Fade by Farrell Claire

Author:Farrell, Claire [Farrell, Claire]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Mythology & Folk Tales, Horror, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Genre Fiction, Literature & Fiction
Published: 2014-03-25T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

As we made our way to the back of the cave, the green glow brightened. The cave was larger than I first thought, more like a tunnel. The ceiling lowered until Arlen and Dymphna had to bend their heads to fit.

“Are you sure this is the way, Bekind?” I whispered as I had to duck under a stalactite. My voice echoed, then creepy hissing sounded. For all I knew, some creature was mocking me in the dark. I swallowed hard at that thought.

The cat gave a little growl in answer. The growl echoed, too.

I slipped on a wet rock and had to grab Arlen to stay on my feet. “Shit,” I muttered. “I’m like a fucking clown in the faery realm.”

“That’s why we keep you around,” Sorcha said in a snide whisper. “To entertain us all the live long day.”

“Shut up.”

“Quiet!” The echoes of Dymphna’s word thundered around us.

Bekind transformed. Her hair shone, highlighted by Realtín’s rays. “We need to be quiet. There is the gap we must pass through. It’s a rift, and it’s not something that can be sealed, so we’ll return this way, too. If we make a noise, we’ll alert the shades. We can’t fight the shades. We would die, or worse, we’d be trapped in the Fade forever. You must follow my lead without a word.”

“What if we’re attacked?” Arlen asked.

“Fight for your life and hope you die with honour,” she replied solemnly. “Cara, stay close to me. Now that Drake is gone, you’re our best hope at returning Brendan to this world. Do you understand?”

I nodded, although I didn’t get why I was any better a connection to Brendan than Arlen or Sorcha. What I did understand was that there was little chance we would make it and that I might never see Drake or Brendan again.

The light had been coming from a small gap in the rocky ground. We gathered for a better look. The light swirled and glowed, casting everyone’s faces with jade-coloured overlays.

“Please stay here,” I begged Grim and Realtín. “We can’t separate you, and we need someone to stay to pull us back through. Just in case. We also need someone to tell the others if there’s trouble.”

“I agree. The smaller the group, the less likely we are to be caught,” Sorcha said. “Grim is a decent climber, and Realtín is our light. We can’t afford to lose either of them, so they should both stay here.”

I wanted to kiss the banshee.

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Arlen said. “We can’t risk losing our light. Grim, guard her well while we’re gone.”

“Okay,” Realtín said. “We’ll stay where we’re needed.” Poor Grim didn’t even get the chance to argue.

The rest of us knelt in silence, staring at that stupid rift for a long time.

“Screw it,” I said. “I’ll go first.”

Bekind, back in cat form, spat at me then slipped through the gap before I could make a move. The rock expanded, then the hole sucked her out of sight. I immediately put my legs through and jumped.

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