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The Lantern Between Her Bones
A chill wind whispered through the cavern’s yawning mouth, stirring dust motes like restless spirits in the wan lantern-light. Alina’s eyes snapped open to murky shadows, her breaths ragged and cold against cracked lips. For a moment, she lay motionless, every fiber of her being straining to recall who she was—or what had brought her here. The only answer lay in her trembling hands, which clutched a small, intricately carved lantern that pulsed with an inner glow, as if alive.
She pushed herself up on one elbow, wincing as an ache bloomed across her shoulder blade. The lantern’s warmth seeped through her palms in faint, rhythmic pulses, each throb echoing like a distant heartbeat. Alina’s skin tingled where its light grazed her flesh, and she realized with a shudder that the lantern was no mere it was somehow bound to her very bones.
Rising unsteadily, Alina surveyed the cavern around her. The walls, slick with moisture, were etched in faint arrows, spirals, and the stylized image of a figure bearing a lantern against a skeletal frame. Beneath these faded glyphs, bones lay scattered across the earthen floor—animal remains and, Alina feared, human fragments. Her pulse hammered harder.
“How...?” she whispered, fingers brushing the lantern’s metal frame. The carvings were ancient, but the glow remained steady. She tried to recall what she knew of magic—if magic had anything to do with this—but her mind was a tangle of half-formed laughter, pain, a voice calling her name in a language she almost recognized.
Footsteps echoed in the darkness beyond the lantern’s radius. Alina spun, shadows dancing across the uneven ground. She squeezed the lantern tighter; at her touch, its glow flared, casting a halo of golden light that revealed more of the chamber. The silhouettes advanced—humanoid shapes, cloaked in tattered dark robes. They moved without sound, like wraiths drawn to the lantern’s beacon.
Panic surged through her veins. Struggling for coherence, Alina pressed the lantern against her chest. The carvings pulsed brighter, as if reacting to her desperation.
She pushed herself up on one elbow, wincing as an ache bloomed across her shoulder blade. The lantern’s warmth seeped through her palms in faint, rhythmic pulses, each throb echoing like a distant heartbeat. Alina’s skin tingled where its light grazed her flesh, and she realized with a shudder that the lantern was no mere it was somehow bound to her very bones.
Rising unsteadily, Alina surveyed the cavern around her. The walls, slick with moisture, were etched in faint arrows, spirals, and the stylized image of a figure bearing a lantern against a skeletal frame. Beneath these faded glyphs, bones lay scattered across the earthen floor—animal remains and, Alina feared, human fragments. Her pulse hammered harder.
“How...?” she whispered, fingers brushing the lantern’s metal frame. The carvings were ancient, but the glow remained steady. She tried to recall what she knew of magic—if magic had anything to do with this—but her mind was a tangle of half-formed laughter, pain, a voice calling her name in a language she almost recognized.
Footsteps echoed in the darkness beyond the lantern’s radius. Alina spun, shadows dancing across the uneven ground. She squeezed the lantern tighter; at her touch, its glow flared, casting a halo of golden light that revealed more of the chamber. The silhouettes advanced—humanoid shapes, cloaked in tattered dark robes. They moved without sound, like wraiths drawn to the lantern’s beacon.
Panic surged through her veins. Struggling for coherence, Alina pressed the lantern against her chest. The carvings pulsed brighter, as if reacting to her desperation.
55 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 16, 2025
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