Rhea was already standing and Vesper wiped her mouth and pushed to her feet.
A small arch near the back had begun to glow. The mist inside was clear and the pull was weak, but it held steady. Voices came through it like Laughter, a market crowd, metal on metal, smell of Oil and spices.
Selendra pointed. "That is the market I told you about."
Rhea looked at me. "We need food,we need thread for wounds and we need oil for the blades."
Vesper nodded. "And a coil to hold the scabbard if we have to run."
Selendra held up one hand. "If you step in, keep to the edge, do not haggle on luxuries,do not eat anything that breathes. Take only what you can carry in both hands,Pay and leave. If someone touches your charm, cut that hand."
Rhea looked to me. "Can you stand."
"I can stand," I said.
She looked to Vesper. "Ready?"
Vesper nodded and drew a thin line of chalk around our boots. "Step in together,Step back together."
Selendra moved to the arch. "I will set the edge so it does not close on you. You will have five minutes and If I say run, you run."
Rhea gave a small nod. "Do it."
The mist cleared and a row of stalls appeared through the arch. Lamps hung from ropes, a woman with fox ears counted coins,a man with glass eyes sharpened knives and nobody looked toward us yet.
Rhea took my wrist and Vesper took my shoulder and we and we began to walk.
The air changed, it was warm and full of smells like spice,metal,sweat. The ground was packed dirt under boards and sound bounced off low stone.
We did not let go of each other.
Rhea moved fast, She went to a stall with dried meat and nuts. She paid in coin and small favors. Vesper pointed out a vendor with coil and straps and I saw a stand with water skins and took two.
A woman with red nails smiled and lifted a cloth. Rows of small glass vials lay under it. "Charms for your chest," she said. "Keeps the heart steady and calms the hands."
Vesper stepped between us and shook her head. "No thank you."
A boy reached for my jacket,his hand drifted toward the charm. Rhea slapped his fingers and glared at him,he walked away without a word.
Selendra stood at the edge of the arch with her tail high. Her head turned slowly as if counting heads in the crowd.
A man with a mask stepped from behind a rope and held out a strip of jerky. "Free taste."
"No," Rhea said. "Move."
He moved and the crowd shifted. A woman with silver lips smiled at me and then at the charm and I pressed my palm flat over it. Alma hummed but the sound did not leave my skin and the woman lost interest.
Vesper paid for a small bottle of oil and the seller tried to add a second but Vesper said no and the seller did not insist.
Selendra's voice cut through the noise. "Time is running out."
We turned at once and stepped back through the edge and the cave air hit us cold. The glow along the walls brightened for a moment and then dimmed.
Rhea set the food down and Vesper checked the straps and coils. I drank water and my hands steadied.
Selendra's tail tapped the floor twice. "Well done…the first door is behind you. The cave respects clean steps."
Rhea let out a slow breath. "We leave at dusk,we take the south cut and we avoid more doors."
Selendra spread her hands. "As you wish."
The big arch across the room pulsed and the mist inside it swirled. A single hand pressed against the inside edge. The fingers were long and clean and a ring with a dark stone sat on the middle finger. The hand tapped the stone frame two times. The arch did not open more and the hand slid away.
I did not breathe until it was gone.
Vesper whispered. "Collector."
Selendra nodded. "She wants to show you her cages but do not be flattered and run fast."
Rhea looked me in the eye. "We do not open that door…ever."
"Ever," I said.
We ate,we packed,we waited for the glow to fall. When the low red faded to a dull line, Rhea nodded to the exit tunnel. "Move."
Selendra walked with us to the first turn. She stopped there. "I keep my word, I held the doors while you rested. Now you owe me a small thing later."
Rhea frowned. "Name it now."
"I will name it when I need it," Selendra said. "It will not be shameful,It will not be a trick,It will not touch your system without consent."
Rhea did not like that but she nodded anyway. "Fine."
Selendra's eyes went to the charm. "Keep her quiet if you can because the doors remember her now and they will whisper for days."
I put my hand over the metal. "Alma, stay with me."
A faint pulse answered and the number climbed.
[28%]
Selendra's tail lifted and fell. "Good..now go."
We moved through the tunnel and the walls narrowed. The air cooled and the arches thinned out. The last bend opened to a lower chamber with a flat floor and a high crack that breathed night air. Rhea checked the crack. No eyes,no light,only wind and we started toward it.
A small arch on the left woke without warning,no glow first. It snapped on and grabbed the air and the pull hit me in the chest and I lost my footing. The charm went hot and the floor slid under my boots.
Rhea grabbed me and Vesper grabbed Rhea. The arch yanked at me and the wind roared,the tunnel sang out because of the wind's roar.
Selendra's voice echoed from behind us. "Do not look into it! Keep your head down."
I pressed my chin to my chest and flattened the charm to the floor. The heat bit skin through my shirt and Alma stirred and pushed back, her voice was as thin as a thread. "I am here."
The pull fought her and the numbers flickered. The anchors under my palms shook and Rhea braced and lowered her weight. Vesper slammed a bone into the ground and broke it and he pull dropped one notch.
The arch brightened more and the mist inside became clear. A shape stood on the other side, it was tall,thin and had horns and smile on its face.
Rhea swore and dragged me and we moved a bit. The floor scraped my forearms raw and the arch tried to rip the breath from my throat.
Alma breathed once with me. "Again Eiji."
We moved one more hand and then another. Vesper threw the last bone and it broke. The lines of light snapped to bright and the pull eased a little bit more.
Selendra slid in front of the arch and raised her hands. Her tail lifted to a high curl. "Sister! Not today."
The shape in the mist did not answer and the pull fought her. The stone frame of the arch shook.
Rhea's voice was flat. "Move."
We moved One more hand,one more breath. The edge of the crack was ten steps away then nine, then eight.
The pull hiccuped and the arch dimmed a shade. Selendra lowered her hands by an inch. "Now."
We ran and the charm burned and then cooled. We hit the crack and squeezed through it into night air. The cold wind slapped my face and he sky was a low lid with a few dead stars. The cave's mouth behind us hissed.
Rhea pulled me down behind a boulder and Vesper slid in next to us. We waited and the wind cooled our heat. The cave went quiet and no hand came through the crack,no horn,no tail.
Selendra's voice drifted from inside. "You can go… I'll kept them busy and I will collect my favour later."
Rhea did not answer, we just turned ran.
We kept the rock wall on our right and the low ridge on our left. We did not speak and we did not stop. The ground was rough and my legs burned and my chest hurt. The charm cooled to a steady hum and Alma went back to sleep again and number held on count down.
[28%]
When we reached a line of old pines, we dropped into a shallow trench and lay still. The cave mouth was a dark cut behind us and the wind pushed through the trees and took our scent away.
Rhea rolled to face me. "You did well," she said.
"I almost fell in," I said.
"You did not," she said. "You held back, you held your ground."
Vesper stared up at the few stars. "We should avoid every cave that breathes."
"Agreed," Rhea said.
I touched the charm and my hand shook. Alma's hum steadied my fingers and i let my eyes close.
A sound rose from the ridge ahead,notthe cave,not the market. A clean, high cry that did not belong to any wolf or bird.
We sat up at once and It came again,closer this time
Rhea stood and lifted her blade.
Vesper whispered. "New trouble."
The pines shifted and white shape moved between the trunks.
The charm warmed in my hand and Alma stirred.
"Wake me," she whispered. "If it is his."
The shape stepped into view. Scales,pale fire inside the throat and eyes that knew us.
The White Fire Dragon lowered its head to our trench and everything went still.