The Amari War

Chapter 14

I hadn't been walking long when I realized that I was lost. I had no idea where the city I had been imprisoned in was, so I couldn't find my way back to the Coven.

"How the hell am I supposed to get back? I could be walking in the opposite direction, for all I know. I could be on the verge of another city, and all the shit that comes with that. I'm a dumbass, to get myself lost like this."

The trackless forest was a labyrinth, and I was just one lonely person in the middle of it. The wilderness didn't care whether I wanted to get home. It didn't care how I felt about my life. The wilderness was an entity, and all it did was exist. If I was stupid enough to get myself lost, that was my own fault and no one else's.

To make things worse, it was starting to get dark out. This wouldn't have been a problem, except that it had started raining a while ago. Even if I was able to get a fire going, it would take a lot of effort to keep it lit.

Suddenly, something occurred to me. I can sense magic! As long as I'm relatively close to the Coven, I should be able to sense its location.

I focused on all the magical energy that existed in the world, letting my attention slip from the physical world. A map unfolded in front of me, showing me all the sources of magic in the surrounding area. I was standing in the center. A few other lone dots were scattered in nearby cities. But I knew I'd found the Coven when I saw a bright light straight ahead of me, glowing with magical energy. I picked up the pace, encouraged, but my next step never landed.

Back in the physical world, I was falling. I'd walked right into a pit, and now I was descending into blackness. I couldn't see the bottom, as it faded into blackness about ten feet under me. But I had passed the ten-foot mark many times now, and I was falling faster and faster.

I was sure I was about to join Samantha. My fall was slowing somehow, but I was still going way too fast, and I'd surely explode on impact if I hit anything.

But I didn't. I'd been falling for a long time, but I was slowing down more and more. Soon I did hit the bottom, but I'd slowed down enough to land unharmed. I straightened up and looked around in awe.

I was in a massive cavern. It was pitch-black down here, but as my eyes adjusted, I could see the white outlines of thousands of people. They milled around like normal people, except that they were white and translucent. These are spirits- they have to be. Am I dead? Did I end up dying in that fall after all?

I started running toward the people, meaning to ask them if I was dead. If I was... Well, I didn't want to consider that possibility.

There were so many of them, more people than I'd ever seen before. It made sense. The numbers of the dead would only ever increase.

The nearest woman was one I recognized. It was Queen Sylvie. "Your Majesty!" I exclaimed in surprise. I'd never expected to see her again.

She was smiling. She spun around to see me and grabbed my hand. "Trey! Welcome to Spirit Cave!" She shook my hand vigorously, and I returned the handshake nervously. She really was welcoming me as though I was stuck here for eternity. "It's nice to see you again!"

"Am I dead?" It was the only words my mouth could form. My terror had grown until I couldn't think of anything else.

The former Queen smiled. "No, Trey. You fell into our cave, but you're still alive. You can leave whenever you want, but for now, why don't you visit with us for a while? In case you haven't figured it out, we are the spirits of all the dead members of the Coven. We're free to roam the world, but we usually stay here. And no living person can see or hear us except in this cave. Some of your friends are here; why not go see them again?"