Chapter 41 The Captain of Shadow pt 2
Sweat drips down my brow, a strange sensation when everything around me is so damn cold. I stand in complete darkness, bleeding from multiple shallow cuts, in pitch black.
When Bane led me to this ice cave, I was relieved to have a reprieve from the heat of Hellbane. But he wasted no time in starting his lesson. Without any instruction, he cloaked the cave in darkness and shoved me into the unfamiliar abyss.
“Your first lesson,” he goaded as he cackled.
I discovered quickly that the walls of the ice cave were sharp, and Bane could see in the dark. He struck out at me time and time again, cutting me deep enough to draw blood, but not deep enough to cause real harm.
Somewhere in the cave Oberon also called out in pain, but Bane said nothing. Just let us fumble in the darkness, blind and terrified.
“What is this lesson, Captain?” I plead as I try to avoid the hiss of a blade coming at my face and jam my knees on the icy floor.
“He won’t answer you,” Oberon coughs. The sound of fluid spraying from his mouth and hitting stone makes me cringe. “I’ve been here for hours before you. I honestly think he just likes fucking with us!”
I growl, grinding my teeth as I slowly shift my feet toward the sound of Oberon’s voice.
“It’s like he can see in all this blackness. He doesn’t seem to be hindered at all,” he adds, hissing in pain as he takes another blow.
I listen to the sound of him moving, the only sound in the cave even though Bane is in here somewhere. He’s not wrong. Bane moves as if the cave hasn’t descended into the darkness of hell itself. He moves as if he can see clearly.
Staying low to the ground I make my way to Oberon, and when I feel the heat of his body I reach out and grab his hand. He starts, but his large fingers curl around mine and pull me in close.
I lean my head against his chest, standing on my tiptoes, and whisper, “What if he can see? What if that is what he’s trying to teach us?”
“I can’t even produce shadow yet, how am I supposed to see through it?” Oberon hisses, his other hand protectively wrapped around my back.
“There must be a way. His eyes are only slits and he seems to have no trouble.” I keep my ears peeled, eyes moving through the darkness, and wish I could see Bane’s movements.
Oberon goes still and I can feel goosebumps rise on his neck under my hand. “That’s it, Anara! His eyes are only slits, he can’t see!”
“Then he isn’t using sight at all, he’s using—” My words die in my throat as I hear the whistle of an arrow flying through the air.
I leap, wrapping my legs around Oberon and dragging him to the ground. We hit the ice hard, jagged pieces slicing through my armor, and rolling. The cave seems to be on an incline, and we take a couple of tumbles before we finally stop with me lying on top of Oberon.
“He’s using all his other senses!” I gasp.
“Very good! Now how will you fight me?” Bane asks, his voice seeming to come from everywhere at once.
I sit astride Oberon and draw my own daggers. “We have to work together. I’ve got your back.”
I feel Oberon’s hands on my hips, his breathing becoming harder as he sits up. “Anara…” he whispers, his voice cracking with emotion.
“Quiet! He’ll hear you!” Quickly, I roll off his lap and crouch behind him, rising at the same time as he does. “Listen for him, feel the shift in the air, the passing of warmth…”
“All I can feel is you right now,” Oberon whispers.
“What?” I ask, confused, right as the air in front of me shifts and a thick arm hits me square in the ribs. I cry out in pain but don’t buckle. Instead, I use the dagger to stab into the arm as it tries to sweep me away from Oberon.
The answering screech of pain sounds nothing like I imagined Bane would. I raise the blade to my nose and smell the metallic scent of blood. I’ve struck successfully! If I hit where I think I did, Bane will be bleeding out right about now.
“Good, very good,” Bane says, but his voice is too far away.
“I don’t think Bane is our only enemy in here,” I tell Oberon.
“That makes a lot of sense, one man can't be everywhere. He’s human after all…right?”
“Who the hell knows,” I huff.
Oberon and I move together, our backs never disconnecting. As time passes, our ears become keener and the feeling of people moving around us becomes easier to identify. Oberon strikes at the same time as I do, screams ringing out. The sounds of other people's pain echo off the walls constantly, but our own screams come less and less.
“You fight well together, but how will you escape? Do you know where the exit is? How many enemies do you face?” Bane toys with us, his voice lilting with enjoyment. “You can keep fighting as long as you want, but your strength will wane. Your enemies will not. What will you do?”
“He’s right,” Oberon snarls.
I can hear him wipe blood from his face, the back of his hand scraping over the stubble on his chin. “His ultimate power is shadow, right? He can call it and dispel it.”
“Right,” Oberon agrees, swinging his weapon in the darkness.