27
The spear passed into the image, the figure, of Frianchenzer. It did not pierce the fallen Patron. It entered. Únik felt a heat rise within the shaft of the spear. She saw the tip begin to glow, as though dipped into the heat of a forge and a feeling of happiness and contentment radiated out from the figure. Únik felt the gaze of the Fallen One come to rest upon her and Únik could swear she saw the featureless figure smile.
She felt the tip of the spear release from the form before her and she fell backwards. The hole that the spear tip had made now began to grow and widen. A gaping black maw within the image of a chest. And then the maw began to collapse in upon itself, drawing light and air into it, like a whirlpool upon the ocean.
A wind arose as the hole sucked more and more air into itself and a keening howl erupted around them all. Únik stumbled, falling to a knee as she felt the vortex grow and pull her towards it. She felt hands clasp her. Holding her shoulders and arms, pulling at her, trying to drag her away from the hole that threatened to devour her.
And then, a sudden silence fell upon the cavern. All light disappeared. The light of the figure of the former Patron, Frianchenzer, the light of the spears of Essence. Everything became sucked into the gaping, black wound. In the silence, she could hear herself making fast, grasping breaths. She began to relax, thinking it finished.
Then a low, deep rumbling began to ripple outwards, in the dark, before an explosion of light and force erupted from where the vortex had hung in the air. She found herself thrown backwards a great distance. Rolling and tumbling in the maelstrom of the explosion, crashing into Hatyara and Shihiri, becoming a tangle of arms and legs.
A silence fell once more and Únik lay within the pile of herself and her companions. She did not know if that final explosion was the end of it. She hoped and prayed that it was as she tried to control her breathing. After a while, she felt the others extricating themselves. Arms and legs pulling away while Únik dared not move.
Light flashed in the darkness and Únik jumped, ready to scramble backwards away from the next onslaught, but, as she watched, she saw only Shihiri lighting a torch, her flint and steel sparking against the threads of the torch's head. After a few strikes, the torch caught, flaring into life and Shihiri held it high, searching around her.
"Listen!" In the light of the torch, Hatyara looked upwards, turning in a circle. Únik followed her eyes but saw nothing. "The waterfall. The crashing. The rushing. It's stopped."
Looking up towards the roof of the cavern, Únik tried to see where the waters fell through the crack in the land, down into this underground lake. She could see nothing. Hear nothing. Something touched her arm and she jumped once again, her heart still racing, until she saw Barsa's head nudging her hand. His tail wagged in furious movements, his hind legs moving with the force of his enthusiasm.
"Are you feeling better, boy?" She clutched at the fur upon Barsa's neck, kissing the hound's big head and didn't bother to avoid the affectionate licks Barsa ran across her face. "Did you climb over the bodies?"
"He didn't need to." Holding out the torch, Shihiri shone the light upon the ground and then towards where the circled wall of bodies had lain. They had all disappeared. "They've all just ... gone. No sign that they were ever here. No glowing weapons. Nothing. Except the ones we picked up."
Shihiri's other hand fell to the quiver of arrows at her hip. Hatyara's hand touched the pommel of her strange, thin sword as though it might break. When it didn't, she wrapped her fingers around the handle, gripping it tight. Únik didn't bother searching for the black-shafted spear. She didn't want the cursed thing. Didn't want the reminder of what she had done.
"Is that it? How are we supposed to get out of here now?" Wandering further away, Hatyara peered out into the darkness. "We can't go back to the city, can we? Is that invisible bridge still there and, even if it is, how are we supposed to find it? This is ridiculous and unacceptable."
"Unacceptable? I've just killed a Patron!" Standing, her hand never leaving Barsa's head, Únik threw her hand out towards where Frianchenzer had once stood. "Did you expect an escort to the way out?"
"You don't know you killed a Patron." Moving behind Únik, Shihiri lifted Únik's torch from her bag and held it against the head of her own until the torch caught afire, placing it Únik's hand. "Who's to say it was a Patron at all? It could have been any number of magical creatures, or an illusion left by a mage. Or a hallucination. We don't know anything."
"I know." Dipping her head, she saw the glint of metal upon the ground near her feet. The spear tip glittering in the flickering torchlight. "I'll always know."
Seeing the direction of Únik's eyes, Shihiri spotted the spear upon the ground. Crouching, she picked it up, examining the shaft and the tip, testing the weight of the weapon in her hand and the balance. Nodding in appreciation, she tossed it into the air, changing her grip and held it out to Únik.
"Here. You've earned this." When Únik didn't reach for it, Shihiri shook the spear, raising her eyebrows in mock admonition. "Take it."
"I don't want it." Turning away from the blighted weapon, Únik continued to scratch the top of Barsa's head. She felt great relief her hound no longer suffered. If nothing else, killing the Patron had given Barsa respite.
