Chapter 171: 171
If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again
"Okay enough with the weird mind games, what are you two thinking?"
Kal's hurt exclamation is enough to make me realise that not everyone can hear the conversations going on in my head, and I quickly snap to attention, turning myself to Kal with a nervous swallow.
I suppose living with several mind readers- Ithuriel and Soren mainly, have gotten me rather used to communicating via cognitive thought alone, a method of which isn't particularly useful considering the majority of the Faey Folk can't express the same sort of communication.
"Right," I start, taking a furtive moment to collect my thoughts. "Lady Delina is only part Siren," I explain slowly, lifting a finger in indication, to which Kal only nods rolling his eyes.
"Of course, that much is obvious. As if her blue skin wasn't a killer give away," he chuckles heartily, before quickly glancing to Soren, realising that such a statement perhaps was not the greatest to blurt out in front of the Scarlet Prince.
Once more, I dip my head, keen to keep things moving. Time is ticking away at the clock like sand through an hourglass- ever draining and never quite enough. Who knows what Azrael is up to deep underground in some murky room of shadows and inky darkness, doting over the flame like a lover- only this is a far more perilous obsession. I can only hope he has not killed someone yet, but even that is a feeble wish.
"And," I continue, puffing out my breath as I wring my hands out. "Even being a vampire, there is only a certain period she could possibly be underwater without her mind partially shutting down from the pressure. For while vampires are immortal, they certainly aren't immune."
Kal crosses his arms impatiently.
"Yes, okay. And your point is?"
Besides me, Soren brings a hand to rest upon my shoulder, shaking his head with a faint smile, smug with disbelief and the unforeseeability that Kal's brain would be working at an incredibly slow pace. I suppose having a lot on his mind- including the fate of his friends and his father, Kal's predisposition to worry is incredibly high, and he undoubtedly faces a lot of pressure. But mastering the art of forward thinking and comprehension is essential to any good plan of action- a talent that Kal desperately needs to get a grips on.
"What Serena is trying to say is that for Delina to visit her grandmother so frequently, there must have been some mechanism for her to breathe. Siren's are heralded for their enchantments and use of dark magic, they can cast a wide range of long sustaining spells with relative ease. It would not be a far stretch to say that her grandmother put up some form of magic to enable that to happen."
Looking between us with sheer disbelief, Kal slips the diadem into his pocket, wringing his hands out anxiously.
"So you're telling me," he starts with a mocking slowness. "That I can go down there, however many meters her city is underground, and I will not die from a lack of oxygen."
Soren merely shrugs.
"Theoretically, yes, that is exactly what I am saying."
"And how come you don't know this yourself? Surely you have been down there?"
Soren rolls his eyes, ushering Kal into a subdued calm.
"Kal, I do not have the time to spend portions of my day traipsing down here to spend a visit to a Siren who favours my brother far too greatly to be considered reasonable. I have duties to attend to- royal duties, which unfortunately take precedence most of the time."
"So you don't know if there is a way for us to breathe down there?"
"Not fully," Soren admits. "But I would hazard a guess that there certainly is."
Kal sniffs indignantly, turning his attention to me in a clear grab for sympathy.
"Serena, tell your husband that this idea is insane, and that I do not want to take part in it. I would much rather drink ten shots of vodka than drown in these waters," he huffs, puffing out his cheeks, a soft relent in his voice leading me to believe that despite his protests, the matter is settled. Beside us both, Soren cackles a laugh.
"Because you don't want to get your wings wet? Come now, Kal, there are much worse things in the world."
But the words only serve to disgruntle the little dragon more. Rolling my eyes at the still laughing Soren, I reach a hand out of the water to place my hand on Kal's in reassurance. I do my best to ignore the jealous pout that Soren gives beside me.
You want to hold my hand too, Serena? comes Soren's cheeky remark inside my head, his honeyed voice playing in my mind like a symphony of musical sounds. Visibly, I frown.
Later, if you behave. I snicker back at him, before letting my eyes meet Kal's.
"Please, Kal," I beg quietly, giving my best puppy eyes. "Soren is only a shadow, he cannot help me fight, and going down there alone would be suicide. I need you to help me- you are the only other person here who can physically fight if a monster decided to spring itself on us. Besides, I need you to help me determine what is an illusion in this place and what isn't. I need you to help me convince Delina's grandmother to let us through to the next layer. Please, Kal. I need you."
For a moment Kal floats there, screwing up his face in consideration, fingers tapping dull-ly on his sides as he ponders the thoughts in his mind. He glances between us, then down into the bottomless depths of the water below us, his face pale and pallid, looking as though he might vomit.
