Chapter 7

Ursula nestled into Bael’s powerful body as they soared into the air, the wind whipping at her red hair, and he curled his arms protectively around her. With her wrists still bound, all she could do was hunch over and grip the bat’s fur, but Bael’s muscled arms kept her in place.

Around them, lunar moths fluttered—a wild murmuration of glowing. Bael guided the bat between the streams of enormous moths, and Ursula gaped at the strangely familiar beauty of the lunar landscape.

Ursula leaned back into Bael, breathing in his delicious smell. “How did Cera know to be outside?”

“I told you I was in control.” His breath warmed the shell of her ear.

Distracted by his allure, it took Ursula a moment to piece together what he was getting at. “So when Hothgar found you wandering his manor, consumed by the old way—” She looked back into his eyes, finding that they’d returned to their natural color—a pale gray that stood out sharply against his dark eyelashes.

“I was faking it.”

“And how did you convince him that Abrax had me prisoner?”

“That was easy. I let them torture it out of me.”

Urusula’s stomach clenched. “Bael! Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

“But how did you know about Kester?”

“I didn’t know about Kester. I only told them about you. Hothgar must have searched Abrax’s manor after he requested the audience with Abrax.”

Ursula glanced at the lunar bat soaring through the air just behind them. Cera sat crouched around Sotz’s shoulders while Kester clung to the fur on the bat’s back, his expression grim. Hellhounds weren’t exactly meant to fly. Ursula’s pulse raced when she caught a glimpse of the enormous flock of lunar bats in hot pursuit of them.

Ursula whistled to catch Cera’s attention. “Bats! Behind us!” she shouted over the wind. Good enough to get the point across.

Bael leaned in closer to his bat, his body pressing against Ursula’s, and he whispered into the bat’s ear. They picked up speed, winging for the sheer cliff face that ringed the crater. As the cliff surged into view, Kester called out a warning. At the last moment, they plunged downward along the cliff’s face. Bael steered his bat sharply into a dark passage carved into the rock.

Ursula pressed her head against Bael’s chest as they flew through the darkness, trusting only the bat’s sense of echolocation to not slam them into the rock. After what felt like an eternity, violet light began to fill the passage again.

Ursula sucked in a deep breath, stunned by the strange beauty around her. The mushroom cavern was just as she remembered it. A forest of bioluminescent fungi on the floor, and above them, the distant sound of the bat colony. Up ahead, she recognized the path that led to Bael’s manor.

“Bael. Are you sure the manor’s a good place to hide? Seems like the first place they’d look.”

Bael grunted. “You need to trust me, Ursula.”

Of course. How could she forget Bael’s favorite habit of failing to tell her anything in advance?

But as they came to the entrance to Bael’s manor, they simply flew on past, soaring deeper into the forest.

Nearby, Cera whistled, pointing back toward the mouth of the cave at a lunar bat pursuing them.

“Hang on,” shouted Bael.

Ursula clutched the bat’s fur as they nosedived into the mushrooms. Ursula’s pulse thundered in her veins at their speed. They swooped between the massive trunks of the fungi, until—with a jarring bump—they landed beneath a large cap, skidding in the dirt, Ursula clinging to the bat’s fur.

For just a moment, they caught their breath, then Bael dismounted, pulling Ursula off after him. He walloped the bat on its rump, and the creature soared into the air again, past the tops of the mushroom caps.

Just a few feet away, Cera and Kester landed with an audible thump. Kester slid off Sotz, while Cera stayed crouched on her bat’s shoulders.

Bael nodded at her. “Led ‘em on a proper chase.”

“Of course, my lord,” said Cera.

Cera whispered in Sotz’s ear, and a moment later they were winging into the air, leaving Bael, Kester, and Ursula under the giant mushroom.

Bael beckoned Ursula and Kester closer, until they were huddled around the mushroom’s base. He whispered softly, “We need to wait until Cera draws them off. No talking. You must be absolutely still. A bat’s hearing is excellent, and they will signal to their riders if they can sense us.”

Bael knelt on the ground, closing his eyes, apparently listening for the sound of bats. Ursula glanced at the manacles still binding her wrists. At some point, she’d have to get the bloody things off of her.

For just a moment, she caught Kester’s eye as he rested his back against the flesh of the mushroom. Blood flowed from the wound on his shoulder, and he looked exhausted. She wanted to heal him, but she’d have to wait until all the bats were out of earshot before she began chanting anything.

She looked between the two men, who studiously avoided each other’s gazes. How strange to have Kester and Bael in the same place—two ancient enemies, forced to work as allies, but not making eye contact with each other.

