Starsong

Scene 15

{--} Ren {--}

          If there was one skill Ren had lost all those years, it was how to land on her feet.

          She was able to brace herself against the impact of the floor as it hurtled closer, but she wouldn't be able to get into the best position. She gritted her teeth as her body slammed into the hard marble, sending--

          She blinked, reeling slightly. She'd been expecting a shockwave of pain, maybe even a cracked rib for how hard the floor was. But she felt... nothing. She wasn't in pain, didn't even have the wind knocked out of her. She stood up quickly, trying to reorient herself. They had fallen into a circular room made of dark gray marble with silver glowing detailing all over the walls. Lilith was standing up, too, strands of hair having fallen out of her braid into her deeply bewildered face. Her eyes were still red with tears, and even in the dim silver light, Ren could see her fraying as she tried to process it all-- her sons disappearing, mercenaries, falling down a pit they thought was bottomless, and now this.

          "Alright, come on." Ren said, trying to keep everything moving, "There are only five tunnels. The guys said they fell down here. We're not hurt, so neither are they. They can't be far now."

          "He--" Lilith was pulling at her hair a little, not even meeting Ren's eyes, "He had a crossbow--! He could have shot me-- he could have shot the boys!"

          "Look, it--" Ren found she struggled to speak over the new lump in her throat at the thought, "He probably didn't. They made it sound like the kids escaped. They didn't say anything about arrows or wounds or--" Ren shook her head. "Nevermind. Nevermind! We just have to keep going. If the kids are alive, we can't afford to just sit here and panic. Just-- we can't. How do you usually find your kids?"

          "I-- I don't know!" Lilith cried, "They're never-- This has never-- They always come home! Nothing bad has happened to them before, I've never had to find--"

          "Fine, fine." Ren cut her off, then pinched the bridge of her nose, trying hard to think. It wasn't easy-- her thoughts were clouded and swirling. She'd been so off her game since she met the kids-- she couldn't even think straight anymore. All she could think about was that crossbow-- "You know what? How about we just-- What about when they're not in trouble? What if you just lose them when you're walking together somewhere? What then? How do you find your sons then?"

          Lilith sniffled a little, still gasping for breath in her panic, "Ah-- I just-- I just call for them. That always--" The rest of her words were lost to a sob.

          "Good." Ren felt the tightness in her chest ease temporarily at the next step, at something to do. "You do that. And follow me, we'll look around this place as we walk."

          Ren started walking, picking a random tunnel as Lilith started calling out for her sons, her voice bouncing off the marble walls. The first tunnel turned, leading into a long passageway. It eventually opened up into a large domed room with only an hourglass inside, floating in the middle of the air, filled with glowing silver sand. The sand was all gathered at the bottom, but they watched as it turned over by itself, the sand beginning to pour, and suddenly the far wall became clear-- on the other side was a large stone library, filled with strange items, and the kids inside. They weren't there with the kids-- just looking at it. But they could see Heros's face as he pulled away from something: curious and enraptured.

          "I don't think you should mess with that!" Tok called from where he was sitting on a table, watching everyone move around. The two women could see what Heros had touched now-- a silver hourglass just like the one in their room.

          "Hey, look!" Piya cried, catching sight of Lilith and Ren through the now-clear wall and running over to them, grinning, "You found us! Look, everyone, they're here!"

         Lilith was clearly about to cry again, to call out for her sons. But there was no time. Ren's ears picked up on a soft, sliding hissing.

          And everyone in both rooms watched in horror as the small room they were trapped in slammed the door and began to fill with sand.