Cináed is the first to step through the archway, followed by Darren. I'm next, the hesitant and awestruck girl who feels like she's being forced to believe in something... well, something unbelievable.

The trees I saw from the other side are actually just the beginning of this new scene. The lines of bark and moss stretch out beyond my view. Their branches block out most of the ceiling, but I catch a glimpse of something twinkling through the leaves.

Almost like a starry sky. Under the ground.

I turn to watch bull-head and goblin step through the archway. But on this side there's no stone wall to support the passageway. Trees simply continue behind us, surrounding the archway like it's a portal that suddenly appeared in the middle of a forest.

I'm about to shame myself for even thinking of the word 'portal' outside the context of a Sci-Fi movie, when some of the glowing orbs from before start to hover by my face.

They hum a steady note that vibrates the air around them. A deep purple light moves close enough that I can see the source of the glow in the middle. A minuscule body, so slender that my fingers would seem chubby next to it, is fluttering on a pair of sheer wings. The creature is also tinted indigo, the same color as the surrounding light pulsing outward like a heartbeat.

And its tiny face, overwhelmed by large, black eyes, is staring right at me.

"She is pretty."

"A perfect token; a perfect gift."

Voices that sound like the tinkling of small bells chime around my head, coming from the tiny creatures inside the orbs. I look past them to find Darren or Cináed, but they're standing close by, watching me as I'm swarmed by the lights.

"Surely more than a token." The indigo creature says, bobbing in front of my face. "Do you not see her glow?"

I wave my hand like I'm warding off a swarm of bugs and step through the orbs. All eyes are on me - even bull-head and goblin are staring - but I'm forced to keep moving past them before the lights decide to follow.

Cináed is the first to move after me as I stomp through the underbrush. "Roisín, wait." He says. I hear surprise in his voice, but there's no way I'm stopping to talk about the floating orbs right now. All I want is to put some distance between us and the archway before I change my mind and run back through it.

If I wasn't indebted to Cináed, I never would have stepped through in the first place.

For some reason holding tighter to the straps of my backpack while I walk helps to keep my growing panic at bay. I'll have to face my new reality eventually, but if I'm supposed to live here until my debts are paid, there are some things I'll just have to be in denial about.

Like the fact that a floating light just told me I have a glow.

Darren and Cináed are walking on either side of me now, and bull-head and goblin trial behind. I catch a glimpse of Cináed staring at me like he's trying to dissect me with his eyes. I hop over a boulder and throw the only response I have at him.

"Let's just get this over with."

<<—————>>

After walking for what seems like hours through soft undergrowth shrouded in swirling mist, Cináed calls for us to stop. I lean against the dampened trunk of the nearest tree and catch my breath. Darren sits beside me on a boulder and lets his backpack fall off his shoulders onto the ground. His skin glistens with sweat, and the hair bridging his forehead is heavy with humidity.

As the other three members of the group talk amongst themselves, I nudge Darren's arm.

"Hey, you alright?"

It's a stupid question considering we're wandering around an underground forest to our new home for who knows how long, but I want to say something to break the tension between us.

Darren glances at me. The hints of blues and greens in his eyes, that used to be hardly noticeable in the more dominant browns, are now more vibrant than ever. It's as if the forest is reflected inside them.

"I think something's wrong with you." He says finally. "You look really different."

My brow scrunches up. "Well you're one to talk. Your eyes are practically glowing."

I then see the first glimpse of a smile from him since leaving the ship. "If you think my eyes are glowing, go find a mirror 'cause your whole body is glowing."

Glowing.

That word keeps getting repeated. Darren used it to describe Cináed that first night. I used it to describe Darren's eyes. The lights used it to describe me.

A memory dances past my consciousness for only an instant. Instead of an image, it appears in a spoken phrase.

"When you are ready, the glow will find you."

I close my eyes, forcing my mind to attach a face to that melodic voice. But I'm only met with the disappointing dullness on the backs of my eyelids.

"Come, we are nearly there." Cináed says. "But we must hasten. Those who dwell in these woods are not kind to travelers."

I help Darren get his pack on again and he takes my hand as we hurry after our leader. Besides the occasional glowing orb to light the way, we seem to be the only creatures in the forest.

The moment I think that thought, a chill runs over my back and the hairs on my neck raise up.

