Blue Flames

Chapter 30

The forest floor literally opened.

A trap door I hadn't noticed swung up. Two males emerged from the shadows, black cloaks draped over them and their faces concealed by their hoods. One of the men was a vampire, the other a witch, and there was something very, very wrong about them. My magic buzzed in alarm. It was as if a foul, noxious cloud hung about them.

I kept utterly still.

The vampire closed the door and moved some of the forest debris around with his foot to cover the secret exit. I had to strain my hearing to catch their words.

"They will need more time," he said, his voice tight and rushed, "the magic input is too weak. I told them to move closer to the epicenter!"

"That's too high a risk," the witch replied, his voice more calm, "They might detect it. We're already too close. We can't ruin this opportunity, it is not everyday that we get this much magic accumulation in one place. And high quality magic from all the Five combined, nonetheless."

They walked away, opposite the direction of the castle. Their voices, albeit faint, still reached me. The vampire grunted, "Even so, It will take time for the aperture to stretch open."

My hands went cold. Not from the chill of the night, but from the ugly suspicion that erupted in my guts. They spoke about an aperture. I really hoped that my thoughts were wrong. But I wouldn't count on it.

I waited for a few minutes until I was sure no one was around, then carefully climbed down the tree.

I wouldn't have spotted the door had I not known it was there. As it was, it took me a few minutes to find it. When I finally did, it was shrouded with traces of magic.

It was hidden using some kind of spell. It wasn't a strong spell, thoug, nothing like the spell that disguised the true size of Arthur's island back in Portland. Besides, once I knew it was there, magic would find it difficult to trick me.

But finding it was only half the work. I had to open it. I carefully looked all over its edges and surface, the darkness didn't help.

It wasn't me who found the tightly embedded lever, though. After watching me fumble around for a few minutes, the white owl landed next to me, its talons silent. The bird pecked at one particular spot in the side of the closed entrance. I explored cautiously with my fingers.

There!

There was no way to know who or what lay beneath that door. So before I took out my sword, I sent my coordinates to Amanda and Charles, letting them know that it was underground.

I wasn't suicidal, after all.

Well, maybe I should've waited for back up, but I didn't know if it was worth calling everyone else here right now, and I couldn't sit on my hands and wait until they came.

Ok, so maybe I was a little bit suicidal.

I pocketed my phone, took out my sword and pulled on the small lever. The door opened with no resistance and no sound. The owl flew away, melting into the night, the fluttering of its wings almost inaudible. 

I went down to the unknown. The stairs were eliptical. Around the entrance itself was dark, but I could see a faint light deeper down.

I hesitated only a second before closing the door behind me. The stairs were rough and uneven, the walls the same. But the air wasn't stale and there was no rubble around as far as I could see through the dim light. The walls pulsed with an odd kind of magic that made mine quiver. I didn't like it.

After a couple of minutes of carefully climbing down the stairs, I reached the part that was lit by wall torches. They were few and far in between, but they provided enough light to relieve the strains on my eyes.