“What do we do?” Mel asked.

Austin swallowed noticeably in the dim light from his still glowing sword. His eyes flicked to the closed entrance they had used to get down underneath the ruins of Bahlan. Then they turned back to Mel, catching hers, and she could see a deep frown spreading over his face.

“We can survive down here for a while,” he said. “We’ve got the supplies to…”

“What? No.” Gabs flung her arms out to her sides. “I’m not spending hours or days down here with the corpses and the maggots and the…” Her sentence died on her lips and her entire body wriggled from displeasure.

“Yeah, I agree,” Mel said. “We’re not staying here. I’m not waiting for someone to miraculously come and open up the entrance again. We need to find some other way out of here. There’s got to be one.”

She looked around the room, feeling her heart beating fast and panic wanting to grip her. She brushed off her feelings and walked toward the water gathering at the edge of the old forge.

“I’m not saying we should just sit and wait,” Austin said. “I’m just saying it’s good we brought plenty of water and food with us, just in case of…”

Gabs interrupted him again. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Austin. I’m an inch from freaking out and you’re not helping with your rationale. I don’t want to think about staying down here. I want to only think about going up to the surface now.”

Austin let out a deep sigh and ran a hand over his face. “Sure, okay. Let’s focus on finding a way out.”

“The water is draining,” Mel said. “It has to go somewhere, wherever it goes, maybe that’s a way out.”

Gabs paced the other end of the forge, around the ash, and soot stained pliers. Her head jerked up suddenly and watched the ceiling of the cave with narrowed eyes. She lifted her iron staff, and it came alive with red patterns reaching up across the metal.

“Here,” Gabs said. “There’s a vent, an opening. It has to lead somewhere.”

Mel walked up to where she was standing. There was definitely an opening above them. Fresh air seemed to stream in from the dark hole, but it was a long way up and maybe big enough for Mel to fit inside. She looked over at Austin. He was pacing the room to the side. His tall body graced the room with its presence, and Mel had to swallow the lump that formed in her throat.

She looked away, shaking her head. He was not going to fit in the vent and that was that. Mel should not think about it any further. She focused on the wall beside them, letting a deep breath escape through her clenched teeth. Maybe she could creep through the vent alone and make it up to the surface, then open up the staircase for Austin and Gabs. Maybe… but she didn’t know what awaited her up there, though.

Austin had stopped beside the wall where he had shown Mel the depiction of a person breathing fire from their mouth only minutes ago. Austin’s hands traced the stone. Mel watched his back and suddenly he turned around, meeting her gaze.

“I think I found something,” he said.

He pressed his hand into the wall and something clicked, just like it had done up above when they’d found the symbol of the dragon cult and the stairs leading down here. The wall in front of Austin gave way and slid back and then to the side, revealing a dark corridor.

“Thank the mother,” Gabs said and walked over to Austin quickly. “I did not want to end up like those corpses down here.”

“I don’t think they died from starvation exactly,” Austin said.

“What?” Mel asked, walking to the new opening he just revealed.

“It looked like the guy you knew was killed,” Austin said.

“Ben Ramsen?”

“Yeah, he had wounds. From a sword, I think, or some other sharp object. I’m not sure. His body was… ehm… decomposing. But his clothes were cut and bloody.”

Mel felt a shiver run down her spine, and her back grew rigid. She looked behind her at the dark corridor, where she knew Ben Ramsen was resting. She swallowed hard and willed her mind to not think about it. She didn’t know why it made her feel uneasy that he hadn’t died from being locked inside here.

Austin, Gabs, and Mel pushed into the corridor. It was dark and damp like most of the wastes, but they had their weapons lighting the way. Soon enough, they found a staircase leading up and there was another marking on the wall just by the end of the stairs. It looked like a dragon, a different one from the dragon cult symbol, one with spread out wings and a hulking posture.

Mel’s fingers circled the marking, tracing the lines with her hands and feeling the metal inside. She thought for a second it gave off a sound, but she couldn’t quite place it. She pressed her palm flat against the mark. It gave way and at the last distance, it pushed itself inside the stone wall.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

There was a low click and a rumbling sound as stone scraped stone and sunlight shone in through the opening. Mel took in a deep breath, smelling the damp wasteland air, and walked up the stairs. She looked around herself, crouching in what she thought had been a large building once. Now it was only rubble left, laying in piles around the staircase leading down to the forge.

Mel’s eyes caught something blue a small distance away, and she pressed herself against a pile of rocks. She looked out around the stones and saw a small army of elemental warriors with Derek Taveck in the lead. Austin and Gabs joined her, crouching behind the rocks and looking at the people in the distance.

Mel focused and saw Flavio, Clara, and Brandon standing with them. It looked like they were talking about something, but Mel couldn’t quite make out what. A wind blew across the barren landscape and as she strained to hear what they were saying, the wind shifted. It brought with it a scent of fear and desperation, as well as the sound of voices.

