Page 33 of The Silent Mountain (Under the Werewolf Crown #2)

thirty-three

The Dark Spell

*ALANA*

F or the last couple of minutes, Elio and I have been accompanied by a squeaking noise and a murmuring one that gets louder and more persistent the further we move along.

“Weird, what’s that?” Elio asks.

“Water? It sounds like flowing water.”

“That’s a possibility.”

I feel a breeze blowing past me, and my heart skips a beat in relief. There is fresh air coming in from somewhere! It means we are close to an exit.

“Look Alana,” Elio calls out. “There is a small stream.”

I follow his gaze, and indeed, the narrow path we have been following opens up slightly, and a stream crosses us. I sniff the air around us, surprised by what Ros’s senses catch. “It’s not salt water.”

“Really?” Elio gets down to his knees to eye the water. “That means it’s drinkable! I swear, I am so thirsty!”

“Me too,” I admit.

Elio dives his hands into the water, cupping them and letting water fill them up. I let my gaze move over the stream, urging Ros to come forward and lend me more of her senses. The water looks clean, surprisingly so, seeing how we are in an underwater cave. Where does it even come from? I squeeze my eyes, trying to look deeper into the black hole it’s springing out from. For a split second, I can swear I can see red eyes gleaming inside, strings of black suddenly mixing with the water.

“Elio,” I gasp, grabbing his shoulders to pull him back. “Don’t drink it!”

“What, why?” Elio blinks in confusion.

“The clean look is an illusion!”

Elio stares at me first, then at the water. We both jump back in shock when it turns red all of a sudden, red like blood. Panicked, Elio rubs his palms against his pants. “I touched it,” he blurts out. “I-“

“I am sure you are okay as long as you didn’t drink it,” I say, although I am not sure at all.

Another squeak can be heard, louder this time. Elio looks around. “That sound again.”

“Come.” I step over the stream and gesture for Elio to follow me.

The area beyond the stream changes. Instead of the rough corridor, it looks like a man-made path now with lanterns all along the walls. “People have to cross here sometimes,” I whisper.

“Look,” Elio nudges me and points at something that looks like a shelf for weapons. “Weapons, at least some plain ones.”

I frown. He is right. There are weapons… some swords, daggers, and some other basic things. Most of them are rusty though, indicating that they haven’t been used much. I feel relieved instantly. It means that whoever is living here doesn’t usually come that far.

Without second-guessing it, I grab an ax. “Better to be prepared,” I proclaim.

Elio nods and takes a spear before we continue our walk, much more cautious this time. The squeaking sound that has been accompanying us gets louder and louder, until the path opens up to a gigantic round room. Elio and I both halt, first in awe at the high walls and the open ceiling that opens up to the sky and the setting sun, then in horror, as our gaze wanders over the floor. Hordes of rats have gathered here, squeaking and gnawing at each other. I am not one to be scared of animals usually, nor do they gross me out, but this is the most unsettling and terrifying sight I have ever come across.

Above us, I can hear a fluttering sound, and two birds approach the room, moving straight to the stream that crosses the room. It must be the same one that Elio and I walked past before, because I watch them drink from the stream, my heart stopping for a split second when I see how the birds scream and convulse before their feathers turn black.

Elio grabs my arm in shock.

That’s how it happens! That’s how they are being affected by the dark magic. It’s exactly like Erin said. It’s not a curse, it’s a spell, something that binds these animals to this place and poisons them with something dark.

We need to get out of here!

I scan the room again. Behind us, there was the shelf with weapons. Sure, the items were rusty and old, but someone had to have put them there, and this person certainly didn’t jump down from the ceiling–it’s far too high. I let my gaze wander through the room again, this time scanning the walls, until I see a small opening in one. It’s not on ground level, but there seem to be small rocks sticking out that make it easier to climb and reach it. Turning to Elio, I put my index finger on my lips to signal him to stay quiet and then gesture to the other side and the opening in the wall.

Elio follows the direction I am pointing at and nods.

The sun has almost set by now, providing us with much-needed darkness.

*FAVIAN*

The sun is setting when we gather at the shore. True to his promise, Theodor has gathered some of our best warriors. Stefan, Erin and Cassie have arrived too–I am not surprised about the first two, but am about Cassie.

“Are you certain?” I ask her.

