Davis ran the other way, drawing Prendre away. Davis was quick but Prendre had four powerful legs pushing him forward. Not that it mattered, as after a few minutes Prendre started throwing out his very sharps claws to try and rip into the young man.

Davis already knew where he wanted to go. He could see the tower looming over the rest of the ruins. It was still standing, although it was looking very old and leaning to its side a little bit. He could see statues on top of it, stone guardians looking over a dead place.

Davis guessed there was some kind of blessing that was keeping it from tumbling. He really hoped it wasn't just an incredibly durable building. Or that it hadn't become a nest for some nasty type of animal.

Oh well, he thought, too late to come up with a new plan now.

Davis could already feel a gust of wind whenever the lion swiped a claw. Davis had to act fast, so he let his feet fall from under him and threw his chest onto the ground. Prendre sailed right over him and crashed into a wall. Davis scrambled to the door. The door was way too big. Prendre could easily get through it.

"You've gotten faster," Davis noted as the lion slowly walked towards the door, knowing that he didn't need to run anymore.

"Stronger too. I've gotten two new lights since the last time we met."

"Well, that's a shame."

"What are you doing?" Prendre asked as he ducked through the door.

"Hoping this place is blessed against violence."

"That makes sense. That's a smart thing for you to try. Unfortunately, it's not."

"You've been here before?" asked Davis, knowing the answer and feeling his heart drop an inch in his chest.

"A few times."

Just beyond the door lay the steps up the tower. Davis turned and ran up the steps. The good thing about the stairs was that they were too small and too steep for Prendre's paws to fit comfortably, so he kept slipping a little bit. Davis had a bit of trouble with the stairs as well.

When the lion got too close, Davis kicked him in the face, sending him sliding down four or five steps.

"Do that again and I'll eat your foot!"

"Yeah, I'm going to let you get close to me while you keep talking like that." Sarcasm dripped from his voice.

"This is all avoidable, Davis."

"Yes, yes. I know the drill."

Davis kept running up as he spoke. Usually, he would let Prendre try to talk to him, present his old argument as it made him more agreeably to deal with.

However, these steps were too high and there were too many. Davis didn't feel very agreeable so he didn't care about the lion while climbing them. Prendre similarly gave up easier than he normally would have.

Some of the stairs had hard, cracked edges. Prendre's heavy paws put pressure on the cracks with every step. More so when Prendre put his full weight on them. The stairs followed the wall and circled around the tower leading up towards the flat, decorated roof.

Davis did not have the luxury of feeling tired or slowing down. The lack of his light meant he felt everything more clearly as well. He had to keep going, even as his breath began to come short and sharp, burning the back of his throat.

Finally, he could see the top of the tower. There was a small arch. It was perfect for him to get through without Prendre being able to follow him. As they rose to the top, the beams that had supported floors that had crumbled a long time ago, came into reach. Davis reached up and pulled one down on the lion. It didn't do any damage, but this annoyed the blue beast and make him roar his frustration at Davis, showing off his large, sharp teeth.

Finally, Davis got to the arch. As he did a claw swiped and snagged on his jacket. It pulled him dangerously backwards but Davis clutched at both edges of the arch with his hands and kicked backwards with both legs. His feet connected with something before he fell onto the floor and had the wind pushed out of his lungs.

The release of the pull and the frustrated roar let him know that the thing he had connected his feet with was whichever of Prendre's legs that had held him. Davis dragged his body through the arch as far as he could and turned over to stare upwards. Prendre couldn't fit through the arch but he did manage to get a claw dangerously close to Davis's side. Davis inched a little more away from the door and lay there trying to get his breath back.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Well done," taunted Prendre. "You've found the only place in the ruins you can't get out of."

"I could scale the wall," Davis reminded him.

"But I would be at the bottom before you reached it. Haven't you had enough of this game? It's only you. Don't you realise that? Everyone else knows the truth."

"Shut up."

"He needs to die."

Davis got up and walked to the nearest statue. They didn't look all that well preserved up close at all. Even the best of them had crumbled slightly. Davis looked around for a choice rock to throw at Prendre's smug head.

"I don't want to have to kill you, Davis. I never did."

Then Davis saw it. It was about as big as his hand and would make a nice bump when it landed. It looked light enough to throw fast as well, which was a must for a good rock.

"I will though," said Prendre. It pained Davis to actually hear a hint of sadness in the gruff, growling voice. "I'll make it slow and painful. I'll make you tell me where he is. Or you can jump if you like. It would be faster. I can't see you waiting around to starve. The only way you have to get out of here alive is to tell me."

