The Pegassian Order

14. Lure

Elliot could tell that the blood loss and pain were beginning to take a toll on Rafi, who followed her clumsily as she continued through the dark passage. It curved as it welcomed them to continue, nudging them on with its slightly sloping walls and downward tilting floors.

Rafi had long stopped paying attention to their surroundings, he had lost a lot of blood and his neck was stiff and his eyes heavy. Stringing a simple sentence together was proving challenging. All Rafi wanted was to be asleep, relaxed and carefree. He wanted to be anywhere but here in this situation. His chance of survival wasn't looking great, not if he kept losing blood and didn't eat or drink anything, or even rest. But they didn't have time for a break. They needed to uncover what was happening and complete the trial in order to reach Chloe. That Cara woman had said something about a constellation or a meteor shower becoming visible at a certain time. If that was the case, Rafi thought, then they definitely had Chloe and she was definitely alive.

He had grown to believe that the mysterious forces at work only killed once the stars or meteorites or whatever it was that Cara had mentioned, presented themselves. For the cult it would symbolise the metamorphosis and transformation of a dark act of cruelty into a thing of beauty.

The cult, in theory, were sacrificing women who like Medusa, had suffered and survived. Only the women who survived were worthy enough to be sacrificed, at least that was what the strange and outlandish markings inscribed across the walls from the last few chambers suggested. And if they were to be trusted, then the cult believed their action of murder was in fact the act of setting the sorrow-filled women free from this world. He had mulled over informing Elliot of everything he had seen and noted while moving through the underground death trap.

He opted against saying anything. She was smart, she had pieced together enough to make sense of the fact that Chloe was still alive and there was some foul play at hand to do with Medusa's tale. That was all she needed to know in order to find her sister, Rafi decided. After all, there was no point in burdening a soul with more than they could bare, and he could no longer tell how much fight she had left in her.

They had been lost down here for several hours now without rest or supplies. And though Rafi knew it was insane, he was sure he had just caught a glimpse of Galen's face among the shadows in the tunnel. But it was impossible, Rafi had seen his dead body.

The mind was beginning to take advantage of his fragile state and tugged at threads in his mind which were better left alone. The rocks on the wall formed Duke's face for a moment, a sneering, tormented expression and Rafi froze. His heart swung in his chest and he felt like he might be sick.

As quickly as it appeared, the face disappeared and Rafi was left staring at malformed rocks and stones which had been pieced together to form the structure surrounding them. The tunnel continued to span onward, and as he tried to keep up with Elliot, he grew aware of another presence in the tunnel with them.

It was the feeling of being watched, the way his hairs stood on end and the unmistakable urge to glance behind him even though there should be nothing there. Rafi succumbed to the desire and peeked over his shoulder.

There was something in the shadows, of this much he was now certain. It or they lurked beyond the veil of black that coated the tunnel and Rafi turned back and hurried after Elliot. He had no desire to satisfy his curiosities regarding the supernatural or the undeniable certainty of knowing he was being watched.

‘Are you okay?’ Elliot's voice came from ahead and Rafi snapped his eyes to her. The moment his eyes found her through the surrounding darkness and uncertainty, his felt his heart rate begin to return to normal. His stiff neck loosened and he found it easier to breathe. Her worried expression reassured him she was real, that she was there. Unlike the sights of Galen and Duke that haunted him from his peripherals.

‘Just…seeing things.’ He answered. Elliot softened and strode back toward him. He watched her as she took a firm hold of his hand and dragged him along behind her, ensuring he wasn't too far behind or too long distracted to be able to hallucinate or lose his way.

‘We've nearly made it through.’ She promised and even though he knew she was lying, he appreciated that she made the effort to lie at all. She was trying to keep his spirits raised and keep him hopeful. Rafi himself had learnt about the importance of keeping people hopeful. A hopeful person could go that one step further than the others which in times like this was an attribute essential for surviving.

‘C’mon. Just stay close.’ Elliot instructed, not looking back. But Rafi did. It was the biggest mistake he could make. When he turned around, he saw a man he knew to be dead. The man was old, in a crisp grey suit, like the ones he wore when Rafi was a boy. He had bright white hair which was so thick, Rafi assumed he was born with it. The man with white hair muttered something with a vacant expression. Rafi slipped his hand out of Elliot’s and stared at the man who gave him a new lease on life. The man clutched black rosemary beads in one hand, and Rafi’s hand flew to his chest. He was alarmed to find his rosemary beads gone.

Rafi stared at his adoptive father Sami Gibran, who had left the beads to Rafi after his own death. Sami’s expression darkened as Rafi stepped closer. The old man looked worried and as Rafi stepped closer, straining to hear what the old man muttered, Elliot's voice began to be drowned out by whispers which swelled and flooded his senses.

