“What about the nobles? Are we taking them along?”

Neyenna raised her head and stared at me with fear in her eyes.

In response, Devon temporarily set the eye down and moved to the four-poster bed, gripping the end. There was a tearing sound, and some dust fell from the ceiling as he casually lifted it up. As he started dragging the bed towards the door, I looked through the doorframe and focused on Hanse’s corpse.

“Wait!”

I rushed out and ignored the sickening squelch beneath my boots. Resting next to the corpse was the much smaller stone club. It no longer sported stone spikes or dripped with acid; the stone was strangely clean despite lying in a puddle of goop and ash. And whatever magic that enlarged the weapon for Hanse, was absent making the club only as long as my leg instead of the gargantuan pillar earlier.

Oh, I really wish I had gloves.

Bending down, I grabbed the shaft and found that my fingers failed to touch as I pulled up.

Even with all my increased strength, it felt like lifting a cinder block and strained my back to hoist it into my arms. Devon glared from the doorway as I waddled back into the room.

“It’s magical, right? Shouldn’t we take it with us?” I said between breaths.

He slammed the bed across the doorway, blockading the entrance. “Give.”

I held it up, and he casually lifted it with one hand. He inspected the club and ran his fingers across the handle.

“Well?”

Devon sighed. “We’ll bring it along.”

Hah! Maybe this’ll score brownie points with Maro.

He motioned for Volk to get up and then proceeded to head towards the secret tunnel, grabbing the glass eye on his way. I followed along, but Alice looked at the little girl who shrank into herself as she stared at the entrance.

“Is it scary?” she asked.

Haldeena shook her head. “No.”

Her mother smiled. “She doesn’t like the dark.”

Haldeena looked up in outrage. “Mother…”

Alice bent down. “Don’t worry. I just learned something cool. Watch.”

As she raised her hand, she whispered a familiar incantation under her breath, and a soft white light grew from her palm. The light orb formed, and she lowered her hand to show the girl.

“Woah! Pretty.”

She was speechless after that and kept staring. The mother regarded the magic warily, but Haldeena looked ready to bolt through the tunnel if it meant Alice guided her way.

The woman who had continued to stay in the background was approached by Neyenna and they quickly shared a conversation. She looked uncomfortable, but she nodded and followed along after the noble whispered something in her ear.

I snatched the one piece of paper with the clean-looking rune and then shoved it and the stack of letters into my bulging satchel before following Devon down the tunnel. He effortlessly carried the club over his shoulder and led the way.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Haldeena, despite her early show of bravery, stayed silent and clutched onto her mother’s hem as they shuffled through the tunnel. Alice’s presence helped, and Volk guarded the rear.

After nearly half an hour, I sniffed the air and felt my mouth start to water once more.

Need! Want!

I forced my mana to calm.

Shut it.

“Cain. Send out your summon.”

Freki rose from beneath my feet and stuck his head out. I nodded, and he dipped back into the shadows while I closed one eye and sank into the void circle. My vision split, and I followed Freki as he stepped into a white puddle beneath one of the mushroom lanterns.

He shifted into the physical world, and my vision returned to normal as he raced down the tunnel. The tunnel walls expanded as he got closer. and he slowed his pace into a trot as the light filtered through a massive opening.

“Cain?” Devon asked.

“He’s coming up on a massive entrance. One second.”

Freki slowly pushed a paw across the threshold and exited the tunnel to enter a massive cavern that stretched even further. The ceiling was covered in shadows, and when I scanned the room, I couldn’t see the source of the bright light.

“There’s a giant cavern. Half the room has water on one side; looks like a small lake. The ceiling is covered, too far away.”

“Any signs of life?”

“I don’t think so. Seems empty. I don’t see an exit either.”

“Have him guard the entrance; let’s go.”

It took longer to see the light spill into the tunnel, but even Devon didn’t rush the child with us to reach the cavern faster. Freki saw us and slipped into the shadows, and I felt him rejoin mine.

“That smell…” Alice whispered.

As we got closer to the end of the tunnel, the smell grew more potent, and I nearly had to cover my nose.

“Smell? What smell?” Neyenna asked.

We didn’t answer, and Devon pushed through and stopped at the entrance to the cavern.

“Captain Volk. Keep close to Alice,” he said.

Volk didn’t question his command and positioned himself in front of the women and child, motioning for them to step closer to the huntress.

As I exited the tunnel, I finally understood where the bright light came from inside the brightly lit cavern.

“Is the smell coming from the water?”

Devon pointed toward the center of the lake. “From there.”

The spot didn’t look any different from the rest. I started walking down the slope, and when Devon didn’t yell for me to stop, I continued until I reached the shore. The dirt shifted into a beautiful hue of red that bordered on copper.

Alice joined me and kicked a small stone into the lake. We watched it transition from clear to hues of emerald that pulsed with light before repeating the cycle.

She bent down and sniffed, slowly forcing herself away as she visibly restrained herself. “What is it?”

As Devon got close to the water’s edge, the eyeball blazed with light and shot a beam into the center of the lake. It had remained dormant after the initial beam, and I could feel the energy in the room swirl.

“Volk, stay back,” he yelled.

I stepped backwards with Alice and brought out my axe as she pulled out hers.

The beam continued and then sputtered as a massive slab of stone lit up. An emerald symbol came to life on the stone’s surface, and the eyeball shot out of Devon’s hand. He held his arm and forced us back as a line of gold rocketed out of the stone’s surface and penetrated the glass eye.

My cloak constricted, and a shell began to grow as the eyeball spun, and a second slab on the other side of the lake lit up with a golden rune.

The eyeball stopped and locked into place, facing Alice as she crouched with her axe out before the girl.

Devon raced in front of her, his clothes beginning to disappear. Alice leaned away, Volk tugged the nobles behind him, and I had enough time to watch the eyeball light up and sprout a dozen spectral threads.

Haldeena tripped, and Alice stopped running to grab her arm as Devon blitzed across the ground, his body a blur.

Protect the pack!

I jumped up and relinquished control of my mana, directing it just enough for it to flow into my hand. My palm slammed down and caught several of the emerald strings. They penetrated deep through my skin and latched onto my mana.

It bucked and raged, trying to shake loose the invader, and it felt like a live wire wrapped around my bones, shooting lightning into my veins. My chest froze, and my lungs hitched as I felt a deep sucking sensation squeeze my gut.

I had enough time to watch Devon clear the jump back towards the tunnel and turn to leap. The electricity exploded through my bones, and my vision fractured. Devon’s claws approached my arm, and the world froze. For an agonizingly long second, I had my head locked into place, forced to stare.

Desperation.

There was desperation in Devon’s eyes as his claws were only an arm’s length away.

The twisting in my gut tugged, and it felt like slipping into the void whenever I needed to see through Freki’s sight.

My vision turned black just as Devon began to inch forward.

My cloak’s shell cracked, and the world vanished.