"Darius, wake up."
Darius blinked his eyes open into the familiar monotony of total darkness. For a moment he floundered in confusion, trying to remember where he was. He groaned as the memories flooded back in, bringing with them his throbbing headache. He rolled onto his side and tried to curl up, gasping at the stab of pain in his leg.
Still broken. Great.
The warm body that had been his support and comfort in the dark was gone. At some point Hunter must have slipped out from under Darius and now he lay prostrate on the stone floor. It was rough and uneven and bloody hard, digging uncomfortably into his aching body. He could feel the cloak still draped over his legs, but the absence of Hunter's physical presence left him feeling cold and utterly alone.
"Hunter? Are you there?"
There was a slight sound at his back and a hand brushed against him.
"I'm here. How are you feeling?" Darius gave a snort and made no effort whatsoever to restrain his sarcasm.
"Just peachy, dear prince. I mean, my leg's still busted and I feel like there's a horde of fire bees making a hive in my head. On top of that I honestly have no idea how long we've been down here, but I haven't eaten since we left the castle, so I am hungry enough to eat dirt. Oh, and I am really, really thirsty. Aside from that, pretty great!" Hunter gave a wry chuckle.
"It's good to hear you being your usual snarky self." Darius smiled to himself and rolled onto his back, head turning towards the sound of Hunter's voice.
"Snarky? Me? I don't know what you could possibly mean by that. But enough about me, my liege. How are you doing?"
"I can move my arm now. It still hurts, but it's not broken or dislocated. I'm going to try to climb out now." Darius wished Hunter could see the incredulous look he knew was plastered across his own face.
"What? How? It's completely dark. You won't be able to see where you're going, or what to grab onto…"
"Look, I know it sounds crazy but we don't have another option. You're hurt, we've lost our supplies, and the chances of someone finding us, or even coming to look for us are astronomically low. We could wait down here until we turned into skeletons and still no one would find us. I have to at least try."
Darius lay in silence. He tried to think of a rebuttal, but his head ached too much. Try as he might he couldn't still the pounding in his brain enough to think of a way out. He licked his dry lips.
"I know you do. Doesn't mean I have to like it." Hunter chuckled and the darkness felt suddenly warmer at the sound.
"I appreciate your concern, and your honesty. Before I go, let me just…"
Darius felt Hunter's hands pull the cloak off of his body and heard him fumbling with it in the dark. The hands were suddenly under him, lifting his head and slipping the folded cloak under his head like a pillow. It was lumpy but soft, and warmth spread through his chest at the small comfort. The weight of Hunter's hands left his body and Darius felt some of the warmth leave with it.
"Try to get some rest while I'm gone, okay?" Darius gave a mocking gasp.
"What? Rest? Are you seriously telling me to slack off?" Hunter sighed and Darius grinned in the darkness at the familiar sound.
"Darius, please try to take this seriously."
"As you wish, my prince."
"I am going to leave now before I give in to the impulse to shove you again." Darius grasped in the dark, latching onto Hunter's arm as he began to rise.
"Wait, before you go, let me try something."
He concentrated, screwing his face into a scowl, and reached out with every working neuron in his brain.
There.
Ten feet away.
Darius turned his body over and stretched his arm as far as it could go towards the material he could feel calling to him. It was like grade school all over again.
Abomination, rise!
Little by little he could feel it sluggishly respond to his summons, as if it were waking from a deep slumber. His head throbbed and his forehead was drenched in sweat with the effort. Inch by inch it rolled towards him until he felt its cold slime against his fingertips. He let out a deep sigh of relief and gave one final pull. The abomination slid over his hand and up his forearm, coating his skin in its cool familiarity. He gathered it into himself, rolling over onto his back, and quickly formed a lantern on his stomach.
An abomination's inner flame was objectively a very dull thing, but the sudden light that flared into the darkness stung his eyes. He shut them reflexively, groaning at the stab of pain within his brain. When the pain died away to a dull throbbing he cracked his eyes open, squinting in the half-light at his surroundings. Sheer cliff walls rose above him on either side, their jagged edges looming over him in deep shadow. The rocks were drenched in a muted green tinge as though every surface was covered in a thin layer of moss.
And there, bathed in the light of his lantern, was Hunter.
