Chapter Eleven
Celine jumped as a large hand wrapped around her mouth. She had just managed to get back to sleep when she was so rudely awakened.
Panic flooded through her for a moment. She prepared to bite the hand before she realized she recognized the feel and scent.
"Stay quiet," Atticus whispered in her ear. "We need to move. Thrax picked up our scent again and isn’t far off. I can’t smell him yet, but I heard him in the distance.”
So much for relaxing. Celine’s heart kicked up even more, and she shook. She stood and pulled her coat from the ground. She’d thought after so much walking and the storm, they would be safe, or that the Glycon would have just given up.
Why was he so obsessed with her? Because she smelled nice? That was the only explanation Atticus had given her. If Vestals were supposed to be something like soul mates, why did the crazy monster want her?
Celine still wasn’t sure if she believed she was meant in some strange, cosmic sense to be with Atticus, but she did know that she felt a strong connection to him in a way she’d never felt with any other man. The only thing she felt looking at Thrax was terror.
Atticus kicked dirt over the fire pit and then scattered the wet leaves he had brought in before turning back to her. She could see through the branches out the front that morning was still a bit away. She didn’t know if it was a good thing or bad thing that they’d be fleeing into darkness.
Celine thought before she was tired, but with all the hiking and the never-ending fear, she now knew what true exhaustion felt like. Though that same fear also now helped to keep her moving. Maybe adrenaline would save her life in the end.
Atticus pointed to the back of the cave and walked over to her side. "We stand a better chance of escaping the further into the cave we go. I tried to lead him off in another direction with your scent, but I’m not sure if he’ll take the bait," he said quietly.
Into the cave? Celine had assumed they were going to make a break for the woods.
She glanced toward the opening and then into the darkness of the cave. “Is it safe?”
He glanced back to the branches covering the opening. “It’s better than being out in the open,” he said softly.
Celine nodded. She was scared as hell and didn't really know what to expect. All she had wanted from the Azilians was answers, but now the fateful choice to go to their compound had trapped her in a living nightmare.
Still, she held on to hope. It wasn’t easy to put all her trust into one person, but she did. Totally and completely, she trusted Atticus. Even setting aside her feelings for him, he had experience dealing with Glycons.
Celine reached out and threaded her fingers through his. Atticus might not be ready for public displays of affection or anything at all, but she needed the comfort, especially if she were going to walk through a dark cave.
She resisted the urge to ask him if there might be some sort of monsters in the cave. While some of his statements suggested that there could be much more to the world than she’d ever expected, she doubted he would willingly lead her into a dangerous situation.
Slowly they made their way into the darkened tunnel, their foot steps producing an eerie echo. Pitch black surrounded her on all sides, and she couldn't help but think of the dream she'd had last night. The Shadow Man had hunted her in the dream, coming after all the people that she loved.
After her nightmare-free night, she’d hoped that the dreams were gone. Now, they were back and felt even stronger than before.
Just thinking about it made her pulse race and palms sweat. She still couldn't quite process that it might be true. Or that Atticus agreed it could be true.
Sure, she might be accused of believing in things that didn’t exist often enough, but this was different. It was a bridge too far. And if it seemed farfetched to her, what must it seem like to everyone else?
Of course, now she was running with a hybrid into a cave to escape a monstrous Glycon. The limits of reality didn’t seem as rigid as they had a few days before.
“I got you,” Atticus whispered into the darkness, likely feeling her anxiety over the Shadow Man and mistaking it for a fear of the cave.
Celine might have laughed if it all weren’t so completely crazy. In the end, she supposed worrying about the Shadow Man was pointless. She figured all she could do was deal with the monster in front of her at the moment.
Maybe the Shadow Man was real. Maybe he wasn’t. The other monster, the Glycon Thrax, was not only real, but he was still hunting them and close.
The deeper they walked into the darkness, the more she realized the chill from the morning had dissipated. It wasn’t just that it wasn’t chilly. Instead it was far warmer than she remembered it being outside. That didn’t make sense to her.
