Wings of Deceit

Chapter Eleven*

As we fell through the air, clouds of dust restricting our vision and filling our lungs, Larc twisted his body so he took the brunt of the impact. He wrapped his body around mine, using himself as a shield to protect me.

"Larc!" I cried out in worry as his pained breaths sounded from below me. Pushing out of his arms, my magic spread across my hands and rushed into the Dragon-born. It felt for every bruise that was going to bloom across his back, every wound that could have leaked even a drop of blood and erased their existence.

"I'm okay." He winced as he moved his back with dust, dirt, and Goddess knew what stuck to the remains of his wings. There didn't appear to be any broken bones, though. Just the bruises my magic had already healed away.

My sister extended her hand to help me up as she looked at where we had fallen from. As our skin made contact, my power surged through Haera too, healing the soreness from her. It had been incredibly brainless of us to stand on the edge of the hole that had opened up when we didn't know if it was safe or not. Now, we had to pay the consequences for that.

Around us was nothing but darkness and stone. Tiles of plain grey lined the floors and ceiling, plants fighting their way between the gaps to break into the passageways, while decorative ones made up the walls. A series of swirls, lines, and dots were carved into the stone, attempting to bring a sense of cheerfulness into the gloom. From what we could see, the tunnels offered no escape.

"Now what are we going to do?" I asked, wafting some of the dust that had yet to settle away from my face. We weren't going to make any progress towards the mountain stuck down here.

Haera's hands moved to her weapons. "We can still search for something to help us climb out, it just has to be taller now that there's nobody waiting at the top." Her voice was steady — an ocean of calm. There was a plan in her mind and nothing was going to stray her from it. "We don't know what's down here, so stay on guard."

We both nodded in reply and began to follow my sister down the passage she chose. The few blue sparks that had fallen down with us were the only source of light we had as we travelled further into the tunnels, making it difficult to see where we were going. Though, as we walked with careful steps, something tugged at me to stop.

I turned into a room that looked a little like an abandoned infirmary. Two broken, metal beds sat evenly spaced with moth-bitten sheets and pillows where I assumed patients would have laid. To the side was a shattered glass cabinet with old herb jars, boxes of gauze, and other concoctions used for medicine. Dried blood was splattered on the floor, leading from the doorway to the closest bed, telling a story of someone I hoped had lived.

My chest tightened as a much stronger version of my power lingered in the corner of the room. What was it? It led me to a counter where several different books and documents were scattered across it. How was this related to the Goddess?

I picked up a book that caught my interest and blew the dust off the cover. The cloud it created flew upwards and into my eyes, making me drop it in shock. Pain stung them as I closed them and tried to blink away the parts that got caught in them.

"There you are." Larc's voice echoed from the passageway and grew louder as he made his way over to me. "What's wrong?" He questioned, rushing over as my eyes were still squeezed shut. His fingers gently grazed my skin as he tilted up my chin. "Which eye is it?"

"My right eye." I reached up to rub the dust out, but I was stopped by fingers intertwining with my own.

"Don't rub it, you'll make it worse. Can you try and open it so I can see if anything is inside?" The frown was audible in his voice.

"It's fine," I insisted. "It's just dust, it will clear." Even though it was likely just a speck of dust that had made it into my eye, it made it sting every time I attempted to open it or blinked. My body refused to let the dust damage it.