Chapter 7

The journey back to the headquarters was as silent as it was long. Ben refused to say a word and would ignore my attempts to address how he might be feeling about the death of his commander and dear friend. I wanted nothing more than to show him that he had my support, but words seemed to fail me. I fell silent too, worried that Ben might despise me for being kin to the man who had just had Swift executed in front of the masses. The guilt must have shown on my face enough for Ben to notice, for I felt his rough fingers grasp mine firmly. I shifted my eyes to him, and while he continued to stare straight ahead, his hand squeezed mine reassuringly. I had never been more grateful for a friendship than in that moment.

Only once back underground was Ben able to speak again. It was when I joined him, Walter, Page, and Jax who I had just been reunited with, after taking time to change back into my modified military clothing, that my mentor turned to me, his eyes filled with sadness. "Ben told us what happened. Swift was a good friend. He died like a soldier."

Ben, who was leaning against the stone wall on the opposite side of the room, scoffed, "A true soldier? Let's not pretend there was anything noble about the way he died. He was tortured, humiliated, and murdered." I could hear the fury in his voice, even if it was disguised as snark.

"And he didn't give Logan anything or we'd be dead by now. I call that noble." Walter replied fiercely, and I saw Ben's eyes close, understanding that he was right.

Page spoke, bracing herself on the map before her, declining to make eye contact with anyone. "It was just a matter of time before Logan did this. Before he decided to hunt us down." She said quietly. Finally, she raised her head and her dark eyes bore into me. "We have to fight back." She stated firmly.

"We're still not ready though." Walter countered. "We need more allies. And," he continued, a note of optimism tracing his tone. "thanks to Swift's efforts, we know exactly where to look." I couldn't help the feeling of hope creeping up from within me, its warmth thawing the cold that had resulted from mourning the death of Swift. I had vowed that no one would die for me, and that had crumbled on the steps of the castle. But Swift did not die in vain, he died for Albion.

Ben, who had seemed empowered by the words of my mentor, abandoned his seclusion against the wall and came to join us around the table. "Before he was executed," he began, "the Major managed to send us a message."

"A soldier still loyal to the Old Guard brought it to me, at a great risk to his life." reported Walter.

"What does it say?" I asked.

"Well, this is Swiftie we're talking about, so it's rather straightforward." replied Ben, giving a soft chuckle. "You will find allies in Aurora." He recited from memory.

Page shook her head, "I still don't understand how anyone there could help us. Aurora is a dead land. There's nothing there." She gestured at the map, specifically the patch of land across the sea from Albion. It was a stark contrast between my homeland and the one in question. While the greenery of Albion was clearly shown, lovingly detailed by the map's artist, Aurora was tan and devoid of any sort of geography. As I stared at the ugly patch of nothing, I admittedly saw Page's point.

"Or," Walter began, "at least that's what we've been told. It's still the only lead we have anyway."

"Can we get on with the plan?" Interjected Ben. He adjusted the strap of grenades on his torso as if the weight had become uncomfortably heavy. "I have an overwhelming urge to shoot someone."

Walter nodded. "First thing, we'll need a ship. You and Ben will get a hold of one while Page and I will make sure the rest of the fleet doesn't follow." He set the tasks as if they were as easy as buying milk from the local shop. Was he aware of just how difficult it would be to sneak a ship out of the King's Harbor during a time like this?

"You'll need to go via the back alleys." Advised Page. "And they'll be crawling with soldiers."

It was Ben who replied. "Not a problem. I know my way around the place." Page looked to him with appraising eyes, as if she had just realized that having a soldier working with us could actually prove useful. He turned to me, "I'll meet you at the back of the sewers. We're going to show Logan just what traitors can do." He set his jaw and strode out of the room.

Page jutted her chin after him. "Go on. My men are putting together the materials we'll need. It should be quite a display."

"Aurora is a distant place, it could be a while before we return" Walter said to me quietly as I turned to leave. "If there's things you need to do, now is the time." I placed my hand softly on his arm, grateful for his caring nature. I assured him that everything was taken care of and made my way after Ben.

