Page 3 of Soul Bound (Cursed Descent (MistHallow Academy) #2)

3

MATILDA

“You keep sketching, we’ll hold off whatever that is,” Luc says, smashing his fist into his palm and moving forward. The three guys put a shield around me, and I don’t hesitate to keep working. It hurts to look at these things. I can feel the darkness seeping into my bones. Whatever magick was behind this curse, it’s not pleasant. Darker than dark. Black, maybe. I’ve heard of it, but it’s forbidden for obvious reasons. Even dark magick is mostly a no-go zone for most practitioners. It makes me wonder how MistHallow managed to get permission to teach it. I shake my head as my thoughts wander too far away. Focusing, I move on to the next rune, hearing the shouts and sounds of battle behind me. I don’t look. I can’t, or I will be forced to rush the drawings or help them out if they look like they’re losing.

My hand shakes slightly as I sketch, trying to capture every detail of the fading symbols exactly, heeding Blackthorn’s words about inexact interpretations.

A roar echoes through the cavern, followed by a string of creative curses from Luc. I resist the urge to look, keeping my eyes on the pillar in front of me.

“Tilly, how much longer?” Vex calls out, his voice strained.

“Almost done,” I reply, moving to the final pillar. “Just a few more.”

The air snaps with magick as the guys continue to hold off whatever creature is attacking. I can feel the oppressive weight of the chambers pressing down, trying to sap our strength. But we can’t give up now.

I copy the last rune with shaking fingers, then flip my notebook closed and stash it and the pen back in my backpack. I secure it again and turn to the guys. “Got them all!”

“Great, now let’s get the fuck out of here,” Draven growls.

They are battered but still standing. Beyond them looms a massive shadowy beast. Multiple red eyes gleam in the darkness as it snarls at us.

“Uhm, guys? What is that thing?” I ask, backing away slowly.

“No idea,” Vex pants, his runes glowing faintly. “But it’s strong, and we need to go.”

“To where?” I ask, looking around.

Vex points to the pool. “In there. Trust me, sprinkles?”

“Uhm, no!” I exclaim, but he grabs my hand and pulls me towards it. “I can’t swim!” I shout out.

“Doesn’t matter. We aren’t swimming in it,” he says. He leaps into the pool and drags me with him as Draven and Luc dive in behind us. I scream as I plunge into the cold water and gulp back a quick breath as it closes over my head as there is no bottom to it on which to stand.

I’m going to fucking kill, Vex!

I thrash in the cold water, panic setting in as I sink deeper. My lungs burn, desperate for air. Just as I think I’m about to drown, a strange sensation washes over me. The water around us shimmers and swirls, glowing with a purple light.

It feels like we’re being pulled through some kind of portal. The water rushes past us at dizzying speed. I squeeze my eyes shut, clinging tightly to Vex’s hand.

With a jolt, we burst out of the water. I gasp, sucking in huge lungfuls of air as we land hard on a stone floor. Coughing and sputtering, I push my wet hair out of my face and look around.

We’re in a different chamber now, smaller and lit only by glowing crystals embedded in the walls. Ancient symbols are carved into every surface, glowing faintly with magick.

“What the actual fuck was that?” I demand, glaring at Vex.

He grins, looking far too pleased with himself. “Some sort of portal. I figured Xanthos used it to get away from us.”

“Great, so he doesn’t trust us.”

“No, but we don’t trust him either,” he points out and gives me a look. “Family or not.”

“Well, ‘family’ is putting too strong a definition on it. Long dead ancestor.”

Luc grumbles, wringing water out of his shirt.

Draven is already on his feet, scanning our surroundings warily. “Where are we now?”

“Deeper in the chambers, I think,” Vex says, standing and offering me a hand up.

“So we are going even further into this hellhole?” I mutter. “We need to be looking for a way out.”

“Nope, I’m afraid to say, long dead ancestor Xanthos, threw us a red herring.”

“What?” I snap. “You mean, I didn’t get the right runes. If they even survived the water.”

Vex shakes his head. “The runes survived. I made sure to protect your backpack when we went through the portal. But those weren’t the real runes we need.”

“How do you know?” I ask, frustration creeping into my voice.

“Think about it,” Vex says. “If those were the real runes to re-curse the land, why would Xanthos fuck off if he had given us the runes to get the job done? As one of the Guardians, it’s his job to keep that magick buried and contained.”

It makes sense. “Fucking jerk.”

Vex nods grimly. “Exactly. Those runes might do something, but I doubt it’s what we actually need.”

