Original Stories Fan Fiction / Fables/Fairytales Fan Fiction ❯ Revenge of the Descent ❯ Five - Demon Cave ( Chapter 5 )

Eryk clenched his fists tightly as Kyros made another snide comment along the way to the Demon Caves. If he doesn't shut the hell up, I'll—

 

Calm down, Eryk, Florian told him mentally. We all hate it, but we have to deal with it. Eryk grunted, folding his arms and trying to keep his cool. Candis sighed. During all these petty arguments, she was always right in the middle of it.

 

“So, Kai,” said Kyros, causing Kai to draw back a little. “Why is a pretty girl like you shying away from the city?” Kai blushed and scratched her neck nervously.

 

“I just like the ocean, that's all,” she muttered, slightly annoyed. The other three girls had already received their fair share of Kyros's inquiry, and now it was her turn. Great, just great, she thought bitterly.

 

Kyros regarded her thoughtfully, smiling to himself. “Yes, I like the ocean too,” he mused, staring into the deep woods. “I know I'm prince of the Fire Kingdom, but I've always had an eye for water,” he added, winking at her.

 

Kai groaned on the inside but managed a very small, very forced smile on the outside. Sighing, she folded her arms and tried to focus on the grass beneath her feet. She jumped back in fright when she accidentally bumped into Guren.

 

The group was staring at him expectantly as his eyes slowly roamed over the trees. “Someone was here, not very long ago,” he said quietly, taking a turn from the path and walking into the darker part of the forest.

 

“Wait, Guren,” said Kai, catching up with him. “Shouldn't we ask Skyler about this part of the forest before we go barging into it? It looks… foreboding,” she added worriedly. Guren rolled his eyes.

 

“I've been here before,” he said, hoping that would reassure her. “I know exactly where it leads.” As if that closed the conversation, he swiftly dashed through the trees, the group barely able to follow behind him.

 

After about ten minutes of walking, the group halted before a giant, ominous cave at the bottom of Heaven's Cliffs. “Funny, isn't it?” commented Candis. “At the bottom of Heaven's Cliffs is the Demon Cave.” Eryk snorted with amusement as Kyros looked up at the cliffs, frightened near to death.

 

Chi giggled. “I don't think Lord Kyros likes heights,” she whispered to Feng. Feng smirked, earning herself and Chi a glare from Kyros.

 

Rolling her eyes, Feng added, “It's not too late to turn back.” Kyros opened his mouth to say something, then abruptly shut it, turning around and marching into the caves.

 

“Hey, wait!” called Kai, taking a step forward, though Guren's arm stopped her from going any further. She pouted, adding, “That idiot will get himself killed in a minute if we don't go after him, Guren.”

 

“She's right, Guren,” agreed Florian, albeit halfheartedly. “We don't need his Royal Family on our asses about his sudden death.” Guren sighed stingily, leading the rest of the group inside the caves after the prince.

 

They found Kyros not fifty feet ahead of them, leaning on the rock and seeming to study the other side with little interest. When he heard the group approaching, he practically jumped up, thankful that they'd come for him. “For a while I thought you may leave me,” he said haughtily, “but I figured you wouldn't want to deal with my family if I were to inexplicably die and the rest of you live.” He smirked as Guren glared coldly at him, shoving him out of the way to lead the group in the right direction.

 

Before long, they came upon a spacious cavern with five different openings. The cavern itself was very moist and stunk of mold and decay, which caused the girls to cover their noses instinctively. “This is so gross!” complained Chi.

 

Guren rolled his eyes, walking towards the opening on the far left. “Are you sure that's the right one?” asked Eryk tentatively. Guren nodded.

 

“I sense some distant emotions, scattered and mysterious. They must be far down in that cave, though, because these ones feel as if they've been here for days, maybe weeks. The energy is rapidly disappearing, so we should hurry.”

 

The group nodded silently in agreement, following Guren closely as he quickly made his way through the far left opening. It was fairly dark already, but in this smaller cave,they could barely see the outline of each other's bodies. Cursing, Eryk reached into his pack and took out a torch, lighting it to make it easier for the rest of the group as Guren seemed to know where he was going.

 

After a while, they arrived at a smaller cavern that was even more moist than the first. Still smelling of rotten and decaying creatures, it wasn't very welcoming. But for the girl with short, choppy silver hair and big, round blue eyes, it seemed fitting.

 

Kai opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Her brows drew together in confusion, wondering what a girl who looked about 16 was doing in such a forboding cave like this. Finally, unable to think of anything else to say, she asked, “Who are you?”

 

The girl sitting in the middle of the cave slowly turned, her ice blue eyes holding sheer innocence in them. Somewhat frightened by the scene, Chi shivered and instinctively moved behind Florian for protection. The girl smiled strangely. “I am Midea. Who are you?”

 

Stunned by their own question being thrown back at them, it took the group a minute to remember to answer the girl. Florian cleared his throat. “I'm Florian, this is Eryk, Guren, Prince—Lord Kyros, and the four Elementalists,” he said, pointing to each person as he introduced them. “We're investigating some…strange behavior that has been happening in these areas. Have you seen anything peculiar lately?”

 

The girl turned her head sideways, staring thoughtfully at Florian. Unnerved by the action, he shifted uneasily, not meeting her gaze. After a few moments, Eryk was fed up with the girl's staring and wanted an answer. “What the hell is a girl like you doing in these caves?” he asked rather harshly.

