THE KINGDOM BENEATH THE MOON

Chapter 6: Beneath the Mountains

The tunnel beneath Valen seemed to have no end.

Elyan walked at the front, carrying a small lantern that Lyra had given him. Seraphine followed close behind, supporting her unconscious father with one arm while keeping her sword in the other.

King Aldric had not spoken since Aethron touched his forehead.

Elyan occasionally looked back at him.

The king's eyes were open.

But he seemed to be somewhere else.

"What did Aethron do to him?" Elyan asked.

Seraphine shook her head.

"I don't know."

"Is he alive?"

"Yes."

"Then why isn't he waking up?"

"I don't know."

Elyan turned toward Lyra.

"You seem to know everything except the things I ask."

Lyra sighed.

"That's becoming unfair."

"Is it?"

She gave him a tired look.

"Fine. I don't know what Aethron did to him."

Elyan turned forward again.

For several minutes, nobody spoke.

Then Seraphine said:

"We need to stop."

Lyra looked back.

"Why?"

"He's too heavy."

Elyan helped Seraphine lower her father onto the ground.

The tunnel was cold.

Water dripped from the ceiling.

A faint blue glow came from cracks in the walls.

Seraphine knelt beside her father.

"Father?"

No response.

She touched his shoulder.

He suddenly opened his eyes.

Seraphine jumped backward.

Aldric looked at her.

Then at Elyan.

Then at Lyra.

His expression was strangely calm.

"Where are we?"

"Beneath the palace," Seraphine said.

Aldric slowly sat up.

"You shouldn't be here."

Seraphine frowned.

"Neither should you."

He looked at Elyan.

"The Moonbound."

Elyan crossed his arms.

"You know who I am."

"Yes."

"Then tell me the truth."

Aldric looked away.

"About what?"

"Everything."

The king sighed.

"You are asking for a truth that destroyed kingdoms."

"I don't care."

"You should."

"Why?"

"Because once you know it, you can never forget it."

Elyan stepped closer.

"Try me."

Aldric stared at him for a long moment.

Then he said:

"Nymor was not the first kingdom."

Lyra's eyes narrowed.

"What?"

Aldric looked at her.

"You know the story of the Firstborn."

Lyra shook her head.

"I've read fragments."

"Then you've read enough."

"What are they?"

Aldric's voice became quiet.

"Children of the Void."

Elyan frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"They existed before magic had a name."

Aldric looked toward the ceiling.

"Before humans built kingdoms, before the Moon King was born, before the seven crowns existed, the world belonged to something else."

"What?"

"Beings that lived between worlds."

Lyra whispered:

"Creatures from the Veil."

Aldric nodded.

"The Veil wasn't another world."

He looked at Elyan.

"It was the space between worlds."

Elyan felt a chill.

"And Nymor?"

"Nymor discovered how to enter it."

"Why?"

"Power."

Aldric paused.

"That is always the answer."

They continued walking.

The tunnel eventually widened.

Ancient carvings appeared along the walls.

Elyan recognized the symbols.

Moonbound.

Seven crowns.

Aethron.

But there was another symbol.

A black circle surrounded by three white lines.

Elyan pointed at it.

"What's that?"

Aldric stopped.

"Don't touch it."

Elyan pulled his hand back.

"What is it?"

"A warning."

"About the Firstborn?"

Aldric nodded.

"The Moonbound spent centuries guarding those symbols."

"Then why did my family disappear?"

Aldric's expression changed.

"Because they stopped believing the kingdoms deserved protection."

Elyan stared.

"My mother?"

"She discovered what the seven crowns had done."

"What did they do?"

"Something unforgivable."

Seraphine looked at her father.

"You never told me."

"You weren't ready."

"I'm not a child."

"No."

Aldric looked at her.

"You're the heir to a kingdom."

Seraphine's voice hardened.

"And what good is being an heir if I don't know what I'm inheriting?"

Aldric looked away.

"Regret."

They reached a huge iron door.

Aldric walked toward it.

"This is where you should turn back."

Elyan stared at the door.

"What's behind it?"

"The road to Marrow."

"The kingdom beneath the mountains."

"Yes."

"Why are we going there?"

"Because the people of Marrow have something the Moon King needs."

"What?"

"The Stone Heart."

Lyra frowned.

"I thought it was destroyed."

"So did everyone."

Aldric placed his hand against the door.

It opened.

A wave of warm air rushed toward them.

Beyond the door was an enormous underground cavern.

Elyan stepped forward.

His mouth fell open.

A city stretched beneath the mountains.

It was unlike anything he had ever seen.

Buildings had been carved directly into enormous stone walls.

Bridges crossed enormous gaps.

Thousands of lamps hung from the ceiling like stars.

Far below, machines moved along metal tracks.

Water flowed through channels carved into the ground.

The entire city seemed alive.

Seraphine stared.

"I've never seen Marrow."

Aldric looked at her.

"Few outsiders have."

Elyan watched the people moving through the streets.

"They live down here?"

"For generations."

"Why?"

"Because the mountains protect them."

"From Nymor?"

Aldric shook his head.

"From everyone."

They entered Marrow before sunrise.

The city guards immediately surrounded them.

Their armor was made of dark metal.

Their weapons looked heavy enough to split stone.

A captain stepped forward.

"State your purpose."

Aldric removed his royal insignia.

"I am King Aldric of Valen."

The captain looked at him.

Then at Seraphine.

"Princess."

Seraphine nodded.

"We need to speak with the High Forgemaster."

The captain laughed.

