And what’s that?” I asked.
“My condition is that you get me out of here too,” she said as tears started to fill her eyes.
I thought about it for a second.
“Agreed,” I said, wondering if I had made the right decision. However, upon looking at Carla I knew I had. Her approving smile said it all.
“Okay then, but if anyone asks, you’re helping me find a prisoner who escaped,” said Nyx as she stood up and approached Carla and me.
“Since you guys aren’t Night Dwellers, I take it you don’t really look like that?” asked Nyx.
“Nope, we look like humans, much like my friend and the others being held in the undead prisoners’ chamber,” I replied.
“Why are they being held there? What could they have done so wrong to deserve such harsh punishment?” asked Carla.
“Over here, they haven’t done anything wrong yet, they haven’t had the chance to,” explained Nyx.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Those you saw chained up are the violent and relentless souls of the physical realm. Once they die, they come here and usually stay until they are either rescued or they join the Night Dwellers,” explained Nyx.
“So are they what people call bad spirits?” I asked.
“Yes, but I wouldn’t exactly call them bad. I think of them as beings who happened to make some bad choices while in the physical realm,” said Nyx.
“Who rescues them?” I asked.
“Nobody knows. I have seen them only a handful of times. They usually come when no one is around. Many Night Dwellers don’t believe the rescuers even exist because very few have ever seen them,” Nyx continued to explain. “I suspect that somewhere someone cares enough to help their forgotten criminal souls.”
“Are they very luminous beings, almost whitish?” I asked.
“Do you know them?” asked Nyx.
“No, but I think we just saw them rescue someone,” I added.
“They are beautiful. I want to meet them. In fact, that’s where I need you guys to take me once we find your friend,” replied Nyx.
“But we don’t know anything about them or this world,” complained Carla.
“Neither do I. My whole life, I have been stuck here in Nightside,” said Nyx, looking sad.
“Nightside?” asked Carla.
“Ah, I keep forgetting you guys aren’t from around here. Threshold is made of different regions. Currently, we’re in Nightside, where darkness rules. Then there is Twilight, which only a privileged few have had the fortune to visit. And lastly, there is Dayside. Dayside is still a mystery to most of us. We hear stories about it, rumors really. The main one being that nobody has ever come back from there.”
“Why is this place called Nightside?” I asked.
“It’s always night in Nightside. We have never seen daylight. Rumor has it that Dayside has never seen a single star in the sky. I personally have only seen Nightside and some of Twilight,” replied Nyx.
Some of the things Nyx told us were amazing, while others were downright unbelievable. We had a lot to discover about Threshold. I just hoped we would live long to.
I couldn’t help but wonder if my mother would be at one of the places Nyx mentioned. I was about to ask her about it when we spotted two guards on patrol coming our way.
“Follow my lead,” Nyx whispered.
“What are you guys doing here?” asked a toothless guard.
“Following orders, exactly what you should be doing. These are the new recruits who are going to take over this route. Didn’t anyone tell you that you two have been placed onto Phasma’s private guard?” asked Nyx.
“Oh, what? Yes, thank you, we’re very… happy for the promotion, scion,” replied the toothless guard.
“Well, head out then. Your training begins immediately. I’ll personally train these recruits on this route,” Nyx ordered.
“Yes Scion, right away,” the other guard said as he walked past us, sarcastically mumbling under his breath: “Oh great, more work… just what I wanted.”
“Shhh, the scion will hear you,” ordered the toothless guard.
“Well done,” said Carla after they were gone.
“Thanks. This leads straight into the Core. The area is off limits, so we won’t have to worry about the guards. I have been here a few times, usually when I want to be left alone,” explained Nyx.
“Core? What’s that?” I asked.
“The Core is Threshold’s energy source. The lava inside the forge, for example, comes from the Core,” said Nyx as she started to glow again. Carla and I backed up discretely.
“Are you guys scared of me too?” asked Nyx, looking hurt.
“No, it’s just that everything here is so different,” I said.
“Your friend Jonas isn’t scared of me, he told me so,” said Nyx proudly.
“Neither are we. Just give us a warning before lighting up,” said Carla to ease the tension.
“Okay, I’ll try. Don’t worry, the reason I started to glow is because from here on out, it will get fairly dark. And there aren’t any torches because nobody comes down here.”
“Where are you guys going?” said Jonas from right behind us.
“Jonas?” asked Carla.
“Where have you been? We’ve been looking for you,” I said when I saw him.
“I was right there, hiding behind that rock. I was looking for Nyx when I saw those two guards approach, so I hid. Unfortunately, they didn’t leave, they kept talking and pacing back and forth, and then you guys showed up,” explained Jonas.
“I’m glad you’re okay. We were worried sick. Don’t you dare do that again,” said Carla.
“How are we going to get out of here?” asked Jonas.
“Don’t worry, I have a plan,” said Nyx.
“Are you’re helping us?” asked Jonas.
“Yes, we made a deal with Nyx. She’ll help us free you, and in return we’ll help her escape,” explained Carla.
