Lucas descended the wooden staircase, closely following the heavy infantry ahead. The clatter of their steel boots against the stone echoed down the tunnel, a sharp contrast to the silence of the rear guard. Lucas and the other low-ranking soldiers moved in leather armor, weapons drawn and knuckles white.

  “I have a bad feeling, we should have waited for the Unbowed,” Karl muttered, eyeing the bow in Lucas’s grip and the mace hanging at his waist.

  “Shut up, will you?” Otto hissed through gritted teeth, his eyes darting to the shadows on the walls. “We are all on edge without you constantly inviting misfortune.”

  “The Unbowed had already left the southern outpost when we managed to contact the camp. They might pass here in a day or in a month; we can’t be sure,” one of the heavy infantrymen responded without looking back.

  The soldiers already knew that. The Commander had made it clear that waiting meant abandoning the child to death. And while he was reluctant to risk his soldiers, he had silenced any dissent by taking the vanguard himself, putting his own body between the dark and his men.

  “Now, focus. Even a moment’s distraction may cost all our lives!” said the heavy infantryman, voice rough.

  The words of a man with authority silenced everyone. Lucas had already been studying every shadow in his sight, but now he forced his eyes open wider, refusing to blink.

  The dark tunnel beneath the abandoned house was much larger than any of them had anticipated. The landing where the stairs ended opened into a cavernous hall, wide enough to fit dozens of people.

  The walls were dark and smooth, reflecting the torchlight. The air was so cold and biting that in just moments Lucas’s nose began to ache and his fingertips went numb against the wood of his bow.

  The silence stretched, increasing the tension until Karl spoke.

  “It smells…” he muttered, sniffing the air like a hound tracking a scent. “It smells too good.”

  Lucas frowned, puzzled. He inhaled deeply, but all he could smell was the heavy scent of burning fat and tar coming from the torch flickering a step away from his face.

  “Soldiers, move slowly!” the commander hissed from the front, softening his footsteps as much as he could to reduce the noise his steel boots made.

  Lucas craned his neck, peering past the commander until he saw a faint, pulsing cyan light spilling from where the tunnel took a sharp turn ahead. His hand lightened around the bow, realising what that light most likely represented.

  The company moved forward in unison, maintaining perfect distance from each other to allow for swinging weapons. The floor of the tunnel was terrifyingly clean; the lack of bones, loose stones, or debris made their task easier, but the silence of their footsteps felt unnatural, as if the tunnel itself was holding its breath.

  They reached the end of the tunnel and took a sharp turn toward the source of the cyan light. A vast cavern opened up before them. It was a circular hall, its walls made of slick obsidian and carved with symbols that seemed to pulse under the cold illumination of dozens of cyan crystals embedded in the ceiling.

  “Look!” Karl yelped, his voice cracking as he pointed a shaking finger at the figure in the center of the chamber.

  It was a nightmare wrapped in tattered black rags, wisps of white smoke rising from its entire form like steam from a dying fire. Its body was bent forward, the spine curved at an angle that defied human anatomy.

  “Quiet!” Otto hissed, closing the distance in an instant and clamping his palm heavily over Karl’s mouth. “Don’t make a sound. It hasn’t noticed us.”

  Few had even noticed Otto’s struggle. Most of the soldiers, including the heavy infantry, were frozen in place, eyes locked on the entity that was clearly not a human.

  As Lucas’s eyes landed on the figure, he felt an itch in his chest. A sensation that was neither pain nor pleasure, but something in between. It brought with it a surge of urgency and anxiety. His every instinct screamed at him to flee and save his life.

  But then he saw her.

  A blonde girl, wearing a half-torn gray shirt and pants, lay on a stone platform at the edge of the center. Her limbs were free, yet she lay unnaturally still, as if pinned by invisible chains.

  It must be Hannah, Lucas realized.

  He wanted to rush forward, to grab the child and run, but his legs refused to move. Getting closer risked drawing the attention of the creature that was currently either asleep or arrogant enough to ignore an armed company of soldiers.

  He forced his eyes away from the girl, frantically scanning the rest of the chamber for something - anything that could help. That was when he saw that the creature stood on a platform of its own. The obsidian beneath its feet pulsed faintly, a rhythmic beat of light that traveled through tis entire body.

