Page 75 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE

Ellery

Mouse and I continued through the tunnel beneath the earth. Every fifty feet or so, I’d stop to draw another arrow in the dirt.

There was only one way we could go as the passageway never split, but I didn’t know if Ryker would enter in the same place we did. Plus, I wanted to reassure him we were still alive.

The gashes in my legs ached with each step, and my head still throbbed, but I ignored the discomfort as I limped onward. While the tunnel wound up and down beneath the earth, it grew larger in some sections and in some places a little smaller, but only by a couple of feet.

I had no idea what had created this passageway, but it must have taken years, and if it had been built for something, then it was big . It was also something I didn’t want to run into.

I kept waiting for something to loom out of the shadows and devour us, but nothing stirred, and I didn’t discover any signs of clothing, shed skin, or even shit. We’d encountered no food or water.

We went through a large section with no tree roots, and only earth and stones surrounded us. Surprisingly, it didn’t make me feel any better. Instead, I worried the trees were up to something, though I didn’t know what that could be.

Sometimes, the land sloped upward, while other times we descended further beneath the ground. We were on one of those descents now, and as we traversed deeper into the earth, my teeth chattered, and I restrained myself from rubbing the chill from my arms.

Mouse’s eyes flitted around. When he trembled against me, I extinguished the lightning from one of my hands so I could touch him without harming him.

I draped my arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer. Goose bumps covered his thin arms, and his shoulder bones poked into me.

He was so small and frail, and now his life was in my hands. I’d never forgive myself if I failed him.

I breathed a sigh of relief when the tunnel started ascending again. Thankfully, the passageway wasn’t uncomfortable to walk through. I couldn’t think about what it would be like if the walls and ceiling started closing in on us.

When we’d climbed higher, tree roots started emerging from the walls and ceiling again. Sensing our presence, some of them shifted. Their movement caused bits of debris to rain down on us.

I brushed the dirt from my hair and eyes before glancing nervously at the slithering pieces of wood. The sound of them clicking and rubbing against each other sent a rush of adrenaline through me; I worried they were making noise to cover for something coming at us.

Glancing behind me, I surveyed the way we’d come, but my light didn’t illuminate much. If the trees were covering the approach of something, it would be almost on us before I saw it.

My pace slowed as I debated stopping. If we waited here, I could defend us against whatever came, but if we stopped moving, we’d just be here, waiting for rescue or an attack. Neither option sounded appealing.

If the trees were masking the noise of something more, then I would blast its ass back to whatever hell it came from. On my left hand, the one not holding Mouse, my lightning rose higher.

It illuminated a little more of the tunnel but not enough to reveal an approaching enemy. Holding my breath, I strained my ears to detect any noise beyond the shifting tree roots as the tunnel leveled out again.

The roots in the walls rolled over, and a couple slid forward to bob in the air like they were waving at us. I almost waved back, but I trusted these things as much as I trusted the duke, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to rip off my hand.

I swore the trees were communicating with each other, and after everything I’d seen from them, it had to be true. But what were they communicating? Was it just to each other, or was it to something else, too?

I tried not to think about that while we walked. I’d stop and stand here if I did, and my rumbling stomach made it clear that wasn’t an option.

It felt like we’d been walking for at least an hour, but I had no idea how much ground we’d covered or where we could be in the Revenant Woods. Had we moved deeper into them, or were we heading out?

I hated not knowing, but there weren’t any answers in this place of darkness and fear… at least not yet. And I wasn’t sure I wanted those answers.

The minerally tang of the earth became crisper as it mixed with the scent of water. Wherever we were now, there was a stream or lake nearby, but other than the changing aroma, there was no other sign of it.

I kept expecting to come across emaciated amsirah, bodies, bones, or some other sign the trees, or something, was feasting down here, but there was nothing. If the trees intended to eat us, it wasn’t in this area.

That offered a little bit of comfort.

A loose stone rattled from somewhere deep in the tunnel behind us. It was the first sound I’d heard other than us and the shifting trees since we’d arrived here.

Placing my hand on his chest, I pushed Mouse toward the wall and released him. I didn’t like him near the roots, but at least this way, I stood between him and whatever had caused that sound.

Lightning rose up both my arms toward my shoulders. I strained to hear any sound over the small crackles of current near my ears.

I’d been waiting for this and was more than ready to face whatever the trees had dragged us down here to encounter. Whatever was out there, I’d destroy it.

Through the shadows, light flashed before fading again. I’d prefer not to douse my lightning to better view the distant glow, but it kept me from seeing much beyond my illuminated space.

However, I didn’t have a choice. The ever-changing roots could have caused that loose stone; we couldn’t wait hours for something to attack.

With a deep breath to fortify my courage, I doused my lightning so I could see if something was coming.