Page 116 of Shifter King

Wait.

This was also a place she had been before.

The other Amelia here pointed at a chamber just beyond her and mouthed "you have to remember this!"

What was this? Approaching her, she put her hand out. The other Amelia grabbed it, mouthing "remember" before she vanished. The spark from this Amelia nearly sent her reeling, far stronger and clearer.

Claudius trotted in, his barks echoing back.

She followed him, then halted. Sleepers lay all around, some holding children, others leaning against one another. They were familiar. She focused on the distinctive black-and-white stripes on the neck of one woman. Hatet.

The Shrieking Chimeras. They were here. Where was here?

She stepped back, looking up and down, everywhere for some sort of marker. This was a cavern. But…where was the entrance? The exit?

It was all so indistinct. Obsidian maybe? Or jet? The golden sand might not even be the right color. Maybe it was just that color because of the low torches that burned. Where was this place?

Who all was here? There was Hatet. Yes. Igrold. Khanaan. Lynn. The twins.

Someone gasped.

She spun around.

"You, Neyeb!" A blonde man staggered to his feet, then fell to his knees. The golden sand poofed out around him. The train of his fine cerulean-and-gold robe splayed out, shining in the dim light.

"Can you see me?" There was something familiar about this man as well. She had met him before, somehow. His urgency struck her like a fist in the chest.

"Please," he said, struggling up again, blond hair streaking over his face. "You have to tell them. Tell anyone. We don't have long."

"How long do you have?"

"I have—I have opened the channels with the last of my power. The air—" he fought to stand again. "Forty days. No more. The enchantment will fail. And we will suffocate."

"Forty days." That wasn't much time.

"I can’t break the spell. I can’t—I can barely stand." He gasped. "Set a marker for yourself. Find us. Find us, Neyeb! We are trapped down here. Please. Neyeb. Do not fail us."

"Can you tell me where you are?"

"In the north."

That covered a lot of territory. "Please. What can you tell me? Anything else!"

His eyes started to slide shut. "Forty days. Beyond the Sunstone Peaks. Remember." He collapsed against the stone.

She pressed her hands to her temples. Yes. Remember. She had to remember all of this.

Claudius barked. She had to remember, but she also had to keep moving.

Ahhh! She gasped, lurching forward as another searing wave of pain tore through her. Why wouldn't it stop? Why wouldn't it stop!

STRANGER

Yet another long and quiet night. Not peaceful. But quiet.

Most nights were long and quiet these days. Especially once he had succeeded in keeping the predators out. Almost dreary. Perhaps this Grey Season—if it ever came—would bring about his end. It was certainly long overdue both for the season to come and for his life to end.

The years here had been long and hard.