Page 71 of Love and Death
Nothing happens. No one steps out from a hidden crevice to grab me, no voice calls out to stop me or announce its presence.
As far as I can tell, I am alone down here.
I breathe a soft sigh of relief and then set off to my left, where the blue lines of light appear to stretch further into the distance, to continue my search.
The air is even thinner here, the strange stale stillness of it catching in my lungs, and I can only hope that the flickering flames do not consume too much of it before I can leave. No sooner than I think this thought, then the light around me shifts again.
Frowning, I realize the flames appear to be dimming. I blink to reset my vision, but it only worsens. Stealing a quick glance over my shoulder, my chest tightens beneath panic’s grip.
The passage behind me is growing darker by the second, the flames dying out as they move toward me. If I don’t hurry, I may very well be swallowed whole by darkness once again.
I turn back and pick up my pace, only to quickly have to move even faster. Within minutes, I’m running to keep up with the fading lines of light, my skirts caught up in one hand, the torch still clutched in the other.
Something must have triggered the flames to come to life before, but what?
Or, who?
Only one name comes to mind to answer my question, but I quickly force it down. Not now.
Focus.
Stay in the light, find out what’s down here, and escape.
Nothing else matters right now.
My lungs ache and my head spins from the effort and lack of air, but I push myself to keep moving.
Until I can’t.
My legs give way beneath me, and I stumble sideways into the wall before sliding down to the floor in an exhausted heap. I watch the light continue to creep toward me and then slip past, but I can’t get up. I can’t chase after it.
I need to rest. To breathe.
If only for a moment.
Leaning back against the wall, I close my eyes to gather my strength as I wait for the light to finally die out.
Only, when I next open my eyes, it hasn’t.
At least, not entirely.
There’s a faint glow in the distance that, if I hurry, I may still be able to catch up to. Wincing as I pull myself back up onto my feet, I stagger toward it.
The glow gradually gets brighter, despite my slowed pace, and hope wells up within me as I realize the flames have finally stopped moving.
Drawing closer, I see why.
Two massive black doors block the way ahead, nearly invisible in the darkness, despite two blue flames burning bright on either side of them.
This could be it. This has to be it.
My heart racing, I step up to the doors, place my palm flat against the smooth surface, and push.
The heavy black door swings open slowly. I squeezethrough as soon as there’s a crack wide enough and step into a vast, circular chamber—a dark sanctum carved into the very heart of the Underworld itself.
Smooth, sapphire walls curve upward into a domed ceiling etched with strange, glowing runes in a language that I don't recognize. The floor itself is inlaid with the same fiery blue lines that lit up the passageway, but these ones form a woven pattern that draws the eye to the center of the room, where a large stone table lies waiting.
And on it … a body, shrouded in a dark linen.
