Born of Flames

Chapter 16 ~ A Tomb Dark and Cold

Leaving the forest wasn't the only thing that lowered Arlon and Neeri's spirits. The sky had grown progressively darker while they traveled beneath the slight shelter of the trees.

Arlon had believed the storm might pass before they left the Vidar and Neeri had desperately hoped he was right. But as soon as they reached the stretch of flat land between the forest and the foothills, the storm erupted with its full fury.

It slowed their progress immensely as they battled against gusting winds and rain as sharp as ice. Even in her wolf form, Neeri could feel it slicing through her brown fur and burning against the skin beneath it. Arlon slunk alongside her as his panther, his ears flattened and usually sleek pelt bristling.

His gaze shifted to hers, then slid over her body in a silent assessment. She knew he was checking her for signs of fatigue or injury. She had already done the same to him. Every few steps, he seemed to stumble over his paws and there were several thin pink lines across his black nose, cuts from the icy rain.

They needed to find shelter and soon, but as far as she knew, the only cave-like structure around here was Durga's How. That didn't seem like the most inviting place to wait out a storm, especially when they didn't know how long they'd be waiting.

Neeri shook her head with a grunt as rain streamed into her eyes, blurring her vision. She lowered her head and squinted in an effort to shield her gaze. The ground beneath her paws was sodden with mud and drooping grass.

Mud had already clumped the fur on her legs and Arlon didn't seem to be faring any better. They'd certainly be a sight by the time they reached Ophir, Neeri couldn't help but think with a hint of amusement.

She looked up when Arlon bumped his nose against her shoulder. He jerked his head towards something in the distance. Between the sheets of rain and illuminated by flashes of lightning was an opening in a hill up ahead. Neeri nodded and they bounded towards the promise of shelter.

They reached it within minutes and ducked inside, already shaking the moisture from their pelts. Neeri gazed about their surroundings, still in her wolf form. They appeared to be in an abandoned temple of sorts, judging by the pillars supporting the stone lined roof of the cave above them.

The floor might have once been polished marble, but now it looked like little more than cracking cobblestone with patches of dirt littering the area. There were cobwebs and grassroots everywhere, filling grimy corners and lining more cracks in the walls. Neeri drew a deep breath, but only musty, damp air greeted her.

Neeri shifted into her Fae form and wrapped her arms around herself with a shiver. "Where are we?" She asked. Her voice sounded leaden and dull, catching her by surprise. She'd expected an echo.

Arlon shifted as well and drew his flint and steel from the pack slung over his shoulder. Neeri grabbed one of the partially rotted torches out of a wall sconce and offered it to him. She waited quietly while he fashioned it into something more sustainable.

It cost them some of the medical supplies they'd brought along, namely a few strips of cloth for bandages and some alcohol meant to disinfect wounds, but the resulting blaze of light was worth it.

Neeri stepped closer to Arlon and the light as he set off deeper into the temple. Her eyes widened with every step they took. Torchlight danced off of crumbling carvings in the wall, many of them appearing to be images of battle and death. A shiver ran down her spine, prickling her skin with goosebumps.

"We're in a hallway," Neeri realized, noticing how the tunnel stretched on around them.

"It ends just up there," Arlon answered, gesturing to an even darker space ahead of them. Neeri shuddered again and stepped over to one of the carvings in an attempt to delay their entrance into that impending darkness. Arlon followed her and raised the torch, shedding more light across the scene.