Page 26 of Bound by Wishes (Enchanted Deceptions #1)

T he faint light from the torches barely pierced the darkness that seemed to close in around us. Each step echoed through the passages, and the air grew colder and heavier as we ventured deeper.

The narrow entrance turned into a labyrinth of narrow tunnels and large chambers, all made from ancient stone that glistened with veins of gold and precious gems. Malik raised his torch, and the light danced across the cave’s interior, causing the embedded stones and veins of gold to shimmer.

“Wow,” he muttered.

The torchlight refracted through the crystals and mineral deposits, creating a mesmerizing rainbow effect that brought the ancient walls to life and highlighted the faded murals and intricate carvings. I stepped closer, studying the scenes of ancient royalty, mythical creatures, and long-forgotten battles. I was disappointed when none of the scenes depicted anything about the scepter or hinted at any clues of my heritage.

I continued down the winding tunnels, feeling like a stranger to myself. How had I gone my entire life without truly knowing who I was? Doubt still lingered in my mind, but my blood had unlocked an ancient sarcophagus and opened these mines. Blood never lied, and now it had unveiled a dark truth about myself I couldn’t deny.

As we ventured lower, the air grew thick with the scent of earth and mineral-rich rock, mingled with a faint musty odor of long-forgotten treasures. The ground was uneven, covered with loose stones and gravel.

The treacherous passageways finally opened into vast, echoing hallways. The uneven path gave way to smoothly polished stone floors. I stepped on something that crunched underfoot, and I froze, holding my breath as I waited for a trap to spring. The air seemed to hold its breath with me, the faint echo of the crunch still echoing through the open hallways.

My nerves were getting the better of me. Aside from the excursions with my father, I had rarely been allowed in the field by the museum, and that lack of experience gnawed at my confidence. What if I couldn’t do this? What if I got Malik and myself killed?

Malik bent down, holding his torch close to my foot. A large beetle scurried out from beneath it, its shell glinting in the flickering light. I exhaled, relieved that the crunch had been nothing more than a pesky insect rather than a deadly booby trap.

“How is it still alive?” Malik asked as he followed the scampering insect with his torchlight .

I glanced down at the floor and noticed thousands of raised indentations, each intricately shaped like beetles, lining the stone surface.

The beetle scampered across the floor, its glossy dark exoskeleton gleaming under our torchlight. Its body was oval and armored, a deep black with subtle hints of metallic green and gold that shimmered as it moved. The beetle's legs were spiny, ending in sharp, claw-like tips that clicked against the stony surface. Malik shifted beside me, and the beetle froze. It turned toward us, its pincers ticking softly and its antennae waving through the air as if it were studying us.

“What kind of beetle is that?” I asked.

“What does it look like?” I startled when Ranen’s deep voice rumbled in my head. It always annoyed me when he did that, but for once I was thankful for his presence.

“It's big and black with unusually sharp mandibles,” I answered him. “And it catches the light like a black pearl.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Malik asked, raising his torch. “I can see it as clearly as you.”

I angled my body toward him. “I’m not talking to you,” I clarified. “As my genie, Ranen can communicate with me telepathically. I was talking to him.”

“Now that’s freaky,” Malik said, his upper lip curling with unease.

“That sounds like a Khepri scarab,” Ranen's voice echoed in my mind. “They burrow under a prey’s skin and consume them from the inside out.” He continued, his tone turning grim, “I’ve been bitten by one before. I had to use a sharp knife to cut it out before it did too much damage. It was not a pleasant experience. ”

“What?” I squeaked as the scarab started hurtling toward us.

“What?” Malik glanced around, as he picked up on the terror in my tone. “What did he say?”

I glanced behind us and noticed several of the same cocoons clustered along the ground, with even more ahead. One by one, they began to shatter, releasing the Khepri scarabs. Their dark iridescent shells glinted as they emerged, and their sharp mandibles clicked eagerly, as if hungry for our flesh.

“Run!” I yelled, grabbing Malik by the shirt sleeve and pulling him through the emerging bugs. Their tiny legs clicked menacingly as they began to swarm, heightening our desperate dash through the darkness.

“Why are we running from bugs?” Malik bellowed from behind me.

“They’re flesh-eating scarabs that burrow under your skin and eat you from the inside out!” I shouted back, horror lacing my tone.

Malik glanced over his shoulder, his eyes widening in panic as he saw how close the swarm was. With a startled yelp, he kicked into high gear, sprinting past me as if driven by pure adrenaline.

The angry buzz of the beetles reverberated through the tunnels, echoing off the stone walls. My heart raced as I felt the vibrations resonate in my chest. I could almost feel their tiny legs skittering over my body and their sharp mandibles tearing into my skin.

