It felt as though they were going down more stairs than they had initially climbed and Loki imagined they were entering the very depths of the mountain, even beyond, into the bowels of the earth itself. She had been thinking of the solid earth above and around them. Feelings of claustrophobia settled into her awareness, like an oppressive fog settling on the ground, and her breathing quickened slightly. It was cool inside the earth but she kept wiping beads of perspiration from her forehead. She had to consciously force herself to relax.
They stepped down to a level, circular area that was surrounded by carved archways, each leading in different directions. Loki glanced around, wondering where they led, as she absent-mindedly followed in step behind Kado, not really paying attention to where they were headed.
She wondered how much time the Overseers spent inside the earth and had doubts about how well she could tolerate it. For a fleeting moment, she wanted to panic and shoved the urge back down beneath her awareness. She glanced at the arches that softly showed hints of light defining the openings. She conjured up an image, that each opening was an exit that led up and out of the earth to bright sunshine and fresh air. She imagined feeling the warmth of the sun on her face and taking in breaths of pure, crisp air. She sighed as she pulled herself out of the daydream and back to the chilly, dark cave.
Waysu faced the solid wall, in between two of the arches, and Loki heard Morten’s muffled voice say, “Just step through it.”
Loki looked around, wondering why Morten’s voice sounded distant but he was nowhere in sight. She glanced back at Waysu and, not only was Waysu gone, but she swore Kado had just walked through solid rock. She blinked several times, thinking her eyes were playing tricks on her.
She stood there, alone, and studied the wall. It certainly had the appearance of being solid and looked the same as all the other walls. Slowly, she reached out with her hand to touch the surface when, all of a sudden, a hand reached from the other side, grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her through.
Loki gasped as she was jerked forward. She faltered and almost fell but was caught. Kado’s strong arms wrapped around her and lifted her to her feet.
“Sorry,” he said as he gazed into her eyes. “I didn’t mean to pull so hard.”
Loki felt her cheeks get hot and she pushed herself away from him. She hoped, in the dim light, that he couldn’t see how it flustered her. To mask it further, she looked down and pretended to brush herself off, as if she had just fallen to the ground and was covered in dirt. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Waysu watching from several paces ahead but as soon as Loki’s eyes met hers, Waysu turned away and continued walking.
“I don’t need your help.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Loki realized it was louder than she had intended. She didn’t know what else to say so she turned and followed Waysu. This time, Kado brought up the rear.
The passageway widened slightly but grew darker as they continued. They entered another cavern that looked like it was used for storage. Shelves, packed haphazardly with junk lined the walls. Wooden crates, with their lids turned at angles as though someone had just rummaged through them, were scattered on the floor.
Morten stepped to one of the crates and slid the lid farther to the side. He reached in and pulled out lanterns. He lit them and passed one along to each person. He held a finger to his mouth, indicating for them to be quiet, and motioned for them to follow.
They left the storage room and were quickly swallowed by darkness, except for the dim light provided by the lanterns. There were no more spinning crystals on the walls to light the way. The air stirred as though something moved through it, like hundreds of feathers swishing back and forth, but it quickly stopped.
They took a few more steps, the dirt on the cave floor quietly scrunching underneath their feet. Light from the lanterns didn’t extend far, as if the darkness purposely blocked them from seeing what was around them. Morten stopped and the others stood close.
Loki extended her arm and held the lantern out farther, wanting to see their surroundings. To their right, the wall wasn’t far away and the lantern barely illuminated its surface. She began to swing the light in the opposite direction when she thought she saw something and swung it back to have another look.
The wall of the cave appeared to be a normal, earthen wall with dips and protrusions on its surface but as Loki held the light close to it, the wall moved, as if its surface were alive with brown shapes trying to shake off the beam.
Loki startled and jumped back, almost dropping her lantern. Morten reached out with a firm grasp to steady her. He motioned for them to extinguish their flames. They followed his lead and were instantly drowned in pitch blackness. Then he began to sing.
“The darkness may hide you, oh lovers of life, but friends are among you now. Come out, come out. Let your colors be seen, by those who have taken the vow.”
Nothing happened. All was silent and the darkness was so complete, not a speck of light could be seen, even though Loki’s eyes searched desperately for some illumination.
After a moment, something stirred the air and sound filled the space, like the chime of millions of tiny bells. Light began to appear, faint at first, then erupting into a golden hue that flashed intermittently. Initially, it appeared that the light source blinked but it quickly became obvious that it remained fixed, on the walls and ceiling of a huge cave. The sporadic flashes were caused by movement in front of the walls and ceiling.
Soon, the cave was as radiant as a late summer afternoon, when the sun’s rays softly wash everything in amber. Something, or many things, flew through the air like a great mass of butterflies swirling, twisting and turning together, as one unit.
