Malevolenci Page 14

  Esme tilted her head to see. Sure enough, a disco ball hung from the center of the enormous cavern. Back at ground level, the edge of her light showed chairs, a stage, and sound equipment.

  “Freakin’ civilians,” muttered Dax.

  Owen focused on Esme. “Any idea of the way? You said you’d been here as a kid, right?”

  “Well, not the caverns of this world. They could be completely new to me. Your world’s explorers might’ve discovered a different cave system…or not discovered the ones I remember. Or if water over the millennia–”

  Owen snorted. “Let’s work with what we’ve got. And we’ve got your memory to go on, so I trust that for now.”

  They rely too much on my stupid photographic memory. What good does it do me if these caverns aren’t the same?

  But she kept this thought to herself and continued their hike. Leaving the huge room, they walked down a narrower path. The rough walls caught Esme’s magical light and threw shadows in every direction, but Esme kept walking over the smooth floor and tried not to sweat with fear.

  The air grew colder as they walked. The floor sloped downhill now. Owen reached a set of old metal doors and pushed through, and Esme sensed that the space was smaller by the feel of the air. She also heard water.

  Their path narrowed, and they walked single file beside a short, metal and glass railing. On the other side of the railing lay perfectly still water, and Esme’s light reflected in this like a mirror as she leaned over for a peek. It was the clearest reflection she’d ever seen, but she ignored her appearance when she noticed the others waiting. They continued along the tour’s path, looking in every direction as Esme swung her hands back and forth to throw light over the water and curving walls. On either side of the railings, a shallow stream trickled and echoed off the walls.

  There’s something comforting about the sound of flowing water down here. It breaks the horrible silence. It at least gives the impression there’s a way out.

  They continued up the path along the water. Tiny stalactites poked from the lower ceiling now, and Dax, Max, and Owen had to watch their heads. Eventually they entered a section where the walls closed in and the glass railings rose high, cutting them off from even thinking about touching the walls. Still, Esme’s light sparkled against the rock formations beyond the glass. Stalagmites rose from still water as if poking through glass. Giant stalactites hung down like layers of dazzling teeth. The walls themselves looked like bubbling liquid.

  “Okay,” whispered Max. “This is kinda cool.”

  Esme smiled in agreement.

  They walked a bit farther before Owen stopped and held up a hand. The path had widened again, and the railing was lower between their walkway and the rock formations beyond. The group tensed and scanned the area, but Esme didn’t see anything.

  “What–”

  “Shh.” Owen paused, then looked at Esme, his serious face catching her light. “Hear that?”

  They held still, but Esme only heard distant rippling water and the men’s breathing.

  Owen pointed to a narrow horizontal opening in the wall to their right. Esme extended a castorca in this direction and strengthened her fire ball, and its light shone over a shallow pool and into the far wall’s gap. Hundreds of stalactites reflected light back at them from inside the opening’s smaller cave. The new cave would be big enough to climb into, and Esme guessed what Owen was thinking.

  Oh, he can’t be serious.

  Owen looked back at her, though with his own reluctance. “I know I heard something in there. I don’t think we’re going to find anything along the beaten path, so to speak. We need to go off map.”

  Dax and Max shuffled but didn’t argue.

  Esme motioned for Owen to lead the way. He lifted a leg to climb over the railing, hesitated a second, and dropped into the shallow stream. The water only covered his boots and lower calves, so he splashed onward to the far wall.

  They’ll call me a baby if I ask how cold it is.

  Esme held her breath and climbed over the railing. She tried to keep her castorcas up, shining light all around. She jumped to the water – which was freezing enough to make her gasp – and hurried over to join Owen. Then Max splashed over. Then Dax.

  Dax looked at the long gap in the wall. “Now what?”

  Owen reached for the edge and was about to haul himself up when he apparently thought better of it. He turned and cupped his hands to help Esme through first.

  And they say chivalry is dead.

