Rae van Daleon – The Roots of the Storm

by Lea von Löwenstein

Chapter 23: Hide and Seek

The corridors, once still and lifeless, now pulsed with the echoes of pursuit. Rae crouched low, her breaths shallow, her hand gripping the hilt of her blade so tightly that her knuckles ached. The faint, guttural growl still reverberated somewhere behind her, each vibration a reminder of the thing she had narrowly escaped.

She wasn’t alone anymore.

The oppressive darkness pressed against her, alive and hostile. The cultists, the beast, the pit—they all weighed heavily on her mind. Every instinct screamed at her to retreat, to escape the suffocating maze of shadows. But she couldn’t leave—not yet. Talia was still out there, and Rae wasn’t the kind to abandon anyone.

The Hunt

From her hiding spot in a jagged alcove, Rae scanned the corridor ahead. Faint torchlight flickered from an adjoining passage, casting warped shadows that danced like specters on the walls. She could hear the heavy, uneven footsteps of someone approaching—one of the cultists, most likely the leader she’d wounded.

“You think you can hide, little girl?” his voice rang out, dripping with venom. “You’re nothing but a coward. Chaos will find you. It always does.”

Rae’s jaw tightened, her grip on the blade steadying. She could feel the tension building in her muscles, her body coiling like a spring. She counted the rhythm of the man’s steps, measuring the pauses in his voice. He was close, but not close enough to find her.

Not yet.

The First Move

The cultist stopped, his ragged breaths filling the corridor. Rae could hear the scrape of his weapon against the stone floor, a deliberate attempt to unsettle her.

“You think you’ve won something tonight?” he continued, his tone mocking. “You think you’re strong? You’re nothing. Just another sacrifice waiting to bleed for the gods.”

Rae didn’t respond. She shifted her weight silently, preparing for the right moment. She could see his shadow now, stretching along the wall like a grotesque specter.

And then, she moved.

With the swiftness of a shadow, Rae darted from her hiding spot, her blade flashing in the dim light. The cultist barely had time to turn before she struck, the edge of her weapon slicing across his weapon arm. He let out a howl of pain, his weapon clattering to the floor.

Rae pressed the advantage, slamming him against the wall. “Where’s Talia?” she demanded, her voice low and dangerous.

The cultist sneered through the pain, his bloodied hand clutching at her wrist. “You’ll never save her,” he spat. “She’s already theirs.”

Rae twisted his injured arm, eliciting another pained cry. “What’s in the pit?”

He grinned, a twisted, malevolent expression. “You’ll see soon enough.”

The Beast Returns

Before Rae could press him further, the growl returned—deeper, louder, vibrating through the walls. The cultist’s grin faltered, his eyes widening in fear. “You’ve woken it,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “You’ve brought it here.”

Rae turned, her heart pounding. From the darkness behind them, the monstrous creature emerged. Its massive frame filled the corridor, its metal-and-flesh form a grotesque testament to Chaos’s corruption. Its glowing yellow eyes locked onto them, and it roared, a deafening sound that shook the very air.

The cultist shoved Rae away, stumbling toward the beast. “Spare me!” he cried, his voice breaking. “I serve Chaos! I am loyal—”

The creature lunged, its massive claw slamming into the cultist with a sickening crunch. Blood splattered across the walls as the man’s body crumpled, lifeless, beneath the beast’s weight.

Rae didn’t wait. She turned and ran, her blade clutched tightly in one hand, her flashlight in the other. The beast roared again, and she could hear its heavy footsteps pounding after her.

The Chase

The corridor stretched endlessly before her, each turn bringing new dangers. Rae’s lungs burned as she sprinted, the creature’s growls and snarls growing louder with every step. She darted into narrow passages, her small frame allowing her to slip through spaces the beast couldn’t follow.

She could hear it behind her, its claws scraping against the stone walls as it struggled to keep up. The air grew colder, the darkness thicker. Rae’s flashlight flickered, threatening to fail her at any moment.

Finally, she spotted a narrow crevice ahead—a potential hiding spot. She dove into it, pressing herself against the jagged stone. The beast thundered past, its massive form too focused on the chase to notice her absence.

Rae stayed still, her breath shallow, her body trembling. The growls faded, replaced by the distant echoes of the beast’s search. She exhaled slowly, her heart still pounding in her chest.

A Dangerous Resolve

As the silence returned, Rae allowed herself a moment to think. The cultist’s words echoed in her mind: “She’s already theirs.”

Whatever Chaos had claimed Talia, Rae knew she couldn’t face it unprepared. The pit, the beast, the twisted labyrinth of the lower levels—it was all connected. But she couldn’t turn back now. She wouldn’t.

Rae tightened her grip on her blade, her determination hardening. She would find Talia, no matter what it took. She would face the beast, the cultists, and whatever horrors awaited her in the shadows.

And she would prove that she was far more than a “weak little girl.”

Rae pushed off the wall, her movements deliberate as she stepped back into the corridor. The shadows seemed to ripple around her, but she moved forward, her eyes sharp, her will unbroken.

The game of hide and seek wasn’t over.

Not yet.