Tamer was standing on the platform, watching Clara walk into the tunnel. Red curls bounced around her back. He had wanted to taste her lips, to feel the passion burning beneath her skin. He'd almost done that when a flare of pain had gripped his chest. The voice had awakened, angry and restless.

Fool, it had said.

He had fought it. Forced it to quieten. Sealed it behind the walls. Before she had left, he’d heard her deep breaths. Had it been fear? Desire? Definitely fear. She had ran away when he had stepped back. She might have liked him but she was also terrified of him.

Yes, he was a fool. He had forgotten what he used to be and what he could still become.

“You’re not a monster, Tamer,” her voice whispered through his mind, gentle and sweet.

But he was. He was a prince cast out by his father. She was a free spirit loved by her family. He was a man who had seen death and sorrow. She was a young woman full of innocence and sweetness. He was a vagrant with no future. She was a saviour chosen by fate. Their lives were worlds apart.

Without a backward glance at Enki, Tamer chose his path. The opening closed behind him. Felicinite shards adorned the black rocks, shiny pieces that looked like stars in the night sky. He didn’t move. He took his time studying the scene.

There were rectangular frames around the tunnel, placed at certain intervals. They looked like doorframes. His eyes wandered to the floor. Thin furrows were carved on the ground five feet ahead of him and another two feet after. Beyond that, small holes stippled the walls in a vertical line. He could tell they weren’t gunshot holes but something far sinister.

Traps, he thought.

He had seen traps before in the palace, in Amarant and in a castle he had once breached. It had been a mission, one where he nearly got decapitated by retracting blades. He had been sent to retrieve a dagger that had the ability to kill without leaving the slightest of clues. It destroyed the soul, not the vessel. A victim pierced by it would die without any stab marks, blood or damage to the body. The cause of death would remain unknown.

He had wanted that dagger for himself. Lady Alora had been pesky about it. She had taken it away, hidden it in her office, called it dangerous. The thought of his guild sent a flood of fury through his chest. Once the Lakht Curse was broken, he would force Enki to speak. There had been fear in the man’s eyes. He would use it to his advantage.

Mecha squeaked from the confines of his pocket. He patted the little bundle. In a voice so calm, he said, “Stay there, Mecha.”

The little bug could at times, sense his strongest emotions. Biomechabots were mechanical yet alive, naïve yet perceptive. Neither science nor magic could explain half of the things they did.

Tamer pitched forward by a step. The traps came to life. Stone doors emerged from the frames. They snapped shut, squashing anything caught between them. Blocks of rock rose up from the thin furrows he had seen on the floor, reaching the ceiling and tumbling down fast. Five poles arose from the holes, their tips sharpened.

He timed the first set of doors, dashing through the moment they parted. He halted. For a second time, he repeated the motions, waiting until the path was clear before moving on. As he reached the rising block, he stopped. If he moved when it sunk to the floor, he would be caught in it because it would rise quickly. It would push him to the ceiling and crush him. He would have to pass when it started descending.

Bearing that in mind, Tamer dived when the block fell. He rolled on the ground then stood up. He did the same for the second block, reaching the other side without a scratch. The sharp poles shot out, stalling his progress. The one at the bottom retracted, followed by the pole above it until all of them retreated to the holes. They shot out again. It had taken four seconds for all the poles to retract, starting from the bottom to the top.

Dropping to his knees, Tamer crawled below the poles as fast as he could. He jerked his leg back just as the poles came out. Relieved, he pushed to his feet. 

“That wasn’t so bad,” he said, dusting his hands.

Mecha squealed in agreement.

There were no more traps. He could see a felicinite wall some feet ahead, blocking the end of the tunnel. It gave out a brilliant halo of light. As he began walking, the ground shifted.

Cracks slit across the floor, splitting out like the veins of a leaf. The ground was breaking apart. Brown liquid frothed from the crevices, sloshing on the side of his boot. The rancid smell of burnt leather shrouded the air. He felt a burning sting on his foot.

“I shouldn’t have said that," he muttered.

He hastened his pace to a run. The floor splintered, the cracks widened. He jumped from one broken piece to another. They kept moving apart and sinking lower to a pool of boiling liquid. He extracted his scimitar, grasped the hilt and lit the blade. Mecha’s cries filled his ears as he flicked his weapon. A streak of black fire shot straight into the glass wall, blasting it.

Heaving, Tamer landed on another broken piece. It dipped under his weight. Flammable drops leaked through the hole in his shoe. He gritted his teeth. Swallowing the pain, he leapt over fragments of the broken wall.

Free from the traps, he stood alone in the dark. The ground was smooth and whole beneath his feet. He spread out his hands to feel the walls but his fingers skimmed through air. He was out of the tunnel. He heard the rustling of clothes and the padding of feet. Tamer tightened his grip on the scimitar.

“Who is it?”

He lowered his weapon. “It’s me.”

There was a whacking noise followed by a groan, He took out Mecha from his pocket. Her body gave out a yellow glow, bringing in some light. She flew up and down, illuminating Rai’s form. He was rubbing his forehead.

Mecha soared high, squealing with delight. From her light, Tamer saw floating slabs of stones that rose up to the ceiling like a broken stairway to heaven. At the center of the ceiling, crystal stalactites clustered together—unlit felicinite that had been drained of energy. The cavern was seventy meters high.

“There’s a hole in your shoe,” Rai said in Shimian. “Did you get bitten by a rat?”

Tamer wasn’t amused. “What did you get in the tunnel?”

“Nothing.”

