The Mark of Mortem

Chapter 9

I trudge through the forest this time with Will. Overtime I hear a rustle in the bushes or a twig snap, I jump.

"Calm down, Cori. Not everything in this forest is out to kill you," Will says strolling behind me.

"Every time I hear something I think of that damn tiger," I laugh.

"What was it like?" Will asks speeding up to walk next to me.

I describe the tiger thoroughly, keeping my head down so I don't trip over the uneven ground. 

"You killed it, though. You don't have to worry about it," Will assures me.

"I know. I just feel like Elijah will come up with something else to attack us," I admit.

Will sighs. "Trust me, Elijah will come up with something else."

I don't say anything but keep walking. It started pouring a while ago and the ground was muddy and I keep slipping because of it. Will keeps slipping too and at one point I catch his arm as he starts to fall.

"Thanks," he says regaining his balance.

I nod and I notice something in the corner of my eye. It's a large cave the size of a house. I can only see a few feet in because of the darkness. Moss hangs down over the opening and trees are blocking the sides of it. "Woah," I whisper taking it in.

Will looks at me curiously. "What?"

"Look. The cave," I say featuring to it.

"What cave?" Will asks. I can tell by his tone that he is being genuine.

I walk over to it and put my hand in the rock. It's warm outside but gets cooler the closer I walk to the opening.

"Hold on, do you see anything on the wall? It should look like a circle with black swirls and lines in it," Will describes.

I search on the outside of the cave until I find the mark that is blocked by a tree. "Found it."

"Touch it," Will instructs.

I look at him in confusion but does as he says. Compared to the cool wall, the mark is burning to the touch. It slowly turns red the longer I keep my hand on it and I have to clamp my mouth shut to keep from crying out because of the burn.

"I see it!" Will calls from the other side of the tree. "You can let go."

I let go and stumble back. I land on my butt at the mouth of the cave and rub my palm.

"You good?" Will asks walking over. He crouched down to get a look at my hand which now has part the mark burned onto it. "Jeez, first the tiger and now a burning mark, you aren't having much fun are you?"

I roll my eyes and stand up. "What was that?"

"The mark of Mortem. Mortem put his mark on this place to hide it from mortals and even Deliverers. The only people who can see it are him and those who are very powerful. Mortem put that on there to hide the cave, which means this is where Elijah is."

I look back at the cave again. "Should we call Malli? They'd want to come with us."

Will thinks for a moment. "We can call them but I'm not waiting another minute to go after Elijah."

I nod and grab my communicator. I press the button to call them and wait. "What's wrong?" Answers Malli's voice.

"Well, we kind of found Elijah's hiding place," I tell her.

"Really?" She asks shocked. "Ok, we are on our way."

Will grabs the communicator. "We are going in. I'm not waiting for you."

"Will, hold on. It's too dangerous to go in alone," Malli tells him.

"We're going in. I'm not waiting for you," he repeats. He turns off the communicator before she can say anything else. "Let's go."

I don't argue and follow him in. The cave is dark but is lit by the light from outside. It is cool and humid inside and I pull my jacket tighter around me. Will has a dark look on his face which slowly turns to a curious one. I notice the sides of the cave start grow narrower and the path that we are on start to slope down.

It starts to get so steep of a slope that I have to watch my step so I don't fall. Finally, the path stops and I start to fall.

"Cori!" Will yells after me. "Beside you!"

A rope ladder hangs off the top of the slope and goes all the way to the bottom. I grab one of the rings but the momentum of my fall causes my arm to pop out of its socket in my shoulder. I cry out in pain and grab the rope with my other hand. I'm not to far from the ground and I'm able to climb all the way down slowly. Once at the bottom, I look up at Will.

"Your turn!" I shout.

He slowly begins to climb down and after five minutes he reaches the bottom. "Is your shoulder ok?" He asks walking over.

"It's dislocated. Help me put it back," I say.

He takes a hold of my arm. "Three... two... one."

When he says one, he pushes my arm until I feel it pop back in. Some of the pain fades away but the feeling still lingers. "Thank you. Let's go," I nod.

I put my backpack on and we start to wander farther into the cave. I notice a torch on the wall and grab it to help light our way. Small noises like mice scurrying and the subtle flap of a bats wings make us both jump but soon we settle down.

"Let's find him," Will nudges me forward.