Panic clouded my brain, making it impossible to think rationally.
Run. Go back. Scream. Curl up on the ground. Cry.
It was only sheer willpower that had me placing one numb foot in front of the other. As long as the lantern burnt, as long as it cast its light over me, I was safe from Maelgwyn’s shades. This tunnel seemed just the place for them, creatures of shadow that they were. If they were here, they couldn’t cross my glowing threshold. They could come close, though. They could press against the edge of the darkness, their eyes gleaming at me, waiting for a chance to snatch me and whisk me away to God knew where. I hooked my lantern over the wrist of my injured hand, careful to avoid snagging the bandaged wound, and with the other, I slid one of my evil daggers from its scabbard, holding it out in front of me. My arm trembled like a scolded dog.
If this was the place, if the princes were in here, I doubted Maelgwyn had left them unprotected. Centuries hadn’t passed, countless hopeful humans hadn’t died because of party tricks like nicked hands and hidden gates. Worse things were in store for me. Danger lurked. It stalked me, taking its time, relishing the slow, stealthy hunt.
I couldn’t dwell on that. If I did, I’d turn back the way I’d come. I’d fail. Terrified as I was, I hadn’t come this far to quit.
The princes were close. For over two hundred years they’d slept, waiting for someone, for me, to save them. Just because they were strangers to me, it didn’t mean I didn’t care. They were people. Not human, but people all the same. They’d had lives. Family. Friends. A future, which was more than I’d have if I gave up. The time to run had gone, if it had ever existed at all. By saving them, I was saving myself. Waking them was my only hope of going home. I could give all three of us our lives back in one fell swoop.
Hope countered my fear, soothing it, giving me a reason to keep going. I let thoughts of the princes fill my head. I wanted to save them. I wanted to help. All I had to do was keep placing one foot in front of the other. When I made the return journey, I wouldn’t be alone.
By the faint light of Hyacinth’s flame, a fork in the tunnel came into view. For the first time since stepping into the cave, I halted, holding my lantern aloft. There was nothing to distinguish between the paths, no markers to guide or trick me. I gulped down my rising swell of panic. I would not get lost. I would simply choose a path and remember the way. Easy.
Yeah, right. As easy as coaxing a cat out of its carrier without being savaged.
I screwed my eyes shut. I would not be defeated by this. When I opened my eyes, it would be with a decision made. I had Hazel’s luck on my side. Claudia’s necklace, too. I’d found the gate by listening to the magic. Why shouldn’t I find my way here, too?
Still clutching my dagger, I reached out, pressing my skin against the wall of rock separating the two branches of the tunnel. The stone was cooler, having never seen the light of day, but surprisingly dry. I’d expected damp and mould, not chalky rock. My tight muscles eased slightly.
Right. I’d go right.
Opening my eyes, I forced my feet into action before doubt could creep in. Easy, I reminded myself. Nothing to worry about. Just a right turn. Just silence and darkness and imminent death. Nothing I couldn’t handle.
I lost track of time, unable to tell if minutes or hours had passed since leaving the woods. Sage had promised to wait for two nights. How was I supposed to know how many times the moon had set when I couldn’t see the sky? My phone was a weight in my pocket, taunting me with its uselessness. If only it worked, I’d have a clock and a decent torch. As it was, I couldn’t even rely on my churning stomach to tell me how many meals I’d missed. Stress had a way of killing my appetite while simultaneously drying up my mouth.
I licked my lips, thinking longingly of the water skein in my pack. I’d save it though. For all I knew, these tunnels went on for days.
In the lightless depths behind me, a pebble skittered over the ground.
After such pressing silence, the sound was unnaturally loud, and my knees buckled slightly as I spun, lifting my lantern high.
My heart hammered against my sternum, my brain screaming run with every beat. If only they’d shut up. My ears strained to catch the slightest sound.
Nothing.
Nothing but stillness. No shades. No evil fae wizards. No giant spiders. Just me and my trinkets in this dusty, long-forgotten place. Maybe I’d imagined the noise. I blew out a breath, lowering my lantern slightly.
A milk-white shape shot out of the darkness.
I glimpsed huge, pale eyes and a mouthful of sharp teeth before it collided with me, sending me sprawling over the floor with a shriek. The creature, easily as large as me, landed on top of me, shoving the air from my lungs. Putrid, rotting breath smacked my senses as an overly large mouth snapped inches above my face. In a tangle of flailing limbs, I wrestled, twisting and writhing in an attempt to throw the creature off me. The flame of my lantern, still hung around my wrist, guttered, plunging the beast into shadow edged with flickering light. Strings of thick saliva splattered my skin as teeth clacked, closer to my face with each snap. It was no worse than a dog, I lied to myself. A vicious, bad-tempered dog who hated vets. All part of the job. In the absence of a collar to twist, my bandaged hand lodged at the creature's scrawny throat, straining to hold it at bay. Ignoring the throb of my wound, I squeezed, locking my joints to hold it at arm’s length.