 

The girl's eyes widened slightly, then she sighed and brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them. “I went looking for my dog a few weeks ago and he went in here, but I took the wrong turn. I would have walked out but my eyes are very bad and I'm scared of the dark,” she explained, her light blue eyes filling up with tears. “I hope my dog got out okay. I wouldn't care if I was stuck here the rest of my life, as long as he got out safely.”

 

Guren regarded the girl with slight suspicion, not believing her sob story. He sighed heavily and rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming. “Listen… Midea,” he said, barely recalling her name. “Have you or haven't you seen or heard anything strange in these caves?”

 

The girl nodded. “Yes, there's always a loud roar coming from the other caves that branch off from that big center cavern,” she answered, pointing towards the direction of the large cavern. “Last night it was so loud I thought the monster was right out in the big cavern!” She shuddered and closed her eyes, pushing away that thought.

 

Guren bit on his lip, something he doesn't do unless he really doesn't understand the situation. This girl's emotions aren't natural, he thought, making eye contact with the girls and Florian to make sure they caught that notion. They're there, but they're not. It's like a swirling mist of mystery…

 

Candis quirked a brow, staring captivatingly at the girl. Lord Kyros cleared his throat, obviously confused by the sudden staring.

 

“Well, Miss Midea,” he started, walking up to her and grabbing her hand like any prince charming would do. “I am Lord Kyros, and I would be happy to help you get out of here.”

 

The girl smiled faintly, but looked away from Kyros. “Thank you, but I want to find my dog first,” she replied softly.

 

Candis rolled her eyes, thinking, The dog is probably dead by now, you twit.

 

Candis, don't be so harsh, complained Chi, pouting at Candis. Maybe she really did lose her dog. If I lost my pet, I'd be sad about it too.

 

Guren interrupted the secret conversation by coughing loudly, glancing at the group and then back at the girl. “We should take her back to the Ministry,” he said. “We'll send men to look for your dog once we're finished with this mission.”

 

He turned abruptly, motioning for the others, including the girl, to follow. They obliged, but didn't get very far before a loud roar erupted from the direction of the center cavern, causing the ground to shake as everyone grabbed onto the cave walls for support. Eryk shouted something and the next thing Candis knew, he tackled her out of the way of falling rocks. She gasped for air, scrambling to get away from the falling ceiling and back into the small cavern.

 

When the roar had ceased, the rocks had piled up to the ceiling at the exit. Guren cursed, kicking a rock at the large pile. He tried desperately to move the rocks, but many of them were big and didn't seem to want to move. He sighed, plopping down on a rock that was the right size for a seat.

 

“Looks like we're stuck here for the next few days,” he muttered angrily. Kai gaped in shock.

 

“What?! Can't Skyler send men down through a portal?” she asked, looking unsure. “I mean, he did that last time when we fought—you know…”

 

Guren shook his head gravely. “Yes, that time he did, but he won't know what cave entrance we went into when he reaches the large cavern back there. The men and women in the ministry don't have a very strong sixth sense, so they wouldn't be able to track us.” He ran a hand through his red hair, leaning his head back onto the rock wall. “We could probably contact him and have him hire a ranger, but those are hard to find and Skyler loves his precious money.”

 

Lord Kyros was still slumped against the wall, as tense as the rock. “We… We're stuck here?!” he asked incredulously. He shook his head rapidly and jumped up. “No! I refuse to die here!”

 

“Kyros! Relax!” exclaimed Florian, glaring at the prince. “We won't be stuck here forever and we definitely won't die here. I could probably perform a simple spell that—”

 

“Negative,” interrupted Eryk, snarling. “We didn't pack any ogre teeth or mermaid fins, so we're screwed. We can't do any explosive spells.”

 

Florian gawked at Eryk. “What?! I thought I packed some…” Disbelieving, he searched through his pack twice and then finally dropped it on the ground. “Damn it…”

 

Chi rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. “You guys are idiots! Don't you remember?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips. “I'm the Earth Elementalists. Duh!”

 

Guren, Florian, Kyros, and Eryk gaped at Chi, feeling stupid for forgetting her powers. Unable to say anything, they kept opening and closing their mouths like fishes until Guren snapped himself and the others out of it.

 

“Right, sorry,” they muttered, scratching their heads and looking towards the other Elementalists. Apparently, they already figured that out. Great, now I feel even more stupid, though Eryk, shaking his head.

 

“But don't you think we should…stay here for one night?” she asked carefully, her gaze roaming over the group until it reached Guren's eyes. “To scout out the area or search for clues, I mean.”

 

Guren nodded slightly. “Yes, staying for a night would be a better idea,” he mumbled. “And we can question her,” he added, jerking his thumb uninterestingly at Midea.

 

“Huh?” Midea looked up from where she was sitting. “You're going to question me?” she repeated.

 

Kai rolled her eyes. I don't think I like this one, she thought. I never have liked the ones who play innocent. “Yes, we're going to question you to see if we can get any clues from what you've heard or seen,” she answered, walking over to a spot of the cave that looked relatively dry. “I don't know about you guys, but I'm beat.” She took out her sleeping bag from one of the packs and smoothed it out, then laid in it and fell into a very deep sleep.

 

Lord Kyros regarded her with much interest, his eyes glinting secretively. I do think I've found myself the perfect… His thoughts stopped immediately as he caught Guren glaring coldly at him. He smirked to himself, studying the girls as they got ready for bed and Eryk and Florian, who had starting to question Midea. Yes, she's perfect.