11
The Darkness Underneath
The Erandians rested at the Gathering Chamber. Cairn and Hin’cabo had agreed that the three needed a few hours to rest and regain some strength, so Mikhal and Kristian moved over to a small cove where they could lie down. The cavalier watched Maurin trying to communicate with the Atlunam hunters; the healer was too excited to sleep, but Mikhal was exhausted. No amount of rest seemed to cure him of his haunted dreams.
Mikhal was curious about the Atlunam but kept his distance, unsure if he should approach them. They were a quiet folk, full of pent up emotions that they would not express.
Mikhal began wondering how much like them he might be. Eventually, the cavalier drifted off to sleep. Mikhal dreamed of her …
The beautiful young woman is the focus of his dreams once again. She stands on a marble dais before a large crowd dressed in white robes that barely hide her graceful figure. The people, dressed in similar fashion, kneel before her in a dark temple. The only light in the hall comes from elaborate candelabras that hang from different places in the wall. The orange light casts dark shadows through the white stone temple. Mikhal knows this place is normally peaceful and bright, but the darkness has transformed it into something else.
Mikhal stands at the entrance to the place, looking in on the scene. He knows he is dreaming but is unable to break the spell that forces him to watch. His love, for that is how he has begun to feel for her in these dreams, is saying something he can not quite hear. Half illuminated, half-covered in darkness, she raises her hands in praise. As she does this, the people before her do the same. She feels Mikhal’s presence and looks out past the gathered worshippers to him.
Her excitement quickly vanishes when she sees the confusion written on his face. The young woman lowers her head in shame. Blonde locks hide her beautiful face, and Mikhal moves into the temple to find out more. As he steps over and around kneeling worshippers, the people become restless. The ceremony has been disrupted by his presence, and they grow worried that their prayers will not be heard. Murmuring further disrupts the dedicated gathering.
Mikhal is concerned for his love. What role does she have in all of this? Why were the people looking to her for guidance? He does not understand what is happening, but apparently, his love does. Slowly, she raises her head looking at him with great sadness. Her look freezes him. Something is different between them now. There is a distance between them that cannot be explained, but Mikhal feels it. Then two dark and naked servants, like the ones he has seen in a previous dream, carry out a small creature that Mikhal cannot see. They place it on the altar before his love and hold the thing in place. An old priest, dressed in flowing green robes, comes up to his love and holds out a ceremonial bone dagger for her. Its handle is embedded with many jewels. The priest waits patiently a moment before she takes the blade. He smiles in reassurance before taking his place behind her.
The creature is a white tiger cub. Frightened, the young cub struggles to get off the altar, but the two naked servants hold it down. It mewls pathetically as she raises the bone dagger over her head. Mikhal sees great reluctance in that movement.
He gasps in disbelief. “No!” he shouts. It is too late. The knife comes down in a single instant.
The sight of blood makes the people hysterical. They grovel on the marble floor, praising their god. Mikhal’s love wipes blood from her hands and looks down at him with a sad, determined look. As he turns to leave he sees many more animals being brought out to her. Mikhal shakes his head in disgust … and the dream fades.
The dreams were becoming so vivid that Mikhal began to believe they were real. He hungered for more visions of the demon, wanting to know why she had done the things she had done. They had been lovers once before and perhaps would be again.
Mikhal shook his head to reject that kind of thinking. He knew his fascination with the demon was sick, but why was he having the visions? Somehow, he was connected to Ferral’s monster, and as beautiful as she might appear in his dreams, Mikhal knew what she truly was. They shared a terrible bond and nothing good would come of it. The idea made him shake uncontrollably. He felt many emotions like horror, disgust, and hate swelling within him, but he also felt compassion, desire, and love.
Rest eluded Mikhal as the visions pursued him for the remainder of the night.
Kristian noticed that Mikhal was in another one of his dark moods. The cavalier packed his few belongings away while staring at the stone floor, hoping no one would speak to him. Kristian could see the far off look in his eyes and decided to leave him alone. Mikhal had become more and more reclusive since his nightmares began. Kristian sensed that Mikhal did not wish to discuss what bothered him, but he hoped the cavalier might confide in him, someday.
Why should he? Kristian asked himself. We’re both haunted. I can no more ask him to share his nightmares with me than I can share mine with him.
Kristian’s muscles were stiff, and he felt exhausted despite the rest. He had to force himself to stand and stretch. Mikhal was obviously not in a friendly mood, so Kristian looked at the hunters in the midst of preparing to leave and decided to talk to Cairn. The man was a mystery that never ceased to fascinate Kristian. He saw him talking to the one called Hin’cabo and walked over to join them.
