“Oh,I’msure you would like that,”Abraxasmumbled.Heturned around, butIheld him.Myheart raced as fear spiked through me.Iplaced my hand on his chest and let his slow heartbeat calm mine.Ifelt the warmth of him and let it guide my breathing, slow in and out.Iclosed my eyes and reached out again.Yes, there it was, something unnatural further down into the earth.Thesignature of it clung to my little spider.
“Wehave to keep going.Somethingis down there; this could be it.”
“Tori,Idon’t think—”ButIstepped forward and asIdid, the web under my feet pulled like the string of a great instrument, andIfelt it travel through the tunnel, resonating a path straight towards us.
Suddenly, we were surrounded.Icould hear them shuffling as if they had just been lying in wait.Icouldn’t count them, as they stayed outside our small ring of light, butIhad no doubt there were hundreds, and the few who came close enough to cast their shadow were much larger than our guide.AbraxasandIdrew our swords back-to-back, and the flames in his had surged.Theshadows came closer and closer, the web around us pulling tight with their weight.
ButsuddenlyIheard a sharp chittering to my side, and our small spider had crawled up on the web and waved his arms frantically, making a noise much louder thanIthought he could have emitted.Hepulled at the web like a code, and slowlyIfelt his family recede, if only just a bit.Theystill moved, but it was quieter, further away.
Ourguide jumped to the ceiling of the tunnel and flared his abdomen before he continued on.Ifollowed withAbraxasclose behind me.
Aswe made our way deeper, the web was harder to traverse butIdid my best not to disturb it, ducking through small holes and openings.Icould hearAbraxascursing as various parts of his larger body kept getting stuck, but eventually, we made it to a larger opening.
Ashe entered, his flame illuminated hundreds of small holes in the web, each like a small tunnel leading away.Inside,Isaw a few spiders about the size of our guide.Thenursery.
Myspider crawled into one of these holes, andIwas worried he expected me to follow, but a few moments later he emerged, something shining on his back.
Hehad wrapped it around himself and carried it to me.Themetal of the diadem caged him and was nearly as corroded as everything elseIhad seen here.Ipicked it up delicately, and still, it felt moments from dissolving.Iflipped it over and nearly dropped it.Agreat red gem looked up at me, its heart glowing with a crimson light that was laced with dark shadows.Thiswas it, the unnatural feeling.Thiswas what we had come for.
Abraxasleaned over my shoulder, “Crystalsare the order that forms in a world inclined to chaos.Theycan be powerful conduits themselves.Thisone has been corrupted—become something beyond this world.Despitehow she was hated,QueenSorayawas a powerful magic user, perhaps the most powerful.Ihave never felt anything like this.”
Yes, nearly two thousand years had passed, and still this gem held magic beyond comprehension.Butthere was no time to dwell on that now.Ourlittle guide hopped back on my shoulder, and his hurried chittering told me it was time to go.
Wemade our way out as quickly as possible, andInever thoughtIwould be so happy to see the pitch-blackness of the forest spreading over my head again.Wefollowed our golden trail back towards the edge of the fortress, when somehow the darkness grew even deeper.Theair dropped to a deathly cold, and my breath came out as clouds of ice.
Mylittle companion tried to hide himself below the blanket of my hair, sending shivers down my spine as his legs stroked the skin there.Butit was nothing compared to the fear that gripped my stomach asIsaw them.Despitethe darkness of the forest, these were even darker.Shadowsthat clung to the walls and the rocks, a pure void from which nothing could escape.Theyrushed at us, and leapt from their flat confines into the air, great billowing clouds of nothingness.Ididn’t even know ifIcould hit them, butIswung my sword, nonetheless.Itfelt like passing through the thick pudding served at solstice, except that everywhere my body touched,Ifroze, hoarfrost coating my skin.Myjoints locked up andIcould barely move.
Abraxassaw this, and instead lashed out with his fire, creating a great wave of that deep green power.Themagic of it thrummed through the air as swirling flames danced around his fingertips, his arms.Agreat wall erupted around us both as temporary safety.
Moreshadows lunged towards him, focusing their attack, andAbraxasunleashed another torrent.Theflames erupted with intense heat, engulfing the creature in an otherworldly blaze.Theshadow shrieked with piercing volume, then disintegrated into nothingness.
Butthere were more shadows, swirling and writhing, eager to take their chance.Theylunged atAbraxasfrom all directions, their forms distorted and amorphous.Stillfrozen,Icould feel the darkness pressing against us, even as they ignored me for the more powerful enemy.
Abraxasmoved with swift agility, dodging and weaving through the attacks.Hisgreen fire blazed brighter, illuminating the forest with a preternatural glow.Witheach wave of his hand, tendrils of green flames shot out, his light cutting through each shadow.
Itwas beyond what he could do with a sword.Heand the flame were one—a weapon that moved like a force of nature itself.Butthe shadows kept coming in an endless onslaught.Eachone drew closer toAbraxas, his power fading.Eachattack closed in on our small sanctuary.
Asthe flames approached us,Ifelt the frost holding me cracking, andIfinally broke free.Iran towardsAbraxas, but with a great wave of his power, he pushed me away.
“Run,Tori, get out of here!”
“Nota fucking chance.Iwon’t leave you.”Yes, it was stupid to stay whenIwas completely useless.ButIhad never let that stop me before.Hiswall of flames sputtered around us, and the shadows grew more frenzied, sensing the end was near.Abraxasnever wavered, holding his ground even as his power drained from him.
Mysword was useless, soIdid the only thingIcould think of and placed my hands onAbraxas’ back, so at least he knewIwas there, thatIwould be there no matter what.Somehow, knowing that, the fear that gripped me seemed to slip away.
Mypalms met his back and flames erupted down my arm.Iscreamed, and my small companion jumped from me asIwas consumed by the emerald fire.Ifelt my skin sizzling as white-hot pain shot through me.Buteven through the pain,Icould feel something more, something deeper.
Myfeet rooted to the ground, and despite the unending heat of the flames, something gentle and warm trickled up through my feet and my body.Itran through me toAbraxas, and suddenly his flames exploded.
Viridianfire pressed every shadow away, reaching to the canopy of the trees above and the walls of the fortress.Fora moment, the whole scene was awash in light as the trees opened up to let the sun in, and every last shadow was burned away.
Islumped to the ground, the smell of my burned flesh stung my nostrils, and huge black scorches snaked across every part of me thatIcould see.
“Tori!”Abraxaswrapped his arms around me, clutching me to his chest.Immediately, the pain ebbed, as his very presence seemed like a soothing balm.Ilooked at my arms and saw the burns fading, new tan skin appearing beneath.
“I’malright,Ithink.Wehave to go,Abraxas.”Icarefully placed my hand over the pocketIhad placed the diadem in, and found my clothes were unharmed, the gem still resting inside.
Withno hesitation, he swept me up and dashed away from the fortress.Butslowly the trees grew back together over us, the darkness consuming everything once more.Abraxasran faster, butIcould hear them now, their eerie shrieking growing closer.Idon’t think we could pull off that miracle again.
