Mirror, Mirror

3.15 The End

"It's a nightmare in here," Rayvin said in a hushed voice. Starla said nothing, just squeezed his hand and surveyed the wreckage of skeletons and rusty weapons jutting out of the ice encrusted cave walls as they entered. They tried to light a torch, but something about this cold air sucked the heat out of everything. This place was cursed.

Starla was almost grateful for the darkness that swallowed them as they went on, if only not to see the chilling aftermath of what had happened here so many years ago. She held on tightly to Rayvin and let him lead the way, using nothing but his magical sense of the shape of the ice around them.

"The ice gets slicker, so hold on to me tight," Rayvin reported as they made their way through the tunnel. "The tunnel is also getting narrower. And... um. Hang on, slow down a bit." She felt Rayvin tense up.

"And what?" Starla asked, unnerved.

"I've got it under control," Rayvin said quickly.

"Rayvin..." Starla said. "I can't prepare myself if I can't tell what's happening."

"Don't panic, but... the walls appear to be alive," Rayvin said softly. A chill went down Starla's spine. She had the peculiar feeling of walking right into the belly of a beast.

"What do you mean 'alive'?" Starla hissed.

"Lots of sharp spikes of ice growing out of the wall toward us," Rayvin said in a strained voice. "And they seem to grow faster any time we make sudden movements. I don't think they like that you're here. But I'm using my magic to hold them back, don't worry."

"I trust you, Rayvin," Starla said in an uneasy voice. She felt vulnerable in the dark, entirely dependent on Rayvin and her other senses besides sight. Now that Rayvin had pointed it out, she could hear a faint cracking and whispering, and she could almost picture the ice teeth growing from the walls, ready to skewer them. They continued to walk slowly.

Starla heard a soft clink behind her, like ice clattering together in a drink. She tightened her grip on Rayvin's arm. She heard the sound again, even closer to her. It sounded more like glass breaking. The whispers grew louder. She felt Rayvin maneuver her in front of him.

"Starla," Rayvin said calmly. "In a second here, I'm going to need you to run."

"I can't see," Starla said, heart pounding.

"It's a straight shot out of this tunnel from here," Rayvin said. "You'll be OK. I'll be right behind you."

"I trust you," Starla said again.

Another sound of shattering. And another and another. The walls groaned. It sounded like the entire cave was breaking.

"Run," Rayvin breathed. Starla bolted. She didn't know what was happening, but she heard tiny explosions of ice shattering behind her, and she felt flecks of ice hit her face, leaving her skin burning. The whispers almost sounded like screams. Suddenly, she saw light in the distance.

"JUMP!" Rayvin roared, and dove toward the window of light. She screamed as something caught on her pant leg and ripped across her shin. Queen, QUEEN! Starla's mind exploded with comprehension, and the whispers crystallized into words. A moment later, Rayvin slammed into her, and they were tumbling into a cavern glowing with blue mushrooms. Starla looked back at the tunnel where they'd come from. In the dim light, she saw ice spikes growing toward each other from the tunnel walls, sharp as blades and as long as she was tall.

"I guess we're stuck in here until the job's done," Starla said, staring at the mess of sharp ice spikes in their wake. "I feel like we just got... devoured by the mountain." She shivered.

"You're hurt," Rayvin said, looking at the slash across her shin. Starla looked down, twisting her leg to see. It wasn't a deep cut, but it burned with cold.