Chapter 8
After the initial shock of leaving the ground for the first time, Gabriel had gathered his composure and glared at Sabiha. Again he felt like he hadn't gathered enough information from her and was now internally scolding himself for even agreeing to help her. He wished he would have just taken the damn staff back into the mountains and put it back where he had found it.
As they travelled in into the stars, Gabriel couldn't help but to be amazed by where he was and what he could see. He was still angry with Sabiha for not telling him where she was taking him but couldn't stop himself from looking around and feeling so very small.
After traveling through relative nothingness for what seemed like mere minutes, they set down on a cold rocky surface and Gabriel immediately stepped away from Sabiha the moment she let go of him. He glared at her as he continued to back away but just as he stepped out of reaching range, she stepped toward him and grabbed his arm.
“This place can not support life as you know it” Sabiha warned, frowning at him. “So stay close, unless you want to die?”
“Where the hell are we?” Gabriel hissed, narrowing his eyes at her hand that was firmly wrapped around his arm.
“Callisto” she answered simply. “Now come on, before we get caught.”
“Who is going to catch us?” he asked, as she pulled him toward a small hill.
“His father” she sighed, cautiously looking over her shoulder.
Frowning at Sabiha, Gabriel continued to walk beside her, although the pace seemed just short of a run. She didn't seem to be giving him much information, her lovers name was still a mystery and worse still, his fathers identity seemed to also remain elusive. If her lovers father was dangerous, Gabriel at least wanted to who he might be up against.
The moment they walked through a stone entrance nestled in the side of the hill, Sabiha slowed down and appeared to look nervous. Just the look on her face made Gabriel's heart pound harder, he hadn't been sure he was doing the right thing by helping her in the first place. Now he was sure he was doing the wrong thing but backing out was not an option, unless he wanted to die.
Inside there were three doors leading off the bright white room they had walked into, the stone work that surrounded them was so intricate that it would have taken a normal man with the skill, years to complete. Although Gabriel didn't feel confident in following Sabiha into any of the three doors, she did immediately start heading for the door on the right. While this indicated that she probably knew where he was going but Gabriel felt a growing desire to run, as if his life depended on it and not just because he didn't trust her.
As Sabiha pushed open the door, Gabriel looked over her shoulder to see nothing but darkness ahead of him. He even noticed Sabiha taking a deep breath before she stepped through the door, causing fear to spread through his body like wildfire.
“See these white stones” Sabiha whispered, pointing to a trail of white stones on the floor that lead into the darkness and waited for him to nod. “Do not step on anything else.”
“Why?” Gabriel asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer to that.
“You will be trapped here forever” she answered, causing his heart to drop.
“I should never have agreed to help you” he growled, more for his own benefit.
“And I'm grateful you did” she said, with a sweet smile, which only annoyed him more.
As they disappeared into the darkness, Gabriel kept his eyes on the only things he could see, Sabiha and the white stones. He could hear murmurings drifting in the cold air around him, each murmur sounded like it was desperately seeking something but Gabriel couldn’t work out what they were saying. He did guess that whoever was there, wanted to be free. While he knew he hadn’t been trapped in the cave for long, at the time he had no idea if he was ever going to escape and he could understood the desperation the voices felt, he would have done almost anything to be free.
Every step he took seemed to be more difficult than the last, the voices felt as if they were pulling at his mind, which in turn tugged at every muscle in his body. The fear that pushed through his veins made him feel like he had never felt anything else in his life, it was as if it was apart of him and could never feel whole without it. He wanted to wrap his hands around Sabiha’s slim neck and squeeze until her body became limp for bringing him to such a place but he needed her and she needed him, for now.
It felt like they had been walking for hours by the time Sabiha finally stopped and turned to look at Gabriel. The murmurings were now playing tricks with his mind and he wasn’t sure if he could take it much longer but he looked at Sabiha angrily, mostly to hide the fear that was on the verge of consuming him.
“Gabriel I’m going to light this place up, please don’t look at anything but me or Pontus” Sabiha warned, ensuring to make eye contact with him. “There are things in here that will give even the bravest of men nightmares.”