And on the off chance that Abrax had been telling the truth—both of these men had been there when her mother had been killed. Could it really be true, or had Abrax just been screwing with her?

After a few minutes, Bael rose, holding out his hand to Ursula. “I think they’re gone. We need to move.”

With Ursula’s manacled hand in his, he started into the mushroom forest, leaving Kester to follow.

“Wait,” said Ursula. “Kester’s hurt. I should heal him first.”

Bael stopped, but didn’t turn around. “Be fast. If he can’t keep up, we will have to leave him. We cannot afford stragglers.”

Nice.

Ursula turned to Kester, who rolled his eyes. With her hand hovering above Kester’s shoulder, she incanted Starkey’s Conjuration as quickly as she could, watching as his skin healed, knitting together without so much as a scar.

“Thanks,” said Kester. “We need to stop making a habit of this.”

“Let’s go.” Already, Bael was taking off at a stiff pace between the mushrooms, slipping between the stalks with a practiced stride.

Ursula’s bare feet sank into the rich soil as they walked. She kept her eyes peeled for the carnivorous caterpillars that had almost eaten her on her last visit. But after a while, she realized that in this part of the forest, the only caterpillars crawled high above their heads on the ancient, towering mushrooms.

They moved without speaking, the silence deafening. Ursula’s few attempts at conversation were met with monosyllabic answers from both men. It wasn’t clear if Bael was still worried about being heard by their pursuers or if he just didn’t want to talk in Kester’s presence. It did seem like they had a past, and their awkwardness around each other was quickly giving credence to Abrax’s claims.

Every few minutes, Bael would slow, directing them up the nearest slope. As her thighs began to burn, Ursula cursed him mentally. Is it just me, or is he choosing the most difficult course? As their path continued, the giant mushrooms began to thin, until at last they approached the edge of a ridge.

On the slope that curved off below them, a few faintly glowing mushrooms trailed off into darkness. Strangely, the air had an antiseptic smell. It took a few sniffs for Ursula to identify it. Ammonia.

“The Cavern of Night,” Bael said quietly.

“The what?” asked Ursula.

In typical Bael style, he declined to explain, instead turning to walk along the rim of the ridge. “Follow me. Stay close.”

He moved more slowly than before, holding his chain carefully so it didn’t make noise.

“Where are we going?” Ursula whispered.

“Someplace safe,” said Bael. Then he added, “Keep your eyes on the darkness. Let me know if anything moves.”

When Ursula looked down the slope, beyond the last of the mushrooms, she saw only darkness. Anything could come out of those shadows. Just to be safe, she began to summon a little fire into her blood.

At last, Bael stopped as they reached a narrow path. Ursula’s heart tightened in her chest. The path simply led down the hill and into shadows—or the Cavern of Night, as Bael had called it.

“Listen carefully to my instructions.” Bael’s gray eyes glinted in the dim light, and he lifted his palm into the air. Right now, Bael was all general—all Sword of Nyxobas. “If I raise my hand, you are to drop to the ground and stay perfectly still. No matter what happens, do not move again until I signal.” He met Ursula’s gaze. “Keep your fire extinguished. It won’t help you where we’re going.”

Of course, a general never explained himself to his troops. Bael started down the hill, and Kester and Ursula walked quietly behind him. The path wound between a few knee-high mushrooms—then into darkness. Ursula reached out, touching Bael’s muscled back as they walked. After a while, her eyes began to slowly adjust. As they followed the path, Ursula saw that despite its name, it wasn’t entirely black in the Cavern of Night. A few glowing mushrooms sprouted among the gloom, and the path itself seemed to have a bioluminescent glow.

Above them, the sound of lunar bats grew louder, their squeaks and squeals piercing the darkness. More than once, Ursula’s stomach lurched when one of the lunar bats shrieked particularly loudly. The pungent stench of ammonia thickened in the air around them, and she was sure that it concealed something worse, the fetid smell of death and decay.

Bael stopped abruptly, and Ursula nearly bumped into his back.

“What is it?” she whispered.

Bael put his finger to his lips, and she tuned in to a distant wailing—a high-pitched sound, like a baby crying.

A shudder danced up Ursula’s spine. A baby?

“I’m going to investigate,” Bael whispered, his gaze locked on Ursula. “Stay here until I return. Whatever happens, don’t move, and get low.”

Hunched over, Bael slipped into the darkness.

Ursula and Kester knelt on the path, surrounded by shadows. Only the path’s pebbles cast a dim light. When Ursula picked one of them up to look at it, she realized it was a tiny piece of mushroom.

She and Kester waited in silence, her knees pressed into the squishy mushroom path, until an unearthly scream pierced the silence. The hair on the back of Ursula’s neck stood on end. What the hell?

