Chapter 81 The Gauntlet Begins pt3
Like a lighthouse in a storm, an obviously man-made arch pierces the sky in front of us, appearing out of nowhere. One minute we’re braced against gale force winds and the next the winds die completely and we're standing in a circle facing an arch in the wall that has no earthly business being here. Inside, an ominous red glow pulses with a foreboding that sends chills straight into my soul.
Clever, my mentor says quietly, only once you worked as a unit did the entrance appear. Thorne is a mastermind.
“Or Silas,” I whisper under my breath.
There’s no response as the five of us slowly move forward. As dangerous as what’s within will no doubt be, it’s the only way out of the storm.
Our only way forward.
The instant we pass the threshold, a wave of heat hits us. Our clothes are blown dry and the temperature rises so fast it almost burns on contact. A chorus of surprised hisses and yelps leave our lips as we quickly shed excess clothing. Within seconds, we’re standing only in the base armor we came in.
We’ve gone from frozen and fighting for our life, to warm and practically safe.
“The brilliance that this has all been planned out is becoming annoying,” Zaries grouses.
I turn to face him right as Warden leaves my side and canters across the massive cavern with an excited whinny. There, on the far side of the dark rock walled room, are stacks of fresh hay and barrels of water. The other alicorns join him, wings and tails high.
We’re warm, safe, and have a welcome feast.
Except there isn’t a canteen or a speck of food in sight.
“I guess that means this is as far as the alicorns go?” Sylvain asks, her voice quaking a little as she stays close to Luna while she eats.
“Something tells me that whatever lies ahead is somewhere we wouldn’t want to take them,” Oberon says soberly. He joins Sylvain with the alicorns and places a hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright? That hit…”
“I’m fine. Luna, she…she’d never let me hurt for long.” Sylvain slides her fingers against the jagged metal where the lightning split her armor.
After the discontent between Oberon and Sylvain, seeing him break past his qualms about her warms my heart. For a moment I let my mind wander, imagining a perfect world where we ride our alicorns together, patrolling the skies. Destroying dragons.
I glance at Malachi, anger stirring in my heart.
Everyone but him.
He seems to sense my animosity and turns his one good, seething eye toward me and blinks. The sneer on his face tells me he’s probably trying to wink, but he only has one eye. I grin back at him, knowing full well he looks like that because of me. Because of what he did to Sylvain.
He bristles under my smile, clearly hating that I’m not intimidated by him.
After this, I swear I’ll kill him.
Kill him, and then go after the silver dragon and finally be redeemed.
It’s just this night, just this challenge, and I’ll be a slayer.
“Hey, guys?” Zaries calls from somewhere deeper in the cave.
Sylvain and Oberon flank me as we follow the sound of his voice, keeping Malachi in front of us. Slowly the cave becomes narrower and narrower until we have to walk single file. The rock is hot, water steaming from every crack and crevice, and the deeper we go into the mountain, the more blistering and claustrophobic it gets.
The source of the red light is down this path. The closer we get, the brighter it glows.
We step out onto a man-made balcony jutting from the craggy walls of a colossal lava tube, the heat almost unbearable. Far below us, a raging river of molten lava churns and flows, its fiery glow casting an eerie, pulsating light across the cavern. The air is thick with the acrid scent of sulfur and the oppressive heat radiates in waves, making it hard to breathe. The balcony, forged from dark, heat-resistant metal, trembles slightly underfoot, a stark reminder of the raw, untamed power coursing beneath us.
“We’re supposed to go that way,” Zaries says, his voice heavy as he points to the far end of the lava tube where a matching balcony lies with a blanked passageway behind it.
“And how are we supposed to do that?” Malachi shouts, slamming his fists on the balcony’s stones.
Alric…this is where you would have needed the power of wind. The power to hover, or fly…
I curse my mind mentor silently for being so fucking right. The only way over this would be on a cloud, but even then, the heat…
Oberon begins pacing, staring at everything and nothing all at once. Zaries crouches, balancing his arms on the balcony as he stares into the abyss cleaved by a river of fire.
“Fuckin Alric, isn’t it?” Malachi hisses between his teeth, earning a blistering glare from both Sylvain and me.
“That’s right, you fucking bastard. Alric,” I snarl.
Malachi crosses his arms in fury, staring down his nose at me. “Well, I guess you had a place in all of this, after all. Little Miss All Powers in One. Why don’t you get us across, huh? You know how to use the blue dragon's powers, after all. Don’t you?”
The shock of the truth hits me like a ton of bricks. I take a stumbling step back, flattening myself against the rock wall behind me. Turning to stare at the opposite balcony so far away, I swallow hard.
What would Alric do?
He would fight. Fight and never surrender. He would get everyone across.
Yes, he would.
And so will I.