Subterra Heart

Chapter 34: Tess Ritty

The darkness that had once left her blind in the tunnels was still no longer a barrier. Pinpricks of light sprouted from bioluminescent fungi that dotted the tunnel walls and floor. At one time, these would have been barely visible to her, but now they flooded the tunnels with a brilliance that easily lit the way. This had been the case ever since she had been infected by Fenrir's spores. Now, she could see clearly through the darkness. The millennia of memories that Fenrir had kept from her were no longer walled off either. They drifted freely through her mind, directing her steps with ancient mental maps from humans and creatures long gone.

At some point, they had entered the outer tunnels of the Anai city of Hekret'lacroi aun Mraw. It was one of the few Anai names that she could even wrap her mind around, and it had once been Bastet's domain. This place had once been alive with laughter and footsteps and the lilting chatter of blue-skinned beings. Shadows of a previous life flitted across the corridor in the form of small children playing with a ball. Their cat-like ears perked up at the sound of some long-lost call, and suddenly, they were gone. She shook her head to clear it. Fenrir must have come here when this place was still alive. She was still struggling to pin down different identities for each memory, and for another brief moment, she had forgotten her own.

She paused, searching for her name. Tess. Yes, she was Tess – clumsy Tess Ritty. Not for the first time, she wondered if it would be best to forget herself and become someone else. She had enough lifetimes worth of memories to give it a try. And the silly girl who had gotten lost down here surely wasn't capable of protecting Heart. Tess shook off the thought and clung to her name. She kept losing herself, and it frightened her.

At her feet, Bastet trotted at a comfortable pace, easily keeping up with Tess's slow shuffle. The Dweller's cat-host, Bug, held her tail high. She, at least, did not seem troubled.

"You seem to know these halls extrrrrraordinarily well, human-named-Tess," she purred.

Tess didn't answer. Her throat was still burned, and she didn't know what to say or how to say it. Bastet's motives were still unclear, but enough of Fenrir's own foul memories oozed through her mind that she knew never to trust another of his kind. It would feel strange to try making small talk with an enemy. Tess felt more secure in her silence.

However, Bastet continued to insist on tagging along, even after she'd realized how confident Tess was in finding the healing bath. It was uncomfortable, but so long as she continued to stick around, Tess could keep an eye on her. An old phrase rattled around her head: keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Tess didn't know if she'd heard it in her own lifetime or someone else's.

Up ahead, there was a side-hall that Tess would need to take. Strings of bright blue ceramic beads had once hung across its entrance. Tess raised a hand to brush them aside as she took the turn, but she was met with nothing. The threads that had held the beads in place had long since disintegrated. Her toe nudged one of the beads that lay scattered on the ground. Time had chipped away at its blue paint.

"You will not have a long life," said Bastet. Tess looked down at her in surprise, but that was her mistake. Bastet had wanted her attention, and now she had it. Although Tess wasn't quite sure how to read the cat's body language. Bastet's ears were low, and she flicked her tail vigorously. Was she interested? Agitated?

Bastet twitched an ear and meandered off ahead of Tess. Her tail calmed down, and she held it steadily behind her. Tess stared after her. All of her new, strange memories had fled for the moment.

"What, that's it? You're just going to lead with that and then walk away? At least I didn't just fall to pieces like everyone else who was infected!" she rasped, and then grimaced as the words grated through her throat. She should have stuck with a simple "why?" Tess stumbled after the cat, grasping at old hallway walls that wearily clung to fragments of crumbling frescos. Blue and red paint turned to dust at her touch and stuck to her bandages. Underneath all the wrappings that Marina had applied, Tess's skin stung as the effects of the burn cream wore off. Her feet trod over bioluminescent fungi, and strange shadows danced through the hall each time she snuffed out a bit of their light.

Up ahead, Bastet slowed just enough for Tess to catch up. The cat raised her head and stared at Tess with wide, unblinking eyes.

