CHAPTER 107: CLOSE

Sam approaches the gate slowly and cautiously. His hands are on the Pod’s control panel, his left hand steering while his right activates the weapon interface, arming the Pod’s self-defense system. He’s not stupid.

And he knows it’s ridiculous. No haelion has ever exited a dungeon gate.

But no one knows if that’s because they can’t, or because they won’t, or because they’re simply too dumb to realize the gate exists.

And with all the anomalies popping up around the world lately... Sam isn’t taking any chances.

As he gets closer, maybe five meters away, the gate suddenly pulses and the Pod is yanked forward like a fish on a hook.

Sam has no time to react. His hands move but the gate’s suction is much faster and stronger.

The next blink, Sam is inside a dungeon.

Dark.

Silent.

Wrong.

His heart plummets. Sam is no coward, and on the outside world he’s more than capable of holding his own. But this?

He’s never been inside a dungeon.

And dark dungeons are infamous for being death traps.

His right hand trembles over the weapon controls.

The Pod auto-detects the lack of light and activates its front beams with a low hum.

The illumination sweeps across bushes and trees...

Something moves.

A shadow.

Sam reacts instantly.

He fires.

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Aldriana is ready to strike when the shadow of... something shimmers into view. It is not the shadow of a human, an animal, or anything she has ever seen. Whatever that shape is, she’s positive it is not normal. And in a dungeon, anything unfamiliar is usually dangerous.

She decides instantly. She will attack the moment it becomes solid enough to hit.

It is here.

She moves her hand to unleash her spell, but a sudden blinding light flashes in her face. Her vision whites out. She staggers backward, instincts screaming. Something is coming straight for her. She sidesteps sharply to the right, relying purely on instinct.

She flicks her wrist and sends a blue fireball toward the... thing, still blind.

She hears it hit. She smirks.

Then a sound follows that freezes her blood.

"Argh!"

A human voice.

She cuts the fire immediately, heart lurching, and blinks hard, trying to force her sight to return.

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For the first time in his life, Sam understands what it means to fear for your life. He watches the shadow dodge the Pod’s attack with inhuman speed.

Before he can process it, a blue fireball launches straight at him. The Pod automatically activates its Aegis, deflecting the fireball, but the flame clings and burns through the shield in a blink.

Sam feels a blast of heat hit him. The Pod reacts faster than he does, ejecting him from the cockpit.

"Argh!" Sam crashes onto the ground and rolls. He looks up just in time to see the Pod burning like a torch.

Then the fire stops abruptly, as if a massive wave has smothered it.

Sam scrambles up, pulls out a heartstone gun, and points it at the shadow. The half-destroyed Pod’s flickering light gives him just enough illumination to make out a human shape.

A human...? But that blue fireball... no human can do that.

He keeps the gun raised. The figure is blinking rapidly, still half-blind.

He hesitates. He wants answers, but he isn’t stupid enough to lower his guard.

Finally he shouts, "Who are you? Why did you attack me?"

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Aldriana recognizes that voice. It is familiar. She lifts both hands with her palms facing the sound. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to attack you. It was a mistake."

"I’m... Aldriana. I’m sure you’ve heard of me."

Sam’s eyes widen. Of course he has. Everyone in Concordia knows her name.

His gun stays aimed at her.

"I’m Samuel. I’m..."

"Sam? Arthur’s assistant?"

Sam freezes. "You... you know me?"

Aldriana steps out of the painful light as her vision returns. She squints and finally sees his face clearly.

"We’ve never met, but I know Arthur. Why are you here?"

Sam tightens his jaw. His gun stays raised. "Master Arthur is here with you?" He ignores her question entirely.

Aldriana feels her irritation rising. Why is he interrogating me instead of answering? And the gun... seriously?

She flicks her wrist. The gun rips out of Sam’s hand and lands neatly in hers. She stares at him, openly annoyed.

Sam jerks back, startled, a mix of fear and fascination crossing his face.

"Have you heard of me?" Aldriana asks.

"Yes. Master Liam said you cleared the Beachwalk dungeon."

"Good. Then do you really think you can shoot me?"

"I was being careful. In case you’re not who you say you are. Nowadays, one can never be too careful." His voice slowly steadies as he regains his usual composure.

Aldriana has no comeback for that. Because he is not wrong.

She exhales. "Now answer my question. Why are you here?"

"I’m looking for the three Montrose children. Their parents are extremely worried. They’ve been missing since yesterday. Mr and Mrs Montrose did not sleep the whole night." Sam sees the flash of guilt on Aldriana’s face. "Are they here?"

Aldriana closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Yes, they are here."

Sam’s body relaxes instantly. "Please take me to them."

Aldriana studies him. His aura is weak, his resonance should be almost non-existent. He is not suited for magic. And this dungeon is dangerous enough already. She has just solved the problem of Maeve possibly slowing them down. She is not about to add another person who will split their focus and become a liability.

"This dungeon is dangerous. Too dangerous for you," Aldriana begins, trying to reason with him.

Sam cuts her cleanly. "I know. And I’m sorry, but I don’t know enough to trust you yet. I need to see Master Arthur, Master Julian, and Miss Thea with my own eyes. Only then I’ll leave."

Aldriana blinks. A cold shiver crawls down her back.

"Thea is not here. She should be at home."

But inside, Aldriana feels a spike of panic. She left the estate too fast. She never created an illusion of Thea sleeping in bed. She only locked the bedroom door. If Sam goes back and they decide to check on her room, she is screwed.

"Eh? But Mr Maurice said he saw all three of them leave." Sam frowns. Maurice Montrose is not the kind of man who gets confused. If he said he saw something, then he really saw something.

Or he thought he did.

Sam looks at Aldriana more closely. Her height. Her build. The way her clothes hide everything. The resemblance hits him for a second and he bites the inside of his cheek.

No way. That would be insane.

He keeps the thought to himself.

Aldriana does the same. She offers no explanation.