Page 135 of Demon Defeat: Part One

I looked back at the opening we’d come through. Rock, shaped like a series of frozen waterfalls, bordered a gaping blackness where the light didn’t reach.

“Come,” Molev said. “We should not linger here.”

He swept me up into his arms.

“Damn. Some warning next time,” Steve said.

I looked and saw every human was being carried like I was. Roni was smirking at Steve.

“Don’t lie,” she said. “You like it.”

Steve flipped her off, and her laughter rang out behind her until Brog leaned in and said something I couldn’t hear.

She nodded and quieted but threw one more eyebrow wiggle in Steve’s direction before the fey started jogging out of the area.

They ran between massive rock formations in the cavern. Some looked like pillars reaching up to the glowing algae on the cavern ceiling. Others resembled clusters of misshapen, upside-down ice cream cones. The bits of glowing moss on the tips made them seem like distant snowy mountains. The paths between the rocks crowded so closely at times that it felt more like we were running through a large tunnel, rather than a cavern.

After a few minutes of running, a space between rocks began to open enough that I could see an opening ahead. A warmer breeze drifted from that dimly lit space, and I was surprised when we crossed through into an even larger cavern than the one before. Its massive roof rose three times as high, making it at least six stories overhead.

Embedded in the ceiling, jagged glowing crystals illuminated the area in a soft blue light. Four giant columns rose up near the far end of the space, the only large rock formations. Fernlike vegetation, interspersed with white, stunted skeletal trees, filled the rest of the cavern, like a ghostly orchard.

From those skeletal trees, small brown globes hung from thin branches. A sheen of blue light reflected off their almost opalescent dark skin.

“Is this where the stepmom came for her apples?" Katie asked.

Ben shushed her, and the fey rustled the blue-green fronds with their passing. I reached out for one of the weird apples. Molev shook his head but nodded to another fey, who picked a few and put them in the bag he was wearing. We all had mostly empty bags to collect whatever needed collecting, and I hoped those apples were something we could grow on the surface. They were too unique to abandon.

The fey veered when we reached the end of the orchard, and I spotted another opening. This one glowed more brightly, and I had to squint against the light when we entered it. Because of that, I didn’t get to see much before we passed into another cavern. The sudden darkness sent a shiver through me, and Molev held me a little closer. No one made any unnecessary sound, but not by some pre-discussed agreement. The threat of danger hung in the air.

Cavern after cavern, we made our way deeper into the fey’s world. I began to see Molev’s life in a new light. While there was an undeniable beauty here, there was also a starkness that left me feeling sad for the man holding me. No light. No sounds. Constant darkness and danger. And how many thousands of years had they spent like that?

I rested my head against his chest and smoothed my hand over his shirt. He held me a little closer for a moment, his version of a hug on the run.

When they finally slowed in a well-lit cavern, the backs of my knees were sore, and my feet were tingling.

“We will rest here,” Molev said softly. “Try not to make noise.”

I nodded and carefully withdrew the canteen from my bag. Molev watched me take a few sips then accepted it from me. We didn’t eat. Just hydrated, stretched, then got back to running.

Katie started to yawn first. I only noticed because Ben slowed and looked down at her with concern. Then, I started yawning. Despite knowing that the fey had more stamina than a human, I worried about Molev and his brothers if we were tired just from being carried.

At the next stop, I questioned the pace.

“I know you’re feeling driven to get there quickly, but exhausting yourselves won’t help us get back. Is there time for a quick nap?”

Molev looked at Katie, who was passed out in Ben’s arms.

“We’re fine,” I said. “It’s all of you I’m worried about.”

“We can sleep here for a short time.”

Although we spoke very softly, the men around us heard. The fey who’d been carrying someone immediately started to bed down in the tall grass. The others took up positions around us, watching outward.

“We cannot stay long,” Molev said, wrapping his arms around me and bringing me to the ground. “An infected is following us.”

I slowly turned in his arms to look at him.

“What? Why are we letting it follow us?”

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