gave us no more time to decide, turning and disappearing around the corner of the stone wall.
The four of us moved quickly . It would be far too easy to get lost in this semi-darkness, even with my awesome vision. I was glad the residual burn pain was gone now. I could move with ease, although I felt a bone-weary tiredness, deep where my energy flowed.
We were in a long tunnel, which appeared to be sloping at a downward angle. We weaved in and out, zigzagging along stone paths. On each level the air cooled and cleared, the ashy taste lessening. I kept losing sight of the man as he moved ahead and he never turned back once to check on us. Thankfully there seemed to be only one main path down into their territory.
“I ’m pretty sure this is going to the centre of Crais,” Lucy complained after a few hours.
Yes, I said hours. We just kept walking , going down, down, down.
“Excuse me, are we almost there?” Lucas’s voice travelled along the lengthy tunnel.
H e hadn’t spoken much but continued to linger annoyingly close to me. I could almost see him holding out one arm in case I stumbled. How did he know I was almost dead-on-my-feet tired?
“Quiet now. We very close.” The man was about five feet from us when he spoke in hushed tones.
Ahead in the dim lighting I could see the tunnel widening, until finally we emerged in to a large stone room. And when I say large I mean gi-freaking-gantic. The area spanned, at minimum, the size of Central Park back in New York. And I couldn’t see very well in the dark, but I was pretty sure there was water sparkling somewhere across this space.
We continued to follow as he began to cross the vast distance, and that was when I noticed them.
Sitting in large groups were hundreds or thousands of Crais inhabitants . It was hard to distinguish the number in this darkened room. I finally registered the low buzzing that I’d been ignoring; they were chatting amongst themselves, although there were pauses as their curious faces turned when we passed.
“Are there more o f them down here?” Lucy leaned close to me and whispered.
I realized her eyesight wasn’t strong enough to see their midnight-black skin in the lichen lighting.
“There are thousands of them in this room ,” I warned her.
“Note to self, get eyes tested ,” she muttered as we continued to follow.
I suppressed my smile.
The man stopped abruptly. “This is sun cycle meeting time. The tribes discuss all important matters, and cleanse in water.” He gestured to the stone under his feet. “You sit here. Wait for return.”
He didn’t bother to stay around for our compliance.
I decided now wasn’t the time to push our luck, so I flopped to the ground, plus I was so tired and it was critical for me to get as much rest as possible. In case we needed my shield again soon.
“Our welcome in these worlds is always so warm,” Lucy said, sitting cross-legged next to me. Her face screwed up a little. “They invite us in, give lots of hugs and make us feel at home.”
Talina , who’d sat very delicately, her feet tucked under her left side, smiled. “Come on, Lucy, this is much better than Spurn.”
I nodded . She made an excellent point. We hadn’t been captured yet, and that was a bonus since this time without ... I paused as pain lashed at me, it hurt to think his name, but without Brace we would have more trouble trying to escape. I just wasn’t that great with my powers yet.
“It ’s amazing how the humanoids have adapted on these worlds,” Lucy said. “No Earthling would survive either Spurn or Crais’s environment.”
“I can’t believe any human could survive this planet ,” I replied. “But then Crais has apparently provided this underground sanctuary for them.”
“And yet there are some of us who can survive under the suns.” I spun around to find the source of the low, accented voice.
A woman stood there . She looked to be a little older than us. Medium height with the
The four of us moved quickly . It would be far too easy to get lost in this semi-darkness, even with my awesome vision. I was glad the residual burn pain was gone now. I could move with ease, although I felt a bone-weary tiredness, deep where my energy flowed.
We were in a long tunnel, which appeared to be sloping at a downward angle. We weaved in and out, zigzagging along stone paths. On each level the air cooled and cleared, the ashy taste lessening. I kept losing sight of the man as he moved ahead and he never turned back once to check on us. Thankfully there seemed to be only one main path down into their territory.
“I ’m pretty sure this is going to the centre of Crais,” Lucy complained after a few hours.
Yes, I said hours. We just kept walking , going down, down, down.
“Excuse me, are we almost there?” Lucas’s voice travelled along the lengthy tunnel.
H e hadn’t spoken much but continued to linger annoyingly close to me. I could almost see him holding out one arm in case I stumbled. How did he know I was almost dead-on-my-feet tired?
“Quiet now. We very close.” The man was about five feet from us when he spoke in hushed tones.
Ahead in the dim lighting I could see the tunnel widening, until finally we emerged in to a large stone room. And when I say large I mean gi-freaking-gantic. The area spanned, at minimum, the size of Central Park back in New York. And I couldn’t see very well in the dark, but I was pretty sure there was water sparkling somewhere across this space.
We continued to follow as he began to cross the vast distance, and that was when I noticed them.
Sitting in large groups were hundreds or thousands of Crais inhabitants . It was hard to distinguish the number in this darkened room. I finally registered the low buzzing that I’d been ignoring; they were chatting amongst themselves, although there were pauses as their curious faces turned when we passed.
“Are there more o f them down here?” Lucy leaned close to me and whispered.
I realized her eyesight wasn’t strong enough to see their midnight-black skin in the lichen lighting.
“There are thousands of them in this room ,” I warned her.
“Note to self, get eyes tested ,” she muttered as we continued to follow.
I suppressed my smile.
The man stopped abruptly. “This is sun cycle meeting time. The tribes discuss all important matters, and cleanse in water.” He gestured to the stone under his feet. “You sit here. Wait for return.”
He didn’t bother to stay around for our compliance.
I decided now wasn’t the time to push our luck, so I flopped to the ground, plus I was so tired and it was critical for me to get as much rest as possible. In case we needed my shield again soon.
“Our welcome in these worlds is always so warm,” Lucy said, sitting cross-legged next to me. Her face screwed up a little. “They invite us in, give lots of hugs and make us feel at home.”
Talina , who’d sat very delicately, her feet tucked under her left side, smiled. “Come on, Lucy, this is much better than Spurn.”
I nodded . She made an excellent point. We hadn’t been captured yet, and that was a bonus since this time without ... I paused as pain lashed at me, it hurt to think his name, but without Brace we would have more trouble trying to escape. I just wasn’t that great with my powers yet.
“It ’s amazing how the humanoids have adapted on these worlds,” Lucy said. “No Earthling would survive either Spurn or Crais’s environment.”
“I can’t believe any human could survive this planet ,” I replied. “But then Crais has apparently provided this underground sanctuary for them.”
“And yet there are some of us who can survive under the suns.” I spun around to find the source of the low, accented voice.
A woman stood there . She looked to be a little older than us. Medium height with the
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