Sorry for the delay in uploading, I really can't give you an excuse, other than that I was busy. But oh well. I'm uploading now, so who cares?! :P
Hopefully you enjoy this chapter... I find it pretty interesting...
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Chapter 26 - The Darkness Inside
"Wow."
"Its... amazing."
I agreed wholeheartedly with Lisimi. It had taken us the rest of the night to reach the mountain; as the sun rose we had dropped into the sheltered safety of the bottom of the mountain. The boys had suggested we stop to rest, but more importantly come up with what Jay called "a game plan."
Now, the brilliant morning sun was rising triumphantly over the crest of the mountain, flooding light back into the stillness of the world. We sat at the base of the mountain, discussing what we had learned the previous night, and the chance of there being men still up there.
Not being particularly tactically minded, it hadn't occurred to me that there would probably be danger simply in walking into the mountain. We weren't even sure what we were supposed to be doing here, but Lisimi had pointed out that as we had passed over them she had seen a cave. Our plan was to start there.
Unfortunately, flying to the cave posed a problem; it left us open to attack on almost all sides, and considering that the mouth of the cave was not large; we would be left defenseless and vulnerable. That led to the boys' charming decision to walk up the mountain.
Less than thrilled with this plan, we set off nonetheless, hoping to get to the general area of the cave before midday. It was tough going, the mountain was steep and covered with large boulders that we had to climb over and around. Jay helped me as much as possible, while Daniel helped Lisimi, but I guiltily caught him shooting Jay several dirty looks as the day wore on. Lis, for her part, seemed perfectly happy to have him pull her up and to safety.
After hours of continuous climbing, we reached the mouth of the cave. The jagged edges protruded both outward and inward, blocking our view of what lay beyond. I frowned; there was a horrible aura filling the air, so thick it was almost tangible. It was tainted - evil, and incredibly strong.
I glanced at Jay, and he frowned in reply to my silent question. Daniel, behind him, began to unpack the bags that we carried with us, pulling out swords, shields and other weapons. The rest he stowed away behind a boulder near us; it would be too cumbersome to carry in the cave, and would probably hinder us.
He and Jay began to strap weapons to themselves, pulling on rough armor-like shirts. They handed Lisimi a bow and a dagger, and me two swords. We were ready, but as one we hesitated in the face of what lay ahead.
This was it; this was the moment where we found out if our kingdom had any hope at all for survival. The fate of everything I knew seemed to rest, perfectly balanced, on the tip of a pin. We had one chance; one shot to fight for justice. This was our last moment in the light. Bracing ourselves, we walked forward, into the darkness.
~♥~
As soon as my eyes adjusted slightly, I knew that something was wrong. We had only taken a few steps away from the mouth of the cave; yet turning back I could see nothing but endless blackness, where I should still see light. Looking ahead of me... I could see nothing. No movement whatsoever, not even Daniel, Jay or Lisimi. Frowning, I stopped, straining my eyes as hard as I could. But I couldn't see them.
"Daniel?" I called out into the nothingness. No reply came back.
"Jay? Jay, where are you guys? Lisimi? Come on, you're really freaking me out here!" My voice grew weaker with each call, as I gradually realized that wherever they were, they couldn't hear me. I started taking deep breaths to calm myself down before I hyperventilated. There had to be an explanation... didn't there?
A dark chuckle reverberated against the walls of the cave, and suddenly I could make out the shadow of a silhouette. It stepped closer and I had to force myself not to gasp. A man - well, not even man really, he looked only about twenty years old or so - stood in front of me, regarding me carefully with eyes as black as night.
He was tall, and undeniably well built; he wasn't wearing a shirt, so I could see all of his well-defined muscles, as well as all of the tattoos that adorned the left side of his chest and his entire arm. He tilted his head slightly, making his long dark hair cover his eyes, and smirked as he watched me gaping at him. I blushed, realizing that I had been staring. And then his aura hit me, right in the face.
Black... twisted and evil.
I took a shaking breath as I realized who this was. I waited for him to speak, to move, but all he did was continue to stare at me motionlessly. I met his eyes and shivered, but not entirely out of fear. They were intense, and I felt as though he could see the deepest reaches of my soul. Finally, I couldn't take his stare anymore and I broke away.
"Who are you?" I asked warily, not meeting his eyes but glancing at his face nonetheless. He smiled, but more in a knowing way than in the sinister one I had expected.