The noise echoed in the stillness of the cave until it slowly wound down into silence. Ursula glanced at Kester, his face illuminated by the faint glow from the path. He simply put a finger to his lips.

A deep, rumbling noise turned Ursula’s head, followed by a heavy thud on the ground. A cold fear began to tighten Ursula’s gut. Silence yawned, then another thud. Closer this time.

Ursula crouched lower, fear rippling over her. They were completely exposed on this featureless plain, unable to see as well as the creatures that lived here.

A movement in front of them sent terror racing through her veins, until she smelled Bael’s familiar presence again.

As if from nowhere, he was crouching next to her, warmth radiating off his body. He leaned down, whispering in her ear, loud enough for Kester to hear. “The Molok has woken.”

From the shadows, Kester’s green eyes widened.

Of course he knows what the hell is going on. Everyone but me.

Thud. This time, Ursula could feel the dirt and stone shudder underneath them.

Kester glared at Bael. “Are you trying to get us killed?”

Thud. Another impact in the darkness shook the ground.

Bael grabbed Ursula by her manacled wrists, pulling her to her feet. “Run!”

With her bound hands, Ursula yanked up the hem of her dress, running awkwardly with the ridiculous constraints. For crying out loud, I don’t even have shoes on.

Together, they sprinted deeper into the Cavern of Night. Thud. What the hell was that noise? Falling mushrooms? Someone hurling trees at them?

Bael charged forward, swinging the end of his chain above his head like a lasso.

They dodged to the side as a large shape suddenly loomed ahead of them. Ursula caught a glimpse of a small bat splayed out on the dusty ground. Blood flowed from a wound on its head. As they neared, an enormous insect-like creature scuttled off its back.

They sprinted past, just as the bat’s body exploded in a spray of gore. Thud. A giant tree trunk—or something—had smashed through its abdomen.

They raced along the path, Bael in the lead, Ursula just behind—running as fast as she could with her manacled hands, her breath ragged in her throat. Kester brought up the rear. Darkness enveloped them, and thudding impacts shook the ground. Ursula’s lungs felt like they were on fire, her legs burning with the exertion, and sweat trickled down her brow.

Thud. Another impact slammed down, this time just inches in front of Bael, and Ursula’s heart skipped a beat. Tree trunks. Definitely someone throwing tree trunks.

Far up ahead, Bael slammed into the trunk at full speed. Ursula tried to dodge to the side, but that only meant that she slipped and fell, her balance thrown off without the use of her arms. Kester tripped over her, stumbling onto his hands and knees.

He scrambled to his feet, but another tree trunk slammed into the ground next to him. As Ursula crawled to her knees, she glimpsed the closest trunk, illuminated by the faint glow of the path. With a stab of horror, she realized it wasn’t made of wood, but of a thick chitinous armor.

Not a tree trunk. A giant leg.

Ursula turned to run, but Bael’s voice stopped her. “Don’t move!” he barked.

From the forest floor, Kester tugged sharply at her dress, his finger to his lips. Slowly, he raised it and pointed. Adrenaline snapped through Ursula’s nerve endings. Twenty feet above her head, another monstrous leg was poised to strike. If she ran, it would crush her.

Ursula’s stomach dropped as the head of a massive insect slid into view. It took all of her willpower not to scream at the pale arachnid monster looming above her.

The spider was enormous, at least the size of a small house. Its skin was the color of bleached bone, but her gaze froze on a lethally sharp pair of fangs. They were bracketed by a pair of longer appendages that twitched like giant fingers.

Ursula’s mind raced. She stood below it unarmed, her wrists bound by golden manacles. No way to defend herself. Even though Bael had cautioned not to use fire, it sparked to life in her veins anyway.

Kester stood next to her, watching the spider intently. Bael was maybe twenty feet from her. Just like her, he stayed perfectly still, then slowly pointed to his eyes.

Eyes. That’s a signal we did not discuss, so…

The spider’s head lurched lower, so that the twitching appendages touched the dirt in front of them. Unlike its massive legs, these appendages moved delicately over the cavern floor, tapping the soil like a drummer tuning a timpani. Ursula’s muscles tightened as she realized it was searching for them.

That was when she understood what Bael was trying to tell her. The spider has no eyes. It can’t see us.

Bael’s eyes were wide as he pointed frantically at the cavern floor. Another gesture I need to interpret. The air behind her moved, and she ducked instinctively as one of the giant appendages passed over her head.

From the ground, she met Bael’s gaze. He held up one of his hands, letting all five fingers dangle like legs. With his other hand, he made a walking motion on the top of his knuckles.

You’ve got to be bloody kidding me.