Monsters & Magic

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and when she followed the sound, Cora noticed a pile of clouds building in the sky just on the other side of a row of tall buildings. “Is that the city?” she asked.

“Yes,” Seth answered, shoving what looked like a large rock over the hole.

The ground out here was rocky and uneven, with little tufts of grass growing up between rocks. It sloped down, away from the city and toward more trees than she had ever seen in her life. Even the orchards of some of the wealthy houses could not compare. These reached to the sky like arrows shooting up from the ground, their branches so thick she could not see through.

They would make a good hiding place, if they were closer to the city. Cora turned back and started up the hill. There were a couple places she could hide to stay out of the rain, but she would have to get there quick to claim it before someone else did.

“No, wait!”

The sudden outburst from Seth startled her and she turned to face him. “What?”

“Not that way!”

“What other way is there?” She couldn’t waste time arguing with him.

“We’re not going back to the city. We can’t. They’ll be looking for you.”

His words sent a chill down her spine. Those men couldn’t do anything to her if they couldn’t catch her…. But they already had once. “Where are we going then?” she shot, glancing down at the rock that covered the tunnel.

“This way. I know a place you can hide.” Seth motioned in the opposite direction, toward the trees at the bottom of the slope. When she hesitated, he added, “There’s plenty of food and no one will come looking for you.”

Cora gritted her teeth. “Fine.” She followed Seth down away from the city, the only home she had ever known.

The way down proved much harder than she had expected. Loose rocks tumbled away when her feet hit them, and twice, she almost stepped in small holes.

“Rabbit holes,” Seth explained, when she narrowly missed the second one.

Cora frowned. Rabbits were food. Was this what he meant by plenty of food? She didn’t know the first thing about hunting. The only animals she had seen in the city, aside from the birds that ate scraps and pooped on rooftops, were already broken down into chunks of meat being sold at market shops. She had heard of dogs, large animals with four paws, a tail, and knives for teeth, guarding the homes of the wealthy, but she had never seen one herself.

At the bottom of the hill, Seth dropped down onto a smooth path. Instead of cobbled stones, this path was compressed dirt. It wasn’t far, and when she followed suit, she landed steadily on her feet.

Here, the trees cast shadows over them, blocking the late sun. Eerie chirps and whistles drifted from the other side, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

As they followed the path, the hill beside them grew steeper until it was a sheer rock wall, high above their heads. She followed Seth, careful to leave space between them, wondering where he might be leading her.

I can turn back any time I want, she told herself.

“Almost there,” Seth said, coming to a stop. He turned to face the wall, clearly searching for something.

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” She couldn’t resist asking. If he did know, why was he always stopping to look for things?

“Yes,” he said. Then he walked right up to the wall and started to climb.

She watched where he put his hands and feet, trying to memorize the holds he used so she could move just as quickly.

He scrambled up into another hole, large enough for him to stand up straight, and turned back to Cora. “Come up this way. There’s some good holds.”

As if she needed to be told. . . She huffed and then started to climb. What he had made look easy turned out to be quite difficult. Unlike the tunnel, there were no bars sticking out and nothing obvious to grab. She managed to find holds and pull herself up, much slower than he had done, her shoulder throbbing.

When she finally reached the top, she stood in the mouth of a cave, much wider than the cell she had been stuck in. She turned to face the trees, holding her arm close to her chest and breathing through clenched teeth. Her arm felt like it might fall off. Whatever was wrong with it, it had only been made worse by the climb.

Behind her, she heard Seth’s footsteps crossing the rocky floor of the cave. “It’s back here. I just have to remember where…”

She spun to see him walking along the back of the cave, his hand running along the wall. “What are you doing?”

He turned to face her, and his expression changed from concentration to concern. “Your arm…”

She dropped her arm quickly, sucking in a breath to avoid flinching at the pain in her shoulder when it swung to her side. “I’m fine.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said, his voice quiet.

When he took a step toward her, she moved to the side, keenly aware of how close she was to the edge. “I said, I’m fine.”

He paused, arm half raised toward her. Then he let it fall. “I have a friend who can help. Come with me…”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Where?” This cave seemed like a good enough hiding place to her. She fully expected to hide out there until they gave up looking for her, then return to the city.

“Somewhere safe,” he answered, glancing toward the back wall again.

“That’s not an answer.” She shot back, carefully placing her arms back across her chest.

Seth met her eyes. “You’ve come with me this far. We don’t have much farther to go. Please, trust me.”

Cora held her glare as a rumble of thunder filled the air, echoing inside the cave. “Why?”

“I’ll explain everything when we’re safe. Please. I don’t want to be caught here when the storm hits.”

Is he afraid of the rain? She scoffed. “Fine.”

Relief flooded his face right before he turned away. “Back here.” He put his hand to the stone again and continued along the wall.

Cora moved forward slowly, leaving space between them. She watched with a mixture of skepticism and curiosity.

“Here.” Seth stopped suddenly and put both hands in what looked like a random spot on the wall. It didn’t stand out, but when he pushed against the stone, a section of wall began to shimmer, becoming opaque. “Take my hand,” he offered.

She didn’t move, expecting him to drop it. When he didn’t, and another clap of thunder shook the ground followed immediately by lightning that lit up the cave entrance, she gave in and took his hand. Her shoulder throbbed worse with her arm hanging by her side, but she gritted her teeth and focused on moving forward.

If she hadn’t been holding his hand, she wouldn’t have believed her eyes when he disappeared into the shimmering rock. He pulled her quickly behind him, and she blinked against a bright light. She tore her hand from his and lifted it to shield her eyes.

On either side of them, sand-colored walls rose up to create an alley with none of the litter and boxes that she would have seen in the city. They looked as if they had simply grown out of the ground, only slightly lighter than the sand beneath their feet. Overhead, a cloudless sky, painted in colors of yellow, orange, and blue, let the sunlight through unfiltered. When she turned back, all that was there was a pale stone wall.

“Where are we?” she asked in a whisper.

“Phaedra. They won’t follow us here.” He glanced around, leaning forward to peek out of the alley. “Come on. Let’s go.”

Cora didn’t move. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she watched his movements. “What’s wrong?”

He paused and faced her. “I have a friend who can fix your shoulder.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What’s wrong?” He was too on guard for everything to be fine.

Seth sighed. “Nothing is wrong… I’ll explain everything when we get there. Promise.” He held a hand out to her and waited.

Cora looked back at the solid wall behind her, then at Seth. Once she left the alley, would she be able to get back? Sucking in a breath, she gritted her teeth and followed Seth out of the alley.