Fade To Black, The Curseborn Saga, Book 1

Chapter 14 - The Valyti

Bright light blinded the three sister's eyes as the great doors opened, and a cold wind seemed to pass through their very bones. After a few moments of squinting, their vision cleared, and the girls took in their first view of the Valyti.

"Wow," whispered Maile. "It's beautiful . . ."

An enormous chamber made of brilliant white stone spread out before them like a snowy blanket. The faint melody of bells and flutes sang through it, as if the very place itself were enchanted. Great pillars of black marble connected the floor to the ceiling, which must have been a hundred feet tall. Along the ceiling itself were long, sharp icicles that hung like spears. The three walked in cautiously.

They were surprised to find that the Valyti was completely open to the sky along its eastern-most edge, allowing the strong winds to soar through unhindered. A few fragments of floating rock sat out in the sky, not far from the hidden entrance to the training grounds. Against the western-most wall, a waterfall passed down from the height of the ceiling towards the floor, where it ran into a stone-guarded creak that traced along the rim of the chamber.

"This is so cool!!" Baelie whisper-shouted. "It's everything I've dreamed of!"

Turning her gaze back to the ceiling, Remi shuddered in fear: If one of the giant icicles were to fall, it would split her like an arrow through an apple. As she was planning her safest walking route, she noticed strange tracks that ran along the ceiling and back through the ceremonial door that they had entered from. She wondered if the tracks led back to the glass cages holding the beasts, and that maybe they were used to transport the creatures into the Valyti.

"Unreal . . ." Remi said. "Hard to imagine sorians built all of this . . . Even with alchemy."

Maile was still close at her side. Meanwhile, Baelie was a few paces behind, whose eyes were still wide open in absolute awe, taking in every bit of the Valyti.

"Is that a person out there?" Maile asked, pointing out at the sky.

Remi followed Maile's finger. There was indeed someone out there, a young woman, if she had to guess. She was standing still on one of the floating rocks in the sky. Her hair was pale blue and wavy, falling down to her shoulders, and strapped across her back was a beautiful ivory bow.

Feeling vibrations in the ground, Remi realized that the place had been shaking ever so slightly since they had arrived. The distant drumbeat of what sounded more and more like hammers pounding into stone began to grow faster and stronger, stealing away her curiosity.

In the center of the chamber, Remi found another young woman, with long scarlet red hair, and her hands tied up to the elbows in black wraps. The woman was striking one of the tall marble pillars over and over with her fists. The stone cracked and splintered with each blow, but for some reason, it never broke.

Walking closer to get a better look, Remi realized that the stone was regenerating after each blow nearly instantaneously. The pounding of the woman's fists grew faster and faster until Remi could no longer make out the time between each one, and the thunder of her blows broke the once tranquil state of the Valyti. With a sudden final punch, the woman stopped and stood still, her arms stiff at her sides. Blood seeped onto the floor from her ravished knuckles.

"Well, what do you know, it seems you've made it," said a familiar, sarcastic voice. It was a voice Remi hoped she would have never heard again.

Unfortunately, thought Remi. I knew I would find you here.

Turning to face the voice, Remi found Theresa standing before them. Her long golden hair, perfectly coiffed, fell gracefully past her shoulders. She had her hands on her hips, staring the three of them down. Remi's eyes flicked to her chest, prominently more grown than her own, and a spike of envy shot through her.