"No-one is making you kill me, you know? You could just leave. You would know me well enough to know I'm not going to tell you anything," Davis said. He stood and walked towards the rock.

"If you stopped being so stubborn you wouldn't have to die!"

"Sorry, but I'm not going to die," said Davis grabbing the rock. "I can't die ye-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

As he caught hold of the rock he saw two figures running towards the tower and looking up at him. One of them had to be the girl from earlier, but he couldn't tell which one. They had been looking up at him before he yelled but the one on the right gave him a thumbs-ups with both hands as they kept running towards the tower.

"Who are talking to?" asked the lion. "Is he here?"

Davis ignored him. He was too busy trying to figure out what she had meant with that whole thumb thing.

_________________________

"There he is, Echo!" Miriam said, pointing up at the tower that loomed over all of the ruins.

It was leaning dangerously and he was on top of it. Her double nodded. Miriam had filled her in to what had happened as best she could and Echo had taken on a serious air. The light on Miriam's ear danced erratically which she took to mean he was in some kind of danger.

He shouted down at them, but Miriam couldn't make out what he said. She gave him a thumbs up with both hands to reassure him.

She didn't know how or why anything in this place worked the way it did, but after the blue talking lion she wasn't going to question it too much. Echo was much faster than her, which showed as they approached the tower. She took off, which worried Miriam a little as she wasn't aiming for the entrance.

But she didn't crash into the side of the tower. She grabbed the wall and started to climb it. She was finding hand-holes and footfalls that Miriam couldn't even detect in the sandstone wall in the faint light.

Miriam stopped and watched her with an open mouth but then realised that she was just standing there. She approached the wall, trying to see if the indents she could use to climb clearer.

She found that her new-found bravery didn't extend that far, so she ran inside instead and began to run up the awkward, steep stairs. It wasn't easy to climb them. Miriam had run more in that day than she had ever done in her life but, surprisingly, the climb did not feel as torturous as it should have.

From further up voices bounced around the tower and made their way down to where she climbed. It seemed Echo had already reached the top. Miriam gulped and walked on. Both Davis and the lion were yelling.

Echo was trying to join in, making her own noises that weren't words, and distorted the sounds so Miriam could not make out what the other two were saying.

Miriam was almost at the top now.

"LALALALALALALALALALA-"

"Who is she? Why is she yelling?" asked a growling gravelly voice. Miriam slowed down so her approach would not be heard.

"I don't know. Why are you yelling?" This was Davis.

"LALALALALALALALA-"

"She smells like a mirror-fish. Why is she helping you?"

"A mirror fish? That makes sense, I guess."

Echo stopped yelling and Miriam heard a very audible slap.

"ECHO!" yelled Echo.

"Ow! Why'd you hit me?" Davis asked.

"Oh enough of this nonsense. Come out here so I can kill you."

Miriam could see the lion now. He was sitting outside of an archway that he had no hope of fitting through.

Miriam bent down and picked up a piece of wood that had fallen from a beam above her. Dust was still floating around the beam so Miriam guessed it had fallen quite recently. Looking up, she saw some splintered bits of wood on the lions back that confirmed her suspicions.

Then she chucked it at him. Miriam didn't have good aim. It bounced harmlessly on the wall next to his head. It did get his attention though. He swirled around, growling at his attacker. Miriam held her breath as he looked right through her. He sniffed the air. Then sneezed because of the dust.

"This smell. This is familiar. This smell was with you earlier. But it's not him. What is this delicious smell? Is this something to do with your missing light?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Davis.

He's bad at lying, Miriam noted. She threw another bit of wood, hoping he'd come away from the door. This one missed as well which annoyed her as he was such a large target.

"Unseen or not, not much room to escape on stairs," said the lion, taking a step towards her.

Echo panicked. She charged into the lion, sending them both tumbling down the stairs towards Miriam. Miriam grabbed the broken beam and lifted herself off the ground, catching Echo by the collar of her t-shirt as she fell passed so she wouldn't fall too far. The lion tumbled over the edge of the stairs and down towards the bottom of the tall tower.

Davis watched the whole thing from the arch. Then he looked at Miriam.

"Do not do that again."

She smiled at the patch of red on his face from Echo slapping him. He must have misinterpreted her though because he smiled back warmly.

"Thanks. Let's get out of here, shall we?"

She nodded. There was nothing she wanted more.