The soldiers spoke little, leading Jack, Aza, and Amber on their way to the stronghold. Ahren's absence, the strange negative space next to Jack where his friend should have been, was unsettling at best. Back at the palace, he had elected to remain in the Sky Lands to help hold off the Nethrians when they arrived. Although Aza offered to bring him home with her, he had quietly refused, insisting that his place was at the front line of defense when his home dimension did attack.
They came to their destination after a shorter journey than Jack had expected–maybe two or three hours' walk, at most.
Jack had to admit he had expected something grander. After all, this was a stronghold, a gateway to another dimension. Instead, the Sky Landers had to point it out to them: a hole in a mountainside, almost pathetically unremarkable compared to all it contained. Barely anything could be seen of it except a flight of mossy cobblestone steps, leading down into the ground.
"We cannot accompany you any farther," the lead Sky Lander said. "You are on your own. Best of luck." With that they were gone.
"Let's go," Aza prompted.
"This doesn't look safe," Amber worried.
"They know they took us to the right place. If it was a significant danger, the royals would have let us know, I think."
Jack and Amber filed down the corridor behind Aza. When they were far enough underground, the light from outside faded into nothing. The darkness around them was tangible, stifling. Jack gave in to its lightless embrace, almost marvelling at the utter lack of something, of anything, before his eyes. Even the air around him pulsed with the promise of secrets untold. Smells wafted into his nose: dangerous smells, bitter smells, ancient smells. Amber's breath behind him was magnified, the slightest disturbance in the air racing down the halls. Here was a point of intersection, an interdimensional romance Jack's mind could never fully fathom.
Ahead of them, warm light flooded the claustrophobic space. A torch had been mounted to the wall. Its flames licked the stone brick, revealing patches of moss and spidery cracks. Though it took away the mystery of the dark, the dancing torchlight was enigmatic in itself. Branching out from the main hallway Jack could see numerous other passageways, twisting outwards not unlike the roots of a tree, but Aza ignored them all without hesitation. She led them confidently, gravitating toward her home. It was almost as if she were in a trance.
They arrived at a dead end, and Jack shot a glance at her uncertainly. "Are you sure you took the right paths?"
"It's this way. It has to be." Aza placed her hand on the solid wall in front of them, as if feeling for answers. Finally, something gave under her fingers: the wall was false, its bricks easily pushed out of the way.
Amazing.
The magnetic instincts inside her growing stronger than ever before, the Ender princess drew in a breath as they reached the most hidden room in the stronghold. The entrance was a grate of iron bars. Beyond them, she could just see the two pools of lava on either side. Farther into the room, Aza could see an even bigger pool of lava, right under the portal frame.
It was home or death. In silence, the three of them stepped into the room.
Just then, a peculiar rattling sound reached Aza's ears. She glimpsed a large silver bug scuttling towards them, sporting bristles on its back and large black eyes. She bit back a shriek.
"What is that?"
"A silverfish," Aza sputtered. "It smells Ender blood."
Indeed, the insect scuttled faster when it saw Aza. More quickly than she had anticipated, it jumped onto her leg and bit her.
"Ow!" Aza exclaimed. The pain sending a sudden rush of adrenaline through her body, she pulled her bow from her inventory and smacked the creature over the head. It fell onto the floor, stunned, and Aza took that chance to shoot it.
Small puffs of smoke could be seen all over the room. From each puff another silverfish emerged. They all made a beeline for her.
"They're all coming at us."
Realizing the huge mistake she had made, Aza scrambled up onto the portal frame, and her friends quickly followed suit.
There was no ceremony in re-entering The End. No dignity like Aza had hoped. Instead, she gave herself to the beckoning portal with the frenzy of escaping prey, shaking a silverfish off her foot even as she fell into starry blue.