“Fuck,” Luc growls. “So we’re back to square one.”

“Not quite,” Draven says. “We know more now than we did before. We know there are four Guardians, one of whom has already broken free and has tried to get to Tilly to bear a child, and another who is actively sending us on a wild hellfly chase.”

“It’s not a lot,” I argue. “It’s ridiculous. We have wasted a fuck load of time with this already!” Frustration gets the better of me, and I clench my fists to stop myself from crying. I still haven’t fully processed Chris’s return or his stinging betrayal, which runs even deeper than I thought.

Vex moves closer, placing his hand on my waist as he leans in for a kiss. “We’ll figure this out.”

I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself as I give him what he wants. I know he is trying to distract me from my downward spiral. I pull away and sigh. “I know. This whole thing is so messed up.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of it,” Draven says, his voice uncharacteristically gentle as he crouches down next to me. I get a bit hot and bothered by these men surrounding me. “But right now, we need to focus on finding the real runes and getting out of here.”

Luc nods in agreement. “As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right.”

I shoot him a glare, when he stays where he is, not even moving an inch closer. He is pissing me right off with this hot and cold attitude he has got going on.

“Okay,” I say, using my annoyance at Luc to pull myself together. “So where do we go from here?”

Vex looks around the chamber, his eyes narrowing as he rises and studies the glowing symbols on the walls. “These markings are different from the ones we saw before. More complex. Newer.”

“Newer?” I move closer to examine them. “What does that mean? BC or AC?”

“Huh?” He looks at me with a frown.

“Before Curse or After Curse.”

“Oh,” he chuckles. “After. Well after. These aren’t what we are looking for.”

“More red herrings,” I spit out and kick the wall.

“What is this red herring thing you keep talking about?” Luc asks.

Vex and I exchange an amused glance.

“A red herring is a false clue,” I explain to Luc. “Something meant to distract or mislead us from what we’re really looking for.”

Luc scowls. “So these symbols are just here to throw us off?”

“No.” Vex shakes his head. “They have a purpose. Everything down here does. We just don’t know what it is.”

“Yet,” I state, growing more confident now I’ve had a mini-meltdown.

I run my hand along the wall, feeling the faint buzz of magick beneath my fingertips. “We know these aren’t the right ones, so how do we find the real curse again?”

“We ask,” Draven says,

“Ask?” Vex repeats sceptically.

“Nicely,” Draven adds.

All three guys look at me. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me, right?”

“You are inherently nice, my sweet. We are all pretty nasty motherfuckers. It has to be you,” Luc says with a sycophantic smile.

“You suck,” I grumble. “All of you.”

“We know, hence another reason why it has to be you. You don’t suck,” Vex says.

“Unless it’s my dick,” Luc adds.

Draven elbows him in the ribs, but it puts a smile on my face. “I’m going to sound really stupid.”

“We don’t care, besides you won’t,” Draven says with a casual shrug, which doesn’t fill me with confidence. Pretty sure I’m going to sound epically ridiculous. But here goes nothing as they say. “Hello, Mr Chambers. It’s been lovely to see you again, but I wondered if you mind awfully, to help us out a little bit here and point us in the direction of the curse runes for the Praxian magick that is buried under this earth. We would really appreciate it, and it would mean a lot to me and my guys if you would be so kind as to help us.”

I blink and wait.

As expected, fuck all happens.

“Wow. You really are nice. Manners and everything. Mom will love you. Both of them. The dads, too.”

I glance at Luc and chew my lip.

He stares at me and tilts his head. “What? What did I say?”

“Your other mum, Pestilence, I’ve met her.”

“Oh?” Draven snaps before Luc can reply. “When? Why? Where?”

“Slow your roll, death boy, give her a chance,” Luc says, coming closer. “But yeah, all of the above.”

“She came to me in my room the other night. She said I had an opportunity to bring you guys together and not to fuck it up.”

“Did she now?” Draven growls, his face going seriously dark. “She had no right to come to you.”

“It’s okay,” I say quickly. “It’s fine. But I figured you should probably know.”

Vex clears his throat, breaking the tense moment. “As fascinating as this family drama is, we have more pressing matters to deal with right now. We can circle back to this above ground.”

I nod, grateful for the interruption, but I see the look exchanged between the brothers. They are not happy. “Right. So, asking nicely didn’t work. Any other ideas?”

Draven’s eyes are still stormy, but he focuses back on the task at hand. “We could try the opposite. Bash these walls in until it gives.”

