4. Sybil

Chapter 4

Sybil

I used to be afraid of the dark.

The thought mixes with the sound of gravel crunching under my every step and bouncing off the stone passageway.

"Hello?" I call out, pulling the edge of my cloak tighter across my chest. The only answer is my echo. There was a corner in my little cottage in Kallistar that always terrified me come nightfall. It was shrouded in darkness so thick, I often wondered if it was a portal to the depths of hell. The darkness of these tunnels does not scare me. It hugs me gently and guides me further toward the heart of the mountain, eager to show me its secrets. It reminds me that I am no longer that same girl.

"What I wouldn't give for Nero's fire affinity right now," I grumble, the humidity of the tunnels making my hair curl and body shiver. I count our lucky stars that, at least, Lemon and I managed to avoid injury in the avalanche.

As if summoned by my thoughts, he pokes his head out of my pocket and chitters at me.

"I don't know where this path will take us, darling. We'll just have to wait and see." My stomach gives an audible rumble. In the faint glow cast by the lichen sparsely growing on the stone walls, I reach into the pack and pull out some of the carefully packed food. My heart clenches at the memory of Kela packing our bags with her freshly baked treats.

She had known.

The whole time, she had known she was walking to her death. Yet she had never cowered. Tears line my eyes and I quickly brush them away. I can't succumb to grief, not now.

"We're not in Shadowvale anymore, boy, that's for sure." I rub his soft head, then take the last swig of water from the flask. I frown, looking from the empty container in my hand to the dark tunnel ahead."Balderdash, we're out of water. I should have melted the snow before heading down."

I turn forlorn back toward where we have come. I don't know exactly how long I've been walking, but the pain in my feet is indicator enough that it is too late to turn back.

Rocks skitter, their sharp edges scraping against the rough walls and creating an eerie echo that reverberates through the darkness enveloping us. My chest constricts as images of the shadow beasts flash through my mind. I gulp, wiping my sweaty palms, and push down my racing thoughts.

"Hello? Is anyone down here? I'm looking for the library," I call out, shifting the pack onto my back. Silence once again meets my ears. I might no longer fear the dark but being alone still puts me on edge. My arms cross over my chest, fingers fidgeting with the edges of my sleeves. Every heartbeat echoes in my head like a drumroll, increasing in volume and speed with each intrusive thought taking shape. The library could be a myth. The exit to these tunnels could be closed. Hunger and thirst could easily be the end of me... and Lemon.

I can't lose hope, not now.

I pull the reins on my imagination and take a deep breath of cold air. I force my hunched shoulders to relax and roll my neck to diffuse the tension in my muscles. Allowing fear to take over my body and mind is going to be my end, that's certain. Queen Rose and the Goddess have led me here, I need to trust them. I need to trust that Kela's sacrifice was not in vain.

A hero is not the extent of their training. A hero is a hero because, even when hope is lost, even when everything you do amounts to nothing and shows no promise, you keep trying. You fight.

Her words rush back to me and spur me on. I need to trust that Aramis?—

The ghost of a caress tickles my cheek. Aramis's calloused hand is taking me back to a memory I've been holding close to my heart, tucked in a special pocket for moments when I need to remind myself I am no longer alone. For moments such as this one.

I should focus on the path ahead of me, but for a moment, I close my eyes and let myself fall back to that memory. The way his touch in the warm water of the spring made my skin tingle. His full lips on mine. Our legs tangling. Breaths hitching.

The ache his absence spurs in my soul surprises me still. My feelings for him are a summer storm raging within me, relentless but sweet after the summer draught. Slowly, my right hand settles on my chest, where my love for Aramis feels like sunshine in spring. I spare a quick prayer to the Goddess to watch over Aramis and Nero. If they followed the plan, they should be looking for the rebel camp now, looking for help.

Tears prick the corner of my eyes as I take a deep, shuddering breath. I am not alone and I can do this. Lemon climbs onto my shoulder, a sandpaper tongue licking away the moisture. With each inhale, I remind myself that these tears, this pain, are temporary. They are a testament to the depth of my emotions, but they do not define me.

Standing a little bit taller, I remind myself of the vow I've made to help my people. I re-open my eyes and keep walking. This is my mission. The library must be here.

As I turn another dark corner, a refreshing breeze gently caresses my cheek, carrying with it an invigorating scent I instantly recognize.

Water.

"Do you smell that, Lemon?" I hasten my steps, careful not to trip on the irregular stone ground, plunging into the depths of the shadows. I hear the faint sound of dripping water ahead.

Where there is water, there is life.

This is the sign I've been praying for. My muscles relax and a small smile plays on the corners of my lips.

With my hand raised, I reach out with my powers, honing in on the subtle vibrations of energy. The lichen pulse around me, illuminating the tunnel, but I feel no other signs of life.

