Erin didn’t know how much time she and Wraith spent walking through the pelting rain. It seemed like hours or even days had passed since they left the house. She felt like each step she took was becoming slower and slower, and she half believed that the night and the storm would never end and she would have to keep being pushed on by Wraith forever.
So it came as something of a shock when she suddenly realized she had stopped walking. She straightened up and looked around. It had grown much darker, but the wind and rain had lessened. Erin heard whistling and creaking. Looking up, she realized the sounds were coming from trees swaying in the wind all around her. She could see their great black shadows towering over her, outlined by the faint glow of lightning in the clouds above, and could smell the heavy scent of wet pine needles.
Erin turned her head, looking for Wraith. She had a feeling he was still near her, but in the shadow of the trees it was impossible to see anything. As she glanced around, she felt a sudden inclination to turn and look in a direction a little to her left. She did so, holding her arms tightly against herself in an effort to stop shivering.
She couldn't see anything.
She tried to turn away, but she immediately felt herself being pulled back to the same point.
“Okay, Wraith, I get the idea,” Erin muttered, her teeth chattering. “But I don’t get what I’m supposed to see.”
She blinked and wiped the water out of her eyes, then squinted into the distance again. There was still nothing there.
Or was there?
As she stared at the darkness before her, Erin thought she saw a glimmer of light through the trees. Frowning, she took a few steps forward. Yes, there it was again. A pale, flickering glow.
Erin hesitated for a moment, but she couldn’t just stand there and freeze, and she had a pretty good idea of how Wraith would react if she tried to turn around and go back to the house. She started toward the light, navigating slowly and carefully around shrubs and tree roots and occasionally wincing as an especially sharp pine needle or rock bit into her foot.
“Seriously, Wraith,” she said, clambering awkwardly over a fallen tree trunk. “You could have brought me here during the day. Or at least let me put on a pair of shoes before we left the house.”
She paused for a moment on the other side of the tree, glancing around her. Wraith had made no audible response, but an odd feeling hung in the air. It was almost like...an apology?
Maybe it was just her imagination.
As she moved closer to the light, Erin could begin to make out the shapes of the trees and bushes, which allowed her to move more quickly and easily. She passed through a thick row of trees and found herself in a small clear area. She seemed to be at the very end of the canyon. In front of her was a high rock wall. In the middle of this, Erin could see the edge of a jagged outcropping. The light was coming from behind it. It was a pale green color, and as she watched, it flickered and wavered like firelight. Biting her lower lip uncertainly, Erin left the line of trees and crept cautiously over to the lip of the stone outcropping. Peering around it, she saw a bright greenish glow coming from an opening in the rock face beyond.
“Kirchel’s cave...” Erin whispered. She looked around her, but didn’t see Wraith. “Kirchel said I shouldn’t go in there.” She hoped he could hear her…and that he would actually listen. “She said it was dangerous.”
Erin felt his response as a sudden push in the direction of the cave entrance.
“That’s what I figured,” she said with a sigh, stepping around the rocky outcropping and walking toward the green light.
The entrance to the cave was shaped like an archway and was maybe eight feet high and six or seven feet across. It looked oddly smooth and symmetrical, as though it had been cut out of the stone rather than being made through an earthquake or the wearing of time. As she passed through it, Erin thought she saw strange symbols shining in the light around the outside. But she couldn’t see any of them very clearly, and when she tried to look closer, they were gone.
Erin’s first thought when she stepped inside the cave was that Kirchel had either lied to her or been talking about a different cave. There were no sudden drop-offs or loose rocks in sight. The cave consisted of just one room, which was roughly circular and about twenty feet in diameter. Along the far wall were two stone pedestals, each about five feet high. They were topped by what looked like green fire, which was producing the flickering light. By moving closer and standing on tiptoe, Erin could see that there was a depression in the top of each pedestal, holding whatever was making the pale green flames. On the wall in between the pedestals was a white circle about the size of a dinner plate. It glistened faintly in the green firelight, and Erin stepped over to look at it more closely.
The image looked very old and was faded and blurred in places. There was a slightly smaller circle drawn inside the outer one, making a thin border. Erin could just make out a line of writing running around the circle inside it. Within the inner circle was more writing and several figures. Erin leaned closer, trying to decipher the faint lines. The figures looked like they might be people or animals. Squinting slightly in the dim light, Erin raised a hand to touch one of them.
As her fingers met the stone, she felt a searing jolt tear through her, as though she had been hit by lightning. She barely had enough time to gasp before the surge passed, leaving her feeling empty and charred.
