“Demons? One. But that’s not who you should be worried—”
A beam of light ignited at the far end of the tunnel, a small sun shining in the distance.
I pressed up against the wall, the stone at my back warmer than I’d expected. Everyone else in our party did the same.
The light swung upward, illuminating the stone ceiling, then down one side, across the floor and up the other side where Jean, Hogan, and I were pressed.
The light crawled up my boots, pants, shirt. When it hit my chest, a sudden spark of heat bloomed there, the stone Crow had given me a small ember against my skin.
Before I could decide how long I could stand the heat, the light slid up to my face and winked out.
My heart was beating too hard. That light had to have seen me. It had to have known I was hiding in plain sight.
The light glowed again, wider, stronger. The tunnel looked like it went on for at least another mile. But much closer to us, a curtain of blue light rained down from ceiling to floor.
“Now,” Bathin whispered. He jogged forward, following Xtelle and Avnas who were already stepping through that shimmering wall of light.
Bathin waited for Goap to catch up with him, probably not trusting his brother at his back, but Goap shook his head. “As you said, this isn’t my fight.”
“It could be,” Bathin said. “Help us get Ryder out safely, and I’ll do what I can to make sure you sit on the throne.”
“Without the axe? Promises don’t fall sweetly from your lips, brother,” Goap said. “I know the poison of your words. I’ve done you a favor and hidden your mortals. But that is all you’ll have from me so long as our father wears the crown.”
Goap snapped his fingers and disappeared.
I exchanged a glance with Myra.
“Is he really gone?” Jean asked.
“For now,” Bathin said. “Hurry.”
We jogged to Bathin, and something tickled the back of my brain.
“He said something,” I said, just before Rossi walked through the shimmer with Jean and Hogan on his heels.
“Who?” Myra asked. She settled the items on her body, fingers quickly checking the placement of each.
“Goap. He said demons on the other side weren’t who we should be worried about—”
“He lies,” Bathin said. “Through. Now.” He was looking back the way we came. I knew demon eyes could see more than I could here. I knew he was tracking another danger I didn’t sense.
Myra bumped her shoulder with mine. Together we stepped through the shimmer.
The temperature went up by several degrees, and so did the humidity. It was hot, but not unbearably so. I felt like I’d just stepped into a greenhouse or a jungle.
Jungle was right. The mass of green was everywhere: a tangle of trees, bushes, and slick, hungry-looking flowers with fangs that blocked out the sky.
“Sun room?” I mouthed at Myra. She nodded and pointed to the barely visible trail where Jean was waiting.
Jean gestured at us and mouthed, “Hurry.”
We reached her quickly, then dove into the jungle after the others.
What I’d thought was a trail was actually just Xtelle ripping things down as she bulled forward.
“I hate that,” she muttered, and the sound of plant matter tearing and tinny screams rolled back to us. “Hate that, hate that. That? Oh, well, maybe just a nip…”
“My Queen,” Avnas said, “are you certain taking such…libations is prudent when we’re on a rescue mission?”
