As quick as the descent had begun, the animals landed. The five of them dismounted, thanking the Alicorns for their a.s.sistance. They all watched as the majestic creatures ascended back into the clouds and out of sight.

"Ready?" Sophie inquired, looking through the backpack she had brought, ensuring she had all of the gear they would require.

"We're ready," Gabe replied, grabbing hold of Rachel's hand.

"I know it's not exactly difficult climbing, but with all the ice melting and refreezing it will be slick, so I think we should all tie ourselves together with this rope I brought," Sophie suggested.

"No, I'm good." Uri laughed.

"It's not just for you idiot. We all tie ourselves together in case one of us needs help," Sophie explained.

"I think she means me," Rachel added, no anger in her voice. She was actually glad Sophie seemed to be looking out for her. She had never been sure since their wedding day where she stood with Sophie.

"No, I didn't mean just you," Sophie quickly reb.u.t.ted. "Any one of us could slip."

"It's all right," Rachel said raising a hand to indicate she really wasn't upset. "I know I'm not a Guardian and there are going to be some things I can't do as well as you all. I really do appreciate it."

Sophie bowed her head for a moment, acknowledging Rachel's appreciation.

"Over this way, I know I saw one of those winged rats land," an unfamiliar and not human voice snarled nearby.

"Go check it out," Gabe whispered, motioning to Uri.

Springing into action, he crossed the clearing and made his way over a small snow covered hillside. Gabe escorted Rachel behind a nearby cl.u.s.ter of dead brush along the trail "Hide behind here," he instructed in a low tone.

Uri returned, his footsteps light as he sprinted across the ground. Haim, Sophie and Gabe moved in close so they could hear his report. "There are at least six Wintoks on the other side of the hill and they're headed this way. Looks like they have a human guide. I heard one of them suggest sending for a tracker. They must have seen our landing."

"We can't let them do that," Sophie remarked, her voice strained as she attempted to keep the volume low.

"No s.h.i.t Sherlock," Uri scoffed.

"Jesus, no need to be rude, I was just making a point," Sophie said, defending herself.

"Really guys? Right now you have to do this?" Haim asked.

Gabe grinned, the entire interaction reminding him of his youth. Sophie and Uri had always behaved as siblings, and there was something quite comforting to see everyone falling back into their old roles.

"I say we hide, wait for them to come over the ridge, and once they reach the lowest point, we attack. Agreed?" Gabe inquired, looking around at his comrades.

The group nodded, dispersing and each member seeking out their own hiding spot. Gabe took refuge at Rachel's side.

"What's going on?" She asked in a hushed whisper.

"Mercenaries just over that ridge," Gabe explained. "If I had to guess, Baal has heard the same rumors Mirada did and they're here to try and find the weapon. Only difference is that I bet they don't have any coordinates and will have to search the entire mountain for any trace of what they're looking for."

"So we're safe, if we make it to the caves we can grab the weapon and get out of here," Rachel replied.

Gabe shook his head; he wished it were that simple. "If they see our trail, which they're about to, then they'll definitely summon a tracker. A tracker is not something we want to deal with right now.

Rachel's face flashed a look of terror and Gabe wondered if she regretted coming with them. "So what do we do?"

"We kill them," Gabe replied flatly and turned to watch the ridge, holding his breath.

He looked around for any sign of his friends. They had all disappeared from sight. As the Wintoks climbed over the hillside one after the next, Rachel gasped. Each one was more ugly than the last. Then she saw the human.

"Gabe," she said motioning in the direction of her discovery.

"I know, but he's helping them," Gabe replied.

"Maybe against his will," he strained to hear her whisper.

As the first few gathered at the bottom of the hillside they began to discuss the footprints. The rest moved in to join them. They peered in the direction where Gabe and Rachel were hiding. Rachel was sure they could see them, but they did nothing.

She pressed her hands over her mouth in an effort not to make a peep. She had seen Wintoks before, in person, but it was still an unsettling image to take in. Their lizard- man appearance made her stomach turn and as they spoke they would hiss, the sound of which made her skin crawl.

"Now!" Uri shouted, bursting forth from his hiding spot, and lunging towards one of the Wintoks with his green glowing blade.

Just like Uri, Gabe thought. "Stay here. No matter what don't come out from your hiding spot," he commanded.

She nodded, pushing herself further back into the ditch.

Gabe leapt up with a fierce cry, his word lifted above his head, taking aim at the beast closest to his vicinity. After the first few blows, his body slid into the dance of the swordplay. The Wintok he engaged was no match for his skills and quickly fell victim to his blade.

