Page 60 of Winter Queen
The crack turns out to be a thin stone door that hasn't been closed properly. It's just around the corner from the large gate, a perfect way to surprise attacking forces and stop them from taking the gate. Right now, we're the invading force though, and this door will finally bring us closer to our goal.
I fly back to the others, killing three more demons on the way.
"There's a door," I tell them once I've landed, "but it's quite far from here. If we walk there, we'd have to get through several hordes of demons. Arc, if we fly, can you shield us from view?"
He nods. "Aye, but we need ta hurry, I dinnae want to use up too much energy."
"Good. I'll take you on the most direct route. If we get in trouble, you two fly to the door, I'll keep them off you."
They both nod grimly and extend their wings. I've always been a tad jealous of my brother's beautiful colours, but today, my darker ones are more practical.
I lead them to the door and surprisingly, we get there without incident. Arc's shielding seems to work. He once said that influencing demons' minds was much easier than manipulating humans or Guardians.
"Are you going to fit through there?" Frost asks Arc, the biggest of us.
"With a wee squeeze, aye," the Scot grumbles and takes the lead.
We sneak inside, progressing slowly through a maze of corridors. I dispatch of demons in our ways with my wind, while the other two are searching the rooms we pass for anything that could be useful. Our priority right now is to find weak spots in this fortress, and hopefully Wyn's father. As long as we don't encounter the Morrigan, we should be alright. These demons are easy prey, too surprised by our presence to resist much.
"Wait," Arc suddenly whispers. "There's a human below us."
He's been scanning our surroundings with his mind magic to give us some warning of any non-demons that may be lingering here.
"Is it her father?" I ask quickly and Arc closes his eyes in concentration.
"I dinnae ken, he's deeply unconscious. Or she, cannae even tell the gender."
"Okay, let's find a way down. There must be a staircase somewhere."
No, there isn't. After several rounds along the same corridors, it's clear that there are no stairs leading up or down from this floor.
"There has to be an exit besides the door we came through," my brother mutters. "It doesn't make sense."
"It has ta be concealed by magic," Arc suggests. "Maybe there's a draught of wind ye can feel, Storm?"
I sigh. "Let's walk around once more, I'll let you know if I notice something out of the ordinary."
We're almost back where we started when I finally feel a waft of air from my right, apparently coming from a solid wall. I stretch out a hand and touch the wall - except that there isn't one.
"Found it," I say drily and walk through the wall-that-isn't-a-wall.
We're in a circular staircase with stairs leading both up and down. We descend, ignoring several pathways leading away from the stairs until Arc tells us that we're on the floor he can sense the human on.
It's the dungeons. What a surprise. Rows of cells stretch out far into the darkness, their metal bars hiding things I don't want to see. It reeks of death and despair in here.
We walk along the corridor, Arc telling us all we need to know.
"Dead... dead.... dead... dead..."
He saves us from having to look into the cells. Some smell so strongly of decay that bodies must be rotting in there.
"... dead... alive!"
Arc breaks into a run, leading us to a cell no different from all the others.
Frost lays his fingers on the lock and freezes the metal until the door pops open.
As if the metal bars were an actual solid door, a terrible scent assails us as soon as we step into the cell. More rot and decay.