At last he sighs, sucking in his cheeks as he pulls out the diadem from his pocket, handing it over to be. Carefully and with no words, he tucks it into my hand.
"What's the plan then, oh great leader?" he sniffs sarcastically, clearly not looking happy, but not thoroughly discontented either, as though something about my speech had forced him to come to terms with his potential demise. I give him a wide smile.
"Well," I start, looking around at them all as I swing the diadem over my head, matching in twin conjunction with the glittering necklace around my neck, filled with a crimson malice and swaying with dregs of sticky, volatile blood.
"For a start we need to find the city. But I doubt it will be very far from here. Considering she lives with her people, it must be huge, and this cavern can only be so big," I explain, splaying my hands to illustrate my point.
At least, I am desperately hoping this place isn't that big.
Kal nods his agreement, though looks mildly unconvinced.
"And we have to be careful to avoid any illusions or not illusions on the way," he adds, laughing nervously. I point my finger in acknowledgement.
"Right, that too. Not getting torn apart by some freaky monster or Folk is certainly on our list of priorities. Then of course, we have to convince Delina's grandmother that we are here to help, and to save her granddaughter, which I presume Azrael has also taken. Then, hopefully, she will let us through to the next tier of the labyrinth, and we will be one step closer to getting everyone saved. Easy peasy really. Any questions?"
By the time I look up, I notice Kal has gone very, very pale. His wings beat in a nervous rhythm, fingers twitching terrified by his side, a look that can only be described as complete and utter terror swimming on his face. He looks as if he wants nothing better than to fly out from where we came, and never ever look back.
I had hoped that my little speech might have encouraged him somewhat, but I see now such a thought is entirely unrealistic. No one in their right mind would head down into some unknown cavern full of illusions to face a siren that may or may not skin them alive and gobble down their flesh in one swift bite just for the heck of it. Thinking that I could convince Kal was a hopeful preposition indeed. But it is the only plan I have.
"I think you might have scared him," Soren leans in to whisper at my ear, floating around in the air to survey the situation with a sneaky smirk, his eyes twinkling. As always, such a comment is incredibly helpful.
"Thank you for that one, Soren. I didn't notice," I snap playfully, to which Soren raises his hands in defence, backing away as I try to discreetly slap him through the air. Fortunately, Kal doesn't seem to notice.
"Alright," he mutters, sinking into the water with a wince, his wings tucking neatly behind him. "Let's just pray to the heavens that the Siren lady doesn't want to eat us alive. And that we don't get trapped under here forever."
I nod my agreement.
"Certainly sounds like a good idea. How long can you hold your breath for, Kal?"
Hesitantly, he gulps down his fear.
"Five minutes. Dragons don't need to breathe as much as mortals." I hum a little, processing this information.
"Okay great. We are in relatively shallow water here, it only takes thirty seconds to reach the bottom, but I suspect it's going to be a lot deeper further in.. And you Soren," I ask, looking up at the vampire who lingers fleetingly in the air, cocooned in shadows. "Are you coming with us?"
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
"Okay enough with the weird mind games, what are you two thinking?"
Kal's hurt exclamation is enough to make me realise that not everyone can hear the conversations going on in my head, and I quickly snap to attention, turning myself to Kal with a nervous swallow.
I suppose living with several mind readers- Ithuriel and Soren mainly, have gotten me rather used to communicating via cognitive thought alone, a method of which isn't particularly useful considering the majority of the Faey Folk can't express the same sort of communication.
"Right," I start, taking a furtive moment to collect my thoughts. "Lady Delina is only part Siren," I explain slowly, lifting a finger in indication, to which Kal only nods rolling his eyes.
"Of course, that much is obvious. As if her blue skin wasn't a killer give away," he chuckles heartily, before quickly glancing to Soren, realising that such a statement perhaps was not the greatest to blurt out in front of the Scarlet Prince.
Once more, I dip my head, keen to keep things moving. Time is ticking away at the clock like sand through an hourglass- ever draining and never quite enough. Who knows what Azrael is up to deep underground in some murky room of shadows and inky darkness, doting over the flame like a lover- only this is a far more perilous obsession. I can only hope he has not killed someone yet, but even that is a feeble wish.
"And," I continue, puffing out my breath as I wring my hands out. "Even being a vampire, there is only a certain period she could possibly be underwater without her mind partially shutting down from the pressure. For while vampires are immortal, they certainly aren't immune."
Kal crosses his arms impatiently.