“Gives way onto our heads?” Luc scoffs. “No thanks.”

“We need to think,” Vex says, pacing the small chamber. “There has to be something we’re missing.”

I close my eyes, trying to clear my mind and focus. As I do, I become aware of a faint humming sound. My eyes snap open.

“Do you guys hear that?” I ask.

They all fall silent, listening intently.

“I don’t hear anything,” Luc says after a moment.

But Vex’s eyes narrow. “Wait... there is something. A vibration.”

I nod eagerly. “Yes! It’s coming from...” I turn slowly, trying to pinpoint the source. My gaze lands on a section of wall that looks no different from the rest. “There.”

We all move closer to examine it. The humming grows slightly louder as we approach.

“I still don’t hear it,” Draven grumbles.

“Maybe because you are outside this magick?” I venture and press my ear against the wall. The humming grows stronger. “It’s definitely coming from in here.”

Vex runs his hands along the stone, his expression fierce as he concentrates. Suddenly, his fingers catch on something. “There’s a seam here,” he murmurs. “I think it’s a hidden door.”

“Can you open it?” I ask eagerly.

He nods slowly. “Possibly. Opening locked doors is kind of specialty.” His runes glow as he presses his palm flat against the wall. He mutters something too low to catch. A few seconds later, a grinding sound reverberates around the chamber, and a section of the stone slowly swings inward, revealing a dark passageway beyond.

The humming grows louder, pulsing from the darkness ahead.

“Well, that’s not ominous at all,” Luc mutters.

“Can you hear it yet?”

“Nope.”

“Well, ominous or not, it’s our best lead,” I say, peering into the gloom

Draven nods grimly. “Stay close. We don’t know what’s waiting for us in there.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t planning on running ahead,” I mutter and earn myself a glare of epic proportions.

“So as the TA and most responsible of the lot, you go first,” Luc says, shoving Vex in the shoulder.

“Coward,” he mutters but moves forward.

“No, smart,” Luc retorts. “Maintain the difference.”

I can’t argue with that logic. With a gulp, I move in behind Vex, and we move cautiously further into the passage. With a grunt, which speaks of the magick-dampening farce again, Vex conjures a small ball of light to illuminate our way as we head down a slope. The walls are smooth and featureless, unlike the rune-covered chamber we just left. The air grows colder as we descend, and I shudder. Cursed descent wasn’t far wrong.

The humming grows stronger with each step, vibrating through my bones. It’s not an unpleasant sensation, but it’s unsettling. The deeper we go, the more I feel like we’re approaching something ancient and powerful.

“Does anyone else feel that?” I whisper.

“Feel what?” Luc asks from behind me.

“Like a pull. As if something’s drawing us in.”

Vex nods grimly. “I feel it, too. Whatever’s down here, it wants us to find it.”

“That’s reassuring,” Draven mutters.

We continue on in tense silence. The passage curves and twists, and it starts going up quite steeply in some places.

“A door,” Vex murmurs and stops. He presses his hand to it, and it swings open, letting in a rush of fresh air that I fill my lungs with in relief.

Vex steps out, and we all follow, only to be confronted with a massive stone wall as the door behind us swings shut and vanishes. Snow falls on my head, and I look up. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. We are back on the MistHallow grounds.”

“Now that was anticlimactic,” Luc sighs. “What now?”

“Now, we have to try again,” I say, determined not to let this beat us.

“You mean start all the way at the beginning?” Luc whines. “This is shit.”

“Seriously shit, but we don’t have a choice.”

“We do. We can sack it off, let the Praxian magick rise, and deal with it then.”

“No,” Draven says, the flashes of black under his skin, glowing brighter. “We have to try again.”

“Should we go and see Blackthorn first? He said we should find him when we got back.”

“It’s probably wise,” Vex says, with a frustrated sigh.

We all feel the same as we turn and trudge back to the main building.

“It didn’t want us down there, so it led us out. Does that mean we were close?” I ask.

“Probably,” Vex says. “But we will never know because when we go down there again, it will all be completely different again.”

“I hate that place.”

“Same.”

“Wait,” Draven says, suddenly stopping. “You asked it nicely to help us. Maybe it did. There was no running for our lives or monsters attacking us. It was a nice, safe route.”

“Yeah, out of the caverns,” I point out.

“Maybe that was the point.” He spins around and marches back to the place where we were ejected from the tunnel. He crouches down next to the stone wall of the South Tower, I think it is and runs his fingers over the cold stone.