3. Cora
Cora tumbled through the portal, her sight catching light at the end. She raised her arms and braced for the impact awaiting her on the other side. Amidst the swirling darkness of dead space behind her, Laurence's yells echoed urgently and surrounded her but at the same time were distant.
The vast expanse of the portal stretching out into nothingness, and bled into pure darkness. Avni's frozen form caught Cora's eyes, a fridged silent passenger in her own body. Cora called upon her essence, searching for an exit, and prepared herself for the return to the realm of the living.
As she passed into the portals light, Cora grabbed hold of the young icy mage, and braced herself for the transition. She fell forward, returning from the haunting feeling the portal held. Her essence settled as she gracefully landed feet first, as if she had jumped off a chair to the ground. Taking a few steps, she steadied herself, catching Avni as she too fell out of the portal, standing her upright like a frozen statue.
A smile creped across Cora's face as she looked into the eyes of the frozen girl. With a smirk she poked her tongue out. "You have a lot to learn there."
The portal began to emit a low hiss, its size started to shrink rapidly. As Cora peered into it, waiting for signs of Laurence. To her surprise, she was met with the sight of Laurence hurtling towards her like a charging ogre. He resembled a rugged lumberjack, with a thick beard framing his face and a sturdy physique befitting a seasoned soldier, rather than the wizard he was. With a resounding thud, he collided with Cora, his weight driving her into Avni, who fell over like a felled tree. The impact reverberated through the chamber, echoing like a beat of a drum as Avni's body bounced several times on the hard granite floor.
She struggled to free herself, straining against the weight of Laurence. It wasn't helped by the chill of the frozen mage beneath her. Cora wriggled and twisted, manoeuvring herself off Avni, placing her hand on her icy frame. As she applied pressure, tugging at the mage's hair, she witnessed a small crack open up and then break free. Cora slumped forward and the horrible thought of shattering Avni into pieces flashed though her mind. She couldn't bear the through of causing harm to the girl, especially not accidentally. Cora released her grip, still firmly pinned in place beneath Laurence. "Get off me!"
Laurence sat up off Cora, then turned and pulled her to her feet. "That could have gone a little better," he said, as he rubbed his head.
Cora traced the countless cuts and scrapes across Laurence's face, along with the tears and rips in his jacket, shirt and pants. "Did Yaidel rough you up?"
He laughed, "all part of the plan." He brushed himself off, then with a snap of his fingers, illuminated a flame with his essence. It flickered above his palm and cast a warm glow upon them.
"Your plan involved getting tossed around and needing a rescue?" Cora remained sceptical, as she turned to stand Avni up, inspecting her for more damage.
"Rescue? Come now, I got out of there all by myself, thankyou very much. Yadiel tossed me through the portal. It was always my plan of escape." He crossed his arms, explaining in a matter of fact.
Cora rolled her eyes, then continued to focus on the dirt across Avni's blue icy face. Little by little she continued to check her body for cracks and breaks, thankful that the only part that lay broken on the floor was the portion of hair.
"Did we damage her?" Laurence asked, walking past Cora, and holding his hand up, illuminating the passageway.
Cora followed, shaking her head. "No, she's fine. Just a little hair broke off, but no other damage. She'll be fine." She stepped forward, stopping next to Laurence and looked down the hall into the dark passage. His flame cast shadows upon the damp moss and vine-covered walls. Moonlight seeped in through several openings in the roof, created by tangled vines that separated the remnants of the roof and the crevices of the walls.
Cora looked back at Avni, then reached out, and ran her fingers along one of the vines, her essence melding with the plant. Leaves began to sprout from the tendrils, followed by thick stems. The vines grew rapidly, snaking their way down the wall and across the floor. They approached Avni, then twisted their way up her body, and across her mouth.
"Did you hear that?" Laurence asked, and he took a step further down the passage.
Cora extended another vine from the wall, a flower bud formed at it end. She snapped the vine and pulled its essence into her body. The vine stiffened and withered, leaving only the oily flower bud. She walked back to Laurence and ignited the flower using the flame he had conjured. As the flame began to burn, she looked up at him. "Heard what?"
"Something said my name." His brow furrowed.
"I didn't hear anything. It could have been the vines, or the girl." They both turned to look at Avni. "Thaw her?"
Without hesitation, Laurence extended his hand, then channelled his essence from the flame. It began to glow significantly brighter, until he pushed the flame into Avni. Like a cloud of pollen, it enveloped her, casting the woman's body in its own soft glow. Moments passed, then Avni twitched, as if awakening from a deep sleep.
Cora stood with her torch burning brightly and watched Laurence approach the woman, "are you going to behave?" She could see the fear in the girl's eyes, as she struggled to nod her head. Cora snapped her fingers and the vines fell loose, freeing Avni form their grasp.
Avni fell forward and collapsed onto the floor, her breaths slow and deep. Cora crouched beside her, "How are you feeling?"
"C..cc....ccc... Cold" she muttered.
"That's normal," Laurence chuckled. He seemed unconcerned, likely because Avni posed no immediate threat. It was clear, she lacked the strength to resist even basic manipulations of essence.
Cora supported Avni, her arm draped over Cora's shoulder as they rose, and grabbed the torch from Laurence. "So, any idea where we are and what way leads out of this place?"
Cora watched Laurence peer down the corridor, his gaze fixed on the direction where he thought he heard the voice. "I'm unsure, did you look at the title of the book the portal spell was in?" He said turning back to Cora.
She shook her head, "No, you told me what book, so I just took it."
He shrugged, "I have a feeling it might be this way."
"On what basis?" Cora inquired, watching Laurence turn and make his way several steps back down the passage.
"Just a hunch."
Avni pushed off Cora, and steadied herself against the wall. She appeared as if she would topple over, and stood ready to catch her if it happened. "I'm fine," she muttered through chattering teeth.
Cora joined Laurence, standing at his side looking off into the darkness, "Your hunches don't always pan out, remember the brothel in Stanburh? Or is that memory too distant for you?"
"My hunch isn't exactly finding the way out of here, but more answering to whatever called my name."
She knew he couldn't resist such things, especially when he felt certain about something. She stood by as he conjured another flame and preceded to advance down the passage. Cora turned to Avni, "Come, you don't want to be left in the dark in a place like this."
Avni rolled her eyes, and pushed off the wall, a little steadier on her feet now.
High-pitched feminine voices echoed through the passageways, reminiscing of those she had read of nimbats pixies and other creatures of the northern realm. Something about the nimbat from the bar the other night was different from this sound though. It had her wondering what was different from the one in the bar to the ones she believed she was hearing.
Cora jogged two quick steps to catch Laurence's side, Avni following closely behind, "you didn't answer my question."
