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CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Ellery

The climb to the bottom wasn’t as difficult as I’d anticipated; the numerous rocks jutting from the wall provided plenty of foot and handholds. One time, my foot slipped off a rock, but it was mostly an uneventful descent.

Putting my feet on the ground, I tipped my head back to peer at the opening above. It wasn’t difficult to climb down, but it wouldn’t be so easy to climb out again, and if there was something sinister down here, it wouldn’t be a simple escape.

Once on the ground, I turned to survey the colorful town. Despite the many cheery colors of the buildings, a somber air hung over the place.

Shifting my attention, I studied the homes around us, but as far as I could tell, the opening above was the only way out. Out of curiosity, I tried to open a portal and failed. I wasn’t surprised by this as we couldn’t open one in the tunnel or the chamber with the gargoyles either.

“How did all of this get down here?” Scarlet asked. “Did it belong to some secret society who lived beneath the earth?”

“How would they survive without sunlight to grow food or to feed the animals? There are wagons in the street; I’m assuming there were horses,” Tucker said.

I studied the ceiling again. No tree roots poked through the domed structure. Wherever this place was, it wasn’t located beneath the trees that brought us here.

“Well, since we’re here, we might as well explore,” Ianto said.

“We should find out what’s causing the pulsing,” I said.

Everyone’s attention shifted toward the castle as the red light deepened in hue.

“Shouldn’t we explore all the buildings first to make sure there isn’t something here that would like to eat us?” Callan asked.

He was right; we should check for a threat first, but I was extremely curious about the light. What’s causing it, and why does it feel so strangely familiar?

“We’ll search as we head toward the castle,” Ryker said. “This place is big enough that something could be lurking between the buildings right now, and we’d never know it.”

I gulped at his last words, but he was right… anything could be out there, stalking us and waiting to pounce. Wiping my sweaty palms on my pants, I wished I could see through the buildings toward what lay beyond, but I hadn’t been blessed with that ability.

Together, we moved across the dirt and rocks covering the road. As if the town had been kept in a protective bubble, the debris ended at the edge of the street.

I tentatively stretched out my fingers in anticipation of some barrier, but my hand went through and didn’t erupt into flames. Holding my breath, I edged my foot onto the cobblestones.

Ryker wasn’t as cautious as he stepped onto the road. I almost grabbed him back but stopped myself; we’d come down here to enter the town.

The first few buildings along this section of road had collapsed into crumpled heaps. Shattered glass crunched beneath my boots as we passed the broken remnants of someone’s home.

Had the owners been driven from these homes before they fell, or were they still inside, trapped beneath the rubble?

I shuddered at the idea of bodies lying only feet away, but while the town smelled of rich earth and rocks, it didn’t hold the aroma of death.

Besides, if amsirah lived here, they would have eventually dug their way out of the debris, so there wouldn’t be any bodies.

That realization wasn’t as relaxing as it should have been.

With no weather conditions down here, the temperature hovered somewhere in the upper sixties or low seventies. Because of the lack of changing conditions and the perfect temperature, the elements hadn’t weathered the buildings.

Instead, they’d been preserved in a time capsule that could be fifty years old or fifty thousand. Judging by the thatched roofs with dried mud holding them together, the buildings were built before all those in Tempest.

The glass in the windows was thicker than I’d ever seen before and so wavy it was difficult to see through them, even with the curtains open. The robin’s egg blue color of the first home was cheerful, especially when paired with their neighbor’s sunny orange.

Tucker stopped outside the first home and rested his fingers against one of the panes. “They haven’t made windows like this in millennia.” Placing his hands against the sides of his face, he leaned closer to peer through the thick glass. “I don’t see anyone in there, but there is furniture.”

“We should check inside,” Callan said.

Gripping the knob, he turned it and pushed the door open. After who knew how many years of nonuse, I’d expected a creak of hinges, but the door noiselessly swung inward.

Not only did no sunlight penetrate this town, but neither did rust. Callan rested his hand on the hilt of the sword strapped to his side as we leaned forward to peer inside.