Mist Rising by Eve Langlais
Chapter Twenty-One
Agathe sprinteddown the trail to the group, shrill shrieks echoing in her ears. The less-trained acolytes huddled by the edge of the Abyss, guarded by a few of Maric’s men. The other soldiers and the Soraers who could actually fight gathered by the Abbae with Maric, all crouched down, peering into a large hole penetrating the closed door. Shards of wood littered the ground.
Venna stood to the side, wringing her hands.
“What happened?” Agathe barked. “Where’s the Maeder?” Because Hiix was nowhere to be seen.
“A tentacle—or what could have been a leg—shot right through the wood, punched that hole you see, and snatched Belle. Since the King’s Elite in their armor are too big, Hiix went in after it.”
“She did what?” A glance showed Xaav kneeling by the general knight. The smallest of the soldiers appeared to be shedding gear in an attempt to fit through the hole. “Did she unlock it?”
“Says she can’t. Yelled back that it was barricaded.”
“Why aren’t they smashing their way in?” If something could slam out, then surely, they could do the same to enter.
“Noise. They’re worried about startling whatever took Belle.”
“Nonsense. Belle is probably yelling at it right now while they’re wasting time.” Xaav, while slender compared to the other men, remained too big. He’d never fit. But Agathe could. She shed what she could as she strode to the door.
Maric’s gaze narrowed. “Don’t you even think of it.”
“You can’t stop me.” She dropped to her knees and eyed the size of the splintered opening.
When she would have crawled in, Maric grabbed her by the arm and growled, “I said no. It’s too dangerous.”
“You don’t get to give me orders. Let go. You’re wasting time.” She tugged, and he released her. Before he could halt her again, she squeezed through the jagged opening. The hanging solarus stone around her neck emitted a soft, glowing light to guide her. The door wasn’t the only obstacle. She found herself in a tangle of debris. Someone had barricaded the entrance, preventing anyone from the outside coming in.
Not the most auspicious of signs.
Once Agathe emerged from the mess of broken furniture and other detritus, she found herself in the courtyard, barely lit by the stone. She lifted it and shone it around, straining to hear.
She grimaced as Maric yelled, “Soraer, what can you see?”
“A big freaking hole,” she muttered as she finally understood what had happened here. The floor had caved in from below and allowed the monsters entry. Those caught inside didn’t survive the attack. They’d protected themselves in the wrong direction.
May they be gathered in the Goddess’s embrace.
Hiix stood on the edge of the precipice, illuminated by her amulet of light.
As Agathe moved to stand beside her, she glanced down into the tunneling hole. “I take it that’s where it went?”
“Yeah. I was in time to see the monster drag her into a cave partway down. They haven’t moved since. You can see the slight glow of the girl’s amulet.” Hiix pointed.
Indeed, a faint illumination appeared on the other side of the chasm.
“I’ll circle around and see if I can climb down.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“I’ll be careful.” She couldn’t do nothing. Not if the girl might still be alive.
Bang. Bang.The soldiers hammered at the door. So much for keeping quiet.
As she edged around the pit, she noticed the dark smears on the stone floor. As if something had been dragged to the edge. No bodies to be seen. It made her wonder if this hole had always existed under the Abbae and had suddenly given in to pressure or if something had dug its way in. The latter seemed most likely after what’d happened with the bugs in their own Abbae.
As she neared the other side, Hiix yelled, “There. Right below you.”
All the noise hadn’t drawn any monsters yet, and Agathe hadn’t decided if that was good or bad. On the one hand, she preferred not having to deal with a horde as she climbed down the rock. Then again, silence didn’t bode well. Perhaps the monsters were waiting for the right moment.
Sigh. The things she did for her Soraers, even the annoying ones.
She shone her light downward and barely spotted the cave. She did, however, catch a glimpse of a ledge in front of it. Wide enough for her to stand. It made a good spot to aim for. She sat on the rim and dangled her legs.
“What are you doing?” Hiix asked.
“Climbing will take too long.”
“Don’t you dare!”
But she did dare. Agathe dangled as far as she could before letting go and dropping, praying the impact of her landing wouldn’t shear the rock clean.
Her feet hit with a jarring thump that had her reeling almost far enough backwards into the open space. Panic fluttered. Leaning forward, she grasped a knobby protrusion.
“I can’t look. Please tell me you’re alive,” Hiix whispered.
