Page 14 of Gift from the Source
A wave of power flows through us as a shimmering layer falls away from the door. I know it’s clear for everyone now to witness as they all make some sort of acknowledging noise.
“I assume my blood is supposed to travel the circle.”
“It’d seem that way, Adored. There’re remnants of your blood along the outline,” Keeper says as he leans forward, observing the carving.
Here goes nothing.
“Everyone ready?”
A stream of grunts and mumbled yeses echo around the hallway, and I take a deep breath, shifting my nail into a claw. I barely feel the piercing in my skin as I press the sharp tip into my other hand and wait as my blood begins to pool on the pad of my index finger.
I place the digit into the grove of the circle at the very top and slowly, I drag my hand around. Vibrations through the door continue to intensify and by the time my bloody points meet, my entire arm is shaking.
For a moment, the grove locks me in place, not allowing me to pull my hand free, and uncertainty skirts through me along with the tremors now rocking my body from the magic shattering around the door.
Not just the door.
Almost as though a hundred locks on the other side all release at once, metal sliding across metal booms around us. Right before our eyes, the entire wall shimmers out of existence.
My breathing hitches as I stare at a never-ending hallway that seems to stretch on for days and my feet move without command. Each step forward, the ground beneath us slopes, leading us below the foundation of the mansion.
When the ground levels out, and we stop walking, I can finally see the end.
Though it isn’t a dead end or a door.
A single figure stands behind a sparkling veil.
Behind me, Tillman begins to speak, but I can’t hear his words as my eyes gloss over and my mind takes me moments into the future.
“Ry, Lyker, Trex, on me. We’ll scout ahead. The rest follow our steps,” Tillman orders, leaning down to give me a kiss on the forehead as he goes to move around me.
His slow, measured steps are followed precisely by the men he called forth with him and the rest of us hold our breaths while we wait.
Four steps in, a clicking mechanism echoes around them, and Tillman raises his fist, commanding them to halt. There’s a beat of silence and stillness as they wait to see what’s about to happen, but when nothing does, he takes another step forward, setting off the first trap.
The four of them are blasted back through the opening in the door, knocking all of us over like mere bowling pins. Their screams penetrate my ears, making my heart bellow in agony as I catch sight of them covered in some sort of slime that’s burning their skin.
Time rewinds.
This time, it shows me, taking three steps in the open threshold and dropping five drops of my blood on the tile at my feet. That same clicking sounds around me, but instead of a blast, the hallway vibrates and the illusion of an empty hall falls away, revealing the first relic we’ll encounter.
Then the next.
And the final one before the ward at the end.
Each step I need to take is laid out precisely, but any wrong move will trigger the relics. Resulting in the chaos they have the power to unload.
Blinking rapidly, my mind rushes to catch up with me, just as Tillman’s voice fades out. The gentle touch of his lips to my forehead spurs me into a panic, and I grip his arm with the strength of my dragon. I snatch his giant ass behind me, gasping for breath as the reality of how close of a call that was slaps me in the face.
“Will—”
“Don’t step on the floor. It’s a trap, illusion…fuck, I’m not sure what but don’t walk in there,” I pant, searching his eyes, running my hands all along his arms, just to convince myself he’s fine.
Why is italways my gentle giant?
He studies my face and wild eyes for a moment before understanding crosses his features. “Breathe, little warrior. Catch your breath and tell us what you saw.”
Doing as he says, I follow the steady rise and fall of his chest, mimicking the inhales and exhales until my lungs thank me for the relief. With a nod to him, I recount everything I just witnessed in the vision and all heads turn to Trex, hoping for an explanation.
