INSIGNIAS: THE REGALIS -
CHAPTER XXXIV: LEI
Lei felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise when she could no longer see any light except those coming from their flashlights and the blanket of thin light coming from the moon behind the thick clouds and thick leaves of the trees. She only released the breath she was holding when she saw lines of light ahead of them. She could hear the rustling of leaves when the wind blows, drowning any other background noises even her heartbeats.
“Shouldn’t they turn off their lights except for one?” Nate asked on her left.
“Yeah,” Skhy answered. His left shoulder lightly brushed her right. “They should. Or we’ll attract attention.”
“Should we do it now?” Lei asked. She placed her thumb on the button of her flashlight. Skhy’s light swept the ground beneath their feet.
“Yes.” Lei and Nate turned their lights off. Skhy shifted to the centre of the group. As if the others saw what they did, the lights ahead of them disappeared.
“Do you think the knights put some kind of barrier around the manor or the little town to monitor movements?” Or for protection. Lei wondered if the knights were alerted by them leaving the manor. She was scared of facing their mentors but she was terrified of the Rosein Army’s presence right under their noses. A huge part of her was also curious about the glowing globe, unlike the Tionem sphere.
“Especially after your escapade before,” she added, sounding more amused than nervous.
“If they did, they would follow us.” Nate sounded distracted. She glanced up at him but she couldn’t see his face properly.
“I just hope the punishment won’t be…severe.” Now she was nervous again. When the three neared the large rocks, a lone beam of light appeared directed toward the ground. It was coming from behind a boulder. She heard her friends’ voices before she could see them.
“I didn’t see nor hear anyone.” Hunter voice came to her. “If someone’s watching, I couldn’t sense them.”
“Let’s move quickly but quietly,” Tessa said. Lei squinted; she saw her friend sitting on a rock.
“Everyone’s here?” Skhy asked when he, Lei, and Nate came to a stop. The thin blanket of moonlight illuminated the surroundings.
“Yes,” Hunter answered after a pause. He and Tessa left the manor and entered the forest first. Hunter wanted to scout their path. Clyne and Aria followed after ten minutes; Lei, Skhy, and Nate were last.
The Seven didn’t waste time. They moved quietly toward their destination with Skhy and Hunter leading them through the dark dense forest.
“Here,” Lei heard Nate whisper beside her. She had no idea how long they had walked. She looked around and found nothing but trees, but she noticed a tall and wide shadow ahead of them. When Skhy and Hunter stopped behind a tree a few feet before the cave, everyone followed. The tree’s shadow covered them as she blinked to clear the fog near her eyes and stared at the large shadow.
The opening of the cave was narrow. The outer surface looked like granite; its inner walls cream coloured and smooth. Blocks of rocks decorated the sides of the entrance. She glanced behind her when she heard movements; Hunter, Clyne, Aria, and Nate were missing. Tessa pointed above and then twirl a finger so Lei returned to watching the entrance. When the rest of the Seven returned, they decided to split again.
Lei watched with anxious eyes and drumming heart as Skhy and Nate quietly entered the cave. They returned near the entrance to signal the others. Lei, Tessa, and Aria followed. She was about to touch the white wall of the cave but she stopped, afraid that she might trigger a trap.
“It’s quiet,” Clyne whispered when they gathered. Their flashlight barely illuminate their surrounding as if the darkness was thicker and heavier inside the cave. Lei could feel it weighing on her shoulder.
“There might be a trap.” Aria was on Lei’s left. We’re not prepared. There were many what-ifs in her mind. She tried to shake them off as they traversed a slope. What if they were waiting for us? But why didn’t they attack us before? Maybe they were scared of the knights. Great, the knights aren’t with us. And we’re not trained enough.
Her last thought made her both anxious and exasperated. They badly needed their elementals.
“Or the knights vanished them and this is empty,” Skhy said. Someone snorted.
“They don’t look like it,” Hunter commented.
“What do you mean?” Tessa asked.
“The knights looked exhausted and anxious.” It was Nate who answered.
“Were you talking about Navi and Cora?” Lei asked.
“And Neus.” She couldn’t see Nate’s expression but he sounded uncertain and hesitant. About what? She wasn’t able to ask her question because when they neared three tunnels, they heard movements behind them. It sounded like loud running footsteps. Then the howls came, drowning whatever question or thought she had earlier. Shiver spread from her neck.
