Odd Book 1: The Grimoire of Honorius

Chapter 12: The Temple of Buzur

              "Who else is starting to think this was a bad idea?"  Ethan asked as they stood at the mouth of the cave they had once flown over when they went to the Culture Festival.

              "You can always turn back if you're scared, Storms." Kai snickered.

              "Shut it, Hawke."  Ethan snapped.

              "No bickering, we're running out of time." Dawn walked forward. "Kai, where do we go?"   She turned as he unrolled the map.   Shadoe came up and snatched it from him.

              "Hey!"

              "Like you would really be able to read it. This way."  She walked forward through the cave.  Kai huffed in anger.  Dawn and Ethan walked up next to him.

              "She aggravates me so much." Kai clenched his fists. 

              "Well, it's in your blood."   Ethan shrugged and followed Shadoe.  Dawn patted him on the back. 

              "Come on." She gestured to follow.  They walked through the dank and dark cave carefully with Shadoe leading the way and Ethan holding a ball of light in his hands to help guide.  They walked through tunnels and tunnels for hours.  It felt like they had walked for ten miles before Shadoe suddenly stopped them. 

              "What's wrong?"  Ethan asked but Shadoe silenced him.  They all listened quietly in the dark for what Shadoe was hearing.  Dawn stayed as still as she could.  Then, there was a miniscule sound that Dawn barely heard.  It sounded like pincers and light footsteps on moss. 

              "Cave Crawlers."  Kai whispered. 

"Come on! Go!"  Shadoe grabbed Dawn and they started running down the tunnel.   There was an ear-piercing screech as the crawler that had followed them signaled to its cluster. 

              "What does that mean?!"  Ethan shouted as they ran.

              "It means something very bad! Now come on!"  Shadoe shouted back at him.

              "Wait stop!" Kai commanded just before they fell off a gap in the tunnel. 

              "Come on."  Shadoe grabbed Dawn and backed up before running and jumping the gap. 

              "Ethan!"  Dawn screamed from across the gap.  She could see the Cave Crawlers approaching with speed on their eight legs scuttling like over-sized dark crabs.  Their beady eyes carefully anticipating their kill. 

              "Let's go!" Kai yelled and ran with Ethan to close the gap.  Shadoe and Dawn helped to catch them.  As soon as they landed the ground suddenly gave out underneath them opening a underground tunnel and sent them sliding down the winding slope. Dawn screamed as she fell down the tunnel. She had lost sight of her friends.  She could hear them but it was pitch black in the tunnel.  She came to a sudden stop as two arms grabbed her before she could fall to the ground.

              "You ok?" Shadoe asked as she held Dawn up. 

              "Yeah."

              "Good, stay here."  Shadoe moved Dawn to the side of the cave wall.  She could hear Ethan and Kai still falling down the slide together.  Ethan came flying out and Shadoe grabbed him and put him against the same wall with Dawn.

              "Are you ok?" Dawn asked and he nodded and cupped his hands together.

              "Immaru."  He summoned a ball of light just as Kai came tumbling down the tunnel.   Shadoe almost missed him but quickly grabbed him by the back of his shirt just before he went flying into a pit of metal spikes.  Kai caught his breath as Shadoe pulled him back up.