by Jack Porter
Yua grinned a thanks and lowered her hood.
Damn. She was better than good. She was stunning. Even a catty rival wouldn’t dare call her a day over twenty-two. She had a narrow frame under the blue kimono styled cloak. It flared at her hips in an appealing way that let me know she had some curves hidden beneath the layers. Her nose was straight and turned up in a cute way on her soft, rounded face.
What shocked me most was that her scalp was shaved in the traditional monk style, but even though it was cropped close to her head, I thought it looked quite good on her. Edgy, even. A string of gold-looped earrings trailed along her left ear, and I could see a hint of a tattoo coiling around her neck in what I assumed was a scaled tail. A snake? A dragon? I wanted to ask her what it was, but I knew better.
Besides, a bigger question was poking at me. “We are tracking a host, one of those dark creatures like the ones I got rid of outside, except it was human and had a newly transformed goddess as its prisoner. Did it stop here?”
The corners of her mouth turned down. “No, Zavier’s hosts can’t see this shrine unless it’s shown to them. But I did sense a darkness pass two days ago.”
Not long. We are catching up to it. Good.
But something niggled at me. If the darkness couldn’t see this place, how did the birds find us?
Just like the dark host had sensed me when I was under the water, trying to save Hannah.
As if Yua had plucked the thought from my mind, she stated, “You unwittingly set off a beacon when you use your crystal. The birds were drawn to it.”
“You knew about them being dark?” I rubbed the back of my neck and gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry if I caused any trouble.”
“I know everything that happens in my shrine. So, although it was no trouble this time because you got rid of them, don’t use your crystal unless it’s absolutely necessary, and don’t think you can pull the wool over my eyes. If you use your power, I’ll know.”
The look on her face reminded me of my mom when I left dirty clothes piled in my room. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” I grinned.
“Good.”
Yua had spunk. She didn’t once show fear or concern even though I was at least double her height and weight. And I had no doubt of her ability to put me in my place if I stepped a toe out of line.
Yua opened double doors at the end of the long hallway, which opened to the main room of the shrine. On its back wall sat a spot for prayer and two male statues with faces that were not quite human.
Kain and Zavier, I’d bet my crystal on it.
I noted a table in the middle that held a tea pot and several cups. Tapestries hung throughout the walls, and in-between them, walls lined with scrolls. Hundreds, maybe thousands of them.
No wonder Yua had learned so much. She had a mini Library of Alexandria in here. “We’ll need to fix that issue of you transmitting that signal in order for you to sneak up on the dark being. I can teach you, but it will take time to learn.”
“How long?”
She gave me a quick eye up and down. “A week. Maybe two.”
“Sorry, Yua. I’d love to stay and learn, but Hannah needs me more. I don’t want the trail to go cold.”
Yua’s expression grew serene as we walked into the shrine’s main room. “I understand, though it will be harder if you can’t hide your crystal’s power.”
“Thank you, Yua. I can’t tell you how much that means to us. In fact, we are looking for another crystal. Layla, one of the girls who came with me, felt its pull."
“Oh.” She paused, glancing around her like a child who’d lost her favorite toy. “Well, there were many nooks and crannies built in the shrine by the twin gods. Even I don’t know them all—though not for lack of trying. If there is a crystal hidden in the shrine’s depths, I am unaware of it.”
The way she said that last part made me suspect that what I’d just said both surprised and upset her. Feeling ashamed for offending our host, I opened my mouth to apologize, when a splash caught my attention. My gaze was drawn to the far-left corner of the room, where a small steaming spring sat encased in ivory. All three girls were in it, soaking in the silence of this sacred place.
Perhaps sensing my desire to go to them, Yua waved a hand in their direction. “Go on, join them. I’ll bring some fresh clothes and make preparations for dinner.” She bowed low and I could see the tattoo trailed up to the base of her skull.
Feeling stiff, I returned the bow, which earned me a warm smile. Yua left then, and I turned to join the girls. There was plenty of room in the spring. I made quick work of removing my clothes and sliding myself in between Piper and Megan.
