Dauntless Raiders

Chapter 21 - Too Good To Be True

I didn't dare look back at the pit. It horrified me. The cage around me lifted and released me. I stood back on my feet and turned to the reaper.

"How do you suppose I get back to my friends?" I asked. My voice reflected the sheer hatred towards the creature. It took every ounce of me to hold myself back from killing it. Probably since it was a reaper, I doubt killing it was that easy. But I would just unleash every sorcery I could concoct, upon it.

"The diamond that you stole is pure, powerful magic." The reaper replied, "This entire place is filled with that aura. Obtaining such power does come with a price. The willingness to sacrifice. However, it doesn't require you to actually give up your life."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What...? That means, my friend died for no reason?"

"Not likely." It pointed towards the pit.

Just when I turned to look at the black abyss, a voice sounded from the darkness below. A very familiar voice.

"Uh... guys?"

The sense of relief that voice gave me was inexplicable. I was about to leap up and about in joy. But I was standing on a platform and I would most likely fall into the pit so that was a bad idea. Still, it was overwhelming to hear the voice.

"Beverly?!" I exclaimed.

"Am I supposed to climb all the way up there?" she shouted, "You know I'm afraid of heights!"

"Oh thank God." I placed a hand on my forehead, exhaling a long breath.

The others were just as relieved as I was. Nolan was staring at the ground but he too felt the same way we all did. He tried not showing it on his face but failed.

From the darkness below, a large rock platform rose up. And Beverly sat rooted to it. The platform reached in level with both the ends of the cave. Then one by one, more rocks rose from the black pit. They formed a bridge connecting the platform I stood on and the ledge where the others were. Beverly stood up from the rock and ran across the bridge towards me. She grabbed my hand and pulled me along, going back on the bridge and reaching the other side.

More tremors shook the cave and large pieces of stone and debris began falling down. The reaper simply stood there unaffected. But as we made our way out of the cave, the creature seemed to disappear into the darkness. We felt the tremors in every step we took. Rocks and debris rained down all around us. I shot a glance behind me and saw the cave collapsing and thus blocking the path we came from.

The lot of us picked up our paces and ran for our lives. August clutched Evelyn's hand and pulled her along. Andrew held Esther's as he sprinted like an animal.

We jumped off the part of the cliff where the cave was, to save ourselves from being crushed by the falling rocks. We landed on the grass below that cushioned our fall. I glanced at up and saw the cave sealed off for good. It didn't exist anymore.

"Ow." I groaned, clutching the back of my head.

Though the grassy earth saved us from major injuries, it still proved really hard on our heads. I got back up on my feet and helped Beverly up. Then I wrapped her in a hug. She returned it.

"Next time you even think of doing something like that, I'll kill you myself." I said.

"You're awfully calm." She replied, "Considering what happened. I was pretty damn sure you would kick my ass."

"You don't have a clue how traumatizing it was for me in there. I'm just glad you're alive."

We separated from the hug and she looked at me with softened eyes, "Sorry. Won't happen again."