Page 81 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)
CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE
Ryker
Though I knew Ellery wouldn’t like it, I pointed to the gargoyle tucked into the alcove beside us. “We’ll use that.”
Ellery’s eyes widened. “Use it for what? ”
“If I climb on its shoulders, I can reach the door.”
“No.”
“It’s the only way I’m going to reach it. I could lift Mouse to open it, but we have no idea what’s on the other side, and I’d prefer not to have the boy vulnerable to whatever lays beyond.”
Some color drained from her face as her gaze darted to Mouse. I could practically see the wheels spinning in her brain.
“Lift me up,” she said.
“You’re not going to be the first one through that door either.”
“I’ll be fine, and I have my lightning to protect me.”
“It’s not going to happen.”
“Ryker—”
“No. We know what we’re facing in here, but not out there. Plus, you’re injured.”
“I’m fine now.” She turned around. “See, my legs are completely healed.”
“Between blood loss and hunger, you’re not as strong as you should be. I’m going first, Ellery.”
When she turned back around, her chin lifted in determination. “We can’t climb on them.”
“They’re just statues, Ellery.”
She looked at the gargoyle I’d indicated using. It was an especially ugly beast with its claws hooked before its face; because it stood on its hind legs, its head nearly touched the ceiling.
It was conveniently carved into a position that gave me more height toward the door. I had no idea where we were or what this place was, but I hoped Tucker would have some answers once we got out of here.
We had to get out first.
“They don’t feel like just statues,” Ellery muttered.
I understood what she meant by that. It had felt like their eyes bore into us every step of the way around this cavern, but that was impossible.
“I know they don’t, but they are. It’s better if I use this one to help us than put you or Mouse in danger.”
“But it’s okay to put yourself in danger?”
“Yes.”
“Ryker—”
“I’ll be fine, but this is the quickest way to get out of here, and that’s what we all want most.”
Mouse nodded enthusiastically.
“You’re so stubborn,” she said.
“And I’ll keep you alive, no matter the cost.”
“That cost isn’t going to be you.”
What she didn’t understand was it would be me if it meant saving her life. Instead of telling her that, I stepped forward and kissed her forehead.
“I’ll be fine,” I assured her. “I don’t hear anything beyond the door; it might be another chamber full of gargoyles.”
“Why would anyone hide gargoyles?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
None of it made any sense, but I couldn’t focus too much on it until we were out of this chamber and she was safe. I was trying not to let the fact we were trapped get to me, but I hadn’t been encased like this since I was in the ophidians’ dungeon.
The memories kept trying to surface, but my focus on keeping Ellery and Mouse safe helped keep the resentment, distress, and sorrow that came with them at bay.
When I walked over to the closest gargoyle tucked into the alcove, Ellery stretched a hand toward me. “Ryker….”
Her words trailed off, and her hand lowered when I lifted the stone structure. It had to weigh at least five hundred pounds, and while the gargoyles were the reason for the increased rock scent in the cavern, holding this one made me realize they were also the source of the musky aroma.
I shifted my attention to the statue’s eyes. They remained nothing but stone and unseeing, but it smelled like something feral.
I didn’t look at it again as I carried it over and placed it beneath the door.
“Why is there a door in the ceiling?” Ellery asked.
“That’s another question we can ponder once we’re out of here.”
I placed the statue beneath the door and climbed onto its back and shoulders. Steadying my feet, I rose to examine the door.
This close, the glow of my lightning revealed the door was a slab of stone covering the opening. I had no idea what was on the other side, but I intended to find out.
Placing my palms against the stone, I pushed against it. Unlike the gargoyle, it weighed far more than five hundred pounds and refused to budge.
“Fuck.”
Adjusting my hands on the heavy stone, I placed them further apart on the thick slab and shifted my feet to get a better position. The muscles in my arms and thighs bulged, and my teeth ground together as I strained against the rock.
The thing had to weigh at least a thousand pounds, but I was determined to get Ellery and Mouse out of here. My veins bulged, and I closed my eyes as I tried to move the slab.
Finally, stone grated against stone, and dust fell in thick waves that stuck to the sweat beading my forehead and clogging my lashes. I didn’t know how long the slab had been in place, but if the dust was any indication, it hadn’t been touched in years… if not centuries.
From above, something shifted and scraped as it slid, but nothing more fell through the opening I created. Even with the lightning dancing across my fingers and encircling my wrists, I couldn’t see what lay beyond the slab.
I waited to be sure nothing was going to attack from above before gripping the edge of the stone floor and pulling myself through the small opening. It was more of a squeeze than I’d anticipated as my back and chest grazed stone when I pulled myself through.
Once on the other side, I knelt at the edge of the opening and peered down at Ellery and Mouse. They stared up at me as I searched the shadows surrounding them, but the cavern remained still.
When I was certain they’d stay safe down there, I shifted my attention to my new surroundings, but they were as dark as the cavern below. Rising, I drew on the power within me as I let the sparks on my fingers and wrists rise to my shoulders.
Their glow rose to illuminate the space more. Like in the cavern below, the air was cool but not as chilly.
Edging away from the opening, I lifted my hands higher to discover shelves lining the stone walls. The shelves rising from floor to ceiling were full of rolled parchment crammed into every free inch of space.
Those shelves filled every square inch of the large space so much that if there were any windows, they covered them. There was a stone stairway on the far wall across from me, but I couldn’t see if there was a normal door at the top or another slab.
Stone tables lined the floor and were part of the reason why the slab was so heavy. One of those tables sat in the dead center of the slab; a chair had skidded a few inches away from it.
That must have been the scraping I heard.
I had no idea where we were, but there was something strangely familiar about this new place.
“Ryker.”
Ellery’s soft voice pulled me back to the cavern below. I returned to her and Mouse. Her lightning illuminated her pale, strained face. Some of her tension eased when I reappeared.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Yes,” I assured her as I knelt and stretched my hand through the hole.
“You go first,” Ellery said to Mouse.
The boy hugged her before scampering up the statue. When he stretched his hand toward me, I grasped his wrist and pulled him through.
I set him on the ground beside me before turning back for Ellery. She clasped my hand, and I pulled her through.
Together, we pushed the slab and table back into place. It settled in again with a click as it shut out the cavern below.