soon.” Tara sounded hopeful, running her hands as if to brush her hair. The Oracles always looked so proper and prim. It must have driven them crazy that they might not look as such.
“Fine. You can stay here.” Nick started walking ahead, followed by the rest.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.” Noah placed his arms around Amanda, giving her security as they headed forward together.
“I’m so glad Amanda has Noah.” Mason accentuated the word “so.” Interlinking his fingers through mine, we rushed to catch up with the rest of the group.
I didn’t know what we would face on the other side, but I didn’t expect to see a banquet of dishes laid out with assorted gourmet food. Either the table was following us as we walked, or the table was that long. I couldn’t tell. I kept seeing the same things over and over again. I was sure I had passed the same turkey five times. Though it felt like my mind was playing tricks on me, I was more worried about my stomach.
From the aroma, my stomach was churning, prickling with hunger pains. I could tell my friends felt the same by the way their eyes were glued to the table. The layout and the types of food displayed was tantalizing, taunting us. I just hoped we didn’t give in to our temptation.
“Where did this come from?” Aaron leaned closer to the biggest turkey I’d ever seen. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “It sure smells like the real thing.”
“Is this real?” Colin’s finger was inches away from the steak.
“Don’t touch that.” Nick slapped Colin’s hand. “It’s a trick. Didn’t you hear what Zara said? But Ian can touch it.” He arched his brows. “He can eat all he wants.”
“Thanks,” Ian spat, with a sarcastic tone. “I can tell how much you care about me.”
“Anytime. After all…that’s how we treat traitors,” Nick accused.
“I’m not a traitor,” Ian rebutted.
“Whatever you say. Whatever makes you feel good.”
“I’m so hungry.” Amanda looked like she wanted to dive into a plate of the biggest shrimp I’ve ever seen.
“Don’t look at it, Amanda.” Noah pulled her away. “It’s an illusion. The longer you look at it, the harder it will be to turn away.”
“Look at all these desserts.” I didn’t know Aaron was a dessert kind of guy.
“Whatever you do, don’t pick it up. If you take something from here, you must give something back,” Zara warned again. “You will be trapping yourself down here without a way out. It wants your soul. Now, run before the temptation overpowers you.”
It didn’t matter how fast we ran, the table kept expanding with us.
“What’s going on?” Noah sounded worried. I could hear the shuffling of his feet right behind me. “It keeps following us.”
“Stop thinking about food and it will go away,” Tara said, looking over her shoulder at us.
Finally, one by one, the plates disappeared. It seemed as though it had showed us what our minds desired to eat at that moment. Walking further, we came to another cave, but a lot smaller this time. Not only that, there were several more entrances, leading to who knew where. Strangely, it was bright, but when I looked up to see the source of the light, I gasped. Fire!
Fire hovered beautifully across the ceiling. There was something mesmerizing about the way it burned in the colors of yellow, orange, and red. Thank goodness it wasn’t massive, but just enough to give light, and unfortunately…heat. Oddly, there was no smoke and we didn’t have difficulty breathing. It was no wonder I didn’t noticed it till now. But I could feel the burning heat seeping into my lungs.
“Stay close,” Zara warned. Covering her nose and mouth with her hands, she led us forward cautiously.
With each careful step, I tried to minimize the sound of my footsteps and looked for anything that would cause an explosion or set off a trap. It was so quiet that I could hear the thumping of my own
“Fine. You can stay here.” Nick started walking ahead, followed by the rest.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.” Noah placed his arms around Amanda, giving her security as they headed forward together.
“I’m so glad Amanda has Noah.” Mason accentuated the word “so.” Interlinking his fingers through mine, we rushed to catch up with the rest of the group.
I didn’t know what we would face on the other side, but I didn’t expect to see a banquet of dishes laid out with assorted gourmet food. Either the table was following us as we walked, or the table was that long. I couldn’t tell. I kept seeing the same things over and over again. I was sure I had passed the same turkey five times. Though it felt like my mind was playing tricks on me, I was more worried about my stomach.
From the aroma, my stomach was churning, prickling with hunger pains. I could tell my friends felt the same by the way their eyes were glued to the table. The layout and the types of food displayed was tantalizing, taunting us. I just hoped we didn’t give in to our temptation.
“Where did this come from?” Aaron leaned closer to the biggest turkey I’d ever seen. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “It sure smells like the real thing.”
“Is this real?” Colin’s finger was inches away from the steak.
“Don’t touch that.” Nick slapped Colin’s hand. “It’s a trick. Didn’t you hear what Zara said? But Ian can touch it.” He arched his brows. “He can eat all he wants.”
“Thanks,” Ian spat, with a sarcastic tone. “I can tell how much you care about me.”
“Anytime. After all…that’s how we treat traitors,” Nick accused.
“I’m not a traitor,” Ian rebutted.
“Whatever you say. Whatever makes you feel good.”
“I’m so hungry.” Amanda looked like she wanted to dive into a plate of the biggest shrimp I’ve ever seen.
“Don’t look at it, Amanda.” Noah pulled her away. “It’s an illusion. The longer you look at it, the harder it will be to turn away.”
“Look at all these desserts.” I didn’t know Aaron was a dessert kind of guy.
“Whatever you do, don’t pick it up. If you take something from here, you must give something back,” Zara warned again. “You will be trapping yourself down here without a way out. It wants your soul. Now, run before the temptation overpowers you.”
It didn’t matter how fast we ran, the table kept expanding with us.
“What’s going on?” Noah sounded worried. I could hear the shuffling of his feet right behind me. “It keeps following us.”
“Stop thinking about food and it will go away,” Tara said, looking over her shoulder at us.
Finally, one by one, the plates disappeared. It seemed as though it had showed us what our minds desired to eat at that moment. Walking further, we came to another cave, but a lot smaller this time. Not only that, there were several more entrances, leading to who knew where. Strangely, it was bright, but when I looked up to see the source of the light, I gasped. Fire!
Fire hovered beautifully across the ceiling. There was something mesmerizing about the way it burned in the colors of yellow, orange, and red. Thank goodness it wasn’t massive, but just enough to give light, and unfortunately…heat. Oddly, there was no smoke and we didn’t have difficulty breathing. It was no wonder I didn’t noticed it till now. But I could feel the burning heat seeping into my lungs.
“Stay close,” Zara warned. Covering her nose and mouth with her hands, she led us forward cautiously.
With each careful step, I tried to minimize the sound of my footsteps and looked for anything that would cause an explosion or set off a trap. It was so quiet that I could hear the thumping of my own
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