"Look, you don't even know what death means to an immortal, even if it was what it said it was. How can an immortal even die?" Shifting back into Únik's eye-line, Shihiri scowled. "For all we know, you only 'killed' an, I don't know, an avatar, a projection of its real form. Take the spear! We still have your pursuers to contend with and we'll need every weapon we can lay our hands on."
"Our pursuers will have a hard time finding us down here." The Ice-Kin came to stand beneath the cloak of light from the torches, pressing herself between the morose Únik and the annoyed Fae. "Unless we find a way out, we'll save them a job by starving in this hole."
Once again, Shihiri thrust the spear towards Únik and, with reluctance, she took it from the hand of the Fae. She could still feel the warmth that had rippled through the weapon as she had plunged it deep into form of Frianchenzer. She could feel all the sounds, the sensations and her emotions from that moment and she wondered if she would ever stop feeling them.
Almost laughing to herself, cringing at the thought of how out of place such laughter would be, she realised she had no idea how to use a spear at all, in the first place. The closest thing she had ever held in her hands was her whale hook and she would take that mere tool over this thing designed and made to take lives. But her whale hook had become lost, as her quiet life had become lost, as her loved ones and friends and innocence had become lost.
The only thing she had left was Barsa, now. With the torch in one hand, the cursed spear in the other, she could no longer show affection to her dog. Only able to look down to his deep, dark eyes and smile. But Barsa's attention remained elsewhere. His ears, no longer flattened against his head, now pricked up as he stared out into the darkness.
"What is it, boy?" Únik tried to follow the dog's eyes, but could see little beyond the spread of the torchlight. "Is it something good, or bad?"
Barsa stepped forward once, his tail making slow, uncertain sweeps behind him. He made another step forward before turning back to look up towards Únik. He made an aborted move to run and looked at her again, giving a small woof. His tail began to wag faster and he set off, running a good twenty feet away, at the very edge of the torchlight, before stopping, looking back. Then he ran again, disappearing into the dark.
"What's wrong with Barsa?" Standing beside Únik, Hatyara's hand reached up to Únik's forearm. "I though he was feeling better after you killed that thing."
"He was. I don't think he's upset, or hurt." Holding the torch behind her, Únik tried to see where Barsa had run to, but she could see nothing. When she heard Barsa bark, she pulled her arm from Hatyara's hand and ran towards the sound. "Barsa!"
Reaching her dog, she found him at the edge of the island, barking out across the lake. Únik lay the spear on the ground, kneeling beside Barsa, stroking his coat, trying to catch his attention, but the dog had eyes only for what he alone could see.
"'Follow the light', it said." Pointing out across the lake, Shihiri took Únik's torch from her hand and stepped back.
As her eyes adjusted, to the torchlight falling away, Únik looked out across the waters once more. At first, she saw nothing. Then, as her eyes adjusted more, she saw the faintest of glows ahead, where the waters of the lake had rushed out through one of the tunnels carved out of the cavern walls.
-+-
Únik moved to the edge of the island and found herself able to see the light with more ease. Barsa gave a little howl, at her side, making several steps from one side to the other as though preparing himself to jump into the water and she reached down, wrapping her arm around his chest before the hound threw himself into the unknown.
The circle of torchlight, held in both hands of Shihiri, reentered Únik's vision and, without a word, she held out a hand for one of them. Given a torch by the Fae, Únik held it above the waters of the lake. She saw something beneath the waters and, taking the black spear in her hand, she dipped the butt through the surface. After only half-a-foot, or so, the butt touched something solid.
"It's a walkway, just below the surface." Standing once more, she gave Shihiri a glance before shrugging her shoulders and stepping out.
"No! Don't!" The voice of Hatyara squealed as Únik moved forward.
The walkway held as Únik's foot dipped below the surface of the water. She felt a slight tug as the waters continued to flow from the cavern, but it was not as strong as it once was. Taking several more steps forward, preceded by a tap of the spear before her, Únik judged the walkway safe to walk upon.
"Which of you has the best eyesight?" She looked back towards her two Other-Kin companions. She knew humans had poor eyesight compared to some Other-Kin, but she had no idea which ones fared better in the dark.
"We Fae are used to hunting in forests in the night. I don't know about Ice-Kin." Shihiri gave Hatyara a questioning look, but the Ice-Kin shook her head. "Perhaps we should follow the dog?"
Indeed, Barsa seemed eager to chase the faint glow in the large tunnel ahead. Únik didn't like that idea. She didn't want Barsa running off too far ahead. She didn't see as she had a choice. The light from the torches drowned out the light ahead, but she and, it seemed, Hatyara would need that light to move forward.
"You take the lead, Shihiri. Give your torch to Hatyara and take this spear. Hatyara, use that sword to test the your way ahead." She waited until Shihiri passed her torch to Hatyara before stroking Barsa's head one more time. "Go on, boy. Chase it."
