Page 42 of Oath of War
‘We need to go,’ I hissed, throwing his arm over my shoulder. ‘Come on, don’t make me drag you.’ Nodding towards the strange crypt, I said, ‘Thank you for the warning. May you find peace,’ before bowing as best as I could in respect to those whose warning saved us from their fate.
We left the chamber, and the voices fell silent for a few seconds, almost as if in surprise. The silence was a relief, but the cacophony quickly returned as we carried on.
Dizzy from the ghastly incident, I walked further along the corridor, avoiding turns where the voices grew more substantial. They may have helped me once, but I knew that if I followed them, I’d just find another dead grotto where I could not resist eternal slumber.
I didn’t know how long we’d walked for, but as time passed, it wasn’t only Ari whose feet dragged as we moved forward. We couldn’t keep going like that, so I finally stopped, letting a short sob escape my lips.
‘It’s hopeless, it’s so fucking hopeless,’ I muttered, fighting my panic. What sense was there in continuing if there was no way out? My muscles were spasming from exhaustion, my thoughts were muddled, and my fae was dying. The only feelings I had left were hopelessness and rage.
So, in desperation, I chose rage.
‘Are you enjoying this?’ I screamed, uncaring of if I angered the Dark Mother. ‘Stripping us of hope before we end up like those dusty bones? Do you honestly think I’ll let him die while I donothing? You foolish,hatefulgoddess—I’ll destroy everything here to save him! I’ll fucking burn theworldfor him, so come out and face me. Face me or see just what I’m capable of!’
My voice echoed, multiplying as it spread. I was beyond caring. I would welcome the chance to fight, would welcomeanythingto break out of the endless, exhausting corridors. If I had to die, I would take this dismal prison down with me. Yet, as I stood there, panting hard, nothing emerged from the darkness.
‘Annika, don’t temp fate,’ Alaric whispered, but I only huffed, turning back to him and cradling his cheek.
‘Fate can kiss my bruised arse. I don’t care what she thinks. I can fight my enemies, but if I have to take one more step in this endless maze while you’re fading, I will burn it down, even if it’s the last thing I do.’
I exhaled slowly, letting my anger fuel me, even as weariness threatened to pull me under. Then I felt it—a tug on my spirit ... then another. Whether it was from my outburst or just my desperate imagination, I didn’t care. It was something to hold onto. Clinging to the lifeline like a drowning sailor, I closed my eyes and let the feeling guide me forward.
The corridor soon felt different, and my worries subsided with each step. At some point, the floor became soft, even springy, as if I were walking on moss or a plush carpet. The surrounding air grew colder, and I even felt a breeze on my cheek. But I didn’t allow my hopes to grow.
Is this an illusion? Was the whole journey just a massive hallucination?I asked myself, huffing in annoyance at my limited knowledge of order magic. If it was a trick, I’d walked into it like a cheerful toddler, unaware of the danger.
The breeze grew stronger, the chill seeping into my bones. I squeezed my eyes shut against the unnerving sensation of walking on a giant sponge, refusing to give in to the mounting unease. Then, with a rush of air and an ominoussnap, something lunged at us.
‘Fuck!’ I shouted, grabbing Alaric and dragging us to the ground just in time to dodge a massive set of snapping mandibles. My heart thundered as I realised the ground wasn’t ground at all—we were standing on a spiderweb.
The silken strands, thick as my thighs, stretched in all directions, intertwined with finer threads to form a dense, silvery carpet.
And there, in the centre, was our host.
I still had my sword, but I needed more than that if I hoped to kill the monstrosity. However, after from its initial attack, it simply stood there, motionless. I didn’t sense any corrupted magic, and once I recovered from my shock, I noticed it looked like an overgrown huntsman spider. My instincts were screaming at me that it was the guardian of the temple.
The spider’s eight eyes followed my every move, the eerie sense of being studied making me shiver. It was the size of a carriage, its pale white body covered in strange markings that looked like ancient runes, with two sets of jaws and clawed front legs.
I’m undoubtedly excelling as a battle mage—casually strolling over a spiderweb while its creator eyes me like a plump snack that has delivered itself to its open mouth,I thought.
The beast clattered its fangs as a small sigh of exasperation escaped my lips.
Alaric groaned beside me, his face ashen and his golden eyes dull and unseeing of the horror that lay before us as he fought to stay upright. I couldn’t decide which was worse: being devoured by an overgrown arachnid or watching my love fade away while we hopelessly wandered.
I was about to surrender, to spend what little time we had left holding Ari close, when a glimmer of light caught my eye.
A doorway.
Beyond the spider, the dark entrance gleamed, its edges outlined in warm, inviting light.
That had to be it.
My back straightened. I didn’t care what price I had to pay. I was going to drag Alaric to safety.
‘Look,’ I said to the spider, ‘if you can understand me, I want you to know Ineedto see your mistress. I didn’t come here to cause problems, and I don’t want to hurt you. But if you try tostop me, I will burn you, your web, and this entire maze. I’m tired, scared, and at the end of my patience. I’ve hurt enough people today to make my guilt ride my conscience to my last breath, so if we can resolve this without fighting, I’ll be forever grateful. Soplease, oh big and spindly one, let me pass.’
I executed a lopsided bow, worrying when Alaric shifted slightly, but his words were marked by his usual mischief when he spoke.
‘Are you trying to charm the spider out of its dinner?’ he asked, and I felt a hint of a smile where his cheek pressed against my neck.
