Rex Aftermath (Elei's Chronicles) by Thoma Chrystalla

Author:Thoma, Chrystalla [Thoma, Chrystalla]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2013-10-06T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

As Hera descended into the depths of the earth, the air turned still and damp, smelling of mold. The metal was so cold it burned her hands. Her boots bumped on the ladder and sent booming echoes down below, while Mantis’ labored breaths from above were a counter-beat.

She did not remember the ladder being long — she remembered it being endless, a path upward to the sky. Now it plunged into the darkness. The Netherhells, Kalaes had said. They were descending for a hellish machine made in the distant past, on a quest to set things right in their world.

Greenish phosphorescence from below drew her attention. Glowing fungi growing on the walls of the vent.

They should hurry, she thought. The vent lid overhead stood wide open, and their aircar was exposed — she hoped the camo sheet Mantis had brought along would hide it for a while, though any patrol happening by would not be fooled.

Her body hummed with adrenaline and it was a struggle to keep from going faster. Slipping and falling to her death would not help anyone.

Slow, painfully slow; one foot after the other, she led the way down the deep well, listening to her own breaths and letting her mind go blank.

An air current whipped her legs, and she looked down. A platform she remembered well.

“We found the elevator.” She stepped off the ladder and caught Mantis as he came after her.

“Elevator?” he wheezed, wiping sweat from his eyes.

“At last.” Sacmis thumped on the platform and pulled out her torch. She switched it on and a long beam of light pierced the gloom, moving around until it lit up the heavy elevator doors.

They were covered in symbols, Hera saw for the first time. She walked over and ran her fingertips over them. Carved in the metal, they were curling and flowing, like the ones on the map that had led them through the tunnels.

She pulled the lever and the doors creaked ponderously as they opened. “Time to go down all the way,” she said and stepped inside.

Mantis and Sacmis followed, jerking when the elevator box rocked slightly.

“Damn,” Mantis whispered.

“Hold on to something,” Hera said, flashing her torch at the control panel and switching on the descent.

“On to what?” Mantis had time to say before they plummeted into the earth. “Holy shit!”

“My thoughts exactly,” Sacmis said wryly and grabbed his shoulder to steady him. “Every single time.”

Hera leaned against the wall of the box and turned off her torch to preserve the dakron battery. Mantis cursed softly as darkness settled over them once more. She could still see him, of course, not perfectly, but a gray outline showed her where he slumped at Sacmis’ side.

“This thing is going... fast.” Mantis’ teeth rattled so loudly Hera could hear them. “How are we going to lift the machine so far up?”

“A special elevator,” Hera said.

“At least it looked like it.” Sacmis’ voice dropped.

“Has to be. They would not have stored something without a way of lifting it to the surface.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.