Barsa bounded forward, his great paws splashing into the water, sending spray flying in his wake. Únik bit her lip as he left the area of the torchlight and she held her breath before she heard the dog bark, a little way ahead. It seemed he wasn't about to leave them and run too far ahead. Allowing herself to breathe once more, she gave Shihiri a nod and the Fae began to move on, across the submerged walkway, tapping Únik's spear below the surface every so often.
Before long, they passed through the mouth of the tunnel and the walkway rose closer to the surface of the water. No longer moving through six inches of water, they slopped and splashed their way forward. Every so often a bark came back to them from down the tunnel as Barsa urged them to follow.
As with every other part of these caves and tunnels, the way seemed to run on forever. Only this time they had nowhere to pause and rest, lest they sit in the water. They could do nothing but continue walking, even as Únik's legs began to tire, her waterlogged boots beginning to weigh heavy upon her feet.
"When we get out of here, I'm getting a horse." The smallest among them, Hatyara still appeared to struggle through the water, lifting her slippered feet high to make progress, still tapping the bottom of the tunnel with her long, thin sword as she kept her eyes downcast at the water. "I've never walked as much in my life. I don't care if I have to steal one. I'll leave a Letter of Promise saying that my father will reimburse the owner. I want a horse."
"For a start, a horse would not have helped you down here, even if we could have led it down that first tunnel." Shihiri sounded amused as she led the way. Even after the events with the Fallen Patron. It seemed nothing could affect the girl. "And for another thing, do you have any paper? A quill? Ink? A pencil? How about charcoal?"
"I'll steal that, too." Disgruntled at Shihiri's amusement, Hatyara's faced shadowed in the torchlight. Her scowl looking far more demonic than she intended as the light flickered, causing the shadows to shimmer and waver.
Únik could not join in the light-hearted conversation. She worried too much about Barsa. Even though the dog still barked often, she didn't like him too far from her side, not least out of sight. Not only worry about Barsa, but also still worried about what she had done, Únik didn't feel like laughing. She didn't even feel like smiling.
To the others, they had moved on from the death of the Patron. It was nothing more than another incident along the way of this cursed journey. It felt far more personal to Únik. To have dealt that blow, to pierce the heart of the Patron, had damaged her. She could feel it, gnawing inside her. She remembered that feeling. She had felt it once before. Guilt.
"The dog has stopped." Holding out her arm as a barrier, Shihiri peered out into the darkness. "I've been looking, but that light hasn't got any bigger as we've walked. It's stayed the same size. Either it's a very long way away, or it's not the light of an exit."
"Like a Swamp Wisp?" Catching up to Shihiri, Hatyara tried her best to see Barsa and the light. "They enrapture unwary travellers, leading them to their untimely demise in swamps and marshes. Fools, if they can't see they're being led to their deaths, if you ask me. Is that what we're doing? Allowing something to lead us to our own deaths?"
"If Frianchenzer said to follow the light, I don't think we'll come to any harm." She spoke the words but didn't believe them herself. Únik didn't know either way, but they had little other choice but to follow the light.
"I wouldn't put it past Patrons to be doing this for some kind of immortal amusement." Shihiri began to move forward once more, the sound of Barsa's barks appearing to stay in place, now. "Send the stupid mortals scurrying around a maze, only to have us die in a horrible fashion. I can imagine them laughing at us, even now. If Patrons laugh, that is."
Soon, the light of the torches revealed Barsa, stood, awaiting them. His tail flicked as he saw them approach and Únik felt glad that the big hound looked unharmed. The animal stepped to the side, looking down and then his head looked upwards. Únik placed a hand upon Shihiri's shoulder as she heard the sound of falling water once again.
"Have a care." The whisper seemed to echo here more than their spoken words, earlier, as though they were emerging into another cavern.
Reaching Barsa, they saw why they could hear falling water. The tunnel had come to an end and, where the water should have pooled at a dead-end, they found, instead, a circular hole in the floor, the water cascading down into a blackness that seemed to have no end.
"So, that's it? We've come all this way to find another Patrons damned hole?" Hatyara returned her thin sword to the belt of her bright pantaloons. She scowled as she watched the water rush over the edge into they abyss. "I tire of this! I'll never reach Star Harbour at this rate!"
Únik couldn't blame the Ice-Kin's anger and frustration. It felt as though they had spent days underground, now, though she doubted it was much more than a day. She felt tired, having missed sleeping, but not to the point of missing more than a night's worth of sleep.
Sighing, she rubbed her eyes and heard Barsa give a little howl. He paced along the edge of the hole they had found and she dropped a hand to tap her thigh and bring him away from the danger. Something seemed strange to her, though. It hadn't occurred to her to wonder where the light had gone and only seeing Barsa continue to look down into the hole and then upwards made her follow his eyes.
She could see no light below, but then, as she raised her eyes, she reached out to grasp Shihiri's shoulder, shaking it and then pointing without looking at the Fae. Up above them, far in the distance, was the light they had seen before and, tracing a path along the surface of the tunnel, leading upwards, were a set of stairs that curled and trailed up along the face of shaft.
They still, it seemed, had far to go.