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“We have to go now,” you agree, nodding at the beautiful logic of her words, “There's a promise that we have to fulfil.”
“What?” Ariel yelps, grabbing your arm, “Isambard, please-”
Gently, you take her hand and push it away from your arm. Then, gesturing for Juno to lead the way, you crouch low and crawl into the dark opening. The scent of soil assaults you, but you ignore it. For what awaits you below, a few bad smells and a bit of discomfort are a small price to pay. Roots and loose rocks tug at your clothing, and Juno's boots occasionally catch your blind, groping hands, but you persist nonetheless.
Eventually, the passage widens up enough that you can first raise your head, then stand completely. The tunnel has opened up into an impossible cavern, a great yawning hollow beneath the surface. Leaning against a row of rocky spikes, you peer down into the pool of water below you. Though you can't see the source, a pale blue light glows from the water with the occasional passing shadow to darken it.
Smiling softly, Juno takes your hand and leads you down to the pool below. Your world contracts until the surface of the water is all you know. Like Lake Hali back at the Pale estate, the water seems bottomless – an abyss that reaches out forever. A ripple spreads out across the surface of the water, and then SHE emerges.
Long silver hair, heavy with water, first, and then a pair of piercing silver eyes. Delicate features and soft curves are revealed as the woman slowly emerges from the pool. You haven't seen that face for ten years, yet it's so immediately familiar that it strikes a dagger through your heart. She reaches out a hand, gently brushing her fingers against your cheek. Her touch is cold and somehow rough, but you cherish it nonetheless.
“You...” Juno murmurs, and just for a moment you see a strange double image – a mess of gold curls clashing with the straight silver hair. Then the fake image is gone, and HER face returns. HER lips part to form the words to a terrible promise, and she leans closer, closer still, until.
The gunshot is violently loud in the narrow confines of the cavern, knocking the woman back into the pool with a crash of water. A cry escapes your lips as you reach for her, but then you freeze. The impossibility of this whole situation finally cuts through the haze – how could Gratia be HERE?
“Isambard, look out!” a tense shouts, the words echoing down to you. Looking up and around, you see Ariel braced against the high rocks by the tunnel entrance, her rifle raised to her shoulder. “Look out!” she repeats, gesturing frantically for you to move. A stench of wet decay washes over you as you turn back, just in time to see the woman once more.
Only this time, she's not a woman.
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