With wide eyes, Gabriel gripped onto the staff tighter and while he wanted to step away from her, he knew he shouldn’t and stood there staring at her with nothing but fear in his eyes. He didn’t care that she saw his fear anymore, he now just wanted to get out alive. Although he wasn't sure if that was apart of her plan.
As Sabiha’s hand lit up in a gentle glow, Gabriel realised that the only reason they could see each other and the white stones, was because Sabiha had been lightly glowing. He couldn't believe that this was the first time he had noticed it but he had been preoccupied with trying block out the murmurs and stay on the path.
Staring at Sabiha, Gabriel told himself not to look at anything else over and over but his curiosity was starting to get the better of him and he had to work harder to keep his eyes locked on her. As he took a deep breath, he slowly started to turn his head to see what was there but he was only able to get a glimpse of a large shadow before Sabiha grabbed his head. Her eyes were full of warning and fear, and just in that look alone, a chill ran down his back, seeping in deeply as it went.
“Don't let the temptation to look win” she whispered, staring into his eyes. “Pontus is over here.”
Grabbing Gabriel's hand, Sabiha pulled him a couple more meters into the darkness before pointing out a young man sitting on a smooth black surface that appeared to make up the ground. He looked like he had been sitting there for years, his dulled golden hair was long and messy, and his blue eyes looked like he was lost in a pit of despair. He didn't even appear to know of their presence, he seemed to be staring at nothing at all, yet everything at the same time.
“Pontus” Sabiha breathed, looking at him desperate for any recognition but got nothing from him.
“So what do I do?” Gabriel asked kindly, recognising the hurt in her eyes.
“You have to create a path of stones to him” Sabiha answered, not taking her eyes off Pontus.
“And how do I do that?” Gabriel questioned, looking at the staff.
“I don't know” Sabiha moaned sadly.
“Sabiha I hope you weren't expecting me to know what to do” Gabriel groaned, annoyed that they had either come that far only to fail or be stuck where they were until they thought of something, which in his opinion could be days. In his opinion, he was sure Sabiha would choose the later and stay until her lover was free. She had done everything thus far to be with Pontus and she didn't look like she was ever going to give up, not when he was sitting right in front of her.
“I can give you a gift” Sabiha whispered, looking at him with hope in her eyes.
“What do you mean?” Gabriel asked, afraid of the answer.
“I have the ability to give anything to whoever I choose” she said, smiling weakly at him.
“Let me guess, there's a catch” he sighed, knowing that everything seemed to have a price.
“Something must be given” she mumbled, afraid of Gabriel's anger and thus unwillingness to help her.
“I have nothing to give” he groaned, as anger started to build within him. “Besides haven't I g
iven you enough.”
“You did free me and I did promise you” she said, mostly to herself as she thought about it. “I guess it's worth a try, my freedom for wisdom.”
“What?” he questioned but she said nothing, instead she quickly reached up and placed the palm of her hand on his forehead. The glow in her palm brightened and suddenly Gabriel felt like he had been hit in the head with a metal bat. He was sure that he was lucky to not have passed out, he had never felt so much pain in his life.
The moment she removed her hand, Gabriel groaned before falling to his knees and closing his eyes. His entire body ached and he couldn't clear his head to even begin to consider what to do about it. The worse thing about it was the weakness he was showing, he was sure his strength was the only thing he should show in such a place, especially when his heart continued to warn him that he was in danger.
“How do you feel?” she asked, dropping down in front of him.
“What the hell did you do to me?” he growled, grabbing his head with his free hand.
“I gave you the gift of wisdom” she answered plainly, as if it were nothing.
“No, I think you made me stupid because I feel like you just hit me in the head” he hissed, wishing the pain would hurry up and subside.
“The pain is only temporary, it happens sometimes” she told him, gently placing her hand on his shoulder.
“You know what, next time you decide to do something to me, ask first” he growled angrily. “I might have been happy to be left alone or die.”
“I'm sorry Gabriel but I didn't know what else to do” she whined, as he opened his eyes and frowned at her.
“You owe Kaiden and I big for this, we didn't have time to help you” he pointed out sternly. “Our village is relying on us and we still need to hunt for food and not just for ourselves. So start thinking of how to get Pontus out quickly or we’re done.”
