Chapter Eighteen
~Into the Ruins~
Laura and Logan had been searching in the area around the towers for the better part of two hours when Laura hit her foot on a stone. They were surrounded by dense forest on all sides, limiting their viewing distance severely, which made it significantly more difficult to look for anything. Annoyed, and frustrated with their lack of progress, she kicked at the stone – and was surprised when it didn’t budge. She bent down to pick it up, brushing away the earth and grim that covered it. And surprised herself by finding nearly washed-out markings on it.
“Logan? Logan, I think I found something!”
Logan came over and peered over her. “What is it?”
“Markings. I can’t make them out, but they look a lot like the ones on the tower.”
“Hmm.” Logan bent down beside Laura to look at it himself. Then he nodded satisfactory. “You’re right. Nicely done.”
“What do you think it is?”
“I don’t know. But what I can tell you is that it’s not just some stone stuck in the ground. I think it’s a part of a much larger structure… like a buried statue.” He looked around. “And I bet there’d be another one close by.”
Laura watched as Logan examined the ground carefully, making his way forward on hands and knees to make sure he didn’t miss anything. Suddenly he looked up. “Found it.”
“Can you tell what the markings mean?”
Logan looked at the stone piece sticking out of the ground, and shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. It’s in the same script as was on the first tower.”
“So what now?”
“I think we’re getting closer to the sanctuary.”
“Are we really going to go there?” Laura had been over this with him a hundred times in the last few hours, and he always seemed to get the upper hand. “If it’s designed to keep humans away, how do you know there won’t be any… traps set, for me?”
Logan shook his head. “I told you, I’d notice them long before they can be sprung. And if it’s any kind of physical mechanism, it’d be long since eroded by time.”
“What about what I felt when I touched that tower?”
Logan waved it away. “I wouldn’t worry about it. That precise feeling was likely the last defense against human intrusion, anyway. It’s nothing physical, and nothing that can harm you.” He paused to smile at her. “But if you feel it again, let me know, and we’ll leave this place.”
“But not before?”
“Not before.”
Laura sighed. There really was no arguing with a vampire.
“Come on,” Logan said, pushing his way through the ferny undergrowth, “I have a feeling we’re on the right path.”
Laura followed him for maybe a hundred yards before they reached another clearing. This one, however, extended far to the left and right of them. The forest’s growth seemed to just stop abruptly. On the other side, about twenty grass-covered feet away, a large rock cliff stood covered with ivy. Lots of shrubbery and vines grew outward from there, but they did not reach the edge of the forest.
Laura started to walk forward, but found Logan’s arm pressed against her chest. “Wait,” he said, holding her back. “I can smell something.”
“What is it? Is it dangerous?”
“No, I don’t think so, but…” he trailed off, and walked to the other side, to the vertical slope. Conspicuously sniffing the air, he moved off to the left, coming closer to ivy-covered rock. Then he bent to the side, and ripped away a large bunch of fern with his hands. He stepped aside, smiling at Laura. Behind him, in the gap in vegetation he just created, was a small opening, complete with a rotting wooden door.
“How did you find that?” Laura asked, walking up to him. She couldn’t have picked out the spot from any other along the face of the slope.
“The air smelled different. Stale. It was coming from there.” He pointed at the opening.
“Do you think this is the place we were looking for?”
“It could be.” He thought for a minute. “I’m going to go check it out. You wait here. There’s no light inside, but I can see in the dark.”
He made to move the door out of his way, but the rotting wood collapsed as soon as he touched it. Shrugging, Logan bent down and went into the cave. Leaving Laura to wait by herself.
Laura sat down by the opening and waited. And waited, and waited. The sun started going down, and Laura was getting impatient. But she waited, and waited some more. Half an hour passed, and then another. What was taking Logan so long?
Soon, Laura’s thoughts turned dark. Logan was taking too long. What if something happened to him? What if he didn’t return? What if there was a trap in there, and—
Her thoughts were interrupted when Logan suddenly emerged. He had a triumphant smile on his face. “Come with me,” he said, extending Laura a hand. “You’re going to love it.”
Laura took Logan’s hand and followed him into the tunnel. It was dark inside, and the air smelled damp. Stuffy, even.
As they walked, her eyes kept trying to adjust to the darkness. But once she was a good hundred feet from the entrance, everything was pitch black. Her only guide was Logan’s grip on her hand, and the sound of his footsteps against the stone.
Her eyes may have been tied shut for as much as she could see. But, she kept walking. Laura thought the tunnel sloped down, but perhaps that was only her imagination. More than once, she stumbled over a rock, but Logan caught her gently every time.
They had walked for what must have been at least two hours, when Laura’s eyes slowly started to see past the dark. Dark shapes started revealing themselves around her, rocks and chipped boulders on all sides. She thought it was the better of her imagination getting to her, when suddenly a pale light appeared far in the distance, at the very end of the tunnel.
“Do you see that?” she asked Logan.
“Of course. That’s where we’re going.”
As they got closer, Laura realized it was the exit of the tunnel. And when they walked right up to it, Laura’s jaw dropped.
Below her lay an epic cavern. The tunnel exited onto a ledge above it, which connected to a set of crudely carved stairs that led down. There, an enormous opening at least the size of a football field had been carved in the rock. Cracks in the ceiling provided enough light to see nearly everything. Laura noticed the gurgle of flowing water, and looked down. Directly under the ledge ran a small river – more of a creek, really – that fed into a clear pool off to the side. And right beside the pool lay beautiful crystallized boulders.
“What is this place?” Laura asked, her voice echoing across the chamber.