Jax and I found him, back against the wall, turning over his pistol in his hand, his thumb tracing the metalwork around the sides. He didn't look up as I approached him, just continued to admire the firearm in his palm. "You know, Swift taught me almost everything I know about being a soldier." He sheathed the pistol and stood up tall, bearing that same mischievous grin I had seen back in Mourningwood Fort. "Let's go show these bastards how it's done." I returned the grin and followed behind the soldier as he led us out of the sewers and above ground.

The sun had dipped behind the brick landscape and the moon casted dark shadows across the alleys we navigated. There were no crickets to indicate that night had fallen but the hum of the factories had ceased even though the ever-present smog still lingered in the sky. The sides of buildings were decorated with even more wanted posters, now including Ben and Walter alongside Page. I wondered why I was the only one spared from having their face plastered across the kingdom. Would it have brought shame to the King to admit that his very own sister was a rebel and thus had stayed his hand in ordering a bounty on my head? I did not know the answer nor had time to ponder it for Ben was whispering for me hurry behind him.

He placed a finger to his lips before motioning to a member of Logan's guard stationed in the alley ahead of us. "We need to get to the far end of the dock, so probably best not to shoot until we have to. Come on. Leave the talking to me," he smirked. "I have an idea." He emerged from the shadows from within which we were hiding and strode towards to guard with a casual gait.

The guard caught eye of Ben and stood protectively in front of the gate near him, the entrance towards the docks I imagined. "Stop!" he commanded severely. "Only Royal Guard allowed."

"Oh, I know." Ben chatted as Jax let out a low growl, pressing himself to my legs. "can I just say, wow, you look so stylish, you know, with the helmets and everything." I gave a reassuring pat on my dog's head which prompted the ceasing of his snarling, before stepping out to join Ben. I casted my eyes over to the nearest wall which had a warrant for Ben's arrest quite literally only feet from the actual soldier. I couldn't quite decide whose idiocy was worse: Ben's for chatting to a Royal Guard while his warrant reached over 50,000 gold or the guard who was tasked with bringing in such rebels who just stood there, letting one of them chat his ear off.

"Me and my friend were just wondering if we could join you, because, I mean, you just make us ordinary soldiers feel so inadequate." I saw the eyes of the guard shift to me under his helmet and I gave a weak smile.

The same eyes narrowed and he raised his hand to point in the direction we came from. "Leave."

"Come on." Ben encouraged. "Don't you have any leaflets or application forms we could take with us? If we could just get inside and get your autographs. We are huge fans."

"Leave or we will be forced to terminate you."

Ben raised his eyebrows and gave a sound of approval. "See?" he said turning to me. "Even their vocabulary is stylish." Then he reached behind him and before the guard to could grab his, Ben's blunderbuss had shot right through his silver breastplate. The gunshot echoed throughout the alley and we heard the yells of other guards from behind the gate. As their footfalls thundered toward us Ben turned to me, smiling meekly, "Okay, I admit it. I didn't really have an idea." I snorted in agreement and awaited the opening of the gates. Once they did, Ben and I began battle with the five guards awaiting us on the other side. These opponents were far smarter than the last ones Ben and I faced together but still stood no match for the combination of our blades, guns, and magic.

"We'll have to cut through the warehouse." Ben said pointing to the building the Royal Guard had obviously been using as a temporary base in Industrial. "The place is crawling with the sods. Get ready!" he cried as shots began to whir through the air. They came in countless numbers but amongst the stored barrels of gunpower surrounding their positions they were easy enough to blast out of our path.

"Let's get out of here." Ben grabbed my hand and pulled me through the other side of the building. "The docks are just around the corner." He began to run, navigating the alleys with ease. Just as we were about to head straight for the harbor, to my right I heard a great explosion. I spun my head to see a great metal structure engulfed in flames. The beams creaked and groaned as it toppled over into the nearby building with a booming crash, sealing off the pathway from the center of Bowerstone Industrial. The flames quickly spread to the nearby docked fleet which, due to the large amount of ammunition aboard, combusted and sent them sinking into the depths. "Wow, that should keep the bastards occupied." Chuckled Ben, admiring the burning wreckage of the former Royal Fleet. "Come on," he urged. "The way to the ships should be clear."

