2.

  Spook

  I drew in a slow, trembling breath, letting the icy air settle in my lungs before stepping back into the dark hallway. My mentor’s words echoed in my mind, steady and sharp as a blade:

  “Put your mind to it.”

  “If you convince yourself you’re invisible, others will believe you are.”

  So I put my mind to it. Letting the darkness fold around me, I melted into the shadows, each step deliberate and soundless. Ash’s magic pressed against my skin like a thin veil, muting the sound of our movements. Even our breaths felt swallowed by the gloom.

  The hallway was dimly lit by torches, their flickering light barely cutting through the heavy darkness. Shadows twisted unnaturally along the stone walls as we crept forward. I followed the faint, rhythmic clicking ahead, the sound of teeth grinding, like bone on bone, punctuated by the soft, ragged moans of the prisoner. The sound crawled under my skin.

  We passed closed iron doors and empty cells, the cold stone floors echoing softly beneath our silent steps. Then I heard it, the choked, broken sound of someone sobbing. My pulse spiked. The sound drifted from behind a half-open door just ahead. I flattened against the wall, letting the shadows curl around me, and strained to listen.

  A low, guttural cackle slithered through the air, dark and venomous. My skin prickled. Chains rattled. The prisoner’s breath hitched into panicked gasps before breaking into pleading whispers in Elvish. His voice was raw, desperate, and though I couldn’t understand the words, the meaning was painfully clear. He was begging for his life.

  I glanced back at the others, concealed in the shadows behind me. My heart hammered violently as I pointed toward the door. Ash nodded once, his expression like carved stone. He motioned for Elora, Artemis and Faelwen to retreat down the hall, taking watch. I caught the briefest flicker of silent communication between Faelwen and Artemis, a single glance heavy with unspoken meaning. Then Faelwen leaned close to Ash, her breath stirring against his ear as she whispered. Ash’s eyes darkened. He leaned toward me and murmured into my ear, his breath hot against my skin: “The creature is blind, but his other senses are sharp.”

  I nodded, swallowing hard. Slowly, I edged toward the door and risked a glance inside. I had seen my share of blood and suffering, bodies hung by the executioner or tortured prisoners beyond repair. But this… this was something from the darkest corners of my nightmares.

  The Keeper loomed over the bound prisoner. A thin elven man shackled to a cold iron frame. His body trembled violently, breath coming in shallow ragged bursts. The Keeper held an iron object with two tin pointed pins between his clawed fingers. He positioned them carefully in front of the prisoner’s eyes. The mean screamed. The pins plunged down.

  Blood sprayed across the stone floor as the man’s body arched in agony. His screams dissolved into a garbled, choking sound. My stomach twisted violently. The Keeper slowly withdrew the pins, leaving crimson trails dripping down the prisoner’s face. I gritted my teeth, breath heaving. Stars flickered at the edge of my vision. Ash’s hand closed over my shoulder, steady and strong. His warmth anchored me, and I forced down the bile rising in my throat.

  Breathe.

  The Keeper moved with eerie calm toward a wooden table cluttered with rusted instruments. Blades, clamps, things I didn’t want to identify. He selected a thin, gleaming knife and returned to his victim. And then he began to cut.

  The man had already passed out from blood loss two bloodied holes where his eyes had been, his body slack, but the careful precision of the Keeper’s work was chilling. He sliced cleanly through muscle and tendon, exposing raw flesh beneath. My gaze sharpened on the creature, searching for any sign of the key. I scanned his body, the tattered black robes hanging loose over his wiry frame. No belt. No pouches. No hidden pockets as far I could tell.

  And then I saw it.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  A glint of metal beneath the rags. A thin silver chain hanging from his neck.

  My breath hitched. I squinted through the dim light. Attached to the chain was a small, dark object.

  A key.

  My stomach churned violently.

  The key lay against the Keeper’s chest, glinting faintly beneath the shifting folds of his clothes. Close enough that to retrieve it would mean getting within inches of that ting’s mouth.

  I swallowed hard. Ash’s grip on my shoulder tightened as I leaned back from the doorway. My heart pounded so loudly I swore the Keeper would hear it.

  My fingers brushed the hilt of my dagger. A shudder rolled down my spine as the Keeper’s cackle scraped through the air once more, dark and sickening. Ash’s gaze caught mine in the dark. His eyes flashed with understanding and resolve. I steadied my breath and nodded. There was a way to steal it from this monster. And there would be no room for mistakes.

  Looking at Ash I motioned toward my neck, trying to signal that the key hung around the Keeper’s throat. Ash’s gaze sharpened. He nodded, his expression grim, and glanced over his shoulder. With a quick, fluid hand gesture he asked if the coast was clear. Elora and Faelwen, pressed against the cold stone wall, gave terse nods. Ash’s jaw tightened. His hands flicked through the air in a silent command: Get ready to run.