For the first time Darius could clearly see his eyes, open and aware and staring back at him. For the first time he was truly face-to-face with the man who had taught and guided him through the past six months. The veil of the golden mask had been lifted, and it took his breath away. He could look directly into the soft, magenta eyes, and what he saw sent a pang of fear through his heart. Hunter was looking intently at him, concern etched into the corners of his mouth and eyes. He looked haggard and exhausted in the dim light, the evidence of their ordeal plastered to his face and hair. Dirt marred his skin, mixing with the blood from countless scrapes and cuts. He held his right arm close to his body and Darius could see the gash on his shoulder through the torn and bloody woolen tunic, even in the dull green light. The sight of Hunter's injuries made the severity of their situation come into acute, desperate focus. They had no water, no food, no way of treating their injuries. Even small wounds could become infected without proper care. If they didn't do this now they were going to die.
Hunter was going to die.
"Here." He pressed the lantern into Hunter's hands. "It won't get you too far before I lose control of it and it dissolves, but I hope it will help at least a little bit." Hunter held it up, his expression pensive.
"Is there any way you can attach it to me or my clothes so that I don't have to hold it?" Darius guided the lantern to Hunter's side with one hand and with the other he pressed the top portion into the thick belt around Hunter's waist. It morphed to latch firmly around the black leather and hung there, cumbersome but secure. Darius let out a labored breath, suddenly exhausted.
"There. It might be a little awkward, but it should hold until you're out of range." Hunter nodded.
"Thank you, Darius. Get some rest and try not to worry." He raised his hand and lightly smacked Darius on the forehead. "Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone, okay? I'll be back soon, I promise." Darius' breath hitched at Hunter's choice of words. He reached up and gently grasped the gloved hand, bringing It to his chest.
"Let's lay off the promises for now. We don't have a great track record with them so far. Just take care of yourself, and we'll go from there, one step at a time. Sound good?" Hunter's mouth twitched into a slight smile. He opened his hand and let their fingers interlace with a reassuring squeeze.
"Sounds good." They stayed as they were, motionless for a brief second until Hunter stood and his hand slipped from Darius' grasp. He stood, looking up at the sheer walls for a moment, mentally plotting his ascent into the darkness. Then he put his hands to the stone and began to climb.
Darius watched silently from the floor as the wiry figure of his friend clambered up the rock walls, trying not to be a source of distraction. He could hear Hunter's labored breaths and the scrambling sounds of his hands and feet as they sought for secure holds. The lantern swung from side to side with every jostling motion, sending shadows scattering like dust bunnies into every dark crevice. It made Darius' vision swim dizzily as he tried to follow Hunter's ascent until all he could see was a faint glow high above him.
The light grew dimmer and dimmer and he felt his grasp on the abomination weakening the fainter the sound of Hunter's climb became. Darius closed his eyes and clenched his jaw fiercely, desperately attempting to hold onto the flickering form of the lantern. In his mind's eye he could see its faint glow fluttering like the wings of a dying bird.
I have to keep going as long as I can. He needs me.
The connection dissolved and the light winked out.
Plop.
He heard the remnants of his lantern hit the ground somewhere nearby, followed immediately by a faint cry. Darius sucked in his breath at the sound and his eyes snapped open.
"Hunter! Are you okay?" For one terrible second there was no answer. Then faintly, a far-away voice answered him.
"I'm out!" Darius felt the terror leave him in a gasp of relief. He took in a deep breath and yelled as loud as he could past the immense throbbing in his head..
"You're out of the pit? That's great! Can you see anything?"
"No!" The voice was so far away he could barely make it out. "The light spells… blew out. I'll have… my way by feel... soon!"
Darius took another deep, rib-splitting breath yelled back. "Okay! Be safe!"
If there was an answer, Darius never heard it. All that remained was silence and darkness.
And now he was truly alone.
He lay there, staring up into the empty void before his eyes. Eventually he sighed and reached out for the sad puddle nearby. He pulled the splattered abomination back to himself, letting it run up his arm and into his lap where he reformed it into a lantern. The little green light threw the sharp edges of the rocks above him into stark relief like a wide open mouth of serrated teeth. It was hardly a comforting sight.
Well at least I can see now. That's something, right?
The minutes ticked interminably on, one after another in the darkness. Time seemed to lose all sense of linear progression as he stared up at the deep shadows with only his worried thoughts to keep him company. There was no noise, not even the movement of insects to break the suffocating stillness under the earth. He wondered if he would go crazy before he starved to death.
Muck that !
Screwing up his face he tried to whistle, but his mouth was so dry that all he could really manage was a few pathetic puffs before he gave up entirely.
Well this is beyond stupid.
