The Cave Where Hunger Waits

“I should have stopped them.”

Emma didn’t answer immediately. She looked past Gabriel, who was standing before her on the porch. A wall of dark black clouds was bearing down on them.

“How were you going to do that?” she finally said.

The forecast had promised torrential rain, hail, and even tornadoes across East Tennessee. That was according to a meteorologist. To the kind of witches, wizards, and magical creatures that feed on chaos, storms like this were nightmare fuel.

“He will find them.” Gabriel said, still watching the storm.

“They may be on their way back now.” Emma didn’t sound convinced.

Gabriel could feel the chaotic energy of the advancing storm. It was catnip to those who fed off of chaos.

“I have called. I have texted. If they were on their way back, they would have responded. No. They’re not on their way back.”

He turned and strode into the inn. He ran up the stairs two steps at a time. Now that the decision was made, there was no point in wasting time. In his closet, he grabbed his raincoat, go bag, and walking stick. He returned downstairs.

Emma stood where he had been. She was transfixed by the oncoming storm wall. It was going to be a monster.

“Be careful,” She knew without looking that he was on his way to find them.

“Don’t let any of our guests go out in this,” Gabriel said as he ran to his vehicle.

It was a forty-five-minute drive to the trailhead. Gabriel was still 10 minutes out when the storm struck. Rain hammered the windshield quicker than the wipers could remove it. The wind pushed ruthlessly at his vehicle.

The hikers’ green Jeep Wrangler sat alone in the lot. Gabriel pulled beside the Jeep, hoping to see Josh and Sarah waiting out the storm. Its only occupants were a line of rubber ducks. Gabriel considered calling the Park Rangers. Heroes, every one. But they weren’t equipped for this kind of rescue.

He stepped into the storm. The rain stung like thrown gravel. He pulled his hood tight, grabbed his gear and staff and hit the trail.

The Old Camp Trail was nearly eleven miles round-trip. It climbed three thousand feet of elevation in first five miles of the loop. In fair weather it was moderately difficult.

The first 50 feet was easy followed by a grudge match between hiker and the mountain. The path pitched upward so sharply that his boots slid back half a step with every push.

Tonight, the trail was a river. Water rushed over his boots. Eyes down, follow the trail. Left foot, right foot, look up briefly, onward step by step.

After about 30 minutes he stopped. From his jacket, he pulled out two jars, each holding a personal item from Josh and Sarah’s room. He set them on the ground and whispered an incantation. The locater spell would only last a few hours. He may need every minute of that time.

The locater spell would make the jar glow in response to who the jar was attuned. By holding it in a specific direction, the intensity would increase if they were in that direction. He held one in each hand and rotated in a full circle. Nothing.

He slipped both jars into his pockets and moved on.

Gabriel knew the Smoky Mountains were alive. A blue-hued mist surrounded the Smokies. The mist was its breath. This ancient organism was indifferent to the tourists. It hid many evils that could prey upon trespassers. One evil in particular stalked its prey when it was a dark and stormy night like this.

Lightning ripped through the night sky. The CRACK shook the ground under his boots. An old hickory tree twenty yards away split into two pieces. A glowing seam remained in the trunk like an open wound.

Water poured down the trail. The trail became an ankle-deep river. It gurgled down the mountain. He sloshed uphill through the ever-growing current. Climbing a waterpark slide built by the damned.

Ahead, there was a glow. He paused. The jars in his pocket were dark. He gripped his staff a bit tighter. Step by step he climbed through the tumbling water to the glowing figure.

Through the sheets of rain, the figure took shape. A young woman, wearing a conservative dress and apron, her glow reminded Gabriel of glow-in-the-dark paint brought to life.

Gabriel stopped mere feet from the agitated apparition. She alternated between having her hands clenched together in front of her chest to down at her side. As an apparition, she still managed to shift anxiously from one foot to another. A human behavior that wasn’t necessary for ghosts.

“Sir.” She said, wringing her hands. “I’m afeared he’s made off with ‘em.”

Gabriel’s grip on the staff relaxed. “Where has he taken them?”

