Without waiting for a response, the elf pushed herself to her feet. Began moving down the tunnel without waiting for him.
He remained where he was, wondering if he'd done the right thing.
If he should have said what he did. But it was too late now to take it all back, so he let out a sigh and followed, rubbing fresh aches from his legs.
The warlock's yellow orb slid greasily through the darkness, splitting it into subdued shadows. The path quickly resumed its steep ascent, though the ground was rougher. More broken up. Loose stone and rubble spread awkwardly across rough hewn rock.
Nysta pushed thoughts of Chukshene's promise aside, content to let him be. Mages weren't known for giving out promises. Or for sharing their secrets. So, it surprised her that he'd shared as much as he had.
Even if it turned out to be little more than she'd already suspected.
All the same, it was better than a fireball to the face.
The elf set a faster pace now she knew the Twins wouldn't be hiding in the dark with arrows drawn but caution still made her careful. She didn't want to fall into another pit.
Whether by sliding down the slope or trying to cross while blasts of hot air tore them from the ledge, the two Musa had died because of impatience. Eager to escape, they'd taken chances they wouldn't normally have taken.
She reminded herself to learn something from their gruesome deaths.
Also, the drumming which permeated into the very rock was a constant reminder they were not alone.
Something else was in the tunnels.
She'd begun to suspect what it was. And it wasn't dwarfs. But nothing was going to stop her from leaving this place. Nothing would keep her from making the top of the cliffs and reaching Grimwood Creek in time to nail Raste and the surviving members of the Bloody Nine.
They owed her. And so far, she felt cheated.
She'd not had the chance to kill any of them cleanly.
No satisfaction came from their deaths so far. No slaking of her thirst for vengeance. It still pulsed hard through her body, demanding bloody violence to repay a debt which could never be fully repaid.
So, she'd need to survive long enough to claim her due.
To achieve that, she would need to be calm.
She would need to be focused.
With this in mind, she forced herself to move with as much stealth as she could while pushing her pace. To avoid, if possible, the distraction of a fight she didn't seek.
Life, however, seldom bent to her expectations.
So, when she felt the ground vibrating more harshly and saw the pale glow emanating from beyond an ominous twist in the tunnel, she felt her shoulders slump in weary resignation.
She would lose more blood before they escaped this place.
Tucking her thumbs behind two jutting handles at her hips, Nysta jerked her head toward the glowing orb. "Turn your toy off," she growled at the warlock. "I can't see shit with it on."
His startled nod was curt, but the yellow light dissolved with a wave of his hand. "Sorry."
The rumbling ground thundered suddenly and the elf put a hand to the wall to keep her balance. The warlock did the same, eyes widening in alarm as a shriek of metal wrapped around the sound of rock dragging over rock.
The elf lowered her head and concentrated on the ball of fear in her belly. A ball which was like frozen ice. She felt it tumble hard, its sharp edges cutting at her spine. Clipping her ribs.
Her fear predicted the entire cliff to come crashing down about her ears. The walls were shaking so much that stone chips skittered across the ground from where they fell from the ceiling. The roar rose in power.
She looked to the ceiling.
Imagining cracks suddenly opening up.
Shivering, she waited for the shaking earth to calm.
Which it did with an explosive crunch.
She paused, hearing something the warlock couldn't hear yet. A sweeping sound. Like the beating of massive wings.
Licked her lips.
Then snatched the warlock's robe and dragged him to the ground. With a yelp, he slammed face down onto the stone as a gust of hot air blasted past, tearing at their clothes. She couldn't help but to glance up, heart thudding in her chest. Anticipating a mountainous black shadow to come pounding around the knotted corner.
But, for now, it was just the rancid wind.
It carried boiling moisture with it, howling past her face and leaving a slick sheen on her skin.
It didn't last long, and the burst of air roared past, eager to escape the tunnels.
She wiped her face with the back of her hand and sniffed.
"Burnt metal again," she muttered.
