Page 59 of Within the Flames
She was both confused and amazed by the passion in his voice. It really mattered to him what she thought.
After a moment, he let her go, walking back to the door.
"Come on, let's find the real Mahoun."
She followed him, leaving the strange room and entering a corridor made from a strange, smooth stone that reminded her of dark glass. There were shouts in the distance, but she wasn't able to identify any of the voices.
"They're fighting, that's a good sign," Luc said and Macey tended to agree. Better fighting than lying dead somewhere.
They increased their pace until they were almost running through the tunnel. There were no doors that would have let them out, only an endless, straight corridor. After five minutes, Macey stopped, breathing hard.
"This tunnel can't be this long," she huffed. "The keep isn't big enough for that. We must either be underground, which also doesn't make sense because we never walked down any stairs, or this is yet another illusion."
YOU'RE TOO SLOW, the Mahoun's voice boomed in her head. YOU SHOULD HAVE NOTICED THAT AGES AGO. I'M GROWING TIRED OF PLAYING WITH YOU.
"I'm tired of you hiding from us!" Macey shouted back. "Come and show yourself! Let's fight this out face to face."
WOULDN'T YOU LIKE THAT, LITTLE KELPIE. NO, I THINK I HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO. THERE'S AN INCUBUS TO TORTURE. HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK HE'S GOING TO MISS HIS COCK ONCE IT'S GONE? WILL HE BE ABLE TO SURVIVE?
Macey screamed in outrage and fear. This devil was not going to get his filthy fingers on her men. She was going to find him and rip out his heart.
First though, they had to get out of this tunnel. Luckily, the Voice mentioning Jared had given her an idea.
"Stand back," she warned Luc. "I've not tried this before."
She concentrated on the Earth mark on her back, hoping that would help her focus. She'd not tried to duplicate any of Jared's elemental powers before, but she didn't have time to practice. It had to work, there was no other option.
She focused on the smooth wall to her right, feeling into the stone, trying to figure out where they were and whether there was an exit somewhere. It took her a moment to make sense of the sensations her magic gave her. It all felt cold, unyielding, stoic. Like stone, basically.
Then, slowly, that feeling gave way to something else, something warmer. The Earth behind the stone. It told her stories of waiting and longing, but she didn't have time to listen. One day, she would, but not now.
Now knowing what to do, she tried what she usually did with the Staran: tell it what she needed. She focused on the image of her men, and of Amber and Izban, hoping the Earth would somehow understand. She almost chuckled at that thought. Her life really had become crazy.
To her surprise, the ground began to rumble and she was flung back, landing against something soft. Luc. As soon as the shaking stopped, she stepped away from him, a little embarrassed at the close touch. The daimon confused her immensely. She didn't know what to feel about him, around him, of him. He was a guide, she found him irritating, and yet he had a strange allure that made her want to find out more about him.
She shook her head, ridding her mind of those pesky thoughts, and turned back to the wall - which now had a giant hole in it. Finally. The magic seemed to have worked.
"Well done," Luc said, slapping her back in emphasis. "Now let's get out of here."
Without waiting, he stepped through the hole, bowing his head so he could fit through it. Macey followed, a little annoyed that he'd taken the lead even though it had been her who got them out of the never-ending corridor.
She stepped into a small cave, completely different from the clean, almost clinical tunnel they'd been in before. This looked more like a burrow, with roots clinging to the walls and an uneven ground full of what looked like mole hills.
"Who's there?" a deep voice called from the distance. She thought she recognised it, but only when the Kabouter stepped into the dim light, she realised it was one of her allies. Seppe, she thought his name was, but she wasn't quite sure.
"It's Macey!" she shouted even though he was now close enough to hear her. He was wearing leather armour like most of the Kabouters, but there was a deep gash on the front, almost ripping the leather apart. If he hadn't worn armour, his chest would have likely been cleaved in two by whatever had hit him.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Just some guards, nothing we couldn't handle," he said with pride. "But what on earth are you doing down here? Shouldn't you be up there with the others?"
"Where exactly are we?" Macey was a little embarrassed to admit that she had no idea, even though that was hardly her fault.
"About a hundred feet beneath the dungeons," Sepp explained. "I'm standing guard while the others are trying to get the prisoners out."
"Take us there," she commanded and he nodded.
"Your incubus is up there as well. He's almost as good with Earth as a Kabouter."
