Page 6 of Dark's Savior

The Xolis and their oracles had never stated how long they would be in the mines. They had only said that, in time, a permanent place would be decided. Where that was, no one could guess. But for all they knew, the Xolis could keep them on Lethe Maws forever.

The idea made Aly shudder. Forever. And with the endless possibilities of death always surrounding them.

For they had been warned about all the risks. And there were many. Monsters of all sorts lurked in the dark, ready to eat unsuspecting workers. If they didn't get you, maybe a long fall off a cave side would, or one of the many rocks that fell would crumble you into pieces. If you were lucky and one of those choices didn't befall you, you might just lose your way in the dark and get lost in the endless chambers and tunnelways, some still lying undiscovered. For some of the other races, they had little to worry about. Grex were agile and could see in the dark and had a venomous bite and spiked limbs for protection. Abbiots had tough skin like an elephant that not even a blade could pierce. Humans, however, had no such defenses. They might as well be made of glass or a sack of sand. Ethan was a terrifying example and the others remained wary.

Aly thought of the nillium and shuddered again. They had been warned about him too. But the heads of Lethe Maws never said they had to worry about encountering him above level fifty, certainly not so close to the surface.

"Whatever you do, stay out of the lower levels," Braxin had said to them on their first day. "Anything past fifty is off-limits, and if I even hear that one of you went to the bottom, you will be punished severely."

"What's at the bottom?" Cilia had asked curiously.

Braxin had looked on her squarely. "It is nillium territory."

Her team had glanced at each other.

"You mean an actual nillium lives down there?"

They had known what the nillium were even at the very beginning. It had been a nillium that had saved them from the trader ship. The captain of the Xolis enforcers, Marzin. They had thought him an honest to God angel at first. An angel without wings and with glowing yellow-bronze skin instead. It was only after that they learned the truth.

Braxin's eyes had narrowed. "Yes. He is...not like the others. He is housed here—the bottom is where he lives. And he doesn't like people in his territory. So, if you value your lives, don't incur his wrath. Don't go below."

And that had been that. The severity and finality in his voice was enough for them to obey.

Or at least most of them. Aly was, well, prone to "forgetting" the rules. Her curiosity, Mark had said, would probably get her killed. She couldn't disagree, but it didn't stop her.

Aly snapped out of her thoughts as Jamie piped up beside her. "Will you ask them about Sarah?" she asked in a soft voice.

The team went silent, some looking down at the ground. Or anywhere but at her.

"I will...consider it," Julian said.

"They said she would be joining us." Jamie's voice rose a little. She gripped her knees tightly. "Th-they said..."

Julian nodded. "I know. I will try to talk to them, I swear it."

Aly couldn't help looking away also. None would say it, but she knew they were thinking it. Sarah might never join them. Like with the ship and the high transmitter, they may never let them see her. They still had no knowledge of why the facility was keeping her and they feared to ask. Just like they had been afraid to ask why they had taken their DNA.

"That's all me and Julian have for you tonight," Kate said, looking at each of them. "Is there anything you guys would like to add? Anything you've heard or seen and would like us to know?"

This was the part, Aly guessed, when she should tell them she had run into the nillium from below. But she kept silent. Something told her the encounter she had was such a rare experience, it probably shouldn't even have happened. No one used the stairs and old bridges, especially not her team. And she had a feeling the nillium didn't care to be seen.

It occurred to her, in fact, that she should never have seen him herself. But she had. Because he had let her see him. That thought scared her some. Why did he let her see him? And what brought him to want to get near her? Everything she had ever heard about him made him sound more like a scary legend than a person. He was rarely seen— he didn’t go near people. He stayed in the dark.

Aly's thoughts were cut yet again when everyone began to leave, and she felt a hand land on her shoulder.

"You okay?" Mark said beside her. "You seem more quiet than usual."

Aly smiled. "I'm okay. Just been a long day."

"As they all are now. Literally." Mark stood up and offered his hand. Aly took it, letting him lift her up beside him. "You want me to walk you back?"

Aly was seriously considering it. But then she remembered the chances of actually running into the nillium again were probably zero. Still, she shivered.

"I think I'll be okay, thanks," Aly said. "Are you working the lower tunnels again? Find anything?"

Mark shook his head. "Saw a few oriens dig out a good chunk of tython, and of course, there is always aulion, but that's always easy to find. Nothing rare, though they always say the hard to find stuff is deeper."

Aly nodded her head understanding. "I'd say I envy you but, really, I don't."

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