Then a strange and thrilling warmth started to grow somewhere inside her. It spread up her body and into her arm. It left her hand to seep into the stone, causing the circle to glow briefly. Then the feeling ceased and the glow faded.
But the fading didn’t stop just with the light. The circle itself faded away, then the stone around it. A moment later, Erin stood with her hand still stretched out, now touching only air, gaping at the dark passageway that had appeared in the rock in front of her.
For a minute or two, Erin could only stare at the black opening. Then she turned and looked around her. Wraith was standing in the mouth of the cave, watching her. He looked even more ethereal than usual with the green light reflecting off his pale skin.
“What am I supposed to do?” Erin asked him quietly. “You want me to go into this tunnel?”
He didn’t move. Taking this as an affirmative, Erin glanced back at the passageway.
“But it’s all dark in there. How do I know I won’t get lost or fall in a crevice or something?”
Wraith stepped over to her. Reaching down, he took hold of her right hand and pulled her over to one of the pedestals. Then he lifted her hand and moved it toward the green flame. Erin tensed, expecting to feel the pain of her hand burning as it neared the fire.
But she didn’t.
Erin watched, amazed, as Wraith held her hand directly in the flame. She could see the fire split and lick up on the sides of her hand, but she didn’t feel anything at all. Almost as unnerving was the fact that, while the flame went around her own hand, it went directly through Wraith’s.
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“This is really weird...” Erin breathed.
Wraith was pushing her hand down to the bottom of the flames, and she started to feel around inside the hollow on the pedestal. Her fingers found a smooth stone, about the size and shape of a chicken egg. Wraith closed her fingers around it and then let go of her hand. Erin lifted the stone out of its place and was startled to see the green fire coming with it. The stone itself was the source of the flames.
Clutching the stone tightly in her hand, Erin looked back toward the entrance to the tunnel. Then she looked at Wraith. “Are you sure about this?”
His grey eyes were deep and fathomless. Erin could see the firelight reflecting in them. They looked at each other for several seconds.
But Erin already knew what his answer was. With a sigh, she turned around and faced the tunnel. She hesitated for a moment, biting at her lower lip again. Then she stepped forward, holding her handful of fire in front of her, and entered the black passageway.
----------------------------------------
“You know, I really don’t understand you. I mean, an hour ago you were this terrifying monster who’s kidnapping me in the middle of the night, and now you’re just walking along like we’re old friends or something. I don’t even feel scared anymore, and I really should. This isn’t exactly your typical nighttime stroll, now is it?”
Erin looked back over her shoulder. Wraith was still following along behind her, walking easily through all the stalagmites she was zigzagging back and forth to avoid.
“You really creep me out when you do that. Why can’t you run into things like a normal person? And if you can go through rocks, why don’t you go through me? You’re awfully inconsistent.”
He made no reply, not that she had expected him to. Although she had no way of keeping track of time, Erin was sure this one-sided conversation had been going on for at least an hour, and Wraith still had yet to say a single word.
She sighed and looked back at the cavern stretching in front of them. It was full of thorny rock formations which glistened in the green firelight and cast long, dancing shadows. A number of rough paths cut through the rocks, dividing and intersecting with each other. The air was cool and moist, and Erin could hear the occasional drip of water around her. The light coming from the green fire rock wasn’t strong enough to reach the walls of the cave, and Erin had only a vague impression of how large it was.
Surrounded by silent, echoing darkness, Erin was half glad that Wraith had stayed with her. Besides directing her through the confusing maze of tunnels and paths they had come through, he was also some company. As eerie as he was, he was at least something familiar and alive. Or at least he looked like he was alive....
“Are you a ghost?” she asked him aloud. “That would explain some of your creepy habits—like walking through solid rock.”
She stopped and turned around in time to see him coming out of a thick stone column she had just circled around. He came to a stop a few feet away and stood watching her, his grey eyes intense. Erin had the impression that he was concentrating very hard, though she wasn't sure exactly what he would be concentrating on. Maybe he was trying to read her thoughts. Rather unnerved by this idea, she turned hastily around and started walking again.
In what felt like another ten or fifteen minutes, they had left the cavern and entered another passageway like the one leading in from the cave’s entrance. This passage sloped upward slightly and the walls and floor glittered with what looked like embedded crystal fragments. Erin paused just inside and peered up into the tunnel as far as she could. The glow of her rock only lit up thirty or forty feet of it, but in that space there was no sign of the other end.
