Then gave Dusk a swift nod.
“Do it.” She spoke decisively. “Penetrate the crystal, if you can. Adrian and I will focus and put us all into the cavern beyond via a portal. Quinn, are you alright remaining out here? I don’t think the Bind has enough power to bring you with us inside.”
“I will remain and continue to parlay with ourhost.” Quinn spoke bluntly as he stared Gold-Eyes down, frigid. “It and I have a few matters to discuss surrounding what it knows of me, or what it surmises. I will wait for you here. Be quick, for even though it boasts, it cannot liberate the malevolent horde that surrounds us from Hunter’s power; only you can do that, Dusk. And it cannot hold back the tide forever.”
Well said.The creature agreed as it swirled its black smoke body.The Florentine Master and I shall remain. I hope the rest of you find what you seek.
The Revenant’s words in Layla’s mind felt almost like a curse as it flowed back now and watched the Bind approach the white columnar crystals in the alcove. As Dusk ran hands over them again, he started another sub-sonic universal tone, but one that was different than the one he’d used to liberate the Revenants. It held a piercing quality, and something about it set all the bones inside Layla’s body humming as if they might shatter now – as if Dusk was working to explode her calcium bone lattice by bursting them right to their molecular bonds. It was the most uncomfortable sensation Layla had ever felt, and as she shivered all over with a deep, terrible pain, Dusk suddenly spoke.
“The crystals are weakening. I think we can get through them now via the ether. Adrian, Layla – you’re up. Hurry.”
With a swift nod, Adrian and Layla stepped to the crystal boundary. Clasping hands, they glanced at each other – and then their fire-bright Dragons were swirling all through each other, racing voraciously through each other’s veins and blasting them both out to the eternity of the Star Bind. For a moment, Layla felt a blissful vastness fill her. And then she was guiding it – pulling herself and her two Bound men into the ether entirely with her as she succumbed. With a roar, Adrian provided their power as Layla slingshot them all through a bright line in space. With tremendous focus and concentration, Dusk provided the destination, as they hurtled into the ether, becoming discorporate.
But with a shock, Layla felt herself arrested in the ether – as a barrage of white crystals skewered up through the universe all around them suddenly. Already portaling, they had headed into the blockade of crystals Dusk had said he’d already weakened. But inside the vastness of the ether, those crystal pillars were hale and whole as they spiked right through the universe, white columns thrusting up to eternity all around.
Layla screamed, caught as she felt herself arrested in that vast network.
Without coming through to the other side.
CHAPTER 10 – TREASURE
Caught in crystal spikes that devoured the stars, Layla suddenly felt an enormous heave of power all through the ether as she screamed. As she struggled in the visage of her gold-white drakaina, discorporate, five enormous drakes suddenly towered up all around her in the space between worlds. Roaring and thrashing their coils to sunder her prison, Fury was silver-dark and Reginald golden-bright, Rhennic was fierce with storms through the cosmos while Dusk shuddered it to its foundations. But through it all, one drake roared up above the rest. Adrian was a demon of wrath as his fire-bright red and turquoise coils smashed Layla’s prison apart. And then her drakaina was roaring, freed.
As she rushed back into being inside a vast, dark space.
For a moment, Layla had no clue where she was; she felt only a tremendous relief that she even had a body once more. Kneeling naked on all fours on an expanse of cold, hard stone, she could see nothing but blackness, until a tone from Dusk on his knees beside her suddenly rang the space they had come into like a bell. As tremendous pillars of selenite-diamond lit up all around, Layla slowly rose, Dusk and Adrian beside her. Amazement filled her to see the space surrounding them, as Adrian and Dusk reached out, touching her so they were all steadied.
Inside a cavern that was as wondrous as it was terrifying.
Before them and all around, a labyrinth of pure crystal rose, dwarfing them with its gargantuan reaches. Pillars tall as skyscrapers grew out from the enormous cavern at every angle, jutting across the space and barring the way. High above those mind-obliterating, massive pillars, more crystals grew down from the cavern’s ceiling like teeth, but sticking out from the walls, the floor, and far above at every angle. Behind Layla’s trio, smaller crystals grew out of the cavern’s walls, sealing off the granite they’d come through. Ahead was only the maze, enormous, and Layla blinked, wondering what the hell was stashed in here.