“There!” Malik shouted, pointing to a ravine that cleaved the stony ground in two. The gaping chasm appeared like a dark wound in the earth, offering an escape from the relentless horde of beetles.

“It’s too wide,” I shouted breathlessly. “We’re not going to make it.”

“You either jump or stay here and get eaten alive by bugs!” Malik yelled over the deafening hiss of beetles.

“You can do it, sayyida,” Ranen purred in my mind. “I will not lose you to a mass of insects.”

I picked up speed, adrenaline surging through me as I braced for the death-defying jump. My heart pounded in my chest, and I focused on the edge of the ravine, preparing for the leap that could mean the difference between escape and a grisly end.

Malik soared through the air, his slender athletic frame making the jump look simple. He landed safely on the other side.

I leaped after him, my feet leaving solid ground. The moment I was airborne, I realized my jump was too short. A scream ripped from my throat as my hands barely managed to grasp the edge of the ravine. The stones dug into my palms, cutting and scraping as I struggled to hold on. The weight of my body threatened to pull me into the bottomless darkness below.

“Caleena,” Ranen roared in my mind and the walls around us trembled. The ground shuddered, and a rumble resonated through the tunnel, as if the mines themselves were responding to his cry.

Tears of desperation leaked from my eyes as Malik hit the ground hard, his hands shooting out to grab both of my wrists. “I got you!” he shouted as he struggled to pull me up.

Once I was safely over the ledge, Malik cradled me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me protectively. I stayed there, nestled in his embrace, until my galloping heartbeat began to slow, and the terror of the near fall gradually gave way to relief.

Malik stood, pulling me up with him. “We’ve got to work on your jumping skills,” he said playfully.

I glanced back at the beetles, watching as they continued their relentless charge, oblivious to the danger ahead. One by one, they tumbled in waves off the cliff and into the void below. My breath hitched at the sight, thankful that these Khepri scarabs couldn’t fly.

“Are you all right?” Ranen asked, his voice low and unfamiliar, laced with an intensity I hadn’t heard before.

“Nothing a good bath and a few bandages won’t fix,” I replied, attempting to inject some lightness into my trembling voice. “Were you trying to bring down the mountain?” I asked, half joking, but still feeling the lingering aftershocks from his outburst.

Ranen’s voice softened in my mind. “I’d bring down the whole world if it meant keeping you safe, sayyida.” His words were tender, laced with a protectiveness that made my heart flutter.

Malik watched me closely, his brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of our one-sided conversation. My skin prickled at Ranen’s words, warmth spreading through my cold limbs.

I pushed away from Malik’s arms. “Let’s keep moving.”

Gathering my frazzled nerves, we continued deeper into the mines. Malik and I dropped our torches during the leap over the ravine, but a faint iridescent glow pulsed through the cave. It was too dim to reveal whatever booby traps might still lie hidden in the shadows, but at least we weren't in total darkness.

As we walked, I wondered if we were heading in the right direction. The tunnels seemed to twist and turn endlessly, and I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that we might be lost in this never-ending maze.

A piercing light finally cut through the gloom, and we veered toward the entrance of a chamber. A faint clicking sound echoed through the tunnel, making my heart stall in my chest. I gasped as a section of the stone floor shifted beneath our feet. The dim light in the tunnel and centuries of dust and debris had made it impossible to see the hidden pressure plates.

Arrows shot out from slits in the walls on either side of the entrance, their deadly tips gleaming as they swooshed toward us. The arrows whistled through the air, crossing the narrow passage in a deadly crisscross pattern meant to skewer anyone attempting to enter.

I shoved Malik, sending his body flying backward just in time to avoid an arrow that was whizzing straight for his skull. The arrow's tip brushed against my arm as it passed, slicing through the exposed skin. I hissed in pain, clutching the wound as blood oozed from the gash.

The arrow attack ended as quickly as it began, their deadly points now embedded in the walls. Malik scrambled to his feet, tearing the hem of his shirt and tying it around my arm to staunch the bleeding. The makeshift bandage slowed the flow of blood, and I gave him a grateful nod, though the sting still pulsed through my arm.

“We’re losing our touch,” Malik fussed. “We were almost shish-kebabbed.” He glanced at the arrows now harmlessly jutting from the walls, then back at me, and shook his head.

We moved forward slowly, our steps cautious and perfectly in sync. The light pouring in from the opening above provided just enough illumination to see more clearly. My eyes combed every inch of the tunnel, scanning the ceiling, walls, and floor for any other signs of hidden traps. Every shadow and crack made me pause.

