FORBIDDEN AREA
Traveling to the Gates had been a breeze. The cemetery was enveloped in utter silence as an eerie calm pressed down on them. Bleak and desolate, there was no need for them to check the surroundings. But still, they did. They weren’t able to shake off the nagging feeling that someone might have stirred from his sleep due to the commotion they’d caused. Or that the guards might have woken up and have called for reinforcements. Colt, had walked ahead of them, keeping a lookout for anyone in the vicinity. The whole journey had been silent, except for the rustling of tall grass in the night breeze as he led the way to the lone tombstone in the clearing. Mia quickly scattered the powder which glimmered like pixie dust under the moonlight. They plunged into the tombstone and within minutes, arrived at the cemetery near the Gates. Their jackets fluttered in the gust of wind that blew into the lobby. All of them, except Mia, were dressed for the occasion: shirt, pants and jacket that kept them warm and comfortable. Best of all, designed for easy movement. Even Colt had worn his hooded black leather jacket. He had one hand on each hilt of the two black scythes at the belt around his waist, secured by leather loops.
They crouched low to the ground and pressed tightly against the wall as they made their way to the forbidden area. Ducking every few minutes to hide under the watchful gaze of the guards that were changing shifts. A sigh of relief escaped Mia’s lips when a long sinuous tunnel that stretched into darkness greeted them. For a brief moment, relief flowed through her taut body and her shoulders relaxed before she stiffened with tension again. They entered the tunnel, one by one, with Colt at the front to guide the way. They groped their way through the pitch-black interior with one hand on the wall and one hand on the shoulder of the person ahead of them. Fifteen minutes crawled by in silence as the tunnel stretched on and on.
A shrill shriek pierced the air. And Mia jumped, turning around to Angelica. Her stomach knotted with anxiety and worry as her gaze swept Angelica from head to toe before looking around for any suspicious person or object near her. “Calm down, Angie. What’s wrong?”
“T-There’s something on my head.” Her amber eyes quivered as she looked up.
Kayne, who stood behind Angelica, lifted his hand from her shoulder and brushed the crown of her head. The stroking of his fingers paused. With narrowed eyes, he pulled back his hand and examined the fingertips. Then, an amused chuckle bubbled up his throat. “It’s just water.”
And the sound of water dripping rang in their ears. Its regular drumbeat-like rhythm was like the ticks of a clock that marked the countdown to their arrival at the mysterious place, hidden in shadows, at the end of the winding tunnel. The noise of a single droplet of water hitting a small puddle beside Angelica bounced off the walls and echoed faintly back to them.
Angelica exhaled a long deep breath and slumped against the tunnel wall. “Oh sorry guys.”
A small smile hovered on Mia’s lips as she patted Angelica on the shoulder. After a minute, they resumed their journey. Walking deeper into the cold dark tunnel. Where the hollow echoes of their footsteps were thrown back at them. Seeing nothing, only feeling the jagged uneven walls. Engulfed in streaks of black, their sense of touch heightened. And Mia could feel the rough edges of the rock that jutted out, a stark contrast to the smooth concrete walls of the castle. A rushing passage of air roared in her ears. Strung together in an unearthly melody. Towering rock walls hemmed her in on both sides, high and relentless. The tunnel grew narrower and the ceiling grew lower as they moved forward. Closing in on them like an iron trap. Ready to pounce and devour them at any minute.
As they rounded a curve, dim light filtered through a thick veil of white mist that loomed in their path. Colt stopped in his tracks and pulled out the card. A sizzling flame burst forth from the card in his hand, twisting into ribbons of scarlet blaze that ripped the mist apart. A gaping hole opened up in the center with swirling colors of red, black and white. Sweltering steam billowed out from it in surging waves that smashed against them.
With his mouth set into a rather grim line, Colt passed through the gap and waved Mia over urgently. She followed his lead and strode through the opening that was big enough to only allow one person to pass through at any time. As she waited for Angelica and Kayne to cross over to them, blistering heat fanned her face and beads of perspiration trickled down the nape of her neck. She wiped the rivulets of perspiration that streamed down from her temples to her flushed cheeks. Unable to withstand the rapid rise in temperature, Mia took off the cardigan and tied it around her waist instead. Shuffling footsteps neared her and when she looked up, the mist had reformed itself. Back into the white haze of fog. Angelica and Kayne stood still beside her, observing the mist as if it was an alien object.
They were now past the point of no return. All that was left for them was to trudge ahead—to the uncharted territory that laid at the end of this tunnel.
Great chandeliers of immense stalactites hung pendant from the roof above like icicles while long spikes of stalagmites rose like blunt knives from the floor. The marvelous rock formations were scattered randomly in the tunnel at various corners: lining the walls as well as growing in the middle of their path. Though the mineral deposits weren’t uniform and were of varying size and shape, they mimicked scores of canine teeth that had been pushed out of alignment. Their pointed sharp tips, eager to pierce them, gleamed in the dim light.
Colt nimbly evaded each of them—crouching from the hundreds of delicate straw stalactites suspended in fluted curtains and sidestepping the clusters of large stalagmites that rose from broad sheeted masses and then, tapered into single sharp folds. Completely avoiding the pillars where stalactites and stalagmites met and joined. And only stepping on areas devoid of stalactites overhead reaching for stalagmites growing below them.
Mia followed the path he had opened for them. Her emerald eyes darting up and down, left and right as she looked out for any impending icicle-shaped formation that headed her way. After a few minutes of skillfully dodging every stalactite and stalagmite that came her way, a small smile slid across her face and confidence swelled inside her. To the point where complacency seeped in. And she gasped when her foot tripped over an infant stalagmite hidden in the shadows. As she stumbled forward, a hand shot out and grasped her wrist. Helping her regain her balance until she found a footing in the solid ground.
“Be careful.” Colt’s voice rang crystal clear in the silence—sharp as a dagger and yet, soft as velvet.
“T-Thanks.” Mia clung onto him as they meandered their way through the stalactites and stalagmites.
Footsteps reverberated behind her and a glance to the back revealed that Angelica and Kayne were also caught in the same predicament as them. Kayne, however, offered his hand for a few seconds before pulling it back just as Angelica reached for it. Deliberately teasing her as he oscillated between a gentleman and a playful boy. Causing Angelica to slap him hard on his back.
Mia turned, refocusing her gaze on Colt who had plodded ahead. His hand remained clasped on her wrist while his broad back faced her. He turned every now and then. His eyes gentle, his grip tender as he watched her and uttered words of caution every once in a while when a stalactite or stalagmite protruded from the ceiling or floor at a lethal angle. Despite the warmth in his actions, Mia felt a twinge of jealousy—of the interaction between Angelica and Kayne, of the jokes and pranks they played on each other. This closeness. This intimacy. It was missing in her interaction with Colt.
Emerald eyes stared at his retreating figure. At the invisible wall between them. A wall that could only be shattered by familiarity. A tight bond built on shared experiences. One day, they would close that immense distance between them.