The Pegassian Order

11. The Path to Nowhere

Rafi groaned when he came too. He didn't remember much other than the whispers he heard and the glimpses of Dukes body being dragged into the shadowy corners of the room. He remembered being weightless, and felt like someone was pulling him along the ground.

The room was lit by a single torch nailed to the wall. The wall was a series of old miss-shaped stones that had been placed atop each other to form the circular chamber, in which Rafi had been placed. Rafi rubbed his eyes and tried to stand, but his knees were heavy and alien to him. They were not under his command. Whenever he tried to go in one direction, they would tremble then give way and he would collapse like a house of cards against the cold stone ground.

A mumbling noise came from above and Rafi lifted his head to find a large cage hanging overhead, it was panelled with wooden planks and now and then, it would swing somewhat. A rope held it in place, the rope spanned down the ground and was locked into a mechanism of some kind which was attached to a level by the edge of the circular room. Rafi forced himself upward and staggered toward the lever.

He pulled the lever with all his might and stumbled backward. The lever wedged itself half way through the slot and the cage overhead begun to swing back and forth violently. As the cage swung to and fro, Rafi noticed something jingling from above the cage. It came from the metal hole which had rope woven through it. Attached to the metal hole was an old key. Rafi scanned the room for signs of a keyhole but he couldn't see any.

He battled exhaustion as he walked over to the wall. Once he reached it, he leaned his back against it and turned back to face the room. It was from this angle that he noticed how droplet-like the cage was above the circular lines on the ground and he remembered how Medusa cried and a single tear drop slipped from her eye and into the ocean to produce Pegasus, the winged horse.

An epiphany struck him all at once. This didn't represent the tear falling, it represented the rising of Pegasus from the ocean. It made him pull the lever back, raising the cage here. He gripped the level and heaved toward it, using his own weight to shove the lever further. It sent the cage higher up until the rope began to creak. Rafi noticed the rope ran through another metal hoop which was working to raise the utmost inner circle on the ground at an angle.

Rafi continued to lean on the lever until the circular stone floor had opened to form a perpendicular opening. A mechanism beyond the ceiling let out a loud bang and water began to gush through small holes in the wall, flooding the room. Some of it disappeared into the opening on the ground which began to tick loudly, signalling it would close.

Rafi noticed the rope being battered by pouring water. It began to thin and fray, and with it, the cage overhead began to creak as it leant at an angle. The rope snapped and the cage crashed to the ground, releasing several water snakes into the water which came up to Rafi's ankles. Rafi kicked them aside, he was relieved because deep down he had been worried it was Duke in there but it wasn't. It was just a booby-trap. The snakes swam toward Rafi, and he kicked them away as he hurried toward the closing door. He slid onto his back and slipped through the large panel seconds before it sealed shut.

Rafi landed in a water fountain. He heard the hiss before h felt the snake slither past his leg. He batted it away with a free hand. The serpent flew into the wall and hissed angrily before disappearing behind some old clay vases.

Rafi clambered out of the fountain, soaking wet. He was dazed and confused and Galen was dead. He had no idea where Elliot was. He just wished she had listened to him. They shouldn't have been down here in the first place. If this was the last batch of catacombs and tombs he ever saw, he would die happy.

He picked up one of the clay vases and approached the snake which hid behind another vase. He opened the lid and placed the vase on its side then walked round the snake and slammed his boot against the ground, creating enough sound to spook the serpent. It hissed at him with a sizzling fury before sliding into to the vase. Rafi acted fast and placed the lid over the vase, sealing the snake inside.

He placed the vase upright and watched it wobble from the thrashing of the snake trapped inside. He sighed. This was getting more and more deadly. If Pegasus was born, then the arc of Medusa's journey was almost complete, meaning whatever was going on, would come to an end soon… right?

But if that was the case, where was Elliot? Who had brought him this far? And what had happened to Duke?

Rafi ran his hands across the rosemary beads which dangled from his neck and muttered a soothing prayer. It helped with his nerves, at least that was what he found. He felt safer whenever he uttered it. It was a habit he had picked up from his adoptive father, or perhaps it was more accurate to call the man his sponsor.

He walked through the chamber and came to a halt opposite three marble statues atop podiums. The first was of Medusa as a noble guardian of the temple, presumably it symbolised her before the attack and banishment by society. Good looks were always a woman's burden, rarely a gift. Despite how it was sold.

The second statue was of a droplet containing the outline of a horse with wings and the third was the impressive sculpture depicting Pegasus in his glory. Women, Rafi thought, the creators of life.

As Medusa had created Pegasus despite the ugliness of what had happened to her, it was something men could never do. Often he felt women were made for the heavens, for another world or dimension, and men were made for this one with all their physicality and brutality.

