An Ember's Tale

Chapter Twenty-Five

 Ember walked through the overgrown grass with a slight frown as it tore and tugged at her long dress. Weeds tangled over her feet as she grabbed her leg and tried to pull it out. Mark outstretched his hand to her. She took it as he pulled her out of the weeds. She bumped into him and smiled sheepishly up at him as he smirked.

She looked past him and out to the mansion at the top of the hill. It seemed to have once been a grand, luxurious mansion, but most of it was now falling apart. The porch was mostly gone, and the yellow walls were faded and signed. The yard was vastly overgrown and didn't seem attended by anyone, which surprised her since the whole island was so neat and nothing was rampant.

"What happened here?" Ember asked as Mark let her hand go.

Mark's gaze hardened as he looked back at the mansion. "The jewels are this way," he pointed past the estate and ignored her question.

Ember's eyes softened as she gave him a worried glance, but he was already walking past the mansion and down the hill. She tentatively touched a board sticking out of the ground but gasped when it turned into ash and dust. It fell to her feet as she pursed her lips. She could feel the tragedy emitting off of the mansion as her heart ached.

She followed Mark past the mansion and down the hill to what seemed like several old fountains covered in moss and vines. Many statues seemed to of past ancestors. They were all white except for their eyes which were painted a deep purple much like Mark's.

Mark continued walking until they passed several small ponds that grew small ravines from being unattended. Ember stopped when they arrived at a vast graveyard with graves from centuries ago. She looked back up at Mark, but he just continued walking to what looked like an old crypt. She followed closely behind him, avoiding the graves as much as she could. Mark grabbed a key hidden in the thick grass and unlocked the crypt door. He then opened it and grabbed an old torch from the ceiling.

She peered into the darkness and shook her head when she heard faint echoes of rats crawling over stone. "I'm not going in there."

"Do you want the jewel?" he asked.

"Why does it have to be in a crypt?" her eyes widened. "Don't tell me it's buried with someone."

Mark looked away and back at the darkness. "With my Grandfather."

Ember ran her fingers through her hair before she sighed. She flicked her wrist, setting the torch ablaze, and gestured to the dark crypt. "Lead the way."

She followed closely behind Mark, practically becoming his shadow as they went down the old stairs leading underground. He grabbed old cobwebs out of the way, but some still stuck to Ember as she shivered. The crypt reeked as her nostrils flared, and she pinched her nose. It was also cold, making Ember regret not having long sleeves as she shivered. She basked in the little heat the torch gave her from behind Mark.

Maybe it was wrong to use him as a human shield, but when she heard something hurry past her, she suddenly didn't mind.

The orange light illuminated some of the carvings in the marble walls. Most of them were what she assumed to be a family history. They showed many lightning carvings and a proud, noble family stretching for generations. The stairs finally ended on a long hallway with graves inside the walls. Ember continued to shiver as a dark chill went throughout the room. She heard bugs and rats scatter across the room while she picked up the ends of her dress and tried her best not to hurl the multitude of bread she had eaten.

"Are you okay?" Mark asked her, but she could tell he enjoyed her reaction with the slight gleam in his eyes.

"I'm fine," she shoved past him and tried her best not to seem terrified of the dark crypt. "Where is your Grandfather's grave?"