Chapter 46 – The Aqueduct's Maw
The dunes grew quieter as they neared the aqueduct.
The wind had died, and the sand no longer hissed against their boots. Only the low crunch of movement broke the stillness.
They had marched half a day south, the heat biting harder with every mile. The ground had turned from soft dunes to cracked stone — ribs of an ancient ruin jutting from the sand like bones.
Kael pointed ahead. "There. The towers."
Two stone obelisks rose from the earth, crooked and half-buried. Faded carvings ran along their sides, old enough that even the desert had forgotten their meaning. Between them, a yawning stairway led down into shadow.
Rendal stopped, scanning the horizon one last time. "We're close. Everyone, rest here."
The Pride sank to the ground without complaint.
Mara rolled her shoulders and set her shield aside, Kael uncorked a water flask, and Tamara closed her eyes, pulling the cool air around her like a second skin.
Rendal reached into his satchel, pulling out a vial of amber liquid. He popped the cork and drank deeply. The smell of iron and citrus filled the air.
Blake arched an eyebrow. "Stamina draught?"
Rendal nodded. "We'll need it. Whatever's inside that ruin… it's old. It feels wrong."
Tamara frowned. "You feel it too?"
"Like something's breathing down there," Rendal said quietly.
No one argued.
For a while, they simply sat — eyes closed, breathing slow. The faint hum of spiritual energy filled the air as each of them began to cultivate, drawing essence from the heat and sand around them.
The world narrowed to heartbeats, then steadied.
When they rose again, the exhaustion had dulled to a manageable edge.
"Form up," Rendal said. "We move in pairs. Watch for traps."
They descended the stairs.
The Descent
The air grew cooler the deeper they went.
The stairs wound down farther than they expected — a spiral cut straight into the earth. Runes lined the walls, dim and cracked, still pulsing faint gold through the dust.
Their footsteps echoed off stone.
Every sound came back twice, as if the ruin itself was whispering back.
Blake's voice was low. "Feels like a tomb."
Tamara glanced at him. "Maybe it is."
The tunnel widened into a massive corridor. Water had once flowed here — the stone walls were slick, channels carved along the floor to guide it.
Now, only trickles remained, black with age.
Lysa ran her hand along one of the walls. "This isn't just an aqueduct. It's part of something bigger."
Rendal nodded grimly. "Then we treat it like a dungeon. Stay sharp."
They moved forward, deeper into the dark. The path twisted and sloped down again until the light of the entrance was a distant pinprick.
Every sense screamed that something was watching them.
The air was too still.
Too quiet.
Kael raised a fist. The group froze.
Ahead, the corridor opened into a vast chamber — easily the size of a city square.
Columns rose from floor to ceiling, each carved with spiraling patterns. Faint torches flickered along the far walls.
And below, spread out across the stone floor like an army waiting for war… were hundreds of people.
Not people.
Sand Pirates.
Hundreds of them — armor mismatched, blades sharp, faces hidden beneath scarves. Their cores burned faintly in the dim light, dozens upon dozens of weak red auras pulsing like diseased hearts.
Blake's breath caught. "How the hell—"
Rendal's hand came up instantly. "We're leaving. Now."
They turned.
And that was when the voice came.
"Well, well… look what the desert dragged in."
The sound crawled across the walls, deep and amused, carrying a weight that made the air itself tremble.
A figure stepped out from the shadows of the nearest pillar — tall, lean, wrapped in layered black cloth. His skin was bronze, his hair silver-white, his eyes two pits of red light.
A faint mist of dark essence bled off his body, curling around him like smoke.
"Boys!" he called out, voice echoing through the chamber. "Looks like we have company!"
Laughter erupted from below. The pirates turned as one, weapons lifting, cheers rising.
Koro smiled — a grin too wide, too sharp. "Don't be shy, friends. The more the merrier."
Rendal's sword was already half-raised. "Run!"
He never finished the motion.
Koro lifted a single finger. The air cracked.
A spear of black light shot forward, hitting Rendal square in the forehead.
There was no sound — just a red mist. His head was gone before his body hit the ground.
Silence held for a single heartbeat. Then the screaming started.
Mara lunged forward with a cry that tore her throat raw, shield rising in fury. Kael shouted her name.
But Koro only laughed — a low, delighted sound.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me that was your leader?"
Tamara's heart pounded so loud it drowned the noise. Frost erupted around her without thought, instinct wrapping her in white mist. Blake grabbed her arm, pulling her back.
"Tamara—no! We can't win this!"
The pirates were closing in, dozens rushing up the steps, eyes glowing red in the dark.
Koro raised his voice, sharp and mocking. "Well, what are the rest of you going to do? Surrender quietly… or make this fun?"
Mara turned, face twisted in rage. "You—"
Dark energy surged. A black tendril of essence struck her like lightning, sending her crashing into the wall. The sound of bone snapping echoed through the chamber.
Koro waved lazily, and more pirates surged forward.
Kael loosed three arrows in rapid succession, dropping two before the third reached him. He barely ducked the incoming blast that burned through the wall behind him.
Blake's daggers flashed, deflecting a blade that came too close. Tamara unleashed another surge of frost, freezing the ground and half a dozen pirates solid. The ice shattered as quickly as it formed under the pressure of dark energy.
"Enough," Koro said, voice cold with boredom.
The world went black for a second — as though every flame had been snuffed out at once. When light returned, Koro was standing behind Kael.
The archer froze.
Koro leaned close, whispering something none of them could hear. Then he stepped back, smiling. "I don't like the way you're looking at me."
His hand moved in a blur.
The sound was sharp — snap, like a whip.
Kael's head hit the ground and rolled to a stop at Mara's feet.
She screamed. Sera fell to her knees. Lysa sobbed openly, her light flickering weakly around trembling hands.
Tamara stood still, every muscle locked, her breath shaking but her eyes cold.
Koro turned to face her, his grin spreading. "Ah. And what's this? Frost in the desert? How interesting."
His gaze swept across the survivors — Mara, Lysa, Sera, Tamara, Blake. "Take them."
Pirates swarmed them in seconds, rough hands grabbing arms, ripping weapons away. Tamara struggled once, her frost flaring before a blow to the stomach forced the air from her lungs. Blake shouted, kicked, fought, but they overwhelmed him too.
Koro's laughter followed them as they were dragged deeper into the aqueduct. "Look what I have here!" he called out, voice booming through the cavern. "Fresh meat! It's not every day the offerings walk right into our hands!"
The pirates roared in approval, banging blades against the stone.
Down a long corridor they went, lit by burning torches that hissed with black smoke. The air stank of oil and rot.
Finally, they were thrown into a lower chamber — cages carved into the rock, chains already waiting.
Tamara hit the ground hard. Blake landed beside her, blood running down his temple. Mara was still unconscious. Lysa clutched her hand, eyes wide with fear.
Koro stopped at the doorway, his red eyes gleaming. "Don't worry," he said lightly. "You'll all have your turn soon enough."
He turned away, cloak swirling like smoke. The heavy door slammed shut behind him.
The torches flickered weakly, throwing long shadows across the stone floor.
No one spoke for a long time.
Then Blake exhaled shakily, pressing a hand against the cut on his cheek. "We're dead, aren't we?"
Tamara didn't answer. She just looked up, through the bars, toward the faint sliver of night that wasn't there anymore.
For the first time in days, the air felt cold — not from her aura, but from the weight of what waited in the dark.