Page 138

Paige wrinkled her nose as she sprinted toward him. “Reinforcements? More pixies?”

“Yeah, his clan.”

Paige’s feet slapped against the stone as she ran. Something smacked the back of her head.

She waved a hand in the air before she used it to shield her head. “Ouch!”

“Faster,” Dewey shouted.

“Ow,” Paige cried as something pinched her wrist, then another small but sharp pain shot through her thumb.

“Hurry, they’re biting you.”

“Oh no. They’re poisonous, right?”

“Yeah, though not very, unless there’s a queen among them, which I doubt…” Dewey said with a shrug.

Paige reached the wall and ducked inside the entrance with Dewey following her. A dozen pixies fluttered in the outside chamber as the stone slab slid down, cutting them off from the previous space. Darkness filled the area, and Dewey clicked on his flashlight.

Paige twisted to stare behind her, tapping against the stone. Her stomach dropped as she stared down the long, dark corridor.

With a wince, she glanced at Dewey. “I think we’re trapped.” Paige pounded against the slab that had been open moments ago. “Open!”

“I don’t think it works that way,” Dewey said.

“You idiots,” the pixie squealed.

“Pipe down, you,” Paige said, tapping the carrier. “No one asked for your input.”

“You’d be better off letting me hit you with a sleeping dart than trying to navigate through this.”

Paige grimaced at the tiny creature before she shot a glance down the corridor. “It’s a straight shot. I think we can manage it.”

“Mmm,” the pixie said in his shrill voice, “we’ll see.”

Paige rolled her eyes and fixed her gaze on Dewey. “Can we get going so this jerk can shut his tiny mouth?”

Dewey wrinkled his nose, his nose horns wiggling. “The tiny jerk may have a point.”

“What do you mean?”

“This passage wasn’t open. So no one has disabled the traps, probably.”

Paige winced and glanced down the corridor again. “Seriously?”

She shoved the glasses up on her nose as it crinkled with concern.

Dewey swung the flashlight around the corridor. Murals and hieroglyphs decorated the walls along with ornate stone columns rising from floor to ceiling.

“Maybe I can make it flying. Some of them may be floor triggered.”

“Good point. Okay. Maybe you should try it and see what happens. Then I can follow you if it looks safe.” Paige lifted a shoulder, her features twisting into a questioning expression.

“Okay.” Dewey blew out a breath as he stared down the long hall.

He rolled his neck from side to side, fluttering in the air before he narrowed his eyes.

“Well, are you going to go?”