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Indy nodded. “Be careful.”
Daryn nodded and went ahead of me as Indy helped Kaine stumble back toward the entrance.
We walked for a few minutes before reaching a strange archway. “What is this?”
Daryn stared at the unusual symbols carved into the arch. “The entrance to the Dark Witch’s prison.”
CHAPTER 21
As we stared at the strange archway, constructed of smooth marble, my eyes roamed over the symbols that were similar to the scroll. It was unlike anything we had seen before, an enigmatic structure that blocked our path and hid the secrets of the prison.
With a sense of curiosity and anticipation, I approached the archway and began to read the inscription etched into its surface. “Beware the prison of the forgotten. Enter here and all you have known will be ripped asunder.” The words seemed to resonate with an otherworldly power, a message from the past that held the key to the Dark Witch and her history.
“How can you read that?” Daryn asked.
I glanced at him. “What do you mean? It’s written in English.”
Daryn shook his head. “No, it isn’t. It looks similar to the scripture in the Book of the Gods. I can’t read it.”
“Damn, they want me to read it.”
“It appears so.”
“Do we just pass through? It appears totally dark on the other side.”
As I stood before the strange archway, reading the inscription, I felt a profound sense of dread mixed with anticipation. The marble archway was an invitation to embrace the enigmatic truths of the Dark Witch, but what were the consequences for those answers?
Daryn tried to use the orb of light to pierce the darkness beyond the archway, but the glow reflected back toward us. “I think the warlock went through. We have to follow him.”
I nodded and took Daryn’s hand before we stepped through the archway.
As we crossed the threshold, a wisp of magic slithered over my skin like a gentle caress from the unknown. It was a sensation that defied explanation, a fleeting touch of something familiar.
But as quickly as it surged, the magic was gone, and we stood on the other side. The tunnel appeared the same on the other side of the archway, and we glanced back toward the way we had come.
“That was anti-climactic,” I said. It was as if the archway had been a mere mirage, an illusion that had whispered secrets of ancient knowledge and then vanished, leaving us with more questions than answers.
Daryn and I exchanged bewildered glances, our silent questions mirrored in each other’s eyes. The archway had felt like a threshold into a new realm, but the tunnel beyond remained unchanged, as though the past and the present had merged.
The magical orb, our faithful guide in this enigmatic journey, passed through the archway as easily as we had. Its ethereal glow continued to light our path, illuminating the tunnel ahead, a constant reminder that we were not alone in our pursuit of the unknown.
Daryn pursed his lips. “There was no ward on the archway. The magic it once had is dissipating.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s been deactivated and not by us.”
“The warlock is ahead of us,” I whispered.
“Yes. We need to move quickly, but still have to watch for traps.” I moved ahead and placed my hand on his back, so he knew I was following. The orb light floated ahead of Daryn, and we picked up our pace until we heard a growl in the dark ahead of us.
We slowed our pace with our senses heightened as we moved deeper into the tunnel. The soft glow of the magical orb cast its gentle light around us before the eerie illumination revealed a menacing figure.
The hybrid’s distorted features were twisted with unsettling anger and madness, but Daryn was unyielding in the face of danger. He moved ahead of me, motioning for me to stay behind him before he sprang into action, brandishing his Sica blade. The weapon hummed with ancient energy as he advanced on the raving hybrid.
The Sica blade sliced through the air, meeting the hybrid’s fierce onslaught with equal ferocity. Sparks flew, and the echoes of their clash reverberated through the cave in a deafening manner.
The hybrid, though enhanced from his demon blood, was no match for Daryn’s unwavering resolve. Their parries and strikes mirrored one another until Daryn found the opening he had been looking for. With a final, masterful strike, he thrust his weapon into the hybrid’s heart. It screamed before blood gurgled from its mouth and it slid to the ground off his blade.
