The Queen of Elysium

Chapter 23 - A new adventure

As dizziness washes over her, Elissa stops and lowers her glowing hands, before taking several slow breaths. This is the fourth day of carving out the tunnel and on all of the previous three days she had fainted.

"My qu ..." Dwin stops, his gaze falling to her hands, and with a gulp, corrects himself. "Elissa, are you alright? Prince Aldebaran left strict instructions that you are not to over exert yourself."

Taking a draft of water from a silver flask, she looks back with a sense of accomplishment; the tunnel now stretches for about fifteen miles. A small group of dwarves are busy chucking rocks into carts and running them along a makeshift rail track.

"I am truly touched by your dedication, but you should know that even with the aid of the Elementals, it will probably take solars before the tunnel will stretch all the way to the Kingdom under the Mountain."

"I know, but I wanted to make a start." She places a hand on his shoulder. "Also, I want to give you enough material to construct a home before I leave on my trip."

He guffaws and teases, "I think we have enough stone to build a small town. The stonemasons cannot keep up with you. 'Twill be a relief when you stop."

She grins back. "Just a little more today. I promise."

Rubbing her hands together, she rekindles the radiance and gets back to work. Down here it is peaceful. Well, the dwarves are a noisy bunch, but she blocks it out by focusing on channeling her power. It allows her mind to be freed from all the thoughts whirling about.

However, soon her temples throb, as if the sheer weight of the ground above is pressing in on her. Then her limbs start to burn and each step forward is like wading through treacle. Hoping to push through it, she draws more magic from her reserves.

The brightness around her becomes almost blinding and is quickly followed by dark oblivion, with just enough time for her to think, oh no, not again!

It seems like only moments later that she is coming to and is greeted by the sight of the tunnel's arched, rocky ceiling above her. She tries to right herself, but like a turtle, she is stuck on her back, floating a couple of feet above the floor.

Turning her head to the left, she sees Dwin stood a few feet from her; he has one hand wrapped around his chin and blond beard and is staring fixedly at the ground. She looks to see what has him so fascinated, but frowns, seeing only dust and rubble.

"Dwin." He does not move a muscle. Then it suddenly hits her that there is no sound. There is always noise. Dwarves just don't know how to be quiet.

Craning her neck, she spots several other dwarves, all frozen in action like statues; one is even in the process of throwing a large hunk of rock into a cart and his missile is suspended in mid-air. Creepy.

A sound to her right has her whipping her head in that direction and she has to swallow a scream at the sight of Lucifer standing right there.

"You over exerted yourself." He bends over and playfully taps her nose. "Again!"

"Lucifer! Are you here or am I dreaming again?"

"Alas, I am only present in spirit. Here, let me give you a hand." He encloses a warm hand around hers and pulls her upright.

Legs like jello, she wobbles and places her free hand against his chest to stop herself from falling over.

"You need to heed the signs of when to slow down and allow your power to replenish." He raises her hand to his lips and kisses it. "Luckily for you, our souls are so well matched that I can give you a little boost."