The Fall of Aries by Paul Sating

Author:Paul Sating
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Paul Sating
Published: 2020-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

***

I landed on solid bedrock. The surface was strained, scratched, and blackened. A sconce hung in mid-air, presumably on a wall, nearly three hundred yards away. The blue flame was nothing more than a pinprick of light dancing in the darkness. I inched forward, my renewed Sensory Abilities ready for any threat.

I whipped up a protective shell aimed to convince any observer or potential threat I had disappeared into the blackness, even if I was standing right in front of them.

Step by tentative step, I moved toward the single blue flame of the Hellfire torch. The further into the tunnel, the colder the air grew. The walls pressed in as if they were herding me in the direction I needed to go. Without other options, I pressed on.

The crackle of the flame announced my progress. The blackness beyond it was impenetrable. I pulled the torch from the sconce, raising it above my head and peering into the dark. The blue flame barely projected ten feet. Going was slow, and I needed to keep my guard up, metaphorically and literally.

I weaved a physical shell, a new spell I had been practicing. Holding two spells simultaneously was difficult but not impossible, requiring focus, which wavered as I made my way forward. The walls pressed in, suffocating me and breaking my concentration. The spell I'd set to make myself appear invisible slipped, but I regained control before it completely dissipated.

Minutes later, the narrow tunnel opened, and the air dropped ten degrees. Ravenbumps raised on my arms at the chill. Wisps of air came from a cross-current, and in the far distance I heard the rush of water far below. I lowered my head, bending to see past the torchlight. Being a Sensory user, it was difficult for me to tap into the traditional Abilities while holding a Sensory spell. But I needed to see what I was dealing with because I sensed the chamber was larger and more treacherous than the tunnel I had just left. I dropped my shield and cast the Fire spell.

A small flame roared upward from my palm and grew into a column two-foot high. I pushed it away, watching it slowly drift forward. Out it went, and I watched the floor slope away. Nothing drastic, until the flame was a eight body lengths away, and the floor vanished.

I crept forward, stopping the flame where the cave gaped. Peering over the edge, I could not see the new bottom, but far below, the sound of the rushing water was much clearer now. The fall would kill me.

"So best not to fall." I tried to laugh at myself, but the snicker cracked. My voice echoed even though it had been only a whisper.

"Hello?" A soft, feminine voice called up.

I edged closer, peering down and seeing nothing.

"Hello? Is someone up there?" the voice called out again, shaking. Fright or cold, possibly injury, it did not matter. The demon belonging to that voice needed help.

"Y—yes, I'm here. Are you okay?" I said, no longer worried about the Passage.

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