The Icon Unbound

Chapter Fifteen, Part B -Saiph

Down into the darkness we go! There is a king, a tower, and a whole new world here. What say you, my lovelies? There were just a few changes to make the whole seem more read-able. I hope you enjoy! --Elizabeth, UPDATED 06/10/2017

Honor and Corwin did not try to speak to anyone. The one time Saiph glanced back in his mother's direction she was panting and focused on keeping up; and if there were tear tracks on her face, he tried not to let them break his heart.

Perhaps an hour or two later, the Icon too began to stumble. He swung her up into his arms without comment and she did not protest. Her head went right to the spot on his shoulder, and Rigel took up a position behind him, loosening his bow, fitting an arrow to the string.

Saiph thanked every star in the heavens for his brother.

While the weight of the darkness became even more oppressive, the silence did lift. In the distance, he could hear the sound of water. Saiph looked over his shoulder at his brother.

"You hear that?"

Rigel nodded and put away his bow. "Yes. I think you'd better give her to me. If it comes to a fight, this will be pretty useless."

"You could always hit someone with it."

"Like you, perhaps." Rigel sounded strange.

Saiph had just deposited the Icon into Rigel's arms when she blinked and yawned. "We're getting closer." She mumbled.

"Would you like to be set down?"

"No thank you. That is, if you don't mind, Rigel. I'm so...tired. We are deep into the heart of the mountains," She added dreamily. "I can feel the roots of stone below us. I can check our exact location...later." She yawned again and shut her eyes, asleep again in moments.

"Look at that." Honor whispered from a few steps away.

Saiph looked around. They had finally come to the end of the narrow shaft and out into a main corridor.

There were no words for the size of the cavern they entered. The village of Waterwall could have fit a hundred times with room to spare. Out of the living rock a city had been hewn, and it seemed to glow with an eerie green light. There were streets and bridges and fields filled with some kind of purple fungus and row after row of mushrooms. As for the city itself, it could have held three thousand souls. Many of the narrow windows were dark, but a few blazed like red beacons in the dark, moist air. So much sweet air filled this place, carried by water vents and cracks.

"May the Saints guide us. How could they have survived down here all this time?" Corwin studied the larva that lead them with a critical eye. "Abominations."

"Say that a little louder," Saiph hissed. "I don't think the native's heard you."

A clear path between the moss seemed to serve as a road. Saiph squinted at the fluffy plants, and saw little glow bugs curling near the shadowy bits. About every hundred feet there was another larva, working on their peculiar crops. A few held strange tools made of stone instead of wood that they used to loosen the ground. There were no children, there wasn't a single difference in height, skin color, or weight. Each larva looked like an exact copy of the one that held Meissa's hand.

An underground city filled with such creatures.runn

They kept walking on a path that ran dangerously parallel to the gates.