“Gabriel, I'm sorry” she said again. “And I promise I'm in yours and Kaiden's debt but only you know what to do.”
“Stop being sorry and start thinking” he growled, as he closed his eyes, the dim light hurting his sensitive eyes.
After taking a few deep breaths, the pain started to subside and Gabriel felt like he was able to focus more and more with each breath. Although, he still wanted to make Sabiha pay for what she had done to him. Once he felt able, he slowly opened his eyes but he didn't want to look at her, he was angry with her, instead he turned his attention to the staff.
After staring at the staff for a couple of minutes, Gabriel started recognising the symbols on the staff and had to blink a few times before he was able to believe his recognition. He felt that somehow the information had always been there, like he had always been able to read the script but his mind had been closed off to the world around him and only now had opened up for the first time.
As he silently looked the staff over, reading every marking on it, he suddenly pulled himself up and looked over at Pontus. He felt pity for the man, he had been locked away for loving Sabiha but now that he knew how the staff worked, he wasn't sure if helping Sabiha was good for Pontus either. What would happen if they were caught again, would he find himself locked away in a place much worse than this or would Sabiha pay the higher price? No matter how he looked at it, the outcome would probably be bleak.
Staring at Pontus, Gabriel pondered his options as to what to do, while Sabiha looked like all hope had faded from her horizon. If he didn't help her, he was stuck there until he either died from exposure to the moons toxic atmosphere or someone discovered them. If he did help her, Pontus would have to hide from his father and would probably never be free to go where he wanted again, although he did probably have the option of leaving her. Either way Gabriel needed Sabiha to take him home, which meant he had to help her.
“Okay, stand behind me” Gabriel instructed Sabiha, surprising her.
“It worked?” Sabiha breathed, smiling at him with hope in her eyes.
“Yes, now please get behind me” Gabriel growled, looking at her annoyed.
Continuously, Sabiha nodded at him until she was finally behind him, she had been sure that her gift hadn't worked and she had pissed off the only person who could help her, the fear that he would refuse to help was too real for comfort. Her heart was wildly pounding in her chest, she was so close to freeing Pontus that she could never admit defeat and could only hope that Gabriel really did know what he was doing.
As she carefully placed her hands on his back and tried to look around him to see what he was doing, she tried to keep herself calm. She could barely see a thing but continued to try to see what he was doing anyway. He wasn’t a large man but he wasn’t small either and with every slight movement he made, she could feel his muscles work.
Closing his eyes and imagining a white stone path leading to Pontus, Gabriel tapped on the white stone beneath his feet before lifting the staff and tapping the staff on the black floor between himself and Pontus. Gabriel then took a deep breath before opening his eyes and looking at the black floor in front of him.
Relieved to see a white stone in front of him, Gabriel drew a breath in before tentatively stepping on it. With everything inside of him, he hoped that it wasn’t some illusion but once his feet stood firmly on the stone he released his breath and repeated the process, except this time he had more confidence in what he was doing.
“It’s working” Sabiha gasped, as she followed Gabriel onto the second stone.
“Sabiha I know you're excited but please be quiet, I need to concentrate” Gabriel said, not wanting to make a single mistake. He had no intention on being trapped in such a place and he certainly wasn’t prepared to be trapped with Sabiha. She was beautiful, that he could not deny but he didn't trust her and couldn't imagine of being trapped with a worse person.
“Sorry” she responded, unable to take the excited smile off her face.
As Gabriel continued to make more stones, Sabiha grew more and more excited. She hadn’t been so close to him since he had been taken from her and now she was so close that she could barely contain herself.
The last stone stopped mere millimetres from Pontus’ feet, Gabriel's way of ensuring there wasn’t much room for a mistake. Pontus hadn’t moved and Gabriel wondered if he was going to have to carry the man out, the thought didn't sit well with him but he wanted to get out more.
Sighing, Gabriel turned to look at Sabiha and signalled for her to go to him. There wasn’t much room on the stone and once Sabiha had pushed passed him, Gabriel stepped onto the stone behind them. He figured that he would still be close enough to her to keep him alive but far enough away to prevent an accidental slip.
“Pontus” Sabiha whispered, as she kneeled down in front of him and looked at with desperation and relief in her eyes. He didn’t even blink at her, his body was like a breathing statue but Sabiha knew he was in there, she just had to find a way to get him out.