We had traveled barely ten feet before he retracted that statement as we were greeted with another group of guards charging at us, swords drawn. I groaned. Would they ever relent? It was hard fought, but Ben and I were able to cut through my brother's men once more. After a satisfying slash across the remaining guard's neck, the soldier looked up and yelled, "Walter! What kept you?"

I glanced up from my own kill to see my mentor jogging toward us, his brow wet with perspiration and his breath slightly labored. "We have to hurry. They're going to be following us after all."

"What about Page?" asked Ben, looking around for his favorite rebel commander.

"She's staying behind. Someone needs to organize things here." He answered. "Now, come on!" He made his way to the dock extending out into the dark sea stretching beyond the port of town. Stopping before an old and deteriorating rowboat he remarked, "Well, it's not much, but at least it floats. That's what counts." I stared at him, hoping he was joking.

"Or," interjected Ben, moving past us further down the dock. "We could take this one and not drown as soon as we leave port." He motioned to a large ship with a golden eagle's head at its bough.

I admired its magnitude as Walter chuckled, "Even better. I've got a good feeling about this voyage." He placed his hands on his hips and looked approvingly upon our chosen vessel. I quickly scrambled aboard, the yells of guards approaching encouraging our haste in setting sail. I let Walter and Ben take charge of getting us out on the ocean, having no experience in the matter myself. Soon, the engine sputtered to life the sail unraveled, catching the wind. The ship began to chug its way into the open sea, quickly leaving Bowerstone Industrial and Albion, my homeland, a speck on the horizon. However, Walter's good feeling of our journey was entirely misguided.

I was beneath the deck when it happened, when I heard the first cannon fire. The ship trembled and rocked, throwing me forward into the map I was studying. I quickly clambered up the stairs, being thrown once again as another round hit the side of the ship. As I reached the deck I looked around desperately for Ben and Walter but only saw a great naval ship slithering beside us. My heart thudded loudly in my ears disturbing the quiet as the cannons were aimed directly into our hull. All I could do was stare as the thunderous clap of cannon fire sounded and then… darkness.

"Ben! Ben!" I heard a voice calling out. I could see the sunlight from beneath my eyelids. It was bright, very bright, too bright. My head throbbed as I shifted my hands beneath me, the ground feeling supple. I attempted to open my eyes but had to squint while they adjusted to the light. "Ben!" the voice called again, drawing nearer. I groaned as a loud bark sounded near my head. I saw that Jax was faithfully standing above me, using his wet tongue to encourage me to sit up. Once I managed it, I looked to see Walter walking toward me, seeming a little rough but overall in good health. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern knitting his eyebrows together.

I stood and began to limp toward him, my legs feeling sore and bruised. Casting a look around, I noticed only sand, rocks, and the large expanse of the sea. It reminded me of the chamber Reaver had beneath his estate. "Yes," I replied, "Ben's not here?"

"No," Walter gazed past my shoulder, eyes searching the endless stretch of sand. "looks like we didn't all make it. I only hope… Well, maybe he washed up somewhere else. I'm sure that's it." He nodded, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself than me. I couldn't blame him, I was also feeling a great pit in my stomach at the lack of his presence. What if he didn't make it? The thought was almost too much to bare.

Walter began to make his way back up where he came from along the shore. "Anyway, the only way forward seems to be through a rather ominous cave." I heard the hesitation in his voice and tried to ignore it, just like with the skeletal remains we passed by. The cave's large opening reminded me much of a dragon's maw, with stalagmites and stalactites forming stone teeth that shone menacingly in the intense sunlight. It was incredibly hot, even in the shade of the cavern, sand rolling in waves throughout it.

"Before we go any further," Walter began, "I'd just like to say one thing." He paused, looked around the cave, and with a great inhale shouted, "BALLS!" His cry of frustration echoed throughout the cave, replaying that same moment of emotion over and over again. "So, this is what Aurora looks like then." He remarked. "I was hoping it would be a little less. cavey." I almost laughed but was distracted by Jax's yelping resonating off the stone walls. "Hello, sounds like the dog found something. You never know, it might be a luxury inn."

