Archer Lumen: Earth's Version of Hell (Unfinshed)[Edited Up to Escape]

Chapter 9 | The Ice Witch and the White Knight

Chapter Nine

We were in a training ground that was ablaze with firelight. There were wooden pillars with spokes sticking out of them to my right. People wailed on the dummies with all their might, breaking some of them completely and splintering others. To my left was where the action was. Men and women alike practiced acrobatic movements over different obstacles. Some cartwheeled through volleys of flames. Others lunged over pits of spikes. I watched as a man held a woman up by the waist and tossed her effortlessly over a cavernous hole in the ground. At first it’d looked like she wouldn’t make it, but something stirred in the air and she was propelled to the other side, landing in a handstand.

  To add to all of this, there was another portion of the training grounds that was in front of me. People―Elementals―were practicing their abilities there. I watched as a group of men surrounded two sparring females, each with their hair on fire. They swung their long locks like whips, the ends scoring black and red marks on the other’s skin. The women all wore training bras and roughspun pants, which I found odd, while the men only wore loose leather pants. Of course, they were all buff and hunky, so I guess it was excused.

  All of this was set inside a large dungeon-like area, with large orbs of fire suspended near the ceiling by some invisible force. That was the only source of light.

  The reason I could see all of this was because we were all standing on a stone ledge that that protruded from the wall about twenty-feet above the ground. There was still a lot of feet to go before the ceiling. Kate let out her inhale of air, looking down on the training grounds with wide blue saucers. Perrybrim whistled appreciatively, nodding to himself about something that probably didn’t matter.

  Jeez, I thought. Remind me to ask for one of these on my birthday.

  “Don’t you think that’d be a little illogical?” Kate asked. I realized that I’d spoken aloud, but chose not to reply. I was still taking all of this in. Perrybrim let us stand on the edge of the ledge and look down on the Elementals and Humans―and some of them were Humans; they were the ones who fought only with weapons and didn’t go near the odd obstacles.

  Finally the bubbly fire Elemental cleared his throat, causing us to turn. While we were facing him, he smiled. “Right this way, friends,” he said. “Follow me.”

  I watched as he walked to the side of the ledge. To my surprise he extended a leg and stepped right off!

  “No!” Kate and I cried in unison. I lunged for the edge, my fingers reaching over as I grasped at air. Landing on my knees as I reached down, I gasped as I saw Perrybrim standing on another stone ledge that was a couple feet below us. I looked up and realized that there were dozens of stone ledges protruding from the circular training grounds, each descending in a spiral that ended at the section that held the practice dummies.

  Kate’s eyes were wider now as she stared at me incredulously. “Did he just…did he just jump off?” she asked.

  I bit my lip, glanced back at Perrybrim, and then grinned. This could be fun. Without saying a word, I rose off of my knees and stepped right off the ledge.

  I landed with a light thump, not stumbling or clutching my foot in agony. I nodded self-appreciating, wincing as Kate’s scream ripped through the air. Perrybrim was already beginning to go down the other steps, and I followed quickly, leaping onto the stone ledges with little effort. Kate, beginning to come out of her panic, had seen the ledge and was now scrambling to catch up. Serves her right, I thought. She’s a liar.

  Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh? Selene asked coolly, having recovered from the initial shock of the training grounds. Instead of trying to defend myself, I scoffed.