INSIGNIAS: THE REGALIS
CHAPTER XLV: LEI

Dark vines crawled on and in the tall murky walls and floors. The walls and floor looked like puzzles pieces sawn together by the thick threads of vines and silky threads of webs, every piece a different color and texture but all seemed to have not seen the daylight for so long. Yet there was a dim light that cover the place which doesn’t extend to the ceiling of darkness. The smell of hot sand, moist concrete, and stench of cannal fill the air. There was a light shaking of the ground; a sound of fast footsteps coming from one direction; sounds of deep breathing; the loud beating of her heart.

These were the first things that Lei observed after she regained consciousness. A dull pain throbbed on the left side of her head which made her groan the moment she awaken. Her hands felt the hardness and roughness and coldness of the ground but her face felt the uncomfortable heat of the air. It took a minute before she opened her eyes. She laid there watching, feeling, and listening to her surroundings. She waited until the dull ache disappear, until she could only hear her breathing and heartbeat. Only when she weakly pushed her elbow on the ground to stand that she noticed figures laying on the ground above her head. She stilled, her eyes narrowed.

“Nate?” She got up, wincing of pain on her left leg, and rushed toward the unmoving figure. Kneeling beside him, she lightly patted his face to wake him. There was a mixture of relief and fear in her chest when she felt him breathing. Someone groaned but it wasn’t Nate.

“Kol,” she whispered, turning toward him.

“Where are we?” he muttered as he looked around. There were streaks of blood on his left upper arm.

“I don’t know.” Turning her attention to Nate, she checked his body for any wound. There was none. When he finally opened his eyes, Lei released a sigh of relief. She helped him sit up.

“You’re hurt.” She glanced at Kol. “We need to clean that.”

“I’m fine.” Kol waved his hand as if dismissing the issue.

“Where are the others?”He was now standing, leaning against the wall.

“I don’t know.” Frustration was building inside her. She hated that she could only say those words. Nate looked around; worry and fear masked his face. She knew that he was thinking about the others.

“How did we get here?” Nate croaked.

“We probably fell inside when the hill collapsed,” Kol mumbled, a deep frown on his face, as he dabbed a small handkerchief on his wounds. He tried to hide his fear, but it was there, lingering in his dark eyes.

“Inside where?”

“A maze.”

Lei felt her blood turn cold. She stared at the long hallway on her right before turning her attention to the one on her left. The hallways were so long, and dark after a couple feet that she couldn’t see where they end or if there were paths through the walls. Remembering the labyrinth in the Mortemian lair, she couldn’t help but hope that there was an easy way out.

“Do you think the others are here?” she asked, still staring at the darkness.

“I hope they were,” Nate paused, “and they weren’t.” She nodded; she understood what he meant. As she helped Nate stand, she noticed Kol tapping the wall without touching the vines.

“You haven’t heard of the mazes in S.E.?” he asked. It took her a moment to realize that S.E. is South Edgeburn.

“I think Clyne mentioned it.” Nate walked toward Kol. “But not the details.”

“And L.S.A. hardly teach about anything outside Concordians,” Lei added solemnly. Kol turned, facing them.

“They’re endless and hard to navigate.” Kol grimaced. Great. Lei released a shaky breath.

“We have to try,” Nate insisted. She nodded.

“Yes, if the others are here, we must find them.” She swallowed the rising fear in her throat when she felt the light tremor of the ground and walls.

“We should hide.” Kol hastily tapped the wall until he reached a part covered by vines that the wall was no longer visible. “Help me.”

Lei and Nate pulled the vines to one side, revealing a huge crack on the wall almost a five-feet high. Kol pushed Lei inside, followed by Nate. The space was barely enough for three persons to stand in. They squeezed inside; their shoulders brushing each other. Lei looked up and found that a red wall had collapsed, creating a small hiding place. Kol pushed the vines in place, leaving only streaks of light. Darkness had swallowed their forms.

“Creature?” Nate whispered.

“Yeah,” Kol replied. She thought about the large green serpent that was responsible for them falling inside a maze. She hoped that not all creatures in South Edgeburn are as big as the serpent but based on what she heard earlier, the sound of thousand footsteps, she wouldn’t hold on it.

“What do you know about the mazes?” Lei asked softly. The ground was still shaking lightly. Her whole body was tense, breathing tight, expecting an attack.

“They ran below the dessert. Some intersect, some not.” Kol stopped for a second.

“Each of them house a spider. A large spider.” The emphasis on ‘large’ didn’t help Lei’s fast heartbeats.

“Hunter said that these creatures are impossible to kill.” Nate leaned against her. “So we should focus on finding an exit.”

“Agree. Kol, do you know anything that could help us find it?” Lei asked. Only when she could no longer feel the tremor that she let herself breath properly. Kol didn’t answer so she turned to him.

“Let’s hide for now,” Nate suggested, noticing the silence. Lei patiently waited for Kol’s answer.

“Ciar is the one who had been.” His voice was softer. “Maybe Hunter too.”

“It’s ok,” Lei comforted him despite the weight on her shoulder, “We will find a way.” The assurance was more for herself than Kol. An idea formed in her mind.

“Can you communicate with Ciar or the others?” She noticed the shadow of Kol’s head shake. The fire in her mind wavered.

“I tried when I woke up but it’s thick.”

“Thick?”

“South Edgeburn,” Nate explained, “Its power is too strong to penetrate. I can feel metals but they’re too heavy even the small ones.”

Lei realized that she hadn’t tried using her elemental while in South Edgeburn. She only used it in the river to help Tessa against the Rosein Army. Eyeing the dark vines, she tried to communicate with their life force, to call them. She tilted her head when she felt the threads of life and heard unusual voices from the vines.

“Not alive,” she whispered after a few minutes of silence. Whatever those unusual voices were, they weren’t whispering life and growth. Lei shivered involuntarily.

“The vines?” Nate asked. He shifted near the entrance.

“Alive and not alive,” Kol pointed out. “South Edgeburn gives everything here life.” In short, kill South Edgeburn to kill everything.

“Alright. Left or right?” Nate asked.

“Is it safe?” Lei inched closer to the entrance but Kol placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. He slipped outside. After five heartbeats, Kol called them. Once outside, stared at the path to her right, watching the fog of darkness beyond.

Lei, Nate, and Kol chose the right path. They stayed near the left wall. As they walk, Lei noticed that the light follows them. She had no idea what the source is. The light was dim enough to see around them but not bright enough to illuminate everything.

She had no idea how long they walked but when they found diverging trails, her feet ached. They stopped in the middle of an intersection. One path on their right, one on left, and one going forward.

“This is impossible,” Kol muttered as he ruffled his hair.

“You’re saying that we will never find the exit,” Lei translated. Her chest and shoulders felt heavy.

“We have to try.” Nate peered in the path on their left.

“And we will, but we shouldn’t go in circles.” Kol walked toward the path on their right.

“You’re right,” Lei said. She turned to Nate.

“Maybe we should find a clue like when we’re in the labyrinth designed by Aria’s dad.”

The trio decided to turn right. Lei focused on the walls, trying to locate a pattern or sketch or picture or writing or anything that might lead them outside.

“How did these walls and tiles get here?” she asked Kol.

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“Villages in or near S.E.” His gaze was on the ground, tapping at the crevices, cracks or bulge. The floor had no vines, only the walls. Some of the colors started to fade or they had turned darker because of age.

“The sands or creatures probably pulled them here,” Kol added. Lei had no courage to ask if innocent people died.

“The walls,” Nate started, “looked cleaner and new.” Lei didn’t notice it.

“They were dark and old earlier,” Lei commented.

“Interesting,” Kol said.

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