Guardians 2: Chapter Two

Two

It was not long before Arin, Jiya, and Coria reached a small section of the road cleared of surrounding trees, but by then it was night. To Arin’s left there was a yard filled with statues. Some were gold and silver statues of fierce dragons and giant serpents. Others were bronze statues of giants, elves, dwarves, and unicorns. Still others were knights and dark warriors of Zorran carved from stone and encrusted in gems that glittered in the moonlight.
A path of brown stone led to a gray platform that stood in front of a building almost as big as Queen Vaida’s palace in Rhya. It even had towers like a palace. The only thing that set it apart was that it was made of dark stone instead of gold and silver like the Royal Palace.
On the gray platform stood a slab of iron with a smooth surface. There were words carved into the piece of metal. Arin bent down and read it out loud.

Enter this fortress, if you dare
Surprises will await you there
And once the surprises are no more
Then you will find the one you are looking for.

“Kaenon did not tell us of this,” said Jiya irritatedly. “Apparently this Yohin Cannon person does not want to be disturbed.”
“I think there is a path that leads through this fortress,” said Arin. “There are things that stand in your way. At the end of the path is Yohin Cannon. What else could the rhyme mean?”
“You are probably right,” said Coria. “We must see get to Yohin Cannon, though. We will defeat whatever is in this fortress.”
Arin pulled open a door and walked into a dark room. In front of him a hallway stretched as far as he could see, which was not far because it was pitched black, and very little moonlight was coming in from the open door. Jiya and Coria stepped inside after him, and they closed the door behind them.
For a split second they stood in pitched darkness, then torches suddenly blazed to life and lit their way.
The three companions took two steps forward and were plunged into darkness again as the floor collapsed beneath them. Arin cried out in surprise. So did Jiya and Coria.
Arin thought it would be about ten feet deep, but he kept plunging down through blackness, the air rushing past him like a strong wind.
And then he suddenly stopped. He was being held in a net made of vines. He opened his eyes, realizing they had been closed. There was a soft flickering light dancing around the pit. Jiya and Coria lay next to him, looking around. “This Yohin Cannon person,” said Jiya angrily. “Is he mad?! Trying to kill everyone who steps foot in his fortress!”
And looked down and saw something that almost made his heart stop.
Fire.
The fire was already starting to singe the bottom vines. Soon the net would no longer be stronger enough to hold the companions and would break. Then they would fall to a fiery death.
“We have to find some way to get up,” cried Coria. Arin’s eyes were starting to water from the heat and smoke.
Jiya was cursing under his breath. “There is no way,”
“Yes…there is,” said Arin. He pointed to the opposite side of the net. There were small rocks sticking out of the smooth stone wall. Perfect hand and footholds. He started towards the way to safety.
But then the vines broke. The side of the net that was attached to the wall with the way up broke lose. So did the sides to the left and right of that, so only one side of the net was still attached to the wall. Soon the whole net burned, and Arin, Jiya, and Coria fell towards the fire.
Arin closed his eyes. This was how it would end. The Ring was still in his pocket. Only one gem was there: the sapphire. He had done so little, and now he had already failed.
Then he and his two companions slipped into a small crevice in the floor, untouched by the fire. The slid down a rocky slope and finally landed on a hard stone floor.
Torches flickered on. “That was a miracle,” cried Coria.
“I think Yohin Cannon meant all along for intruders to miss the fire,” said Arin.
“How could he have done that?” exclaimed Coria.
“We will ask him that when we get to him,” grunted Jiya. “I do not know why we risked out lives to meet a crazy old man.”
“There is no turning back now,” said Arin. The hallway we entered into is now far above us.”
“Look!” cried Coria. She pointed down the hall to a spiral staircase leading up through the ceiling. The started to climb.
“What is that noise?” asked Jiya after a few minutes of climbing up the seemingly endless stairs. Arin heard it, too. It was a clanging noise the sounded about every three seconds. The kept climbing, until they came face to face with steel spikes blocking their path. As they watched, the spikes retracted once again into the stairs. Seconds later they shot back up again.
“This much like what we faced on the danger course,” said Coria. “Except that it shoots up every few seconds instead of sensing when a person walks by.”
“Yes,” said Arin. “All we need to do is jump at the right time.” The spikes shot up a third time, then retracted. Arin jumped, but too late.
It seemed to Arin as if it were all in slow motion. He seemed to hover for a long time over the holes. Then the spikes started coming up again. He will himself to move faster.
Before he could do anything to stop it, a metal spike had ripped through his shoe and driven itself into the bottom of his foot.