The Heir of Moon-Fire

Chapter 42

Elentiya's POV

Emily and I crouched in the bushes in front of a deceivingly small cottage that we both knew held Malatyr. I couldn't care less about leaving the rest of our party behind, seeing as my brother was in mortal danger. 

"So here's the plan," Emily hissed at me. "We burst through the door. You'll point your arrows to the right, and I'll point my gun to the left. You know so that we have our backs covered." I nodded. "You'll lead the way because you will obviously have the best idea of where he is being held. And we do the same thing at every turn."

"Sounds good," I whispered back. "You going to illusion us?"

She nodded. "Good idea. Let's go."

We approached the door and stopped. We looked at each other, holding our weapons at the ready, and nodded. I kicked the door down, sending it flying down the hall. Emily turned from my left to point her gun to the right as I copied her fluid movement, pointing my bow to the left. My brows lowered as a frown formed on my mouth as I saw no one. I lowered my bow before turning to Emily, seeing her expression mirror mine.

"Nothing?" she asked.

I shook my head. It didn't make any sense. "Let's keep moving. He's probably luring us into a false sense of security," I told her.

She opened her mouth before shaking her head. "You're probably right. You should lead the way."

I nodded my agreement before gesturing for her to follow me down the short hallway. We had our weapons raised and ready to fire as we entered the kitchen. My eyes were narrowed as I scanned the small area. "This way," I hissed to her as I approached the pantry.

"I've got your back," she stated as I hesitated in front of the door. I pulled the string of my bow tight before kicking the door open. My lips tightened further as butterflies fluttered around in my stomach.

"What if he's not here?" I asked Emily while lowering my bow.

She turned to look at me. "Then we keep searching until we find him," she replied.

I nodded, regaining some of my confidence. I stalked towards the other wall, Emily following me inside. The door clicked shut behind her as I created a string of flame above us. I rubbed my face while I stared at the wall full of shelves in front of me. "There has to be..." I muttered to myself as I paced in front of the door. My eyes snagged on a small screw sticking out of the wall randomly. "Aha! Found you," I murmured as I pushed the screw into the wall. Whirring gears could be heard from behind it as the wall slid sideways, revealing a long narrow stairway down. 

I smiled at Emily's gasp. "Ready to see the place I spent a year of my life?" I asked her.

"Y-you... what?" she asked as my flames winked out. The darkness would provide us with the cover that we needed as we descended into the depths of hell. 

"We need to move. Time is of the essence," I told her.

"Right. Lead the way."

My heart continued to pound faster the deeper we went. I knew that the chill running down my spine as I stumbled wasn't because of the cold. I shook my head, attempting to dislodge the memory of being dragged down here day after day. "You okay?" Emily asked as I felt her hands grip my shoulders tightly.

"Yeah... I'm fine... Just some unpleasant memories..." 

She paused, her gaze fixed on me, as I shook her hand off my shoulder and proceeded towards the progressively brightening light. I pressed against the wall, knowing that we had to turn right. She pressed against the other wall before we simultaneously leapt into the open.