The Dark Field: An Epic Fantasy Steampunk Cthulu Space Opera (The Red Horn Saga Book 2) by J.R. Mabry & Mickey Asteriou

Author:J.R. Mabry & Mickey Asteriou [Mabry, J.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Xenophile Press
Published: 2020-06-14T16:00:00+00:00

Ellis wasn’t at all sure he was doing the right thing. Yet the thing was already in motion and it was carrying him along as if it were a rushing river. The princess had bid them gather their things and wait by the door. After what seemed like only a few moments, she reappeared and said with hasty breathlessness, “Follow me.”

Ellis was about to ask about the guards, but as he followed Dart from the room he saw that they were gone. He quickly deduced that Indiél had distracted them in some way, and he feared it would not last for long. He struggled to keep up with Dart, who was following the princess. He glanced back and saw Kit close behind him, longneedle out and at the ready.

“Quickly,” Indiél said. “We haven’t much time.”

She paused by a rough door fixed about three feet up the stone wall of the corridor. It was hinged at the top and covered a two-foot-square opening. Indiél threw the door up and held it.

“What is that?” Dart asked.

“It is the refuse chute for this level of the palace. There’s another on the other side, but this is the only one that will give us access to the outside. Quickly, you must trust me!” She pointed to the chute.

“What?” Dart asked.

“In!” Indiél rolled her eyes, clearly exasperated.

“In? To a garbage chute?” Dart asked.

“Quickly!” Indiel said, nearly hysterical. Her eyes darted to the hallway beyond them for any sign of activity. “Help the haffolk in first!”

Before Ellis knew what was happening, Dart snatched him up and pitched him headlong into the chute. Terrified of the fall, he began to yell, but he stifled it quickly as he picked up speed. In his mind’s eye, he saw himself splattering on paving stones on the first floor.

But he did not splatter. Instead, he landed atop a stinking pile of what seemed like food scraps, rags, and even less savory unidentifiable but decidedly soft materials. He rolled from what was a small hill of refuse into an even smellier area of older waste.

A moment later, he felt Kit roll into him. Ellis heard a whoosh and a clatter in the chute above and barely managed to snatch Kit’s arm and pull her aside just as Dart rolled past them, followed almost immediately by the princess herself.

There were no torches here, he noted, but then realized there were no torches in the palace at all. The lightning-driven lamps had been ubiquitous and strangely invisible. There was light here, as well, though not much of it. It seemed to be coming from above them, and it filled the air with a blue glow that made everything look either blue or gray.

“This way,” Indiél whispered. “Take hands, as it will be dark in the next section. Ellis felt Dart fumbling for his hand, and he took it, finding Kit’s hand with his other. The princess spoke true, for they followed a narrow passage out of the refuse chamber into what was indeed a very dark tunnel.

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