Page 60 of Forgotten Monsters
Cole holds up a finger in her direction as though he’s about to curse her to hell, but finally nods.
I brush Flynn’s hair away from his face and peck his mouth. “We’ll be back.” I catch a sob from tearing through my lips. “We’ll be back and find a way to pull that wretched thing out of your chest, or so help me gods—”
Flynn captures my hand in his and kisses my knuckles. “It’s alright, witch. I always knew I’d die for my King.”
22
HOLLOWED-OUT
Adrenaline prevents me from collapsing as I run to the crater. A gaping hole stands where the thick geodesic dome used to be. The earthquakes remodeled the narrow entrance to the cave, and the winding path I once visited with Beth now slopes down inside the crust of the earth. Cracks and plateaus slowly descend into the depths of Dark Falls, and I send a fire orb forward to see better.
Cole flies over the chasm. “It’s too deep for me to see the bottom.” He lands next to me along the rim of the hole, and his wings flicker out of view.
I peer over the ledge. “We have to stop Darkwood.”
Cole points to a narrow path along the rocks. “There.”
A few rocks trickle down the crater under his weight.
“Careful,” I say.
“Better me than you. If the ground gives, I can fly.”
“Don’t use magic,” I remind him.
He nods.
I still wish he’d agreed to stay behind. “What if forty hollows are waiting for us at the bottom? Promise me you won’t do anything rash.”
He threads the path methodically without looking back. “I’m not leaving you here alone.”
The earth quakes rapidly under our feet. Shadows and a cloud of smoke obscure the view of the bottom, the crater becoming narrower and narrower as we descend. My heart pounds in my chest, and I flatten my body to the rock wall. Technically, I could survive the fall even if I broke my neck, but I’d be…wrecked.
After a few minutes, the pathway becomes encumbered with rocks. A tunnel forms between the boulders, and I send a second fire orb forward to light our path.
Smoke dries up my throat, and I cough.
Cole maneuvers himself in the tight passage. “It’s only a few feet down.” He jumps in feet first.
I bend down and glide along the oblique trench. Cole softens my fall, catching me in his arms at the bottom. Roots and dust form a thick carpet at our feet.
“You should let me go first.” I dash in front of him.
He clicks his tongue but trails a few steps behind me.
The cave widens in width and height. An archway looms over the now flat path, and ancient alphabet runs along its grooves. Darkwood is immobilized in front of the inscriptions, oblivious to our arrival.
We crouch and slow down the pace.
“Enter here whom has the blood of the phoenix,” Cole translates, his chin angled to the inscription. “This is the entrance to Earth’s main channel, the one that was destroyed.”
“All the more reason to kill Darkwood before he reaches the center.”
“But what’s ‘blood of the phoenix’? Is it just a blanket statement for magic users on Earth? According to the poem in Lydia’s book, the phoenix created all supernaturals, including vampires.”
“Beats me.” I dig my heels in the dirt. “Darkwood is immune to magic. We have to physically stop him.”
The vampire’s voice echoes ominously in the cave. “Come closer, little witch, and tell me what you see.” He points to the space right in front of him.