"You don't get to speak with the High Forgemaster."

Aldric's expression hardened.

"I am a king."

"And this is Marrow."

The captain stepped closer.

"Your crown means very little beneath our mountains."

Lyra whispered:

"I like him."

Elyan almost smiled.

The captain looked at Elyan.

His expression immediately changed.

He stared at the silver mark.

"Moonbound."

The guards raised their weapons.

Seraphine stepped forward.

"Lower your weapons."

"No."

The captain looked at Aldric.

"You brought one here?"

"He came willingly."

The captain's eyes narrowed.

"That doesn't make him less dangerous."

Elyan stepped forward.

"I'm not here to fight."

"Then why are you here?"

"To find the Stone Heart."

The captain went silent.

Then he laughed.

"You really don't know what you've gotten yourself into."

They were taken to the High Forge.

The chamber was enormous.

Molten metal flowed through channels in the floor.

Massive hammers moved automatically.

Machines turned.

The air smelled of iron and smoke.

At the center stood an elderly woman.

She was short, muscular, and covered in scars.

Her hair was white.

Her eyes were black.

She held a hammer almost as large as Elyan.

The captain bowed.

"High Forgemaster."

She looked at the visitors.

Her eyes stopped on Elyan.

She dropped the hammer.

It hit the floor with a deafening crash.

"You."

Elyan stepped backward.

"Do I know you?"

"No."

She walked closer.

"But I knew your mother."

Elyan's heart raced.

"Everyone knew my mother."

The woman smiled.

"Your mother had a habit of making enemies."

"Who are you?"

"Forgemaster Orra."

She looked at his mark.

"Your mother came here sixteen years ago."

"Why?"

"She asked me to make something."

"What?"

Orra looked toward the center of the forge.

A massive black stone rested there.

It was surrounded by chains.

Elyan could feel its presence from across the room.

"The Stone Heart."

Lyra stared.

"It's real."

Orra nodded.

"Unfortunately."

"What does it do?"

"Opens doors."

Elyan frowned.

"Like the gate to Nymor?"

"Not that door."

Orra looked at him.

"The door beneath Nymor."

Silence filled the chamber.

Elyan remembered Aethron's words.

The one beneath Nymor.

"What's behind it?"

Orra's expression became grim.

"The Firstborn."

A sudden explosion shook the forge.

The lights went out.

Everyone froze.

Then came screaming from the city.

Orra grabbed her hammer.

"How did they find us?"

A guard rushed into the chamber.

"Forgemaster!"

"What?"

"The western gates have fallen."

"Who attacked?"

The guard was pale.

"Nymorians."

Aldric stepped forward.

"That's impossible."

The guard shook his head.

"They're here."

Orra looked at Elyan.

"They came for you."

They ran toward the city.

The streets were filled with chaos.

Marrow soldiers fought creatures wearing black armor.

But these were not the monsters Elyan had seen before.

These were people.

Human-looking.

They carried silver weapons.

Some wore masks.

Others wore robes marked with the symbol of Nymor.

Elyan stared.

"They're not monsters."

"No," Lyra said.

"They're Nymorians."

A warrior noticed Elyan.

He shouted:

"The Moonbound!"

Several Nymorians turned.

Elyan raised his hands.

"I'm not your enemy."

The warrior charged.

Lyra stepped between them.

A burst of green magic knocked the warrior backward.

Another group appeared.

Then another.

Elyan's silver fire ignited.

He didn't want to fight.

But the soldiers were closing in.

A Nymorian warrior raised a blade.

Elyan released the Moonfire.

The warrior was thrown backward.

He landed hard but stood again.

Elyan realized something.

His magic hadn't hurt him.

The silver fire had pushed him away.

"Why aren't they attacking me?"

Lyra looked around.

"Because they're not trying to kill you."

"Then what are they doing?"

"They're trying to capture you."

A horn sounded.

The Nymorian warriors suddenly stopped.

A woman appeared on a balcony.

She wore a silver mask.

She raised her hand.

Every Nymorian lowered their weapons.

The woman looked directly at Elyan.

Then she removed her mask.

Elyan froze.

She had silver eyes.

But he had never seen her before.

She spoke in an ancient language.

Lyra translated.

"She says the Moon King wants you alive."

Elyan looked at her.

"Why?"

The woman smiled.

"Because he wants you to open the final door."

A stone exploded behind them.

Everyone turned.

Something massive crawled out of the ground.

It was not Nymorian.

It was not human.

Black smoke poured from its body.

Its eyes were white.

The Nymorian warriors backed away.

The Marrow soldiers stopped fighting.

Even the masked woman looked afraid.

The creature raised its head.

Then it spoke.

Not with a human voice.

With the sound of hundreds of voices at once.

"Moonbound."

Elyan's mark burned.

The creature smiled.

"At last."

It moved toward him.

Elyan raised his hands.

Silver fire erupted.

The creature walked through it.

For the first time, Elyan felt true fear.

The creature reached for him.

Then the Stone Heart exploded.

A shockwave tore through the city.

The creature was thrown backward.

Orra stood at the entrance to the forge.

The Stone Heart floated behind her.

Chains hung broken around it.

She looked at Elyan.

"Your mother was wrong."

"What?"

Orra's eyes filled with fear.

"She thought the Moonbound could close the door."

The Stone Heart began glowing.

"They can't."

Elyan stared.

"Then who can?"

Orra looked at him.

"You."

The ground beneath Marrow split open.

A black light erupted from below.

And somewhere far beneath the mountains, something whispered:

"Open."