Spirits by Leslie Edens Copeland

Author:Leslie Edens Copeland [Copeland, Leslie Edens]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Spectricity Books
Published: 2018-10-31T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

The Underwood

Emmett caught me in his arms before we crashed into the jagged, rocky floor below. Then he released me. The rapid drop had knocked the breath out of me and I hovered unsteadily on my own. I squinted into the darkness below us.

A new world! The Underwood was vast indeed, a cavern of black rock that stretched much farther than I could see. Above, formations like huge tree roots garnished the ceiling. I could hear the faint rippling sound of an underground stream echoing from far away. Here and there, glowing orbs bobbed suspended in the air, lightning the cavern. Far in the distance, cold green lights flickered. They resembled tiny camp fires. I thought they might be signs of habitation, but from where we floated, I couldn't judge their size.

"Wait up here a moment, Aether," said Emmett. He swooped downward and I could see his slight glow in the gloom, gliding along the floor of the cavern. Then he was floating by my side again. "It's rocks and earth. Seems harmless enough," he whispered into my ear.

I rubbed my ear to rid it of the tickle from his ghost whisper. I noticed he was glowing, but only in that subtle, ghostly way. Not in a way that burned my eyeballs and gave me a throbbing headache.

Holding Emmett's hand for balance, I lowered down to the cavern floor with him. His hand didn't burn mine, only buzzed a little. Then we landed on the rugged cave floor and my mouth went dry with panic.

"Emmett, we're in the Underwood!" I said.

"I know!" He gulped. His form wavered in the dark air.

I spun in circles, trying to see everywhere at once. "Where's Teddy?"

Emmett copied me, lifting up off the cave floor as he spun. "I don't know!"

Nothing moved in the vast darkness surrounding us, neither spirits nor little boys. Emmett glided up ten feet and scanned all around. "I don't see him anywhere. But we're here. We're definitely in the Underwood." His teeth ground together in a terrified expression that had "Yipes!" written all over it. He glided back down to my side.

"He did go in, didn't he?" I said. "If we had to sacrifice ourselves like this, at least we stopped the Bellum. Right?"

"I'm certain I saw him go down," said Emmett. "He knocked us off balance. That's why we fell in."

Our heroism wasn't making me feel a lot better, though. I stared into the void of the seemingly infinite cavern.

"Oh, Emmett!" I wailed. "What are we going to do? Trapped forever in the bowels of the Underwood! I just knew it! I had a nasty feeling that something would go wrong."

Emmett chuckled, despite the situation. "I wish you'd mention it when you get those nasty feelings. We spirits of Dead Town like nasty feelings." He gave me a wicked grin.

I laughed. I took another long look at him. He faded out, then reappeared, that same ghostly glow surrounded him.

"You look . . . different," I said. "Like a mid-level spirit again.

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