A Court of Wings and Teeth

Chapter 16: Monsters in the Dark

Celeste POV:

I found myself staring at Thorne's back while he led the way into the former court under the mountains. The lute was strapped tightly across him and I followed the intricate golden whorls on the lovely instrument. 

"Aren't you going to ask me why I brought it?" his deep voice rang through the eerie halls.

"Thorne, why have you brought a lute?" I responded, a faint smile playing across my lips. 

He paused at a large stone archway and faced me. "My father used to take me out hunting when I was a child" his chestnut brown eyes glazed over in memory. "One day, he brought a lute with him, but he didn't tell me why he had it. He then pushed me into the high branches of a tree and sat at its base. He began to play, sitting alone in the woods. After a short while, a beast we had been hunting crept out of the woods and approached him. Thinking the Lord of Spring was an easy target was the last mistake it ever made. Lulled into a false sense of security, the beast was about to strike when my father turned and met him with teeth and claws of his own, quickly disposing of it" he finished. He leaned against the archway, his lean body perfectly composed in leisure. "I thought to employ a similar strategy during this hunt," he said simply.

I studied him for a moment. "I had never thought to let the monsters find us, but I suppose it could work". I looked over his shoulder, "perhaps with the right acoustics" I said tilting my chin behind him. 

He followed my gaze to the open chamber behind him and smiled. "That'll do perfectly" turning back to me. "What about those?" he asked, gesturing to my gloves. 

I held up my gloved hands, "these are something I designed" I started, twisting my hands back and forth. "They are meant to harness my energy into a usable weapon" my hands closed into fists. I looked up at him and our eyes met, "I want to make sure that I could take the offensive in a battle, I will fight my own battles". From what I heard, the Spring Court males weren't as forward-thinking regarding females in battle. When I thought of it, I felt blessed to have been born into the Day Court. Helion didn't care what gender you were when it came to his lovers or his warriors. He adored equal opportunities and he considered some females the best inventors and the best spell casters. 

Thorne regarded me but remained silent. After a moment, he nodded and met my steady gaze. "I honor you as a fighter and as my equal," he said solemnly, his hand pressed over his heart. 

My breath stilled in my body. I didn't have the words so I followed his action as I placed my hand over my heart. I stepped forward and placed my hand on his shoulder "thank you" I said as I passed him, walking into the hall. Walking in, I looked up at the incredibly high ceiling. The spiked rocks cast horrifying shadows onto the walls. Looking closer, there seemed to be...blood stains? This was a cursed place, where destruction and death ruled. I tried to suppress the shudder that ran along my spine. 

Thorne walked to the middle of the hall and slid into a seated position. Pulling the lute off his back, it fell into his lap. He pushed his sleeves up, the cloth giving way to bare his forearms, braided with thick muscle. "You better make yourself scarce for a while," he said, about to begin. 

I nodded and turned to one of the walls. Noticing a few loose stones, I climbed them until I found myself in an alcove overlooking the hall. 

Thorne began to play a haunting melody. His fingers delicately plucking the strings, his eyes closed in concentration. He looked as if he was worshipping at an altar. His face was a beautiful mask of reverence, though his forearms betrayed him with their tightness. 

After what felt like hours, a monster finally appeared. It crawled forward slowly, instead of legs it had arms that pulled it forward. The body was large with two torsos connected under the ribs facing opposite directions. Shaped like a scorpion, the second torso was poised to strike like a tail. With every move forward, the more I was repulsed. As it crawled closer to Thorne, I was about to jump down when I noticed his brief headshake. No? This was what we had agreed to, was he backing out on it? Did he not think I could handle it? Thorne continued to play, his eyes still closed and his head tilted slowly to his right. Looking over, I noticed a second creature crawling out of the western entryway. He must have sensed the second and wanted me to wait until it came closer. The first was almost upon him when finally he stopped playing and set the lute down gently.  He stood agonizingly slowly so as to not alarm the creature bearing down on him. The beast turning his head back and forth, I finally noticed he was blind. It had shallow black pits where eyes should have been. It must have followed the sound of the lute, and it led him straight into our trap. When Thorne stood to his full height, he raised a hand and slashed it down, pointing in the direction of the second beast. I said nothing but leapt off the alcove and dove at the creature. Pointing my hands at him, a blaze of warm energy shook through me and released into a burst of power at the beast. It scorched him like an inferno and his scream was ear-piercing.

I turned when I heard another noise behind me. Thorne transformed one of his hands into a massive paw with sharp claws. He slashed at the beast's throat but it dodged quickly.  

I was about to go and help him finish the beast off when I heard something down the hall. Turning back, I stood over the scorched body and squinted, trying to peer into the darkness of the tunnel. Their stench hit me before I could see them, a horde of monsters were rushing towards me. Leaping back, I raced to join Thorne. Having already finished the creature off, he had transformed back into entirely fae. Noticing me coming, his eyes widened as the horde crashed after me. He grabbed me by my wrist and started racing to the exit. As we ran, I leaned down and grabbed the lute on our way out. They were so close, I could feel their hot breath bearing down on me as we raced for the exit. We were almost at the exit, I could see the daylight streaming in.

It was at that precise moment that I tripped over a rock and stumbled. My legs gave way as I crashed into the ground. The beasts descended and I felt the air rip out of my lungs as my vision faded into darkness.