Cairn inclined his head in silent greeting.
“How was your rest?” Cairn asked. Cairn smiled a little as Kristian responded by stretching to get the soreness out of his back. “Hin’cabo and his men are ready to take us to the village. We will leave as soon as you and your companions are ready.”
“How much further is it to the village?” Kristian asked.
“The sun is just now rising, and if we hurry, we will be there by noon,” Cairn replied.
Mikhal and Maurin went over to where Kristian and Cairn were standing, packed and ready to go. Without waiting, the huntsmen started off in the direction of their village. The scouts Hin’cabo sent ahead earlier had already lit sconces along the wall, and Kristian could now see many of the engineering details of the tunnel. The walls were mortared stone, and the ceiling arched over them with no additional bracing. The sconces were recessed into the walls and provided just enough light to see, not that there was a real need for them. The floor was made of smooth stone, and Kristian could not find even one crack.
Traveling in the large tunnel will be easy, Kristian thought. He was right and the pace set by the hunters was brisk.
Three hours into the walk, Kristian began to feel the speed of their escort’s pace in his legs. They had just increased their stride again. Kristian bit off a curse as he tried to keep up.
“We might as well be running,” Maurin joked. Kristian nodded and trotted off to find out what was going on. He found Cairn running next to Hin’cabo.
“Why are we going so fast?”
Cairn did not look at him as he responded in a hushed voice. “Something isn’t right. Hin’cabo told the scouts to tell the council that we were on our way. Then the scouts were supposed to return and let him know if it was all right for us to come into the village. They haven’t returned, and we’re nearly there.”
“Does Hin’cabo think something is wrong?” Mikhal asked, coming up beside the two of them.
Cairn shrugged not knowing. “It’s possible. He’s definitely concerned. Atlunam hunters are disciplined fighters and would not disobey their leader’s orders unless they could not help it.”
Hin’cabo seemed to gather what they were talking about and said something to Cairn. Kristian saw Cairn nod in understanding. “There were rumors of Holtsmen near the village just before Hin’cabo left. Those men have never been so bold as to attack a village inside the forest before, but relations have worsened even further in the last ten years. Hin’cabo is worried and wants to get to Shuru Kaithep as quickly as possible.”
“How long has this war been going on?” Mikhal asked Cairn.
“I am not sure if anyone knows the answer to that anymore. It’s
been raging for at least five hundred years. The people of the Ten Holts live in the mountains to the west of the forest. They control all access to the mines in the hills.”
“What is so important about those mines to cause a war that has lasted five hundred years?” Kristian asked.
“Precious ores … minerals, gold, silver, copper. They hoard everything and deny the Atlunam access to the mines. Some of the battles were fought over things as trivial as granite and marble. Many people have died.”
Kristian fell back to let Maurin know what was going on. By the time he had finished explaining it to him, the Atlunam were practically sprinting. They ran silently, determined to get to their village quickly, but rested enough in case of a fight.
After a short time, Kristian could see a faint ray of light filtering down from above. A stone stairwell led up to a trap door in the ceiling. The stone door was unlatched and it hung loose. Daylight streamed in to illuminate the gray steps below the opening. Kristian was thankful that it was not much further ahead, but when the hunters saw the open door they stopped. Each readied his bow by notching an arrow and pulling halfway back on the drawstring.
Cairn moved over to Kristian and whispered in his ear. “That door is never left open or unattended. Stay at the rear of the column and in a tight circle. I will call when it is all right for you to come out.” Kristian nodded, passing the information on to his companions, and then pulled out his sword with as little sound as possible. Mikhal did the same.
The Atlunam hunters moved past them as quiet as ghosts, ready for action. Hin’cabo sent two hunters up the stairs. The rest knelt down on either side of the tunnel waiting for the scouts’ return. After what seemed an eternity, Hin’cabo became restless and signaled for the remainder of his men to move up the stairs. Cairn walked cautiously up with them. Kristian and his companions moved closer to the trap door but waited at the base of the stairs as instructed.
They waited a long time. They did not hear any sounds of fighting. Everything seemed calm. Then Cairn returned and, in a hushed voice, said, “It is not a pleasant sight. You may come up if you wish.” Then he left.
“I don’t understand,” Maurin said. “What’s happened?”
Kristian swallowed hard before he answered. “I guess we’ll soon find out.” Then he and Mikhal moved up the stairs with their swords drawn and ready.