Page 101 of I Ran Away to Evil
CHAPTER 61
No One to Hear You Scream
Henrietta
The second we passed into level nine, I felt the slow creep of dread climb up my back.
I looked down a dimly lit cave path and played off the shiver as a reaction to the coldness from the cloying damp. The path was wide enough that Keith and I could still hold hands while we walked, but I admitted that I grabbed his arm a little harder than I meant to. I’d been preparing since he mentioned the underground level earlier in the day, and everything should be fine.
I was totally fine.
“Ria?” His breath tickled my ear as he leaned in closer. “Is there something the matter?”
Usually … Usually, only Sir Havork traveled with me on these kinds of levels. He knew that I had a—athingabout small spaces.
Icouldhandle them. Dungeons with open spaces, bright rooms without windows, and dwarven tunnels lit with bioluminescent moss and mushrooms and glow stones didn’t bother me very much. Even Rufus’s office was comfortable over cloying.
It was just the dimly lit dungeon floors with very breakable lanterns and trap doors that dropped you into blackout rooms that had no way out andno one to hear your scream—
Time to take a deep breath.Usuallywasn’tnow, and Keith was waiting for a reply.
“It’s …” I could tell he was concerned, his eyes patient and kind. “I don’t really like these kinds of levels.”
“Why?”
No anger. No pity. Just a pure and honest question.
“I’m not a fan of the dark,” I explained. “Or tight spaces.”
“Alright.” He nodded and lifted his free hand. He didn’t say any spell, and suddenly the entire tunnel was filled with dancing lights. They were the same ones he used to light up the area we liked to sit in to have tea in the gardens back home.
“Thank you.” It wasn’t perfect, but the light and Keith’s presence beside me made a big difference. I let go of Keith long enough to unsheathe Jacqueline, then reached out and gripped his hand again.
It was a lifeline.
I took a practice swing to see how far my reach was, but it was too tight to do most of my normal moves. I’d be limited to lunges and thrusts with no cuts.
“[Mana Shield],” Keith cast on himself. He asked, “Are you ready?”
I shook my head. “One second.”
[You have activated the Skill:Sword Aura.]
I chose [All Targets] and immediately noticed the two creatures clinging to the top of the cavern ceiling just down the tunnel. I would activate my other abilities closer to the combat.
“Pyre bats to the right,” I told Keith. “Do we have some way to breathe if one of them ignites while I’m fighting them?”
“You can leave that to me,” Keith assured me. “Or do you want to leave the whole floor to me?”
I shook my head. “No, it gets easier every time I face it myself. I’m better now. You should have seen me the first year they threw me into … Well, I’m better now. I can do it, and it’s better if I keep challenging myself.”
“You said ‘better’ three times,” Keith pointed out, squeezing my hand. “But I’ll respect your decision. Just let me know if it becomes too much.”
“Alright,” I lied. “Let’s go.”
The pyre bats were each level nine, and they were grooming each other upside down while clinging to the ceiling of a small alcove. They were half as tall as Keith and known to attack with sound- and fire-based attacks. I focused on them using my skill and ignored everything else.
If they got upset, they tended to light themselves on fire, so while the pyre bats themselves weren’t a problem, the [Vacuum] area of effect—caused by fire in an enclosed space—could trap me, with no air, on the ground as the cold stones dug into my broken fingernails and no one came—
