The Assassin and the Crown of Stars

The Assassin and the Crown of Stars: Part Seven

The frigid air burned Nova's throat and strung her eyes, but the pitch black was slowly morphing into milky grey as her eyes adjusted to the dark. A deep tired settled in her bones, for the first time the truth of the day hit her. She had not succeeded. She had failed and she had died. She wanted to reach out to Mace and thank him for what he had done, but the quiet pressed against her, smothering her words.  

Nova's arms shook, the rope digging into her palms. A wave of nausea hit her and she swayed, the ladder waving and twisting below her. She could hear Parker shouting but the words sounded watery and distance. Nova gulped down the foul air and grit her teeth. 

"I'm fine." She choked out. She prayed it was true, prayed that she could keep herself and her team together. Just a little farther...

But the minutes blurred together until Nova could not even guess how long they've been climbing. The air became colder and mustier, the walls around them turned slippery with water.  And then...shouts from the bottom. Finn had reached the bottom. By the time Nova also reached the bottom, the tunnel people were already waiting. 

The room they stood in was small and misshapen, the walls made of black mud. Small tunnels branched off in all directions. Water dripped from the ceiling and into the pools on the uneven floor. 

The tunnel people circled them, hunched over and whispering to each other in low tones. Nova squinted in the low light, trying to see them more clearly. Much of their lower faces were covered by metal masks and mud, but their exposed skin nearly white in the dark. One of them stepped forward, and raised his metal clawed hands in a sign of peace. Nova stepped forward, copying his pose. 

"I have come to talk." Nova's voice was still raw. "I would like to speak to your leader." 

The tunnel person tilted his head, studied her for a moment, and nodded. He reached up and unstrapped his mask and handed it to Nova. "Protects your airway in case of tunnel collapse," he explained as Nova took it from him. His voice was low, each word slurred together. 

Nova strapped it gingerly to her face, the metal bitingly cold against her face. 

Without another word, one by one, the tunnel people turned away and disappeared into the dark. Nova stepped after them, not waiting to see if her team followed her. She crouched low, almost crawling on all fours to fit through the tunnel. 

Murky water lapped at her knees as she braced her hands against the muddy walls. Nova clenched her jaw in annoyance as the tunnel people slid easily through the water and mud, dragging themselves by their claws and pushing with their feet. They did not seem to notice the cold or the dark or the mud. Nova copied their movements, the water splashing against her face and hood made her thankful for the mask. 

Nova could hear her team struggling behind her. She could only hope the tunnel would not collapse around them. She did not want to die hundreds of feet below the surface, her body and memory lost forever. 

The path they took curved sharply down, the tunnel gradually widened only for the water to deepen.  Mud splashed up and into Nova's eyes. She spluttered, gasping for more air that wasn't there, the oxygen was spread too thin among so many. She forced herself to go on, her arms trembling, her eyes squeezed shut. 

And then the water dried, the walls became stone again. The ceiling opened up and fresh air filled Nova's lungs. Strong hands pulled at her until she stood, her team quickly joining her. 

Nova blinked until her eyes focused in the foreign light. The room was open and round, hundreds of tunnels cut into the walls, all nearly identical. Dozens of tunnel people stood around the room, staring silently. But Nova did not bother looking at them because there, In the center of the room sprawled on a metal thrown, sat the unmistakable leader of the tunnel people.