Dreams of Imahken

Hidden faces are shade 'neath light

 Anilee fell off Illus at the sound of the distant rifle shot, clutching her hat like she had just been the target. Illus jumped up, trying to see if there were any lights in the distance, but nothing. Adrenaline surged through him, so he pulled Anilee to her feet, threw his pack over his shoulders, and flashed the window of his lantern down the mountain.

Flash, flash. No response came so he flashed again. The icy mountain air whirled around them, but Illus's spine chilled from the thoughts of his sister and Sator in peril.

"Ani, come now, we need to go!" Illus started down the steps, tugging her along behind him.

Anilee pulled back. "And do what, Illus? We cannot make it down in time, and they were probably hunting something." She stepped forward, guiding Illus's hand around her waist. "Don't you want to keep going? See where it leads?" She caressed his bare chest, down his core.

He pulled away, the adrenaline dominating his emotions. "I've just heard a rifle shot and gotten no response by light, Ani! From my best friend and my bloody sister! There is no time to waste if something has happened!"

"Illus, but-"

Illus yelled into Anilee's face with more rage than he had ever shown her. "Then you wait! Sit atop this mountain the rest of the night and I'll fetch you at dawn! You'll only slow me down anyway!"

He pushed the bag into her, knocking her onto her rear, then picked up his shirt and took off in a jog down the steps.

Sator woke up to a cold emptiness where Tyza should have been. From outside she yelled "Give it back, fox!" Then her footsteps ran away.

Sator shot up, his hand landing on Tyza's bag where her head was supposed to be. The chalice was gone too. He stumbled out of the tent in a dazed panic, searching for where she went, then his eyes caught lantern light moving toward the gully.

"Ty! Tyza!" He tripped over roots, stumbling through the tree limbs until he was flat on his face, scrambling to his feet again.

His mind raced about what she was doing until his mind finally registered what he heard. "Tyza! The fox! Stay away from the fox!" He wasn't sure if his voice would reach her to pierce the fox's magic, but he kept screaming her name nonetheless.

Suddenly, through the moonlight, he caught a glimpse of light disappearing into the tunnel that the fox had come from. He forced his way through the overgrowth, spotting light down the stairs. From his panicked rush and the shred of moonlight illuminating the corridor, it appeared safe. He held his fear at bay and trespassed into the space the fox had warned of. What he had not considered was the possibility of a false step, and when his foot found nothing beneath it, he tumbled down the stone stairs, the faint moonlight disappearing, head slamming stone until finally he was spinning in the depths, warm liquid dripping down his ear, blind except for a pale glow at the top of the stairs.

Lantern light appeared directly above him- Tyza. No, a shimmering projection of Tyza holding a lantern as the fox cackled madly next to his aching body. The revolving walls were made of bones, the dusty floor littered with age-old remains.

"A specter to test, then to you the rest." The fox whispered. "The others are safe from ghosts and ghouls, while you and your love perish in pools!"

All light died. Sator tried screaming, but the most he could force out was a weak groan. The fox bit the scruff of Sator's shirt and dragged him further into the catacombs.

Tyza inhaled the cool night air, gazing at the mosaic of the masked woman before returning to the tent from her latrine break. "Thank you," she quietly muttered, then opened the flap of the tent.