Another roar came echoing through the tunnel at us. Then all of a sudden, a loud bang came from the tunnel, then another, and another. It was coming towards us. I was too afraid to move as the monster showed itself through the darkness of the tunnel. It was a humongous Minotaur.
It had long black horns coming out of it's head, brown fur, yellow eyes, and sharp teeth. It let out another roar, and made all of us besides Ikko fall back and drop our torches. Cienar sat up slowly and whispered to us. "Arine and Silvera. You two find a way around the monster while me and Ikko distract it. Once you have the book I will make the cavern flood enough to escape." I was afraid but me and Arine nodded. Ikko then cracked his knuckles. "This otta be fun." Cienar stood up next to him. "You said it."
The Minotaur then swung it's fist down at us. Arine quickly pulled me out of the way and the huge hand smashed the ground. The Minotaur then stepped out of the tunnel and tried to smash Cienar. He quickly moved out of the way and pulled some water out of the ground, swinging back and cutting him. The Minotaur roared again and hit Cienar, throwing him against the wall.
I called to him. "Cienar!" Then Ikko yelled, "Hey! Over here!" He was farther away and shot white lightning out of his fingers at the Minotaur. It only annoyed him and he came running for Ikko. He moved away from his charge and shot at him again.
I was so caught up in the fight until Arine tapped me on the shoulder and whispered. "The Minotaur is away from the tunnel. Let's go." I nodded and we both ran to the entrance. But midway, the Minotaur's hand slammed against the ground in front of us blocking us from the tunnel. 'Oh no!' It lifted and headed straight at Arine. "Arine lookout!" I immediately pushed him to the ground and the hand missed. Ikko then shot more lightning, distracting it again.
It moved away from us, and I got up taking Arine's hand and running to the entrance. We finally got inside but I didn't stop running. At the end of the tunnel I stumbled over where it ended and Arine caught me. I gasped. The book of souls was on a pedestal in the middle of the chamber, but had at least a fifty foot drop below it with the ground covered in lava. "Oh come'on!!"
Arine looked behind him nervously. I followed his eyes and saw that his wings were shriveling from the heat. I looked around and saw some tall rocks coming out of the lava, leading to the book. "Stay here. I'll get the book." I was about to jump when Arine grabbed me. "No! It's too dangerous! You stay, I'll get the book!" I looked to him. "No, you can't get any closer or your wings will be permanently ruined. I'll be fine! I promise!"
He hesitated and slowly let me go. "You better be." I stepped to the edge and jumped on the first rock. 'This is some serious do or die parkour right now. Why did the rocks have to be rounded?!' I stood up and saw that the second rock was higher and more far away. 'I can do this.'
I got my balance and jumped, barely grabbing the top. I could tell Arine was on edge and so was I. I took a deep breath and pulled myself up with all I had. I rested on the top. I was sweating from the heat and it made my hands slippery. I was so worried. 'Only one more rock to go.'
I stood up and lost my balance, quickly catching myself. Arine jumped almost seeing me fall. I caught my breath and focused. I jumped to the third one and made it, but the rock hit me hard on the stomach. I shook it off and stood up, jumping to the platform.
I made it and looked to the book of souls. It was a big book. It was covered in ancient writing and designs. 'How am I going to get this back? It's almost as big as my torso.' I Picked it up, but to my surprise, it wasn't as heavy as I thought it would be. But it would still be impossible to get it back to the tunnel.
But a second later, the room began to shake, and the rocks and pedestal started to sink into the lava. I gasped and Arine called for me. Then all of a sudden, the Minotaur smashed through the wall beside Arine heading toward me. I backed up and slipped off the pedestal. "Ahh!" I expected to meet a burning death but I was caught by water surrounding me and pulling me back to the entrance.
It let me go and Arine hugged me. I realized that Cienar was standing next to him and had taken the last of the water in the air to catch me. It evaporated and the Minotaur jumped back at us before I could thank him. Arine took my hand and I held the book in my other arm as we ran away from the monster. My hand slipped out of Arine's and suddenly Ikko pushed me out of the way. "Lookout!" I rolled to the side and saw the Minotaur smash the ground where I was and crush Ikko.
"No!" The hand lifted and I saw that Ikko was still alive and had blocked it's hand with his wings. I rushed over to him, helped him up, and ran away before the Minotaur striked again. We caught up to Arine and Cienar, and Cienar had broken some pillars holding the cavern up and it immediately filled with water. The Minotaur was washed away and so were we. I held my breath and closed my eyes as we were shot out of the entrance to the cavern and landed on the grass.
I opened my eyes and spit out some water. I got up and saw that the entrance was destroyed and shooting water out of it like a geyser. I sighed in relief, and looked down to see the book of souls still tightly held in my arms. I got up and looked around for everyone. Cienar was in front of me sitting up and rubbing his head, and Ikko was laying down farther away.
"Where's Arine?" I couldn't see him anywhere. "Up here!" I looked up and saw he was stuck in the tree above me. Cienar noticed and used some water to pull him out. He landed next to me. "Oof! Aw man! My wings are wet! I won't be able to fly for days!" That reminded me about Ikko.
I quickly got up and ran to him. He was laying on his stomach with his eyes closed and his wings were soaked. They were also broken. I remembered how Ikko saved me. 'Oh no...' Cienar and Arine came up to us and Cienar noticed his wings. "What happened to him?" I was trying hard not to cry. "I-It was because of me..."
Cienar kneeled next to me and raised his hand pulling all the water out of his wings. Arine's mouth dropped. "Wait, that is amazing! Can you do that to mine?!" Cienar sighed and raised his other hand to Arine and did the same. Arine smiled. "Wow! I guess you're not totally useless after all!" Cienar then used the water to slap him in the face. "Ow!!"