The next one Gabe engaged, however, was a far more skilled opponent, continually battering against him, for a moment he began to gain footing against Gabe. Quickly realizing he was losing the upper hand Gabe pushed back, his opponent falling to the ground.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Haim's ma.s.sive hammer come down with such great force it splattered another one of the creature's skulls, as if it had simply been an over ripe watermelon.

He heard Sophie and Uri grunting nearby, and the occasional glimpse of a spell from Sophie. Gabe took in a deep breath of air, and as he pushed it from his lungs he used it to propel himself forward, slicing a chunk of flesh from the Wintok's side.

Though injured, the creature fought back. Their weapons were catching each other high in the air, and in an instant the beast pushed himself up and they were standing, belly to belly, staring into one another's eyes. Neither of them was willing to relent.

Gabe heard Uri shouting at Sophie and then the sound of feet running. Using his foot, Gabe pushed the Wintok back; it stumbled to the ground, falling onto its back. Gabe went in for the killing strike, but when he raised the blade above his body, Uri's sword came in, relieving the creature of its head, before Gabe could react.

"What the h.e.l.l?" Gabe gasped, looking around, realizing all of the lizard-men were dead. Soon after, he saw Sophie was not with them. "Where's Sophie?"

While waiting for an answer Gabe attempted to catch his breath.

"The one she was fighting ran off, so she went after it," Uri explained.

"And you let her?" Gabe asked, not waiting and charging up the hillside.

"I told her to. Do you want that thing running off and getting a tracker on our a.s.ses?" Uri protested.

Haim bounced his hammer against his heel, attempting to free some of the brain matter lodged in the crevices. "She'll be fine, it's Sophie."

"You have no idea what's out here with us. There could be an army just down that hillside," Gabe argued. Not waiting for a response he ran down the hill, looking for any indications of which way Sophie travelled. While she left no trail, the Wintok she had wounded was leaving a hefty trail of blood. Gabe followed it. Twenty yards ahead he heard a blood curdling sound echo through the trees and a cl.u.s.ter of birds take flight.

Rushing forward, and taking off into a full sprint, he lifted his sword, prepared to avenge anything the creature may have done to his friend.

"Whoa! Watch it with that thing!" Sophie exclaimed.

"You're all right," Gabe blurted out, coming to a stop. He looked over Sophie's shoulder where he saw bits of the escaped Wintok sprayed all around.

She raised her eyebrows, surprised by his statement. "Of course I am, why wouldn't I be."

Gabe shook his head, he suddenly felt rather foolish.

"You know, you're going to have to get over these feelings you still have for me. It's rather embarra.s.sing for you," Sophie commented in the most serious of tones, waiting until she was past him to reveal the most satisfying grin she had ever had.

"What?" Gabe gulped. He wasn't sure what had just happened, but he knew he felt like an absolute idiot. "What about the human?"

"I let him go and warned him not to tell a soul what he saw here," Sophie replied, not looking back.

Gabe hesitated, "Are you sure that was wise?"

"If you want to kill him, go ahead, I'm sure he won't be hard to catch up to," Sophie's voice trailed off as the distance between them increased.

Gabe sighed as he contemplated what they should do. With a huff, he sprinted to catch up with Sophie. He hoped she was right about the human.

Rachel handed Gabe the canteen of water, then used the back of her sleeve to wipe away the sweat that had settled on her forehead. She looked behind them, trying to gauge the distance they had travelled. For the first mile, the group was heavy with talk.

Haim had started a conversation, asking what they should do if the keeper did not want to give up the weapon, which had caused Uri to quickly move into defensive mode. He instantly cited the fact that a keeper's job was to keep a weapon safe until the good guys needed it, not to keep the weapon from the good guys.

During the hike Rachel remained silent. She focused on keeping pace with the others, considering she had been the one who insisted they take her along, she was not about to allow herself to become a burden. Gabe, however, was incessant, checking on her every few minutes, asking if she was all right or if she needed a break. About a half- mile back she had finally unloaded on him, expressing she was fine and that he needed to quit worrying about her.

Since that time there had been an awkward silence that fell over the group.

"Do you think there's any chance Mirada got the coordinates wrong?" Rachel asked. It was clear to the group that they had followed the directions precisely, and after thoroughly searching the area there was no sign of a cave.

At first n.o.body answered her question. Sophie and Haim collapsed on the ground, both relieving themselves of the rope around their waist. The rest of the group soon followed suite.

"I don't know, maybe she had bad information," Sophie suggested.