“Yes,” she nods firmly. “I…” She gazes at Erin.

“Cassie has learned a lot from me,” Erin says. “But she has talents I don’t have. They might not be polished yet, but it’s in her.”

“And what are her talents?” Stefan asks curiously.

“Cassie comes from a lineage of witches that can do offensive spells if needed,” Erin explains. “She thinks she is not quite there yet, but I believe in her.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt, Cassie,” I say.

“I like it here,” she whispers. “And I want to help. If the clan falls, I have no place to call my home anymore. This is my home, isn’t it?” She looks at me hopefully.

“Of course it is,” I say. “You have become a clan member now.” I turn to my warriors. “Right?”

None of them looks away or is in any way uncomfortable. They don’t mind anymore that a witch is with us. “You are one of us,” Theodor says. “Just, minus the wings.”

Cassie’s eyes light up with joy. “That’s why I want to come. Besides, Elio is my best friend, and Princess Alana has been so supportive all the time.”

“Stefan,” I say. “You should stay here and represent me.”

“I apologize for disagreeing, Your Highness,” he says. “But being at your side today is exactly where I need to be. We either fight back the evil that is haunting us, or we will fall. There is no in between. I need to be with you and our warriors.”

“Alright.” I turn around and gesture for two of the warriors to bring the cages with the birds. The plan is simple. We will release these creepy beings and then follow them wherever they go to. Erin’s potions will hopefully help us. It’s not a perfect plan by far, but I am certain that these birds have been circling the main base of whoever is attacking us for a while now. They are coming and going to the place where the curse or dark spell started.

It's the only shot we have.

“Wait,” Erin whispers before I can give the word to release the birds.

I turn to look at her. “What is it now?”

She stares at the water. “There is something in there.”

“Probably one of the sea monsters. I am assuming they got attracted by the darkness of the evil,” Stefan points out.

“No, not a sea monster,” she says, her eyes widening. “Look, Your Highness.”

I follow the direction she is pointing at, my eyes meeting the head of a person, half underwater, with only the eyes peeking out. Is this a woman?

“It’s a monster,” Theodor blurts. “We should get rid of it.”

“Yes,” some of the men yell. “Maybe that’s what got the monsters coming at us!”

Before I can react, Favia suddenly takes over. She has never done that before, not without my consent. “Wait!” she commands, glaring at the warriors, before she turns to face the creature in the water. “Hello,” she says with a smile, getting down on her knees. “What do we have here? A nixe?”

The creature slowly comes up. It’s a woman but also a water creature with a fin and sharp teeth.

“Don’t be scared,” Favia says softly. “No one will hurt you. I am here, and you can sense what I am, can’t you?”

The water-woman nods, swimming closer. She opens her mouth, cooing something.

“She is talking to us, but I am not sure what she is saying,” Favia mutters, before handing my body back to me. I apologize for acting so rashly.

No, it was good that you acted so fast, I say. I wanted to stop them too. Once this is all dealt with, I will need to have a talk with the warriors about not killing at first sight. Although, I get why they are so distrustful.

I turn my attention to the water woman, noting how she eyes me skeptically now that Favia has retreated. A breeze brushes past us, making me take up her scent. As expected, she smells like the ocean, but also like…

“Alana,” I breathe out. “I can smell Alana on you. Have you seen her?” I ask, lowering myself to my knees to be on eye-level with her and to not scare her by towering over her. “My mate! She has red hair.” I gesture for long hair.

The woman swims closer, her hand dashing out of the water, pressing her finger into the sand, and swiftly drawing the body of a woman, then she draws a brooch—the one Elio gave her—and the figure of a young man.

“Elio and Alana!” I exclaim. “You met them.”

She tilts her head and nods.

“They are alive, aren’t they? They are not hurt?” Erin helps me by asking the one question I don’t dare to ask.

The woman nods.

I look at her, letting my fingers form a heart. “This is what they mean to me,” I say. “They are everything. Where are they?”

The woman draws an island into the sand, and birds surrounding it. They are in our enemy’s lair. As I predicted! Someone wants to get rid of Alana, as much is certain to me now. “Can you take us to them?” I ask the sea woman. “Please, take us to them.”