  He turned back to me, eyes dark with resolve, and motioned me forward. Slowly, he rose from the shadows and stepped toward the open door. His lips parted as he began chanting in a low, haunting language that curled through the air like smoke. A chill slid down my spine.

  The Keeper’s head jerked toward him, the dark folds of its hood shifting as it twisted unnaturally fast. A sharp, clicking sound echoed through the room as its jagged teeth ground together. Then it lunged.

  It was faster than anything that size had the right to be.

  The door flung open and the creature shot past me in a blur of black and grey. I reached out, fingers brushing the chain around its neck, so close, only to have it slip through my grasp as the Keeper slammed into Ash with bone-crushing force. Ash hit the wall with a sickening crack. Blood bloomed down his arm as his body sagged against the cold stone. His face twisted in pain, but his eyes never lost focus. His lips moved, the dark chant threading through the stale air. My daggers were in my hands before I even realized I’d drawn them. I surged forward and drove one into the Keeper’s side. The creature hissed, a horrible, grating sound, before twisting toward me. It's taloned hand slashed through the air, blindingly fast. I dropped, rolling beneath the blow, and felt the wicked edge of its claws skim through my hair. The impact sent shards of stone from the wall skittering across the floor.

  Ash’s chant grew louder, laced with raw power.

  An arrow shot over my head with a sharp hiss, streaking through the dark. It struck the Keeper square in the chest. A pulse of magic erupted from the impact, sending the creature staggering back. Its robes billowed like smoke as it screeched in rage.

  Ash’s voice cut through the noise, sharp and edged with power. A red mist coiled from his hands, twisting and thickening into writhing tentacles that slithered across the stone floor. The veins beneath his skin darkened to black, branching out beneath his pale flesh like roots. His eyes blazed an unnatural crimson.

  The tentacles struck fast. They lashed around the Keeper’s limbs and yanked tight. The creature trashed and hissed as the tendril writhed, tightening around its throat and arms. “Get the key!” Ash’s voice was a raw, dangerous growl. His crimson gaze locked on me, terrifying and feral. I didn’t hesitate.

  I sprinted toward the Keeper, sliding beneath one of its trashing limbs. The key glinted against the dark fabric of its robes, swaying as it fought to free itself. I lunged, fingers closing around the chain.

  The Keeper screamed.

  A flash of pain tore through my shoulder as one of its claws raked across my skin. I hissed through my teeth and ripped the chain from its neck. The silver links snapped, and the key fell into my palm.

  “Run!” I shouted, heart hammering as I stumbled back. Elora was already moving, sprinting down the hall. Faelwen hesitated, her gaze cutting toward Ash, who was still locked in combat with the creature. His hands were trembling, tendrils of dark power slithering around him, feeding off him.

  “Take her!” Ash’s voice was sharp with command and dark magic. It felt as if the hall trembled with the force of it. I grabbed Faelwen’s arm and yanked her forward. She stumbled once but then surged into motion. Artemis followed close behind, eyes wide with fear and determination.

  We sprinted down the hall, the cold air burning in my lungs. Back down the corridor towards the vast dark chamber and the entrance to the dragon lair. Elora stood at the threshold, her hand pressed to the stone door. “Hurry!” she screamed.

  I released Faelwen and ran to the door, frantically searching for the keyhole. My trembling fingers brushed the ancient stone and found the opening. I shoved the key inside and twisted, calling out the dragon’s name. “Syltharian Duskflame!”

  The ancient mechanism groaned to life. A deep, grinding noise rolled through the floor as the stone door slid open, revealing a dark staircase spiralling down into the depths. We went down it as fast as we could. A shriek tore through the hall behind me. I turned just in time to see Ash sprinting toward us, his cloak billowing behind him. The Keeper was right on his heels, dark claws reaching. Ash dove through the doorway. I slammed the door shut just as the Keeper struck. The impact shuddered through the stone, and a piercing scream echoed down the hall. The Keeper’s claws scraped against the sealed door with a shrill, nails-on-glass sound.

  I stumbled back, breath ragged. The shrieking stopped. For a long moment, there was nothing but the sound of our gasping breaths. Ash leaned heavily against the wall, blood staining his sleeve. His eyes were still burning red, but the dark mist around him was already dissipating. The Keeper’s scream echoed one last time from behind the door, a sound of rage and thwarted hunger, before fading into silence. We stood at the top of the dark staircase, shaking breathless. Below us lay nothing but shadow. We slowly descended into the darkness below.