Reckless Magic (43 page)

I pushed the magic down, making it
dissolve completely from my veins. I was suddenly tired and
sluggish. I hadn’t realized how much the magic had kept me going;
but after several days of no sleep and extenuating travel
circumstances, any normal human would have been delirious by
now.

At our stilled position and with our
backs pushed heavily against the cool stone, the exhaustion began
to take over. My knees became weak and without my permission my
body started to slide down the rock wall towards the uneven floor.
Amory pulled my exhausted body back into a standing position by the
arm and shaking me roughly.

“
We have to keep going. Will
you make it?” he asked, forcing me to look into his eyes by
gripping the sides of my head firmly.

“
I can make it,” I mumbled
weakly, not sure if it was possible, but determined to try. I shook
my head feebly, trying to wake myself up.

“
Think of Lilly,” Amory
coaxed, “Think of Kiran,” he finally had my attention and I brought
my body into a strong standing position.

“
Let’s go,” I said with more
energy.

Amory grabbed my wrist and pulled me
along behind him. We ran, half stumbled in the darkness through the
cool corridors. I never heard another footstep or sound other than
ours, but I had no doubt that we were being hunted. I kept up with
Amory the best I could; with my magic gone, normal, human
adrenaline was forced to take over.

Suddenly we were faced with a dead
end. The hallway had narrowed considerably and then came to a point
where the two parallel walls met. I wondered what we were going to
do now.

Amory let go of my wrist and I fell
hard against the cool stone. I could barely keep my eyes open, but
curiosity gave me a few more moments of consciousness.

Amory felt the point of the wall,
letting his hands fall over every stone and every crevice. He
started at the top of the wall and worked his way down to the
floor, quickly and efficiently. He pushed firmly on random rocks,
as if looking for one in particular.

Finally, he let out a small grunt of
approval, and I watched his fingers disappear in what seemed to be
the middle of the floor. He braced his body and then grunted louder
removing a large block of stone from the floor and revealing a
ladder leading further under the castle.

I forced my body away from the wall
and began to descend the ladder without any instruction needed.
Obviously this was our only option. I heard water beneath me, but
was blinded by complete darkness descending slowly into the black
abyss. I could still see Amory’s face as I took the shaky ladder
rung by rung deep into the blackness.

After I was far enough down the ladder
for Amory to follow, he stood on one of the top rungs and slid the
rock floor back into place. I saw a type of handle underneath the
faux floor that made it easy to be returned home. Once the floor
was in place we were completely in the dark and I was nearly
paralyzed by fear of the unknown.

The ladder hung precariously from the
ceiling of the cavernous hole and swayed back and forth with our
body weight. Every move, every step, every breath we took evoked a
rusty creaking sound that had me seizing up in fear. I forced my
appendages to move and forbade my mind to consider the
possibilities of this ladder crashing to the black chasm beneath
us.

The sound of water grew stronger the
lower we climbed, and I made the assumption of a creek or brook
flowing through wherever we were headed. My eyes began to adjust to
the blackness, but it was too dark to make anything out for sure. I
wondered if Amory was using magic or if he repressed his as
well.

Eventually my foot found the ground in
an awkward step that made my knee give out. I didn’t catch myself
in time and fell to the solid ground in an uncomfortable
heap.

Once on solid ground, I pushed myself
up to my hands and knees and felt through the dirt as I crawled
forward or at least in a forward direction until the ground ended
and another stone wall ascended in its place.

I gripped the wall, using it to pull
my body up into a standing position again. Wherever we were now was
clearly far beneath ground because the temperature had dropped
drastically. The water source was definitely a running stream of
some type because I could hear the water moving purposefully. The
air was clean and clear and I took a big breath in, happy for the
moment to rest.

I heard Amory’s feet reach the solid
ground and the ladder ceased from creaking. I listened for his
footsteps to move in a direction, but I heard only the sound of the
water. I was afraid to call out to him, since he had yet to speak a
word.

I heard a scraping sound and my heart
jumped, but when sparks flew through the darkness I realized Amory
had only lit a match. A small flame burned alone until Amory used
it to ignite a larger torch. The darkness was illuminated and I
finally made out my surroundings.

We were in a type of cavern, with rock
walls on every side. A single river ran through the middle at a
quick pace. The surface we stood on was wide, and the ladder
leading to the castle above was positioned closer to the stone wall
than the river and its dangerous current. I pressed my cheek
against the cold stone one more time before joining Amory at the
rivers edge.

There was about a ten foot drop from
the dirt surface to the rushing river below. I saw another rusted
ladder built into the earth leading directly down into the water,
with a small row boat tied to the orange metal. Two sets of oars
lay on the bottom of the boat and a lantern was positioned at its
stern. I looked at Amory with controlled fear, and he stared back
with the same trepidation.

“
Eden, we have to row
upstream. It is very difficult, I won’t lie to you. But if we
follow the current it will take us straight back to the Citadel. We
have to row against it, do you understand? I am not sure if you
will make it,” he was honest with me, and I saw the pain in his
eyes through the flickering light of the torch.

“
How far?” I asked, afraid
he was right.

“
At least two hours in the
water, and then another three and a half hour hike after that. Can
you repress your magic that long?” his eyes lost their pain and
became determined. We both knew there was no other
option.

“
Yes,” I said simply, I had
no other choice.

“
I can’t do it alone. You
will have to help me row,” I nodded with determination and took off
my Nebraska Sweatshirt stuffing it into my backpack, and then
tossed it into the rowboat.

