The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1) by Gwyndolyn Russell (100 best novels of all time .txt) 📗

Vactubstein shined his light up onto the ceiling. There, he spied something. Clung upside down, a turkey sized creature scurried from stalactite to stalactite. Piercing yellow eyes gazed at him before it darted from the light.

A loud clack sounded from the dark, followed by a sharp call. Other calls sounded out, some much closer than they realized.

A dozen or so yellow eyes flickered in the shadows, darting around them. A brief stop let the creatures analyze them before darting to a new location. More little eyes peered out, kicking up loose pebbles and splashing through the puddles.

Fenris spat out a ball of khexide at the ceiling, its crimson lights reflecting from the icy fire. Several eyes disappeared.

The little creatures pounced onto the valkyrie’s back, digging sickle-shaped claws into its armor. A single one crept from the shadows taking a nip at Reaper’s rear. He spun around, hitting the switch on the flamethrower to launch a ball of flames. The wall lit up briefly in orange, showing the turkey sized creatures moving in for an attack.

Like birds they cawed and hopped around. They used their numbers to swarm and bring down larger prey, often jumping unto them from all sides until their combined weight pulled it to the ground.

The fire kept them from Reaper, but they changed their target. They jumped on Jackal, bringing him to the ground face first.

Reaper hit their backs with the fire, burning the metallic feathers right off. They squeaked and scurried back into the shadows.

Fenris started to exude more gas aiming to flood the cave system in khexide. Any little creatures it could snatch up went straight down the gullet whole. One of the taller creatures stopped in the middle of the path. Gave a chirp and fired an egg shaped dispersing canister. On impact with the ground among the team, the canister burst into a green smog.

Fenris swiped the creature into the wall and kept the team moving forward. Reaper pulled up the rear with the fire keeping the beasts pushed back.

They soon crossed their last extra pathway and were funneled down a steep slope before all the ground disappeared. Fenris’ wing arms gripped the ground and wall so it could perch on the wall. Bony spines pointed down from the ceiling. The ground was replaced with cold, crystal clear water. A single blue light shined down from an opening above, lighting up a shrine on a stone island out in the middle of the cavern. A pair of smaller islands plotted the path. Anything that bridged the gap between them was long gone.

Even with the use of its wingarms, Fenris could barely reach from point to point.

Come to me…

A voice called from the aether.

“Did anyone else hear that?” Jackal asked.

“Strange…” Vactubstein said, approaching the edge.

Come to me…

Fenris paced on the edge, wanting to reach across, but having the sense of something lurking below in the shadows of the pool.

Everyone had grown used to the sense of impending doom that seemed to follow their valkyrie friend. This space brought it back to life tenfold. They should not be here. What lurked beyond was incomprehensible. The walls felt to close in on them, the water rise to fill the cavern. The creatures returned to nip at their heels.

“Someone has to go across!” Reaper said. “If Fenris won’t go for it, Jackal, you go!”

“There’s a reason he won’t go!” Jackal said.

“We’ve come too far to turn back now!” A burst of flames pushed the creatures back.

“Fen,” Jackal grabbed its arm. “What’s the problem?”

It pointed down to the water.

“There’s nothing there. It’s just water.” He said even though he wasn’t entirely sure of it himself. “Fine, if you won’t do it, I’ll go for it.”

He backed up from the edge to get a running start. He leaped across the pool to the first island. He barely kept his balance on the landing. The wet surface caused him to slip down to his knee.

Fenris jumped around on the edge, watching him. It wanted to come across as well, but still lacked the courage.

“Fen, give me a hand, will ya’?” Reaper backed up closer to the edge.

The valkyrie turned, jutting a wingarm into the crowd of little eos. It blew a wall of khexide, pushing them back and keeping them away. Those who dared to come through the black smog quickly succumbed to the poisons.

Liam, come to me.

The voice called.

Jackal made his way across to the next island. The voice called for him again. Beckoning him closer. The blue light around the artifact shimmered brighter.

Take it. Come, Hero. Take it.

He jumped across once more. This time his body moved on its own. Ethereal strings tugged on his limbs, forcing him into slow, steady steps. The light seemed to concentrate on the artifact, a blackened diamond spinning slowly like a top, suspended over the conjoined rib cages of twin serpents encased in stone, forever known by their skeletons.

The statues made up the entire shrine. Their tails made up the steps and platform which Jackal stood. Their chests twisted upwards, entangling their bodies into a protective nest. Their chests pushed into one another, necks tugging backwards and up into graceful bends to bring their open mouths close over the top of the artifact ready to bite down at the unsuspecting hands that reached for it. Their bodies were not entirely bones. No, what looked to depict cybernetics littered their bodies, giving them extra structures like fins and spikes.

Come to me…

The voice called to him. There was an unnatural beauty to the crystal. Its blackened surface was lit from the inside out with hundreds of pale blue lights streaking up and down, carrying on into infinity towards the center. He got the sense that the lights were something more than simple aesthetics. He reached with both hands towards the crystal. His fingers trembled at the thought of touching its smooth surface.

His muscles suddenly pulled in the other direction. Hands pushed into the eroded stone of the shrine. Every fiber of his