As we reached where my canine friend was, a swarm of wings fluttered above out heads. "Bats. He found bats." The old soldier muttered. "Good work, boy. Bats are exactly what we need right now." I was reminded of Jasper and his dealings with the bats we found in my father's escape route. Jasper, it had been a long time since I had seen him. I hoped he was doing well in Brightwall. I hoped he was safe. I wondered if he worried about us. He undoubtedly would if he knew about all of our adventures as well as being shipwrecked on an unknown shore. Even as a child Jasper would run after me with concern when I would fall when climbing trees and scrape up my knees. My heart ached at those memories, memories of a simpler time.

It was Walter's voice that interrupted my reminiscing. "What do you think happened to Ben? He's a strong swimmer. Probably reached a sandy beach somewhere. Palm trees. Beautiful women. Coconut cocktails. Jammy bastard." He let out a gruff chuckle, but I remained silent. Walter was using humor to cope with the fact of Ben's disappearance, it was clear. I was at a loss to help him.

After a couple minutes of traveling through the shifting sands our feet finally fell upon stable ground. It was stone flooring, and across the cave was a great expanse of a manmade structure, complete with stairs leading down to a brightly glowing purple circle embedded in the center floor. "What the hopping Hobbes is that?" Walter said, staring in disbelief. The circle shimmered, with the faint sound of magical energy audible from where we were. "It must be protecting something. Like the way out, most likely." He began to lead us toward the center staircase descending to it, obviously anxious to get out of this cave. Bats continued to shriek past my ear in no way helping the pit that was growing in my stomach. I couldn't explain it, but something felt… wrong. Like we weren't supposed to be here. Walter must have seen my reservation, saying, "Well, I'll tell you one thing, we haven't gotten this far, haven't got this many people behind us, to end up dying in some far-off forsaken hole in the ground." I wasn't sure how that was supposed to make me feel better. It didn't.

The feeling became worse as we reached the magical barrier, it humming ominously at our feet. "Wherever we are, we're not the only ones who got stuck in this damned place." Walter motioned to the several skeletal remains scattered around the center. "Not the most encouraging sign in the world, is it?" I shook my head vigorously. "Still, they might have something useful on them." He began to examine the remains. When he looked up to see me just standing there, anxiously staring at the purple barrier, he suggested, "Why don't you go check the second lot over there?"

I cautiously made my way over to where he was indicating, careful not to step on any bones. Near one of the remains I noticed a small collection of parchment and books. A small leather book caught my eye and I delicately picked it up, thumbing through its pages. My eyes fell upon a certain section that caused a chill to creep up my spine. "I found something! A note." I called to Walter. I began to recite the passage. "It speaks to us still. Darkness incarnate. We know now we can never escape it."

"Well that doesn't sound good." Walter remarked before shouting, "Hey, I've got something too. One of these poor sods left a journal. Most of the pages have disintegrated but… well, you… you can still see plenty of weird symbols." He stood up and chuckled weakly at the contents of the small book he held. "It's mostly gobbledygook anyway. I mean listen to this nonsense." He cleared his throat and began to imitate a mystic voice as he recited the pages, "Luminous spirits of the sands, impart daybreak and gleam under a quiet moon." He laughed, "What's that supposed to –" but before he could finish, a beam of purple light emitted from the circle into the cavern ceiling above and the barrier vanished revealing a winding staircase deep into its depths.

"Look at that!" marveled Walter, "Can you believe I did that?" He laughed, pleased with his work. Walter began to descend before pausing and admitting, "It does look rather dark though. Maybe going down isn't such a good idea." Jax barked at Walter. "Oh yeah?" he looked down at him and placed his hands on his hips. "Well, why don't you lead the way if you're so tough." Jax barked once more and began to tread down the stone steps, Walter and I close behind, into the darkness that awaited us.

It seemed like we had descended miles below ground before we reached the end of the staircase. Once we did, we were greeted with a great stone arch leading into a corridor, or what I imagined was a corridor. The light that had only barely existed to help us down the steps seemed unable to permeate the blackness that lied beyond the arch. "You know how I said it looked 'somewhat dark?'" began Walter. "Well, I'd like to amend that statement: we're looking into utter, total, complete darkness."

