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Chapter 45: Watery Grave

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The emergency tunnels were as cold and damp as he recalled. They might even be infested with pretty big lizards, according to Jericha. Idris hadn’t seen any of the kind and since she was new to the area, he didn’t give it much consideration. Firstly because there weren’t any lizards in this part of the country and secondly, there were more pressing matters ahead of them.

This particular tunnel wasn’t only dug for the emperor’s escape, it was also designed to discourage anyone pursuing him with numerous dead ends. Despite its many twists, turns, and forks, there was only one correct path back to the compound. Lighting the way with the Rebirth of Light, Idris hoped he had chosen the right tunnel two forks back.

Isa should have come. He and Lahan were the only two generals who knew the way by hard. Idris would usually follow their lead. As he passed a familiar-looking mark on the wall, the young general regretted not paying closer attention the last time he was here.

“Do you know where you’re going?!” Jericha asked, her voice straddling between a whisper and a low shout.

“Of course I do,” Idris replied, trying to sound more convincing than he actually was. Old tales of invaders losing their way in the tunnels and eventually dying was the last thing he wanted swirling in his head. Yet, the longer they spent in the narrow tunnel, the more Idris’ thoughts shifted.

“I think you’re lost!” Jericha said.

“You know what?” Idris snapped, frustrated at himself for being in the situation. “If I was lost, you accusing me of being lost would not be helpful at all!”

“How do you get lost under your own city?!”

Before Idris could respond the sound of rushing footsteps descended upon them. Idris dismissed his Rebirth and joined Jericha behind a wall. Warrior skeletons carrying lanterns stopped nearby. Taking a few steps forward, they raised their lanterns to part the darkness. Turning back the way they came, the warrior skeletons searched the area once more before moving on.

They know about the tunnels? Did Lahan tell them? Idris clutched his breath until the lantern light faded with the enemies’ footsteps.

“Didn’t you say these tunnels were safe?” Jericha asked, keeping her voice low.

“I guess I was wrong. Come on, let’s keep up with them.”

“So you can find a way out, right? I knew it!”

“Shhh!” Idris insisted.

Keeping their distance, Idris and Jericha shadowed the warrior skeletons down more turns and intersections. As the enemies progressed further Idris stopped and looked into a different path. A sole skeleton stood guard at the end of a tunnel that had all the hallmarks of an exit into the compound.

“I’ll blind it first, then --” Idris began, but Jericha had her own strategy. She crafted an arrow out of lightning and tossed it at the skeleton’s head. Stunned motionless, the warrior skeleton dropped to the floor, disintegrating upon impact.

To Idris’ relief, the hole in the wall exited to a small bedroom. If Jericha wasn’t with him, he’d kiss the tile beneath his feet. A minute longer in those underground mazes and he would have lost his cool. Judging by its size, the room belonged to one of the emperor’s many servants. As he walked to the bedroom door, Idris knew that would be a problem. The servents' apartments were a quarter of a mile away from the emperor’s main palace.

“Are we close to your Rebirth map?” Jericha asked.

“Not yet. We still need to get to the palace.”

Idris poked his head out of the door. More warrior skeletons patrolled the compound as if they owned it, and in a way they did. The Midaharians that called Ras Almal home were long gone, chased away by Alba’s children of the cloud. Or was it Damnation that was pulling all the strings? Idris didn’t sweat the details too much.

Getting into the emperor’s estate unnoticed and activating the star map without Jericha knowing were more important.

Warrior skeletons armed with even longer hand cannons than before stood in a devious and deadly formation. Were they expecting company? Clearing a path with the Rebirth of Light would be easy, but once the enemy knew they were around, they would be swarmed. Idris wasn’t afraid of a good challenge, as long as the odds were in his favor.

The odds here favored the dead.

Why did he think it would be an easy mission?

“Follow me and keep low,” Idris told Jericha.

“What are you planning?”

“I’m hoping to find a gap in their defenses around the estate. We need to get to the second floor.”

“And if there isn’t one?”

“We’ll have to fight our way in and out. But, to tell you the truth, I’m not looking forward to that.”

The pair darted between shadows until they reached the estate's east wing. A trio of warrior skeletons meandered about, blocking their path to the building. "There's no way around them," Jericha said, sparks covering her fingers. "I can take out the closets two."

With his short sword unsheathed, Idris enhanced it with light energy. He threw it at the warrior skeleton furthest away, fatally striking it in the head. Jericha’s lightning arrows weren’t far behind, quickly disabling the remaining two foes before they knew what hit them.

Idris collected his weapon and jumped into the building through a broken window. He hadn’t stepped foot inside the emperor’s palace in some time. While the damage done to it by the Ophidia was nothing new, but the inch of water on the floor was. More of it flowed down the stairs, through hallways, and out of chambers. All of the bathhouses were on the first floor and it hadn’t rained either.