Long talons slashed across my stomach with a sharp flash of pain, knocking the breath from me. The thing would feast on my guts while I was still alive given half a chance. I would not die like that. I would take it with me.
I tightened my grip on my dagger. My arm strained under the weight of the monster, but I mustered all my strength and shoved it to the full length of my arm, giving myself room. The dagger plunged into its distended belly. Gloopy, slime-like blood tumbled over me in a series of wet slaps as the creature let out a rasping screech. For a moment, it went rigid, its hideous, oversized jaw straining wide, before it slumped, dangling over me.
I panted, my eyes darting over its hideous face. The monster wasted before me, as though the flesh was being sucked from its bones. Its waxy skin tightened over a large skull, its pointed ears curling in on themselves. Its overly long limbs contracted with its shrinking, wrinkling skin, leaving only a papery, bowed skeleton.
By some miracle, I was still alive and it was not.
Shoving it aside, I scrambled to my feet, panting as I pressed a hand to my slimy belly. I couldn’t tell where my attacker's gloopy, paste-like blood ended and mine began, but my innards didn’t tumble to the floor, which was always a good sign. There was no pain either, beyond a dull ache. If I died, it would be from some hideous blood-born pathogen transferred from the monster’s guts to mine. Still, that would only be a problem if I survived these tunnels.
I examined the dark blade of my dagger. First the mushroom, now a creature, both reduced to husks. Without it, I’d be dead.
Heedless of the pain in my injured hand, my bandages now covered in thick, treacle-like blood, I palmed my second dagger.
The shock of the attack eased slightly, but panic barged in to take its place. I’d been attacked. I wasn’t alone in these endless, lightless tunnels at all. I was being hunted. The monster surely had friends, but all I had were two cursed daggers and not much idea of how to use them. Forget the princes, I was going back. I couldn’t do this. I wasn’t prepared to die, not for them, not for the witches, not even for a chance to go home. I wanted to live.
My breath came in sharp, shallow pants. My legs wobbled violently beneath my weight. All I had to do was go back the way I’d come. Before I knew it, I’d be out in the sunshine and on my way back to a safe, peaceful life in Nairsgarth, with the entire coven and thick stone walls to protect me. Maybe I’d become a witch and spend my days making potions and polishing my crystals.
Averting my eyes from my silent, shrivelled companion, I took a few shaking steps back, away from the princes.
A distant shriek, identical to that my assailant had made as I buried my dagger in its belly, drifted down the tunnel. Ahead of me. There was another one, and it was blocking my way out. A second cry joined the first, and my skin prickled with icy terror. More than one. They’d heard the commotion. They were coming for me. My feet danced on the spot, torn between the stolen promise of safety, replaced with fanged, clawed horror, and the fear of the unknown. The dark.
My boots skidded as I spun, breaking into a sprint. Away from the protection of the witches. Away from freedom. I leapt over the dead monster and flew down the tunnel, as a chorus of hideous howls and screeches rose behind me.
The lantern’s flame dipped and sputtered as I ran, never lighting more than a few feet before me. I pumped my arms, the glimpses of deadly, black daggers whipping in and out of sight my only reassurance. Faster. I had to go faster. Eyes straining against the wall of darkness, I sucked down breath after breath of dry, stale air. All the while, the screams grew louder, joined by the scurrying of many feet.
They were gaining on me. Two daggers would be no match against them. When I came to another fork, I let my momentum choose my direction. There was no time to feel the lure of magic. Death, gruesome, agonising, terrifying death nipped at my flying heels. Literally. I didn’t need to look to know they were close, gaining with horrifying speed. Maybe even within my guttering puddle of light. They were no shades, and Hyacinth’s lantern wouldn’t slow them.
A sob burst through my teeth. I wasn’t going to make it.
A bend came on me suddenly, and sprinting, I had no time to turn. I thudded against the rock, bouncing off, my feet scrambling for balance. No time. No time to feel pain. My light glowed brighter.
No. It was daylight.
To my right, at the far end of a long, low spread of tunnel, a window of sky beckoned, begging me to hurry. I’d done it, I’d found my way. I was almost there.