"I think you know that, already," he replied in a smooth, melodic voice. I nodded in confirmation.
"What do you want?" He laughed, and strangely the Darkness that surrounded us seemed less oppressive, but just for a moment. When he next spoke, it settled back around us like a thick fog.
"You should know that too." But I didn't. I had no idea whatsoever. Frowning, I asked another question.
"Where are we?" He smirked, this time triumphantly.
"In the Dark place within you," he told me. I scoffed.
"There is no Dark place within me! Unlike you, I am not of the Dark!" This time it was he who frowned.
"But you're wrong. Every creature is made up of both Darkness and Light. It is a part of the balance of the world; there cannot be one without the other. For without Light, there would be no Darkness."
"Well, that's better then, there would be no evil in the world!" I pointed out victoriously. He shook his head sadly at my words.
"Without the Darkness, how would you ever see the Light?" he asked me. Again, I could not answer, for I didn't know. He sighed, "You shouldn't be here," he told me.
"Why, because you don't want us to thwart your plans?" I challenged. He glared at me in reply.
"No. Because it is dangerous."
"Right. Well, forgive me if I don't believe you. You are the evil one after all."
"You still have so much to learn," he said, half amused, half... desperate? No, I was imagining it.
"Be that as it may, I'm still going. You can't stop me."
"Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you," he said, turning away. Then he paused, "Oh. One last thing."
"Yes?"
"A word to the wise: when the fire dies, you'll think it's over. But it has only just begun," he told me, his eyes burning into my soul.
Then he turned and disappeared into the Darkness, leaving me with nothing but those ominous words.
~♥~
A spark of light flickered into existence; nothing more than a glimmer, but it illuminated the Darkness that I felt. And then it was gone, extinguished just as quickly as it had come. I bowed my head, closing my eyes against the nothingness, like a barrier between myself and the world that surrounded me.
But a sudden warmth enveloped me; causing my eyes to fly open once more. The tiny flicker had grown, like the seed of a tree, into a light; pulsating, iridescent and glowing with power.
I took a shaky breath and reached out towards it. It drifted slowly towards me, coming to rest upon my hand. I giggled slightly; it tickled. I closed my fist on it, admiring the way it illuminated the cave even through my fingers. It was amazing what a small flicker of light could do to ward off the Darkness.
Suddenly it floated away from me, traveling along the path that I hadn't even realized existed, further into the depths of the darkness. Afraid of being left alone again in the cave, I hurried forward, scrambling to follow the glowing orb.
Time seemed different here; minutes could have been hours, days or months, but I didn't stop following the light. Finally I saw an opening ahead, like a doorway standing out against the night. Beyond it, the silhouettes of my friends were visible. With a final burst of speed I ran to them, just as the light swirled upwards in the enormous cavern, flying up until it reached the summit, and then exploding into thousands of tiny lights that drifted downwards like a firework, dimming as they did. We were left in darkness again, with no sounds but that of each other's breathing.
"Can you feel it?" Lisimi asked. Nobody answered, but we all did. This was the moment that tipped the fate of our world. Tension laced the air like a poison, as we looked on into the blackness of the cavern, hoping for a sign that what we were doing was right.
"Do... do you see something over there?" Daniel asked. I strained my eyes, but saw nothing. I was about to answer him when he stepped forward, slowly and cautiously. A few steps later, he stopped, and turned back to us with wide eyes.
Jay took a step forward, to see what was wrong, but was stopped by the sudden intense shaking of the earth. Five immense pillars rose from the ground, pushing upwards until they touched the top of the cavern. Each lit up with a blazing torch, which extended its flames from one pillar to the next, until Daniel was surrounded by an enormous circle of fire. I gasped, and tried to run forward, but Jay pulled me back just as a ball of flames was thrown in my direction. It missed by inches, and I whipped my head back and forth between the others.
"Guys?" Daniel's voice trembled slightly. A piercing roar filled the cavern, echoing off of the walls, making my skin tremble with fear. I jerked my gaze to him again, fear and desperation growing inside of me. I met Daniel's eyes, and he continued his sentence shakily.
"There's something in here."
~♥~
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Lol... cliffhangers. Aren't they fun?
So, guesses as to what's in there? Its going to be pretty dangerous and ferocious, let me tell you. Poor Daniel... >.<
Ps - What do you think of the tattoos? (see above picture) aren't they cool? :D
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Thanks guys, you're awesome!