The girls didn’t appear to feel flustered about being nude around Yua. I felt at ease too, as if the atmosphere of the shrine washed away all negativity and feelings of embarrassment. Even knowing I was in a bath with three beautiful naked women, my thoughts stayed pure.
A part of me wondered if Yua hadn’t put some special herb in the incense burning at the corners of the room, but at that moment, I didn’t care too much. I just dipped my head under the water and let all of the aches and worry flow out of me with the dirt and grime of our travels.
I gave a quick rundown of what Yua had told me and the girls listened without comment.
After a while, Layla broke the silence. Her brows were knitted, almost in pain. She sighed and pushed herself up out of the spring. “The pull is too strong, I need to find my crystal.”
As if Layla had rung a bell, Yua came out with folded white towels on one arm, three small white kimonos with pockets in the other. One was much larger than the others, which I could only assume was for me.
“These are beautiful. I didn’t think the island had anything like this,” Layla said, reaching for one.
“They don’t. I made them. I make a lot of things. Kind of a way to bring the outside world to me.”
She carefully balanced a silver platter full of assorted fruits and vegetables on the coffee table and handed a robe to Layla.
“You’ll want something clean to wear before you head out,” Yua said in a tranquil tone. All traces of her earlier dismay had vanished. “I’ll wash your things tonight so you can be ready to leave in the morning.”
Layla took one of the towels, bowing her head to Yua in thanks. “Yes, and the sooner the better. I’m not sure how you managed to wait four days with this prickling, Dexter.”
Shrugging, I pulled myself out and took a towel too, not missing the way Yua’s eyes raked over me before she seemed to remember herself and glanced toward one of the walls of scrolls.
I put that information aside for later and responded to Layla. “There was a lot going on, and I didn’t know it was the crystal at the time. I thought I was just full of nervous energy and needed something to do so I wouldn’t, uh,” I glanced at Yua, “act on my baser instincts.”
Yua rolled her eyes so hard there was an audible sound to the movement. “Just because I have taken a vow of chastity doesn’t mean I am unaware of the ways of the world. I’m over three hundred years old and I was born off of this island after all. Although,” She said frowning, “I was maybe twenty-one when the ship I was on sank and I found myself washed up on the island.”
“All alone?” Megan asked, blatant shock apparent in her tone. “For three hundred years?”
“It wasn’t as much of a problem for me. The boat was taking me to my new husband across the seas who planned to wed me, bed me, then sacrifice me to a god I didn’t believe in.”
We all just gaped at the woman monk, unsure of what to do with that horrific tale. Yua blushed and swatted a hand in the air as if she could shoo it from our minds. “It’s long, long in my past and doesn’t affect me anymore. That was just how it was in those times, especially if you were a princess who wanted to be a lady monk. Besides, I never made it to him. The island chose me to be this shrine’s keeper. Much like how you feel the pull of the crystals, I felt the pull of this place. And once I was here,” she ge
stured to the walls, “I wanted for nothing.”
Seeing that we weren’t quite convinced, she added, “Plus, I haven’t missed a single beat of history. This library is constantly bringing in new information about the world and its people and wonders. Almost like it craves knowledge as much as I do. It’s how I pass my time here, among other things, like exploring secret passageways or traveling down the mountain for supplies. So, you see, I’ve been genuinely happy within these walls.” She smiled, guiltily, as if only just recalling her manners. “Not that a little company is unwelcome after all this time.”
We smiled back. She sounded so sincere that we all accepted it as truth.
Yua turned to me then, and handed over a neatly wrapped yellow cloth that had two boxes of food inside. A bento box, if memory served correctly. “Take this to eat while you search.” She turned to Megan and Piper. “The rest of you will be wanting to eat and rest. I imagine the last few weeks have been hard on you.”
