City of Infernus by S. M. Mueller

Author:S. M. Mueller [Mueller, S.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781637309506
Publisher: New Degree Press
Published: 2021-11-15T15:45:22+00:00

Chapter 11

The Sorcerers’ Capsule

The night did not bring a very productive sleep. Ali tried to find the most comfortable spot on the rocky, uneven floor, but her tossing and turning were a result of the nightmares that were flooding her subconscious. Scenes of the shadowvines pressing their thorns into her ribcage flooded Ali’s mind. This time, Vulcan wasn’t there to save any of them—instead, she was forced to spend the rest of eternity floating through the cavern as a soulless corpse.

After the fifth time those visions replayed in her head, she groggily pried her eyes open and forced herself to stay awake. Lifting herself off the jacket she had fashioned into a pillow, Ali looked around at the sleeping bodies. There was no outside light she could use to judge the time, but her internal alarm clock was begging her to go back to sleep. Refusing to listen, Ali scraped the sleep from her eyes and delicately moved her blanket from her lap. Getting to her feet, she folded the covers neatly and decided to explore.

The previous night, Ali had been too exhausted to take in Vulcan’s abode, but now she was ready to pry. Even though he was only the second Infernian whom Ali had met, Vulcan seemed to have a better plan of action to find Mateva than Skotia did. At least he had a knife.

Gingerly stepping over his knapsack, Ali made her way to the stairs they had climbed the night before. Her eyes were adjusting to the shadows, and she could make out the stone borders of the room. It was surprisingly spacious for hosting just one person, but it didn’t seem that Vulcan was the type to decorate. Besides his few belongings, the space was vacant, daring Ali to explore its secrets.

When they’d come to the fork, Vulcan had directed them to the leftmost tunnel, but she felt drawn to the other corridor, like something was calling her name. Even throughout her nightmares, Ali’s inner voice was nagging at her, reminding her to explore the first chance she got. With one more push from her mental guide, she took her first step toward the new ground.

Dragging her hand along the wall, Ali waited for something to feel familiar.

“If my family is from here, why can’t I feel a damn thing?” she wondered aloud, scanning the tunnel for any more signs of magical stories or drawings.

Did Carter feel this lost when he got sent here, or did he actually have a clue what he was doing?

“I just want something to make sense,” Ali raised her voice on the last word, frustrated with her incompetency.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed on her right. Turning quickly, she saw that a torch stuck on the wall had lit itself, sending beams of warmth toward Ali’s body. Only now realizing how her skin had grown accustomed to the cold, damp air of the tunnels, Ali moved toward the flame and let the heat wrap itself around her body in a welcoming hug.

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