  Esme swallowed her fear and extinguished her flames so she wouldn’t burn herself. In the darkness, she lifted a soggy boot into Owen’s waiting hands. He boosted her upward, and she felt her way along the cold, dirty wall to the edge. Once she caught hold, she pulled herself into the opening and scooted forward on her stomach.

  With her legs still dangling out the hole, Esme tipped downward and cried out, thinking she’d fall into a bottomless pit. But then her extended hands connected with solid ground, and she realized this cave was much shallower than the cavern behind her.

  “Esme, you okay?”

  “Yeah. Give me a second to look around.”

  She slid the rest of her body into the new cave and sat on the cold dirt. Quickly she ignited a fire ball and looked around the small, shallow cave. Rock formations covered the low ceiling, and the rocks reflected her light. In the far wall, a dark space about three feet wide led elsewhere, and she crawled over to shine her light inside. Beyond stretched a wider cavern.

  “Esme?”

  She turned awkwardly, avoiding stalactites, and called back, “There’s another cavern ahead. Come on in.”

  Esme sat like a yogi with palms up, providing light for them to see by. She watched as the men scrambled up through the hole, and she was secretly glad they weren’t any more graceful than she had been. It was harder for them to maneuver in this smaller space, and Owen stayed crouched as he duck-walked over to her. Dax nearly gouged an eye on a pointed rock. A moment later, Max pushed a hand onto a sharp rock.

  “Cat balls!” Max plunked on his butt to caress the cut.

  Dax winced at his brother’s wound, then coughed from the dirt they’d unsettled. “No worries, bro. Maybe when we find these neck-biters, they can heal you.”

  Max made a face. “Feral vampire blood? No, thank you.”

  Owen was looking through the hole Esme had discovered. “Let’s push ahead. Everybody good?”

  All answered in the affirmative.

  We could use a rest. How is this so tiring? We’ve fought in battles way harder… How long have we been down here?

  Ready to move out, Owen glanced at Esme but apparently knew not to push his luck and led the way himself. On hands and knees, Esme followed through the hole, and Max and Dax crawled through after her. Once through, Esme stood and turned her palms up to ignite fire, illuminating their new surroundings.

  Together, they looked up at a higher ceiling. Walls curved to ground level, where a rippling stream ran along a strip of rock before them. This natural path was rough, dotted with sporadic rock formations. Clearly this section of caves wasn’t part of the tour.

  Without a word, Owen led the way. Esme walked with him along the rough path, keeping her light active.

  They hiked onward beside the rippling water, which eventually disappeared as their path widened to solid ground from wall to wall. Esme’s bare arms shivered as the group walked through the damp coldness. She had to stop a few times to release her balls of magic and flex her stiff fingers. But the utter blackness was unnerving, so she always hurried to reignite her spells so they could continue.

  Eventually rounding a bend, they stopped in their tracks. The men pulled out weapons and scrambled for position. Esme widened her fingers to amplify her fire’s light tenfold.

  On the far side of a wide pool, against the far wall, hovered a rift the size of a garage door. Its smoke spilled into the cavern, and a large pile of smoky ash lay on the rocky ground. The rift’s lightning that
lit up the walls and ceiling was unnerving, particularly where the light reflected off the still pool between the rift and their position. Other than the rift and the pool, the large cavern was empty. It was also a dead end.

  Esme turned in a circle to examine the cavern, but they were the only ones there.

  No malevolenci?

  Dax adjusted the grip on his gun as he aimed across the pool. In a low whisper, he asked, “What’s a rift doing down here?”

  Max glanced over his shoulder at Esme. “Think the demons knew we’d come? Like this is an ambush?”

  “If that’s the case,” said Owen, “where are they?”

  Esme swallowed and kept on alert, swinging her balls of light to illuminate every indent in the walls. But there were no malevolenci. Not even a single spindlox.

  She again looked at the pile of smoky flakes under the rift. “It’s been open a long time, judging by that pile of ash. What if the malevolenci opened a rift here just in case someone came this way? Having a rift already open lets them jump on intruders right away.”