After we all dressed in the white Japanese-style kimonos Yua brought, Piper complained of being tired and kind of sick-feeling from the exertion from the day. Yua told her she’d take her to her room, and both Piper and Megan followed the head monk out of a door on the right side that I didn’t remember being there when we’d walked in.
“Weird,” Layla commented, noticing it too. She put her hands on her hips in a sassy way that I liked. “But I guess that is keeping with every aspect of this place since we crashed.”
“Yeah, I’ve kinda given up on ever going back to a normal way of life.”
“I’m pretty okay with that.” Layla sounded surprised by the truth in her own words.
“Me too.” I honestly couldn’t imagine going back to the set steadfast rules of a non-magical existence. I took a moment to thank whatever powers brought us to this island and then turned to Layla, unable to keep the excitement from my voice. “Now, shall we go hunt for your crystal?”
“Hell yeah,” she said, her eyes glinting with pleasure as she took my hand and led me to another door that seemed to mysteriously appear out of nowhere.
Twenty-Eight
Pitch black fell upon us as soon as we crossed the threshold. I turned to reopen the door and get our bearings, maybe ask Yua for a torch to light our way, but when I groped behind me, there was no door to be found.
“Okay then. The door is gone. It looks like we’re stuck here until we find your crystal.”
Layla’s fingers were still interlaced with mine, and she gave my hand a light, reassuring squeeze. “That’s alright, Captain. I’ll be able to lead us toward where we need to be. I don’t know how I know, but I am sure there will be light when we get to my crystal.”
“Hannah felt memories from her crystal as well. And I knew there was something waiting for me at the bottom of the geyser back at the ruins. I wore my pants because I somehow knew I wouldn’t be leaving empty handed. So it makes sense that you can lead us without light. I just worry about what may happen to us on the way there.”
“What do you mean?”
What did I mean? I didn’t know, but my gut and years of military training told me we weren’t wholly alone here. “Maybe I am overthinking it, but just in case I’m not, keep your eyes—er, ears, peeled for trouble.”
“Understood, Captain. Now let’s go!” Impatience colored Layla’s voice as she tugged me straight ahead at a speed I wasn’t completely comfortable with for such a dark space. If there were a set of stairs waiting for us just ahead, we could consider our condors cooked.
Luckily, that didn’t seem to be the case. When I reached out with my free hand, my fingertips brushed a damp stone wall to my left. And the same when I stretched my arm above my head. I was willing to bet we were traveling down a narrow corridor of some sort. A tunnel that led straight to Layla’s crystal.
Wouldn’t that just be nice and easy.
Of course, it wasn’t like that at all.
The oblivion grew steadily darker and the air more stale with faint hints of sewage to break the monotony and make us gag.
The passage narrowed to an uncomfortable size that was fine for Layla, but required me to duck my head at an odd angle and stay there.
Eventually, even she was forced to crouch down by the time we’d paused to scarf down the bento boxes Yua gave us by tonging the foot out of the containers. We weren’t going to stick our sewer hands in the food.
We left our bento boxes there to save every inch of room we could. From that point on, we were forced to continue on our hands and knees, crawling around a labyrinth of tight twists and turns. My arms and legs chafed against the unyielding stone. I heard Layla ahead of me groaning with the effort. For all I knew, we could have been wandering around in a giant circle and were none the wiser.
“Any feelings of reaching the end of the line, Number Two? Feels like we’ve been doing this for hours.”
“I think we have been doing this for hours, Cap. But I can sense it just ahead. We are close.”
I tried to take comfort in that, hoping that once Layla got her crystal, we would find a new door that led right back to Yua and the others.
Thinking that even my stamina wouldn’t be good enough to activate her crystal tonight, a chilling sound crawled across my skin and sank into my bones. Quick tapping, like something was moving swiftly for us.
Layla tensed. “Hear that, Captain?”
“Yeah.”
“Any ideas about what it could be?”
“No, but I’m not really in the mood to find out. Let’s go.”
Except we couldn’t. The tunnel had tightened, trapping us right where we were.
Stupid magic.