As far as he could see it, he had two options. The first was to stay where he was and wait for Hunter to come back. The second was to gather all of the abomination material he could and try to make a cast. He couldn't climb, not with a broken leg, but maybe he could explore the cave and find a tunnel out? He wished he knew how to portal. Abominations were born from the blood and skin of the Titan. He had heard of masters in his coven being able to use the dimension transcending properties of the Titan's blood latent in all Abominations to pass through solid objects as though they were mist. He'd never pulled it off, never even seen it done, but it would have been really nice to know how to make one now. Maybe he'd get Blitzen, his coven head, to show him when he got back.
If he got back .
Darius groaned and turned over, holding the little light against his stomach. Even if he could make a cast, even if there was a tunnel, he'd have no idea which way to go. He would just be making everything worse again by getting more lost. For now he'd just have to suck it up and wait. But who knew how long that would take? Who knew if Hunter would come back at all, given his state of injury and the frankly ludicrous obstacles he was facing on his climb out of this pit?
Darius came out of his thoughts with a jolt.
What was that?
Somewhere in the darkness beyond the comforting circle illumined by his lantern, something was moving. A scuffling, sniffing sound, like a creature with its nose to the ground, searching out food, filled the darkness around him.
"Who's there?" It came out as barely a whisper. Darius cursed how small his voice sounded. He cleared his throat and tried again.
"Who's there?"
The scuffling sounds abruptly ceased. Whatever it was, it knew by now that it had been discovered. Darius drew himself up into a sitting position and glared out in the direction of the sounds.
"I know you're there. Come out, whoever you are!" The scuffling sounds began again, more slowly, as if something were edging cautiously towards him. Darius could see two huge, shining eyes staring at him out of the darkness.
Oh Titan, please don't let it be another ratworm.
A small orange hand passed into the circle of light. Little by little the creature shuffled its way into view until Darius could see its whole body. He stared at it for a moment, completely nonplused. It was a tiny little demon, maybe even a baby, crawling on all fours. The little beast creature had a violent shock of red hair that fell in a plume down its back and a broad, babyish face with a fine layer of the same orange fur that covered the rest of its body. Its yellow eyes seemed almost too big for its face, blown wide with what Darius could only assume was an expression of hesitant curiosity. He leaned forward and the tiny thing jumped back with a violent hiss, fur bristling and fangs bared.
Darius froze, breathing quietly through his nose and tried to appear calm and non-threatening. The beastling stared him down with narrowed eyes, unmoving and prepared to fight or flee. Darius raised his hands slowly, palms up and open.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, little guy. You just startled me." The creature's face shifted suspiciously from his face to his hands and then to his lantern. He didn't run, which was a start. Maybe it was friendly? Darius cautiously brought his lantern across his body and set it down on the ground between them.
"Would you like to come see my light?" The beastling approached slowly, sniffing at the object suspiciously. It opened its toothy mouth and gave a tentative bite. The abomination flexed around the bite, spilling through its little fangs. It shrieked and spit it out, sticking out its tongue with a disgusted noise. Darius couldn't help chucking at the adorable display .
"What is a little critter like you doing down in a place like this?"
The child cocked its head to one side like a baby bird, ears twitching, and Darius had to bite the inside of his cheek at the overwhelming urge to pet the obscenely cute, fuzzy orange fur-ball.
"My name's Darius. What's your name?" The creature didn't answer, attention drawn back to the strange contraption in front of him.
"Can you understand me?" The creature shot him a look that was both incredulous and annoyed and nodded his head slowly. Darius smirked. So the kid had an attitude.
"Okay, so you can understand me. Can you talk?" The creature shrugged noncommittally. Darius frowned. Not helpful.
"Do you live down here?"
A shake of the head. No.
"Are you lost?"
Another shake. No.
"So you know a way out?"
A nod. Yes.
Darius gave a heaving laugh of relief.
"Great!. Is your family nearby?"
A shake. No.
No? That was… unexpected.
"You're alone? But you're not lost?"
A nod, and the yellow eyes dropped sadly and seemed to dim." Darius felt a pang of sympathy for the little thing.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't have a family either." The beastling looked up at him, his face softening. Darius cautiously stretched out his hand and placed it gently on the auburn mane. He gave an experimental ruffle and to his immense satisfaction the critter leaned into contact. Darius wondered how long it had been since the child had experienced a friendly touch like this.
"So you think you could help me get out of here? My friend went on ahead of me, but he doesn't have a light like this, or any magic. Can you please go help him, or help me get to him? I…" He felt his eyes begin to burn and he swallowed back the bitter lump in his throat. "I think he's going to die trying to help me, and it'll be my fault. Please help me find my way out of here."
The little beast's eyes went wide, like twin glowing saucers in the dark and he nodded. Darius managed a watery smile of gratitude.
