She pointed ahead at a scuffle in the dust of the floor that indicated the monster had followed the main passageway. However, even as they moved past the rent, he kept his eye upon it. He was convinced something was there, waiting for the right moment to strike.
“Hide the torch,” Sugar said.
Talen turned to her. “What?”
“I think I see a light,” she said. “But the torch is ruining my vision. Muffle the light.”
The hairs on the back of Talen’s neck stood up. He peered down the passageway, but saw nothing. The rent was still close. Nevertheless, he found an outcropping of rock and held the torch behind it. The angle was such that it lit the passage behind them, but cast a shadow ahead.
They stood until their vision began to adjust. What he saw surprised him. “There’s a faint bluish sheen reflecting from the rocks,” he said.
Bluish lights had been seen in the caves of the stone-wights before. Of course, very few who went to investigate the lights ever returned. And the reports of those who did seemed to conflict. Some said the lights dashed about like will-o’-the-wisps. Night maws, small lizardlike creatures, made a light if they were cut the right way. But those who had seen the blue light said the light always retreated farther into the cave as if it were leading the explorers to a trap.
But the lights had always been there. Did that mean this monster had been there all along and had only recently come out to forage for its food?
Talen wondered if the monster was like a lion that killed its prey immediately or if it were like a spider that stunned its meals to let them ripen. Or was it like a leech, draining the life out in small portions? What if this monster had a brood to feed? He imagined a number of rough children wrapping their limbs about Argoth and Legs, the Creek Widow, draining them until they were nothing more than husks.
The very thought of being eaten sent fear down his legs to the soles of his bare feet. But it didn’t matter. They needed to move more quickly. Every minute they hesitated gave whatever was up there more time to devour those it had taken.
They both stood there a moment longer. He could hear the drip of water. They could turn back and still perhaps avoid the creature. They might deliver the teeth to one of the authorities. But it would be far too late for any rescue.
“We need to pick up the pace,” he said. Yet he did not move.
“Right,” she said.
Talen mustered his courage and retrieved the torch.
“We have surprise on our side,” Sugar said.
But Talen wondered if that was indeed the case.
They stepped forward. All they needed to do was get one of the teeth into the monster. Or deliver the crude crown to someone who could use it. When it came to it, Talen knew his job would be to throw himself into harm’s way to distract the monster. Perhaps into the arms of the monster itself. He did not relish that idea.
The torch burned low. He retrieved the fourth. Even if they hurried, he doubted the two remaining torches would be enough for the trip back. But then there would be no trip back if they fell into some gaping hole in the floor.
He lit the fourth torch and dropped the burned one to the floor.
A little farther and the passage opened into a chamber that contained a large pool of black water. They followed the trail that skirted the edge of the water. At one point, he saw something glowing palely at the edge of the water up ahead. When they got close, he saw it was from many small, thin crablike insects feasting on the remains of a spiny, translucent fish.
They soon exited the chamber and passed what looked to be a number of pillars. They came upon openings to other passageways, but the tracks never varied from the path.
The bluish light grew stronger, as did the odd sulfur smell. It was so strong he could taste it on the edges of the back of his tongue. One thing he had noticed was that the light wasn’t moving away from them. In fact, he suspected that around the next turn they’d see its source. He signaled to Sugar to stop.
He whispered, “I’m going to douse the torch.” The last thing he wanted was for the monster