"That's it, then." The warlock sounded morose. "I knew it. It's a fucking dragon. I'm in a dragon's lair with a mad elf. No other explanation. I'm fucking dragonfood. You know, my father always said I'd end up like this. Dead in a ditch, he said. Grim's teeth, I'd love to see that old man once more. I'd tear his fucking head off and feed it to a demon I'm friendly with. Fucking asshole. Used to hit me, you know. Always used the fucking buckle across my back."
"Ain't a dragon," the elf said. She toyed with one of the long ropes of black her, fingertips nudging the clotted lumps of cloth. "If it were, we'd be dead already."
"Maybe it's toying with us. I heard they like playing with their food."
"It'd need to be pretty game to eat you," she countered.
"Then I hope it eats you first, Long-ear. See if you're laughing then."
She was about to say something but then heard the low moan from deeper into the tunnel. And something else. Their eyes met, his widening in fear as he heard them too.
The chains.
An evil metallic dragging sound which seemed to scrape at the very bones of the earth.
Chukshene let out a strangled gasp. "Oh, fuck."
"Reckon we can agree that ain't no dragon, 'lock," she said tightly. "Leave it to you to figure where we fit in the food chain now."
"That's not funny," he moaned, ducking his head low as terror gripped him hard. Chewed hard on his fingernail and spat a splinter out. Blood dribbled down the edge of the nail. "We've gotta go back."
The elf shook her head. "Can't. You can go back if you like, Chukshene. Me, I reckon the way out is just up ahead. If it wants to stop me, it'll have to kill me."
"It'll do just that, you fool," the warlock hissed. "You can't fight it. You haven't seen it, Nysta. It's fucking massive. Arms thicker than you are! A jaw full of fangs, and those fucking chains aren't for show. It tore a troll apart with them! I'm telling you, it's bigger, badder, and it's even fucking uglier than you. Just this once, do the smart thing. We'll find another way out."
"There ain't no other way," she said softly. "You know it. I know it. Maybe we can slip past it…"
"You're mad. This bullshit fucking revenge of yours has addled your fucking brains. We can't stay here. You think you can kill it, but you can't. I'm telling you. It's suicide. Please, Nysta. Listen to me." Fear made him shudder as the awful sound of chains grinding on stone scraped through the tunnels. His eyes were wide and he looked ready to weep in desperation as he sought to convince her to leave. "Please?"
"Reckon you're feeling more afraid than you ever felt before, Chukshene?"
He blinked.
Nodded. "You've no fucking idea."
"You're wrong." She peered through the shadows of the tunnel at the pale glow which promised nothing but death. "I got a good idea. Feel it all the time. But I've learnt to hold it in. Keep it inside, if you like. Never let it go. That's what they trained me to do. Crush it all into a white hot ball. Then break it open. Spit in its face. And use it. You gotta use that fear, Chukshene. It'll keep you fast. It'll keep you alive. Now, I ain't a spellslinger like you. Ain't faced everything there is to face in this world. And I don't pretend to know what the fuck it is that's in there. Never heard of anything like it. But I know one thing. I know it breathes. And if a thing can breathe? Well. That thing can die. Just a matter of how."
"You didn't see it," he insisted as his eyes slid away from the glow. Down to the ground between his feet. Was it shame he felt?
Or something else?
"But I will. And when I see it, I'll kill it. Seeing it won't change a fucking thing for me right now. You say it's got a lot of chains? Well, I've got something I reckon can counter them. Something I can use to shut them down long enough to cut its fucking heart out." She slapped him roughly on the shoulder and flashed a crooked grin. The kind of grin which made his stomach roll hard in his belly as he realised she was mad enough to rush into even the Shadowed Halls. And that, right now, he was mad enough to follow. So, he judged it to be his madness, drunk on terror, which made him suddenly feel giddy as she finished; "Got me a 'lock for those chains."
"If I were you, I wouldn't count on me being the key to your success on this one," he said, voice quivering in the dark.
"Don't sweat it, Chukshene. I never mistook you for that kind of key," the elf said mockingly, rapping her knuckles against his forehead. "On account I always figured you for the missing link kind."
***
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