Strange, even this deep in the cave, I should sense something .

With caution, I follow step after step, fingertips brushing along the rocky walls as they slowly expand. The tunnel no longer feels claustrophobic as it opens into a large, cavernous room with three other tunnels before me. More luminescent lichen dotted with clusters of tiny long-stemmed mushrooms cover the walls, donning the cave with a greenish glow. I smear lichen on the floor to mark the passage I came through and I thank the Goddess for this little bit of light. The other two tunnels are nearly identical to the original passage, save for the echo of dripping water coming from one of them.

"Well, that narrows our choices," I whisper, disheartened. As I take a step to follow the first sign of direction I have met in hours, a crack echoes from under my boot. Shards of something edgy poke my sole and I know it's not the gravel. Eyes fixed on the lichen, I take another step. Crack . I swallow the lump in my throat and slowly glance down. When my eyes adjust to the dark ground beneath my feet, my stomach turns, nausea taking over my senses. The lifeless body of a giant cave rat, now nothing more than a barren carcass, lies abandoned in a corner. Some of his bones litter the ground I'm walking on.

The water did not lead me to life, but death .

I freeze, hairs rising on my arms. Panic rises within me. Is this the end waiting for me? Click . Was this all for nothing? Click . How could I believe I'd make it on my?—

Click.

There's another sound breaking the silence other than the dripping of water. Clicking noises draw my attention above, to the tall arched ceiling made of dark marble with a white intricate veining pattern. At a closer look, those are not arches at all, nor is it marble. Hundreds of pearlescent ropes weave webs across the dark ceiling, some of them are thin as thread, others as thick as my forearm. Despite the luminescent lichen, the darkness still lingers that far up on the ceiling. I can feel something viciously studying me, observing my next move, something other than the darkness who has been my friend so far. I blink once, twice and... notice something else. Legs.

In the center of the ceiling, where the ropes converge in symmetrical patterns, a spider the size of two large stallions lies still as stone.

"Please be dead, please be dead," I chant under my breath as I back slowly toward the closest tunnel, never taking my eyes off the creature. Suddenly, I am aware of the sound of my breathing, Lemon's incessant rustling, the edge of my coat swishing along the shards of bone?—

The edge of the tunnel hits the pack, and an apple falls out, rolling to the center of the room, gleaming dully in the lichen's hue. My body stiffens, feeling rooted to the spot as my heart beats painfully in my chest. Above me, the spider opens its beady eyes and stares down at me.

"Well, issn't this an unexpected ssurprisse," the creature says in an ancient tone. Slowly stretching out its eight legs that span the length of the room, the creature blinks languidly and clicks its enormous claws. "It'ss been a long time since Arkin has feassted on ssuch a delectable morsel."

Why did it have to be a giant spider?

My pulse pounds in my ears, drowning out my thoughts. My arms and legs shake as I weigh my options. I could run, trust my legs to follow the tunnel's path and hope it leads toward an exit or, even better, the library. However, the chances this creature knows these passageways better than I do are high, and I don't particularly want to meet the rat's same end. Not to mention that I am done running.

I reach into my well of magic, feeling my horn materialize on my forehead, and strength move into my limbs. I am no longer the defenseless, half-trained healer from Kallistar. Grabbing the dagger from its sheath, I drop my pack to the ground and crouch into a defensive position Kela taught me.

"Until I am meassured, I am not known. Yet how you misss me, when I have flown," he says, his feet tapping against the stone ceiling. Eight beady black eyes blink at me. "You ssmell devine."

"I am Sybil Vandeleur, last living unicorn, and I do not feel like being eaten today," I yell, watching as the spider lowers itself to the ground across the room.

"Ssybil Vandeleur," the spider tastes the air. "Arkin has heard that name. It is an old name. The walls sspeak of ssecretss, they whissper your name. Do you know why the wind ssings your name?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, creature. Just let me go and I'll leave you in peace," I say, holding the dagger before me and tossing my braid over my shoulder.

"The more there iss, the lesss you sseee," it taunts as it watches me. "You're far from home, horned one."

"Where there is darkness, light can shine brighter," I reply, inhaling steadily through my nose.

"When you don't have me, you want me, but when you do have me, you want to give me away. What am I, Ssybil Vandeleur?" It purrs, rubbing its pinchers together.

"Stop talking in riddles and let me go." My voice quivers. I grip the handle until my knuckles blanch white.

"Arkin hass not eaten unicorn flesh before. Isshall feasst on you sslowly." Saliva drips from its open mouth as it clambers toward where the apple lay on the ground.

Fear coils inside me, icy and unyielding like cold steel.

