Chapter 58
Everyone stopped and exchanged nervous glances. "Well, that's disturbing," Zevran said as he looked around the tunnel hoping to spot the speaker.
"It gets worse," Emma replied, thinking of all the times her skin had crawled while listening to the chant. They'd gone no more than a hundred yards when the voice spoke again.
"Second day, they beat us and eat some for meat."
And so it went on; with each short distance covered, another line would be whispered through the tunnels.
"Third day, the men are all gnawed on again."
"That seems unfair; why is it only the men getting gnawed on?" Alistair said.
Emma glanced at him and grimaced. "Trust me when I say that the women endure much worse."
He raised a dubious brow. "I'm not sure what could be worse than being chewed on, but I'll take your word for it."
Her lips twisted as she murmured, "You don't have to, you'll see for yourself soon enough."
"Fourth day, we wait and fear for our fate."
"Fifth day, they return and it's another girl's turn."
"Have we missed a bit? It's another girl's turn for what?" Leliana asked, looking as confused as she sounded.
Emma shook her head. "No, you haven't missed anything, and as I said before, you'll all find out soon enough."
"Can't you give us a little hint?" Wynne asked. An image of the Broodmother rose in all its gruesome detail, making Emma twitch. How the hell could she explain something like that? She couldn't. It was that simple. If she tried to describe some beast that had a few layers of breasts, and numerous large tentacles swinging around, they would think she'd lost her mind. "Not really."
"Sixth day, her screams we hear in our dreams."
"Seventh day, she grew as in her mouth they spew."
"That's sodding nasty," Oghren complained as he farted.
"Hmm, you and this unknown voice would get along marvellously, yes?" Zevran quipped as he moved away from the revolting smell.
"Eighth day, we hated as she is violated."
There were no comments made about that line, but everyone shivered slightly at the implication. Numerous red pustules were now covering more and more of the walls as they kept moving towards the emotionless voice.
"Ninth day, she grins and devours her kin."
Turning a corner, they halted at the sight of a female dwarf crouched down, and poking around in a pile of decomposing flesh, the words of the rhyme falling from her lips.
"Now she does feast, as she's become the beast."
She stood at their approach and stared, as though unable to believe that real people were standing in front of her. Aedan stepped closer, noting the signs of corruption and the feverish, blotchy complexion. "A ghoul perhaps?" Alistair suggested.
"Possibly, I haven't seen enough of them to say for certain. However, that seems as likely an explanation as any," he replied before turning back to Hespith and questioning her in a calm voice. However, all he could get out of the poor woman was the basics; she'd been Branka's captain and lover - which got a harrumph from Oghren. One point was very clear, though - she blamed Branka for what had happened to her and the rest of the House. As memories threatened to overwhelm Hespith, she turned and ran, disappearing into the darkness.
Thinking they'd got about as much from her as they were ever going to, they continued on their way. However, as they moved through the tunnels, Hespith's voice once more took up the tale, and what she revealed was enough to make even the most hardened warrior cringe. Hespith stopped talking as they entered a room where the Legionnaire's alter was located. They retrieved the helmet which completed the Legion of the Dead armour set and found themselves beset by ghostly warriors. "Perhaps we shouldn't have disturbed their resting place," Leliana said after they'd finished the fight.
"Sod that, woman! This is a great armour, and as the only dwarf, I think I should test it out."
Aedan chuckled and Oghren started stripping down. "Oh, really! Do you have to do that here?" Wynne asked in disgust.
The dwarf looked around the room. "Well, I don't see any sodding screen to go behind, so yes." His eyebrows lifted and his lips stretched in a leer. "You can always come and help me get this armour off?"
Zevran stepped forward, wiggling his eyebrows. "You only had to ask." Oghren's face paled and he moved back. The assassin laughed. "I jest, my foul-smelling friend. You are only slightly more attractive to me than a slime-filled pool of swamp water."
The dwarf grunted. "Better be."
Zevran chuckled. "You have my oath."
"Bloody Antivans." Oghren glared at the elf before walking over to a corner and quickly changing into his new armour while everyone else waited at the door with their backs turned.
Emma suddenly felt light-headed and put her hand against a wall to steady herself. The dizziness became worse and a wave of nausea washed over her. "Emma, what's happening? Are you all right?" She could hear Aedan's panicked voice as if from a great distance; she opened her mouth to answer him, but nothing came out. Other voices joined in, all filled with concern and worry as she slipped down the wall, landing in a curled kneeling position, her hands pressed to the hard ground.
It was then that she noticed the reason for their anxiety; her skin had turned transparent so that she could see the muscles and veins beneath. Emma's heart kicked into panic mode and she tried to scream out her denial. She didn't want to go back to her world; she wanted to stay with Aedan. The rough hewn walls of the Deep Roads faded, to be replaced with stark white walls and the sound of beeping. She looked down on an emaciated body - which she realized, with a shock, was her own - and a doctor pushing a needle into an intravenous hooked up to the arm of her unconscious body.
Her frightened brain reacted instinctively and she slapped at the doctor's hand. The woman stepped back as though she'd been stung. Emma grinned at the unexpected response. If she could have an effect on the things in this world, then she had an idea. She moved over to the body and slapped its arm…well, her arm. It jerked a little, so she slapped a leg and the same thing occurred. Both nurse and doctor watched as various parts of Emma's body twitched and moved, seemingly at random.
"What's happening to her, Doctor?"
The woman sighed and scratched her head. "I have no idea! This should have worked. However, until we know more, it would be unwise to continue with the injection." The doctor looked around the bare room. "It's a pity she doesn't have any family as they might have been able to give us a better idea of her medical history." She pulled the syringe from the intravenous and threw it in the yellow hazardous waste bin. "Such a shame. We had high hopes that this medication would bring her out of the coma." Emma glanced around the room, and her eyes stung with unshed tears; there were no cards wishing her well, no cheerful balloons to greet her upon waking. It certainly hammered home the point that she had no reason to return to her world.
With no warning, her head started spinning, and her surroundings changed once more. Emma found herself back in the Deep Roads, looking up into anxious blue eyes. "Hi," she croaked. Aedan bent down and captured her lips with an intensity that bordered on panic. She hooked her arm around his neck, holding him to her, as she struggled with her own apprehension about their future.