The Death Queen

Chapter 9

That night, my master visited my dreams again. It occurred to me that I still didn't know her name. But names were insignificant. What I really needed to ask her for were my orders for the day.

"Hello! How did I do yesterday?" I called out as soon as the woman appeared in the mist.

"You did great! You accomplished everything I told you to do. Which was fortunate for you."

"I know. What are my orders for tomorrow?"

"I have some maps to show you. For that, I'll need you to come meet me in person."

"Really? Where can I do that? Aren't you dead?" I knew there was something I should remember about this, but it didn't immediately come to mind. Wait a second. Didn't Mother say something about that, right before she died? She said there was a place where I could see her again. "Are you talking about Spirit Cave?"

"Yes! How did you know about that?" The woman looked pleasantly surprised.

"Well, my mother told me about it before she died. After I'm done talking to you, can I visit her?"

"Go ahead. We have some time until the siege, anyway. But first you have to find the cave. I can't help you with that, unfortunately, because all the known entrances were blocked off once I died. Just search caves near the Coven, and you should be able to find it. Once you get there, ask the people there to help you find Amari."

I didn't get a chance to process these instructions before the bell rang, jerking me awake. I absentmindedly grabbed my sword and ran outside. Amari? The one who had like eight skills and tried to destroy the Coven a year ago?

I mean, I can't say I'm surprised. I guess she had a personal vendetta against us. Should I really be working with her? I asked myself. Well, why not? She's been good to me so far. She saved me from a short and miserable life. I have to repay her for that.

Today's meeting was a very short one. General Trey instructed us, "Today is set aside for training. I have nothing specific to tell you. This meeting is dismissed."

Okay. Looks like I can get started early today. I left the courtyard and headed for the mountains, searching the foothills for caves.

I found several niches in the rocks, but none of them led anywhere. Once, I found a promising-looking cavern, but it was another dead end. Frustrated, I splattered poison across the unyielding rocks, but that had no effect.

After a few more hours, I found a narrow tunnel in the rock. I followed it, dragging my right hand along the right wall to keep from getting lost in the pitch-black cave. A few hundred feet in, the tunnel widened out into a cavern. The sound of running water filled the air, and I ran toward it.

I found a small stream that trickled out of the wall. A few feet below me, the water splashed down into a deep black pool. One side of the pool was lower than the rest, and water poured out of it, crashing down into the dark depths of a ravine. I took a step closer, but my boot slipped on a patch of moss and I fell into the pool.

"Great. Why am I still so damn clumsy?" I muttered once I'd swum back up to the surface. I was thoroughly soaked, and the water wasn't normal water. It smelled like ash and smoke.

I swam closer to the waterfall and climbed onto the edge of the pool, balancing carefully on the narrow lip of rock. Far, far below me, about two hundred feet down, was a massive open cave. I should be able to survive this fall, since I can regenerate. I took a deep breath and threw myself off into empty space.

I fell and fell, the cave floor below me rushing closer and closer as I accelerated. Eventually I stopped accelerating and just fell, the wind roaring in my ears. Finally, I made impact, landing with a loud splat. I regenerated the damage and stood up, surveying my surroundings.