Morten held out his hand. One of the flying creatures broke out of formation and landed on his palm. It was a tiny human-like figure, about six inches tall, with wings slightly taller than its body. The wings were multi-colored, like a mosaic with each color outlined in stark, velvety black. Its dark eyes were round and large for its tiny face.
Loki realized she was looking at a fairy! The Fairies of the Grotto!
“It’s beautiful!” whispered Waysu, as she extended her finger to touch it.
Suddenly, the colors on the fairy’s wings melded into one color, a blushing crimson. Its wings shook ever so slightly.
Morten spoke softly. “They’re shy, until they get to know you.”
Waysu pulled her hand back, realizing she was making the fairy nervous. It leapt off of Morten’s hand. The patches of color outlined by black returned as it joined the others in their flying dance. The group stood silently and watched the display of spiraling twists and turns that were choreographed in perfect unison, as if the fairies all followed some silent language that led them in their moves.
The fairies flew to a different part of the cave and Morten motioned for the group to follow. The walls, which had previously been covered by the winged beings, were coated with layers of glowing crystals similar to the spinning ones that lit the path to the cave.
They entered another chamber, smaller than the first, and the ceiling was much lower. Some of the fairies were bunched together in a blob, like a swarm of bees, in front of the opposite wall. The harmonious sound of delicate bells chiming suddenly changed. It wasn’t as smooth and melodic and gave Loki the sense that the fairies were agitated or nervous. The pitch was higher.
The swarm moved outward to create an opening in the center of the blob, which revealed a cavity in the opposite wall. Like all the other walls, it was coated with crystals, but in the middle was a large, richly colored dark amber crystal that stood out from all the others. It pulsated with light and emitted a low hum, like a beating heart pumping blood through the veins of the cave.
All of a sudden, Loki felt an incredible urge to reach out and touch it, like an invisible force was pulling her toward it. She glanced at Waysu and Kado, wondering if they felt the same thing. She wasn’t sure but by the od
d look on their faces, she knew they felt something.
Morten took Kado’s hand to place it on the crystal and when Kado nearly touched it, he pulled back slightly, as if he was surprised by what he felt.
“It’s all right. Go ahead.” Morten stepped back to let Kado place his own hand on the crystal.
Loki studied Kado’s face. After he got over the initial surprise of whatever he felt, he smiled. Then he let out a long, content sigh, as if he had just sipped hot cocoa after coming in out of a freezing winter blizzard. Then, suddenly, the expression on his face was serious and from there, it got worse. He moaned and Loki thought it sounded like he was in pain. Morten reached over and yanked Kado’s hand off of the crystal. All of this happened within a span of no more than a minute or two. Loki looked into his eyes. They looked different. It reminded her of the look in her mother’s eyes after her father killed himself and the dark force came to claim his soul. Was this the look of someone who had seen death?
Loki caught Morten’s eye and he nodded slightly toward the crystal, indicating it was her turn. She looked at the crystal with its dark, rich gold-orange color, pulsing with light and sound. It was beautiful and she felt it pulling her into its aura. She glanced at Morten again and he smiled slightly and nodded again.
Loki stepped forward and raised her hand. The pull was getting stronger, as if the crystal had a power that was willing her to touch it. She let the force pull her hand to its smooth, cool surface. Then it was as if someone had just inserted visual images and impressions directly into her mind. She understood that the crystal was the life force of the cave. It contained a powerful energy which gave vitality to all the other crystals in the caves as well as to the fairies. It was their sun, their sustenance. She felt a wholeness she had never experienced. It was pure contentment.
Then as soon as she reached that point, it changed. Her next vision showed the crystal broken off from its location and it was dull and dark. Oddly enough, though, it still had power but Loki felt it reverse. Instead of giving life-affirming energy, it was sucking life away from everything else. All other crystals in the cave turned dull and dark as well. Then she saw the fairies die. The crystal grew more powerful but in a negative way and its reach went farther, to take life from the land. Plants and trees were dying. Intense winds blew across the barren land creating dust storms. Nothing grew anymore. Animals were dying and people were starving. Loki moaned at the devastation. It was more than she could bear. She didn’t want to see anymore.
Morten grabbed her hand and pulled it off of the crystal. It was Waysu’s turn. She bravely stepped forward and placed her own hand on the crystal, knowing that she needed to see for herself what the others had seen.
After the neophytes were imparted with the understanding about the crystal, the fairies swarmed together to block their view. They understood that no human could gaze at it for very long without being affected by its raw power.
The experience left Loki, Waysu and Kado speechless. Morten gazed into their eyes and was satisfied with what he saw. No one can view the destruction that they observed without being profoundly impacted by it.
TWELVE
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