Demona was thankful that the child of Oberon had taken care to enlarge the chalk doorway she had escaped through. She could now remain on her feet in order to make her way through it, though she did have to hunch very low. She could hear Goliath and Lexington's voices getting fainter as they tried to surmise where she had disappeared to and their excited shouts as they apparently discovered the portal. This caught her off guard and she paused within the tunnel to listen. Surely the boy had closed the portal so they could not follow her? But a moment later, she heard the disgruntled sounds of Goliath attempting to shove his way through the narrow passageway and she quickly resumed her way forward. She was fortunate that Goliath was large enough to be substantially hindered by the small opening. Lexington, on the other hand, was gaining on her quickly, and just as she began to feel the smooth floor give way to a hard, rocky texture, he caught up with her, slamming into her from behind and forcing her to roll out of the last feet of passageway into a lightless, damp, open space.
She endured a brief fall from the opening, perhaps a couple yards, and landed in what felt like a shallow, gravel stream. She reached for her eyes instinctively, as if to wipe them clear, only to come to the horrifying conclusion that wherever she was, there was simply no light. It was an unwelcome sensation, to be in a place so dark that not even her gargoyle eyes could sense a shape or a shadow. She could judge that Lexington had not joined her in her unexpected descent, as she could still hear the sound of him negotiating the rocky terrain a good ways above her. She rose to her feet, conscious of every resounding noise she made, and extended her arms, wings, and tail as far as she could, trying to find something solid to guide her through what seemed like endless emptiness. She finally found a large, stone surface to her right, which led her to a slippery, wet wall that seemed to follow the stream of ice-cold water that washed over her feet. Trying to be as silent as possible, she moved to put as much distance between heself and her pursuers as she could, though she reasoned that Lexington probably couldn't hear her anyway over the almost-comical racket Goliath was making as he tried to get through the last few yards of that tunnel. The wall she was following had begun to curve dramatically as she went and she came upon a chute where the thin stream of water dropped suddenly from an opening above her. She wondered if it made more sense to follow the water upstream in order to find an opening to the cave, or to turn back and go the other way.
She could hear Goliath's voice echoing through the cavern and guessed that he had gotten clear of the tunnel and was now looking for Lexington. She resolved to stay still and see what they would do. A moment later, their voices disappeared, leaving her with no sound but the eerie drip of water and her own breath and heartbeat. She wondered if they had started to travel downstream instead and if that wasn't the more sensible path. Suddenly, she was startled by the sharp clap of something hard hitting the wall behind her, followed by a splash as whatever it was fell on the wet ground beside her. She froze in confusion, listening hard for the two others and trying to guess what they were up to. She could only make out a very faint hissing sound, that seemed to get louder. Then with a sharp bang, she was blinded by a flash of light, so much that she panicked and fell back against the wall behind her. Before she could regain her senses, Lexington had pounced on her and knocked her into the gravel.
"Goliath, I have her!" he shouted urgently, but she wrenched his hold on her loose and tossed him into the stream, leaping for the stone wall and climbing blindly and frantically toward the opening from where the water came, hoping that it would be too small for Goliath to follow her. She was too slow, however, and Goliath soon had her back on the ground, struggling against him despite not being able to see a thing. She got a few good blows in, but between the two of them, she could not break free. As she struggled, her sight came back to her, and she could see that the cavern was now illuminated by an eerie, green glow from a device that Lexington had pulled from the case that held his laptop computer. She also saw that he was holding his control for her implants and looking conflicted as to whether or not he should put it to use.
"Where are we?" Goliath demanded sternly as he pulled her to her feet.
"We are in a cave," she replied sarcastically, pushing herself free and crossing her arms sullenly. He turned to Lexington.
"What about your GPS?" he asked.
"We are in a cave," he repeated bleakly.
"Right," Goliath replied, glaring at her furiously, "Now what do we do?"
"The two of you turning around and climbing back up that portal where you belong is an option that comes to mind," she suggested snidely.
"The portal closed the moment I went through it," he informed her, "We're all trapped here now."
"How unfortunate," she responded as she turned away and began to climb the wall toward the source of the stream.
"What do you think you're doing?" Goliath demanded.
"I am looking for the way out, obviously."
"You don't think we're going to just let you leave, do you?" Lexington asked.
"I'm not particularly concerned about it," she told him, smirking at him over her shoulder, "You have to sleep sometime."
"And you can sleep at any time we want," Lexington pointed out, "Have you forgotten about the implants?"
She reached the opening, which turned out to be another tunnel, wide enough that they could all walk abreast, and sat on the edge.
"Well then?" she taunted him, stretching her arms out.
"It would be wise of you to reprogram them now, so that she sleeps from sunrise to sundown and she will be unable to attack us as we sleep," Goliath muttered to Lexington.
"You can't reprogram them as such, because you don't know where we are, and therefore, you don't know how long it is until sunrise or sunset," she called down to them in a singsong voice. Goliath looked at Lexington, who sighed.
"What she said," he concurred. Goliath growled lowly in frustration.
"Come along, my brothers," she called to them mockingly, "I could use some help from that light, Lexington."
Begrudgingly, they followed her up the wall to the top of the chute.
"Do you know where we are going?" Lexington asked irritably.
"I do not."
"Then what makes you think this is the right way?"
"We are clearly underground and we want to be above the ground. Therefore, it only makes sense that we go up."
They made their way up the tunnel, guided by Lexington's dim light.
"Just what are you expecting to find when we reach the surface?" Goliath asked her.
"I'm not sure," she replied truthfully.
"I hope we find a GPS signal strong enough that we can contact Xanatos and let him know where to pick us up!" Lexington thought out loud.