The sound came again, louder this time. The tap, tap, tap that seemed to ring off the stone around us.
“Up ahead,” I said.
Seconds later, Layla growled out, “Sounds like a creature with far too many legs for my liking. I think it has my crystal. I can feel the call stronger the closer it gets.”
A hissing accompanied the tapping feet, proving her words, and I cursed myself for not thinking to grab my knife or one of the rock slings, or anything useful at all.
“Shit. Layla, I need to be able to get ahead of you in case this thing is looking for a fight.”
Her voice scaled in panic. “There’s no room to move. How can you get ahead of me?”
“Lay down flat. I’ll crawl over.”
Layla pressed herself flat to the bottom of the tunnel and I did my best to slither over her without pinning her body with my knees and accidently crushing her with my weight.
When I was directly over her, I realized I couldn’t possibly fit any farther down, either. I was stuck.
She inhaled sharply.
“What’s wrong? Am I on your hair?” I asked, unable to see where my hands were, but knowing they were close to her head by the way I could feel the silky strands against my wrists.
“No, I was just thinking this position would be so hot when I’m big enough to be fucked by you properly again.” Her voice held a tremor that could have been interpreted as fear—or excitement.
Despite the sound of the multiple legs scurrying close enough that I could feel the vibration of them through the tunnel surrounding us, I chuckled. “Sounds nice, if we can get out of this.”
I lowered myself on top of her, hovering slightly to keep most of my weight off of Layla while still shielding her body completely. Balancing on my elbows, I clutched my crystal and the soft white-blue glow lit up the space.
Since Yua had informed me that using my crystal could jeopardize her shrine, I’d done my best to not use its power unless absolutely necessary. Well, it appeared now was that time, because my crystal lit up just enough to see two of eight hairy legs creeping toward us.
It was good Layla had her face covered. It was a guardian. I knew instinctively with the way its many eyes burned with intellect. Plus, Layla said it held her crystal.
Except, I noticed this guardian wasn’t coated in the thick blanket of
darkness that had engulfed the snake-goat guardian I had fought in the first temple—Zain’s temple.
The guardian stopped feet from us and crouched there, a few of its middle legs pawed up the sides of the stone shaft. Its pincers drooled a little in a way I didn’t like.
Still, it wasn’t attacking us. It was just doing its job, guarding the crystal. I let out a breath. “I think it’s okay. It’s not going to hurt us,” I said in a low voice by Layla’s ear. For now. I added silently.
She shivered in response but didn’t lift her head. If possible, she pushed her face harder into her hands. Almost like she knew she wouldn’t like what she saw if she so much as peeked through her fingers.
“Answer my riddle and you may claim the god’s token.” The guardian had a lisping quality to its words, and I figured it must be hard trying to speak the language of humans when you had an arachnid’s mouth.
Taking a breath to speak, I was quickly silenced by the snapping click of the guardian’s black and orange striped pincers. “Not you. You have your token. The other one must answer, the girl whom my crystal calls.”
Not knowing what else to do, I scooted backward to allow Layla to take the stage. To her credit, when she looked up and took in the massive tarantula staring down at her, she didn’t scream—only whimpered slightly and asked, “H-how many guesses do I get?”
“One.”
“That’s—!” Layla’s voice was haughty, but then she apparently remembered what she was talking to. “That’s fair.” She swallowed twice, as if her mouth had gone dry before she asked her next question. “What will happen to us if my answer is wrong?”
“I’ll eat you, of course.”
Damn it. No wonder this bastard was salivating. We must look like the most appetizing snack it had seen in a long while. I wanted to back us out, back the way we came, but I had a feeling if I tried that the guardian would eat us anyway.
Layla took a deep breath. “Alright, I’m ready. What is your riddle?”
The guardian’s hairs bristled along its body in what I could only assume was excitement. The unnerving furry body bent low to meet us at eye level. Its pincers were wide open, then gave a little snap, so we got a glimpse of what future awaited us if Layla answered incorrectly.
