43 | Light in the Tunnel
Before she does it, Eli can tell she means to bolt past him and catches her by the shoulders. Her eyes are dark as the deepest night, so strange when he is accustomed to her fairer features, and she doesn’t directly appear to be looking at him.
“Klia,” he says, shaking her slightly when she doesn’t respond. “Can you hear me?”
Thistle certainly seemed to hear when whatever magic he has overtook him. Last time this happened, the girl was angry at Eli for running down the dark tunnel, and she certainly knew him then. Despite the full darkness of her eyes, he knows she is not truly seeing him.
“Can you take me to Thistle?” he asks, fully intending to take advantage of this strange wave of magic. Her face scrunches at her brother’s name. It is nearly enough for him.
He doesn’t believe it’ll work, but he squeezes her hand, wondering if he will touch her magic past the seeing in the dark, and is rewarded with nothing. The shadows about them grow darker. Behind him, whatever monster was lurking has fled. She is still struggling to get past him, and Eli gives in. Grabbing her hand so he doesn’t immediately lose her in the dark, he runs as best as his aching body will take him, pushing through the wavering undergrowth, Klia dragging him along after so violently he’d certainly lose her in a moment.
A cry echoes through the tunnel, a too-sharp noise that has chills running up Eli’s skin before he even comprehends what he is hearing. Digging his heels in, he drags Klia to a stop, clamping his hand over her mouth. It isn’t necessary, as she goes utterly still as the stone about them when the scream echoes again.
Momentarily, Eli is terrified of the worst.
That the cries belong to Thistle.
That the monsters have done something to him now Eli is catching up.
But he remembers that sound, even as it reverberates along the stone walls a thousand times, slightly fainter the second time around.
They are catching up.
In a straight tunnel, there is little place to hide and fewer ways to sneak up on those Unknown monsters. Even the undergrowth provides little shelter. Eli doesn’t know if they’ve all learned to avoid the sharp edge of his sickle, but must assume they have until he knows otherwise. Quietly, he works the weapon loose of its makeshift scabbard on the back of his pack, comforted by the familiar hold of it. Klia still has not so much as twitched since Eli pulled her to a stop.
Bending closer, he puts his fingers together in the same gesture she’s been using for Thistle. Her eyes are still pools of pitch black, but she nods. Her fingers are quivering in his, and he puts his hand holding his sickle to her shoulder, feeling her tremble and trying to scrape the next steps into his mind. He wishes very deeply that he could shove Klia into a little crack in the wall, safe and hidden until he can return for her. Even if he told her to stay put, he is not certain she would listen. She is braver than he gave her credit for when she was sitting on his bed back at the monastery, frightened of even him.
Quickly, he runs over his numbers, not expecting to see anything different and unhappy with them anyhow.
Elijah Jyce
the Reaper, the Unknown, the Elder
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63/97 Buds | 2/10 Roots | 3/5 Filaments
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Stems
Bladewielder (15), Minddreamer (3)
Considering using Minddreamer, he calls it to mind.
Minddreamer | 3 Petals
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Put aside each human fear, battle your wars with a mind so clear—
Once a day, you may decide to wield the bravery we so provide—
Once a day. He doesn’t know how long the skill will last, or if it will last longer now its number has increased, nor does he suspect Klia holds answers. He has a choice to use it now, before knowing if there is further danger lurking past whatever Unknowns are closest. He cannot waste it, not until he has assessed the situation.
Pushing Klia’s jaw nearer so he can assure himself she’s seeing him, he puts a finger to his lips until she nods once more.
Straightening, Eli softens his footsteps as he creeps down the tunnel. Klia no longer tugs at his hand, but he keeps her just behind, worried something may snatch her behind if he were to let her wander too far from him in either direction.
They are going to be drawn to her…
Perhaps Eli’s violence and Thistle’s nearness will be enough to dissuade them. After all, the one he saw has fled. He needs a place to hide the girl or at least reassurance she will listen. He has neither.
A hulking shadow passes before the tunnel just ahead. Well, it didn’t flee for long. Light is growing at the end of the hallway, faint, and Eli wonders if it is even real. It silhouettes the hunched form attempting to fit its way into the hallway meant for a human at the most. Eli’s heart thumps, but Klia remains utterly still and silent. Working his fingers around the hilt of the sickle, Eli stands as calmly as he is able and waits for the creature to move—to either leave or give indication it sees them in the dark. Eli releases Klia’s hand, drowning him in darkness. He cannot fight with her in his hold. Somewhere far away, he hears the drip of water and swallows, irritated with the dampness of his clothes.
The shadow of the Unknown—indicated briefly by the same threatening words as before—shifts and gives off a strange, low growl. The scent of soil overpowers cold stone. The others did not smell as such, they did not smell much of any way at all.
Its next scream trembles the pebbles around Eli’s boots, and he maneuvers Klia back as it shoves toward them at top speed, hindered by the lowness of the ceiling and hanging vines. This one is larger, significantly so, and Eli can hardly see it. He cannot let it pass him, not with Klia behind, though the girl has the good sense to scramble back into the darkness.
It sees better in the dark than he; as soon as he bares his sickle, it shies away. Well, at least it’s frightened of the blade. Eli sidesteps the wild swing of its hand. He will not use Minddreamer, not yet, for he has never needed anything to clear his mind before battle, and he will not begin now. If he can save it, all the better.
As frightened of the blade as it is, it still swipes at him, and he is doubly grateful these things do not appear to have magic, for it is an easy enough opportunity to slice at its massive arm. In the dark, he misjudges the distance and ends up injuring its hand instead. With a roar, it yanks back and knocks loose a section of the tunnel, sending rocks scattering alongside Eli’s boots. He hooks the tip of his blade around the back of its leg, severing it enough it collapses. In the back of his mind, he hates killing when Klia is watching, even something such as this. He is not afforded long to consider, as the creature’s remaining hand comes so near to his head he imagines he avoided death by a hair’s breadth.
He cuts it down much as he had the others, soil scattering around his feet, flower petals tumbling even in the dark. Light catches his eye, and he glances down the tunnel. As soon as he looks away, Klia bolts past him, heading down for the light, and Eli runs after her with a string of oaths, tripping over the vines enclosing the walkway.
By the time he reaches the entrance, the light has faded to something reasonable for sunlight, and he catches a broad crack in the stone far above, as there was in the library. This one, he thinks offhandedly, seems more deliberate. He has little time to consider this properly before something is twisting about his wrist, yanking him forward. A vine as thick as his thumb snaps around his bones with a shockingly tight grip, and he severs it quickly with his blade, hissing at the pain and using his teeth to tear away the remaining tendril. He was able to avoid using his sore arm when fighting that Unknown, but the vine dug in hard.
When he stumbles upright, he jumps back, confronted by a thick wall of trees and the same vines.
“Klia!” he calls as he catches sight of the girl disappearing into the plants.
Just like her brother…
Eli can’t help but notice how none of the vines touch the girl. Something akin to a path opens up for her, welcoming her in.
