The Keeper heaved labored breaths. His face contorted in fury that looked beyond us, past us. Alice moved to my side. Her axe was ready and her fingers wafted cool air that brushed my skin.

“We’ve done nothing to you!” I shouted.

“Nothing? You’re presence is an insult! Even when exposed to the truth you dare pretend to play innocent?!”

What can we do here… he’s mad. But I doubt we can leave without taking his blood.

More miasma dripped down and shattered as the crystals lost their form, the cut in his lip was already healed, the Keeper’s vitality more than a rival of our own.

Damn.

“If you want us to leave then wouldn’t it be better to give us the blood and rid of us?”

“You dare!” His fist cracked the ground as he launched into a spasming rampage before the chains snapped his bones. “You dare! You dare! You dare!”

“If you got any ideas, I’m all ears,” I whispered.

Alice raised her hand, and the air vibrated between her fingers. As a chunk of crystal whizzed by her hood, she released the forceball before the Keeper’s legs. It exploded in an explosion of air that banished the miasma and pelted Nameless with the crystal shards.

Nameless stopped his tantrum and stared.

“You-”

“Keeper! What did the Grimms before us do when they arrived inside your abode?” she asked.

“My prison!”

“Your prison. What did they do to acquire your blood?”

“They siphoned it away. Stole from me what is not freely given! I ate the last one in return!”

That’s not happening.

“What about a test? We perform a wager. In return you give us your blood and we leave you alone.”

Nameless’ eyes narrowed to points as he scratched at the ground. “If I wager my blood, what will you give in return?”

Honestly, I was surprised it was working. The Keeper seemed to sway from one big emotion to the next. The calm was iron wire pressed to our skin, and I kept my mana pooled into my palm, not trusting the pause.

Alice glanced my way, her eyes searching. I didn’t know what she wanted but I nodded anyway. I trusted her.

“We wager our lives.”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Silence passed with only the tinkling of glass to break up the monotony. Nameless heaved with his breathing, but his body remained still and unmoving. His eyes were dull pinpricks as they remained locked in our direction.

Eventually, he exhaled, forcing Alice to use another forceball to push the miasma out of our path. The crystal encasing his arms shattered but he grabbed a handful and brought it close to his mouth.

“Imprisoned by a coward of a wolf and chained by the husk of a witch. Nameless I am…” he closed his fist, crushing the glass. “I serve no purpose. My anchor is a punishment that has no importance…”

There was a crunch and blood dripped from his mouth. He held out his hand, the blood mixing with the crystal dust in a volatile swirl that writhed atop his palm.

“You want to wager. Throw your life at mine, in return for what you take without care?”

“It may not be a fair trade but it is what we have to offer. I value my life, as does he,” Alice answered.

Another long silence before he slipped to one side and the chains yanked his arm down, turning the stone below his elbow into powder. He didn’t say a word, merely continuing to stare at the mixture swirling in his hand.

“Is that true, pup? Do you agree with this wager?”

I raised my chin. “I do.”

He stabbed a finger into his thigh and tore up with his nails. The blood dripped but he caught it with the hand holding the ooze and extended his arm as it squirmed between his fingers.

“I am… Nameless! I refuse! Bite your tails and slit your bellies. Crush your bones and present yourself for me to eat! Begone with you! Worthless hounds offering me what is already mine to claim!”

He slammed his hand against the stone and lunged forward. His arms were torn back and his knees sank into the stone. But the crystal ooze splashed against the ground. I pushed Alice out of the way, and we rolled to the side, barely missing a fist-sized chunk from tearing through our legs.

We shot to our feet in time to see the dozens of creatures rise from the blood stains. Some were small, others wide while some loomed over the others with skinny limbs and swollen hands.

The monsters formed a horror show as they clawed at the ground with their distorted appendages.

Nameless punched the ground and smashed apart the nearest monster.

“Bring me their corpses! Kill them!”

They howled and wailed and screamed. The cacophony triggered the runes along the wall but Nameless gripped the chains and tugged, drawing the energy into his arms as he screamed.

The monsters launched for us and I grabbed Alice’s cloak, dragging her into the void wall.

My cloak stretched and pushed the energy away as we stumbled to our feet and ran down the tunnel. The first of the monsters was a horse-hybrid with a man’s torso and serrated teeth. It’s black and green, crystalized form wafted grey smoke that clung to the walls.

I pictured the flame and condensed what I had stored in my hand. The fireball rocketed down the tunnel with a fwip and the monster extended their arm.

The flames exploded but the monster leaped through and continued to charge with a chunk missing from its stomach.

Alice crouched and braced. The monster impaled itself on the spearhead of her weapon. As she lifted the monster off its feet, I swiped my axe through its neck and kicked the monster away.

It’s head rolled to the floor but the monster’s body continued to claw at the air until Alice crushed the head beneath her boot. As the ooze dispersed into grey smoke the body followed suit and became little more than streaks staining the walls.

I wanted to inspect the stains, but wails echoed between the walls as more monsters emerged. They came in all sizes and forms but they ran the moment their eyes laid upon us.

“Time to go!” I said.

Alice nodded and we rushed out of the tunnel and down the mountain path. By the time we reached the base of the mountain, the creature had swarmed the cave’s entrance.

“It looks like they can’t leave.”

Alice shook her head and pointed.

A monster, far more complete and human-like in its appearance pushed through the crowd and pointed in our direction. It released a wail that drove it’s brethren into a frenzy and jumped off the cliff.