Page 92 of Of Withering Dreams
The severed rope taunted me, trying to unravel my tightly bound nerves like its tattered threads swishing in the breeze.
A look of determination washed over Sebille’s face as she pushed her feet against the stone, her rope swinging precariously close to mine. Our opponents mimicked her, either realizing the danger they were in or where the entrance was. I was mesmerized, staring vacantly at the oscillating ropes as if they were the sweeping pendulums of several chiseled clocks.
“Move!” Kaden barked, snapping me out of my stupor. A sharp stab of panic shot into me, and I slipped down my rope before gripping tightly, my body jerking on the line. My mind clicked off, limbs and muscles shifting, pulling, and pushing in time with my best friend’s movements.
Kaden’s fingers stretched and then grasped the wiggling rope to his right, holding both cords tightly. As I swung toward him, his hand shot out, grabbing my rope. From my peripheral, another person crashed into the river, and I vaguely saw two forms to the right grappling, spinning, and lurching down as they wrestled and jabbed into the spaces around their opponent with blades. They both fell, one hurtling to their demise, the other snatching a line just in time, his back slamming into the cliff with a thud.
My lips pressed inward, nostrils flaring as I grabbed onto the braided cord Kaden held. His hands and feet were positioned below mine as he released the other two ropes.
Rhaegar and Breena were close to the hollow now. Sebille latched onto my discarded rope.
Kaden moved, our rope swinging and creaking with the extra weight of two bodies. He grabbed the next line. “Go now. I’ll be right behind you.”
My pulse and ember thrummed under my skin as if I were one giant heartbeat, but I kept swinging, advancing, and clutching the rough braids—one after another—despite the burn on my already raw palms. As I reached the last rope before the entrance, my grip slid down the damp hemp before I twisted my boots in the slack below. My body wrenched, muscles screaming and limbs shaking.
After hurtling toward the cave’s lip, Breena heaved her body on top of the ledge. Rhaegar grabbed her hands and helped her the rest of the way. His massive boot upset the flow of the rivulet, its water flinging over the edge in broken torrents.
She brushed her snug red leather trousers off, droplets flinging from them, and then stretched her arms out to me, her leather breastplate pushing against her armpits. “One more. You can do this, Ryn-Ryn!”
As I ran along the cliff, building momentum, the Draumr, who’d been brawling earlier, landed near Rhaegar. The guard swiftly drew his sword and jabbed it at Rhaegar as he jumped out of the way, crouching and circling an outstretched leg into the man’s ankles. Rhaegar righted himself as the guard toppled over, falling into the gorge, his holler chasing him the whole way down.
Cringing, I leaned the full weight of my body into my swing. With one last impetus, I released the rope, fingers and boots clawing at the empty space around me as I vaulted toward the jutting cave entrance.
My breath sunk within my ribcage, acid rising to meet it. Everything seemed to slow as I pitched forward, a raven cawing and soaring past me as I flew.
Rhaegar gripped the back of Breena’s ruby leather armor as she lunged forward, our hands locking around each other’s forearms. They pulled me in, our bodies tumbling into the cavernous opening in a mound of flesh and rawhide.
“Well, that’s one way to do it. If you wanted to jump my bones, all you had to do was ask.” Breena chortled as I rolled off them, shuddering and whacking her in the stomach with a limp arm.
Rhaegar grunted, jumping up to help Kaden as he landed on the ledge behind us and patting him on the back. The warrior promptly stalked into the cave, drawing his battle axe. “Let’s move.”
I jerked to my feet, muscles groaning. As we journeyed deeper into the cave, shadows engulfed the sunlight, the chilled atmosphere thick and dank. Our footfalls echoed around us, mixing with the sounds of the rippling creek.
One of Marah’s orbs zipped ahead, bursting apart. Its pieces melded with the current and dripped down the cave walls, winking at us. My lips crushed together, thinking of everyone watching us through the embered water. I sighed, stretching my neck from side to side.
The glow from Rhaegar’s rune tattoo bounced off the glassy chips and crevices, the space lengthening as we progressed. All four of us fit comfortably; the ceiling and walls were tall and wide enough to accommodate double our number.
At the back of the cave, a gentle aqua pool gurgled, a stony shelf bordering it. Behind this, three darkened passages branched off, sputtering water flowing from them into the sparkling pond.
I studied each ingress, my gift thrumming under my scar when I looked to the left. “This is the one,” I said, confidently moving my feet along the ledge. Hurried steps echoed through the darkness behind us, prompting my team to follow me hastily.
We scurried through the carved stone, Rhaegar and I on one side of the stream, Breena and Kaden on the other. The warrior’s rune glowed, and the rest of our auras shimmered around us. My ember bubbled gleefully at its freedom.
Crossroads lay ahead of us, the channel splitting into two. To our left, the tunnel narrowed around the stream, its flow slapping the curving sides.
We turned to the right, the water sparse and trickling. Before long, the faint sound of wet, smacking footfalls reverberated ahead of us.
“Snuff the lights,” Rhaegar whispered, his clipped words echoing. His rune’s radiance extinguished. I nudged my energy aside, willing it to recede as well. It sunk into my skin, but the hum of it lingered along my nape.
We lurked in the blackness, the trickle of water mingling with our bated breaths. A wobbling glow painted the archway of another crossroad. It was well ahead of us; far enough that our halos had not yet revealed its existence.
The light grew brighter, its edges jerking frantically. A shrill scream tore through the air, bouncing against the crags. Soon, a female Druik sprinted past the arch, her rosy ember flashing around her as she flung balls of it behind her.
We pressed our bodies against the walls, my breath sticking inside my ribs. In the fading aureole, something substantial skittered in front of the opening. Breena’s darkened outline flinched, her breath sucking in. She hissed, stepping back in the direction from whence we came. “What the fecking feck was that?”
“Let’s not find out,” Kaden muttered, following.
Another terrified shriek sliced through the air—promptly cut short by the sound of squelching. The rose hue blinked out, leaving us in total darkness once more.
