Page 80 of Changeling (The Incubus Saga #2)

If it hadn’t been for the lights that were thankfully working again on his and Alex’s hardhats, Nathan wouldn’t have been able to see anything.

It didn’t matter anyway; he had no idea where he was going.

The passageway he had chosen was wider than the initial one they had come through, curving as it took them deeper into the mine.

Nathan might have been leading them away from any chance of escape, but there hadn’t been time to think logically about possible routes; they had to get away from Jim and Sasha.

The thought made Nathan shiver. He didn’t even know for certain what was happening.

The damn cave, some evil hot spot that pulsed with power he, as a normal human, couldn’t feel was stripping the two people that meant most to him of every part of them that wasn’t dark.

It was just a theory, it might not be true, but Jim had sounded so sure as he and Sasha howled and changed.

The only option Nathan had been left with was to run.

He had long since released Alex’s wrist, unable to hang on in the passageway as it began to narrow. Still, he was constantly looking behind him to be sure she was there and that they had no pursuers.

For several minutes they could still hear the cries of Jim and Sasha. Nathan wanted to turn around so badly, but his better judgment kept him moving forward. Later, he would have more time to dwell on how this was all his fault.

They reached another small cavern that led off into different passageways.

Nathan knew they couldn’t afford to slow down or stop but as recent events caught up with him, he couldn’t run anymore.

He pounded a fist against the nearest stone wall.

He hadn’t realized until just then that his eyes were damp.

“That fucking bastard set me up!” Nathan yelled, pounding the wall again. “He knew…he knew we’d come here. He knew they’d be drawn here, and I couldn’t fucking figure it out!” Again Nathan pounded the stone, turning his knuckles raw from scraping the harsh surface.

“Nathan!” Alex called to him, grabbing his arm to stop yet another blow. He heard her voice, patient and determined beside his ear. “It doesn’t matter now. We’re here, this is happening, and we have to deal with it. Now let’s think this through and figure out what’s happening.”

“If this place is something like a Power Point…there’s gotta be a Veil doorway somewhere,” Nathan said, taking deep breaths as he felt the sting in his hand.

He turned to look at Alex. “Doorways lead anywhere, right? But they’re always tied first to specific places in the Veil where fae can cross over.

This one must be right in the heart of the dark sidhe court to explain this kind of power. Malak probably set it up himself.”

Alex’s dark hazel eyes were wide with anxiety, but she kept her voice steady. “If we find the doorway, we can use it connect to the one outside of town.”

“No,” boomed Walter’s voice in the cavern. “It would be too dangerous, even if Sasha and Jim were with you.”

Nathan jumped, amazed Walter looked so solid, not even flickering as he stood beside him. “Dude, where’d you come from? I figured you couldn’t even appear inside this town with so much power radiating out from the mine.”

Walter shook his head, the twitch of a smile on his lips despite his furrowed brow.

“This place is different, Nathan. Within the cave it is as if…we are already in the dark sidhe lands. But above, on the hill where the church the seals built once stood, is sacred ground. It took me a moment to find my way to you, but I will not be banished easily here.”

“Nate?” Alex hissed.

“It’s hard to explain, but Walter can be here with us,” Nathan said as he turned back to her, then remembered that she didn’t actually know who Walter was. “Uhh…remember when we were younger and I mentioned my…imaginary friend?”

Alex glared at him as if he were playing some cruel joke for a minute, then her eyes cleared as she realized what he meant. “Not exactly an imaginary friend, huh? Can he help?”

“What would you have me do, Nathan?” Walter offered. “You cannot use the Veil doorway here. It is too closely tied to the dark sidhe realm and cannot be used for travel. You would find yourself in the Veil amidst enemies if you crossed its threshold.”

Nathan explained to Alex what Walter said. Then, suddenly, he remembered the guidebook Iain had given him. He dug it out of his pocket. The combined light from their hardhats lit up the pages. The main exit was clearly marked on the map and also several side entryways.

“There,” Alex pointed at a larger spot on the map. “That’s the cavern we found Iain’s mother in. The main passageway leads right there if you take that left in the fork like we did. But which one did we take from there?”

