“Stop.”
We stopped in our tracks, about halfway through.
“Look at the wall on your left.”
Huh? As I examined the grimy wall, at first I saw nothing but…wall. But as I examined it more closely I noticed a slight ridge, which led me to discover that it was actually a hidden door.
“Open it.”
We did, and it led us through to another tunnel, the ground and ceiling filled with stalagmites and stalactites. The note kept leading us onward through the gloom, through another door, until we reached a stone staircase leading downward.
Where is this woman taking us?
At the bottom of the staircase was another entrance, only this was locked with a bolt. I instinctively moved to open it, as I’d done the previous two, but then River grasped my arm and held me back. She pointed at the note:
“Don’t open it yet, impatient child!”
Annoyed, I waited for the note to change.
“Ask Aisha for a sword.”
Aisha handed me one of her blades.
“Now, enter with Aisha and slay all that you see.”
“What?” River and I gasped at once.
Slay what inside? I look at the door with alarm.
“Are we really doing this?” River whispered, looking more nervous than I’d seen her.
“You stay here,” I told her.
Clutching my sword, with Aisha close behind me, I slowly unbolted the stone entrance and ground it open to reveal… a dark chamber. Maybe even a dungeon. An apparently empty one. Pools of liquid scattered the ground, and a revolting smell hit me. Like… corpse juice mixed with mold. Yet there were no bodies on the floor.
Aisha and I dared move further inside.
“There’s nothing to slay here,” I whispered. “It’s just an empty cave.”
“Oh no, it’s not!” Aisha gasped suddenly. She pointed up at the ceiling.
The jagged ceiling was lined with… bodies? Bare, stark-white bodies, clinging to the ceiling. They were utterly emaciated, their skin disgustingly thin.
Holy…
Aisha finished my thought for me.
“What the hell are they?” I hissed.
“I know what these are,” she breathed. “They are Bloodless!”
“Bloodless?”
Before she could explain, the bodies began to peel off the ceiling and drop down to the floor. There were so many of them, I could barely even keep them all in my sight as they began lunging toward us.
A yelp came from behind me. River.
One of the “Bloodless” had circled Aisha and me and darted for the open door.