Carefully Sabiha reached over and gently ran her fingers down his arm, a slight change in his breathing was her only indication that he was still there. She then looked him over, taking in everything she could and remembering every detail before tenderly brushing the hair from his face, to reveal a face that even Gabriel had to admit was handsome.
It was clear that Sabiha loved Pontus, just by the way she looked at him but time was not on their and she knew it. Someone would be alerted to their presence soon, if they hadn't been already and although Sabiha wanted to take her time and look into the depths of his eyes, that all had to wait until they were safe. Until she could relax with him and breath every inch of him in.
“Gabriel, I can't lift him on my own and we need to get out of here” Sabiha said meekly, knowing she had already asked too much of him.
“And how exactly are you planning on getting both of us off this moon?” Gabriel asked, as he pushed passed her.
“I'm hoping he will have come around by then” she answered, knowing it wasn't the answer Gabriel was looking for.
&nb
sp; “I really wish you would have thought about this before we came here” he groaned, kneeling down and positioning Pontus in preparation to lift him. He then leaned the staff against his own body and gripped onto Pontus’ waist before slinging Pontus over his shoulder.
Using the staff for support, Gabriel pulled himself up and signalled for Sabiha to start moving. Pontus wasn't light, which would make the journey difficult but Gabriel wanted to get out more then he hated the idea of carrying Sabiha’s lover. He also wanted to get out before he either dropped Pontus or someone else found them.
As they stepped across the stones, Gabriel quickly tapped them to ensure they disappeared. He didn't want anyone to know they had been there, not until they noticed Pontus missing, perhaps giving a little more time than they would have had. He hoped that this would also make it more difficult for someone to put them in Pontus’ cell, or whatever it was that was holding him there but he knew that was wishful thinking.
They moved quickly, with Sabiha’s skin lightly glowing to light their path, although Gabriel felt a lot more confident in the fact that he could get himself out without her but he still needed her to guard him from the toxic air. The murmurings seemed louder to Gabriel as he moved as quick as he could but he still couldn't make out what they were saying.
Suddenly, without warning Sabiha stopped in her tracks, causing Gabriel to bump into her and nearly loose Pontus in the process. As she stumbled forward, she let out a gasp but caught her balance, much to Gabriel's relief since there was nothing he could do to help her. He had no intention of dropping Pontus, it had been difficult enough to pick him up in the first place and he certainly wasn’t planning on doing it again.
“They're coming” Sabiha breathed, her breath unsteady and thick with fear. “We need to hide.”
“And where exactly are you suggesting we hide?” Gabriel growled, looking down at the white stone path they were following. He couldn’t see any other options, there only appeared to be two options, go forward or go back and he certainly wasn’t going back.
“This way” Sabiha said, ignoring Gabriel’s declining mood.
Frowning at Sabiha, Gabriel quickly followed her and began to wonder how she knew where she was going. She looked confident in everything she did, with the exception of the fear in her eyes, she seemed to be retaining her composure, which wasn’t something Gabriel was able to accomplish at such a time.
With the murmurings barely a whisper, Gabriel was trying to mentally prepare himself for the worse. If he was going to be trapped in such a place, he was going to have to find away to drown out the sounds that played with his now vulnerable mind.
The only thing that kept him going, was the fact that he wanted leave more than he had ever wanted anything in his life. He wanted to see his family again but more than that, he wanted to dream again. He wanted to see her dance amongst the waves and one day touch her.
“Make a path here” Sabiha puffed, as she stopped and pointed into the darkness.
Without question, Gabriel deepened his frown and shifted Pontus on his shoulder before he started making stones. Sabiha looked more panicked with each step, it was obvious that time was running out quickly but she didn’t have to say a word, her eyes told Gabriel everything he needed to know. She didn’t even have to tell him to take the stones away as they went, he was already doing exactly that but that still didn’t calm her racing heart.
“Here” Sabiha whispered and waited for Gabriel to stop before helping him put Pontus down. “We will be safe here if we stay down and remain quiet.”
“We can’t stay here forever” Gabriel pointed out, watching her as she started to fuss over Pontus.