Jax barked somewhere ahead and soon we heard his paws bounding for us. "What have you got there boy?" asked Walter. The dog dropped what looked to be a piece of wood before my mentor, who shouted with glee. "Ha! You little genius! Good boy." He gave Jax a scratch on his head before pulling out his flint and steel from his side pouch, striking it hard, the sparks illuminating his face. Soon, the sparks caught the wood and a brightly flaming torch was illuminating the halls surrounding us.

It was old, very old. The stone walls were intact enough but it seemed the ceilings had caved in, leaving large boulders of stone throughout the hall, exposing the glittering cavern above. Sand drifts were all around, wrapping around pillars and corners of the room. Each pillar and rock had strange inscriptions carved into them in a language I had never seen before. Under each inscription were smatterings of old half-melted wax candles that looked as if they had been unused for centuries. As Walter and I continued to walk through the halls, more skeletons remained scattered about.

"So, what do you think this place is?" My tutor asked.

"I have no idea." I replied truthfully.

"Temple of some sort?" he proposed. "What could anyone possible worship in here?" He asked, noticing that the darkness was somehow thicker now as we could not see past the torchlight a few feet in front of us. After walking a bit more, we came upon another arch, although it was more triangular than most I had seen back home. A large cavern was illuminated by another purple portal gleaming down at us from across the expanse. "We're not going any further this way." Walter motioned to the floor that came to a sudden stop presenting no way across the crevice surrounding us. He examined it further. "Looks like a bridge. Is that the mechanism to raise it on the other side?" He asked, pointing across the chasm to what looked to be a great big lever. "Isn't that handy." He muttered. "One of us will have to get across to use it. There must be some other way to get there."

We backtracked and found a side staircase leading to some deteriorating balconies overhanging the chasm. "Here we go." Walter said. "You should be able to make it to the other side from here." I leapt down, immediately shivering as a cold feeling overcame me as soon as I left the torchlight. I looked back to my mentor who was watching me from above and I continued to glance worriedly over at him as I made my way towards the other side. I didn't want to leave him alone. Hell, I didn't want to be alone here. This place seemed shadowy, beyond just the absence of light. I felt like something was awaiting us. Something… dark.

Eventually I made it to the lever, and Walter called out to me across the gap. "Okay, be careful now. That thing's probably pretty stiff, and we don't want to make any more noise than we have to." I grasped the handle firmly in my hands and tugged, the resistance of its mechanism forcing me to use all my strength. The lever slammed down and a great rumble sounded throughout the cavern. A stone bridge emerged from the floor beneath me and slammed into the other side with such force that the cavern shivered, causing great chunks of rock to rain down from above into the depths below.

"Yes… and quiet as stealthy mice, the adventurers forged ahead." He shook his head, crossing the bridge to meet me, but stopped cold when something spoke. It was like a whisper, but sounded more reptilian, like when a snake flicks its tongue. It was impossible to determine what it had said but caused my blood to turn to ice regardless. "I know I have a tendency to be slightly paranoid," began Walter, speaking slow, "but did that sound like something friendly to you?" He looked around, waiting for the origin of the noise to speak again. It did not, and Walter hesitantly began to lead us up toward the barrier still gleaming above us.

"Now where have we seen that before? Stand back. Walter the Scholar will deal with this." He paused and added, "with an increasing sense of trepidation, admittedly." He cleared his throat and receded back into his mystic tone,
"Luminous spirits of the sands, inhale the restless gloaming." Once more, the magic receded, and my mentor looked proudly at me. "There you go. What can I say? I have a knack for gibberish." I gave him a weak smile and followed him through where the barrier once was. As soon as we passed through, the hum of magic was audible once more. I whipped my head around to see that the barrier had reformed, blocking our path back. "Um." Walter began, "Do you ever get the feeling somebody's playing games with us?" He asked nervously.

"All the time."

"Let's just be thankful and get through this place as quickly as we can." I nodded and followed behind him as we ventured through the halls before us.

Suddenly, the slithering whisper we had heard before presented itself again, followed by the most horrible and heart-clenching voice I had ever heard. "The light you bring will die." It called out from the depths, seeming multiplied as if its owner was all around us. "The light inside of you will die. All that you are will die." Fear crept up from within me, placing its cold grip around my heart.

