Fused in Fire

We made it to the end of the tunnel. The ground dropped away sharply, leaving us standing in the air above an enormous cavern. Giant stalactites reached down from the rocky ceiling. Turning around wasn’t exactly an option, because as soon as we reached the end, the tunnel behind us disappeared, cutting out the light from the fire. Below us, small hovels dotted the way, demons or other creatures moving between and around them. A drop of water fell past my face, dripping from the rocky ceiling high above. A small stream ran through an outcropping of frozen rock to our right, the glimmer like moving diamonds.

“How do you suppose we get down?” I asked, feeling my power pulsing even stronger than in the Realm. “Should I get us down?”

No. Do not use your power if at all possible. That suit is supposed to disguise your magic, but the mages were operating under the impression of a normal magic user, which you are not. Using your power might act as a beacon for your kind.

My kind. Great. That just had to be said.

“Fine. Then…let’s…” I took a step forward and tipped, windmilling my arms to keep from falling headfirst to my death. Darius pulled me back. My heel hit off an invisible edge.

Back under control, I dangled my foot down and met a ledge. I stepped down with a smile. “Tricky. We’re on an invisible staircase. How many people have they killed with this little ruse?”

It seems as though they want only the experienced to come through.

“Experience is something you gain right after you need it.”

So it would seem.

We started down slowly, me with much windmilling and exaggerated steps, him smoothly and gracefully, as though he made a habit of walking out of the sky on invisible steps of differing sizes.

The fire and ice tunnel suddenly spilled light down onto us. That creature had to be coming through. The light shimmered off the wide staircase and highlighted the railings at the sides. Landings broke up the decline every so often, so I wouldn’t have tumbled far before landing in a heap on my face.

“Tricky,” I said again as my power surged. Not thinking, I let a small amount of fire run down the steps from my feet. Next I sent a pulse of frost the same way, just to see what would happen.

The stairs within the sphere of magic glittered to life, shining like marble. The railing glowed and gleamed, solid gold.

“Wow,” I breathed as Darius grabbed my arm.

I said not to use your power.

“Sorry.” I cut it off, pitching us once again into darkness. “But wasn’t that fantastic? I wish I could light the whole staircase up. I bet my dad does, just to create a scene. Why else have the ability?”

Darius glanced behind us, worried about the traveler on our heels. He—or she, it was hard to say—clicked on a light, the sound echoing down to us. The glittering stairs shone in the beam of light. Everything outside of the small beam stayed hidden.

“Ah. A secret flashlight. Clearly Ja didn’t fill you in on that.”

He didn’t comment.

We hurried along, trusting that the invisible steps would meet our feet.

A drip plunked onto the center of my head. I looked up at the rocky ceiling far above, a usual reaction to something falling on me when it wasn’t raining. Another drop splashed against my suit-covered cheek.

Near the bottom, we descended between jagged rocks like the ones we’d seen near the gate. These looked even more treacherous, though, replete with sharp edges and points. Falling into them would be a good way to tear yourself up.

“So far, besides the stairwell when lit, this place is not welcoming.”

Not at all. It has lived up to my expectations.

“Mine, too, and that is a real bummer.”

The stairwell deposited us onto a dull gray rock path, pockmarked and uneven. It was wide enough for four people to walk abreast, or two people and Darius, with his big shoulders, so there was enough room to avoid the unwelcoming rocks lining the way. Those rocks tapered into a fine edge at the top, and while I could probably get over them without killing myself, it would hurt a lot, not to mention torment my boots.

“I don’t like that they’re trying to keep us on a select path. Will there be a test to see if we’re worthy to be here, like with that stairwell?”

Darius shook his head, his eyes hard. That meant he was anxious. And that was a very bad sign.

Chapter Thirteen

We walked along the path, the ground gradually sloping upward. Behind us, the other traveler still had their light trained on the ground, revealing the same thing I could see with my bare eyes.

The hovels and movement we had seen from the stairs were obscured by rising crags all around us. They hadn’t looked so big from above, or maybe I had misjudged them. Whatever the reason, they blocked our sight now, making it impossible to see what we were walking into.

A path intersected ours, nearly identical. Darius hesitated, clearly not knowing which direction would be best.

“Left,” I blurted without meaning to. Darius swung his gaze to me, his eyes assessing. “Unless this was on the map?”

He shook his head. We did not come in the way the map suggested. I did not trust it.

I nodded, because that was wise. We started walking to the left, slow and steady. I had a firm suspicion something would jump out at us, and that it wouldn’t be long now.

“The map is in your pack, right?” It was a rhetorical question, since I remembered seeing it in there, which meant Moss hadn’t trusted me to navigate. Before my memory upgrade, that would’ve been wise. “We should stop and have a peek when we can.”

Only the edges near the entrance the demon had chosen were clearly defined. We need to find our way across the river, then we will have more information.

“We are ridiculously underprepared for this,” I muttered, not seeing any approaching change in scenery.

Yes.

Sometimes I wished he wasn’t so habitually truthful.

“How big is this place?” I whispered.

As large as the Realm, but finite, like the Brink.

“What does that mean?”

The size is similar to the Realm, but as we can see, there are definable edges. The Realm, on the other hand, has strange pockets and weird fluxes that seem to go on for infinity. And they might. Creatures have wandered in and never come out.

I had not known that. And now I never wanted to run around there again without knowing exactly where I was going. Knowing me, I’d probably trip into one of those pockets.

A presence ahead of us, out of sight around the rocky bend, pressed on me in a weird way, throbbing in my middle and telling me to get lost. Usually my intuition told me to get ready for a fight. Not this time. I wanted to tuck my tail between my legs and run.

“Okay.” My voice was so soft, I could barely hear it. I pulled his arm back the way we’d come. “Maybe this way was…”

The thought of going back made me freeze up. It felt like a worse idea than staying.

Crap. What was happening? Was I second-guessing myself, or was this a totally screwed-up situation?

Let’s hope it’s just second-guessing, I thought.

“We are going to need to go slow and keep our eyes open,” I whispered. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

Remember, he thought, we have the suits.

He even sounded confident in his thoughts. How was the guy always so sure of himself?

I felt my sword pressing against my back comfortingly. Going on a killing spree wasn’t a great idea—it would be like putting up a billboard directing everyone to notice me—but if something came at me, I would take it out. No way would I allow something to kill or capture either of us.

After another ten feet, the urge to about-face and sprint away vibrated through my body. I took a deep breath, only then realizing there was still air. Not that it mattered at the moment.

I put out my hand, directing Darius to the side of the path, keeping as close to the jagged and treacherous rocks as I could. Voices floated toward us. I couldn’t make out the words. I couldn’t pick up on any stray thoughts, either. Scratchy and deep, the sounds were almost animalistic.

Darius put a hand on my shoulder. I paused, thinking he wanted me to stop.

You are unpredictable in tight situations, he thought. I can better monitor you by touch.