Nineteen

The hell hounds came at us like a swarm, blinking out of sight here and there because of the columns hidden within the depths of the cavern.

Ahead, one of the leading lantern bearers said something I didn’t understand.  However, whatever the guy had shouted couldn’t have been good because Molev swore in English.

“Tighten the circle.  Channel ahead.  Watch from above,” he called out.

“Above?” I said.

“We should turn back,” Drav shouted to Molev over the baying and snarls.

“If you could look back, you would know that’s not an option.”

I looked over Drav’s shoulder, and my mouth dropped open.  Very few of the lanterns remained.  Even as I watched, a sleek black body leapt forward and silently brought another man down.

“We can’t go back,” I said to Drav. “We’re running out of lanterns.”

He ran faster.

“Close your eyes,” he ordered.

My stomach churned with fear.  Just what the hell was going to happen?  I looked ahead.  Numerous stocky columns rose out of the darkness.  The hounds racing ahead of us scrabbled up the rocky sides.  One reached a peak before we entered the maze of pillars.

From atop its perch, the hound launched itself into the center of our group.  Mad eyes fixed on a hunter not far from us, the hound salivated and snarled as it fell.  It yelped in pain when the light of the crystals touched it but didn’t twist to avoid the brightness.

The hunter hefted his long spear and braced himself.  The hound skewered its body onto the pole without a flinch.  It clawed at the shaft, trying to pull closer to the hunter.  Meanwhile, other hounds were winning their way to the tops of other pillars.

Now I understood why Drav wanted me to close my eyes.

We were all going to die.  Only, there was no resurrection pool for me.  I clung to Drav as we passed between the first two pillars.  Hounds began launching themselves at will, reducing our numbers in seconds.  Blood spattered my jean clad legs.  As much as I wanted to close my eyes, I couldn’t.

This was the cost of returning me to the surface.  Closing my eyes to it wouldn’t make it any less real.

Screams and roars echoed around us.  The thump of the men’s feet on the ground as they ran was non-existent in the noise.

Turning my head, I caught movement high to our right.  A hound’s eyes met mine from above just as it leapt toward us.

I gasped and cringed into Drav.

“Molev,” Drav shouted.

Then he threw me.  I screamed, sailing through the air, looking back to see the hound bring Drav down.  Another converged on him.

I screamed his name.

Strong arms caught me, and the forward momentum jerked me, interrupting my view.  When I saw again, there was nothing but a pile of black bodies where Drav had stood.

“No!” The cry ripped through me.  I didn’t care if he had resurrected a million times before, I didn’t trust fate to bring him back to me now.  Not after everything I’d seen.

I looked up at Molev’s shadowed face.

“Stop!  You have to help him!”

Molev didn’t slow.  He veered, avoiding another leaping hound.

“Ghua,” he yelled.

Yet again, I found myself sailing through the air.  Molev shouted out several names as Ghua caught me and tucked me under one arm, carrying me like a flailing football.  I lifted my head and squinted at the bright glow of the lantern he carried in his other hand.  Four more lantern bearers moved to surround us, all running at the same breakneck pace as Ghua.  The light of the crystals they held, the only thing keeping the beasts at bay.

A shout from behind us distracted the circling, snapping hounds, though.  Their numbers thinned, opening a path to the next dimly lit cavern.

“Ghua, please,” I panted. “You have to help Drav.”

“I am,” he said.

He continued forward, toward the dim light of the cavern.  As soon as we exploded through the passageway, the noise of the fight behind us couldn’t be heard over the sound of the group’s harsh breathing.  Ghua fell to his knees, taking me with him.

His sides heaved with great, gasping breaths as did those of the men around him.

Ignoring the pounding behind my eyes, I scrambled to my knees and looked back at the black entrance.  For a moment, I heard and saw nothing.  Then the faint snarls and growls reached me.  The hounds were already turning away, knowing the light in the cavern would be too much for them.  But, they’d gotten what they’d wanted.

Tears flowed down my cheeks, and a sob caught in my throat.  Slowly, I wrapped my arms around my aching middle.

“He will swim in the pool and come back for you, Mya.  Do not doubt that.” Ghua’s hand gripped my shoulder, a small comfort to my breaking world.

None of the men spoke as I continued to cry through my pain.  A numbness crept in.  I swallowed hard and wiped the back of my hand across my dripping nose.  After a few calming breaths, I looked up at Ghua who squatted beside me, studying me with concern.

“How will we ever reach the surface with just the six of us?” I asked, my voice still rough.

“We need to stick to the light caverns.”

“That will only work until the old orchard.  It and the cavern leading up to the surface are both dark,” I said.

He nodded.

“We’ll wait until the old orchard is lit.  We will be safe.  But I will need to carry you and run, Mya.”

“I know.”

He stood and offered me his hand.

“Come.  We must keep moving.  The light is increasing here and will give us more time.”

I stood and let Ghua pick me up.  It wasn’t the same as running with Drav.  He didn’t hold me as closely, for which I felt very grateful.

We ran through the lit cavern, my heart feeling heavier with each step.

A distant sound stopped Ghua before we reached the next entrance.  He turned back, looking the way we’d come.  I saw nothing in the soft light but the swaying long purple grass.  Another anguished howl-like yell echoed distantly.

“Is it the hounds?” I asked, my heart beating hard.  They shouldn’t have been able to enter, not with the light.

“No,” Ghua said.  He started walking toward the sound. “It’s your name.”