“I’m afeared. I’m afeared. Help them. Help them.”

“I can’t find them by my means. I need you to show me.”

“He can do awful things to me. Save them.”

Gabriel changed tack. “Good lady. I see you are most distressed. Who did you see?”’

She stopped abruptly, blinking as if her thoughts were breaking free from unseen cobwebs. Ghosts could get caught in loops. Their whole existence seemed to revolve around loops.

“Two youngin’s. Near his place they were. Too near.”

“Can you take me to them?”

“Take you too, he will. You canna go there“. Her pitch was rising.

“Young miss. I can take care of myself.” He leaned on his staff meaningfully.

She stopped and looked at him, almost like she saw him for the first time.

“Aye… I see. But nay. Nay. I canna take ye.” She started to fade.

“Wait! Wait!” He held out his hand, motioning for her to Stop!

She looked at him. Not getting brighter but not disappearing further.

“I know the fear that grips you. I know you, Isobel MacLeod. Just as your father preys on those who cross his path, you try to save them.”

“The powerful guilt you feel has trapped you here as surely as your father’s evil has trapped him. You have cycled through this how many times, starting when you were still living? Let this be the moment you break it.”

She dimmed further. For the first time, Gabriel got the sense she was fully aware. “He can hurt me. I’ma trapped here. Let’n me warn somes off is diffent from takin’ someone with power back. You may die too.”

“Yeah. I may die. That guilt would not be at your feet. For good or ill, I do this of my own free will. You have the opportunity to relieve some of your guilt.”

This wasn’t the first time that Gabriel had spoken with Isobel. He had tried on two other occasions. Only then, hikers weren’t involved. She never remembered him.

“Follow me”. She started moving up the trail.

Gabriel followed, staff ready.

They followed the path for several hundred yards. Dense green shrubs pushed at him, and thorny undergrowth pulled at him. Isobel never seemed to be farther ahead or any closer, regardless of the progress that Gabriel made.

Finally, she stopped. Gabriel pulled up beside her, out of breath.

“This is as far as I go. Any further and he will sense me. There.” She pointed at a large stone outcropping about 50 yards away. Without another word, she disappeared.

Gabriel crept forward. He reached the rocks without incident. He reached into his pocket, pulling out one of the jars. It was glowing brightly. Whatever was shielding its ability to detect the hiker had been penetrated. The second jar was also glowing. The good news was that each of them was glowing with a green hue. Green meant they were alive.

Behind a tree, there was a small opening. One mystery solved. There was no way someone would accidentally stumble upon this in this foul storm. A glamour was cast to bring them here. Gabriel cast a ward to protect himself from spells that may deceive him. Whatever else lay ahead, he was prepared for that at least. With that reassurance, he entered the cave.

Gabriel wasn’t certain which euphemism was best, pitch black, couldn’t see your hand in front of your face or something else that meant as dark as Satan’s anus. They were all true. He wasn’t certain an owl could see in here. With one word, there was a glowing orb at the end of his staff.

He didn’t want to announce himself, but neither did he want to fall into a 50-foot pit as he fumbled around in complete darkness.

His staff gave off a dim blue glow. Crouching in a ready position, he moved through the cave. His staff was pointed in front of him. He could have made the orb brighter. He could also sing Back in Black at the top of his lungs. Neither were advisable.

A narrow tunnel slanted downward. The air was damp. He became aware of an oppressive weight bearing down on him. The weight was on his soul, not his body. Why was he doing this? It would be better to just leave. If he ran back to the top he would feel better.

Suddenly his ward pushed back. It made his descent possible. It kept him from wanting to die on the spot from utter despair. Then.Pop. The dark thoughts were gone. Gabriel paused. He took a deep breath and let it out.

A cavern below was visible.A yellow luminescence escaped the entry of the cavern. When Gabriel was close enough, he extinguished the light on his staff and relied upon the light coming from the cavern to light his way.

Gabriel stepped into the cavern with the staff extended in front of him. The cave was irregular, as caves often were. It was roughly 40 yards long at its longest point and nearly 30 yards wide. Stalactites were hanging from the ceiling, and there were stalagmites on the floor. Many of the stalactites had been destroyed. The entire cave glowed a yellowish color.