“This,” Logan replied grandly, “is the sanctuary. Come. I’ll lead you down.”
Laura took his hand and he walked her down the steps, which curled around the outside wall of the enclave. Looking around, Laura realized the steps did not only lead down, but also up on the other side – to another ledge above the one they were descending from.
“Hold on,” Logan said when they got to the bottom, “I think I see something.” He let her go, and walked over to a side wall. He did something with his hands, and suddenly a small flame appeared in front of him. It flared to life, growing much larger. Laura saw that it came from a the top of a thick wooden club.
“A torch,” Logan laughed. “And it still has tar on it!” The flickering fire cast shadows that danced across his face and the surrounding rocks. He picked it up from the wall, and carried it over to her.
“Are there more?” Laura asked. Logan looked around before nodding happily. “Yes, there are. All along the walls! I’ll be right back.”
Laura felt a gush of wind as Logan moved away from her with impossible speed. It was the first time she’d actually seen him make use of his enhanced physical abilities. She followed the trail of light from his torch as he ran all the way around the vast chamber, stopping only momentarily to light the other torches along the wall. When he got back to her, only a few seconds later, all the torches were emitting light, providing her eyes and the chamber with much-needed luminance.
“There,” he said in a satisfied manner, “that should be much better for you, no?”
“It is, thank you. How fast you moved… that was amazing.”
He laughed. “Sometimes I forget you’re only human.”
Laura stuck her tongue out at him in reply.
“I saw something that might be interesting,” he said, ignoring her taunt completely. “Come, I’ll show you.”
Again, Laura followed him as he led her across uneven ground to the center of the chamber. From there, a small pathway was carved in the rock that ran directly underneath the entrance ledge above. They took it, and as they came closer, Laura saw that the far wall had been polished smooth, and shone with a slight green luster. The river ran along the wall, making it impossible to reach. But they could get close enough for Laura to realize that there were symbols carved into the stone.
“It’s a mixture of the two scripts on the towers outside,” Logan told her. “The vampire one, and the other one, written interchangeably. Whoever made this was fluid in both tongues.”
“Do you know what it says?”
“I think they’re directions.” He paused to study the lettering. “This cave extends much deeper, I believe. It says… that there are tunnels. Crisscrossing far into the depths of the earth. There’s a warning… a warning to ‘take the Proper path’. But… I don’t think it says what that is.”
“What else?”
“Oh! It says here there’s another level.” He looked up above. “Yes, I think I see it.”
“What’s up there?”
“We won’t know unless we check, will we?” He set off back towards the stairs.
“Logan, wait.” He paused, turning to look at Laura. “You’re not planning on taking the tunnels deeper in, are you?”
“I don’t know yet,” he said thoughtfully. “If we keep going through the forest, we’ll be more vulnerable for attack. But if these tunnels can lead us through the mountains… well, if we get that far, we’d almost be scot free.”
“What if we get lost?” she asked worriedly. “At least outside we know where we’re going.”
“Let’s just check the upper level out first, and then decide. At any rate, this is as safe a place as any to spend the night, even if we don’t take the tunnels tomorrow.”
“Fine.” Laura didn’t want to pout, but she just didn’t feel comfortable here beneath the earth. And the prospect of going deeper in, without knowing how long the journey might take, didn’t sit well with her either.
She followed Logan up the chipped rock stairs. Past the ledge where they entered, and higher up. The light from the bottom pit sent large shadows flickering against the walls.
They reached the highest level. It was another ledge, jutting out from the side of the rock, and built to overlook the entrance. Rocks that looked an awful lot like tombstones sat in neat horizontal rows.
Logan took a step forward, and stopped. “Wait.” He paused, holding Laura back. “Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
Logan shifted his weight in response, and Laura thought she heard a tiny echo of crumbling stone. She wouldn’t have picked it out if she wasn’t actively searching for it.
“The structure’s weak here,” Logan said. He bent down to one knee to examine the ground. “There are cracks in the stone. I don’t think it’s very stable.”
“Should we go back?”
“Not yet. You stay back. I want to see what these stones are.”
“Be careful,” Laura urged.
“Don’t worry.” Even in the dim light, Laura saw him flash his teeth in a grin. “I’m very agile, remember?”
“Of course,” she said drily. Like he needed to remind her.
Laura watched as Logan picked his way across. He went from stone to stone in the first row, analyzing each one carefully. The last one stood at the very end of the ledge, almost like a baluster. Logan placed a hand on it to support himself as he leaned closer, and it shifted uncomfortably. Logan jerked back, hissing.
“What is it?” Laura asked.
“I nearly fell.” He barked a laugh. “You distracted me.”
“Me?” Laura was incredulous. “I didn’t even do anything!”
“I felt your eye on me,” he said.
“I’ll be sure not to do that anymore,” Laura answered laconically. Suddenly the ground groaned, and Laura flinched as the sound of rubble crashing down reached her ears. The last tombstone was still there, but it now leaned over the edge precariously.
“Looks like we disturbed some of the rock beneath us,” Logan said as he gingerly picked his way back to her. “There’s nothing up here to see. We should get back down to where we at least know the ground is stable”
Laura sighed in relief. The whole situation had her on edge.
She turned around, and started walking down, when suddenly Logan was on her, pressing her against the wall.
“What are you doing?” she tried to say, but it jumbled as Logan placed his hand over her mouth.
“Sshh!” he hissed to her. “Someone’s coming.” He released his grip on her mouth.
“What?” Laura whispered urgently. “Who?”
“I don’t know. Stay here, and don’t move.” And just like that, he was gone, a blur streaking down the stairs.