  Is this some kind of ritual? Lucas thought, his grip tightening on his bow. Is it… feeding? Or perhaps in a weakened state?

  He glanced at the Commander, who stood rigid, his right fist raised high - the order for the company to halt.

  What now? Lucas asked himself. He understood the Commander’s hesitation, but he also knew his own heart. To turn around and leave, which was exactly what his instincts screamed for him to do, would destroy his very soul. Leaving a little girl to a frozen, sacrificial death…

  I can’t do it, Lucas decided, at the same time cursing his own stupidity. If I leave now, I’ll regret it my whole life. If I die, well, at least I’ll figure out if this is all a dream or not.

  Lucas thought he had guessed the decision the Commander would make. This was the man who had shown compassion when speaking with Frieda, the man who had refused to abandon a child and led his soldiers into this frozen hell.

  He gave himself a mocking smile as his gaze hardened, resolving to follow the Commander’s lead - to loose all ten arrows in his quiver and then swing his mace until his arms gave out.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “We are leaving,” the Commander whispered, turning around slowly, his eyes avoiding the gaze of his men. “This creature is beyond us. Its magic alone…”

  The sudden, sharp sound of metal striking metal froze everyone.

  Heads snapped toward Karl, who was still pinned by Otto, but the big man looked just as confused as the rest of them.

  “Lucas,” Otto hissed, his eyes wide with panic. “Deactivate that damned crystal.”

  The Commander lunged forward. He knew full well Lucas had no idea how to use the crystal that allowed him to communicate with people. But before his gauntleted hand could even touch the cold, pale surface of the stone, the air itself trembled.

  “WHY… HAVE… YOU… COME…”

  A whispering voice passed through Lucas’s mind, echoing inside his skull rather than his ears. He instinctively touched his chest, thinking it was an effect of the communication crystal, but the look of pure shock and fear on his allies’ faces told him otherwise. They heard it too.

  “I… ONLY… EAT… WHAT… I… MUST…” the creature hissed, though its physical body remained unmoving. The air in the cavern grew heavy, turning into a crushing weight that made taking a breath a struggle. “LEAVE… OR… DIE…”

  “You heard it!” Karl shouted, his voice cracking. “It’s letting us go… quickly!”

  He shoved Otto aside, ignoring his comrade as he stumbled and hit the stone floor hard. Karl didn’t look back; he ran toward the exit, desperation driving his legs.

  “You bas…” Otto cursed, but the words froze in his throat.

  “HUMANS…” The hiss returned, lower this time, carrying a deep disgust. “UNDESERVING… OF… LIFE…”

  Karl stopped mid-run.

  A layer of ice erupted from the ground, crawling up his boots and seizing his ankles in frozen shackles. His eyes widened in confusion for a split second before horror overwhelmed him.

  He dropped his sword and shield, the metal clattering uselessly on the stone. He bent down and began tearing at the ice with his bare hands. The frost was merciless; his fingers turned white instantly, then red as the skin broke against the sharp edges.

  “Aaagh!” he screamed, tears falling onto his freezing palms, mixing with the blood that flowed down to his trapped feet.

  “It will not let us go.” The Commander’s voice cut through the panic, pulling everyone’s attention away from the gruesome sight. Everyone's, but Karl. In just a few moments, his body was consumed up to the waist by the encroaching ice.

  Even if he is a bastard… Lucas clicked his tongue and charged toward Karl.

  He didn't make it far. A hand grabbed him on the waist, stopping his momentum dead, while another arm curled tightly around his neck.

  “Use your head,” Otto sneered into his ear. “How exactly are you going to save him?”

  Lucas glared at him from the corner of his eye as ice reached Karl’s neck.

  “We wouldn’t know until we tried,” Lucas muttered, though he stopped struggling against Otto’s grip. “If we let each other die without even trying to help…”

  “Soldier.” The Commander’s rough voice cut him off. “On the battlefield, you do what your Commander says. Your mistakes, your regrets, everything falls on your Commander. I, Hans Berch, take full responsibility for what has happened today. For where we are. I let pity cloud my judgment, and for that, you will all pay with your lives. I am sorry.”

