After the rock, finding the tunnel was much easier. The group hurriedly ran towards the opening on the base of the mountain and marveled at how much comfort it gave—shield from the blizzard outside and a warmer shelter than the open grounds.
Keelan leaned against the walls of the tunnel and slowly slid down, his knees giving in under him. The others sighed in relief and started to chatter away with each other, letting their voices reverberate across the entire space.
"Can someone light something?" Aneeka whispered, looking around at the unerringly dark space.
It was pure black, not to mention the reeking smell. Where in the world was it coming from?
"Corvan," Charles began, but he needn't continue.
The first-ranker opened his palms and fire flared out immediately. Aiming straight on, he threw it forward. The red, hot flame multiplied, leaving copies of itself, as it flew towards the other end of the tunnel, shedding light on what was once a dark space. It was amazing to watch really. Valeriana wondered just how many tricks Corvan knew.
"I can do that, too." Zion muttered. "It's always Corvan this and Corvan that."
He might've been too busy trying to show off and tell everyone that he was better than Corvan that he failed to notice.
Something was amiss . . .
"Everyone!" Aneeka exclaimed, turning pale as her eyes scanned the path before her.
Charles's eyes narrowed and he looked around warily. The look of disbelief was evident across the faces of each one of them within the whole group—except for Brindon of course. Corvan's expression turned cautious and he instinctively had his hand on the hilt of the weapon he recently strapped around his waist.
"Oh, in the name of . . ." Tamara trailed off.
"Grotesque." Raziel commented as he looked away.
"This . . ." Courtney growled. "I'll kill the one responsible for this."
Valeriana gasped and withheld her scream while Keelan hastily stood up in shock, practically falling over from his hurry. Everyone understood his reaction, though. He just recently found out he was sitting beside the skeleton of someone.
"What in the world is this?" Aneeka inquired, wide-eyed.
Among the path that lead to the other end, bones and skulls alike were all scattered. A path of death, it seemed. It almost appeared to be a graveyard of fallen soldiers that attempted to retake the City of Loquin. It was obvious, judging by the clothing of the skeleton that was leaning against the wall—the one Keelan incidentally sat beside. The armors, weapons, and even the uniform that local soldiers of the Prelurésian Army wore were all over the place, too.
"Calm down, everyone." Corvan told the others, and turned to see Charles slipping off his winter gloves.
The fourth bent down in front of the skeleton and reached out towards it. Running the pad of his fingers over its clothing, he frowned. He then brought up his hand and examined it, rubbing his fingers together as though feeling for something. Corvan, as well, started looking around himself along with Rowe and a few others who finally managed to compose themselves from the 'surprise' greeting.
"As expected, judging by the state of these remains, it's recent. Not more a few days old."
"Recent?!" Valeriana exclaimed. "Recent, you say? Then shouldn't it be a corpse before a skeleton?"
"This is not a typical murder scene, Valeriana." The guy answered. "Although it varies, this is not a very unusual scenario when dealing with demons—when nothing is left but bones."
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Legend | Celeste Academy Series BK #2
Fantasy|Celeste Academy Series BK #2| The Twelve has left the academy walls to explore the the Larkovian continent, seeking the enigmatic brother of the king. While getting the archduke to come with them was easier than they'd hope, his conditions pose as...
