Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 231: Not Today

Chapter 231: Not Today

Maurice found himself tightly bound along with Bryn, their hands and feet securely tied together, making them look helpless before their adversaries. They lay on the cold floor, illuminated by the flickering torchlight, whilst their opposing teammates devised their plan to retrieve the coveted gem on the other side of the dungeon.

"Corresponding portal? What nonsense are you spewing?" Bryn arched an eyebrow at his adversaries, displaying his confusion, and Maurice silently shook his head, feeling helpless in regards to Bryn’s manner of speaking. For once, he hoped the vampire would learn to talk nicely to people, more calmly– but if he keeps speaking to the opposing team in this rude manner, there’s a chance that they might get thrown into the abyss below.

"No welcome greetings?" Asked one of the opposing members, and Bryn’s sarcastic scoff turned into a sneer.

"Well, hey there little shit!"

"We’re not little shit!"

"Let him be." The leader of the opposing team clicked his tongue, his beady eyes narrowing into a slit.

He was clearly a vampire, he had that aura that was similar to Bryn’s, and they had one human in their midst. The leader proudly folded his arms behind his back, his scrutinizing stare transfixed between Maurice and Bryn who were trapped in the embodiment of the glowing red rope. The corner of his lips tilted up, forming an impish smile, and his fellow teammate broke the silence.

"That human must have created the portal for them." He remarked assertively, his expression scrunched up, and hearing him speak disdainfully about a human caught both Bryn and Maurice’s attention. They exchanged glances, realizing they had both thought of the same person before looking at the leader of the opposing team.

"There’s another human?" Inquired Maurice whose eyes instinctively darted sideways, "where is he?"

"Gone." The leader of the opposing team clipped, his tone which sounded serious, was now a deep contrast to the lingering smirk on his face. "That pathetic human was sent back to Earth. He stole our gemstone, it was a single rare gem, capable of creating portals. As I said, you didn’t make it using the actual portal, you made it using the portal your member created. How odd I’d say, he walked in alone, stole our gem, and made a portal that brought you here. Isn’t that cheating? To my knowledge?"

"You wanna see cheating? Then get these ropes off me." Bryn challenged, his eyes darkening as they stared bullets into the eyes of the opposing team’s leader. From what he knew it basically wasn’t cheating. Helena had told them that whatever gems they find could be used to their advantage, and if Jack used the gem to bring them here, it was mere luck! He would have squashed the human with his bare hands, but after hearing things out from the opposing team, he would try not to kill the human for leaving them still.

"The ever impatient Bryn." The opposing leader tsked and turned away from Bryn, "I’m not here to get into an argument with you, or anyone specifically speaking. I only want the prize up there, and once I have it, this dungeon will crumble with the both of you in it. I hate to do this, but the reward for bringing that to GreenHollow is quite befitting to give your lives up for. Don’t you agree?"

"If you’re gonna kill me, do that or I’m gonna kill myself!" Bryn cut in, "hearing you speak is a torture that cannot be compared to dying. Just shut up already!"

"I swear I do not know him." Maurice immediately denied Bryn. If they end up throwing him into the Abyss then he wouldn’t be dragged along. He refused to be tainted by Bryn’s immoral way of speaking. Since the beginning of the conversation he could hardly get a word out, and when he thinks he’s found a chance, Bryn would cut in and make matters even worse for the both of them.

"Look! The human is almost there." The opposing team member drew his leader’s attention to the human they had been sent to receive the gem. Maurice and Bryn glanced in his direction, and to their surprise, the human was already halfway through the glass bridge.

"Wait, shouldn’t that–"

"AHHH!!" The panicked scream of someone, followed by the shattering sound of glass could be heard as the human dropped into the dark abyss below. The glass he had stepped on was a wrong one, and that in turn led him to his fall. The sight had startled the opposing team, obviously dazed as they hadn’t predicted the glass shattering like that.

"Flynn?" The opposing leader called out to the human, but nothing was heard. The air was thick with tension, and Maurice gulped nervously. When the opposing leader moved closer as he had not gotten a good view of the bridge yet, he realized a little late the type of bridge he had sent his minion to walk into. A slender bridge made entirely out of glass stretched out before them, spanning a perilous ravine– except nothing could be seen below as it was enshrouded in an impenetrable darkness. On the other side stood the coveted gem, emanating an ethereal glow that mesmerized all who laid eyes upon it.