Amory rolled up the sleeves of his
suit shirt, and I realized that he used his suit jacket as the
kindle for our torch. Amory handed me the torch and lowered himself
over the edge and onto the ladder. He pulled the boat towards him
with his long leg and then slowly took his steps onto the bow.
Using the ladder for balance the entire time, he was eventually
able to take a seat on one of the small boats’ two
benches.

I lay down on the dirt floor and
lowered the torch to Amory who had to stand precariously to reach
it. Once it was in his grip he lit the lantern at the bow and put
the torch flame out by dunking it in water. Instead of discarding
the burned jacket in the river, he brought it back into the boat
and set it at his feet. The wet clothing left a puddle of water at
the bottom of an already damp floor.

Once Amory was able to give me his
full attention, I swung my legs over the edge and found the ladder
with my feet. I began my descent carefully, if not a little
shakily. Eventually my feet ran out of rungs and my toe swept the
river, flooding my navy blue clogs with ice cold water. I stretched
my leg behind me until my toe bumped against the solid wood of the
row boat and I used the force of my leg muscles to pull the boat
closer to the edge of the dirt wall.

Gripping the lower rungs tightly with
my trembling fingers, I placed one foot and then the other firmly
on the bow of the row boat. I used my stomach muscles this time to
pull the drifting boat closer still and took a step off of the bow
and on to the wet, slippery floor. Sliding precariously, I let go
of the ladder rungs and fell heavily onto the bench.

Satisfied with a somewhat safe
landing, I gripped the sides of the boat tightly as it rocked
roughly back and forth. I was positioned on the first bench near
the front of the boat, with Amory behind me. He handed me my oars
and I slid them through the paddle holes, so that I would not lose
them. Their cold wood was wet and slippery. I regretted taking off
my sweatshirt as the river water splashed over the sides of the
boat and sprayed my bare arms and face.

“
Are you ready?” Amory asked
gravely. I took a quick moment to throw my hair onto the top of my
head, securing it with my hair tie. I then gripped the oars, braced
my body and nodded in agreement. “Start rowing now, and once I
release the rope I will fall into a pattern with you,” I nodded
again and took a big breath. “Eden….” Amory paused, “however hard
this may be, we have no choice but to succeed,” his words held such
gravity that I could not even respond.

I focused what little strength I had
left and began to sink my oars deep beneath the turbulent surface
of the river. I brought them high above the water and then deep
beneath over and over again, fighting the strong current,
determined to win.

I heard Amory struggle with the knot
and then felt the quick release of the boat. At first we were taken
violently downstream, and I forced my weak fingers to hold onto the
oars. Amory joined my struggle and eventually we fell into a
labored routine; the oars dipping under and over the water
simultaneously.

I began to see progress as we forced
our bodies to do the impossible. The cavern shrunk to only a
rounded tunnel where the water was allowed to flow through. As we
left the large grotto and began our journey against the current and
through the narrow channel, I felt a glimmer of hope. No matter how
difficult this flight may be, something deep inside warned me that
it was necessary.

I glanced back at Amory Saint working
with all of his strength to propel us forward. His face was set and
his eyes were hard with determination. I may not have any idea what
we were running from, but whatever it was, had scared the hell out
of him.

42.

Amory and I rowed through the dark
silently; the only sound in the narrow tunnel was our oars dipping
in and out of the strong current and the rush of water against the
stone walls. My body was shaking violently from weakness and my
arms did their best to move us forward. I braced my body on the
small wooden bench, using every muscle I had to row.

The lantern at the stern of the boat,
the only light piercing the heavy darkness, cast eerie shadows on
the rounded walls. Amory had clearly taken this exit before, but I
was too exhausted to garner any details. I had no sense of time,
and felt barely coherent.

Amory had said we would row for two
hours, he had not said we would be rowing in a dark and
claustrophobic tunnel of death for two hours. I wished I was
wearing a watch, because I was too afraid to ask Amory how much
longer. Any extra effort, including talking and I was sure that
would finally be it for me. I had never known such exhaustion in my
entire life and I was positive I never wanted to know the feeling
again.

The rivers’ current stayed quick and I
never noticed a change in depth, although there might have been
one; it was impossible to tell without testing it for myself. My
feet were freezing from the ice cold water that made its way over
the side and I stopped feeling my fingers a long time ago. They
maintained their grasp on the oars however, as if obeying a command
I had forgotten I gave them.

Amory grunted suddenly with the effort
of another oar stroke. The sound echoed off of the low ceiling and
close walls making me jump. My heart beat wildly, and my already
labored breath quickened. Normally easily scared, I was actually
grateful my heart was strong enough to still have a
reaction.

“
Sorry,” Amory panted and I
heard the strained tone in his voice as our oars once again
disappeared beneath the rough surface of the water.

I shook my head as if to say it was
ok, but couldn’t force words out of my mouth. I pushed the oars
under the rushing ripples and fought with everything I had to push
them against the pressure of a force much greater than myself. The
river fought back, convincing me to let my oar fall easily into
its’ grip and float away. One more stroke, I decided; and then
again, just one more stroke.

My eyes were focused on the dim circle
of light the lantern illuminated; I could only see maybe ten or so
feet in front of me. I centered on what I could to ensure the boat
maintained a straight path, although something told me that Amory
could have made the entire journey blinded.

A cool rush of air wrapped itself
around me and I shuddered violently. Already frozen from the ice
cold water, I dreaded the idea of a draft. When another gush of air
rushed by me again, I began to hope. Maybe it was not a draft but
the wind.