Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 393

Chapter 393: The hard part
Mia released Ford’s hand and prepared to climb down into the lower part of the large tunnel so the group could make their way to Trace.

“No need,” Martin told her, and lifted his hand. A staircase seemed to lower itself from their position, jutting out from the place they occupied.

Grandpa descended first, followed by Anaisa, Martin, Ford, and then Mia.

He turned to make sure she was descending safely, a gesture that touched her heart for a moment, but that she couldn’t dwell on.

There were things moving in the cavern.

Their torch and lamp did little to illuminate the depths, but the rustling told of bats–or worse–huddling in the darkness.

Was there danger lurking, or merely… life?

Once again, the group fell silent, and Mia began to use her power in earnest. Her eyes widened.

“We’re close,” She said as the path before them flashed into her mind. Close enough for the tree–the trees, thousands of them–to push images before her vision of where they needed to go.

Through the tunnel two thousand steps, and then into the forest.

Its magic was so palpable, she should have felt it in the air sooner. It seemed to warm things around her.

At the bottom of Martin’s improvised staircase of stone, she reached for Ford’s hand. Though she now had access to a virtually limitless supply of magic, she needed his steady presence to help guide her forward.

It was difficult to walk while seeing the path ahead at the exact same time. The warring images were more disparate than she recalled from the prior cave, perhaps because of the potency of so many more trees.

The path to Trace, she realized, was not an easy one.

Through the forest, and then they would be at the base of the castle, in front of its enormous gates. They were open wide at the moment, black and carved from the same ominous rock as the edifice.

She could not see living things along the way, although she was certain there had to be some, if not many.

That would pose a challenge. Perhaps if she looked for them–

“Ugh,” She flinched at the sudden shift in her mental picture. She would need to be careful not to hurt herself!

Her mind was not made to hold so much. Using her power prudently would be best. She caught glimpses of wights–many wights–but shoved them away in favor of returning to the search for Trace.

Through the gates, into the black castle, up the stairs, through hallways, and into a grand… bedchamber?

She blinked, the perplexing image overlaying the dim cave before her eyes. A bed much larger than any she had ever seen, fit for a… monster, perhaps.

What had Ford said about Trace? He was containing dreams of some kind? Of whatever was sleeping in this bed?

Her vision shifted, darted underneath the bed–it seemed large enough for a human to walk under without even bending over–and to the other side, where a relatively small, human-sized chair sat at the top of a set of black steps.

How very strange, but–

“Uncle Trace,” She whispered. “I can see where he is.”

Ford squeezed her hand in excitement, and Anaisa’s head swiveled towards her.

“Is he alright?”

“I can’t see… him,” Mia blinked, trying to concentrate on her aunt’s face so she could properly reply. “Not entirely. It’s like I see a frozen image of him, I think.”

It was all very confusing. Perhaps more than she was meant to see, and so her mind couldn’t fully absorb the information.

“Sh,” Martin held his hand up in a silent command for them to stop.

Mia forced away the images, the thoughts, everything except the present. Gripping Ford’s hand kept the secondary pull at bay,

The group held still, held their breaths, and listened.

A rumble and a creak in the far reaches of the cave sent a thrill of fright through Mia. She focused on seeking out the source of the sound.

The direction of the pull was instant, but the images were too much for her mind to fully absorb right away. Giant claws and a rapidly shortening path were the primary impressions she could process.

“Everyone, hold hands,” She commanded. “Ford!”

Grandpa grabbed Martin and Anaisa’s hands, and the redhead took Mia’s other hand half a second before they all disappeared…

Along with the light from the lamp and torch that they carried.

The darkness was now far more absolute than it had been, and Mia shook slightly, but closed her eyes and searched for the place to stand outside of the creature’s current path. Shuffling backwards, she pulled Ford and her aunt, and therefore the others, along with her, keeping a steady grip on their hands.

There was the barest amount of light filtering from afar, probably from the glowing trees of the forest further inside the tunnel.

In such proximity to it, Mia trusted Ford to have enough magic to hide them all well. The creaking was steady, and Mia stopped when she reached the location her power deemed, if not safe, then at least not quite as dangerous.

In the darkness, she could not get the best look at the creature as it drew near, but when she looked for it with her magic, the glimpses were quite a bit stronger, and far more terrifying.

It was as if the thing were too large for her to see all at once, and she could only see parts of it at a time.

An enormous, gnarled claw. A hunched, bulbous back. Feet–how many feet? Six? Eight? More? Sharp horns.

Eyes–too many eyes to count, and yet it was one creature, covered in the beady, many-faceted eyes like embedded black jewels on its thorax.

She resisted the urge to reject the image entirely since the shortening path showed her exactly how close it was getting to her little group.

It wasn’t until the glittering black eyes were visible even in the near-blackness of the cave that she let herself push away the vision.

The creaking of its ancient steps caused her heart to flail as it came close enough to reach out and touch…

And then it stopped.