Stathis landed and rolled, avoiding any serious damage, Brina already up on her feet. They scrabbled out of the way as Terin smashed down just behind them, managing to avoid crashing together. Where they were was more of a challenge – wherever it was, it was completely dark, not even the cold glimmer of a mage light to guide them. Stathis fumbled in her pouch, fishing out a small sphere of stone, cupping it in her hands and whispering the activation word.

Chill blue light blossomed, enough to illuminate a patch of rough, uneven rock surrounding them. Only a small area of wall was visible, the rest somewhere out of sight in the darkness. The wall was covered with writing, daubed on in thick black paint, strange almost-letters that made her eyes water and glance away, impossible to stare at for long.

Shouts came from above them, their pursuers starting to follow them down, with at least some sense of caution.

‘When we get out of here, you’re gonna have to tell me why those guys are after you. Ain’t you meant to be the bodyguard, not the guarded? Should get movin’ first though! Terin, you got any idea where the hell to go?’

‘Not a single damned one. Up, and somewhere not here?’

‘Shit like this is why I’m in charge! Right, let’s go that way.’ Brina pointed at one of the dark tunnels leading away, seemingly at random.

Stathis paused, turning to Brina as they started to move. ‘Can you make those bells quiet at all? They’re going to make it hard to sneak around down here.’ As they started to move again, the tinkling noise started up again, echoing into the cavernous space. ‘They are very pretty, but a bit impractical at the moment.’

‘Can’t silence ‘em, but can distract ‘em a bit.’ She shook her head vigorously, bells rattling loudly, sound doubling in intensity, coming from empty air nearby. Then another copy of the sound appeared, from elsewhere within the darkness. ‘Hopefully, it’ll throw ‘em off a bit.’ She gestured at the glowing stone Stathis held, other hand holding her sword. ‘Handy thing there, didn’t think guardin’ paid that well. Must be a sweet gig if you can afford shit like that!’

It had actually been a gift from some visiting dignitary or other, a petty trinket that would have been passed on to a courtier as empty appreciation if Stathis hadn’t appropriated it for herself. But it was better than being in the dark or using her own powers to illuminate the darkness – at least this could quickly be covered up to hide with.

The bead only shed enough light to illuminate the area directly around them, showing rock walls covered with more of the same creepy almost-writing, letters almost, but not quite, forming into words, dancing on the edge of meaning, always threatening to draw their focus and concentration away from the pursuit. The sounds of the bells followed them, tinkling in the darkness, hopefully distracting or confusing their pursuers.

Terin moved even faster, staying on the edge of the light, shadows wrapping themselves around him. ‘That damn stuff makes my head hurt! Hey, Stathis, is this a murder-cult thing? ‘Cos that shit’s always bad mojo.’

‘I don’t think so, although there were all wearing robes, so maybe? Let’s get out of here first.’ Why did these things have to keep happening to her? Actually, she knew precisely why, but it would be a lot easier if they just didn’t happen! And if they weren’t back to the castle in time, she and Carissia would be in a world of trouble.

Brina nodded. ‘Agreed! And you’ve gotta get Miss Fancy back somewhere. You gotta take us both out someplace nice though. Real nice to make up for this – just so happens I know a nice little bathhouse we can go to, nice ‘n close! Gonna need a good long soak afterwards, get nice ‘n wet!’

They kept moving through the tunnels, a distant chanting roar starting to mingle with the soft tinkling of the bells, as the caves started to narrow, tunnel becoming single file, eerie writing getting ever more fervent, symbols splashed onto the walls with abandon, as Stathis tried to focus on the path ahead, and not let herself get distracted by their clashing, discordant almost-meanings, even as her eyes watered. From the noises coming from behind them, their pursuers were still giving chase, although it was impossible to tell how far away they were from the echoes. They slowed their pace, in case of ambush and to preserve their stamina, winding through what seemed to be an endless labyrinth of stone.