She walked slowly, her hand gripping his. He kept a steady pace, with no stumbling to her surprise.
“You can see in this can’t you?” Celine said.
“I can see well enough. I have good eyesight even for a hybrid.”
She fell silent, thinking his response over. She could make out the barest hints of a shape in the darkness, but otherwise was blind. It was only his presence that pushed panic away.
Atticus rubbed his thumb across the back of her palm. "Not much further," he said softly. “We’re almost there.”
Celine wasn't exactly sure what Atticus was looking for but trusted him nonetheless. For all she knew, he found some camp sight, complete with a lantern. She doubted it, but that didn’t stop her from hoping.
Ahead, a small light came into view. For a moment her eyes had trouble adjusting, and Celine wondered if it were some sort of mirage in the darkness. She hadn’t heard of such a thing, but she didn’t exactly spend a lot of time running around in caves.
Shapes grew into true shadows, which grew into jagged walls of rock and stalactites and stalagmites. Not a mirage, actual light.
The farther they moved, the brighter the light grew, and the more she believed they were approaching an opening in the cave. Hope filled her heart.
The heat was unmistakable now. A nice warm heat, like the kind she might find soaking in a warm bath. It reached through the chill of the night, right into her very bones. Celine was already feeling far more relaxed than she had before.
They stepped into the opening the light was coming from, and she was surprised to find a large, cavernous room. Small holes littered the ceiling allowing light from the dawn sun to shine into the room. She let out a breath, realizing just how happy she was to be free of the oppressive darkness.
Still, as much as she liked the location, there was a more basic concern tugging at her.
"Is this safe?" Celine whispered. "Won't Thrax smell us in here? Maybe through the holes?”
Atticus breathed in deeply and shook his head. "You smell that?"
Between concentrating on walking and worrying about the Glycon, Celine hadn't particularly been paying attention to the smell. But now that he mentioned it, there was definitely a strong odor in the room.
"Rotting eggs?" Celine asked, and wrinkled her nose at the smell. Not all that pleasant for sure. Celine could only imagine it would be much worse for the hybrids and the Glycons.
Atticus shook his head. "Sulfur.”
Of course. It made perfect sense considering they were in a lava cave. Many of the hot springs in the area were formed from lava caves, and some were even known to have a sulfur base formed of left over minerals from their time as magma tubes.
“Are you okay?” Celine said.
“I can ignore this, and I doubt Thrax will guess what we’re doing.”
Atticus nodded toward the back of the cave, and Celine followed, feeling safer again for the first time since being awakened.
Steam filled the air around them. He stepped a little closer and wrapped his arm around her as steam hissed around them.
"It's the cool morning air meeting the warm air in here. If we go a little farther, I think you'll like what I found."
They walked past the steam-filled room. Celine was certain her curly hair was now a wild mess from all the steam, but she wasn’t about to complain. As far as hideouts went, this one wasn’t all that bad, even if it’d take her a bit to get used to the smell.
She was surprised when they stepped into a beautiful room. A small stream trickled through an underground passage, likely connected to the creek they had previously walked in and drank from. A beautiful blue hot spring sat in the corner.
It was odd. Like discovering a hot tub in the middle of a dungeon.
"You think the water is safe to drink?" Celine said, licking her dry lips.
Atticus nodded. "I tested it earlier and had no problems," he said. “Once Thrax moves on, we’ll make a break toward the compound. I don't really know what's out there, but we can't stay hidden in here forever."
Celine nodded. The idea of being back out in the open scared the ever-loving shit out of her, but they couldn’t live in a cave. Not like they had rabbits hopping around to eat.
They also needed to see what happened back at the Azilian compound, and she worried about Allison. If Thrax hunting her had something to do with her being a Vestal, then Allison might be a target as well.
But for now, she’d enjoy where they were. Sometimes it was about the little things. And right now, the little things were all they had.