  “Which means,” said Owen, “we’re on the right track. If there’s something down here the malevolenci are trying to hide or protect…”

  Dax nodded. “Then that’s exactly what we need to find.”

  “But where?” asked Max. “There’s nowhere to go. Nothing’s here.”

  Owen paused. “Let’s get closer and see if anything jumps out at us.”

  That’s our best option?

  Esme made a face but obeyed.

  Together, they held their weapons ready and approached the edge of the pool. Esme looked down and saw only the team’s perfect reflection and, on the far side, the lightning from the rift. Facing the rift head-on now, Esme still saw no sign of demons.

  Dax glanced at Esme. “How about you close that thing so we can think in peace?”

  She opened her mouth to agree but had another thought. “Wait… What if that’s exactly why they made a rift here?”

  Owen lowered his gun, realization dawning. “They didn’t open a rift here to attack whoever came this way. They opened a rift here so they’d know if an alterni came this way.”

  Max shuffled. “Huh?”

  “If I close the rift, the malevolenci inside their world will see it close and know an alterni is here. We alterni are the only ones who can close rifts, remember? This rift closing would signal that an alterni is here. Then they’d open another one and spring an attack, just like they do topside.”

  Now the Hoffman brothers understood.

  “So it is a trap,” said Max.

  “But they won’t know we’re here if Esme doesn’t use a termino.” Dax lowered his gun to match the king’s stance. “Great. So what do we do now? There’s nothing here. No vampires. No mysterious clue carved into the wall by Trent Simons.”

  Max looked back the way they’d come. “Maybe we missed a different tunnel.”

  Owen scowled across the pool at the smoking rift. “The malevolenci put that rift here. That must mean there’s something here we’re not seeing. I know I heard something back at that cave entrance.”

  They paused in consideration, standing at the edge of the pool.

  Esme’s hands were cramping again, so she dimmed her fire spells and twisted her wrists, careful not to burn herself on the small flames.

  As her light flashed into the water, something caught her eye. She extinguished one castorca’s flame to concentrate on her dominant hand. Quickly she changed that castorca’s spell, flicking her index finger to shoot a small ray of magical light out her pointer finger. She pointed this fainter but more precise light into the pool, searching.

  The men weren’t happy about the sudden decrease in light, and she heard surprised muttering.

  Owen whispered, “Esme, wh–”

  “Shh.” She kept her gaze downward, trying to ignore the lightning from the far side of the pool. “I saw something.”

  Her narrow beam of light cut through the crystal clear water. The pool was deeper than she’d expected. Its rocky bottom looked bare, but a flash of movement drew her eye. She spread two fingers to widen her light, and now she saw white fish swimming around the rocks on the bottom of the pool. A few fish swam higher before drifting to the bottom. They appeared to be searching for food. Whenever Esme’s light caught them, they darted for cover back among the rocks.

  “Fish,” she whispered.

  In the darkness, the men joined her to stare into the water.

  “Blind cave fish,” said Owen as the school of white streaks swam by again. “They’re almost colorless and don’t have eyes. They have sensory organs on their tailfins that detect movement in the water, and their albino skin senses light. Their diet consists of salamander larvae and tiny invertebrates that live off bat guano.”

  Esme kept her light on the fish but made a face at him. “How do you know–”

  “Hakim told me about them when he was researching this place.”

  Dax snorted. “Bat guano?”

  Owen sighed. “Anyway, these ghost fish – yes, they’re also called ghost fish – are rare. They swim in the underwater streams connecting these caverns.” He paused. “An underwater source must feed this pool. That’s how the fish get in here.”

  Esme understood as she kept her beam of light fixed on the fish at the bottom. “And if they can get in, maybe we can follow them to whatever caverns connect with this pool.”

  Max groaned. “You want us to dive in and hope there’s air on the other side? We’re part werewolf, not mermaid.”

  A year ago, Esme might’ve laughed at this. Now, however, she knew mermaids were real.