"Who's there?" Shouted Walter. "Show yourself!" Suddenly the dark beyond the torchlight was illuminated by hundreds of brightly glowing eyes. "Oh, this isn't good." Trembled my mentor.

The voice laughed softly and cooed, "The children are here to play."

Several of the eyes had charged for us, showing their forms to be humanoid but make entirely out of shadows. They had small wings sprouting out of their backs and gripped shadowy scythes that they swung at us. "What are they?" cried Walter as he nearly tripped over himself backing away from them. I drew my sword and began to parry the oncoming onslaughts of their ghostly blades, one succeeding at striking past my guard, cleaving a gash on my shoulder. The pain was white hot and unending, as if the blades were coated in poison. The voice relished in this, calling out, "The tissue tears. The tears burn. The burns blossom like dirty flowers on their skin." I gritted my teeth and fought past it, grateful that even though they were made of darkness, they still could be vanquished by a well-placed blow.

"Be corrosive. Be pernicious. Be diseased. Be devoured." Whispered the voice from the darkness. Walter, who had found the sense to draw his blade, aided me in disposing of the dark creatures. "Do you feel the darkness swarming around you? Do you feel it creep its torturous path through your mouth, your eyes, until it eats away inside you? Tell me how it feels." I gave out a great cry as I stuck my sword through the midsection of the last one, feeling its shadowy essence on my skin, ice cold. "You are tainted." Said the voice. "The stain will never wash out. The sun will never shine on you again. Tainted broken little toys." Jax whimpered, pressing his body against me, tail tucked. I tried to console him with a few pats and found my hands to be trembling with terror. I had never known fear like this. It felt like the darkness around us was trying to suffocate us, only kept at bay with the light of the torch in Walter's hand.

"It's alright." He said to me. "We're all right. We – We just have to keep going, that's all. We're all right." Again, he seemed more like he was trying to convince himself than me. I walked close to him, keeping my hand on my hilt, twitching at every sound. "More of those things!" cried Walter as the bright eyes charged toward us again. He ducked his head and swung the torch blindly illuminating the fact that it was only bats. My mentor shook his head and muttered, "Come on, Walter. Just hold it together." Jax continued to whine, rushing to my side every time another cloud of bats shrieked past us. The further we went, the denser the darkness became. Perhaps it was the trick of the shadows surrounding us, but I could have sworn I saw dark shards scattering away from the torchlight in front of us. I felt us unraveling. We had to get out of there.

The halls surrounding us grew ever eerier, with metallic statues lining the pathway. It reminded me of the suits of armor decorating the castle, but these were hunched over and had long beak like faces, like ravens. I watched them cautiously, feeling as though their hollow eyes were following us. Even further was another metal figure. It was tall and angle-like, with great wings unfurled behind it. In its steel hands was a large staff gripped across its torso menacingly. Walter looked wearily up at its hooded face and hurried past it muttering, "Damn this book and whoever wrote it. The bastards. Why didn't they tell us what was down here? 'Darkness incarnate.' Like we're supposed to know what that means." He began to whisper rapidly. "It won't stop. It won't stop until it kills us." I glanced over to him and saw his eyes scanning the darkness ahead rapidly, looking like a cornered animal.

After a little further he grabbed my shoulder hard, stopping us. "Wait, I think we must be close to an exit. There's a cold breeze. Can you feel it?" He charged forward, running fast enough that it was a struggle for me to keep up. "There's that sound again." He said as the reptilian whisper emerged from the shadows once more. "It's almost like…" he began, we reached another archway to our left and as soon as stepped in front of its opening, a great gust of ice cold wind blew, snuffing out the fire of the torch and darkness enveloped us. "No!" Cried Walter. "Not the light! Not the bloody light!" I could hear the panic in his voice. For a moment, I could see absolutely nothing. I could only feel Jax against my leg. Soon, I saw glimpses of Walter kneeling over the torch, the sparks illuminating him intermittently. "Come on, work, dammit. Those things are all around us! Come on, come on, come on!" with a final strike the sparks caught, and the torch was lit once more.

