Before Asahi’s wide eyes, the green glob pulled away from his fingertips and was absorbed back into the ribbon. She released his hand and stepped back. He studied his fingers before looking at the wall. Up close, he could see the green line moving.
“What is it?” he asked, looking back at her.
“A luminescent bacterium that thrives in the cool, dry interior of most of the caves in these mountains,” she explained.
“Fascinating,” he murmured.
She shook her head. “You must have misunderstood. You were supposed to go in the opposite direction,” she stated, her tone disapproving.
“I didn’t misunderstand you. I chose to ignore your suggestion,” he replied.
She looked at him with an incredulous expression. He smiled. “You chose…? You are a human, correct?” she asked, waving a hand at him.
“Yes,” he replied.
She opened her mouth, her eyes glittering with indignation, then she closed it and shook her head in resignation.
“What were you going to say?” he curiously asked.
She shook her head again. “I was going to say you are a fragile species, but—” she laughed, “after dealing with the others of your kind, I know your appearance is deceiving,” she wryly replied.
Asahi met her rueful gaze with his own and smiled, his eyes crinkling with self-deprecating humor. As his focus shifted from her expression to her luminous skin, he slowly took a step toward her and lifted his hand to hover hesitantly just above her cheek.
“Do you mind?” he murmured, unable to contain his inquisitive nature now that he was close to her again. Even in the dim interior, he could see the unusual swirl of gold in her irises.
Interest faintly infused her demeanor, and she replied softly with a hint of a dare, “Go ahead.”
He gently ran his fingers down the smooth surface of her cheek. Her skin looked like marble, but it was warm to his touch. As she looked deeply into his eyes, she took a tiny, startled breath. He breathed in her exotic scent and felt the rightness of being at her side.
“Deceiving appearances, indeed,” he softly agreed.
She pulled away from him and stepped back until they were several feet apart. “There is a lot you don’t know about the Isle of the Monsters, Asahi Tanaka. If you are going to join me on my quest, you will need to learn,” she coolly stated.
“Then I am your humble student, Empress,” he replied with a slight bow.
A wry smile curved his lips when she emitted a low groan and turned away from him. “Come on—and whatever you do, don’t touch or kill anything unless I tell you to,” she snapped.
Asahi concealed his humor and followed Nali. Her muttered curse warned him that she was aware of his amusement. He adjusted the strap across his chest and decided it might be prudent to stay alert and wait for his first lesson.
The thin strand of green luminescence lit their way, and though the light was faint, it still cast shadows in the underground corridors—shadows for the alien to hide in. Frustration and worry filled Nali.
Remember how resilient humans are! she silently admonished herself. Well, in their own unique way.
She grimaced when she remembered everything that had happened since Carly first appeared. There were numerous times when she had either heard of or witnessed humans surviving dire circumstances in unexpected ways during their fight against the alien invasion. Already, Asahi had proven that he could protect himself—and her.
“You said that you had questions. What are they?” she casually demanded.
“You want to know them—now?” he asked.
“Why not?” she asked with a shrug.
He was silent for a moment before he answered. “Perhaps because we are walking through a cave where, I’m assuming from the way you are scanning the shadows, you expect the alien to jump out at any moment,” he dryly replied.
She chuckled. “True. I hope you have your magic dagger ready in case it does,” she commented.
“It talks too much,” he curtly replied.
She stopped and murmured in a distracted voice, “Yes, magical items tend to do the most unexpected things. They have a mind of their own.”
“What is it?” he inquired in a hushed voice.
“I sense something,” she replied. “Wait here.”
“Empress—Nali—” he protested in a harsh whisper.
She looked over her shoulder. “First lesson: Trust me,” she said.
Their eyes locked in the dim light. She could see his conflicting emotions. A strange, tight sensation built in her chest at his obvious concern.
“I will wait for your signal,” he finally agreed.
She gave a brief nod and turned her head back toward the passage ahead. She stepped forward with determination and continued around the bend. The narrow passage opened into an enormous cavern and revealed a long stone bridge spanning a deep ravine. Far below the bridge, the reddish-yellow glow of molten lava lit the smooth walls of the cliffs on both sides.
The heat from the lava and the rotten-egg aroma of sulfur drifted up from the molten river below. Nali studied the entrance of the goblin stronghold. It was too quiet. The moment she came into view, a horn should have sounded to alert the goblin clan of her presence. She cautiously stepped onto the bridge.
Chapter 5
The sound of water and the low rumble from the lava flow echoed through the vast hollow cavern. The bridge ahead was constructed from rough limestone slabs and thick iron plating. Two deep ruts, cut by centuries of heavy carts filled with ore as they crossed over, lay in parallel lines down the middle of the bridge.
Nali cautiously advanced toward the open gate of the goblin fortress, and carefully studied the massive walls. They had been built to withstand even powerful giants, but clearly they had not kept out this slippery alien. A movement along the wall caught her eye and she stopped.
“You won’t succeed,” she called out.
The alien in a dark liquid form roiled along the wall before it pooled near the entrance of the goblin stronghold. Nali dispassionately watched the creature contort into a humanoid shape. She flexed her fingers and whispered a spell given to her by Gem, Princess of the Elementals. In her palm, a sword appeared, enchanted with the power given to the Elementals by the Goddess herself.
“There is a power in you that is familiar,” the alien hissed.
Nali tilted her head inquisitively. She sensed... desperation. A ripple ran through the alien’s body, causing the fluid form to move in a mesmerizing wave. She smiled and raised her sword. It seemed the entity recognized the Elemental magic that had killed one of its own.
“I know why you are here. You will fail. I won’t let you take over my world,” she replied.
The alien’s form rippled again. “Your world,” it laughed, “—is not what you think. Regardless, this and all the others are pawns, put here to feed our whims,” the creature replied.
Nali shook her head. “I will not allow you to harm any more of my people,” she declared.
She slowly walked over the uneven stones as she spoke, tightening her grip on the hilt of her sword. She was ready when the alien shot out a long tentacle toward her.
She evaded and brought the sword up under the long spiral of thick liquid. The tip of the sword sliced through the tentacle, and the magic embedded in the steel turned the blade a blinding white. Unfortunately, she wasn’t close enough to destroy the entire alien, only the tentacle.