Page 116 of Vervain

The cavern lies beneath Padbury. Even knowing we are hidden among the thick trees, an aura of light still emanates above, obscuring the stars. From what I understand, that was the case for most cities. Too much light, electricity, and chemicals made the sky hide the stars, leaving only the moon, bright enough to see.

The stars were the most vivid parts of my memory. On a bed of moonflowers, away from all that tormented me, I sought them out, wondering whether another planet might be out there. Somewhere else I could call my home.

“You okay?” Olivia touches my arm, and I flinch, stepping back from her. Her bright red eyes hold hurt, but before I can cling to the pain, my focus lands on her nape, saliva pooling in my mouth.

I nod, hoping it’s enough, and make my way into the darkness that isn’t as comforting as Serun’s shadows. My breaths are the only company I have, and my unsettled heart is with me when I can’t see. Darkness eats at everything, festering until it’s as if my eyes have been sewn shut. With it comes panic, and my stride slows, and my skin glows. Light pulses. Not enough to burn, but enough to see where I am going.

“This is the first time I’ve encountered a nightwalker possessing light,” Olivia states, her pace faltering until she’s engulfed in the darkness. “Nor have I heard of a human who can control magik…”

Serun slows his pace, unfazed by the light, and falls into step beside me. A silent warning as his claw hooks onto one of the golden buckles, drawing me closer to him. He doesn’t make threats. If Olivia poses one, he will kill her before she knows what’s wrong.

And my magik is one of the few times I wouldn’t oppose him if she did. There are very few things I don’t want to reach wagging tongues. My magik, my being vegodian, and that I seem to hunger for nightwalker blood.

I’m still unsure about the last. It could be any of them, but I’ve been around the nightwalkers, so I am compelled. The moment of truth would come when I am around Cole. And if I do and can’t control myself, I don’t know what I would do.

I sigh at my morbid thoughts.

The cavern opens up after walking along a narrow pathway for about fifteen minutes. My light radiates off the glistening walls. They shimmer in brilliant reds. I touch the exterior of the cave. There’s a softness to it, reminding me of sap from maple trees. It weeps down the walls, like tears.

“Darling,” Serun says, grabbing my arm and spinning me back towards the entrance. “We are leaving.”

“What is happening—” Olivia is by the entrance to the room. She has her eyes fixed on the ceiling, and when I turn, before Serun’s shadows cut away my light, my eyes widen, straining from their sockets. Deformed bodies in bone-twisted ways hang from the ceiling. Humans. So many fucking humans, their blood slipping down the walls.

It is like a papier mache of bodies melting against wet stone, seeping bodily fluids and infections as corpses pile atop one another, overlaid and glistening. Vacant eyes gaze down at us, pale from light and soul, and faces hang from slackened jaws.

It is like a fucking feeding ground.

My light dims, seeping back into my skin as Serun’s shadows cloak us.

“Who did this?” I say. “The echoes?”

A screech comes from ahead. Serun drags me until I’m behind him, blinded in the dark. “It’s an infestation. A trap. What the fuck is happening to Naylen? How is this one echo fucking infecting everyone?”

“Focus, Serun. Can you clear a path?”

“Easily. My only concern is that there’s more coming up behind us. I can hear them through the tunnel, as if that scream were a signal.”

They have intelligence…I swallow the lump in my throat at the reminder of the echoes communicating with each other.

“Saya, stay behind me. Olivia, take the rear.”

“I can help,” I say, and reach for my blade.

“Without killing us would be preferable,” Serun says, but I’m not sure if that was an outright no.

Thunderous footsteps come from ahead and behind when a spark of light flashes from the right, illuminating a gap in the cavern. Through the flames, a red eye appears. “In here, Lord Serun!”

His shadows quiver, but he pauses before grabbing my arm and pushing me in first. “Trust the voice. I will follow in a moment.” He disappears, and the guttural cries ahead turn to fear.

With a shake of my head, I grab the edges of the gap, turn onto my side, and shuffle through. It’s a tight squeeze, with my body scraping against stone and my fingers gripping the grain as I try to wiggle through.

Olivia follows, only to howl in pain. Red trickles from her eye, a deep gash slicing across her forehead and splitting her lips. Long claws reach out, gripping her clothes, and a pale yellow eye peeks into the gap.

Panic settles in her eyes when the creature grabs at her flesh, dragging her back out with the others. I grab her hand, pulling her towards me, only to gasp as my body drags against the stone alongside hers.

Fuck.

The echo pulls, and a clawed hand grabs her hair, yanking it back, strands plucking away from her scalp. I reach for my blade, but it’s jammed against my body and the lumpy rocks. Shit. Fuck it!