COBALT: The Red Phantom (Book One)

Chapter 12: Molve Bait (Part 2/4)

          The ruined cathedral was dark, only giving form to unrecognizable shadows that played tricks on the eye as even the slightest bit of movement would give them life in the sight of caution. Alestra protested the idea to light up the path, as any lurking Molve would be able to plan an ambush on them from a mile away, so they were forced to stumble in the dark. The creepy and consistent dripping of water travelling through the dead halls like an ominous call.

          Phantom was a different story, he could coordinate his way in the dark like it was midday, and pointed out a number of concealed stones to Káel, which was helpful, but also made him feel a twinge of cheating guilt as they racked up on points his group wasn't responsible for.

          The trio tip toed through the stone halls, cringing at the smallest sound they made, since it travelled further than a chunk of juicy gossip tossed to a hoard of famished valley girls. They had gone into a basement of sorts, where they found a small webbed room full of tarnished armour and rusted weapons, but blunt blades were better than nothing and they quickly armed themselves with one rusty dagger each.

         They cautiously left the room, looking both ways for any undesirable guests before Alestra signalled their new direction and sleuthed away. 

          When Káel rounded the corner and took a couple steps, he felt a jabbing poke on his shoulder. Janiel and Alestra were both at his sides with Puff taking the lead, so the feeling of surprise mixed with panic when he quickly realised it wasn't one of his teammates. He turned to look back, and saw a short shadow of a person standing behind him. With a yelp he jumped away, clasping his hands over his mouth in a vain attempt to cover up the mistake he'd made.

          The shadow let off a cry of its own, only this one was higher and far more timid. "I-I'm so sorry!"

          "Talli?" Káel whispered, trying to shake his frown when a more irritation leaked through his voice than he'd intended.

          Talli dropped her head with shame, and gave Káel a look of fear mixed with surprise.

          "What are you doing here?" Janiel hissed. "With a noise like that we'll definitely be found!"

          "I-uh-I...." she stuttered looking between the three completely flustered. "My group was caught and I-I hid... and now I don't know wh-where they are." She scuttled away when Janiel took a demanding step towards her, the corners of her eyes starting to glisten in the dim light Alestra had made. "And-uh..."

          "Wait, they were caught in here?" Káel whispered, looking over her shoulder for any glowing orange eyes.

          "Y-yeah, they were so quiet... and when we saw one w-w-we turned and ran.... B-but there was one behind us," she whimpered, her voice cracking with a nervous squeak. "And uh.... I'm lost. C-can I um... Stay with you guys for a b-bit?"

          "Sure," Alestra said with a soothing whisper, dimming the light to gently hug Talli before her frantic shaking jigged her into a fit of sniffles. "How did you lose the Molve?"

          "I-I fell through a crack... And I-well, I guess it th-thought I died..." she muttered, quietly sniffling before her nose leaked everywhere. "It g-got Mi'karu though..."

          "Wait," Janiel said, her face suddenly growing dark. "If it had thought that it would have jumped down to help you... This is a game, the last thing they want to do is kill us all. Did it get your ribbon?"

          Talli wiped her teary eyes before showing her bright green ribbon to Janiel in innocent confusion.

          Janiel gave it a drilling stare, attempting to pierce the mystery. "That means it knew you were alright, but it still left your ribbon. That doesn't make sense."