"The glass panels are unstable." An opposing member voiced to his leader who eyed the bridge curiously. He realized that the glass panels were shaped in squares, like cubes of sugar pinned together. Two pieces of the glass panels were gone, and he understood briefly why some of the glass panels kept shattering.

"I think I understand what’s happening here." He snapped his finger, and when his Teammate, who was named Darius joined his side, they both began to take their first cautious step onto the fragile bridge.

Maurice’s eyes grew wider, whilst he stared apprehensively as they moved on the bridge, and from their measured footing, he guessed they knew exactly what they were doing. The human, who had been a victim of the fall, was just a bait they had used to test if the bridge was safe or not. Suddenly, the very core of the dungeon began to shake, unsettling everyone within its confines. Dust dislodged from the ceilings and walls, as if an earthquake threatened to tear the very foundation apart.

"That jerk was right," Murmured Bryn, "the dungeons falling apart. How do we get out of this thing?"

Amidst the chaos, Maurice felt a renewed surge of adrenaline course through his veins. His mind raced, searching for a solution in the midst of turmoil, whilst he persuaded his brain to work. Inadvertently, his eyes fell upon his sword that was lying at a corner, abandoned, forgotten in their haste. Summoning every ounce of strength left within his youthful lean frame, he wriggled and twisted his body, inching desperately towards his sword.

"Where are you–"

"Shhh!" He silenced Bryn before his voice alerted the opposing team. Alarmingly glancing in their direction, he was relieved to see that they had not looked in his direction, and so he continued. With a final exertion, his fingertip grazed the cold metal, fingers cautiously curling around it as hope sparked within him.

Harnessing the energy of desperation, Maurice used the sharpest edge of his blade to tear through the glowing rope. Each cut felt like a razor to his own skin, but he endured the pain, fueled solely by determination. With his hands successfully free, he quickly maneuvered his body, freeing his feet from their constraint.

"I knew your brain would come in use, untie me." Bryn turned his back to Maurice who quickly untied him. Once free, he looked at Maurice who was waiting for him to devise a plan.

"You have the dragon scale with you, am I right?"

Maurice nodded, and Bryn let out a breath before adding, "alright, this is what we’ll do, I’ll go after those two monks, and you... you better grab hold of that gemstone else I will–"

"Rip me in two, got it!"

"Moron!" Bryn murmured, but a little smile spasmed on his lips before he skittered towards the bridge. At his presence, Darius had turned around, his jaw tensed at the sight of both of them already free from the bondage of those ropes.

"How did you get out?"

"Not your business! Now come fight me you fucking Necrophiliac!"

"Now you’re getting nasty!"

"That’s what your Mom said!" Bryn smirked wickedly, and those words, including his wry smile snapped the restraint in Darius who lunged impetuously at Bryn, leaving his leader behind to continue the journey.

Ignoring the lingering tremor beneath his feet, Maurice gritted his teeth and focused on the bridge, Its glass surface delicate and foreboding. He analyzed the tension in each panel, the shifts in weight demonstrated by his opponent who moved forward, memorizing every aspect of the fragile ones.

In one swift motion, as if the earthquake had granted him a momentary reprieve, Maurice propelled himself forward. His feet, clad in worn-out shoes, danced nimbly on the trembling glasses as he silently prayed he wasn’t stepping on the wrong glass. Every step he took was calculated, every muscular twitch was a testament to his unwavering determinations.

"You can do this! It’s either this or you die in an earthquake." He emboldened himself.

"How is he–?" The leader from the opposing team watched in disbelief as Maurice swiftly weaved through the gap in his defense, narrowly escaping his desperate lunges as he did an unexpected acrobat that sent him landing ahead of the bridge in front of him– surpassing him. He was about to call Darius to deal with him, but his tongue automatically got tied when he witnessed Darius bursting through a wall as he was mercilessly shoved by Bryn.

"Get back here!" When he was on the verge of using his vampiric speed, the bridge shook under the weight of his power, sending them staggering back and forth, and just when it seemed it was at the verge of shattering beneath them, Maurice jumped.

Time seemed to slow down as gravity embraced him, pulling him momentarily towards the depths of the ravine. But Maurice defied it.

"Not today!" His hoarse voice rang out, his hand stretched forth as it ascended towards the gem, his fingers just grazing its shimmering surface. With a desperate lunges, he seized the gem firmly, his grasp unyielding. However, that didn’t save him as he eventually plummeted into the abyss along with the gem.

"Maurice!" He could hear Bryn’s voice calling out to him. Gazing at the ceiling that grew distant as the building began to collapse right before his eyes, his world was instantly enveloped in darkness.