“You’re all terrible liars and you’re obstructing the law.”

“No, no, not at all,” Flavio said. “We honestly don’t know where she went. Melissa is probably working with the void, as you said. She probably tricked us all, running away to the dragons, wherever they are.”

Derek Taveck drew a hand over his face and sighed. A motion that was so like Austin that it made Mel freeze into place for a second. She hated that Austin and Derek were so alike in appearance. It made it hard for her to remember Derek was not to be trusted.

“Yes, I know she’s working for the enemy. That’s why we're here. We have orders from the governor to detain her. And you are all going to be charged with treason for lying to me about where she is. I know you know where she is. So just tell me and save yourselves.”

Mel felt a shiver run through her spine, and she knew that Flavio would tell him now. He would tell Derek they were down underground where he had locked them inside, or so she thought at least.

“Honestly, sir, I don’t know. Like I’ve been telling you. None of us know where she is.”

Mel heard the trembling in Flavio’s voice, and she could practically smell his fear. But he wasn’t giving her whereabouts up. She looked over at Austin with deep confusion and met his gaze. He looked equally puzzled by this. Why was Flavio not just telling Derek?

“We’ll try something else then,” Derek said, nodding at one of his men. “If you don’t tell me where the dragon cult girl is, I will break your arm. And if that is not enough to make you speak, I will continue, breaking every single bone in your body until you’ve told me where she is.”

Mel’s eyes widened, and she felt her heart stop. What? No, no, no… He couldn’t do that. He wouldn't do that.

Mel’s eyes caught once more with Austin’s and his face had completely paled. He looked like he believed Derek would definitely do that. Mel swallowed hard and looked back at the group, seeing one of the elemental warriors bring up a long iron staff. He grabbed Flavio by the shoulder and twisted him down to the ground. Flavio’s knees hit the wet earth, and his head slumped.

Mel shook her head, feeling like she couldn’t quite believe why he wasn’t just screaming at the top of his lungs that Mel was down there, underneath them. He must have locked them inside to save them from Derek and his army.

The elemental warrior’s grip slid down to Flavio’s elbow and Mel could see he was gripping him with bruising strength. Whatever Flavio had done toward Mel at this point, he didn’t deserve this. Mel couldn’t live with him being punished for keeping the secret of where she was.

She didn’t want to face the law or the governor. But she felt like she didn’t have a choice at that moment. Mel dragged up her dagger and threw it on the ground next to Austin, making him jump from the sudden motion. His eyes caught with her for a second and Mel gave him a thin smile.

She felt his hand rip at her cloak, trying to drag her back down under cover from the rocks, but Mel twisted out from his grip. She ran toward the group of people, watching Derek’s face.

“Stop this!”

The elemental warrior, holding the iron staff and measuring the blow against Flavio’s arm, looked up and his grip around Flavio faltered. He looked back at his leader, and Derek smiled at the sight of Mel.

His teeth glistened white in the midday sunlight and Mel slowed, walking toward him in even steps.

“Let go of him,” she said. “It’s me you want, anyway.”

The elemental warrior did let go of Flavio and walked up to meet her. He laid a hand on Mel’s arm and twisted it behind her back. He pushed her and Mel fell down to the ground, her knees sinking into the wet earth.

“I knew you were hiding here somewhere,” Derek said. “Glad I could convince you to come out and save your friends. I think we need to take you back to Aldrion to stand trial against your crimes.”

Mel’s head was hanging toward the ground, but she lifted it slightly, feeling the pressure of her arms pulled taut against her back. The elemental warrior behind her was not easing up, and Mel felt it was getting harder to breathe.

“Sure,” Mel said. “I will come with you quietly.” She strained against his grip. “You don’t have to hold me down. I won’t fight you.”

Derek smiled. “Who said I had to?”

Mel felt her head dizzying from the pain and she understood this wasn’t going to be easy. He wasn’t going to let her get away with having an okay time. Derek would see to it that she suffered. She let out a deep sigh and then felt the man behind her pull at her arms.

Her muscles grew taut, trying to strain against the ripping sensation of being pulled up to her feet. The soldier breathed against her neck and Mel felt her hairs standing up. It was like cold water had been thrown down her spine and she felt stiff as he pulled her around and pushed her in front of him to walk.

Mel’s eyes caught with Austin’s for a second as she saw him slipping out from behind the rock. He was getting ready to stand up, to walk over there, to save her. Mel shook her head at him with determination burning in her eyes. His face pulled tight and confusion formed in the tense shape of his brows.

Mel shook her head again at him, and she saw Gabs pulling him back behind the rocks. Mel felt a sigh of relief escaping her. At least the two of them would not be caught out here in this complete disaster of a mission.

The man holding Mel’s arms in a tight grip pushed her forward, and they began walking toward Aldrion in the distance. She saw Brandon, Clara, and Flavio being escorted with them too, but they got to walk on their own without someone pulling at their arms and breathing down their necks.