Erin sighed again. It felt like she had been walking for days. Her left leg throbbed painfully, and her feet were bruised and sore from walking through the forest and over the rough stone. She felt numb with cold and tired enough that she wanted to curl up on the floor of the cave and fall asleep. She slumped against the wall of the tunnel and closed her eyes.
When she opened them a moment later, she saw Wraith standing in front of her. He was watching her intently, like before, but she was surprised to see what looked like concern in his expression.
“Look,” Erin said tiredly. “You’ve been haunting me for months. You’ve made my life miserable. You nearly got me killed. And now you’ve dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night and made me walk through a storm, a forest, and a cave in only my pajamas. I’m wet. I’m cold. I’m tired. My leg and feet are killing me. Now, will you just tell me what it is you want me to do and let me go home?”
Still Wraith didn’t speak. Instead, he moved closer to her, until they were only inches apart. Erin pushed back against the wall, trying not to stay any closer to him than she had to. He reached out and placed one of his hands under her chin. She flinched at his touch and gave a small whimper as he tilted her face up toward his. Then he lowered his head slowly. Sudden thoughts of vampires rushed through Erin’s head, and she tried unsuccessfully to squirm out of his hold. But rather than sinking his teeth into her neck, Wraith merely touched his forehead lightly against hers. At once, Erin felt a warm, comforting sensation sweep over her, like sinking into a hot bath. Her pain and fatigue seemed to melt away.
She looked up as Wraith lifted his head and saw that the black mark on his forehead was glowing faintly. Close as she was to him, she could start to make out the intricate design. It looked almost like a sort of crest.
Then Wraith gave a sudden, violent shudder. He gripped her shoulders as though trying to steady himself, and she could feel his hands trembling. He closed his eyes, a look of pained concentration on his face. He seemed to be struggling, and Erin watched him apprehensively, not sure what she should do.
Wraith opened his eyes. Their gazes met and held. As she looked into his face, Erin felt the familiar wave of cold fear rushing over her. She tried to pull away, but Wraith held onto her tightly, still staring intently into her eyes.
Keep going. His lips hadn’t moved, and the dark wind had started whipping around them, filling her ears with its howling. But Erin still heard the words, soft but deliberate, as though they had been spoken directly into her mind. Please….
But the fear building inside her had reached breaking point, blocking out Wraith’s voice. Panicking, she jerked away from him, tearing herself out of his grip. She hadn’t taken more than a step, however, when he pulled her back towards him, pinning her against his side.
Please. Wraith’s voice came again, more urgently, and Erin could hear it weakening. I need you to— He broke off suddenly. His expression was pained, and Erin could feel his entire body shaking. Help me….
He had barely spoken the words when Erin felt his hold on her loosen, and he vanished before her eyes like a wisp of grey smoke. The wind and darkness around her died abruptly, and Erin was left alone—breathing heavily and staring at the empty tunnel where Wraith had stood a moment before.
A long moment passed before Erin moved again. She swallowed a few times and then turned her head slowly to look up the passageway in front of her and then back the way she had come. If Wraith really had gone, there was nothing to keep her from turning around and trying to find her way back to Kirchel’s house. Nothing…except the memory of Wraith’s silent, urgent plea that she keep going. Erin glanced back at the tunnel, gnawing at her lower lip and thinking.
Kirchel was her mother’s cousin, and Erin’s parents both liked and trusted her. Erin couldn’t help liking her as well, even though a lot of things about her were decidedly weird. So far, Kirchel did seem to want to help her, and she had told Erin that it was dangerous to come into these caves.
Wraith, on the other hand, was a complete stranger. She didn’t know who or even what he was, and he had been anything but helpful to her so far.
At the same time, it looked like Kirchel hadn’t told Erin the entire truth in trying to keep her out of the caves. And Wraith, though he had forced her to come here, had been helping her along the way—and just now it had seemed to cost him quite a bit.
And he had said he needed her to help him….
Erin didn’t understand why sometimes he scared her out of her wits and sometimes he didn’t, but in those times that she wasn’t panicked at the sight of him, she felt an odd sort of connection to him, as though they were both working on the same side.
Which feelings—and which person—was she supposed to trust?
Erin closed her eyes and held very still, as though hoping to hear the stone around her whispering an explanation for the confusion she found herself in. All she heard, though, was the beating of her own heart, sounding unnaturally loud in the complete silence of the cave.
After a moment, she opened her eyes and started up the stone passageway.