Hard Light (NaNoWriMo15)

Chapter 10 - Behind the Door

"Happy within self?" asked Shade, sounding more than a little amused. "The ancients were a little--wait, the ancient's creed. You remember that, right?"

Leah raised an eyebrow at him, turning away from the wall for a moment. "Ancient's creed?"

"It was the ancient's most sacred scripture," said Shade, pushing off the wall to join her at the wall. "One of the only ones they deigned to share with the other races, believing it to be a creed to live by, the one that had given them their divine right or whatever. One of the lines was something like 'May out blood forever remain filled with pride'. Doesn't that sound like it could be--"

"Happy within self!" said Leah, scribbling it down. "I was wondering why the two symbols were tethered together--usually they aren't unless they're--but yes, 'Pride' would definitely work!"

She reached up--fingers barely touching the crystal--and imbued it with Light.

The crystal gleamed. Light raced from its core, illuminating the string of symbols all the way to the door where half of the 'Life' symbol began to gleam.

Leah couldn't stop her squeal. "It worked! It actually wor--"

The Light faded.

Joy cut short, Leah jerked her head back to the wall crystal, once more dim. "I thought for sure that was right."

"Try one of the other crystals," said Shade. "Can't hurt, right?"

Leah narrowed her eyes at him. "You haven't actually opened this door before, have you?"

"Did I ever say I had?"

Leah huffed and reached for another crystal, the one that marked with 'Light'. "You heavily implie--"

As her Light entered the crystal, the ground beneath her feet fell away.

Leah screamed. She fell, back slamming against the floor as her feet plunged into the abyss below. Her own weight dragged her down, fingers unable to find something to grab in the second she had before the rest of her followed.

Her eyes were below floor level as Shade grabbed her wrist.

Leah's body snapped as Shade's grip stopped her fall. His grip held as her body dangled below the floor, Leah too shocked to do anything but hang, completely deadweight.

"Okay?" grunted Shade. His chest was against the floor above her, and though she could see nothing but his eyes, she heard the strain.

Leah's voice shook. "Please don't drop me."

"Not planning on it," he said. "Grab my wrist with your other hand. Tell me if you're going to slip. I'm going to pull you up."

She did as he asked. With a strength she knew she wouldn't have been able to call on, Shade lifted her up, little by little. First on his knees, then his feet--one foot either side of the pit until her shoulders were above the surface.

Only by the time they were, the floor that had disappeared from under her was returning, slowly sliding back into place and cutting off Shade's face from view.

"Get your feet up," he said. "Quickly. On the floor--like that. Good."

Leah was pretty sure she didn't breathe until she was several metres away from the hole, curled up on the floor. She pretended she didn't hear the faint growls and grunts coming from the pit she'd almost fallen into. It'd been deep enough that no amount of Light was going to get her out of that, and she didn't think it would have been much different for any other ancient Radiant who'd fallen in.