The Emerald Legend (Book 1)

Chapter Eighteen: Beyond the Darkness, Lurks

Inside the cave was cold and damp; the air was musty and thick. The light from the entrance grew further and further away, but the slow burn of Amalia's torch brought her comfort.

Seian followed her closely as they made their way deeper into the cave. A bout of nervousness was hanging in her stomach as they escaped the light from the tunnels entrance.

The ceiling was rounded and full of holes. The ground was rocky and riddled with shards. The air became colder with each step, and the sound of the crackling river was completely gone. All that could be heard was their feet against the gravel floor. Amalia couldn't see anything except for the tiny light that her torch gave off. It was unnerving, and with every step further, Amalia felt as if something was going to jump at her. She tried to be as quiet as she could, trying to conceal her footsteps the best she could.

After what seemed like an elongated amount of time had passed, they came up to a split in the path. It split in three directions and Amalia came to a standstill in front of them.

"Perfect," she said, scoffing to herself whilst pushing the dirt away with her feet. She put her hand around the back of her head and looked at the three tunnels before her. She grit her teeth at the thought of choosing the wrong one and being faced with something even worse than what she's seen already.

She studied each path intensely and none seemed different or outstanding then the rest. "I suppose I'll just have to choose then," she said glaring into the darkness beyond. She held the torch out in front of her and tried to think back to the shape of the mountain. It veered to the left, sloping upwards in that direction, so she decided she'd go far right towards where she imagined the plateau would be located.

Amalia nodded and sighed as she stepped down the far right path holding her torch far out in front of her, trying to see traps that may lie waiting.

Seian followed close behind her and the air became thick as they went deeper and deeper down. The rock walls became stronger and denser, yet Amalia dared not get close to them.

Throughout their trek, the cave was still and silent, except for the slight sounds of their own footsteps and breath. It felt as if they had been walking for hours and Amalia's legs were beginning to tire. She slowed and knelt down into the soil to try and gain her strength back. Seian followed her lead by sitting and resting his head on her lap.

"I know, Sy, I'm tired too," she said and looked towards the darkness. "I hope we're almost there."

As they were catching their breath, a chilling sound came from the path behind them. Amalia spun and looked into the emptiness, trying to look as far as she could. Was that a scream? She slowly stood up staring in that direction. A few more seconds passed with nothing but silence so she spun around and begun to quickly make her way towards what she hoped would be the exit.

She hurried as quickly as she could when another ear shattering shriek echoed from far behind her. Amalia spun around as fast as she could with her eyes wide open, trying to see anything in the distance.

Her hand began to shake as it held onto the wooden torch in front of her. Fear crept into her veins and she remembered the small faceless creatures of the forest. The thought made her turn around and as quickly and silently as she could, make her way towards what she hoped was the exit.

Without as much as a breath of warning, the scream was behind her and just as she turned she slipped and tumbled to the ground. The fire from her torch blew out and Seian took off running down the path leaving Amalia alone to face the horrors trapped in the darkness.

Amalia's eyes scanned the darkness but could see nothing—not even the outline of a figure. To her immense horror, she heard steps softly crunching into the ground in front of her. And with pure instinct, she tried to drag herself backward but the feeling of hot breath down her face left her motionless.

As it let out another scream, which was even more deafening than all the rest, Amalia couldn't face whatever it was and held her hands over her ears and bolted her eyes shut. The silence returned again and she dared not move or make a sound. As her heart rate began to drop and stabilize, she opened her eyes cautiously. She'd slowly built up some courage and shifted her body backwards while the silence hung in the air.

Then, as if the spirits were watching over her, a soft melodic humming rang in the distance towards the destination Amalia was aiming for. It ran chills up her spine as the song played out. It sounded like a warm feminine voice echoing off the basalt walls.

She followed the enchanting voice, comforted by its sound and with her eyes still shut, she knew that this beautiful melody would lead her into safety. It guided her through the maze of the cave and eventually Amalia felt the air return to its naturally smooth state. She heard the mewing of Seian's calls towards her.

Carefully and slowly she opened her eyes to see the world beyond and she was met by the light of the moon and the happy expression of her snow rider.