"Yes, okay. And your point is?"
Besides me, Soren brings a hand to rest upon my shoulder, shaking his head with a faint smile, smug with disbelief and the unforeseeability that Kal's brain would be working at an incredibly slow pace. I suppose having a lot on his mind- including the fate of his friends and his father, Kal's predisposition to worry is incredibly high, and he undoubtedly faces a lot of pressure. But mastering the art of forward thinking and comprehension is essential to any good plan of action- a talent that Kal desperately needs to get a grips on.
"What Serena is trying to say is that for Delina to visit her grandmother so frequently, there must have been some mechanism for her to breathe. Siren's are heralded for their enchantments and use of dark magic, they can cast a wide range of long sustaining spells with relative ease. It would not be a far stretch to say that her grandmother put up some form of magic to enable that to happen."
Looking between us with sheer disbelief, Kal slips the diadem into his pocket, wringing his hands out anxiously.
"So you're telling me," he starts with a mocking slowness. "That I can go down there, however many meters her city is underground, and I will not die from a lack of oxygen."
Soren merely shrugs.
"Theoretically, yes, that is exactly what I am saying."
"And how come you don't know this yourself? Surely you have been down there?"
Soren rolls his eyes, ushering Kal into a subdued calm.
"Kal, I do not have the time to spend portions of my day traipsing down here to spend a visit to a Siren who favours my brother far too greatly to be considered reasonable. I have duties to attend to- royal duties, which unfortunately take precedence most of the time."
"So you don't know if there is a way for us to breathe down there?"
"Not fully," Soren admits. "But I would hazard a guess that there certainly is."
Kal sniffs indignantly, turning his attention to me in a clear grab for sympathy.
"Serena, tell your husband that this idea is insane, and that I do not want to take part in it. I would much rather drink ten shots of vodka than drown in these waters," he huffs, puffing out his cheeks, a soft relent in his voice leading me to believe that despite his protests, the matter is settled. Beside us both, Soren cackles a laugh.
"Because you don't want to get your wings wet? Come now, Kal, there are much worse things in the world."
But the words only serve to disgruntle the little dragon more. Rolling my eyes at the still laughing Soren, I reach a hand out of the water to place my hand on Kal's in reassurance. I do my best to ignore the jealous pout that Soren gives beside me.
You want to hold my hand too, Serena? comes Soren's cheeky remark inside my head, his honeyed voice playing in my mind like a symphony of musical sounds. Visibly, I frown.
Later, if you behave. I snicker back at him, before letting my eyes meet Kal's.
"Please, Kal," I beg quietly, giving my best puppy eyes. "Soren is only a shadow, he cannot help me fight, and going down there alone would be suicide. I need you to help me- you are the only other person here who can physically fight if a monster decided to spring itself on us. Besides, I need you to help me determine what is an illusion in this place and what isn't. I need you to help me convince Delina's grandmother to let us through to the next layer. Please, Kal. I need you."
For a moment Kal floats there, screwing up his face in consideration, fingers tapping dull-ly on his sides as he ponders the thoughts in his mind. He glances between us, then down into the bottomless depths of the water below us, his face pale and pallid, looking as though he might vomit.
At last he sighs, sucking in his cheeks as he pulls out the diadem from his pocket, handing it over to be. Carefully and with no words, he tucks it into my hand.
"What's the plan then, oh great leader?" he sniffs sarcastically, clearly not looking happy, but not thoroughly discontented either, as though something about my speech had forced him to come to terms with his potential demise. I give him a wide smile.
"Well," I start, looking around at them all as I swing the diadem over my head, matching in twin conjunction with the glittering necklace around my neck, filled with a crimson malice and swaying with dregs of sticky, volatile blood.
"For a start we need to find the city. But I doubt it will be very far from here. Considering she lives with her people, it must be huge, and this cavern can only be so big," I explain, splaying my hands to illustrate my point.
At least, I am desperately hoping this place isn't that big.
Kal nods his agreement, though looks mildly unconvinced.
"And we have to be careful to avoid any illusions or not illusions on the way," he adds, laughing nervously. I point my finger in acknowledgement.
"Right, that too. Not getting torn apart by some freaky monster or Folk is certainly on our list of priorities. Then of course, we have to convince Delina's grandmother that we are here to help, and to save her granddaughter, which I presume Azrael has also taken. Then, hopefully, she will let us through to the next tier of the labyrinth, and we will be one step closer to getting everyone saved. Easy peasy really. Any questions?"
