The Lotus Effect (Rise Of The Ardent) by Bridget Ladd

“And if it makes you feel any better, we will not be coming back through here on our way out.”
    Though worded like the comment Scottie had made during the Coronation, ‘ If it makes you feel any better, they were stealing food. ’, this time I actually did feel relieved.
    Even in the darkness I thought I noticed Xander smirk as he regarded me, and smugly at that. Which was weird—he didn’t seem like the teasing type. Without warning, he reached across the distance between us and tousled my hair annoyingly before he took off for the door.
    Wha . . . ?   I sat up straighter and scowled, crossing my arms, and blowing the mop of hair from my face. Who does he think he is? I would’ve been terrified being left alone like this if I wasn’t so aggravated with him treating me like a . . . a child .
    An eerie realization crept up on me then. I let my arms fall to my sides, my anger deflating. Perhaps Xander was just really good at reading me. Either that or I clearly wore my feelings on my sleeve. In this short span of time, he somehow already knew that I reacted better with my feathers a little ruffled as opposed to being numb with fear.
    How odd.  
    ~
    I sat with my back against the cold brick, silent and alone while I waited for Xander’s return. Water dripped from the ceiling not too far from where I sat, the hollow echo filling the tunnel like a transmitting beacon. Trying to keep my mind focused on saving Mrs. Fawnsworth, I refused to let my imagination wander into the places we as children like to go while in dark spaces. No matter how brave I liked to appear on the surface, all my insecurities tended to come out in the dark: the consuming blackness that swarmed and devoured.
    Fear: only a fabrication of the mind. Do not give in to it, Lily.
    I was starting to run out of things with which to occupy my thoughts: Why was there a face of a man on the moon? Why did some stars twinkle and others did not? Why was I sitting here thinking about the sky when Mrs. Fawnsworth needed my help?
    The gravel crunched lightly in front of me, indicating Xander’s return. I sighed, relieved to no longer be alone. He rested his hand upon my knee.
    “I was beginning to wonder if you had—” I said, though stopped abruptly after absently feeling for his hand. It was cold and slimy. A film of algae slid over the skin as my fingers frantically tried to blindly decipher the foreign texture.
    “— Lily ? What’s wrong?”
    I heard Xander call out to me from further down the tunnel.
    And the slimy hand—which did not belong to Xander—now clutched at my wrist.
    To my credit, I was smart enough to cover my mouth before I screamed.
    I kicked out hard. My boot connected with an equally slimy and bony chest. Scrambling to get away from whoever or whatever was crouched before me, I scraped the skin of my knees on the stone, though not caring. My breath clenched in my chest and my body tensed. No matter how much I had tried to calm myself before, now I was terrified.
    Further down the tunnel, I heard a quick sliding noise of a metal mechanism. I clambered on my hands and knees in that direction, imagining all sorts of terrible things the creature behind me could do.
    Managing to get my footing, I scrambled into a blind run, dark tunnel or not and took two leaping steps before I stumbled on the edge of a stone curbing. Luckily my boots absorbed most of the damage as they supported my twisting ankles, though still, I toppled forward. Crossing my arms in front of me, I braced myself for impact, but found myself being twirled around clumsily as Xander pulled me to a stop with a firm hold from under the pit of my arm. Relief flooded into me as I felt his warm human hands and the familiar fabric of his hooded jacket.
    “Xander. What. Is. That ?” I managed to huff out through my panicked breathing. I clutched the neckline of my cloak in a terrorized grip.
    He didn’t respond, only righted me on my feet, and stood very still as he peered into