"Thank you. Whatever you want, if I can get it for you when we get out of here, it's yours. I promise."
Turning on his back, Darius lifted the lantern and placed it on his stomach, closing his eyes in concentration. Carefully he pulled as much abomination material as he could from the lantern until only the barest little flame remained. It was far less than he had hoped for, but he would have to make do somehow. Using the excess material he wrapped his leg in a make-shift brace and gingerly turned over onto his side. The pain set his teeth on edge, but the bone remained in place. He managed to pull himself up onto his knees, bracing himself against the side of the cave as he mentally steeled himself.
Now for the hard part.
Darius locked his jaw against the waves of agony rippling up from his leg through his whole body. He forced himself to stand, fingers digging into the rock wall for balance. The beastling rose as he did, offering his hand for support. Darius shook his head and brushed the hand away, face twisted in pain. He had to try to do this on his own.
Titan, I hope this works. Please let this work
He tentatively shifted, leaning out from the wall and transferring weight onto his broken leg little by little…
His leg gave out and he staggered forward, hands flying out to break his fall. He hit the ground hard, first his hands, and then his knees. He gave a strangled scream as he felt something give under his already broken leg with a loud crack. He felt the little beast's hands rest gently on his shoulder as he shook with agonized sobs.
Useless. I'm always so useless.
He looked down at the abomination dripping from his leg. Under its sorry mess he saw something glinting in the green light.
Was that… broken glass?
A flash of blue light shot through the abomination's purple mass like lightning across a thundercloud. The abomination writhed and frothed around the blue light like it was in pain. Darius felt the abomination grow and swell, wrapping itself around his whole body in a violent, all-consuming embrace. His skin and bone lit up with a searing fire that coursed through his leg, then up his torso, reaching for his face. He had time enough for one startled scream before the abomination closed over his head.
He screwed his eyes shut and held his breath, not daring to breathe lest he let the bubbling mass invade his body through his eyes, nose or mouth. He felt the abomination settle into his skin with a sticky, crackling sensation, like drying paint. It drew tighter and tighter, digging into his body, drawing into him through every open pore and hair follicle. His lungs screamed for air until he couldn't hold it any more. His eyes shot open as he took one heaving gasp for air and the abomination rushed in, running down his throat and nostrils. His eyes burned for a brief, agonizing moment…
And then it was over. Darius came back to himself gradually, trembling all over in shock.
What the muck just happened to me?
He looked down at the crushed glass beneath his knee and gingerly turned onto his side, trying to see it better. It looked like the remnants of a little vial with one tiny drop of a vibrant blue liquid still hovering on the edge of a small sliver. Darius stared at it, hardly comprehending what he saw.
Titan's blood.
The broken glass was the vial of Titan's blood Hunter had dropped. Somehow it had survived the fall only to be crushed under his broken leg and now…
He looked down at his body. It looked okay. Nothing seemed different, yet he felt… changed. Altered. He ran his hands over his arms. Nothing wrong there. His torso felt fine, his leg… hell… was still broken. Darius reached a shaking hand up to his head to run his fingers through his ponytail then stopped as he felt them pass through something bulbous and… moving. Both hands flew up to his scalp.
There was an abomination on his head! It danced around his probing fingers like something sentient and alive. Darius reached out with his mind, suddenly realizing with an equal measure of unease and relief that his headache was completely gone. There was a small noise to his left and Darius turned to see the demon child crouched at his side. The little beast was looking at him, concern and perplexity written across its chubby face. Darius cracked a hesitant smile.
"Hey, I'm okay. I'm… Titan, I think I'm more than okay." He reached out again and felt the Abomination respond with astonishing alacrity. He pulled it down his body to wrap around his legs. There was more matter now and it was both stronger and more malleable. He stood up straight, feeling the Abomination buoy him up, surrounding and supporting his tired and broken body. He took a step, testing out the support around his leg. It twinged and ached a little as his weight shifted, but he could move. He could move now and he could go find Hunter. He looked down at the little beast and gave a reassuring smile.
"I'm ready if you are." It gave a toothy grin and motioned for him to follow. It led him towards the wall of the cave where, bending down, it slipped into a hole just barely large enough for a grown witch. It would be dark and horrifically cramped, but it was a way out. It was a way to Hunter.
He laughed to himself at the sudden surge of hope swelling in his breast. He'd find Hunter and together they'd go back to the castle and he'd live every day for the rest of his life making it up to Hunter for the royal mess he'd made of this botched mission.
I'm coming, Hunter.