Page 51 of Wings of The Wraith
While their presence did nothing to phase neither the necromancer nor Balmora, to me their presence was most welcomed.
“Guys,” I beamed.
“Save the reunion for the after party, boss. You owe me a fucking beer.”
“You can have a case of it.” I nodded.
“How about you deal with your cape wearing friend and we’ll take care of these things,” Zeek suggested, nodding toward the creatures.
“Agreed.” I turned back to the necromancer who had a crazy grin on his face.
“Look at you all, thinking you have us, where you want. You really believe you stand a chance?” He laughed.
Balmora snapped her fingers and it was as if something switched on in the creatures. They moved at once toward Zeek and Neo.
“I think I need to reacquaint myself with Alyssa.” Balmora laughed and to my greatest horror walked inside the cave. As she did her grotesque appearance faded and she looked nothing more than a woman. A human woman without magic.
I didn’t anticipate that, but I should have.
With her magic she was one of the most powerful sorceress’ alive, without it I was certain she was still strong. Strong enough to go up against a defenseless woman who was new to our world.
Alyssa was inside the cave, somewhere, without me.
A blast of energy sent me flying through the air.
The necromancer roared with laughter. The kind used by someone who knew they were one step ahead of the game.
And he was...
***
Alyssa
***
Iunderstood why itwas called the Cave of Endless Night. It was so dark I couldn’t even see my hands.
In my back pockets were a few things my grandmother had given me to prepare me for this. Although no one could have really prepared me for being inside a cave in some strange land by myself.
She’d given me a little kit with a box of matches, a candle, a flare, and a box of raisins. She always used to give me a box of raisins when she was alive.
Raisins I loved because they were my favorite things.
I would have loved to stop and eat them, but I hadn’t felt hunger in days.
Mostly I felt numb and a part of me felt like I was never going to see Dante again.
I’d never told any man I loved them, and I never got the chance to tell the one that I did love, I loved him.
I lit the candle and felt my way through. I suppose I was just to sit and wait in that helpless state I hated.
There was a stream which flowed down into a little waterfall. I went up to it and crouched down to touch the water. It wasn’t water though.It was mercury.
I’d seen this a lot at the British Museum. The Egyptians used it in their tombs because of its power to imbue immortality. The Mayans used it too.
At least I knew something. It being here probably did something to tamp down the magic.
Of which I had none.
