Chapter Fourteen: The Light Within

 

Chapter Fourteen: The Light Within

Prince Caelum awoke in near-blackness, the stone floor cold beneath him and the musty air thick with the smell of mildew and ancient decay. A dim light shimmered from the end of the tunnel—faint and uncertain.

"Hello?" he called, his voice hoarse.

"Here," came a groggy reply. The fox-like creature groaned and rubbed at his head. "Where are Ariel and Boo?"

They scanned their surroundings and found themselves alone in one of the deeper sewage corridors. Ariel and Boo were gone.

"They must've been taken," Caelum said grimly. "But where..."

Thistle's ears twitched. "Do you hear that? Tapping?"

A rhythmic sound echoed through the pipes above them. Tap-tap-tap... pause. Tap-tap.

"It’s repeating," Thistle said. "Like a signal."

Caelum nodded. "Let’s follow it."

The two crept along the curved brick walls, moving as quickly as they dared. They passed rusty grates and forgotten bones, stepping over shallow pools of filth. The tunnel's echo magnified their steps, forcing them to tread carefully. At one point, they froze as a low hiss announced the approach of a shadow creature. Tendrils of black smoke curled ahead, sliding along the walls like liquid ink.

With no time to spare, they ducked behind a toppled drainage pipe, pressing themselves into the narrow space between the pipe and the mossy wall. The air dropped to an icy chill as the creature glided past, its featureless face turning slowly in their direction. Thistle held his breath, his fur bristling against the damp stone.

Only after the creature dissolved into the corridor’s gloom did they dare move again, hearts pounding with relief.

The temperature dropped every time one passed. Thistle clutched his cloak tighter, shivering. "This place is cursed."

Caelum placed a hand on his shoulder. "Keep your focus. Ariel’s close. I believe it."

After several twists and turns, the tunnel finally forked into a stairwell that spiraled upward into the castle’s lower corridors.

"The tapping is louder here," Thistle said, ears perked.

They climbed the stairs and entered a crumbling hallway lit only by faint flickers of torchlight. The tapping sound was just ahead.

And then, they heard it: the quiet rustle of movement. Boo’s cranky meow.

They exchanged a look.

"We’re close," Caelum whispered.

They ducked beneath archways and hugged the jagged edges of darkness, shadow creatures continuing to drift through the halls like echoes of despair.

And then, finally, they saw her—Ariel, curled behind the bars of a cell, her bracelet missing, but her spirit intact.

They had found her at last.

Ariel’s prison cell was still and bleak. Boo had slipped back in through the bars, fur damp from navigating the sewers again. The soft tap of paws and the quiet rustle of cloak fabric were the only sounds as Thistle and Caelum crept forward from the shadows.

“Ariel,” Thistle whispered urgently. “We’re here.”

Ariel rushed to the bars and clasped her hands around them. “You found me!”

“I was tapping,” she added quickly, holding up a small stone. “On the pipes—I didn’t know if anyone would hear it, but I had to try.”

“Well, it worked!” Thistle said, tail flicking in excitement.

“Great idea,” Prince Caelum nodded with a smile.

Boo cleared her throat from her perch beside Ariel’s leg. “I was meowing too, but that’s fine. Don’t mention that or anything.”

“Yes, that helped too,” Thistle said, smiling at her. “Very effective meowing.”

Boo rubbed against her leg, purring. “Well took you long enough.”

Caelum knelt at the lock. “Not much of a prison for Lord Umbric’s worst threat.” He glanced around and spotted a jagged piece of rusted steel lying near the wall. With a grunt, he jammed it into the lock, twisting it with careful pressure. The metal groaned, and with a final snap, the mechanism gave way.

The lock clattered to the floor.

As they freed Ariel, she hugged Boo tightly. “Where’s Orlow?”

“Close,” Thistle said. “We think he’s in the next wing.”

Sneaking through the dark passageways, they evaded creeping shadow creatures—hovering, formless things that pulsed in and out of view. Each time one passed, they ducked behind fallen tapestries or dove into empty alcoves. The temperature plummeted near the shadows, their chill cutting through to the bone.

They found Advisor Orlow chained in a small stone cell, barely conscious. As Caelum lifted him up, Orlow’s eyes fluttered open.

“You must retrieve the bracelet and the charm,” he rasped. “They are the only way to defeat Umbric.”

“Where are they?” Ariel asked.

“Throne room,” Orlow said. “But hurry—the final eclipse draws near. If it completes, there will be no light left in Starfall. And Umbric will not stop there. He has seen other worlds… yours too, Ariel.”

Caelum’s eyes hardened. “I know the way.”

They crept deeper into the castle, sneaking past dozens of shadow creatures, keeping to tight hallways and collapsed stairwells. The throne room doors loomed ahead—twisted iron, etched with a thousand cries. Inside, the air was so cold their breath came in clouds.

The throne room stretched wide and silent. A long carpet led to a massive onyx throne at the far end, where a faint blue light glowed beneath a box on a side table.

“That’s gotta be the charms!” Ariel whispered.

They tiptoed forward, hearts pounding, when a voice boomed through the chamber.

“Looking for these?”

Lord Umbric Appeared out of a shadow, Kip standing beside him.

“I will take the light from every world,” Umbric hissed. “Starlight is nearly mine. But I’ve seen other places—places brimming with warmth and love. Earth… your world, child. I will spread my shadow there too. My creatures will wander where they please, and all will kneel beneath the cold weight of despair.”

"You will not!" Ariel cried she started to run towards the charms.

Umbric snapped his fingers.

The room darkened as dozens of shadow creatures emerged. The temperature dropped like a stone. The despair became heavy, suffocating. Ariel fell to her knees.

Prince Caelum stepped back, his arms trembling. “This is how it started… how I was turned to stone. Get those items, Ariel—before it’s too late!”

Thistle staggered, looking down in horror. “It’s no use,” he whispered. His feet were already stone.

Ariel pushed forward, but her steps felt like moving through quicksand. The sorrow in the room was paralyzing. Her limbs wouldn’t obey.

Then Boo moved beside her. “We can do this,” she said, forcing herself forward.

From the throne, Kip stepped forward, his eyes wide with regret. “I’m sorry, Ariel. I’m sorry I betrayed you.”

He grabbed the box from the side table.

The moment his paws touched it, the light inside surged out like a bolt of lightning, piercing the gloom.

Everything shifted. The quicksand feeling vanished. Ariel and Boo rushed forward.

“No!” Umbric roared.

Kip turned and hurled the box toward them.

“You useless wretch!” Umbric snarled. He raised his staff and pointed.

A flash of darkness struck Kip. He turned to stone mid-throw, his expression one of peace.

But the box soared through the air.

Ariel caught it. She fastened the bracelet on her wrist, then slipped Boo’s charm onto her friend’s collar.

The room exploded with light.

Shadow creatures screeched, covering their eyes. The radiant beam from their charms bathed the chamber in white-gold fire.

“No!” Umbric bellowed, shielding his face with his staff.

Boo leapt onto Ariel’s shoulder. “Light is the hope of this world. You will not take it from us.”

“Hope, Faith, and Love are what is needed,” Ariel shouted. “Take your despair somewhere else!”

The light surged brighter, erupting outward. It swallowed the throne room, then the halls beyond. It swept across the castle, melting shadows and cracking he cold stone of despair. It touched every corner of the land, purging darkness with brilliance.

When the light finally dimmed, the castle was quiet.

The shadow creatures were gone.

Lord Umbric was gone.

His staff lay cracked on the floor.

And Kip, once stone, stood once more, blinking into the warmth.

“Hope,” he whispered.

And this time, he meant it.