The Black Phoenix 2
Pain. Pain, and a dull sense of secrecy.
The girl opened her eyes, closing them again immediately due to the light.
"So, you've finally decided to join the living. Well, for now, anyway."
She growled, and once again opened her eyes. Standing there was the one called Yarzen, and four others, whom she did not know. All wore cloaks.
"Now that you're awake, you must take the test."
The girl rolled her eyes, noticing her wrists were still bound. "Care to release me?" she asked with a yawn.
"Untie you, yes. Release you, not a chance." He snapped his fingers, making one of his minions walk towards her. She silently glared at him as he walked behind her and fumbled with her wrists. Finally, he backed away, her restraints in hand.
"Ready for your challenge?"
She glared at the man. "Do your worst."
He smirked. "Famous last words."
Suddenly, the floor fell from beneath her feet. Her breathe came out in a rush of air as she dropped into the hidden pit. At last, her feet touched ground. She barely managed to remain standing.
All was dark. The suddenly, it was light again. Before her was a long corridor. An erie silence was cast over her. She looked around cautiously.
Out of nowhere, something screamed by her head. Instinct took over.
She ran, her body doing anything necessary to escape the danger. Things began slicing through the air all around her. She managed to avoid most of them, though one of the objects cut straight through her arm.
But she didn't pause to care for the wound. Her life depended on it.
As she neared the end of the corridor, a large stone slid down from the ceiling. 'No!' It was going to block the path.
With one final lurch, she dove underneath it.
And barely made it. Looking around, she found herself in another long, narrow corridor. Though this one as wider than the first. She slowly stood, blood dripping from her fingertips. She heard a small crack, and immediately dove out of the way.
She made a good choice.
An enormous stalactite had fallen from the ceiling. A low rumble occurred, the sound making her roll out of the way. A stalagmite rose from te the floor at an alarming speed.
'Perfect.'
She stumbled to her feet, and using the spike, flung herself down the path. As she ran, she saw many red blotches on the ground. They didn't leave much to the imagination. The spears rose and fell all around her at an alarming rate. Some of them were nearly her height.
Just as she encountered the end of the corridor, spikes appeared from the walls, and began closing in. Vaulting over one of the last fallen spikes, she leapt through the small gap between the stone spears, and into the next room.
Something tore through her shirt and the skin on her back just as she made it through the small opening.
Everything was dark.'
The girl immediately stood fearing what had happened the last two times she had been smothered in the black nothingness.
"Relax," a voice soothed. "You have nothing to fear in this chamber."
She looked around, only to see Xiomar standing in the little light of the room.
"You're halfway through. I'm actually surprised you made it this far. Most perish in the spear room."
"What must I do here?"
"Only solve a riddle."
"I'm starting to like you."
"But beware, should you answer wrong, you will undoubtedly die."
"Great pep talk."
He smirked. "Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Good. Here is your riddle:
Only one in color, but not one in size,
Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies.
Present in sun, but not in rain,
Doing no harm, and feeling no pain.
What am I?"
"How long do I have?"
"As long as you need."
She sat Indian-style on the stone floor and rested her head in her hands. 'Sun is light...that means rain must not be... So it can only be in light...doing no harm...no pain...It can't be alive...Flies...yet stuck at the bottom...different sizes...one color...I've basically got the shadow of a being—wait...A shadow. It fits... It does nothing that affects any living organism...It's a shadow...I hope..."
She stood. It had been five minutes since Xiomar had given her the riddle.
"You have it?" he questioned.
"Maybe..." She dropped her gaze to the ground. "Is it...a shadow?"
He looked at her with sad eyes. "I'm sorry, but...you're right!"
She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Go."
A light suddenly illuminated a door at the other end of the room. The girl was just about to walk through it when Xiomar spoke.
"Beware the elements. For they, unlike humans, show no mercy."
The girl nodded, then walked through the door.
She immediately wished she hadn't.
She stood on a single platform surrounded by...lava?!? Well, magma rather. The door slammed closed behind her.
"Stupid freaking groundhog idiots..." she muttered.
Out of nowhere, a series of platforms rose up before her.
And a jet of fire shot out from behind.
Without hesitation, she leapt out onto the stone platform suspended over the lava.
'These people are insane!'
She continued jumping from slab to slab of rock in front of her, desperately trying to avoid both the lava, and the flame.
Just as she was about to jump to the next platform, a spurt of fire shot out in front of her.
She recoiled as she felt it burn the flesh of her arm. All she felt was pain, and the rage that went with it as she leapt to the next stone.
After a few more jumps, she made it to the other side of the room. Only then did she pause to care for her wound. With her good hand, she reached down, and with slight difficulty, tore a strip of cloth off of the leg of her pants. She wrapped, then tied it around her arm, creating a black bandage. Ignoring the searing pain in her back, and now upper arm, she walked through the next door.
As the ever-so-famous slab of rock slid down, sealing the passage, she was smothered in a total darkness.
She crouched down a bit, forcing her body into a defensive position. She listened for anything, but heard nothing.
And then it slammed into her, pinning her to the ground.
The creature was incredibly heavy, and covered in fur. Claws on its front paws dug into her shoulders as she felt its hot breath on her face. She did her best to hold its gnashing jaws away from her throat.
She couldn't see it, but she was sure it could see her.
Using every ounce of strength she could muster, she kicked the creature off of her. On shaky legs, she stood, trying to be as quiet as possible. She heard the creature pad across the room, nearly silent.
Suddenly, the tempo of the beast's steps increased. The girl reached into her pocket and pulled out her switchblade.
According to her ears, the monster leapt at her. She crouched down and held the hand with her knife into the air. It caught something.
She heard the creature roar in pain, then run away. She prepared for another attack, but it never came. The beast had finally decided that she wasn't worth the trouble.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
And then out of nowhere, something pinned her to the ground.
An object stabbed into her shoulder and dragged its way through.
The girl cried out in pain.
The room lit up, due to fire running around the perimeter. She looked into the eyes of her attacker. It was the one who had ordered her to die in the first place.
It was Kai.
He held a dagger into her shoulder, never decreasing the pressure.
The girl did her best to push him off, but failed miserably.
Next, she grabbed at the arm holding the dagger in her body, and tried to pry it loose.
During her futile attempts, Kai had lowered his mouth to her ear.
"I tried to let you go quietly. But no. You had to fight. And now, I will make your death as painful as possible."
He placed his free hand on her throat, nearly cutting off her flow of oxygen.
He jerked the dagger from her shoulder, but in doing so, twisted it, prying open her flesh even more.
She cried out, drawing Kai's attention.
"Scream as much as you want. No one who can hear you cares about your life. The Shane boy was locked in his chamber before you started the test."
He heavily dragged the knife across her stomach.
She winced.
"Does it hurt? You know, all you have to say is 'Kill me now', and I will stab this dagger through your heart."
He placed the tip of the knife on her right eyebrow.
"Or you can refuse my offer, and your torture will continue."
With all the courage she could gather, she looked him right in his crimson eyes.
"...You wish."
He brought the dagger down over her eye, causing her extreme pain.
She couldn't help it.
She screamed.
As she ran out of breath, he placed the dagger over her throat.
Her limp hand slowly dragged across something on the floor.
Her switchblade.
Her fingers curled around it as Kai prepared to slit her throat. With her last bit of energy, she lifted her hand and swiftly drug her knife across his cheek.
He dropped his dagger, surprised.
Slowly, he picked it up and stood. He released a shaky breath, then spoke.
"Be grateful, girl. You are the first one to touch me...and live to tell the tale..."
She couldn't take it anymore.
With a pained sigh, the girl fell unconscious.