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CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Ellery

While it was still extremely unpleasant, being dragged beneath the earth wasn’t as bad this time, mainly because I knew what was coming and didn’t wake confused and disoriented. When I hit the ground this time, I didn’t get knocked out, and Scarlet and Tucker cushioned my fall.

Tucker wasn’t all that happy about it as he clawed his way out from under us, and I rolled off Scarlet as I tried to drag air through my clogged passages. The trapped air in my lungs burst out.

Scarlet and Tucker coughed dirt and debris from their lungs. The others also hacked and gagged somewhere in the dark, but I couldn’t see them.

My head pounded, and my lungs burned as I coughed out more dirt and wiped it away from my nose. Finally, my passages cleared enough to draw in my first real breath of air.

Feeling a little stronger, I lifted my hand and brought lightning to my fingertips. The sparks illuminated the roots slithering back into place above us.

To my left, Ryker brought sparks to his fingertips. I smiled when our gazes met. This place wasn’t one of happiness, but I was glad to see him.

As we climbed to our feet, the lightning rising to my elbows illuminated more of the cavern. I spotted the arrow I’d left behind the last time I was here; it pointed toward the gargoyles.

Before coming here, we’d agreed, much to Tucker’s disappointment, that we would explore the tunnel in the opposite direction when we arrived. Nothing had attacked us down here before, but we had to know what was at the opposite end of the gargoyles.

“What time is it?” Ryker asked.

Ianto pulled a silver pocket watch out and opened the top to examine it. “Six thirty.”

We’d also agreed to come down early in the morning and, hopefully, leave later tonight.

“We’ll keep an eye on the time to make sure we’re doing okay. It will be easy to lose track of it down here,” Ryker said.

The plan was to explore the other end of the tunnel and get to the gargoyles a few hours before sunrise. Depending on what was at the other end, we’d either stay to examine it further or backtrack for the gargoyles.

If there was an exit, we’d look into it, but it would have to wait until after nightfall. Ryker was hoping to be at the gargoyles and exiting the temple at two thirty in the morning, when no one was likely to be around.

“Let’s get started,” Ryker said.

Ianto slid the watch back into the pocket of his pants and patted it. A wistful look passed over his face, and he smiled briefly before it faded.

When Ryker headed down the tunnel in the opposite direction from the way we had gone before, I fell into step beside Ianto. Like before, the tunnel traveled up and down, diving deeper beneath the earth, then rising again and falling once more.

The slithering tree roots moved through some sections of the wall and dipped down from the ceiling, but in other places, they disappeared completely. Throughout areas of the tunnel, the walls became rockier, while in others, they were mostly dirt that looked ready to crumble.

Because of Ryker’s and my experience here, we’d come better prepared and all worn warmer clothes. I huddled deeper into my fur-lined cloak as we descended lower; my breath plumed before me as my ears turned to ice.

I clamped my teeth together to keep them from chattering as we traversed the tunnel system. Even going in this direction, the walls remained, on average, twenty feet wide, and the ceiling was thirty feet above our heads; they got a little smaller in some areas but remained mostly the same.

When our stomachs started rumbling, we paused to eat some dried meat stuffed into the pouches at our waists. We’d eaten before coming down here, but it was getting later, and the trek wasn’t always the easiest, as some of the hills could be steep.

I freed my canteen and took a swig of water as I studied the rocky walls surrounding us. When everyone was ready to go again, I recapped it and hung it on my waist.

“What time is it?” Ryker asked.

Ianto pulled out his pocket watch and clicked a button to open the lid. “Eight twenty-three.”

It felt like we’d been down here much longer, but we were making good time. Ianto returned the watch to his pocket and gave it another little pat as we descended deeper beneath the earth again.