The rough stone suddenly gave way to elaborately cut and worked walls, still daubed with almost-letters, on top of carefully chiselled pillars and rails, carved skulls grinning down from the corners. Now the symbols were joined by pictures, wings, spikes, nails and celestial imagery combining in an unpleasant fashion. This was definitely starting to look more and more murder-culty, especially the parts involving severed wings, a black sun, assorted crowns and all the usual signifiers of prophecies of doom. Stathis gripped her sword tightly, feeling better for having a weapon in hand, as Brina flicked her own weapon, a rapier, full-sized weapon looking overlarge in her hands. A heat-haze shimmer flickered in Stathis’ peripheral vision, air twisting on itself before she stabbed, dissipating whatever spell was building.

The chanting got louder, some language Stathis didn’t recognise, but that seemed laden with baleful portents. A yell came from behind them, one of their pursuers having caught up, shouting to his companions, driving them to run faster. A figure suddenly loomed in front of them, coming from some unseen side-passage. Brina thrust with her rapier, skewering the cultist through the shoulder and driving them back. Stathis attacked and cut them down, before pulling Brina along with her. Terin flung a knife into the downed figure, a magical tether pulling it back to his hand – that should make sure they wouldn’t be getting up again.

Open space suddenly loomed in front of them, a tight turn revealing a vast underground chamber, roof barely in sight. The walls were covered with carvings and statues, twisted humanoid shapes coming out from the rock, clawed hands stretching for freedom, bent and crooked bodies half-cut from the stone, demonic maws looking ready to snap and bite. Scattered amongst the stone menagerie were more cultists, all wearing the same shabby robes, armed with worryingly fresh-looking weapons. At the end of the chamber was a stone slab, shining black obsidian drinking in the flickering torchlight, golden gleams slowly drifting beneath its black surface. A struggling figure was chained to it with fetters around her wrists and ankles, her writhing making heavy chains clink against the stone surface, a gag silencing their protests. A high priest, or at least someone wearing a less tatty robe, stood by the altar, a ritual dagger in hand.

Everyone froze, awkward silence descending onto the cavern.

‘Either of you two got any other tricks?’ Stathis looked between her allies. ‘They’re unarmoured, and I doubt many of them are well trained, but there’s a lot of them, and guys like this probably have a caster or two.’ She glanced up, seeing several crystal spikes hanging down from the ceiling. ‘Got anything that could bring them down?’

Brina took a deep breath. ‘Shit me sideways, you don’t ask much, do you?’ She smiled and flicked her rapier through the air. ‘It’s a long shot, but that’s all we got right now. You two need to look after me though, ‘cos it ain’t gonna be easy!’

The sound of the bells abruptly stopped, replaced by notes of different pitches, echoing into the space, disrupting and clashing with the chanting, seemingly coming from empty air. Brina whipped the rapier around, adding to the sound, air whistling around the blade, as the cultists charged.

Stathis fought defensively, blocking attacks, making sure they didn’t get past her to Brina, now lost in concentration, pitch of her voice shifting up and down, dust skittering from above as parts of the cave started to vibrate in resonant sympathy. A mace smashed past Stathis’ face, narrowly missing as she countered, her sword stabbing through a robe, attacker cursing and falling back, bleeding heavily.

Terin was a blur of shadows, jumping between attackers, thrusting knives whenever he found an opening, stopping them grouping together, although lacking the strength to make any decisive blows. Brina’s humming deepened in intensity, more and more dust skittering down from above, before, with an almighty CRACK, the spikes fell. Several of the cultists were crushed, others injured by flecks of crystal shrapnel.

Stathis attacked, using the distraction to stab another cultist, before grabbing Brina and charging forward towards the altar. The high priest began to chant, fingers bending through arcane contortions, deep purple mist fluttering out from their sleeves. It spiralled upwards through the air and formed into a dense sphere above him, before he flicked his hand, flinging it forward.