Gabe took a big gulp of the water then made his own suggestion, "Perhaps she's not all that different from her sisters after all."

Uri nodded in response, but Rachel quickly chimed in to defend the woman whom she barely knew. "That's not fair. Mirada told us from the beginning that she was working off secondhand knowledge and that this could be a wild goose chase. I think you're being too hard on her."

"She has a point," Haim added, moving to stand next to Rachel, causing her stature to look even smaller. "I don't think Michael would marry someone who's that dishonest."

"You're sure giving him a lot of credit when it comes to judging a pretty face," Gabe remarked.

"Really?" Rachel snarled, leaning back against the surface of the rocks behind her.

Suddenly her face shifted from one of contempt towards her husband's comment to one of pure terror. Before Gabe could react, he watched helplessly as Rachel slipped backwards and out of sight into the mountainside, a crumbling wall now the only thing he could see.

"Rachel!" Gabe shouted, rushing forward. Before Gabe could reach her Haim, being closer to where she had fallen through, leapt into the gaping hole after her.

The group now only heard Haim's cries echoing in the darkness as they drifted further away.

"What the h.e.l.l?" Uri shouted as he and Sophie hopped to their feet, peering down the hole with Gabe, only darkness staring back at them.

"Where did they go?" Gabe cried.

Peering into the darkness, Uri commented, "It looks like some sort of old shaft.

"Get out of my way, I'm going after them!" Gabe exclaimed.

He didn't hesitate. He grabbed what remained of the sides of the cavern, and propelled himself through the hole, and down the ice-covered tube. As he rocketed through the shaft, he could see where pieces above his head had melted away, exposing solid rock, or in some place even an empty darkness.

The further he travelled, he realized the tunnel was no longer made of ice, but was now a smooth stone surface. He also noticed the temperature was rising with every foot he moved further into the core of the mountain.

"Rachel?!" he managed to shout. The only thing he could hear were the cries of Sophie and Uri who had followed behind him into the darkness.

Suddenly a soft light revealed itself at the bottom of the tunnel. Gabe saw the shaft was about to come to an abrupt end. He did his best to slow his descent. Clawing at the walls, he grasped for anything that would slow his high speeds. Nothing seemed to work. Letting out a scream as he was ejected from the tube, he landed with a thud and rolled to an abrupt and painful stop.

He found himself in some sort of vast cave, his eyes still adjusting to the dimness. Stuck to the walls were little round bits of blue light. Hundreds of them lit up the entire cavern.

"Gabe!" Rachel cried, rushing over and helping her beloved to his feet.

A second later Uri and Sophie came bursting forth from the shaft. Haim was able to soften Sophie's landing by catching her mid air, Uri on the other hand was able to stop his rapid descent against a stone wall.

"What is this place?" Gabe asked, his focus still captured by the odd lights.

Sophie approached a wall, water trickling over it. She ran her fingers over one of the small lights. Gripping it tightly, she pulled it free, much to everyone's amazement it still glowed.

"Magic?" Uri asked.

"Not exactly," Sophie replied. "They're bugs, they must have a high acidic content in them and after years of darkness and the exposure to the active volcano, they have this sort of reaction."

"They glow?" Haim asked.

Rachel stepped forward, getting a better look at the creature. "It's not that abnormal. Lots of creatures have been discovered throughout history with similar abilities. There are actually a number of aquatic life that do this, ranging from fish to squid."

"Not that this science lesson isn't fascinating," Uri chimed sarcastically, "but don't we have a weapon to find?"

Rachel pressed her hand against the wall, leaning her weight into it, taking in a deep breath. The fall had caused some pains in her stomach, and the baby weighed heavy on her mind. With her other hand she rubbed her stomach gently, contemplating what she should do next. Though she felt compelled to say something to Gabe, now didn't seem the appropriate time, considering she had not yet revealed her condition.

Suddenly, the rock Rachel was leaning against broke off into her hand, causing her to stumble.

"All right Gabe, you're going to have to keep an eye on your wife before she falls down another hole," Uri grumbled, glaring at Rachel.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean a" Rachel stopped. What could she possibly say in her defense? She was merely a human and it was becoming quite obvious, even to her, coming along on this journey was probably not her best idea.

"Honey, I know, just try and be careful, okay?" Gabe interjected, placing a hand on her back. She nodded in response.

"Remember what Mirada said, this place has been eaten away for decades by acid. It's going to be like one big death trap, so everyone, be careful," Sophie instructed, shifting the focus from Rachel's recent blunders.

"So now which way?" Haim asked the group, glancing around.