A Flawed Alliance

Chapter 15- From The Purest Ashes and Flames

I couldn't tell if walking was getting tiring for all of us or if I was hoping that was the case. It seemed as if the others had all the stamina in the world and they had done this their entire life. I couldn't help but wonder how they had gained the physical and mental strength they had now. All their Phluids must be very powerful.

Soon, I couldn't take it any longer. I was so tired that I whipped my blade once and staked it to the ground, leaning on it like a cane. I placed my hand over my forehead, trying to see what was in front of me.

Maybe I had expected some sort of reward once we had finished off with Augite. It was my first big fight wasn't it? I was always used to having accomplishments accompanied with a reward. I crinkled my nose.

That thought alone disturbed me. Definitely something a fortunate person like me would say.

"Phew," I breathed out. "This is tiring. Am I right Ace?"

Ace looked back, hefting his staff on his shoulders. His eyebrows furrowed. I could tell he was angry but his small pout made me see that it wasn't all anger but understanding.

"Haaa..." Ace sighed, shaking his head. "Go complain to someone who cares."

When I raised my head a little bit from my sword hilt, I could see an entrance to a chamber standing in front of us, dark and looming. I was about to object when Ace raised his voice and said, "It's the perfect place to rest."

Bones cluttered the roof of the chamber and bits of dried blood painted the steps leading to the door. I wanted to move on, even if that meant one more hour of walking. The weird plants we had seen earlier were all around the base of the chamber with their pale petals staring right at us. Deformed carvings of animals etched the white marble. The indentation of the main door looked like the chamber traveled deep into the ground.

Veronica did the objecting for me, "Smart idea to rest at a burial chamber."

Ace pushed the slab of rock that blocked the entrance to the chamber. The rock dented inward and slid away to reveal a dark hole. More carvings of animals were all pointing downwards. As the tunnel went deeper, the animals grew more grotesque: snakes with slit throats, lambs with fur stuck in their mouth, monkeys with legs torn off, and an eagle with its beak smashed by a hammer.

I attached my hand against the wall as I descended down, my heart screaming to go back up again. I couldn't trust anybody with my life, but here I was, betting it all with the man named Ace.

Once Logan lost hold of the rock behind, the door shut into itself, locking us in with a final click. I almost buckled in fear but clung on to the engravings, hoping in vain that nobody had seen the dramatic hitch in my breath. A musty smell clogged my nose, which must have been the smell of something dying.

"The door should not have sounded like that," Veronica said, pointing at the door.

The animals began to squeal and squawk. It was too dark to see much, but their loud chitter against the marble deafened my ears. It took an entire minute before Veronica was able to calm them down with her hand gestures and voice.

Then, something sparked next to me. Nix and Ember burst in bright light. Their feathers were like mirrors, each little piece reflecting off thousands of sparkles. Their crests were shining the most, illuminating most of the chamber except the corners which remained dark.

The light illuminated everyone in the group and their faces. I could see the dark circles of Logan's, the glistening of Veronica's earrings, and the deepened shadows of Ace's muscles. The marble within the chamber reflected the light incessantly, with each turn of my head, the light moved with it, reflecting a different color each time.