Stathis twisted, throwing herself in the way and shielding Brina from the brunt of the attack. It burnt into her, a deathly cold energy, veins of darkness flashing into her vision. She sagged down, world growing dark. A sudden warmth pushed back the darkness, as Brina’s bells tinkled, sound sharp as the rest of the world grew cold and vague, dragging her back into consciousness with some minor healing spell. The cleric was already incanting another spell, the rest of the cultists circling, ready to attack again. The three of them stood close together, blades at the ready.

‘You got any tricks for this?’ Stathis asked them both.

Terin shook his head. ’Nothin’ doin’, less you can pull some fighters out your pockets!’

Now closer to the altar, Stathis could see it was on a raised platform of its own, surrounded by golden glyphs, different in style to the almost-writing that covered the walls. The sacrifice was still twisting and trying to escape, chains holding them fast, as the High Priest bared fangs at them, pale skin shining back what light there was. Black gears and ironwork ran up the walls, some carefully crafted device cradling the dais, bronze lever close by.

‘Accursed child of the sun! Your blood shall awaken our dark master from their slumber, that they may rule this land in blood and darkness. Accept your fate and cease this foolish resistance!’

Fangs and pale skin? It was a long shot, but it was all she could think of. She closed her eyes for a moment, long enough to focus through the background noise and chanting, feeling the warmth of distant, almost forgotten sunlight well up inside her, then charged through the crowd, her blade now shining with divine light.

The priest flung an arm forward, snakes of crimson energy spiralling out towards Stathis, trying to trap and bind her. They slowed her movement for a second, before she focused her will and pushed through, shattering the enchantment. A blow struck her from behind, but she managed to stay standing, the sacrifice still trying to scream through their gag, face contorted in fear.

The priest lunged himself, clawed hand lunging towards Stathis, rending at her arm. She blocked the dagger, before punching out with her hilt, opening a space to thrust, sword cutting into his robes. Where it bit into his body, the divine energy burnt through, cutting flesh and bone as easily as his robes. He hissed in agony, face contorting monstrously, skin crumbling away to reveal cadaverous muscles and bone beneath.

Terin and Brina cut through behind her, forming a defensive line and protecting her as the sacrifice continued to writhe uselessly, unable to break their bonds. Stathis sliced at the leader again, as he managed to deflect this attack, Brina taking advantage of his distraction to shove a knife into his leg. He stumbled backwards, hitting a lever, the raised dais clanking and shifting, some unseen mechanism whirring into life, chains and counterweights shifting as they were suddenly pulled into the air, still fighting.

Stathis took a knife-slash to her arm, seeing a flicker of golden energy pull itself from the cut and get absorbed into the knife. To her side, Terin was working to release the captive, metal wire probing the locks shackling her in place.

The vampire lunged forward, mouth opening wide, fangs now fully extended, pushing her back with brute strength, towards the edge of the platform. The walls of the shaft rushed by, uncomfortably close to her head, as she was forced back, far too close to the edge. Brina tried to attack, the creature hitting her with a backhanded fist, blood oozing from Brina’s head, into her hair, staining her bells dark with blood as she was smashed backwards. Resolution filled Stathis, golden energy swirling around her body, the creature wincing, dazed by the light. It let up, just enough space to let Stathis counterattack, driving it back towards the centre of the platform.

Above them, the ceiling clanked open, sunlight pouring in as they were lifted above the ground. Light, dappled through countless stained-glass windows, shone down onto them, an expectant hush. Stathis glanced around, seeing countless nobles, priests and other dignitaries arranged into long lines, crammed onto long benches. Bland-faced statues of divinities and spirits stared down at them from above, a velvet-lined altar at the far end bearing various golden goblets and rods. She could see her mother, in the front row along with the other highest-ranking visitors, one hand already slowly drawing a knife, ready to fight.

A moment later, there was a massed sound of scraping steel, as countless guards drew their blades, surrounding them, weapons levelled. Behind them, wizards and priests began incanting attack spells, mystic energy crackling through the air in readiness for destruction.