Sami's brown eyes locked onto Rafi's and drew him closer with a magnetism Rafi couldn't escape. It was like there was a rope around Rafi's heart and he was winding it closer, closing the distance between Rafi and himself. The closer Rafi came the darker his eyes turned until they were two black coals.

Suddenly, something grabbed Rafi by the shoulders and hauled him back. Panicked, Rafi turned to find Elliot dragging him back toward her. He turned back to find the old man was no longer there. In his place was a curtain of darkness amidst which Rafi could have sworn he saw a pair of eyes watching them.

‘You need to stay focused!’ Elliot scolded him. ‘What the hell was that about?’

‘I-I thought I saw someone.’

Elliot angrily led him down the tunnel until they reached a series of smaller tunnels. She leaned Rafi against the wall to one side and began scanning the walls for signs or inscriptions left by the architect or worshippers of this place. Elliot knew full well that for a complex network of tunnels like these, the frequent users of the routes would have their own map system or sign posts which worked in place of mysterious markings that had been made to look more ancient than they were.

She scanned the tunnel archways from top all the way to the bottom until she noticed it, the small wave-like line. Was it meant to symbolise a snake? Three of the tunnels had them on their archways, but one had an up turned symbol of a horse shoe.

‘This is it.’ Elliot whispered more to herself than anyone else. She got up and hurried over to Rafi who looked paler than before. She fought through the worry she felt and settled on hard-boiled determination. She would get them through this, come what may. She pulled Rafi up to his feet and swung his arm over her shoulder.

She didn't want to tell him, but she was aware they were being followed. The problem Elliot was facing was that she couldn't tell whether it was one stalker or multiple. The figure clung to the darkness, like he or they had done this many times before. Had they done it with Galen's daughter? And Chloe? The thought angered her. She continued moving forward until she found a weapon or a better place where she could confront whoever was tailing her and Rafi. Right now, she risked losing Rafi to a concussion or worse, and she feared that if she was to confront whoever was following them, it would put Rafi at most risk because he was vulnerable right now.

She hadn't told Rafi that she had been seeing things too. That she had been experiencing hallucinations as they ventured through the tunnels as well. But she had more mental resolve than him, ironic for an addict but that was her strength. She could get addicted to and ween herself off anything. She was powering through the visions of her mother and Chloe, and of strange monsters and beings she would think up as a child to frighten her sister.

She suspected the figure following them must have been responsible for it, or maybe the tunnel was lined with it. Either way, the solution was to get as far as possible from the tunnel as she could, with Rafi in tow.

‘I can’t…’ Rafi murmured.

‘What?’ Elliot asked the muscular man as he slumped to one side again. His usually large eyes had dark circles beneath them and the colour had drained from his face. He clung to the rosemary beads around his neck with one hand and murmured something she didn’t understand interrupting the prayer to muster…

‘Elliot, I can't…’

She realised his eyes were rolling into the back of his head.

‘You have to. Come on, just a little further.’

‘Just leave me here.’ He was speaking between shallow breaths now and Elliot grew concerned. It was dawning on her that Rafi dying down here was a real possibility.

‘Rafi, don't do this.’ She ordered. ‘Come on, get up.’ She dragged him up to his feet again and this time he leaned on her like a limp corpse. She staggered beneath his weight then managed to regain her balance.

‘Fine. I’ll drag you out of here if I have to.’ She decided as she did just that and dragged the semi-conscious man down the tunnel marked with the symbol of a horse shoe. This tunnel was newer. She could tell from the neat brick work lining the walls and the concrete ground. Suddenly, several torches lining the walls of the tunnel lit up and cast a yellow glow through it.

Elliot, still holding Rafi up, hurried through the tunnel without looking back, even though this time she was convinced she heard a pair of footsteps. The bricks whizzed past as she bundled forward, growing closer and closer to the next chamber. This could be the room to put an end to all of this for once and for all. This could be the place she would find Chloe alive and well, but most likely restrained. This was her best case scenario. She wasn't going to entertain her worst case scenario. Of that much, she was certain.

The path slanted upward and Elliot's calves began to burn with exertion as she pulled Rafi up with her. The sound of water pouring grabbed her attention, she continued up the path and the arching ground to find an elaborate fountain. It comprised of a bright white stone horse with outstretched wings and his head held high. He wore a golden bridle and was surrounded by several smaller marble statues of Medusa, snakes, and Poseidon.

Inside the fountain was clear water. Elliot lifted her hands and cupped them together then placed them beneath the water and brought them to her lips. She drank desperately, quenching her own thirst and replenishing her fatigued reserves. It wasn’t food, but it was something. She wiped her face clean then helped Rafi over to the fountain and forced him to drink the water. As Rafi drank from the fountain, he slowly regained his ability to sit himself up.

Elliot followed his gaze as it landed on something behind her. She turned around and froze. Chests of gold filled the corners of the room. She turned back to the statue and realised they were looking at the Pegassian Treasure.