“Must be this one. Feels the right distance to this cavern,” Nathan said as he pointed to another slightly larger opening, “so then…if these are our options…” He could clearly see the three passageways before them displayed on the map.

Following each possible route with his finger he tried to find the one that led to the quickest way out.

“This one,” he said finally, pointing to the one on the far right on the map and then pointing to the real thing in front of them.

“Looks like a way out’s still a bit far, but faster than using any of the others.

Walt, if you can scout ahead and check to be sure the path is clear, we’ll know sooner if we need to turn back and try another way. ”

Walter nodded. “I will be as swift as I can,” he said, and vanished.

Alex met Nathan’s gaze when he looked at her, hesitation and regret on both their faces. “We don’t know for sure if this place is doing the same thing to them that it did to others,” she said. “Neither of them really has human blood in them.”

“That doesn’t mean the dark part isn’t getting a nice boost,” Nathan grumbled. “We can’t take any chances. I don’t…I don’t think they’ll be able to control themselves.”

“I dropped my flashlight, and both duffels are back in the main cavern,” she said. “If the light on our hats go out again, did you manage to hang onto yours?”

Nathan checked himself but couldn’t find the flashlight. What he did discover and had nearly forgotten about was a handgun. He swallowed thickly as he held it in his hand and stared at it. Part of him wanted to throw it away.

He sniffed and wiped a hand over his eyes, gripping the handle of his gun tight for a minute before putting it away inside his jacket. It almost soothed him to see how Alex’s eyes had grown damp too.

The first roar was already too close, animalistic and feral as it ricocheted after them, bouncing easily over the stone walls and making it difficult to tell where it had come from. Both of them flinched; Nathan felt Alex’s hand grip suddenly at his jacket.

They turned and took off down the first passageway, hoping Walter found an opening ahead of them.

The second roar seemed to come from a completely different direction, but it didn’t sound mindless. It was taunting, as if there was laughter hiding at its edges.

Panic caught in Nathan’s throat but he swallowed it down, pushing Alex ahead of him. He noticed as they went along that places in the walls were crumbled away, opening up new passageways that weren’t on the map. Every one of them made him flinch as they ran past, waiting to be ambushed.

Walter appeared ahead of them and Nathan grabbed Alex to stop her.

“Anything, Walt?”

“I’m sorry, Nathan. I found the opening, but it was only a small hole from the many years and cave-ins. You will not be able to fit through.”

“Shit, no go,” Nathan said to Alex.

Another roar sought after them, closer than before. Nathan recognized now why that sound chilled him more than anything ever had—it wasn’t only Sasha’s voice. It was Jim’s too.

Seeing no other option, Nathan pulled the gun from his jacket again. “Walt, find where they are so we can take a path away from them. We have to head back.”

Walter nodded and was gone.

Another roar sounded as they headed the way they had come from.

It was too risky to go all the way to the smaller cavern and take a different path.

Nathan moved instead for one of the crumbled walls.

The worst was in knowing that their hardhat lights gave them away, but without them they wouldn’t be able to see where they were going.

Feeling along the wall but keeping his eyes forward, Nathan felt the rock give a little on his left into a crumbled opening, making it large enough to slip through.

“You cannot continue back to the other cavern, Nathan,” Walter said as he reappeared. “Jim is almost here.”

Nathan ushered Alex through the opening without another word. It was a difficult squeeze but the passage itself wasn’t as narrow as Nathan had feared. It seemed darker, though, and he felt the slow decline that told him they were heading deeper into the earth.

Just as he was starting to think this hadn’t been the best idea, the passage opened up into the largest cavern they had yet come to. It was half a basketball court, maybe larger, and there was only one continuing passageway out of it. Nathan took the chance to look at the map.

“Shit,” he cursed, keeping his voice a whisper. He looked up at Alex close beside him and shook his head. “Not on the map. We’ll just have to hope we’re heading a way that leads us out somewhere. Walt, scout ahead again, okay?”

Nathan shoved the map back in his pocket as Walter faded once more.

He held the gun at the ready as he moved for the passageway across the cavern.

It was another wider corridor that seemed to curve off almost immediately; Nathan couldn’t really see inside even after his light was shining right on it.

“Nathan, wait!” Walter appeared again, just off to the side of the entrance into their planned corridor.