Walter quickly snatched it up and held it above his head, searching the surrounding area for the demons. I too looked around and found there were none to be seen. Suddenly and great hissing sounded, and I whipped towards Walter who was waving the torch in front of him in a panic, his eyes closed tightly shut. I could not see what had prompted this reaction, and he too, once opening his eyes, scanned the darkness. "Balls." he whispered. He turned and began to lead through the archway, muttering to himself. "… no, no, we have to get out of here. You hear me? We have to get out of here!" he shouted, terror causing his voice to tremble slightly. Whatever he thought he saw must have shaken him to his core, but he didn't offer any explanation. He just continued to mutter, "…as long as we have fire we'll be alright. We'll have to keep walking a-and we'll get out of here and we-we'll be alright…"

"We are coming." Rasped the voice.

"It's here!" Cried Walter.

"We will devour your kingdom." Amongst the piles of sand there was now a dark, oozing liquid like tar. It dripped upwards, as insane and unnatural as that sounds. The voice continued, "There will be no bargains. There will be only darkness. The children command it."

More of the winged demons emerged from the black before us. Walter was paralyzed with fear, "They're everywhere." He whispered. "Leave us alone!" he cowered beneath his arm as they charged toward him. I stepped between them, slashing and hacking to protect him.

The voice continued to taunt from the darkness, "You bring the light, but it betrays you. It knows you are not worthy of its toxic gleam." It cackled. "Do you want to see my face?" Walter cried out. "Close your eyes." It urged. "Those orbs of light offend us." From beyond the firelight, I could see… something, a figure that would disappear as soon as I glanced at it. It was with us. "Did the blind seer not tell you about us? Did she not warn you?" It laughed from the darkness. How could it know about Theresa?

Walter was doubled over, his hands clasped around his ears and eyes squinted shut as the laughter echoed around us. "QUIET!" he shouted, throwing the torch into the darkness. It twirled in the air then smacked right into a looming figure, which erupted into purple flames, obscuring it from my view. An inhuman squeal rang out and both the fire and the figure were gone from sight. Walter straightened himself and panted, "It's gone. The bastard's dead and gone. And we're getting out of here." He grasped my arm and continued to run through the halls, the lack of light making it difficult not to trip over stones and remains.

Along the way, more purple barriers lighted our path and I could see the disappointment on my mentor's face. "I'm sorry." He said above the magical hum. "I lost my head back there, I know. I never liked dark carves, but this… It's as if someone took my worst nightmare and made it real." We hurried past more metallic statues and dark liquid creeping from the stone walls. "But it's gone now," Walter assured me. "It's gone and we're going to be fine."

Eventually we came upon a small cliff leading into more cavernous halls. "Looks like the only way is down." Said Walter. "Goody." He stepped closer to the ledge and shifted uncomfortably. "Ah, right." He glanced to me waiting for him to take the jump. "Wait… just wait. I'll need a moment to prepare myself for this. But don't let me stop you." He motioned encouragingly for me to go first. I obliged, my feet landing squarely on the sand beneath, Jax following faithfully behind. "You alright down there?" He called.

"Yes." I replied, looking up to him. "It isn't far down."

"Right," he rubbed his hands together crouching to prepare for his leap. "Here I come then. Three… two…one…" But before he could jump, I saw him whip around and scream, vanishing from my view.

"Walter! Walter!" I cried out. I was only answered with the cold laugh of the voice that had been plaguing us.

"You let him die." It rasped. "You let us take him. But you're glad are you not? You wished him pain." I shouted no, but it cared not. "You wished him undone, unthreaded, unliving." I sprinted through the sand not believing him to be gone. I had to reach him, before whatever creature this was harmed him. But the darkness was unrelenting, the demons melding from its breadth, attempting to carve at me. I fought them with newfound fervor and, once they had been slaughtered, the voice growled with rage, "You've brought hurt! The children are angry." I continued further, the dark beings erupting from the pools of liquid oozing across the path before me. "A great wave of darkness will cover your land. They will come for your king. Who would sit upon the throne of Albion?" It knew about Logan. How? I had not the time to ponder such a query as the creature's dark minions were numerous. "Accept death now." It advised. "It is so much easier than what is to come."

