Glowly's Arc

Chapter 9 of 16

Glowly cleared the last of the dirt from the top step. Below her, the stair dropped into black water. A dead leaf floated on it, then spun. It spun faster. She looked back toward the shore and understood. The tide was coming in. Nova crouched beside her at the stair's edge. "That water's moving," she said. "It's climbing." Glowly watched the pool at the bottom swallow another step. Six years she had read about this place. Every account ended the same way—people went down and stayed down. Now the sea itself wanted to seal the door. "If we wait, the flats flood the entrance," she said. "Then we lose it until the tide drops. Maybe a day. Maybe more." Nova stood and wiped her chalky hands on her patched tights. She peered at the runes on the wet stone. "Or the whole stair drowns and doesn't come back." She said it plainly, not scared, the way an acrobat reads a rope before a jump. "We go now or we don't go." Glowly's chest tightened. She thought of her sister, better prepared than anyone, walking down steps like these and never climbing back. She thought of her father, who reached this shore and vanished. The smart choice was to retreat and try tomorrow. But tomorrow the water might win for good. "Now," she said. She grabbed the spear and the curved blade. The wolf pup pressed to her leg, whining at the dark. The dragon dug its small claws into her shoulder. Glowly set one boot on the second step. Cold water climbed over her ankle at once. "Stay close," she told Nova. "One line, one knot. Like with the cat." Nova nodded and drew her short blade. "Behind you." Glowly went down. Each step took her deeper. Water rose to her knees, then her waist. The pup swam beside her, paddling hard, ears flat. Behind them, the sea poured over the top step and filled the space where they had knelt. The entrance shrank to a bright slot, then a line, then gone. They were under now. No light but the runes on Glowly's blade. She raised it. The blue glow spread across a low stone tunnel that ran deeper into the earth. Carved walls. Old air. Nova caught her arm. "Glowly. Look back." Glowly turned. Water filled the whole stair behind them, up to the roof. There was no climbing out that way. The tide had shut the door. "We can't go back," Nova said quietly. "No." Glowly gripped the spear tighter. Her father had walked this same drowned throat. So had her sister. Neither had returned. "We only go forward now." She lifted the glowing blade and stepped into the tunnel. The dragon's warmth pressed against her neck. The pup shook the water from its coat and followed. Ahead, the carved passage sloped down toward the ruin, and toward whatever had kept everyone who entered it.