The Dark Witch: The Nox Haven Series

Chapter 29: Down The Rabbit Hole

Caddie's POV:

The fall through the hole was too short. Before I could even scream I found myself sitting at the bottom of the tunnel. There were no lights, and the tunnel was pitch black.

"Cam... Alix... Dmitri!"

I called out for my friends but only received silence. My breathing quickened as I became aware that I was alone, in the Dark Ones' tunnel. I jumped onto my feet and squinted to see anything in the dark. It was useless. Without Cam's night vision or and Alix's illumination spell, I was blind. I took a step forward, and my left hand brushed against the tunnel wall while my other hand was used to make sure I didn't run into anything.

A chill ran down my spine, but it wasn't from the winter weather. The tunnel was like a sauna, and perspiration formed on my forehead. Loud and heavy footsteps echoed in the distance.

"Cam... Dmitri?" I recognized that the footsteps were male but neither of my friends called back.

I quickened my pace until I felt an odd, wet substance on the wall. I stopped, brought my fingers towards my nose and smelt the metallic scent. It was blood. I ventured on wards. I followed the trail of blood and anxiously awaited the next scare.

I prayed that the blood on my fingers was not my friends' blood. A twisting knot of dread formed in my stomach as I realized that they could be dead. As if I was stuck in a trance, my feet continued to trudge forward.

Eventually, I felt the wall curve and I began to walk down a new tunnel. Fortunately for my anxiety the tunnel was lit by a row of torches. The trail of blood disappeared, and all that was left was the traces on my hand. I wiped my hand against my black jeans. If I could burn a man's face off, then I should be able to have all this blood on my hand and not freak out.

I took a torch from one of the holsters and continued to search for any signs of my friends. As ventured deeper into the tunnels I began to hear a low pitched buzzing noise. It made sense that there would be insects of all kinds trapped down there. The noise got louder and more aggressive, and a small part of my mind vaguely registered the change.

A dark figure ran down a different tunnel. Hope began to burst inside of me.

"Dmitri? Cam?"

My response was a more agitated his from the shadows. That was when I realized that the noises were not from bugs, but from the Dark Ones. My pace began to pick up until I was sprinting down the tunnel. I continued to run until I was barreling into a person.

"Shit... Caddie," the man cursed.

A large smile formed on my face as I heard the familiar sound of Cam's voice. I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist as I basked in his warmth. He's alive. I had an overwhelming urge to cry, but we didn't have any time to waste. I scrambled off of him but kept my hand securely in his grasp.

"Where are the others?" I asked.

"We found the chamber where Aleksander is being hold. We would have waited for you, but the dark ones were looking for us."

Something seemed off.

Cam began to pull me down the tunnel. The torch that I was once holding was laying on the ground, the fire having been put out. This tunnel wasn't lit like the other one, and I had to trust Cam.

Normally, that wouldn't have been a problem, but for some reason I couldn't. As he pulled me into the deeper parts of the tunnels I felt my hope disappear and a new fear blossomed.

"Cam?" I asked in a timid voice.

"Yes, Caddie," he responded in a cold and aloof tone.

"I was just wondering why you guys didn't wait for me." My fear gradually grew as I waited for his response.

"You were taking too long and we needed to find Aleksander. That was the reason why we came here," He said aggravatingly.

"Okay... I have one more question."

We stopped walking. He turned towards me and asked, "What is it?"

Sparks flew from the hand that was trapped in his. A hiss escaped from his mouth as he collapsed onto the ground. I clutched his hand tightly, and ignored the sound of sizzling flesh.

"Where are my real friends?" I asked, my rage was barely contained.

He cackled in response, "They're as good as dead just like you, pretty thing."

I tightened my grip and a short scream came from him. I felt a piece of bone underneath my hand.

"Take me to them," I ordered.

"You're going to have to do a lot more than that to make me bend to your will," he grunted and disappeared.

I spun around in the dark, searching for another presence, but I was alone. I should have kept running, but I was lost. What was the point? It would be impossible to find Aleksander or my friends in this labyrinth.

I choked on my tears, and tried to find my courage. I felt a tear run down my cheek. A bony hand wiped it away. My mouth hung open in horror, but he placed his grotesquely burnt hand over it before I could scream.

"Shh, lovely, don't worry I'll take good care of you while you're here," he whispered suggestively in my ear.

My skin crawled and my fingers itched to burn him again. Without saying another word, he grasped wrists with one hand while keeping the other one firmly placed over my mouth. Suddenly, my feet were no longer on the ground and my surroundings changed.

It could have been hours or seconds until my feet hit solid ground again. I opened my eyes and saw that we were in a dimly lit room. Shackles hung off of the walls and a nasty smell came from the mold that covered the room.

"What is this place?" I asked once he lifted his hand off of my mouth and led me towards the shackles.

"This is where we keep our special visitors," he chuckled darkly.

I tried to push him off of me but it was useless. He quickly over powered me and locked the shackles around my wrists. The metal cut into my wrists as I tried to pull free. He watched me for a moment with an amused expression on his face. I refused to memorize his features, the only thing I remembered was the mocking look he gave me before he left.

I struggled against the metal shackles for at least ten minutes before my energy ran out. My body slumped against the brick wall. A moan came from the shadows of the room.

"Caddie...mhmm," a shadowy figure murmured.

At first I thought he was talking to me but then he started mumble other things I couldn't make out. There was something familiar about him. I peered through the dark trying to decipher what seemed familiar about him.

"Caddie..." He mumbled again.

"Aleksander!" I nearly shrieked from joy.

I received a muffled response.

"Aleksander!" I called again, but he didn't say anything.

I gripped the chains and with all of my force I tried to pull free. I used my magic to melt the metal and ran to the man sprawled across the floor. I pulled him onto my lap, his heartbeat pounded loudly in his chest. Blood streamed down his beautiful face. I had expected him to be overwhelmingly attractive, but I couldn't see passed the scars and gross smell coming from his body.

"Caddie..." He mumbled again. His eyes fluttered open. I took his hand in mine to show him that I was there. His eyes shut again, but I didn't panic. his heart was still beating against mine.

We shared a peaceful moment together until I heard screams from the other side of the wall. I gently laid Aleksander on the ground and sprinted over to the farthest wall. The screams were muffled but I knew those voices. My friends were alive.

But I didn't know how long that would last.