Page 36 of Spectral Seas (Spectral Worlds #2)

M INUTES PASSED AS they continued further along their trek through the soupy blue mist. Out of habit Abby continued to scan the surroundings, but nothing changed apart from the air becoming more stale and sour. Then, far ahead to the right, a tall sliver of blue light pierced the haze. Abby focused on the floating strand, but his optics displayed no special augment, no special message to determine the source. As they drew closer, the sliver faded in and out of the mist, but was clearly coming from a point on the far side of the tunnel. With each step the line of light widened until the hairline sliver had grown to the shape of an arched door. When they reached it, the leading monk veered the queue across the cavern. The thick, foul-smelling fog, relented to the light illuminating from what revealed itself to be the entrance of a small passageway. The queue entered. The illumination into the tunnel stemmed from blue flamed torch sconces, intermittently mounted along one side of the raw rock walls. The flames dissipated the mist, making the air a bit less heavy, but added to the sweltering heat. Abby lifted his coat from his shoulders, his shirt already soaked with sweat.

Thirty meters in, the passage forked. The robed monk leading the blue syn miners continued down the corridor to the right. But when Abby reached the divide, the reptoid beside him pushed out his stave in a gesture toward the left. “Thisss way,” he said.

“All right,” said Abby, doubling his step before the tip of the arcing stick could reach him.

The tunnel was wide enough for two to walk side-by-side, yet Abby found himself solitarily leading Leta, Soren, and the two reptoids. He supposed that there was no reason for one of the warriors to take the lead, as there was obviously only one direction. One direction he could walk anyway. Abby pondered that he could easily shift from their view at any time, and quite possibly shift out of the plane altogether—there was a risk of ending up in solid rock or the void, but beside that one small thing, he could do it. But then he’d be throwing away an advantage. So rather than reveal his capabilities, he continued down the snaking tunnel.

According to the distance counter in the corner of his eye, they’d traversed another forty meters when, from up ahead, came a cacophony of howls.

“They plan to feed us to the dogs,” said Soren.

“It’s the Lupo,” said Abby. “Same as the creatures near the monastery.” He pulled at the fabric of his sweat soaked white shirt. “They can smell we’re coming.”

They rounded a curve and the tunnel abruptly came to the end. To the left was a heavy wooden door, framed with thick beams, and barely muffled beyond it, the originators of the howls, the Lupo.

~*~