“No traps?”

“None.”

He scowled.

“It’s not my fault I get to be the lucky one.” Rai gave him a self-satisfied smile. “Since I arrived here first, I win.”

Ignoring Rai, he followed Mecha’s light with his eyes, noting more gloomy shards on the walls of the cavern. They emitted a dim light that wasn’t strong enough to ward off the darkness. There were only two openings, one from Rai’s passageway and the other from his.

“Where are Clara and Eryx?” he asked.

“I haven’t seen them,” Rai replied.

Concern. Worry. Regret. He felt it all. He should have gone with her. She could be trapped in the tunnel and he would have no way of helping her. Patience. He had no choice but to wait and hope that Clara and Eryx would be fine.

“When did you get here?”

“Ten minutes ago.”

Tamer looked at the stalactites above. Purple light twinkled from inside the crystals. He strained his eyes and saw a circular shape. It sparkled with energy.

“The seal,” he said.

Rai followed his gaze. “I see it.”

The sooner he found the seal, the earlier he could go after Clara. He would make sure she was fine. He was certain Eryx could handle the traps. Frowning, Tamer made a step for the lowest stone.

“No, I’ll get it,” Rai said.

He had to admit, it would be easier for Rai to climb the stones. Nodding, he let his friend do the task. Mecha flew down, circling the cavern in a golden halo. Rai took off his rifle then stripped off his shirt. He threw it at Tamer’s head. Typical Rai. Tamer, sidestepped, avoiding the sweaty cloth.

After taking off his boots, Rai clenched his fists. Something rippled underneath his skin. He rolled his shoulders before stretching out his arms. Bones popped. Muscles flexed. The fur on his hands and feet grew bushier, the nails elongating to lethal talons. His back arched, the rounded sides of his spine stretching the skin.

He grew taller and bigger, easily surpassing Tamer’s height. His face lengthened, his nose flattened and his ears reformed. The pupils in his eyes dilated. Now, at eight feet tall, Rai stilled. The first transformation was complete.

“Breaking the stalactites should be easy. Drained felicinite is brittle,” Tamer said.

“I know that,” Rai replied in a gruff voice that sounded more animal than human.

Tamer stared as his friend leapt off the ground and landed on the stone block. With his powerful legs, he knew Rai could jump higher than any human. While his friend was halfway up, Mecha’s squeals turned to quick cries. She dropped on his shoulder and huddled on the side of his neck.

“Mecha sensed something,” he said to Rai.

“I need light!” Rai yelled.

“Go on," he said to Mecha. "He’ll protect you.”

She was reluctant to leave him. Tamer eyed the cavern, fingers wrapped around the hilt of his scimitars. He turned his face to the hissing sounds. A streak of red darted in his direction. He struck it with his blade. It fell on the floor. He caught a good glimpse of it.

“Juhrars,” he said, warning Rai. “Must be their nest. Keep going, I’ll cover you.”

Grim apparitions materialized around him, their legless bodies glowing red. Long ears stuck out of their small heads. Their eyes were slanted, their nose pointed. They had wiry hands, big bellies and forked tongues. Juhrars lived in places with shiny minerals. They could drain energy out of crystals, pass through walls and most of all, give painful bites.

The one-horned creatures screamed at him. He lit his blades and spun, scorching their bodies as they attacked him. More juhrars swarm at him. He rolled out of the way. Tamer punched one of them when it pulled his hair and kicked another one that had draped its hands around his leg.

“Rai, hurry up, you big oaf!” He ducked, a juhrar flying past his head.

“Shut up. I’m trying!”

Seeing him as a threat, the creatures moved to the other side of the cavern. They looked up, snarling at his companion.

Tamer growled. “No, you won’t.”

He made a diagonal arc with his scimitar, sending blasts of fire at them. They cried out in pain, collapsing on the floor in charred heaps. The remaining juhrars glided up towards Rai. They circled him like predators cornering their prey. Rai hopped on to a stone block, took out one of his automatic steelguns and fired at them.

Tamer couldn’t risk throwing the flames at the creatures. They were too close to his friend. He could burn Rai by accident. He looked at the firearm. It was too heavy. He cursed.

Raising his voice, he said, “Throw me a gun!”

Rai dropped a steelgun. It hit one of the stones, bounced off and skidded across the floor to the far side of the cavern. Running, Tamer grabbed it and pulled the trigger. Gunshots blared out. Radiant bodies plummeted. More shots echoed and more creatures fell.

Tamer paused to glance up at his friend. He was crushing the crystal shards with his closed fists. Placing the seal on the crook of his arm, Rai jumped on the stone block below him. Infuriated, three juhrars flew up to attack him. Tamer pulled the trigger. That was the last of them. The slide atop the gun slid back. He had run out of bullets.

They had done it. The seal was theirs. He couldn’t celebrate yet. Neither Clara nor Eryx had arrived. They had to be okay. She had to be okay. Alive and unhurt.

“What the—”

A chunk of rock collapsed on the ground. Tamer ran to the edge of the cavern. The stone blocks were crumbling. Each time Rai’s feet landed on a slab, it fell. He hopped to the next block, moving fast.

Tamer coughed. He strained his eyes, wanting to know how far Rai had reached. Dust percolated the air. The earth trembled as a shower of rocks pounded on it. When the last stone dropped, Rai vaulted to the ground. He yelped, his right leg bending.

Tamer rushed to help him. A tearing sound forced him to look up. Stalactites broke away from the ceiling, their jagged points descending upon them.

Damn it.