Book of Fates ✔

What eternal snows unravel

In the tunnel was pitch dark. Anya could only hear soft footsteps of her companions and try to keep up with them, wondering where the passage would bring her.

However, before her eyes adjusted to the blackness, a distant light came into view.

Anya found herself standing in a great hall that was larger than a football field. The hall was decorated with green plants trailing down the celling and the upper balconies. Like a secret treasure, a giant oasis hidden beneath the earth.

Anya couldn't count numerous hallways and staircases winding in opposite directions, and people bustling here and there. Humans?.. she mused. Daitias.

"Nikk, Daphne! Oh, I missed you so much!" a guy waved his hand, approaching them. His long chestnut hair was gathered into a neat ponytail, he had square glasses on the bridge of his nose and a jumper embroidered with a maple leaf. The outfit made him look quite ridiculous. And yet, he held his chin up, confident and arrogant even.

"How are you? Finished with reading of those antique books?" the guy asked, a tingle of taunt in his voice.

"Hey, Feerce," Nikk idly greeted him, running the eyes up and down Feerce's jumper.

"Ah, don't pay attention to my look," Feerce took off his glasses that appeared to be with no lens in them. "I've just returned from Toronto. You know, Astarta sent me to a conference about the ancient Roman culture." He wiggled his fingers, indicating that the business trip was rather boring and pointless.

Nikk and Daphne were about to leave without further conversation, but Feerce finally noticed Anya hiding behind Nikk's back shyly.

The smile fell off Feerce's face. "You brought a human being with you?!"

"Eirney and Amarillis are still here?" ignoring the question, Daphne asked her own one.

"Yeah... I mean, I think so. They're with Astarta," Feerce's stunned eyes were still fixed on the unexpected human guest. "She demanded nobody to disturb her, but... I see you have a good reason."

"A very good reason," Daphne echoed coldly and marched past him, toward one of the passages.

Nikk hurried after her and beckoned Anya to come along. Feerce stayed where he was, watching them leave with astonishment and aversion written over his face.

The passage Daphne had chosen was lit with lanterns hidden somewhere behind the walls. It was impossible to find the source of illumination, so it seemed as though the velvet light was pouring from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

There were also a lot of doors on Anya's left and right. In several rooms, she could see the daitias behind wide the screens of computers, thoughtfully working on something. As they spotted the unfamiliar person, all of them began to whisper and murmur to each other in alarm.

"You told me your people don't build underground bases," Anya said to Nikk quietly. She felt consternation and excitement kindle in her chest at the same time.

"We don't," Nikk agreed in the same low voice. "We only took care of the interior here, added a few things of ours." He pointed at the flowers tracing along the wall. "This place was deserted when we arrived on Earth."

"Who built it then?"

"I don't know. Humans?"

"And how exactly did you discover this place?"

"Well, we don't really into space ships as you might have noticed already," Nikk patted his pocket where the crystal was with the flat of his hand. "So when we came on Earth for the first time, we had to get somewhere, right?"