"I find that very unlikely," she replied. Lexington looked at Goliath nervously, but they continued on.
"This tunnel isn't natural. It's carved out," Goliath observed, "That's a good sign that we are headed the right way."
"It's also a sign that we could be perceived as trespassing," she pointed out, remembering the nocturnal monsters that Xarastrian had described in his journal. She had assumed they were gargoyles, but they could just as easily be some far more dangerous form of magical minion, employed by Old Felix to guard his lair.
"We'd best be on our guard," she warned.
The tunnel continued to ascend and they continued to follow the path, until she said, "Do you see a glow ahead?" Lexington turned off his lights and revealed that there was a soft light peeking from around a turn ahead of them. She moved to continue on, but Goliath seized her arm and stayed her, turning her to face him.
"If you know anything about what we might be facing around that corner, don't you think now is the right time to tell us?"
"Very well," she replied slowly, failing to meet his gaze, "I can't say for sure, but there is a chance that we will encounter a trickster by the name of Old Felix the Healer."
"Old Felix the Healer?" Goliath repeated, "The one that makes the healing gems?"
"You remembered!" she exclaimed, glancing up at him with a hint of approval, "There's also a chance that we might encounter the full force of his guards who may not be particularly pleased to see us."
"Fantastic," Lexington muttered.
"I told you not to come," she retorted.
"There's no going back, now," Goliath observed. She shrugged.
"You might find another way out…but…"
Goliath released her, looking forlorn.
"Come," he said, after a moment's thought, "Let us move forward and hope for the best."
The three of them quietly made their way around the turn and into a large open room. A stone walkway was carved along the perimeter of the room, with a timbered railing on the open side, overlooking a carved-out pit in the center. Along each of the outer edges of the pit were ornately carved stone troughs, which stood empty, except for some brightly colored blankets, neatly folded. In one corner of the pit, stood a rectangular, stone well, with bubbling water, covered with a grate, as if to protect it from unwanted bathers. Much of the rest of the pit was covered with a thick carpet and a pile of cushions. In the middle of the room, stood a decorative tree made of a shining metal, with many spreading branches. Many of the branches were decorated with brightly-colored objects hanging from ropes. The entire room was lit from the ceiling, which was fashioned to look like the night sky. Twinkling stars and streaks of the aurora borealis filled the room with movement and light. The timbers which lined the walkway around the pit were all ornately decorated with carved depictions of the stories she remembered from her childhood.
"Look!" she whispered to Goliath as they cautiously circled the room. Charmed by beauty and sentiment, she pointed out the different heroes and villains that had entertained them around many a fireside. Among the characters depicted were gargoyles, fairies, and beasts of all kinds, but not one human. Along one wall, were lines of cabinets, to which she unabashedly began to help herself, despite Goliath's protest. She peeked inside to find mostly blankets and other linen, cups and plates, and in one cabinet a wide variety of books.
She gasped in delight as she pulled out volume after volume.
"Oh, Goliath," she cried tenderly, "Have you ever seen anything so wonderful?"
He took a book from her and admired it with the same level of amazement.
"Oh, look!" she cried, eagerly pulling a selection entitled, "The Ancient Rituals: Understanding and Honoring the Ways of Our Ancestors."
Together they scanned the pages in wonder.
"Oh, Adelpha," he whispered to her, "Is this what you came here for?"
"No," she replied sincerely, "I never dreamed that this…that I'd ever see…"
She stumbled over her words and Lexington interjected.
"I don't get it. What is this place?"
"Don't you see?" she asked incredulously, "It's a rookery!"
Suddenly, they were interrupted by the voices and footsteps of a group heading their way, and the walkway was suddenly filled with gargoyle warriors, several of them armed with strangely forged blades, and none looking pleased to find them in their rookery.
"Arms up and open your wings!" demanded the warrior who seemed to be in charge, and the three of them did as commanded.
"I don't know you," the commander observed curtly as he examined them, "What business have you here?"
"Please," Goliath began to explain, "It's somewhat of a complicated story."
"Then let me provide you with the abridged version," the commander suggested discourteously, "You have no business here in the rookeries whatsoever. You are in direct violation of our security code."
"I'm afraid that is true," Goliath admitted calmly, "Though we did not intend any harm or disrespect. If we could just talk, I'll be happy to explain how we came to be here."
"You will be expected to explain yourself, to be sure," the commander agreed, "But sunrise is minutes away, so you will have to wait to speak with the elder council tomorrow night. In the meantime, my team will take you to lockdown and-
"Minutes away!" Goliath repeated in alarm, "Lexington, quickly!"
Understanding immediately, Lexington scrambled to retrieve the control for Demona's implants from his bag.
"You there!" one of the guards shouted, "Keep your arms up and wings open!"
"Please, you don't understand," Goliath attempted to explain as Lexington quickly entered codes into the control panel, "Our companion is very unstable, and she doesn't sleep during the day. She must be restrained before sunrise or we will all be in danger from her."
"Drop that, I say!" the commander thundered, rushing forward and striking the control from Lexington's claws, where the case cracked open on the stone walkway. But Lexington had been quick enough and Demona instantly collapsed. The guards gasped as she fell, and two of them rushed to her side while the rest seized Lexington and Goliath aggressively.
"What did he do to her?" the commander exclaimed.
"She's unconscious," one of the guards announced, "But her breathing and pulse are steady."
"Take her to the healers," he ordered, "But tell them to keep her restrained until we get some idea of what is going on here! And be careful with that!" The last comment was directed to one guard who was already collecting the pieces of the battered control panel.
He turned toward Goliath and Lexington.
"I advise you to remain silent on your way to lockdown," he told them sternly.
"As you wish," Goliath replied.