And where.
“Jesus.” Dusk swore softly as he glanced around with a low whistle. “This looks like that giant crystal cavern they found in Mexico, except this was all grown by Crystal Dragons.”
“Or Dragons like Hunter,” Layla interjected, “Old Dragons from Vittria who could use every kind of Dragon-magic just like he can.”
“But to a ridiculous degree.” Adrian spoke as he gazed around with them. “Growing something like this would take ages, even for the most accomplished Crystal Dragons, wouldn’t it Dusk?”
“Centuries, maybe even millennia.” Dusk spoke with gravitas as he glanced at Adrian. “That Revenant Gold-Eyes said it was a treasure-stash. But this doesn’t look like a Dragon’s hoard of treasure, Adrian. I would have expected gold, gemstones, technology of some kind… but now that we’re in here, all I feel are these massive pillars. They hum deep inside my bones with a harmonic so low, it’s like the universe itself is breathing through them.”
As Dusk described it, Layla realized she was feeling it, too; a sensation of spaciousness and soothing depth that moved inside her and all through the massive cavern. But even as she recognized it, she realized it had sound like Dusk had said; the vibration so low it was nearly imperceptible. Even lower than the vibrations he’d made to calm the Vampire Revenants and re-attune the selenite-diamond pillars to portal them in here, this frequency was deeper than it all. As Layla listened, she realized she was already slipping into etheric trance and hadn’t even recognized it. As that sound harmonized her, all she wanted to do was slide away to a discorporate state, floating in the vast etheric universe.
And as that understanding filled her, she realized it was the base tone of the universe.
“These pillars amplify the basic etheric resonance.” She spoke to Dusk and Adrian. “That’s why we feel like this space is breathing. We’re feeling the ether move, flowing on that resonance. It’s the same as when I’m out in deep meditation touching the etheric state, but this is like it’s been amplified a hundredfold – like these pillars were grown to amplify the ether. Even now, I’m wanting to slide away, right back to the universe…”
“Some might consider that a treasure.” Adrian spoke thoughtfully now as he took it all in. “Being able to get so calm that sliding right into the etheric state comes as easily as breathing. But why would Hunter stash something in here, taking in that sound for thousands of years?”
“I don’t know, but I sure want to find out.” Dusk lifted an eyebrow now as he stepped forward. The slab of stone they’d arrived on ended just beyond where they stood, jutting up suddenly in sharp, jagged pillars of crystal. Coming through the portal, they’d all arrived naked – Layla didn’t have the concentration yet to portal them through with clothing, and they had no shoes to traverse this insanely dangerous maze. Putting his hand out, Adrian stopped Dusk from entering the crystals, then swirled them all up on a cushion of air so their feet wouldn’t be sliced. Moving forward on Adrian’s winds, they stepped up above shards jutting up from the cavern’s floor.
Navigating through the pillars as they walked upon Adrian’s flows.
As they walked in silence, Layla felt the massive space breathe all around them with etheric resonance, becoming deeply entranced as she gazed up at the crystal forest’s lost heights. Only belatedly did she realize Dusk had somehow anchored their resonances to the granite entryway so they could find their way back through the vast maze when they wanted to come back out. Layla was glad, feeling the entryway like a subtle pull all through her body now, that kept her oriented in this insane place. All around, the crystal forest towered, lost to darkness above as they walked thirty feet above the cavern’s floor.
Nothing but selenite-diamond vastness all around.
It was then that Layla felt it. Like a butterfly’s wing brushing her heart, she felt a sudden reverberation in all that deeply soothing space. With a sharp glance to Adrian and Dusk, she saw them return her surprise, having felt it also. As Dusk pinpointed where the vibration had come from, Adrian nodded, swirling his hands and taking their winds in that direction. Walking further into the silent forest of columns, they headed towards it; and at length, Layla felt that thud again – stronger now, as if someone had slapped their hand on her chest. Frowning, she turned towards it as the others did, Adrian taking them deeper into the columns. They’d lost all sight of the cavern’s walls now, and the heights were lost also. If it hadn’t been for the floor still twenty feet below, Layla might have thought they were gone.
