Ice-Bound Promise [Wattys 2023 Shortlister]

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Shihiri had pushed against the altar and it moved as though on oiled wheels, revealing a steep tunnel within, disappearing into darkness that seemed to devour the light from Shihiri's torch. How Shihiri could have lit that torch, after so many years, bothered Únik, also. It was as though everything urged them to enter the tunnel and that made Únik all the more cautious. It felt like a trap.

"If you're both going to just ignore what I have to say, why even bother calling me the 'leader'?" Standing a good ten feet away from the tunnel entrance, Únik scowled as Shihiri and Hatyara stared at her. "I say it's a bad idea, just as I said entering this city was a bad idea, but you ignored that, too."

"A leader knows when to take advice. I stand by agreeing with Shihiri." Crossing her arms across her chest, Hatyara did not appear ready to move in her conviction. "No-one could have known that storm would be so bad. My sister, or one of her cohorts, would have found us on those flat plains. I'm certain of it."

"Look at it!" Throwing her arm back to the open, large, double-doors of the entrance, Únik was not ready to give in. "That is not a natural storm! After looking at these pictures, I'm certain of that. This is a trap laid by the Patron that won. We cannot go into this tunnel. We just can't."

Stepping forward, Shihiri reached out a hand to Únik, laying it on her arm and giving her a determined look. That look told Únik everything she needed to know. Neither Shihiri, nor Hatyara, were going to listen. They had made up their minds, whether Únik agreed or not.

"Look, Únik, why do you think these eight people starved here?" The Fae turned her head to one of the skeletons. "There's no way out. There can't be, or they would have left. What are you going to do? Tie Barsa to your back and swim, hoping to find somewhere to get out of the valley?"

"We're here, now. This tunnel looks like a way out. Let's take it." Now Hatyara stepped forward. She spoke in low, calm tones, trying her best to persuade Únik.

Únik turned away. She could see the shape of Barsa, outlined in the limited light from beyond the doors. She could tell the dog did not like it here. No wagging tail. His body low, head even lower. He hadn't even followed them to this part of the temple and Barsa left Únik's, or Hatyara's, side on only the most rare occasions.

Shihiri's torch flickered as a dread wind blew from the tunnel. She could smell the musty air carried by that wind, as though the tunnel had not opened since the day it closed, after the defeat of this temple's Patron. Yet, that wind also held the promise of a way out. An opening, somewhere down in the dark.

She didn't like it, but she felt as though manoeuvred into a corner with no escape but that offered by an enemy. An enemy she could not see, nor understand. She had no choice. Let Shihiri and Hatyara take the tunnel alone and she could try to return to Tracis' Midden and rebuild the life ripped from her. Or, she could follow her sense of responsibility. There was no choice at all.

"Well, you better decide which of you is the 'leader' from now on, because it's obviously not me." With slumped shoulders, Únik turned back towards the entranceway. At her approach, she saw a tiny flick of Barsa's tail. "Sorry, boy, but we're going on."

Crouching, she rubbed Barsa's neck. She felt no right to tell the dog to go where he did not want to go. She had already lost all her other sled hounds, she didn't want to lose Barsa, but Shihiri had spoken true. Tying Barsa to her back and trying to escape the city through the flood would end in both their deaths. The only way out, away from this Patrons damned city, was through the tunnel.

Collecting her bag, she saw Shihiri and Hatyara return to the entranceway, picking up their own belongings. Shihiri moved to the sconces upon the walls, taking down four of the remaining torches, stuffing three into her bag and handing one to Únik, holding her own torch against it until it flared to life. They didn't bother kicking out the embers of the fire, allowing it to die down and go out in its own time. Únik took one last chance to warm herself before entering the tunnel.