DEMENTED | Romance | Fantasy | Slight Thriller

Chapter Two: Catacombs of Ice

Chapter Two: Catacombs of Ice

Ebony didn't stop running until her legs nearly gave out.

She'd run through the castle, making twists and turns until she reached dead ends and had to find her way back.

The halls were more that of catacombs of ice than castle walls. Even as she finally stopped, panting for breath, she had absolutely no idea how to get back to where she'd started. It was as if the Goddess was playing mind tricks on her, forcing her to wander around and stay trapped in the castle's icy corridors.

At last, after what seemed like an hour of endless searching, Ebony gave up, falling to the floor all out of breath.

And after a minute, the Goddess's spell kicked in. She'd finally let it.

It was like her mind had suddenly just started working. The magic now flowing in her veins caused her heartbeat to beat erratically and her gaze to sharpen.

A new instinct in her gut told her to turn right, and she did, driven purely by adrenaline and desperation to leave the cold, unwelcoming place.

She turned a series of rights, lefts, etc., and continued onward to reach her destination.

Eventually, she made a final turn into the entryway of the castle and saw herself out.

in front of Ebony was a glacial lake, much to her dismay, that shimmered an icy blue and stretched farther than the eye could see in all directions. She would have to cross it.

She gritted her teeth and hoisted up what was left of her skirts, but just as her foot was about to touch the water a ferry appeared, donning an old man in a tattered black cloak. "I wouldn't do that if I were ye, lass."

Ebony jumped back and screamed, nerves getting the better of her as the sound echoed from nearby glaciers.

The old man looked at her, irritated. "Be careful not to wake the dead, lass. They are not easy to handle when woken."

Ebony looked around. "I see none of them."

The old man chuckled. "But they are here. Now, where to?"

"Auria," Ebony replied what her instinct told her, trying to step on the boat.

The old man blocked her with his oar. "Payment," he ordered.

"But I have none," Ebony cried, showing him her hands.

"Then I cannot be of service," he replied, setting the oar back in the water and starting to leave, paddling away as Ebony watched him go, in shock.

Soon he was out of sight.

She sat down and was about to put her head in her hands when she heard the trickling of water, and looked up to see the old man and his boat coming back to her.

"I've changed my mind," the old man said. "Ye are still living, and can owe me a debt. I will be expecting twice the amount when ye return."

"Thank you so much," she replied happily, stepping on to the boat at last.

"To Auria we go," the old man announced as he began slowly paddling the oar that seemed to weigh more than Ebony.

She looked around her, the scenery cold and crisp. The glacial lake underneath the boat rippled, causing the reflection of herself she saw in the water to ripple as well. The water was clear and pure, yet she could not see the bottom of the lake as they traveled along.

Serene and silent, the glaciers surrounding them stood tall and mighty, and Ebony stared at them in awe. They seemed to hold magic of some importance in them, something more powerful than simple ice.

Then they came to a clearing in the lake, where there were no glaciers except four impossibly massive ones, perfectly placed to surround them in a square. And they were all different colors.

To her north stood a rock gray and dark. In the east was one of pure white. To her west was one such a deep ocean blue she'd never seen. And in the south was one of a fiery red.

Only on closer inspection, the one in the south wasn't a glacier--it was a rock--with horizontal white stripes that glinted. Sardonyx. It reminded her of home.

She thought wistfully about Absinthe, wishing to be back in the one place she'd ever known, until she realized the old man was steering the boat right into the white glacier. "Wait--"

Light flashed all around her and the boat as it hit the ice. She tried to scream, but lost her voice, and found herself spiraling alone into oblivion.

Until she hit something.

Her eyes, once crammed shut in terror, lazily adjusted to where she was. She lay in the middle of a cobblestone street, rocks applied seemingly hastily to the ground, for they were all out of place. It was still dark out, but she could just barely see the sunrise in the distance and lampposts flickered on the sides of the street.

The street was vacant. Not a soul in sight.

She tried to sit up, but felt a sharp pain in the side of her waist she'd landed on. The impact would have left a bruise, no doubt, but when her hand came away from the injury it was tinted with crimson liquid.

Ebony recoiled in disgust as she desperately wiped her hand on her skirt. Blood was a painstaking reminder of her sister--it chilled her to think that something as horrid as that was running through her veins.

But she soon forgot about that as her eyes fully adjusted.

The street had rows of houses along its left side, but to the right there was nothing. It seemed just like the oblivion she'd just been freed from.

She dared closer to the edge, hobbling over as well as her injuries would let her, and peered over the edge.

The street and houses were floating in midair.

She gasped and took a few unbalanced steps back. It was impossible.

Yet there she was, standing on a disheveled cobblestone street with nothing to hold it up. Was this what Auria was like?

After a few moments of staring, Ebony tried not to lose her balance and took a few deep breaths. Remember why you came here.

She shuddered, remembering that she still had to find the Prince of Death. Notorious for his unexpected appearances, his kiss meant death and his gaze promised suffering. Either way Ebony could tell this would not be an easy expedition.

As she struggled to walk along the deserted street, hand clutching her side, she wondered what he'd look like. No one had ever seen him and lived to tell the tale.

But there were rumors he was so beautiful he made the stars weep, and their tears, beautiful as they were, were nothing compared to his forbidden glory.

But Ebony wasn't there for romance, or to merely gaze upon his tortuously beautiful face. She was there because she'd die if she wasn't.

The instinct nestled deep in her gut reminded her to keep going as she stopped and paused for a breath. The fresh wound hurt significantly more than it should've, causing Ebony to believe she'd broken a rib.

She had high pain tolerance because of her father, and yet the pain was taking its toll. Her vision began to swim in circles, and she began to swoon from the pain.

But her instinct wouldn't let her give up, to rest for any longer than a moment. It dared her further, despite the pain throbbing at her side and the unfocus in her vision.

So she kept going.

The instinct made her turn down tight cobblestone alleys and past rows and rows of old victorian townhouses all in colors of deep purple, beige, and an earthy brown. She would drag her hand along the side of some of them, trying to keep her balance while the sediment on the houses collected on her hand and left streaks.

At last, she turned down the last street and came face to face with an enormous cathedral.

She'd arrived.