3Malchus smiled over at Delano, who sat busily applying bandages to his wounds. The young man was shaken. He was the only one who needed to soak up the liquid. The others had died long ago; they needed only to blow the dust of dried blood from the openings. Openings now covered with ribbons of dingy white.
"I wouldn't have thought you could fight and win against something like Light," Delano said finally.
Malchus laughed coarsely. It was a harsh, grating sound that soon dissolved into discordant coughs, though the smile never left his wry face.
"We did not battle the light," said Admon, over the sound. "We battled an emrys. A monstrosity. They are flesh, as we are, but they have been changed. Their natures perverted, their structures freakish, different from how they should be. And they have been filled with light. Filled to overflowing."
"That's why we can't even be around each other," Solange explained.
The old man continued. "Emrii are usually not so foolish as to fight us alone. Almost always, the outnumbered party loses, as it did today."
"How many emrii are there?" asked Delano.
"Millions," said Malchus. He grinned at the fear that inadvertently leapt to Delano's eyes. "But somewhere down here, there are probably millions more of us."
"How do we know?" Delano asked glumly.
"Remember your birth, Delano." Admon looked at him compellingly. "From your first moment, you hated the light. It is your nature. An emrys is one who goes against one's nature."
"That's impossible," Delano countered, raising his hands in confusion.
"That," replied Admon, "is why they are monstrosities. Therefore, logically, there are even more who do not become emrii. Many more! The only real question is whether those enemies of Light still live."
Malchus shook his head. To say he did so despairingly would be overestimating the amount of energy he could spare on emotion.
Solange craned her neck at him and quietly sighed. "Anyway, we were about to take you to the mine when the emrys came…"
"He probably would not have known we were there, had someone not slipped and cried." Admon sent Malchus a chastising look, though not a harsh one.
Nevertheless, Malchus reacted defensively. "Like it's my fault! And I wasn't cry-"
"Anyway," Solange said again, "we expect the mine to eventually lead us into another cavern. Maybe a cavern filled with people like us. They may know something we don't. Some way to defeat the light. Or the path to a world of our own."
It sounded wonderful. At least for a moment, Delano dared to have a little hope. "When do we start?" he inquired.
"After we rest," said Admon. His imposing form was bent now, wearied by the fight, and the more he stooped the older he seemed. It was difficult to remember how belittling he had been an hour before. "We have a place for you- over there- Delano."
Delano followed the elderly finger to one of the many round metal doors that opened to their aqueduct. They had portcullis wheels, like giant safes. Admon walked to one of them, opened it, and disappeared inside.
"Sleep sounds like a good idea," said Malchus, who yawned, stretched, and started toward his own door.
Delano and Solange watched him enter. Delano did not yet have the will to move, and he was unsure why Solange stayed frozen as they listened to Malchus' door grind shut. Of all of them, excluding the worn Admon, she must have expended the most energy fighting the emrys. Finally, she stepped toward another of the doors and softly eased it open. Her large eyes went back to Delano. "We'll want to be rested for tomorrow," she said. Yet she did not step in.
He stared at her enigmatic face. At first it appeared dead and blank, soulless, only a mask waiting for someone to wear her. Upon further study, however, he found little signs of life, a mistrust in the way she stared, almost a fear, but more of a jadedness. Delano held that gaze, not realizing what a sad and bitter look he sent to her, but she never shrank back; nor did she draw closer.
"Goodnight," he said finally. His voice came out in a whisper.
She raised one ballerina foot, stepping backward. Without ever answering him, she stepped into her quarters and eased the door closed.