Jericha stopped and looked at the water now covering her ankles. “This isn’t normal, is it?”

Idris shook his head as he peered down a dark, vacant hallway.

“I thought so. We lost the Rebirth of Water to Alba the other day. Someone must be using it here.”

“We need to move then,” Idris insisted. “The map is this way.”

Leading the way, Idris sprinted down a long corridor until he reached the conference room. He opened the door, slowly at first, then completely once he saw no one was inside.

“The water’s rising!” Jericha said. She anxiously started entering the room ahead of Idris. “Is this the place where the map is?”

“Not so fast,” Idris said, impeding her path. “Nothing personal, but Isa would kill me if I let you in here. Wait outside.” He shoved her back into the hallway and closed the door.

“Are you kidding me?! Idris!”

“I won’t be a minute!” Idris said, wading through knee-high water. He activated the star map and hastily inked the position of three yellow stars on his palm. The yellow stars meant three Rebirths had reappeared somewhere in the land. Hopefully, there weren’t anywhere under Alba’s horror cloud.

Before deactivating it, Idris noticed the purple star wasn’t in its original place on the map. Curiously enough, it sat a few points across from Aiden’s green star which had also moved. As intriguing as it was, there was no time to copy the two stars' location. The rising water wasn’t slowing down and if he didn’t leave soon, getting the door open would be a battle.

Idris stepped out of the conference room and into a vacant hallway. “Jericha?” he called, looking around for someone who wasn’t there. “Jericha!” he exclaimed, louder this time.

“Up the stairs!” Jericha finally replied.

As Idris rushed to join her he could tell why she chose to wait in the stairway. The water wasn’t as high there, yet. “I hope you got what you needed out of that super, top-secret room,” Jericha said, expecting to see a physical map in his possession.

Idris rolled his glove over his hand. “I’ll show you later. Let’s go before we have to swim out of here.”

“Go where? Through more tunnels?”

“I’ve had my fill of being underground,” Idris said, climbing the stairs. “An exit to the chariot landing pad is on this floor.”

In the back of his mind, Idris knew getting to the star map couldn't be so easy. But with Alba's monster-infested cloud blanketing the city, he wasn't going to complain about an uneventful mission. As they advanced to the exit, the water had made it up to his waist and was steadily rising.

"Get ready," Idris said, grabbing the door handle. "Who knows what's waiting on the other side."

Jericha nodded and unsheathed her blades.

Steadying himself, Idris pulled the door open. He narrowed his focus on a man half shrouded by shadows as he stood at the peak of a short set of stairs. "Going somewhere?" the man asked, with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"It can't be...!" Disbelieving her ears, Jericha rushed over for a closer look. "Val!? Is that you?! You're alive?!"

"Now what is a Royal Guard doing working with a Midaharian General?" Val inquired, the upper portion of his body still lingering in the shadows. "Tsk, tsk, Jericha."

"Look, you two obviously have some catching up to do," Idris said. "How about you step aside so I can be on my way."

"You'll be on your way all right," Val said, stepping down from the shadows. His complexion was of someone who spent their entire life underground, and his eyes reflected the water's emptiness. He was a far cry from the young man Jericha remembered.

"No," she said, staring in disbelief. "This is Tasha's doing."

His body shattered into water droplets that spiraled for a brief moment before coming together again in the shape of an oversized eel. As it dove toward the two Idris slammed the door in its face.

"You know that’s not going to keep him back,” Jericha said, observing liquid seeping through small gaps between the wall and the door. “Is this the only way to the roof?"

"There's another way, but it's over on the western wing," Idris said as he noticed how buoyant he'd become in the water. "Looks like we're swimming after all."

"You go. I'll buy you some time."

"We have a better chance if we face him together."

"You'll have a better chance of getting electrocuted if you hang around in this water!"

"Just give me a heads up before you use it," Idris said, putting away his sword.

A portion of the water bubbled as if heated by fire and started ascending into the air. It wasn’t long before the liquid eel materialized before their eyes, filling the corridor with its massive size.

“Lightning in the hole!” Jericha shouted, deploying an abundant amount of lightning at the eel. Electricity flowed through the water serpent causing it to vaporize instantly with a fiendish laugh wrapped in pain. Idris leaped out of the path of Jericha’s attack as it rippled through the water and back towards them. With claws of light, he clung to the ceiling and kept himself as far away from the action until it cleared.

Jericha, on the other hand, stood unphased by her attack. “The water’s receding!” she said. “Should we go back the way we came?”

Idris dropped to the floor. “Yeah, but minus the tunnels. Let’s hurry just in case your old friend comes back!”

Jericha stared at the exit, Val’s soulless eyes and dead face filling her thoughts. “That was no friend of mine.”