“Hmm. Possibly,” he said, though he didn't sound convinced. “We'll find out, I suppose.”
They kept going, following Kade through the tunnel that progressively became narrower and narrower. The pale blue and white veins of moonstone that occasionally glinted through the rock surface became more numerous as they walked, until the walls around them started to seem more moonstone than not. A faint scurrying sound, different from the rhythmic crunch of their footsteps, hit Florian's ears as they started to head down a steep decline.
“Did you hear that?” he whispered, but ahead of him Kade had already stopped, his eyes flashing orange in the darkness as he looked around.
“Something's up ahead,” he said in a hushed tone, though as he turned back his eyes remained fixed firmly on Jerah. “Can't tell how many.”
“Let's just go slow, then,” Jerah said with a nod, looking down at Florian next to him. “Florian, stay behind me—I mean it this time.”
“Yeah, I get it,” Florian muttered sheepishly, letting Jerah step in front of him as they continued down the decline. It would have been slow going even without the sound of something—or someone—up ahead, considering how steep and rocky the tunnel had become. The cart tracks still descended, and Florian wondered how anything could go down such a steep hill without tumbling right off the tracks, much less get back up. Parts of the tracks looked broken or worn down with time: wood rotted away, and metal rusted over. The scuffling sound of footsteps, or something like it, hadn't seemed to grow any louder, but still broke through the noise of their descent every so often. Whatever was making the sound, it hadn't seemed to hear them approaching, or it didn't care.
Soon, though, Florian could see where the descent tapered off into a flat tunnel again, then opened into a wider space further on—and there was a tiny glimmer of something, a hint of a warmer, yellowish light coming from the opening. Now, the scuffling noise seemed louder as they approached.
“Do you see anything?” Jerah whispered to Kade, who shook his head but slowly and quietly drew his sword. “Be careful.”
Jerah stopped, holding Florian back with him, as Kade crept toward the opening where the tunnel widened, each step painstakingly slow. When he got up to the edge of the wall, Kade peered around cautiously—even from this distance, Florian could see his eyes widen just a bit, and he ducked back closer to the wall after only a brief glance.
A pack, he mouthed, no sound leaving his lips.Ten, maybe more.
Jerah pursed his lips, frowning as he seemed to think it over. Kade stood motionless, waiting, and Florian glanced nervously between them. If there were that many, it seemed pointless to try and sneak in—it seemed obvious to him to go in guns blazing, but Jerah looked unsure.
“Stay close behind me,” Jerah finally whispered to Florian, who nodded in reply. They took a few careful steps forward, edging toward the opposite wall that Kade was pressed against. Jerah stood between Florian and the opening, and peeked inside to confirm for himself what lay beyond. Florian still couldn't get a good view—biting his lip, he pressed closer to the wall.
“Fire,” Jerah whispered, and flames appeared in his hand. He caught Kade's eye and held up three fingers with his other hand. Three, two, one—
Jerah lunged forward, leaping through the opening, as fire streamed from his hand in a thick line. From within a cacophony of shrieks and howls erupted. Kade ran in behind him, sword flashing, and Florian followed.
The tunnel opened into a large chamber that was lit by the soft bluish glow of the moonstone veins, spidering along the walls and the ground. The tracks came to an end near the middle of the open space. A small pool of water was far to Florian's left, and huddled around it—but quickly leaping to their feet—was a pack of creatures. Large and four-legged, they were more doglike than the cat creatures that they had encountered in the ruins of the village; but rather than fur, they were covered in a thick black hide with a row of spikes along their spines and long, thin tails that whipped through the air. And their eyes—their eyes glowed with a yellow light, the same hint of gold that Florian had seen as they approached.
Several of them had already leapt in their direction, but the continual stream of fire that poured from Jerah's hand kept them at bay. Others were lunging toward Kade now, his sword flashing through the air.
There were too many, Florian knew in an instant, for the two of them alone to handle. He drew his own sword, trying to stay behind Jerah as much as possible, as he moved through the chamber. They were focusing on the spiky creatures—he looked around for the hint of yellow light he had seen. The Arrow had to be close, he had to find it—
There! High above the pool of water at the peak of a rock formation that nearly touched the ceiling: he could see a golden yellow glow emanating through the veins of moonstone.
“I see the Arrow,” he said, stepping closer to Jerah. One of the doglike beasts was making a wide loop around Jerah, trying to get to them, but his father pressed his hands together and started to spray fire from both palms and caught the beast in its side. With a yelp it backed off, though its lips were still drawn back in a snarl.
“Stay behind me,” Jerah repeated, his eyes never leaving the creatures. “Point me in the direction. We'll try and get closer, but stay behind me.”
“Above the pool of water,” Florian said, pointing with his sword, and Jerah nodded.
Across from them Kade was being swarmed by the creatures, and Florian winced as he watched them bite into the other man. A shout of pain morphed into a sharp growl as his body glowed; and in an instant, the familiar huge wolf stood in Kade’s place, his teeth flashing as he snarled and bit at the smaller dogs. This seemed to startle them and many dashed away with their tails lowered, while others still stood their ground with their own teeth showing. Though Kade had estimated ten of them, Florian guessed there were closer to twenty still alive.
Jerah had taken a few steps toward the towering rock formation, but the dogs surged toward the movement, blocking them from getting any further. It took all of Florian's concentration just to keep their gnashing teeth and claws away from him, swinging his sword to deter them from closing in. Even Jerah's fire, though it had scared some away toward Kade, wasn't enough to keep them all at bay now.
“Kade!” Jerah shouted. “Help me clear a path for Florian!”
The wolf's eyes flashed toward them, hearing the command. He bit down hard on the creature closest to him, catching it near its neck—it yelped, but he lifted it off its feet and shook it hard, blood spraying from its wound. Florian hissed, seeing its spikes stab into Kade's shoulder as he shook it; but when he released it, the dog flew through the air, hitting the wall of the cavern and falling motionless to the floor. The other dogs seemed to shrink back from Kade at that, but now they pressed in closer to Jerah and Florian.
Kade leapt closer to them, scattering dogs in his path, just as the fire in each of Jerah's hands started to sputter and die.
“Shit,” he hissed. “Get away from us!” Florian could feel the magic rolling off his words, like a wave through the thick, heavy sensation of it in the air. Yelping, the dogs started to run from him and Jerah, giving them a wide berth.
He could see the path to the Arrow, but it could close right back up at any moment. Florian dashed forward, running as hard as he could toward the pool of water.
“Florian!” Jerah shouted, and he could hear the barking of the dogs grow closer as he ran. “I told you to stay behind me, damn it!”
“I can get it!” he shouted back in reply.