Once we reached the opening, we stopped at the grand archway that loomed before us. The air grew cooler as we stepped inside, and the bright light from above revealed the wonders of what was inside.

The massive chamber walls were lined with ancient petroglyphs and symbols that were embedded deep in the stone. But it was the treasure that truly took our breath away—piles of gold, jewels, and artifacts stacked high, reaching all the way to the ceiling. Golden statues of mythical creatures stood guard over mountains of coins, their jeweled eyes glinting like they were winking at us. Wooden chests overflowed with pearls and emeralds while ancient weapons, encrusted with precious stones, lay scattered across the floor. The hoard of wealth and power within these walls that had been hidden for centuries was overwhelming.

Coins crunched under our boots as we stepped forward. It was as if the precious metal was so abundant, so unimportant in this place, that it could be used as mere floor coverings. Each step we took sent a cascade of golden coins tumbling to the ground.

“Pinch me,” Malik mouthed beside me. I reached over and playfully squeezed the skin of his arm between my fingers. He winced, then nodded. “Yep, I’m definitely not dead,” he confirmed, his eyes wide with disbelief as he took another step forward.

Malik bent down, his hand slowly venturing toward a chest overflowing with perfect pearls. The luminous orbs spilled over the edge, their creamy surfaces glowing softly. The pearls, each one flawless and perfectly round, seemed to beckon him. But something about the room felt off to me. It was too spectacular, too unbelievable. Ranen’s words buzzed like a warning in my mind.

“Nothing is as it seems,” I repeated his words slowly, the caution in my voice making Malik’s hand pause midair. Ranen’s words reminded me that all that glitters isn’t gold.

The thunderous roar of a massive waterfall pulled my attention from the treasure. Its tumbling flow plunged into a deep chasm that sliced through the room in a glistening river. A bridge, forged entirely of gold, spanned the width of the divide, leading to an imposing throne that commanded the far side of the chamber.

The throne was breathtaking. It was carved from a single massive block of obsidian, its dark surface inlaid with veins of gold. At the base of the throne, golden lions reared up, their eyes set with glowing gemstones that seemed to watch over the seat of power. Cushions of crimson velvet, trimmed with gold thread, lined the throne. It was a seat truly worthy of King Thalorian himself.

I pulled Malik along behind me, afraid that he would try to touch the hypnotic treasure again. I observed the bridge closely before attempting to cross it, carefully combing every inch for possible traps before we rushed across it and slowly approached the throne. I didn’t dare touch it, even though every fiber of my being urged me to. The throne beckoned, as if it held the answers to all my questions. But I resisted, knowing that nothing in this place could be trusted.

“There’s the scepter,” Malik said, drawing my focus away from the throne.

The scepter gleamed brighter than any other treasure in the room. Its golden surface was etched with intricate patterns that seemed to tell a tale as old as time. The head of the wand held a large emerald, surrounded by a halo of latticework that reminded me of swirling winds, their curves and lines so fine that they appeared to dance in the dim light.

Malik moved cautiously, his eyes darting from the ground to the podium where the scepter rested. He examined every inch, looking for any sign of hidden traps.

"Something bad is going to happen when I pull this scepter from the stone," he muttered, sickening dread in his voice. "I just know it." His fingers hesitated just inches from the scepter, as if the air around it hummed with warning.

The scepter looked exactly like it did on the rug that we had ridden here on. But where was the coiled serpent? It had to be important for it to be in the ancient scrolls that Ranen had read. The absence of the snake gnawed at me, a puzzle piece that didn’t quite fit.

“Should I touch it?” Malik turned to me, his question settling heavily between us. “I don’t see any signs of a counterweight.”

I almost laughed at his question, the absurdity of it all creeping in. But I didn’t know what else to do, and we couldn’t stay here forever. I took a deep breath, steeling myself for whatever was about to happen. “Pull it.” I held my breath.

With a shaky hand, Malik reached for the scepter. His fingers passed right through it, revealing it to be nothing more than a cruel mirage.

The ground beneath us quaked, a deep, rumbling anger drumming through the chamber. The entire enchanting room vanished, the glittering treasures dissolving into nothingness. The floor, once covered with gold and precious stones, transformed into a writhing mass of snakes. Their hissing filled the air, nearly deafening in its intensity, and their scales gleamed in the dim light.

The only thing that remained was the throne. Malik and I dashed toward it, dodging the striking serpents as we leaped onto the seat of the throne. We clung to the backrest as the snakes hissed and lashed out, the ground now a living, deadly carpet of scales and fangs.