The sea woman dashes backwards and into the water, making my heart sink to new depths, before it starts beating again as she comes up once more and waves at me. “She wants us to follow her! Everyone, prepare to follow our new friend!”

*ALANA*

Elio and I move at a snail’s pace, so as not to make any noise. Both of us press against the wall, trying to move carefully. I don’t even dare to breathe too loudly. I have trained for stealth missions back in my home pack, but this here is different. It’s real life, and somehow I can’t stop my heart from beating in anxiety and fear. This is a room full of rats under dark magic. One wrong step and we could have that disgusting army of rats after us.

The other side of the room, with our escape route, is inching closer slowly but steadily, and I am almost starting to feel relieved, when I can hear a rumbling sound. It’s low at first, but still makes the blood in my veins freeze.

Elio and I stop in our tracks, both of us looking up at the same time. I just can’t believe our terrible luck! There, right above us, the edge of the wall seems to be brittle, small stones loosening and rolling downwards. It’s just a couple of them at first but from experience I know this could be a fucking landslide.

More small rocks tumble down towards us.

The squeaking of the rats momentarily stops, making my heart drop to new lows. I gaze to my right where the horde has gathered, my gaze meeting several red eyes.

Fuck!

Grabbing Elio’s arm, I drag him forward. “Run!” I yell at him. “Run, run, run!”

Fortunately, Elio reacts quickly and shoots forward. The squeaking around us gets louder again, coupled with scratching and gnawing that make my stomach churn. Both Elio and I rush towards the natural ladder out of rocks that will lead us up and to the exit of this Goddess-forsaken, cursed place.

Elio reaches it first, at the same time as some of the rats. I grab my ax tightly, swinging it in their direction.

“Alana!” Elio yells.

“Just keep climbing!” I yell, swinging my ax around to hit as many rats as possible. “Just go!”

Elio follows my command, starting to climb upwards. When I attempt to reach for the rocks that form the first step of the ladder, a couple of these cursed, crazy animals jump my arm, biting down on it. A surging pain goes through me while I try to shake the rats off and wielding my axe in the other direction. I could have shifted by now, but in this case, I am much more agile in my human form. In Ros’s wolf form, the rats would have too much leverage to climb onto her and hurt her.

“Alana,” Elio blurts out.

“You need to-“

“No, I can’t do that,” he exclaims, sounding so desperate that it makes my heart clench. “I can’t do that. I am a dragon prince. I am a dragon prince. I am a dragon prince.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“Try to press yourself against the wall,” he exclaims. “I will burn these fuckers!”

“Have you done that before? Breathed fire in a specific direction?”

“No, but… but… we don’t have time. I can do it, I can do it.”

I look at him. “You can do it,” I say, trying to sound steady and firm to give him the reassurance and confidence he needs, instead of being panicked and terrified. I’d rather get burned by Elio than eaten alive by these fucking rats anyway. In a split second, Elio has shifted into his dragon form, using his wings to get some distance from the ground before opening his mouth.

I press myself against the wall to protect myself from the fire that will soon fill the room. Before long, I can feel the heat of the fire around me, and the nauseous smell of burning flesh. I peer around, noticing how Elio has successfully burnt most of the attacking rats, and the remainder are so scared that they disappear into the darkness of the small corridors that lead them away.

Elio shifts back. “Are you hurt? Burnt?”

“Ros has prevented me from feeling the heat too much,” I say. “Just some of my hair is a bit singed.”

I feel a surge of exhaustion coming over me and sink down to the ground.

“Are you alright?” Elio repeats. “Alana?”

“I don’t know, I am just… so tired,” I brush over my head, feeling how warm my skin is. Ros, what’s going on?

Alana, she mutters. Just that. Alana…

I seek her presence out in my mind, noticing how she has curled up on the ground. When she looks at me, my heart stops beating. She has foam around her snout, and her eyes have lost their amber color, instead, there are strings of black going through them.

No, no, no, this can’t be happening!

I sit up abruptly, pushing the sleeve of my left arm upwards. There is nothing, just some scratches that have started to heal. I let my gaze move downwards to my hand. Fuck, no! There are several bite wounds from the freaky rats, and the wounds are clearly infected. I can see how my flesh is turning black, my veins getting darker.

It’s like with Barbara shortly before she died!

“Elio!” I blurt out, showing him my hand. “The dark spell!”