I pushed the voice from my mind and continued to forge ahead. Walter was my only concern at that moment, not the taunting of some creature that refused to show its face. "What happens to this piece of flesh when darkness touches its soul?" it questioned. I almost screamed for it to not touch him but remained silent against its prodding. Soon, I reached a great hall below another small ledge. I leapt down and looked up to see Walter on the opposite side, guttural noises escaping him. He was in pain. I ran quickly to him and saw the black liquid was encasing him, oozing up his sides, gurgling out of his mouth, and leaking like tears out of his closed eyes. I reached out to help him but knew not what to do.

Then I heard the snake-like whisper behind me once more and I unsheathed my sword, swinging around. I saw it for a second, the same figure Walter had engulfed with flames, before it vanished into smoke. Despite not seeing it for long, I was sure it wasn't human. I could have sworn it had multiple faces. "We have waited centuries for you." It growled. "You see now the future that awaits you. All those people you want to save. The people you want to control. They will shrivel as your friend has." More shadowy creatures rushed toward us, and I gripped my sword tightly. "They will be food for the children. They are still so hungry, So very hungry." Now great dark birds emerged from the liquid, cawing like shadow ravens. "You can never escape the darkness." The voice leered as they plummeted towards me, meeting their end through a great fireball thrown from my palm. "It flocks to you always. Watch us fly into your heart."

The shadows emitted from the defeated demons slithered toward the same metallic figures as before, the ones with sharp metal beaks. The darkness crept between the plating and they began to tremble, wing-like razors revealing themselves from their crouched positions. Their eyes, once hollow, now held a gleaming purple glow. "The children hide in their shells. They have bodies now. Bodies can tear you asunder!" The creatures tore at me, their blades slicing through the air. As I worked at dividing their limbs from their bodies, I saw the creature, back towards me, hunched over Walter. "Ah," it cooed almost lovingly. "They eyes are gone forever." I launched a ball of fire toward it, but it only disintegrated into the smoke it disappeared in.

Once the metal birdmen were defeated, the voice cooed again. "He bleeds light and fades away. You should see it. It's a beautiful sight." I glanced up to Walter, who had been released by the dark liquid, which dripped from him, but seemed covered in darkness, like the shadows clung to him. The tarlike substance flowed toward one of the great angel statues lined against the wall and poured within it, animating it like the other figures before. It rushed toward me, slamming its staff down, creating a fissure that knocked me off my feet, slamming my back into the stone floor. I coughed, the wind knocked out of me, but scrambled back to my feet. I charged, my sword clanking uselessly against its metallic limbs. I rolled aside, dodging a swing from his staff only barely. I threw fireball after fireball at it, but it seemed to do nothing. I thought fast and noticed the center emblem it had carved into its chest. It seemed made of glass with a dull purple light emanating from within. I grasped my pistol and landed several carefully aimed shots into its center, hearing the tinkling of cracking glass. I rolled again, evading a flock of birds it had conjured from the tip of its stave. Several more bullets landed, the glow of the purple light shooting out in beams as the figure roared in pain. I pushed one final fiery blast from my palm and the statue exploded into bits of armor and smoke. "This land is ours!" The voice roared from the shadows. "Darkness will spread across the world!"

I rushed to Walter, who was kneeling over on the floor, the shadows seeming to have left him. "I can't see." He whispered, still hunched over. "That thing… it blinded me. I can't see!" He cried in a panic. He clawed the air, finally finding me next to him and gripped my arm hard.

"It's okay, Walter. I'm here." I reassured him. I heaved him to his feet and finally saw his face. His eyes… they were like they were gone. Only darkness surrounded them, a dark void. I almost puked at the sight of it and I felt more terrified than I ever have. But I shook away that feeling. I needed to be strong for Walter.

"We have to get out. Quickly!" He cried, stretching his arms before him and finding my hand. I began to lead him to a corridor to the side of the great chamber, moving slowly and instructing him over rocks and down steps. The slithering whisper sounded again. "It's still out there! We need to leave!" I assured him we were and continued to guide him. "You can hear it too, can't you?" he asked. "It is there. I'm not mad." As we traveled further, the darkness seemed to break, sunlight streaming from the end of the hall. We had made it. We were getting out of there.