Defying Equilibrium: Book II

Chapter 5: Liana

Creeping down this cold stone passage, Sansu almost wished that she'd stayed back and waited like the others had suggested. But she couldn't. The thought that in a short while, after all this time, she would see her sister again. Her sister was here, in this very building. Only a few floors away from her. If she just kept going, her footsteps would eventually take her there. To her sister. Liana.

If you do not have a twin, maybe you cannot understand the depth of pain that separation wrought. A twin wasn't like a friend or even a family member, they were like an extension of yourself. When Sansu learned that her sister was gone, it was like losing an arm or a leg. She no longer felt whole anymore, as if a part of her had been torn away. As if her heart had been ripped from her chest. And to know now that she was only a few walls from her sister, it was....It cannot be described. If you do not have a twin, you cannot hope to understand.

A few paces ahead of her, Dare stumbled a little and cursed. He clapped a hand over his mouth immediately, but it was too late. The sound echoed against the dark walls, and for a moment they all held their breath. They waited and stood prepared for all manner of attacks, but none came. After about two minutes of tense silence, Ahmed motioned for them to keep going.

"It's so quiet" whispered Dakora. "And so empty. I would have thought that we'd have run into a guard or two by now, but there's no one here."

Dare shrugged. "Maybe this floor is abandoned. It's been a long time since you were here, maybe things have changed."

"Maybe." She didn't sound too convinced.

"Or maybe we just have luck on our side now." Dakora turned around for a moment and saw the light from her flame illuminate Dare's grin for a split second. "It would be a nice change." Despite their situation, Dakora found herself smiling a little at his grim humour.

They were well and truly on the staircase now, descending, descending. It seemed like the stairwell went on forever, and you wouldn't be able to see the bottom even if the darkness wasn't as suffocating as it was. The silence was suffocating too, not like the silence any of them had known before. This silence did not amplify the sound of your footfalls, and you couldn't hear your heartbeat like a drum. This silence seemed to swallow the sound whole, and the noises seemed to disappear into a blanket of thick silence. It was as if they weren't there at all.

Finally, after what had seemed like hours of walking down that endlessly spiralling staircase, they came to a door. They could have dramatised it, dressed up the tale in their minds. They could have said that they could sense something bad lurking behind it, or that the door was symbolic of their journey thus far. They could have said that they shivered when they touched the handle, or that they just had a bad feeling, but no. It was just a door. It opened like any other, with a slight creak that was quickly swallowed up by the stifling silence.

Ahmed motioned for them to be cautious, but he knew that he was travelling with those that were not particularly known for their caution. He had to admit, while this journey was far from the most enjoyable he had been on, there were some good moments. But right now, thoughts like that were of little consequence. He knew beyond any doubt that they were walking right into a trap. Ahmed allowed himself a small shadow of a smile. Everything was going just as he had predicted it would.

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Dakora frowned. Something wasn't right, that was obvious. For one, there were no guards. They had travelled this far into the forges without coming across another soul. Was it some incredible stroke of luck? Dakora couldn't quite bring herself to believe so. She almost hoped that there would be some guards lurking around the corner, just to relieve her concern.