I tilted my head and listened.  This time, I heard it.  The long, drawn out syllables of my name.

“Is it—?” My throat tightened with hope.

“I can’t tell.” He turned back and started to jog, the other’s falling in around us.

From a distance, I caught the shape of four men.  Just four out of the sixty who’d left the city with us.

“It’s Molev, Drav, Kerr, and Shax,” Ghua said.

I started to cry.  Ghua picked up the pace, and we met them near the base of one of the spindly trees.  I pushed myself from his arms and went running to Drav, who was being half carried, half dragged by Molev and Shax.  Blood covered every inch of his skin, along with bites and ripped, gaping wounds.  He seemed blind as he yelled my name again, and swung his head from side to side.

“She’s right in front of you.  Stop your yelling,” Molev said.  He released Drav, who fell to the ground.

I ran to him.

“Does anyone have my bag?”

Kerr set it beside me.  His bloody hand caught my attention.  I looked up and noticed, in a glance, they all looked just about as bad as Drav.

“You heal faster in the caverns, right?” I asked.

Molev collapsed to the ground beside Drav.

“Yes.  We will need a rest period.  Maybe two.”

I grabbed my water bottle and dribbled some onto Drav’s ravaged face.  His eyes were too swollen to tell if he really had been blinded.

“Everything will heal?” I asked, worried.

“Yes.  We keep the scars until we are reborn.”

“Mya,” Drav gasped, his hand reaching up and closing around mine.

“I’m here,” I said, afraid to touch him. “Lie down.  I’ll lie with you.”

“No.  Must leave.  Crystals.”

“It’ll be okay,” I said, giving him a gentle nudge. “Ghua is here and will wake us before I get sick.  It’ll be just enough time to let you heal.”

Drav eased down to the ground and pulled me close.  His bleeding had already stopped.  Within seconds, he slept.

I looked up at Ghua, my head already pounding.  However, I couldn’t be sure if it was from the scare and the tears or the crystals.

“Don’t wake them up until everyone can run.  None of us will survive if we have to carry the injured.”

He nodded slowly, and I closed my eyes.

*    *    *    *

Something cold and wet pressed against my forehead, and I tried to push it away.  I could barely lift my arm, though.

“Mya?”

“Stop.” My word slurred with sleep.

“Mya, you must wake.”

“No, too tired.”

Drav shook me lightly.

“Your fever is back.  You must wake.”

“Stop, I’m awake.”

“Then open your eyes.”

With a great effort, I managed to crack my eyelids open a bit.  The light was gone, replaced with darkness again.  A lantern was nearby, and I cringed away from it.

“We are getting close to the crater.  We need to keep moving, Drav,” Molev said from somewhere right beside me.  Drav pulled away the cloth he was using to wipe down my forehead.  How long had I been out?  I groaned from the pain radiating in my body.

“Ghua is going to lift you.  Are you ready to move again?”

Honestly, I wanted to tell him no, I wasn’t.  But, I knew I wouldn’t be getting any better here.  A hound howled, and it sounded too close for comfort.  Ghua picked me up as gently as he could, but the fever and the accompanying pain made everything worse.  I bit back my cry of pain and turned my head to look at Drav.

His face looked less swollen.  But, when he stood, he did so with a grimace and stepped back with a limp.

“You need more rest,” I said.

“I’m sorry, Mya,” Ghua said. “You do not look well.  I had to wake them.”

He took off running, and the agony that jolted in my head pulled me into a pain-filled darkness.

*    *    *    *

“We are close.”

“She needs help.”

“Once we get to the surface, we will find her people.  Someone will help her.”

Drav and Molev’s conversation grated on my nerves.  Every sound seemed heightened, and I wanted them to stop talking.

I groaned and tried to open one eyelid.  I only caught a glimpse of our surroundings before it closed.  Darkness surrounded us, but the ceiling had seemed familiar.  I tried again, and Drav noticed.

“She is awake.  We must move now,” Molev called out.

Drav held me tightly, his fingers running through my hair.  I wanted to ask what was wrong, but he had me up in his arms before I could.

“You must hold onto me.”

I did as he asked but had no strength in my grip.  Drav ran forward and there was a pressure in my ears as they popped loudly and painfully.  I winced. We’d just passed through the barrier.  We were almost there.

I spontaneously threw up on myself, and weakly choked on it.

“You will be okay, Mya.  You will be.”

Muscles moved under me.  I drifted off, knowing he was wrong this time.

Molev’s quiet voice roused me again.  Something was tied around me, anchoring me to Drav.

“Drav,” I rasped. “Remember.  Family.  Promise.”

“I remember, Mya.  I promise you will see them again.”

I wouldn’t.  I couldn’t see anything.  But, I tried again to open my eyes.

Just when I thought it wasn’t working, I saw the stars.  They glittered above me with a dazzling beauty rarely seen even at the cabin.  I wanted to cry.  The twinkling stars above us seemed too spectacular to be true.  My fever had to be making me delusional.

“We are here,” Drav said, untying me.  He lay me on the cool ground.  Instead of stars, I stared up at his ravaged face.

“Where?” I rasped.

“The surface,” he said.

I sighed and closed my eyes.  He’d done it.  He’d returned me to the surface like I’d asked.  But far too late.

“Thank you, Drav.  Don’t forget your promise.”

With that, I let the darkness take me once more, barely hearing Drav’s anguished cry.

“No, Mya!  I will not lose you.”