By the time I look up, I notice Kal has gone very, very pale. His wings beat in a nervous rhythm, fingers twitching terrified by his side, a look that can only be described as complete and utter terror swimming on his face. He looks as if he wants nothing better than to fly out from where we came, and never ever look back.
I had hoped that my little speech might have encouraged him somewhat, but I see now such a thought is entirely unrealistic. No one in their right mind would head down into some unknown cavern full of illusions to face a siren that may or may not skin them alive and gobble down their flesh in one swift bite just for the heck of it. Thinking that I could convince Kal was a hopeful preposition indeed. But it is the only plan I have.
"I think you might have scared him," Soren leans in to whisper at my ear, floating around in the air to survey the situation with a sneaky smirk, his eyes twinkling. As always, such a comment is incredibly helpful.
"Thank you for that one, Soren. I didn't notice," I snap playfully, to which Soren raises his hands in defence, backing away as I try to discreetly slap him through the air. Fortunately, Kal doesn't seem to notice.
"Alright," he mutters, sinking into the water with a wince, his wings tucking neatly behind him. "Let's just pray to the heavens that the Siren lady doesn't want to eat us alive. And that we don't get trapped under here forever."
I nod my agreement.
"Certainly sounds like a good idea. How long can you hold your breath for, Kal?"
Hesitantly, he gulps down his fear.
"Five minutes. Dragons don't need to breathe as much as mortals." I hum a little, processing this information.
"Okay great. We are in relatively shallow water here, it only takes thirty seconds to reach the bottom, but I suspect it's going to be a lot deeper further in.. And you Soren," I ask, looking up at the vampire who lingers fleetingly in the air, cocooned in shadows. "Are you coming with us?"
"Okay enough with the weird mind games, what are you two thinking?"Kal's hurt exclamation is enough to make me realise that not everyone can hear the conversations going on in my head, and I quickly snap to attention, turning myself to Kal with a nervous swallow.I suppose living with several mind readers- Ithuriel and Soren mainly, have gotten me rather used to communicating via cognitive thought alone, a method of which isn't particularly useful considering the majority of the Faey Folk can't express the same sort of communication."Right," I start, taking a furtive moment to collect my thoughts. "Lady Delina is only part Siren," I explain slowly, lifting a finger in indication, to which Kal only nods rolling his eyes."Of course, that much is obvious. As if her blue skin wasn't a killer give away," he chuckles heartily, before quickly glancing to Soren, realising that such a statement perhaps was not the greatest to blurt out in front of the Scarlet Prince.Once more, I dip my head, keen to keep things moving. Time is ticking away at the clock like sand through an hourglass- ever draining and never quite enough. Who knows what Azrael is up to deep underground in some murky room of shadows and inky darkness, doting over the flame like a lover- only this is a far more perilous obsession. I can only hope he has not killed someone yet, but even that is a feeble wish."And," I continue, puffing out my breath as I wring my hands out. "Even being a vampire, there is only a certain period she could possibly be underwater without her mind partially shutting down from the pressure. For while vampires are immortal, they certainly aren't immune."Kal crosses his arms impatiently."Yes, okay. And your point is?"Besides me, Soren brings a hand to rest upon my shoulder, shaking his head with a faint smile, smug with disbelief and the unforeseeability that Kal's brain would be working at an incredibly slow pace. I suppose having a lot on his mind- including the fate of his friends and his father, Kal's predisposition to worry is incredibly high, and he undoubtedly faces a lot of pressure. But mastering the art of forward thinking and comprehension is essential to any good plan of action- a talent that Kal desperately needs to get a grips on."What Serena is trying to say is that for Delina to visit her grandmother so frequently, there must have been some mechanism for her to breathe. Siren's are heralded for their enchantments and use of dark magic, they can cast a wide range of long sustaining spells with relative ease. It would not be a far stretch to say that her grandmother put up some form of magic to enable that to happen."Looking between us with sheer disbelief, Kal slips the diadem into his pocket, wringing his hands out anxiously."So you're telling me," he starts with a mocking slowness. "That I can go down there, however many meters her city is underground, and I will not die from a lack of oxygen."Soren merely shrugs."Theoretically, yes, that is exactly what I am saying.""And how come you don't know this yourself? Surely you have been down there?"Soren rolls his eyes, ushering Kal into a subdued calm."Kal, I do not have the time to spend portions of my day traipsing down here to spend a visit to a Siren who favours my brother far too greatly to be considered reasonable. I have duties to attend to- royal duties, which unfortunately take precedence most of the time.""So you don't know if there is a way for us