***
“So, what’s your plan?” I asked Nyx while Carla hugged Jonas.
“There’s an old boat down at the Core that can take us out of here. It hasn’t been used in a long time, but it should still be able to get us out, assuming it’s still there. When I was small, I used to play in there,” said Nyx.
“Great, that way we don’t have to deal with those nasty guards,” replied Carla.
“I can’t take this armor anymore. Do you think we’ll see anyone else down here?” I asked, dying to remove the itchy armor.
“I don’t think so. From here on, it will be deserted, the area hasn’t been used in a long time,” replied Nyx as she watched Jonas and Carla hold hands. I sensed a hint of jealousy in her eyes.
Nyx continued to lead the way; her glow grew stronger as the tunnels got darker.
“Nyx, I have a question. How come we can’t fly in here?” I asked.
“There’s a protective barrier in and around the Cave of Sorrows. Only Phasma can fly here,” she replied.
“Cave of Sorrows? Is that where we are?” I asked.
“Yes, the Cave of Sorrows is a complex of caves spanning the whole base of Night Peaks,” explained Nyx.
Tired of feeling itchy, I willed my appearance and outfit to change. Almost immed
iately, my regular winter outfit replaced the disgusting animal-hide armor. Feeling my face change was more disturbing than I’d imagined, but it was a relief to touch my head and discover that the horns were gone.
“Here we are,” said Nyx as we turned the corner to find a vast, deserted, and precarious dock connected to an immense underground river. Spider webs covered most of the dock, but as Nyx walked forward, they burnt away. The place didn’t look safe.
“This place is falling apart,” said Jonas bluntly.
“It’s our best chance of escaping. It’ll be fine, I used it myself a few years back when I first tried to escape—” said Nyx before cutting herself short.
I wanted to ask what had happened, but I thought it was best to leave it alone.
“There she is!” said Nyx, pointing toward a medium-size wooden boat that rocked violently with the current at the end of the dock. The boat seemed to be in somewhat good shape, if it weren’t for a couple rotten wooden boards on its side and the missing glass from the windows.
“Are we supposed to travel on that?” asked Jonas, looking worried.
“You can swim if you like,” Carla said sarcastically.
The water rushed past the dock with violence. It was hard to imagine such an old ship being able to withstand the ride. To make matters worse, steam rose from the water. I wanted to find out how hot it was, so I bent down to touch it. As soon as my fingers touched the sapphire water, I screamed in pain. It was scalding hot.
“You don’t want to do that,” warned Nyx.
“I just figured that out,” I replied with a chuckle.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Carla doubtfully.
“It will be fine, besides we can fly once we’re out of the protective barrier of the Cave of Sorrows,” said Nyx as she led us toward the boat and her skin returned to normal. Luckily, the raging sapphire waters glowed to provide us with enough light to see where we were going.
As I stepped onto the dock, it creaked. Worried, I placed my other foot onto the next wooden board, and that one creaked as well. The last thing I wanted was to find out how scalding water would feel all over my body.
I paid close attention to where Nyx stepped and tried to follow the same pattern. I figured she knew best. Carla and Jonas followed right behind.
When we got to the boat, I didn’t find it any more promising than when I first saw it. From up close, it looked much less appealing and much less capable of withstanding the violent waters than I first thought.
“For the record, I still think this is not a good idea,” said Jonas, probably saying what we were all thinking except for Nyx. She seemed confident about the ship’s capabilities.
“Don’t worry so much. We don’t have to go very far,” said Nyx as she stepped inside the boat.
“How do we even move this thing? It doesn’t have an engine, or even a sail,” asked Carla as she got onboard.
“We’ll just have to push it and the current will do the rest,” I guessed.
“I’m not pushing it. I’m still recovering from my ordeal,” Jonas said quickly.
“There! There they are!” yelled a guard in the distance. “They are trying to get away, and they have the scion!”
“STOP, UNDEAD!” yelled the Forgemaster as he touched his belt as though he was choosing the most appropriate and deadly weapon.
“Maggots! Don’t let them get away or it will be your heads!” the Forgemaster ordered.
“I changed my mind, I’ll push,” said Jonas.
“Guys? We need to go now!” ordered Carla.
“I’ll help Jonas,” I offered.
“Here, you’ll need this,” said Nyx as she hurled a dull sword my way.
I stepped off the boat, and the dock creaked louder. I could feel the wood rattle and vibrate as the guards ran toward us. It wasn’t long before I found the rope that held the boat in place. I took several swings at it, but it didn’t budge.
As the vibration of the dock increased, I could hear pieces of wood falling in the river.
“Come on, try again,” yelled Jonas.
“Get on the boat! I’ll be right behind you,” I ordered.
I took another swing at the rope. Luckily, the rope broke, and the ship started to move away from the failing dock. I ran as fast as I could. But by the time I reached the boat, it had left the dock. In a leap of faith, I jumped and grabbed the side of the boat as it sped away from the dock. The weight of the guards must have been too much for the failing dock, because the dock plunged into the scalding river.