“Come-” Skhy’s voice was cut short by another loud howl. Someone grabbed her right hand, another her left hand, and quickly pulled her into a tunnel. She heard her friends’ voices around her.
“Wait-”
“No-”
“Where are-”
“Wrong-”
The two persons holding her hands abruptly stopped but it was only for a second because the running footsteps were gaining on them. She let herself be pulled and ran in the darkness. When a beam of light appeared, she glanced at her companions. Relief removed some of the fear in her chest when Skhy’s bright blue eyes glanced down at her.
“I thought they were following us.” Nate’s voice came to her as a surprise. She thought he was standing farthest to her, beside Clyne.
“Why they did go inside the other tunnels?” he asked between breaths, anxious. They were still running even though Lei couldn’t hear footsteps or howls anymore. “Hunter and Clyne knew that way.” They slowed down near the exit of the tunnel. Skhy pushed her lightly behind him.
“They probably panicked,” Skhy replied. “Or Hunter figured the enemies knew where we’re going.”
“A trap…” Lei whispered while she was catching her breath. Upon Skhy’s signal, they carefully exited the tunnel and entered a cavern. She couldn’t see how high the ceiling was or how wide the cavern was but it was warm and moist inside. They swept their lights around them but there was nothing but the dry ground. She saw two concave openings on the farthest wall and they made their way to the left one. When the ground suddenly trembled, she caught her breath. Nate shouted something. Skhy grabbed her hand and ran with her, following Nate. But Skhy suddenly stopped.
“What happened?” Lei asked. Skhy’s light was directed at the ground separating the two of them from Nate. There was a wide crack. Lei, with her flashlight, looked for another way, but her heart dropped when she saw that the crack extended from the tunnel to the wall between the two openings. They had to jump.
“Lei! Skhy!” Nate shouted. He was already inside, just near the entrance. Then the ground trembled again, and the crack widened. Skhy and Lei jumped back. When the footsteps and the howls penetrated the air, Lei looked up at Skhy with wide eyes. He gripped her hand and ran toward the right opening.
“Go, Nate!” he shouted. Nate said something but the two of them already plunged into the darkness. The ground was slippery so they had to slow down. They didn’t stop running until silence stretched around them except for their loud breathing and heartbeats. The path was endless with a lot of right and left turns. When Skhy stopped, Lei couldn’t help herself from leaning on the damp wall because of her trembling legs. Her body slid until she sat on the ground. Her hand was still between Skhy’s fingers.
“The others…” Lei whispered.
“It’s my fault.” She startled.
“It’s not,” she replied, “We all decided to go, even though we knew the dangers.” He sat beside her and turned off his light.
“But everyone’s depending on me.” It was the first time Lei heard him sounding so helpless. She wanted to wrap her arms around his wide shoulders.
“Yes, but we also depend on each other.” Her voice was also shaky but she believed her words to be true. “We will find everyone.”
“Everyone put their trust in me,” he whispered, troubled. Her mind couldn’t help but remember what Skhy told her before in the academy. He asked to talk to me after the Seven met and talked to Eloise, Ice, and Levvy for the first time. Lei thought it was something to do with the Seven but he talked about her family. He was careful not to overly share about Carol but she urged him to tell her. She was thankful that he respects her feelings but she also wanted to know him more.
He recalled his dream about Carol. Even in my dreams, he said, she trusts me. Skhy surprised her by talking about his heartbreak. She thought it was something to do with Carol’s death but it wasn’t. Carol was in love with someone else; she loved Skhy as a younger brother. Ice, with dirty blonde hair and deep black eyes, great humour, and bright personality, however, loved another. Despite their brief encounter, Lei noticed the way Ice’s eyes shined when he looked at that person. It was as complicated as it gets. But she understood because she was in the same situation. When Skhy answered her question while he, she, and Tessa were in the North fortress, the happiness only lasted for a few seconds. Skhy was no longer in love with her sister Carol but she knew he had his eyes on another that wasn’t Lei.
“We do. We trust you,” she whispered. “But we also don’t want you to carry everything. We are all Regalis.”
Lei lightly patted his shoulder. She decided long ago that she would stay beside him as his friend for a lifetime. Can I really do that?
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