He stepped closer to the marble carving, and lifted a hand and traced the delicate swings and swirls where the sculpture gave in to the grandeur of the era of Ancient Greece, and drew out the smooth curves and sharp edges of the marble to depict a thing of glory. Pegasus stood with his wings open and head held high, ready for whatever the Gods had written for him.

It was mesmerising even though it was no bigger than a meter in size.

Rafi gripped the wings of the statue and stepped even closer, running his thumbs down the grooves of the feathers. He felt something shift beneath his boots, and realised he had triggered something. Alarm bells rang through his mind. He leapt off the panel and released the statue at once and looked at it with anticipation but the noise of rubble being pushed aside came from his right.

Turning on his heel, Rafi found a small doorway had opened leading into darkness. Rafi picked up the vase containing the snake and carried it with him, he decided it may be useful to have a weapon…even if that meant being armed with a serpent.

He stepped into the darkness and as he did, the door sealed itself behind him, entrapping him in what appeared to be a large maze.

‘Hello?’ Rafi called into the dark alley as he stalked toward the end of the passage and was forced to take a right turn. The new route was lit by torches and there was something in the air. A strange smell. It made his head spin. He walked faster through the dark. He came to another dead end, when the torch behind him flickered, as if someone had hurried past.

Still clutching the vase, Rafi turned around and peered into the endless path before him.

‘Come out. I know you're there.’ Rafi dared the darkness. And he saw it, a motion of some kind up ahead. Rafi hurried in its direction and as he grew closer, he realised it was a cloaked figure, dressed in black from head to toe. He seemed intent on losing Rafi but Rafi wouldn't let it happen. He had him trapped now.

Rafi rounded a corner and as he did, he was shocked to find the figure facing a dead end with his back to Rafi. The strange smell was strong here than in the rest of the maze.

‘Who are you? What is this?’ He demanded. The figure did not move. Rafi heard the groaning of rubble and turned to find himself sealed into the dead end. He turned back round only to find himself face to face with a figure who had eagle-like eyes and long fangs. It sneered at Rafi, who let out a yell and tossed the vase at it. The vase shattered as it collided against the figure, cracking its face. The figure cried out in return, caught off guard as part of his face fell to the ground. Rafi realised it was a mask. The water snake leapt at the figure and stuck its fangs into the figures arm. The figure roared as he pulled the snake free, tossed it to the ground and stomped on it until all that remained was a pulpy, scaly unmoving creature.

The figure reached into his pocket and pulled out a can and sprayed it at Rafi. Rafi shielded his eyes, but realised it smelt the same as the odd fragrance in the air. The room began to spin and the ground began to resemble water. Rafi stumbled, unable to get a grip on his bearings. That was when he saw her, cowering in the corner of the square, walled off section of the maze he was trapped in.

It was Elliot, she looked scared.

‘Elliot, are you okay?’ He asked as he approached her. She peered into his eyes and he noticed her eyes were dark, darker than brown and the blackest black. He cried out but it was too late. She stabbed a dagger into his chest. Rafi fell back onto the ground and reached for the dagger. He was stunned to find nothing there. No scratch, not even a mark. There was no dagger. And as he lifted his eyes, he realised there was no Elliot.

There was nothing, but the dead snake. He examine the wall in front of him and noticed in the dark corners, were tiny ledges leading up the wall. The figure must have climbed up them to escape. Rafi climbed up the ledge and pulled himself up. He was met with a woman who whipped him with the butt of her dagger and sent him tumbling to the ground.

‘Who are you?!’ She demanded.

‘Rafi Suleiman!’ He yelled back as he rubbed his head and stood up.

‘Rafi?’ A second, more familiar voice called from somewhere nearby. His heart skipped a beat.

‘Elliot? Is that you?’ He knew it was her, but he couldn't believe it.

‘I'm over here! Cara?’ Elliot called and the woman crouched atop the wall turned and looked over the wall to Rafi's left.

‘Get up here. Use the corners of the walls!’ Cara ordered. Rafi climbed up onto the wall and this time, Cara pulled him up. The duo turned and Rafi peered into the darkness with hope in heart as he waited for Elliot to emerge from one of the many walls.

‘That your friend?’ Cara asked, Rafi turned to see the hooded figure lying on the ground and foaming at the mouth in a passage nearby.

‘Snake venom.’ Rafi said.

‘It's a shame, he could have given us answers.’

‘I panicked.’ He shrugged.

‘I saw.’ Cara remarked. ‘Mara. It's good to see you again.’ Cara quipped as Elliot leapt from one wall to theirs. Cara caught her, so she didn't fall over. Rafi looked at the stranger. It was good to see Elliot, who seemed okay, minus the bandage on her head.