“When I say go, we need to move and we need to move fast” she whispered, as she ran her fingers down Pontus’ cheeks, ignoring the fire blazing in Gabriel's eyes.
“That’s easy for you to say, I have to lug him around and make stones” Gabriel growled, nervous that he would be too slow and afraid of the consequences of his lack of experience and strength.
“I’m sorry Gabriel but it’s that or we get caught” she whispered, not taking her eyes off Pontus.
Gripping the staff tighter, Gabriel sighed and watched as Sabiha carefully kissed Pontus on the forehead. While Pontus’ breathing seemed to react to Sabiha's touch, he still didn't appear to be ready to wake up, not that Gabriel blamed him, he wouldn't have wanted to wake up in a place like this either.
Every second they waited felt like an hour and all Gabriel could think about was how glad he was that Kaiden hadn't been able to come. He loved and respected Kaiden too much to bring him to a place like this and hoped Kaiden would understand. Although, it wasn’t a place Gabriel was ever going to be able to describe, the feel of the place was much worse than the sight and he knew he wasn’t ever going to be ready to remember a place that was high on his list of places he wanted to forget.
Reaching over to grabbed Gabriel's arm, Sabiha gently squeezed it to grab his attention and stared into his eyes before letting go. “It's time, we need to go” Sabiha whispered urgently.
With a slight nod, Gabriel quickly moved Pontus and slung him over his shoulder. He then quickly got to work on making a path of stones but this time, he didn’t take them away, he didn't care if someone else found them, he just wanted to get out.
Once they made it back to the original path, they started running. Gabriel's heart pounded in his chest, he not only feared the unknown threat but the thought of being stuck in such a place, made him feel sick to the stomach. Pontus was the son of at least one god and he still hadn't woken from whatever nightmare he was in, making Gabriel believe that he would not survive five minutes alone.
Exhaustion was gripping at Gabriel as they continued to run, Pontus’ weight was becoming too much for him and there seemed to be no end to the darkness. He wanted to give Pontus back to his father and let him deal with the both of them, just so he could stop running. He was tired and vowed to never agree to help anyone again, the cost was far too high.
As Gabriel was just about ready to give up, an ear piercing roar of displeasure filled the stagnant air, causing a wave of fear to quickly consume Gabriel. The fear alone was enough to force him to push through the pain shooting through every muscle in his body and keep running.
“Not much further” Sabiha puffed, making Gabriel want to ring her pretty little neck for putting him in their current situation.
With the exception of their footsteps and puffing, everything suddenly went silent. Gabriel could immediately feel the hair on the back of his neck stand through the sweat and a chill ran down his spine. His focus on Sabiha intensified and his mind went blank, nothing mattered, his body just needed to work as hard as could to get them out, he was now in full flight mode, with no energy to fight with.
The moment Gabriel saw the light from outside shining in, he picked up the pace and pushed himself even harder. He knew there was probably going be nothing left of him once he exited but he didn’t care, as long as Sabiha could get them home, it didn’t matter if he could stand or not. He planned on sleeping on the beach for a week once he got back, with nothing but the sound of the soothing waves to calm his unsettled soul.
As they stepped into the white entrance room, Gabriel couldn't help but sigh with relief. Now all they had to do was run through the door in front of them and at least they would out of a place Gabriel hoped he would never have to see or remember again.
The sound of their footfalls on the white stone in the entrance sounded different, the sound echoed around the room. It wasn’t until that moment that Gabriel realized that their sounds had been absorbed into the darkness, making him wonder what exactly had surrounded them. The thought made his skin crawl and he told himself that he really didn’t want to know what was in there, it was a desolate place and no one in their right mind would want to go back.
Just as they stepped outside a roar filled the air again, causing Gabriel’s blood to run cold. He immediately looked at Sabiha, who w
as frantically looking around, for what, Gabriel could only begin to guess.
“What's your plan now?” Gabriel growled angrily.
"I can't lift both of you, so I'm sorry Gabriel we have to hide” Sabiha answered meekly, with fear filling her voice.
“Maybe you should just think of us as one person” Gabriel suggested, desperate to leave.
“Gabriel you were difficult enough on your own” Sabiha sighed, still looking around.
