The Elf Thief

Chapter 26: Magic and Near Death Experiences

Chapter 26

Magic and Near Death Experiences

            Dearekk reached out to touch the stone wall, only to have his hand go through it. He kept pushing until his elbow was immersed into the strange illusion. “Nothing here,” he called out over his shoulder, quickly removing his hand. He had learned the hard way that the longer you stayed in the illusion, the colder it got. At one point, a thin sheen of ice had covered his fingertips.

            Nyx nodded and did the same thing on the opposite wall. “Same here,” she replied, “maybe the knives were designed to stop partway through the illusion.”

            Shaking his head, Dearekk tried to recall everything about the trap they had ran into hours before. “No,” he said, “We had to pull them out, it was like they were just barely lodged in something.”

            “Maybe we are looking in the wrong places,” a voice came seemingly out of nowhere. Dearekk jumped as a slate-haired fay appeared next to him. The Seer smirked. “Maybe instead of searching every nook and cranny for something solid, we should search the place only solid place we’ve seen so far.”

            “What do you…” a look of dawning came over Nyx’s face. “Traps. We need to look for traps.”

            “Exactly,” the Seer replied, a hint of a smile on his face, “And Sonya’s found one.”

            They quickly ran down the hallway, to where Sonya was standing, looking a little edgy. “Don’t leave me on my own,” she muttered to Dearekk.

            He let out a poorly disguised laugh.

            Reaching out, the Seer’s hand went about wrist deep before stopping. “I don’t feel a door handle,” he murmured under his breath. “Maybe it’s only opened by magic…”

            Nyx rolled her eyes, “Or you could just do this.” Pulling out a marble sized ball, the fay princess hurled it where the Seer’s hand was. The Seer wisely pulled his hand out and jumped back.

            A moment later, the wall seemed to explode. The stone wall flickered, and disappeared, leaving a charred and broken door where it was moments before.

            “Much easier than magic,” Nyx said proudly, dusting off her hands. Walking over, she picked up the small, unharmed sphere and called over her shoulder, “You coming?”

            The Seer was the first to follow, then Sonya and then Dearekk. They walked through the burnt remains of the door and what seemed to be a spiral staircase. As they began walking up, both Sonya and he began feeling the effects of the tight space.

They seemed to be walking in endless circles. With every turn they made, Dearekk expected to see the ending, an exit of some sort. But it was never there. The walls got tighter and tighter, the steps got steeper and steeper. It felt like he was walking up a dark cylinder, no windows, no end, just stairs and an eerie orange light that seemed to have no source.

Finally his panic seemed to overwhelm him. He let out a gasp and leaned against the wall, shivering. Sonya was in no better shape. She began beating against the walls, her fists pounding against the stone.

Summoning his last bit of strength, Dearekk wrapped his arms around his crying friend. She began to beat his chest with her fists, like she had with the wall, but this time it was weaker, as if she had lost the will to try.

The Seer looked at Nyx, nodded and shot away. He was gone for a couple minutes before coming back. Turning towards Dearekk, he asked, “Do you think you can help her? The exit is close.”