"No, you did not turrrrn to dust," said Bastet. She paused and cocked her head as if thinking about what to say next. Finally, she said, "You werrrre frrreshly infected and not drrrrained of life. But you arrrrre not the firrrrst underrr a Dweller's influence to kill both a Host and their Dweller. It has neverrr ended well, and yourrrr kind have always led shorrrtened lives."

Perhaps Bastet was implying that Tess would be stuck taking parlin just like Connor. She could deal with that. Tess shook her head and carried on, once more directed by faded memories that weren't hers.

"I'll be fine, cat," she muttered.

"No, human-named-Tess, you will not," said Bastet. Tess caught something almost sad in the sudden huskiness of the cat's voice, but she chose to ignore it. The sadness was gone as soon as it came though, because Bastet twitched her ear again and picked up the pace. "You should hurrrrry if you do not wish to rrrrot herrre, human" she said, and this time her tone was flippantly sing-song.

They followed the hall until they neared the throne room where Tess and Bug had first found Bastet. Instead of finding an entrance, however, Tess's feet led her to a place that would have been behind the cavern and far, far away from where any Anai would have led their daily lives. There was a small archway there, and it was barricaded by a brass door. It had a large lever that had to be pushed down prior to pulling it open. Other than the fact it was the only metal door that Tess had seen down here, there was nothing special about its appearance. It was a nondescript entrance by design, and it had been intended to be kept secret from most of the Anai. Other Dwellers knew of this place, but few knew of its exact location. 

Mounds of dust lay at the door's base, and bits of white bone poked out from them. The dust was all that was left of the guards that Fenrir had placed here when he was still alive and had power over this region. One of them had once been a miner named Kayleigh. She'd been sent to the mines after having been caught stealing in Heart Central, but she got lost in the tunnels, and her last thoughts when she became sick with bloodrot had been of her children.

Tess dropped the memory. She didn't want to recall anything further.

Slowly, she stepped over the mounds of dust and gripped the door's lever. It barely moved when she shoved down on it. She gritted her teeth as her burned body protested in pain, but she still pushed down again and then pulled once, twice, three times. Finally, the door opened just wide enough for her and Bastet to slide through.

The air beyond the door felt suddenly wet, and there was a long flight of stone stairs that led down to the healing bath. Years of humidity had corroded the stone, and Tess tested each step carefully as she made her way down them. Dark, slimy things had grown on them, and it was hard to see. There were fewer bioluminescent fungi in here compared to the other halls of Hekret'lacroi aun Mraw.

They reached the base of the stairs with no trouble, and a low, cavernous hall opened up in front of them. It, like the stairs, had been weathered through long exposure to humidity, and any frescos that had once graced its walls were long since gone. The floor was dark, and there was a gentle slant to it. Tess took a step forward. When she set her foot down, the tender skin of her bandaged foot felt suddenly cool and calm. She looked down and realized that there was water, strange water, lapping about her heel and toes. There was a deep purple hue to it. The entire room was the healing bath.

"The Well of Strange Waters..." she murmured. It was a translation of sorts. The Anai name for this place was too difficult to wrap her tongue around.

"What did you say?" asked Bastet from behind her.

"Nothing," said Tess.

For the first time in a while, Tess cracked a grin. She waded in deeper. The bandages got soggy and began unwinding around her ankles, hampering her. She tore them off, grimacing in pain. There was still plenty of skin that she hadn't submerged yet. Suddenly self-conscious, she looked over her shoulder to where Bastet was sitting on the stairs.

"Hey, don't look, cat," she rasped.

Bastet shrugged and turned around.

Satisfied, Tess stripped off her Anai mail tunic too and tossed it on the stairs. She heard a series of thumps as Bastet hopped to the side to avoid being hit by the metal cloth. Finally able to submerge fully, Tess crouched down and pushed off to swim towards the center of the bath. She took a deep breath and let herself sink down into it. Her raw, damaged skin felt cool as it finally began to heal.