Groaning, Gabriel looked around and noticed a flat rocky surface in the hill they had just came out of. He then pointed at it and started heading toward it. He knew that if he even told her to follow him, it would come out wrong, he was too angry and he didn’t want to scare her off, especially now that Pontus was free, he still needed her.
With his heart pumping, he looked over his shoulder to make sure Sabiha was following him and when he was satisfied she was, he picked up the pace. He knew it wouldn't be long before whoever had let out those angry roars, would appear through the door they had just gone through and he wasn't going to wait for trouble to find him.
Carefully, Gabriel dropped Pontus against the rocky surface and pulled Sabiha behind him before he started making a wall of rock. To do this, he closed his eyes and imagined a cocoon of rock surrounding them and as he imagined this, he moved the staff around.
Once they were completely encased in rock, Gabriel dropped down to the ground and leaned his body against the cold rock. He was too exhausted to care how he looked to Sabiha, his muscles screamed for rest and his mind begged for it all to be over but he knew it wasn’t.
“Wake him Sabiha” Gabriel growled weakly, his eyes barely staying open.
“I’m sorry but he needs time, time you simply don’t have” Sabiha said, looking Pontus over.
“What do you mean, time I don’t have?” he hissed, angrily narrowing his eyes at her.
“I can’t keep you alive in this environment much longer” she told him, with a deep sigh. “I’m running out of energy.”
“Are you fucking kidding me” he roared, anger now drowning out the pain he was feeling. “So you’re just going to let me die?”
“There’s no other choice” she said but didn’t look at him, she couldn’t because she knew it would eventually come to this.
“Did you ever plan on taking me home” he growled, glaring down at her.
“I’m sorry Gabriel, it was the only way to get Pontus out” she whispered, running her fingers down Pontus’ arm.
“You owe me a debt” he said through gritted teeth, as he gripped the staff tighter. “And if you don’t give me what I want I will reveal you and Pontus to whatever is out there.”
“And what is that you want?” Sabiha asked, glancing at him.
“I want to be immortal and to be the perfect hunter and warrior” he told her, knowing that if he was immortal, he wouldn’t need her to survive the harsh environment. He wanted to be a perfect hunter and warrior to survive whatever was out there or at least it would give him a chance of surviving. “You have ten seconds to give this to me or I will reveal you both.”
Gabriel could hear that whatever was looking for them, was now outside and if he was going to die anyway, he may as well take her with him. He just hoped she didn’t have some crazy trick up her sleeve.
“Ten” Gabriel growled, gritting his teeth as he pulled himself up. “Nine.”
“You wouldn’t dare” Sabiha breathed, looking up at his angry face.
“Eight” he growled, touching the staff to the rocks. “Seven.”
“You can’t do this, I’ll be locked up in there forever” she whined, gripping onto Pontus’ hand tightly.
“Six” he said through his teeth and looking at he as if to say that he wasn’t bluffing and that he didn’t care what happened to her. “Five.”
“Come on Gabriel, please” she pleaded, looking like she was starting to get desperate.
“Four” he growled, mentally preparing himself for his own death. “Three.”
“Okay, okay” she breathed, signalling for him to stop. “I’ll do it.”
“Good and just so I know you're not going to trying anything stupid, I’m going to encase him” he told her, as he started moving rock around Pontus’ body.
As the rock moved to encase Pontus, Gabriel had to grab Sabiha’s hand and rip it away from Pontus’ as she tried to grab him. He wasn’t going to take any chances with her, she had already deceived him more than once and he wasn’t going to fall for anymore of her tricks.
“I will release him to you once you give me what I asked for” Gabriel growled, as tears rolled down her cheeks. “And if you try anything, I will reveal you.”
“Okay” Sabiha whimpered and moved closer to Gabriel, knowing that she had to do as he said, she hadn’t done everything she had thus far to be discovered now. “This is going to hurt.”
“I don’t care” he hissed and watched her nod before she leaned over and placed the palm of her hand on his forehead.
Sabiha’s hand began to glow but the glow didn’t stop at her hand, the light started moving from their point of contact and down through his body. With the light, came pain and as this pushed through his body, Gabriel gritted his teeth and groaned but tried everything he could to remain quiet.