“Nice job, mate,” said Jonas as he offered me his hand and pulled me into the boat.
“I think you guys need to grab on to something…” Carla started to say as the boat entered a pitch-black tunnel and increased in speed.
We figured we would be better protected inside the boat’s wood cabin, even though most of the window frames were splintered and broken and the door hung on its hinges.
“Nyx, can’t you light the way?” asked Jonas once we were inside the cabin.
“Sure I could, if you guys don’t mind a flaming boat,” said Nyx.
“Oh God!” yelled Jonas.
As the boat rushed through the dark tunnel, we heard all sorts of creaking noises, and to make matters worse, water was filling the back of the boat.
And if that wasn’t enough reason to worry, we seemed to be heading straight for a boulder that stood right in the middle of the river.
“Hang on!” I yelled as we smashed into the huge boulder. Our boat cracked and almost turned sideways.
“The rudders are gone,” said Nyx, surprisingly calm.
“Are we almost there?” asked Jonas.
“We better be, because this boat won’t hold together for much longer,” replied Carla.
As scalding water rushed inside, we were soon surrounded. We moved to the other side of the boat, but we were running out of places to hide. It seemed our only way out was to jump off the boat.
“When I say go, think about flying,” ordered Nyx as a light at the end of tunnel became bigger and brighter.
“What?” asked Jonas as the boat started falling off the edge of a waterfall and heading toward the rocky bottom.
“Now!” yelled Nyx.
I immediately thought about floating, and much to my surprise it worked without delay. We were so high above the river that I felt a little scared, but I was also relieved.
Fortunately, we all hovered above the water and watched as the boat crashed into the rocks below, shattering into a thousand pieces.
“We made it! Oh God, this is freaking high,” Jonas said, holding on to Carla for dear life.
“We actually did it,” I added with a sigh of relief.
***
“Where do we go now?” I asked.
Nobody answered. To be honest, I didn’t think any of us knew where we should go.
Below us a fairly wide river made its way downhill with tremendous force.
We moved just over the riverbank and Nyx burst into a flame just bright enough to illuminate the ground below us.
“Well, you guys are free as promised, but you shouldn’t hang around here too long because Phasma will be back soon. Besides, it won’t be long before a search party is formed and they come looking for us,” Nyx explained, concerned.
“We’re not done yet. We made a promise, and we intend to keep it. We aren’t going anywhere until we find you a safe place to stay,” I said, looking straight into her big and exquisite green and orange eyes.
“Thank you, I’ll be forever in your debt,” said Nyx as her expression changed from sadness to excitement.
“So, which way should we go?” asked Carla, looking at the boat wreckage below.
“We’ll move by land. They will no doubt have scouts on top of the Night Peaks looking for us,” said Nyx.
Almost immediately, we started to descend toward a dirt path below in complete synchrony.
“For the record, my vote is for flying wherever
we’re going, and fast,” I said.
I was starting to get the hang of transporting myself by thought.
“Wow, the sky is so dark and the stars seem so distant,” said Jonas, looking up.
“It will be better where we’re going, I promise,” said Nyx, almost embarrassed.
“What’s the name of your people?” Jonas asked.
“My father is the Guardian of Threshold, and the creatures you saw back there are the Night Dwellers,” explained Nyx.
“You guys don’t look related,” Jonas said.
“Nope, we’re not related at all. Long ago, my father made a deal with the Night Dwellers. They were allowed to rule the village at the base of the Night Mountain, and my father would rule the underworld. They are completely loyal to him,” said Nyx as she put her flames out and got off the path cutting through the middle of a forest.
“Why are we going this way?” asked Carla, puzzled.
“We need to avoid the Bog, they aren’t very friendly toward strangers,” she replied quietly.
“That doesn’t sound very good,” said Jonas.
“Why can’t we just will ourselves to our destination?” I asked.
“It’s a question of vibration. You see, everything is a matter of vibration. Your physical world and body vibrates at a much slower rate than Threshold. That’s why you can’t come here in your physical body. The same happens with being transported by thought; if you are trying to reach a place that has a higher vibrational state than your own astral body, it won’t work. Besides, the more we stick with traditional methods of transportation, the better our chances of remaining undetected—”
She stopped abruptly.
“Get down,” Nyx whispered, slowly backing away.
I did as I was told and laid on the ground, almost completely covered by the tall grass.
As my chest touched the ground, I felt the ground rumbling and vibrating rhythmically.
I looked up, careful not to expose myself too much, but I couldn’t see anything due to the tall grass. So I carefully spread the grass open with both of my hands to see what was happening.
I almost couldn’t contain my shock when I spotted the creature walking toward us. He was a tall wood being. He appeared to be walking straight toward us with huge strides. With each step he took, the ground vibrated. We couldn’t move out of his way without attracting his attention. His hands seemed to be made of branches. He had very broad shoulders, a small mouth, and deep black eyes that seemed too small for his body.