  He turned toward the creature that had yet to make a move and slowly unsheathed his longsword.

  “If you choose to try running, I shall not curse you,” he said, his voice far too calm for a man about to charge at certain death. “But if you choose to follow me, I shall mention your names to His Highness Charles myself and ask him to take care of your families!”

  The soldiers roared. All except Lucas and Otto.

  What? Lucas was puzzled. How is he planning to speak with the Prince if we are all about to die?

  His eyes darted toward Karl. The man had been turned into solid ice in less than a minute, despair forever etched onto his blue, frozen face.

  “Lucas,” Otto said dryly, breaking Lucas’s trance. “I curse the day you came to the camp! If not for you, I’d not have been sent here!”

  Otto drew two daggers that Lucas hadn’t seen before and sprinted toward the company.

  “Commander,” he yelled, “you better keep your word and take good care of my parents or I swear I’ll return and haunt you!”

  The creature finally moved. It straightened, revealing a stature barely taller than an average man. Now that it stood in the center of the illuminated cavern, its true nature became clear. Beneath the tattered cloak, there was no flesh - only swirling cyan energy. It had no eyes, no mouth, no ears.

  It has no physical form? Lucas was shocked, but he didn’t give in to the confusion. He loosed an arrow directly at its chest, aiming for the spot where he noticed a concentrated blue glow pulsing beneath the rags.

  The arrow hissed through the air, uninterrupted by any obstacle, but it flew harmlessly past the target.

  Lucas drew another arrow as the Commander charged.

  “With me!” the Commander ordered, quickly closing the distance and driving his blade straight at the creature. He was trying to pierce the very same spot Lucas had aimed at.

  But while the creature hadn’t bothered to block Lucas’s attack, it reacted instantly to the steel. An ice wall erupted from the ground between the monster and the Commander, forcing the man to a halt.

  But the Commander wasn’t alone.

  The heavy infantrymen had years of experience working together; they understood each other without words. They knew they had just one chance at defeating the monster, if that.

  They surrounded the creature from all sides, using the precious seconds the monster wasted blocking the Commander’s advance. Then they all charged together, followed closely by the soldiers, with Otto staying behind them.

  Despite the incoming storm of steel, the creature didn’t move from its spot. It simply gestured, launching icicle after icicle, slaughtering men mid-stride. Blood and grime painted the floor, men’s cries filled the air. Yet, one soldier finally managed to breach the defense.

  With an icicle already buried in his shoulder, the soldier drove his pickaxe at the monster, throwing his entire body weight behind the thrust to amplify the power.

  “Die, you bastard!” he yelled, a twisted but excited smile appearing on his face.

  The blade passed right through the creature, meeting no resistance at all, as if striking smoke. The metal of the pickaxe froze instantly, the white frost racing up the handle and consuming the soldier’s arms before the man could even realize what was happening.

  “What the hell are you?” the Commander shouted, finally reaching the monster. He spun, angling his sword diagonally to slash the rags and expose its whole body, trying to find a weak spot he could target.

  But the blade failed to complete the arc. The creature raised a hand, stopping the steel in mid-air.

  “YOU… ARE… WEAK…” it hissed.

  With a sudden jerk, it ripped the sword from his grip and threw it away, the steel hitting the floor with a clank.

  Lucas charged, realizing arrows were useless against the monster and he had no chance to escape. He ran with his mace raised high, intending to use his own momentum to drive the heavy iron through the energy form.

  As he approached the altar, his feet froze to the ground, rooting him in place. He watched helplessly as the monster extended its hand toward the Commander, who stood still, as if stunned by the loss of his weapon.

  “Commander, wake up!” Lucas shouted, straining against the ice.

  But the man didn’t react.

  The creature's hand reached for the man’s neck, but stopped inches away as though an invisible wall blocked it. It pressed harder, and a thin layer of transparent barrier appeared, shimmering as a ripple went over its surface.

  “I’m sorry, soldier,” the Commander said finally, voice heavy.

  And then, he vanished in a burst of light.

  With this chapter, the plan of releasing 20,000+ words on a launch day is complete.

  The next chapter tomorrow, on Friday