Part Three: The Chasm

She began to scream when she realized she was in a free fall, sliding down a rock face into nothing. Then she remembered her blade. Raina reached into her sheath and withdrew the dagger, dragging it into the rock face. Her arm scraped against the wall and she cursed as pain ripped into her shoulder.

Her chest heaving, she grabbed ahold of a jutting rock with her other hand and looked up at where the dagger had caught. Then she looked down.

Expecting to see nothing, she started to laugh. The passageway that she felt a breeze from had led her into a free fall down this godforsaken mountain. There seemed to be nothing at the end of the tunnel but the wind. The light in the tunnel was dim and soft, but it was light still.

Your curiosity is a cat.

And she was being chased by essentially…dogs. Her laugh faded into a chuckle once the excruciating pang in her shoulder shot once more. She gritted her teeth, adjusting her grip and shifting her feet against the face.

Raina slowed her breathing, gazing back down and weighing her options. Smirking, she shook her head. The only option was down. She chewed on her cheek.

Your focus is a knife.

“Well, fuck,” Raina grunted as she wiggled her dagger loose and then lodged it once again into the rock face. Dirt loosened between the slabs where the knife stuck. Adjusting her feet carefully, she dropped down rock by rock.

Raina moved slowly, the only noise coming from her grunting and occasional curse. Her braid had come loose in the fall as now there was white blonde strands sticking to the sweat on her neck and her face. Repeating her mentors words in her head, she focused only on her movements. Slow and steady. Her curiosity had almost gotten her killed.

A sound echoed through the tunnel and she paused, tilting her head. Thinking she was hearing things, Raina shook her head and reached for another rock on her left.

Then paused again.

Her breath hitched and she listened longer this time until the sound of a bird chirping as it flew past broke the silence. She gazed back down and realized the light in the passageway had grown. Raina smiled, adjusting her sore arms to the next level down.

The passage began to curve and soon she was able to crawl, she did gratefully. Her shoulder throbbed. Something had surely torn, but she continued to crawl on her elbows towards the growing light. She could see her tattered and bloodied grey tunic now and the dirt on her hands. Nate would have a field day when he saw her.

At the opening of the tunnel she was met with pink skies and soft sunlight illuminating the treeline and forest below. It was a welcome sight after a long detour. Now if she could get out of this tunnel without further injury.

Raina assessed the opening, finding a ledge she could step onto. If it was sturdy enough. Biting her lip, she grabbed onto the sides of the tunnel walls and gingerly stepped onto the ledge. It was narrow, but it held. A whistle from above caught her attention, and she slipped as she looked up to two winged figures in the sky. She heart lurched. Nathen and Samara. Thank the Saints.

Raina slowly drew her fingers to her lips and whistled back the four tone reply. They swooped toward her, changing course. Raina looked around. There was no possible place for them to land, and not enough room for her to change. The fall would only be…perhaps thirteen or fourteen stories? She snorted. Easy.

Raina patted the glass stone in her thigh pocket and took a deep breath as her friends drew closer. They couldn’t carry her with her shoulder like this…which meant…

Tucking her backside into the tunnel and crouching low, she slung herself off of the wall into the air. For the second time that day, the wind knocked out of her chest as she closed her eyes and willed herself to change.