“My vile daughter led you here. You’re not the first. There have been more than a few. Some witches, a few wizards, even a few sturdy men. You are the first to reach the cave. All of the others rushed back up to the cave above and impaled themselves on a spear I left for just that purpose.”

From the opposite side of the cavern, a shape separated itself from a stalagmite. His darker shade of yellow made him stand out from the walls of the cavern. He moved behind yet another stalagmite.

“You are the first to make it here,” the voice said. “I’d rather not waste my essence on you, but the storm’s nearly at its peak. I can draw from that… and the two little batteries that found their way here. They were to sustain me for five years. I think I can spare three. Let’s test your mettle, wizard!”

The yellow glowing walls grew brighter. A bright, glowing light seemed to push in on him.

Just before it could crush him, he raised his staff and yelled “Solas!”. A bright blue light ripped through the yellow wall that moments ago was going to crush him.

A stalagmite cracked off its base and hurtled at him. Gabriel pointed the staff. “Dealan!”. A bolt of lightning struck the stalagmite, shattering it into dust.

A laugh with a maniacal edge echoed in the cavern. “No hedge wizard then? “

Gabriel needed to end this. His spells didn’t come without a cost. He suspected that his opponent had more reserves.

Gabriel trained his staff on the stalagmite the revenant was using as a shield. “Dealan!”. Lightning ripped through the cavern, striking the stalagmite. Projectiles exploded through the cave.

The revenant remained unscathed. The yellow figure of a middle-aged man floated toward him. Its hands were moving as he was intoning words Gabriel couldn’t quite make out.

Gabriel had an overwhelming urge to fall to his knees and beg this incredible being for forgiveness. Why had he ever raised a hand against him?

The ward he had cast upon himself gave him just enough will to resist the glamour. Gabriel spun the staff above his head and shouted “Dìbir!”. The yellow aura that had surrounded Gabriel tore apart like smoke in the wind. The compulsion to fall to his knees and verily worship this revenant fell away.

The revenant hissed, its face distorting.

Gabriel staggered for a moment. He looked up at the revenant. It was glowering at him with a rictus grin. This creature could go on much longer than Gabriel. The storm continued to rage outside. This creature was at his zenith in power.

Gabriel spun. “Time to roll the dice.”

He pointed his staff at the wall as he spun. “Gearr!”

The revenant screamed; cut off from the storm’s power.

It disappeared.

Gabriel figured he had about 10 minutes to find the hikers and get the hell out of this infernal place. He had cast a ward that would temporarily block the revenant’s power. In about 10 minutes, it would be back, and it would be PISSED.

He found the hikers behind two large stalagmites. When he reached them, they were beginning to move about. The shielding spell had severed the glamour that had immobilized them.

Gabriel spent the next two minutes rousing Josh and Sarah. He picked up Sarah in his arms. Josh was able to put his arm over his shoulder. Gabriel held the staff in front of him using the arm that was cradling Sarah’s back.

“Solas!”. A bright orb attached itself to the staff.

The three of them exited the revenant’s cavern. The ascent to the mouth of the cave was painfully slow. Gabriel could feel time ticking away. Step by step, they struggled to the top.

Josh was able to step out of the mouth of the cave without assistance. Gabriel shoved Sarah outside and quickly slipped out after her.

Gabriel raised his staff.“Bacadh!” A small globe to encircled them. It would protect them from glamours. He hoped to maintain it until they escaped the revenant’s influence.

Boom. Gabriel felt a helluva impact on this shield. Well.The globe worked.

It was time to put some distance between themselves and the revenant. They had the benefit of going downhill. Unfortunately, the descent was treacherous.

When they were within sight of the parking lot, Gabriel let the shield drop. The rain was letting up. The storm would soon be past. He felt fortunate to be alive. When Gabriel returned the revenant would be prepared. Gabriel had learned a few lessons too. He knew the revenant’s strengths and source of power. He would be ready for round two.