Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 258

Chapter 258: Remember who you are
Mia’s mind raced as Ford stared at her.

“I thought you remembered him before,” He blinked.

“I remembered the name,” She said, “and vague outlines. It was so long ago.”

She closed her eyes again. Images flashed there. Martin was indelibly printed, since his was the last face she would see as the cave closed in around her and the first one she saw as it opened again.

The other men had been tenuous silhouettes that she couldn’t quite pin down. She hadn’t even been absolutely certain which one was Gary, but as they passed through the hallway, to one side she saw the larger, more open area where she had spent her last night in this cave.

It had been a time of hope, of reunification. Because, although Martin had closed the mouth of the cave, he had agreed to let them out the next morning.

Uncle Trace and Aunt Annie had been there, and there were lamps to light the way.

It had been more joyful, and yet, somehow, scarier.

In complete darkness, you close your eyes. Everything is as if you never opened them. But in the flickering lamplights, there are shadows, and tricks.

Complete darkness is terrifying, but partial light is almost worse. It gives you just enough knowledge to know that you should be afraid.

There are things to fear, and Mia feared them thoroughly. That night, she had curled into a bedroll with her brothers, sandwiched between them as her parents watched over them.

Mia had slept, but only a little. Her Aunt and Uncle had gone on a walk. She saw them turn out of the room, and move deeper into the cave, where she’d never been.

The little girl had drifted in and out of consciousness, peeking her little eyes open to make sure her mother and father were still there, but observing other goings-on as she did.

Two men stood guard over Martin. One had been called Frank. Martin spat the name like it was a curse. The other had been called Gary.

Not a tall man, he had been wary, and dark-haired, with a bulbous nose and narrow chin. Mia remembered how the lamplight hit it, making him look more elfin than human. If she’d used a word to describe him at the time, it would have been ‘ugly’.

The man who called himself Gary these past few days was handsome. It was not even a comparison she could describe in words, not completely, but she was absolutely certain it wasn’t the same man.

“It’s not him,” She whispered desperately to Ford. “That man, that’s not Gary. He wasn’t there, all those years ago.”

“You’re absolutely certain?” Ford leaned closer, his eyes demanding absolute truth in the matter. “There’s no doubt in your mind?”

“None. I remember the men who held me captive clearly now,” She pointed to the place. “Gary, and Frank, they and Martin were in that room. It’s as if I can see them sitting there right now. Gary looked nothing like the man who’s been with us these past days.”

“But he knew about the cave, knew about your family,” Ford turned away. The older man had passed beyond their sight, and Mia fretted.

“Do we catch up with him? Who is he? What does he want?”

“He wants magic, I imagine. Is it hot in here to you?” Ford pulled at his collar, and Mia heaved a heavy breath. It was getting hotter.

“What’s happening in here?” She shook her head. “This place is strange. I don’t like it. We should get out.”

“We can’t get out until we know what he’s up to,” Ford took her by the shoulder with one hand as his other held the lamp. “You can leave it you need to go, but I need to see what’s down there, and need to find out what that man’s up to.”

“But why?” Mia looked up at him, searching his eyes. “Why is this important to you?”

“I don’t like being lied to and manipulated,” Ford’s face became darker. “It happened to me too much when I was younger to tolerate it now. Whoever that man is… well, we’ll deal with that when we catch up to him. Or I catch up to him.”

“I’m not letting you go alone,” Mia frowned. As scared as she was, she would be far more afraid to crawl through that space in the darkness. They only had one lamp between them, so it was stay together or risk getting lost forever.

Ford seemed to realize this as she glanced at the light, and he sighed.

“I’ll give you the light and run after him.”

“No, I’m coming,” She nodded firmly. Far more firmly than she meant inside. Terror was creeping up from her middle as her sweating intensified. She wished she’d brought a canteen.

As if reading her mind again, Ford handed her his. She took a deep drink as he anxiously waited and took it back.

“Hurry.”

He took her hand and they began to run. The man who’d called himself Gary was apparently in quite a hurry. Mia could hear his footsteps–or was it echoes of her own?–hurrying through the twists and turns of the ever-deepening tunnel.

How far would it be?

“Gary, wait up!” Mia decided to call and see if the man would stop.

They were supposed to be allies… if the man wasn’t a liar. If he’d really been Gary. A shiver ran down her spine despite the warmth of the cave. Why was it so warm?

She distinctly remembered cuddling against her parents to stay warm. Sleeping between her brothers in the bedroll to keep from getting cold. Yet, here, it seemed warmer every step. Sweat trickled down between her shoulder blades as she gripped Ford’s hand more tightly.

Around the next corner, the stranger came into view. He had stopped at the doorway to what seemed to be a great room.

He was silhouetted in a flickering, unnatural light.