  Mermaid stories are so creepy. When the original conjuri brought them to this world, they made the mermaids live in the Mediterranean. Stories say they moved to the Caribbean, but there wouldn’t be any here…right?

  She was about to ask when Owen flopped his arms. “We’re out of options. If these fish got in, that means–”

  “Guys…” Esme’s eyes widened as she noticed increased movement below.

  Something had disturbed the fish. Those nearest the bottom darted upward, and the whole school scattered. The fish swam back and forth, higher and lower, as if trying to escape.

  “What are they–”

  A body far bigger than the fish shot through the water. Esme yelped in alarm but used her light to track whatever was hunting below. The thin, long body was as bleached as the fish, but Esme saw arms and legs as the being swam after its prey. A long torso showed thin skin covering bony ribs, and its head was bald with wide ears stuck to its skull.

  It’s humanoid, she thought in surprise.

  The fish hunter kicked and reached a bony hand into the fleeing school, and Esme watched as it plucked fish after fish and shoved the wriggling creatures into its mouth. Then it sensed her light, twisted in the water, and with a strong kick shot toward the surface.

  Esme stepped back and tumbled over a rock, her light snuffing out while she steadied herself. The men drew weapons as the fish hunter broke the surface with a splash. More splashes and guttural noises filled the cave, and the rift’s lightning made the rippling water look unnervingly alive with movement.

  “Light, alterni!” called Owen.

  Snapping out of her shock, Esme lifted a castorca and ignited a huge ball of fire. Her eyes had adjusted to the dimmer light more than she’d realized, and she had to squint and shield her eyes with her other hand. When she looked back again, she saw the men also squinting as they aimed at the water.

  Esme held her other castorca ready, but she stifled the urge to shoot off a spell and instead watched as the fish hunter swam toward them. Its bald, bone-white head bobbed above the surface as it approached, and its breathing and guttural noises echoed around the cavern.

  When it arrived at the edge of the pool, long-nailed hands grabbed the ground first. Then it lifted itself from the water with surprising strength for a body so thin, and soon the pale fish hunter stood before them. He �
� yes, he, as this was obvious because of his nakedness – recoiled from Esme’s light and shielded his face with a bony arm. His ribcage expanded and contracted as he cowered from the light, but he didn’t flee. Wheezing sounds suggested he was trying to get enough air back in his lungs to speak.

  Owen exchanged a look with Esme and held his gun on the being. “I’m Owen Lord, King of the Order. Who and what are you?”

  “The light!” the fish hunter cried with a heavy accent. “Put out the light!”

  Esme looked at Owen, then shrank the ball of light in her palm. “I won’t put it out, but is that better? We need it to see.”

  With another wheezing breath, the fish hunter lifted his bony arm from his eyes and tested the light. Clearly his eyes weren’t accustomed to even a dim glow, but he squinted to look them over. Cowering less now, the man stood at Esme’s height, but his thin frame and long limbs made him appear taller. As she’d observed earlier, his ears were long and close to his head. His sharp jawline and cheekbones gave his face a devilish appearance, especially with his pointed nose and beady, bloodshot eyes. These eyes, Esme noticed, swung back and forth over those confronting him. He sniffed the air, then made a face of repulsion.

  Gun still raised, Owen repeated, “Who are you? What is your name?”

  With a head tilt, the man seemed to be thinking. When he spoke, his rich accent was even stronger than when he’d shouted. “Name? No name. We are guardians. We are memory-keepers. We are ageless.”

  Esme sucked in a breath.

  Vampire.

  She dimmed her light to the strength of a single candle, hoping to gain some favor. “Are you one of the ancients?”

  Another head tilt. “We remember this term. Yes, for generations this is what the dying have called us.”

  That’s unsettling. But to an eternal being, I guess everyone is dying.

  Owen took a breath and holstered his gun, motioning in the candlelight for Dax and Max to do the same. “We were sent here by Rylet, sire of the biggest coven in the Order. Do you know who I mean?”

  The vampire tilted his head again in thought.