to breathe down there?""Not fully," Soren admits. "But I would hazard a guess that there certainly is."Kal sniffs indignantly, turning his attention to me in a clear grab for sympathy."Serena, tell your husband that this idea is insane, and that I do not want to take part in it. I would much rather drink ten shots of vodka than drown in these waters," he huffs, puffing out his cheeks, a soft relent in his voice leading me to believe that despite his protests, the matter is settled. Beside us both, Soren cackles a laugh."Because you don't want to get your wings wet? Come now, Kal, there are much worse things in the world."But the words only serve to disgruntle the little dragon more. Rolling my eyes at the still laughing Soren, I reach a hand out of the water to place my hand on Kal's in reassurance. I do my best to ignore the jealous pout that Soren gives beside me.You want to hold my hand too, Serena? comes Soren's cheeky remark inside my head, his honeyed voice playing in my mind like a symphony of musical sounds. Visibly, I frown.Later, if you behave. I snicker back at him, before letting my eyes meet Kal's."Please, Kal," I beg quietly, giving my best puppy eyes. "Soren is only a shadow, he cannot help me fight, and going down there alone would be suicide. I need you to help me- you are the only other person here who can physically fight if a monster decided to spring itself on us. Besides, I need you to help me determine what is an illusion in this place and what isn't. I need you to help me convince Delina's grandmother to let us through to the next layer. Please, Kal. I need you."For a moment Kal floats there, screwing up his face in consideration, fingers tapping dull-ly on his sides as he ponders the thoughts in his mind. He glances between us, then down into the bottomless depths of the water below us, his face pale and pallid, looking as though he might vomit.At last he sighs, sucking in his cheeks as he pulls out the diadem from his pocket, handing it over to be. Carefully and with no words, he tucks it into my hand."What's the plan then, oh great leader?" he sniffs sarcastically, clearly not looking happy, but not thoroughly discontented either, as though something about my speech had forced him to come to terms with his potential demise. I give him a wide smile. "Well," I start, looking around at them all as I swing the diadem over my head, matching in twin conjunction with the glittering necklace around my neck, filled with a crimson malice and swaying with dregs of sticky, volatile blood."For a start we need to find the city. But I doubt it will be very far from here. Considering she lives with her people, it must be huge, and this cavern can only be so big," I explain, splaying my hands to illustrate my point. At least, I am desperately hoping this place isn't that big.Kal nods his agreement, though looks mildly unconvinced."And we have to be careful to avoid any illusions or not illusions on the way," he adds, laughing nervously. I point my finger in acknowledgement."Right, that too. Not getting torn apart by some freaky monster or Folk is certainly on our list of priorities. Then of course, we have to convince Delina's grandmother that we are here to help, and to save her granddaughter, which I presume Azrael has also taken. Then, hopefully, she will let us through to the next tier of the labyrinth, and we will be one step closer to getting everyone saved. Easy peasy really. Any questions?"By the time I look up, I notice Kal has gone very, very pale. His wings beat in a nervous rhythm, fingers twitching terrified by his side, a look that can only be described as complete and utter terror swimming on his face. He looks as if he wants nothing better than to fly out from where we came, and never ever look back.I had hoped that my little speech might have encouraged him somewhat, but I see now such a thought is entirely unrealistic. No one in their right mind would head down into some unknown cavern full of illusions to face a siren that may or may not skin them alive and gobble down their flesh in one swift bite just for the heck of it. Thinking that I could convince Kal was a hopeful preposition indeed. But it is the only plan I have."I think you might have scared him," Soren leans in to whisper at my ear, floating around in the air to survey the situation with a sneaky smirk, his eyes twinkling. As always, such a comment is incredibly helpful."Thank you for that one, Soren. I didn't notice," I snap playfully, to which Soren raises his hands in defence, backing away as I try to discreetly slap him through the air. Fortunately, Kal doesn't seem to notice. "Alright," he mutters, sinking into the water with a wince, his wings tucking neatly behind him. "Let's just pray to the heavens that the Siren lady doesn't want to eat us alive. And that we don't get trapped under here forever."I nod my agreement."Certainly sounds like a good idea. How long can you hold your breath for, Kal?"Hesitantly, he gulps down his fear."Five minutes. Dragons don't need to breathe as much as mortals." I hum a little, processing this information. "Okay great. We are in relatively shallow water here, it only takes thirty seconds to reach the bottom, but I suspect it's going to be a lot deeper further in.. And you Soren," I ask, looking up at the vampire who lingers fleetingly in the air, cocooned in shadows. "Are you coming with us?"
