Fate Undone: A Novella

Chapter IV - Part V

...

The axe came through again. "Ah ha ha ha! There you go, lad!" Then an arm in dark chainmail, tearing back a loose hunk of wood. "Hello, girls. My, there's a pretty bunch in here, eh? So many lovely pearls in one clam, ah ha ha!"

As more and more priestess began to join Anna and Leandra in uncovering the steps, Mother Dimitra stood. She twisted the bottom of her cane off and tossed it to the side, unsheathing a six-inch spike. The old woman's face—so caring and calm for as long as Anna had known her—twisted into a weathered frown as she shoved the cane's end through the broken door. A man on the other side screamed a vile curse as Mother Dimitra pulled the cane away, a thin ribbon of blood trailing at its end. Then she stabbed again.

They came sooner, but it's still playing out the same way. Anna kicked down at an exposed beam, once, twice, and broke it on the third go. The way down was opening up now. Leandra and the other smaller girls would be able to fit, but that wouldn't be enough for most. The crooked steps leading down into the dark were easily seen, and most were only wide enough for one to pass at a time. "Candles," said Anna as she tore back another tile and exposed another wooden beam. "Everyone start grabbing candles."

At the door, a few of the girls watched in petrified horror as the wood degenerated before their very eyes. Mother Dimitra struck again and again through the holes, but each sharp jab was slowing, and the end of her cane wasn't always coming back so fluidly. The men on the other side knocked it aside and tried pulling it toward them. A few times, they nearly succeeded. One of the priestesses, several years older than Anna, grabbed ahold of the cane as Mother Dimitra struggled to pull it back. The girl's help paid off, and she even took the weapon up herself, jabbing back the axe-man.

But before long, the cane was finally snatched and pulled through the door. The wood splintered into a brutal opening, and a heavy boot kicked through. And that's when the first Eressian lurched into the crypt. He shot a backhand across Mother Dimitra's face as his comrade came in behind him, tossing the cane on the floor before lunging at the girl who had been trying to stab him. He grabbed her gown, ripped the neckline, and spun her to the ground.

"Leandra," said Anna. "Go. Now." She grabbed her friend by the arm and pressed her down through the hole, forcing her and her candle to be the first. The way in wasn't any bigger than how Anna and the girls had been able to make it the first time, but they couldn't keep working at it. They were out of time. It's all going to be the same, isn't it? Anna descended right behind Leandra as the others bunched themselves against her back in hopes to escape all at once. It can't be. Please, it can't be. The candle in Leandra's hand shook, tossing the tiniest of light into the thick darkness that suddenly stretched into empty nothingness. Not for her.

"Run," Anna's voice waivered as she stumbled down the steps.

A weak cough from up in the crypt sent out waves of hysterical sobs through the girls close behind. "Mother, no!" shouted a girl from up top. "Down the steps!" shouted another. "Down, hurry!"

Leandra stopped and turned, but Anna pushed her forward. "Run!"

The voices of the men were laced with foul things. Anna had seen the beginning of it all before, as she glanced back from the top of the steps, but she would not do that again. She ran with Leandra and her lone candle. This will be different. Maybe not for them—gods, I'm so sorry—but for us. She could see the sword being drawn in her mind, the sheen of its steel as the candles traced its edge, and the point of it sliding through Mother Dimitra's gown and out the other side. It had wracked Anna's heart and spurred her feet on down the steps and through the tunnel, as did all the other noises that chased from behind. They echoed then, and they echoed now. I'm sorry. Forgive me, I'm sorry!