“As if there was any doubt.” The stone still shone where it dangled between her breasts. No monster eyes glinted in anticipation. While it didn’t appear in plain sight, she smelled it.
Rancid, moist. Why did monsters have to reek? Even their meat was putrid. A pity because, with their kills, they could have eaten their fill and had some left over.
Agathe pulled out her dagger. “I’m going in. Can you see if the soldiers have any rope?”
“On it,” Hiix promised. “Don’t die.”
“I’ll try,” she muttered. Two paces into the cave showed it taller than expected. Belle lay unconscious on the ground. Alive, according to the rise and fall of her chest.
What of the monster? The light of her stone showed the cave empty of anything but bones—human ones—and scraps of fabric.
Barely a whisper of sound to warn her, and yet enough. Agathe whirled and immediately ducked in time to see the jabbing lance-like leg going through the air where she had stood.
Armed with her dagger, she sliced through the appendage, shoving herself sideways before the ichor could drip on her face. Sometimes, monster blood burned.
The creature uttered a sound to shatter ears, and Agathe grimaced against it. The enclosed space made it louder and more unpleasant than usual. She slashed at the monster as it once more tried to jab her with a needle-like leg. Given it oozed, she imagined it exuded some kind of poison or sedative.
Hacking at it eventually left the creature without a leg to stand on, quite literally. She kicked its twitching body into the hole that went down, and down some more, far enough she didn’t hear it hit bottom.
She glanced around with her solarus stone to see if anything else lurked. Out the hole, up, down, side to side. Nothing but rock. Returning to the girl, she knelt and listened to the heart. It beat steadily. Her breathing didn’t labor. A hand on her forehead showed no clamminess to the skin. Hopefully, just sedated and not poisoned. Agathe dragged Belle to the cave’s mouth as someone bellowed.
“Belle!” Maric hollered the girl’s name.
Agathe peered out and up and saw Maric kneeling on the edge of the crack, his armor glowing silver and outlining him.
“How did you get here so fast?”
“Baer doesn’t carry that mace just for bashing skulls, you know. Stay still. I’ll climb down and grab the girl.” Of course, he would be worried about Belle with her purple eyes.
“Don’t be dense. It would be quicker if you tossed me some rope. Hold on to one end, and I’ll tie her securely so you can draw her up.”
“Shit, I forgot the rope. Give me a moment.”
It was only seconds before she saw his outline moving around the hole until he stood directly overhead. The rope dangled down, loose enough that she could harness it around the girl. Once done, she gave the rope a tug.
“She’s good to go,” she announced.
“Ease her gently off the edge so she doesn’t swing too hard.”
Even going slowly, Belle bumped into the wall a few times. Good thing she was still sleeping. Rather than wait her turn, Agathe edged out of the cavern.
“What are you doing?”
“Climbing.”
“Stay in that cave. I will be done in a moment and return for you.” Maric grunted as he strained.
Wait? No, thanks. Agathe looked for hand and footholds to climb. She suddenly didn’t want to be here any longer than necessary. All the noise, and a falling dead monster, was sure to draw the wrong kind of attention.
Maric hauled quickly and soon had Belle on the edge. “I’m untying the girl. I’ll toss down the rope.”
“Get her out of here. I’m almost there.” Or she would have been if the rock wall didn’t suddenly turn sheer. She had to go sideways.
“Would you stop moving? I’m just about done with your knots,” he grumbled.
“Guess we’ll see who’s faster,” she teased, finding a better section to climb. The echo of falling pebbles didn’t come from her climbing but below. Her sense of unease exploded. “You might want to hurry.” Forget pride. She couldn’t climb and fight at the same time.
“Just about there.”
Too late. The spike-tipped appendage came shooting from nowhere, narrowly missing her calf.
“Damn.” She did her best to half turn and hold on with one hand.
“What is it? Fuck.” Maric muttered an expletive as he noticed her dilemma.
Agathe had no time to spare him a look as she tried to avoid the jabbing monster. If it sedated her and she fell asleep, she’d fall and die.
“Hold on.”
“What do you think I’m doing?” She shifted so her back was flat and her feet braced. A good thing, as she needed both hands to grab the stabbing leg and hold it away from her. It left her vulnerable to the next one that punched. As the tip entered her thigh, she gasped. “I’m hit.”
And so tired. She felt her muscles turning soft. Limp. She blinked as a body dropped into view, kicked the monster, and grabbed her before she lost consciousness.
