Tiffany Dunn - If I Should Never Find You

That decision had hurt her more than she liked to admit. There had been blood seeping down the side of his head and she could hardly stand to look at his leg. But his voice had been strong and they were too close to turn back now -- he must have known that when he told her to continue. And an image of Terry had urged her until she knew she couldn't stay with him. She prayed to whatever force watched over the people here that Wendell would be kept safe.

Grojavek stopped above her and pointed at something Melissa couldn't see. By the time she reached his ledge, he was hopping up and down.

"In here!" he whispered. The imp disappeared into a door-sized opening in the mountain. The darkness swallowed him up and she hurriedly lit the lantern before following after. The light was strong, but still felt almost useless in the oppressive black. Even the silence seemed a living thing, eating at her courage.

The fear boiled inside of her, like laughter, needing a release. Not long ago, she'd been a bored, miserable actress. Now she was a princess, her best friend gone, risking her life to get the revenge she so desperately needed. Revenge would make everything worth it. She thought of Wendell, and the pain she had seen in his eyes the past few days. It had to.

Grojavek crouched quietly on a rock deep inside the cavern, watching her with his buggy eyes.

"Where is she?" Melissa whispered, flashing the light around and finding only stone. Her spine tickled with unease. "Do we go farther?" She stood next to the imp, scanning the dark anxiously.

"I do!" Grojavek shouted, leaping onto her arm. Melissa yelped in surprise and then screamed as she felt sharp teeth bite into the fleshy part of her thumb. She shook her arm to release him, realizing her mistake a moment too late.

The imp let go, taking the knife with him and slicing her palm as he fell. Melissa flinched but tried to grab him, and succeeded only in smashing the lantern onto the stone floor. The small flame flared as the oil washed out, and Melissa turned away, blinded. By the time the fire had settled to a flickering burn, Grojavek was gone.

"Damn it!" Melissa shouted, her words reverberating in the empty cavern. She looked around frantically for the imp while a little light remained, and could find nowhere else to go other than the entrance they'd come through. The only way she saw that was by noting the paler darkness than the surrounding wall.

The last oil was consumed by the greedy flames, taking her hopes with it. Melissa blinked in the darkness for a long minute before accepting just how blind she was in here.

She went onto her hands and knees and started crawling for the door, exhausted suddenly. The fierce energy that had been driving her had slipped out of reach, and it was hard just to lift her limbs. Her knees and palms gathered stinging scratches as she shuffled along the stone floor. At least I can get back to Wendell now, she thought, relieved.

The loss of the knife was devastating, and every time she thought of it she started to hyperventilate, but still, there was the simple peace in returning to Wendell. Leaving him down there had sat heavy on her heart, and she wanted only to be back at his side and make sure he was truly all right. She couldn't believe now, looking back on it, that she'd left him at all, even with his words. He would understand and forgive her, at least she hoped so, if she hadn't pushed his forgiveness too far already. It was one of the things she loved about him.

Melissa paused, the doorway only a few feet away. "I'm in love with a king," she whispered. It felt right to say the words. Surging to her feet, she hurried for the entrance, even more anxious to return to him.

She tripped and stumbled out into the night air, the cold, sea wind slapping her cheeks. Scanning for any signs of the imp and finding none, Melissa started down the trail, carefully lowering herself the way they'd come. It was more important than ever that she not slip here, defenseless as she was. The realization they had neither seen nor heard from Rena was unsettling.

Stopping to rest on a small ledge, Melissa knelt and shuffled to the edge, peering over in hopes of seeing Wendell. The moon was higher now, and after the darkness of the cavern, seemed infinitely bright to her. Bright enough to show her Wendell, lying curled up on his side on his ledge. Her eyes focused and a glint of silver caught her attention.

The world narrowed and stopped, even the waves seeming to cease their endless motion, as Melissa took in the scene. Hovering next to Wendell was the traitor, Grojavek, the knife clutched in his long-fingered hands. Next to him, her hair glowing in the moonlight, was a woman who could only be Rena. Even from this distance, Melissa could see that her face was horribly disfigured, and one half of her body seemed twice the size of the other. She was looming over Wendell's body, and Melissa finally made out the blood that seemed to be covering him. In Rena's hands was a thick, sharp rock, poised for use.

Melissa tried to scream, to get her attention, but her throat choked closed with fear. There was no way she would reach them in time. All she could do was watch, horrified, as Rena swung the rock, laughing sharp and loud.