I clear my suddenly swollen throat. "Cináed." I say, not wanting to speak too loudly. "Cináed, I think there's something following—"

My words are stopped with the sound of hooves racing over the forest floor. A sharp whinny slices the air, and Cináed turns back with a look of pure terror on his face.

"Run." He says.

There's no need to say it twice. All five of us bolt forward, no longer bothering to move quietly as we tear through the branches blocking our path. Darren's hold on my hand tightens as we race together, neither of us daring to look back.

The sound of hooves colliding with earth is getting louder. I can almost hear the snorted breathing of the beast, and see its terrible eyes searching for me. When it whinnies again, I hear my name entangled in its call.

My arm is wrenched backward as Darren falls, still managing to hold my hand when he hits the ground. I spin around, crying to Cináed for help, and tug Darren up by his pack. His face is deathly pale and covered in dirt, and his eyes scan the trees for the beast that could burst into view at any moment.

Cináed is beside us, taking my hand as bull-head swings Darren onto its back. We start running again when the sound of hooves abruptly stops, and I glance back into the darkness.

That's when I see it. A horse the color of the darkest night. And it's leaping through the air straight for us.

I scream as its front hooves touch the ground between us and bull-head. Before the horse's back hooves can trample us, Cináed hugs me to him and we roll out from under it.

"Bins! Now!" Cináed yells, and I see the green goblin run and jump onto the horse's back as it chases after bull-head.

I'm about to start sprinting after the horse - thinking I'll pull its inky tail out before letting it have my brother - when the goblin wraps its arms around the horse's neck and swings forward so that both creatures are face to face.

"EAT ME PÚKA!" The goblin shrieks.

I gasp as the horse opens its mouth and chomps into the goblin's head. It's still devouring the goblin when it veers to the left and disappears, it's hooves thundering into the distance.

My hand is still covering my mouth in horror when Cináed takes my hand again and we run after bull-head and Darren. Our strained breathing and heavy footfalls are the only sounds to distract me from the goblin's final screams.

When my legs feel like rubber and I start to wonder if the night will ever end, I see a break in the trees ahead. Bull-head jogs through the gap and we follow, slowing to a walk now that the tree line has faded into a shallow valley surrounded by grassy knolls. A brightness is leaking out from the foothills, and at this point I won't even be surprised if a yellow sun pops out and lifts into the air like we're not still standing below ground. 

Of course orbiting planets and atmospheres can exist here no problem. Because that makes sense.

Darren look down at me from bull-head's back. Despite the night we've been through, his hollowed face is regaining some color and he gives me a weary smile.

"Which one is your house, Cináed?" He says.

I look to see the cottages scattered throughout the valley. Cináed points to the nearest one resting on the side of a hill.

"There it be, lads." He says, squeezing my hand. "Come, let us end this journey."

We walk down the hill, the grass brushing up against my sides, and I see a girl running toward us as we near the small cottage. Cináed drops my hand and runs to meet her, swooping her into his arms with a playful shout.

Bull-head lowers Darren to the ground while I catch up to them, taking it slow because seeing Cináed like this is weirder than I thought it would be. My chest is tight as I come to stand beside Darren. The little girl in Cináed's arms looks like she's about 4 or 5 years old. Her russet hair falls in loose waves to her hips, and a smile is pressed into her rosy, apple cheeks.

"Mino!" She calls to bull-head, holding her arms out toward it.

It laughs and takes the girl from Cináed, embracing her small body into its hairy chest. "Did you miss me, dear one?" Bull-head says, its deep voice softened with affection.

The girl then peeks over at Darren and I, her green eyes alight with curiosity. "Who are they?" She says.

"These are our new guests." Cináed is smiling fondly at her. "Roisín and Darren, meet my daughter Fiona."

<<----------------------->>

New names:

Púka - Poo-kah

Fiona - Fee-O-nah

Review names: 

Cináed - Kin-AY

Roisín - Row-sheen

<<----------------------->>

I'll be the first to admit... Púka's are freaking scary. And they also eat other creatures so that's a downer. 

Now that we've met Cináed's daughter, what do you think of Fiona? We'll see a lot more of her in the next chapter, so that's something to look forward to.

Comment your favorite (or least favorite) parts of the chapter, and don't forget to vote!