It felt like the pain was never going to end as it reached into every cell of his body. Once Gabriel’s entire body was alight, Sabiha removed her hand and sat back with a weary look on her face. The pain continued to rage through Gabriel, making him feel like his entire body was on fire and all he could concentrate on was the pain, nothing else seemed to exist.
The moment Gabriel dropped to the ground, he curled up and tried everything he could to be quiet. He wasn't in a position to deal with whatever was outside and he knew it, he just hoped that he would be strong enough to deal with whatever he had to do next.
As the pain slowly started to subside, Gabriel worked on calming his breathing and stopping himself from shaking so much. Once he had is breathing under control, he sat up and waited for the pain to dull before he used the staff to pull himself to his feet. He knew she had done something to him, he could feel it but he still wasn't sure what.
Without a word, Gabriel removed the rock from around Pontus’ body, knowing he could easily encase Pontus again if need be. He then watched as Sabiha immediately rushed to Pontus and dropped to his side. She then protectively covered Pontus with her body and openly wept as if she thought she had lost him forever.
Sighing, Gabriel closed his eyes and began searching his body for changes. The first thing he noticed was the fact that he could hear everything around him. It was so clear that he could hear someone speaking about finding Pontus outside. He also somehow felt stronger, even though his body still looked the same and when he reopened his eyes, he looked around and could see everything more clearly, even the darker spaces seemed more clear to him. His entire body felt alive with the hum of life and strength course this his body.
As he stood there, he could feel his body healing his aching muscles and with every passing moment, he felt stronger than he had ever before. He no longer felt weary and as he drew in a deep breath, he could smell everything from Sabiha’s sweet scent to the smell of the dust floating in the air around them, it was as if he had been reborn.
“We need to get out of here” Gabriel said, looking down at Sabiha with distrust in his eyes.
“I've already told you, I can't carry you both” Sabiha sighed, not moving from her protective position.
“Perhaps I should ask the man looking for Pontus to take me home” Gabriel threatened, running his fingers over the staff and noticing that his sense of touch had also been heightened.
“I gave you what you wanted” Sabiha growled, glancing at Gabriel with anger in her eyes.
“And I have helped you” Gabriel said bitterly. “Besides if I'm truly immortal, you don't have to waste anymore energy on keeping me alive.”
“Gabriel it's not about the
energy, I just simply don't have the strength” she sighed.
“Okay” he groaned and placed the staff on the rock wall to signal he was about to reveal their hiding place.
“What are you doing?” she gasped, fear filling her voice and eyes.
“Sabiha I think we're done” he said calmly, as he tried to hide the fear he was feeling. “We obviously have nothing more to offer each other.”
“Damn it Gabriel, stop” Sabiha growled, as Gabriel started making a hole in the rock. “If you can help me get off the ground, I should be able to get you back but we're going to have to wait until the coast is clear.”
“That’s not going to happen, a search party is being organised and they are already searching the area” he told her, raising his brows at her. “So we can go now or we can wait until there are more of them.”
“Okay then, what do you suggest?” she said spitefully.
Looking around, Gabriel weighed his opinions up before pointing to the rocky roof. “I'll make a hole in the roof and we’ll go straight up” he told her, hoping his plan was going to work since he couldn’t see if anything was above them. “If that doesn't work, then I guess we're going to have a fight on our hands.”
“I thought I made you smart” Sabiha hissed, frowning at him. “That's the worst plan I've ever heard.”
“And what exactly is your brilliant plan?” he questioned, narrowing his eyes at her as she looked at him angrily.
“Gabriel if they find us, they will lock us up and I'm pretty sure you don't want to spend the rest of your eternal life in there” she growled, pointing toward the entrance to the prison.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Gabriel deeply sighed and looked around. He had no intention of staying on Callisto any longer than he had to.
As he stood there staring at the ground, Gabriel pushed himself to come up with something but no matter how hard he pushed, nothing viable in his opinion came to him. “What's below us?” Gabriel asked, thinking that they could perhaps dig further down and tunnel out somewhere else.
“The prison consumes most of this moon” Sabiha answered. “If we go down, we will end up prisoners.”
“Then we wait” Gabriel sighed before making himself comfortable.