Dark Journey by Elizabeth Monvey

Author:Elizabeth Monvey [Monvey, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Ali shook his head, clearing the cobwebs lingering from the awful tasting tonic he’d ingested. Boiled fish with a touch of putrid spinach and a rotten egg thrown in for good measure. His stomach churned as he bent over and dry heaved, wishing he had something to clean out his mouth, but all he could do was spit out the vile aftertaste. Murmuring came through the brush, and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as curiosity had him following the sound. Cax and Hark stared at a stone building.

“Where are we?” he asked them.

“Haven’t a clue,” Hark said. “We’re trying to figure out if going in there is a good idea.”

He pointed to the building.

“It’s an old temple,” Ali informed them needlessly

Cax pointed to the entryway. “You recognize that symbol?”

Above the rusty doors was the face of a man who stared benignly down at them, yet next to him each side of his profile was shown, as if the stone man was turning his head back and forth rapidly. A disturbing moment chiseled entirely in stone.

“Three faces of man,” he murmured. “Past, present, future.”

“Step lively,” Cax muttered as he mounted the steps and pried the door, which swung open with a squeaky protest.

They filtered into the temple and stood in the streaming light, letting their eyes adjust to the muted tones inside. A shrine was at the front but had long ago lost the offerings and tidings that worshipers had meticulously prepared for whatever deity the temple had been dedicated to.

Ali took a few steps forward. “It feels very lonely here, doesn’t it?”

He turned when neither Hark nor Cax answered, and found himself alone. He no longer stood inside the temple. The walls had melted away, and Ali found himself standing outside again, this time all alone. A rush of cool air swept over him to ruffle his hair, and the air was greatly appreciated against the sweat that still trickled down his neck. The sunlight had become extremely bright, causing him to narrow his eyes against the glare and hold up a hand to act as a shield.

“Cax?” he called out. “Hark? Where are you?”

They didn’t respond. Instead, the sound of a battle raging fierce and heavy echoed through the wilderness, and he turned in a circle, trying to find from where the source of the battle came from.

There was a tap on his shoulder, and Ali pivoted…

And came face to face with himself.

Ali stared at himself in shock, unable to think of a rational explanation for what, or who, he stared at. The other him was dressed differently, in black leather with a silver band encircling his forehead. Slung across his chest was a harness holding a quiver of arrows that peeped out over one shoulder. In his right hand, he gripped a bow.

This Warrior Alisander looked him up and down, sneering at each thing his gaze landed on, and Ali was all too aware that he didn’t measure up very well in the Warrior’s opinion.

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