Page 21 of Bound Paths
“Thank you. I don’t think I would have moved.” Rose rolled her neck, attempting to stretch her body. It felt like she’d physically caved in on herself as the fears took over in the stairway. “Out of curiosity, what would happen if I hadn’t moved…if I’d stayed there?” She wasn’t sure why she asked. It likely wasn’t an answer she wanted to hear.
Juliette ran her fingers through her hair. “You’d remain exactly where you were. Locked in your mind until someone pulled you out.”
“And you didn’t think it helpful to tell us that before we descended?” Rose asked.
“Would it have stopped you?” Juliette responded, moving her hands to her hips in challenge.
Rose laughed as she dusted herself off. “Well played, Juliette.” Rose appreciated the depth of understanding Juliette’s words implied. Rose had made up her mind, and nothing, not even trauma-inducing staircases, would stop her. This left Juliette to sweep in and save Rose when she got in over her head. Her relationship with Juliette had moved past colleagues with mutual respect. If Juliette’s lip-twitching, dangerously close to tipping into a smile, was anything to go by, Juliette considered Rose a friend as well.
“If you two are finished…” Carter tapped his foot on the ground. The steady beat echoed in the cave tunnel. The soft lines on his face in the dim light told Rose he wasn’t actually put out by their banter.
Rose rolled her eyes at him and looked at Juliette. “Alright, where to next?” The cave glowed in firelight emanating from the Vesten Point’s palm. The warm yellow and orange flames made the dark cave walls appear purple. Long shadows moved with them as they filed into line behind the Osten Point, to journey through the tunnel.
“We’re in a cave network on the eastern shore now. It’s not a long walk to where I commune with Zrak, but it has a few obstacles.”
“Worse than facing our fears as we descend the stairs?” Carter asked. Rose could have sworn she saw him shiver. Secretly, she was glad she wasn’t the only one impacted by the descent.
“Less mentally taxing and slightly more physical,” Juliette said as she led them on. The path split in two, and Juliette selected the one on the right without hesitation.
Rose wondered about each Osten Point learning this path. She assumed the previous leader would teach the next. Did Lela already know the sacrifice the Osten Point made for their people? Though she’d never said as much directly, Rose knewfrom her evaluation of Juliette’s magic that communing with Zrak was a burden she did not wish to pass on.
Juliette’s voice pulled Rose from her thoughts. “I’ve sent my wind ahead to trigger the traps. They are simple but effective ways to ensure intruders don’t make it to the end.” Juliette waved her hand as she continued. “Spears that shoot from the wall and a trapdoor that plummets to a hole the Suden Point would be proud of.” Juliette smiled softly.
“I’m sure he’ll have notes for you,” Rose said as she thought of dragging Luc back through these tunnels. Even if this trip was only a test, it was the first step to reconnecting to his magic. “Are there any left for us?” she asked as the Osten Point continued to list traps. “Or is this just a walk in the dark now?”
“I resent that,” Carter said.
“My apologies to the Vesten Point. A walk dimly lit by flame.” Rose smirked, and the room around her flared in light, the eerie purple glow of the rock walls even more prominent as Carter showed off his magic.
“Are you two done?” Juliette asked, echoing Carter’s teasing words from the start of their walk. “Your only real challenge will be the ridge,” she said, her voice taking on a more serious tone.
Rose and Carter shared a concerned glance. “What is the ridge?” Rose asked when it was clear Juliette wasn’t offering more information.
“A narrow section of the path that wraps around a large opening within the cave network. Rock continues to fall away from the ridge into the expanse.” She reached her hand out to touch the cave wall. “Each step can be quite dangerous. There is no surviving a fall from it.”
“Is that a problem when we can use our wind to hold tight to the wall?” Rose asked.
“Ah, that’s the trick,” Juliette added. “The real obstacle of the ridge is the wind itself. It has a single-minded focus to drive travelers from the wall, plummeting them into the expanse.”
“Really?” Carter asked. “A wind that works against you? Aren’t these obstacles supposed to keep other fae out—not the Osten?”
“I’m sure we have Zrak to thank for this obstacle, too,” Rose commented dryly.
Juliette nodded. “I have to assume it was his doing. It’s the only way to explain the strength and inconsistency of the winds. He knew how to stress test Osten magic, ensuring only the strongest wind wielders could make it through.”
“Are we sure we want to bring Zrak back?” Carter asked, looking uncomfortable. As the only one without wind on this journey, Rose understood his concern. “He doesn’t seem like he’s necessarily on our side.”
Rose laughed, though it held no real mirth. “I’ve decided to withhold judgment until Arie talks to him. Zrak’s actions seem questionable, but Arie still trusts his motives.” She sighed. “Whereas, we know everything Aterra did was in service of obliterating the balance.”
“If you say so,” Carter said as he took another careful step, coming face to face with one of the spears Juliette’s wind had triggered.
Not much farther ahead, the ridge curved close to the wall, and the expanse unfolded to its left. The perceived safety of the tunnel’s enclosed walls had to be left behind to proceed. As Juliette said, the footpath itself was narrower than the tunnel’s. Pieces of it must have been sliding off into the expanse for as long as it had existed. On their right, the jagged rock wall; on the left…Rose kicked a rock, and it tumbled over the edge into the darkness. She listened for an echo as it plummeted—at first, afew clinks as it must have hit a jagged outcrop below them…then nothing.
This was not Luc’s hole in Loch. It had to have a bottom. Just as the thought crossed her mind, she heard the stone hitting the base of the expanse with a resounding thud.
Carter sent balls of flame out over the space to give them more light to guide their steps. Rose wasn’t sure seeing everything helped. She’d rather not know what she could fall into, and the more significant challenge seemed to be staying close to the rock wall.
She had barely stepped from the tunnel onto the narrow ridge when the wind rushed around her. Rose hurried back before it could push her away from the wall and glanced at Juliette.
