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Though why would an oddly shaped arch be here, in the middle of a lake, in a cavern deep underground where no structure should even exist?

Was something else going on here?

Something that explained the increasing feeling of wrongness and the need to just get out of here?

I swept the light back across the water. The ripples flowing through the middle of the structure and fanning out across the rest of the lake were increasing in depth and velocity.

A deep sense of doom hit.

I had to get out of here.Now.

I turned and retreated, fighting the urge to run, not only because any hasty movement could be dangerous but also because it might incentivize the unseen threat in the water. As I moved back up the slope, the rope connecting me to my brother fell loosely to the ground. I briefly debated gathering it up as I went, but that would mean sheathing my knives and the looming sense of danger suggested that would not be a good idea.

The motion in the water increased. Waves surged, hitting the edge of the ledge, and splashing into the air.

I swung the light across the water again.

That’s when I saw the eyes.

Huge, round eyes in a skeletal face that possessed weirdly elvish features and gills at its neck.

Fear hit, so fierce and strong I could barely breathe.

The structure was a fucking gate, and those eyes belonged to Annwfyn.

AquaticAnnwfyn.

ChapterNine

For too many seconds,I couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything more than stare at the three nightmares who bobbed lazily in the water.

Then the larger of the three surged toward me, and adrenaline flooded my limbs.

I bolted for the tunnel, my feet flying over the slippery stone and my heart a rapid drumbeat that echoed through the darkness. The intensity of the waves hitting the narrow platform increased, the dark water splashing high enough to hit my legs. I didn’t look around. I didn’t dare, lest I lose my footing.

But I could feel them.

Hearthem.

Their verbalizations were a series of clicks and whistles, reminding me a little of the sounds made by dolphins and whales.

Initially, there were only three, but as I ran further up the ramp, more joined in, quickly becoming a chorus that filled the chamber and would have drowned any attempt of mine to shout a warning to Lugh and Cynwrig.

Surely, they’d hear the noise.

Surely, they’d realize something was wrong and start retracting the rope.

My light bounced erratically across the darkness, one minute gleaming off stone, the next darkly luminous eyes filled with hunger.

These Annwfyn had not hunted—or tasted flesh—in a very long time.

I ignored the rising tide of terror and concentrated on not falling, on reaching the exit before they could grab me. Then the rope lying on the ground ahead started snaking back to the exit. Hope surged, even though a retracting rope meant nothing in the scheme of things. They couldn’t actually help me until I was inside the tunnel.

I could get there. Iwouldget there. These fishy bastards were not going to dine on my goddamn flesh. No way, no how.

The clicks and whistles behind me swelled, somehow managing to convey both anger and consternation. Then the rope still trailing behind me snapped taut, and I was yanked back, falling on my butt hard enough to send a shiver of pain up my spine. The flashlight slipped from my grip and rolled down the slope, spotlighting the webbed claws of the creature who held a loop of rope and the sinewy, gray-skinned form that climbed out of the water.

I swore and did the only thing I could—I slashed the rope from my harness, then scrambled upright and ran on.