"I only seek the library of Harpalyke. Let me go and I'll leave you in peace," I say.

"Harpalyke," Arkin shrieks, body tensing before it slams a leg into the wall. I shield my face as dust and webs rain from the ceiling. "What does a tassty little treat like you have to do with those blassted witchess?"

I edge along the room, moving as silently as I can whilst avoiding the rat's bones.

"That is none of your business, I'm afraid." Magic swirls within me, but the lack of rest and food makes it feeble. I do not have enough magic to completely transform, but I could fight in my demi-form.

"You sseek ssomething others have ssought before, unicorn," the creature mumbles but I try to ignore him. "The quessstion is, why ?"

I roll my eyes at the cryptic nonsense, but the creature seems to be in a chatty mood so I let him continue—anything to avoid becoming his next meal.

"Arkin has lived in this mountain for eonss, ssince the beginning of time," he continues in a lull. "He has sseen the Goddesss, seen the warss between your kind and the other one. Foolissssh you are. Sseeking power as old as time for your own endss. Magic is balance, tassty one, sshe sseems to have forgotten about it, will you?"

"I have no idea who you're talking about," I say and try to keep my tone calm. The only way I can leave this room alive is if I can incapacitate the creature to stop it from following me through the tunnel. My dagger is no match for its size but maybe I can slice through a couple of its legs in order to gain some time to run.

"Where have you gone, little unicorn?" The spider's legs search along the ground like bony fingers looking for coins in a pouch. Its eyes dart directionless in a murderous frenzy, yet when they land on me, they fail to focus, and Arkin moves the other way.

It's blind?!

I take the opportunity and make haste toward the tunnel door, focusing more on being quiet than unseen. Dodging bones and pieces of dried-up spider web, I turn my back to Arkin, who crawls up the wall to scout its perimeter. The rhythmic clatter of its fangs and the scraping sounds of legs against the stony walls send shivers down my spine, so much so that I don't see the little protruding stone on the ground.

"Goddes—" My hands and knees slam into the rough rock floor. Searing pain followed by thick hot liquid running down my arm as the spider's claw catches the edge of my sleeve, tearing into the skin of my shoulder as I roll away.

"There you are."

The rancid smell of rat droppings permeates my senses as my blood drips on the ground below me. I duck as it swings a long leg toward me, and swipe out with my dagger, the blade whistling as it slices through the air before hitting the hard armored shell of its back.

"Oh, thiss will be fun," it says as its whole body shudders in anticipation. I realize with nauseating clarity that the reason I am still alive is because the creature is playing with me, tantalizing its food one little attack at a time until fear consumes me.

"Ssoft, ssquishy unicorn. You cannot hide from me. I can hear your heart pounding and tasste your fear in the air. You will tasste divine after years of tunnel rats."

I ignore the pain in my knees and hands and pad my way silently across the floor in the opposite direction, moving when it steps to cover any sound of my footsteps. This is so, so bad.

"You cannot run, you cannot hide."

I freeze, willing my thundering heart to slow, taking in slow deliberate breaths through my nose. Think, Sybil. Think.

"There are no happy endingss, horned one," it coos. "Do you know why?"

No, I want to scream but I shut my mouth, hands now sliding away from me as they get bloodier. I pray to the Goddess Lemon stays put in the backpack and doesn't attempt any of his heroics.

"The living sseek happiness, but it is sshort and dessperate attemptss that are forgotten and fleeting as death. It iss the dead who harbor the lingering hope for the joy of life. Sshall you whissper to me your regretss when you are dead, unicorn? What ssecretss will you tell the wind?"

I cannot keep crawling forever.

"I will not die here!" I yell as I push up from the ground and charge, sliding under the creature and slicing at the soft, unprotected underbelly. It moves skillfully and my dagger hits one of its legs instead, nearly yanking it out of my grasp.

"Foolissh girl!" It howls and shoots webbing, slamming and pinning my left wrist against the stone wall. The dagger falls from my hand.

"No!" My heart flutters in my chest as I rip at the sticky silver thread with my free hand but only manage to trap it as well. My feet scramble against the lichen and stone as I struggle to pull from the wall.

"Oh, little ssnack. How you tried in vane and failed. Will the wind whissper your name after this?" With my hands still bound together, the creature grabs me and effortlessly frees me from the wall. Sweeping me upside down by my feet, Lemon slips from my pocket with a squeak and falls to the ground.

"Let me go!" I scream as I buck and writhe in its grasp, pulling on my magic and my strength without avail. I try to stab it with my horn. The spider spins me rapidly, its threads tightly binding my ankles together, causing a dizzying sensation as darkness creeps into my peripheral vision from the rush of blood to my head.

"Who sshall ssave you now, little unicorn?" It snickers before the darkness consumes me.