“We need to go.” Iridiel is riddled with tension, and the other unicorns are restless right along with him.
“What is it?” I try to reach out with my senses, to find whatever it is that’s making him edgy. But nothing strikes me other than the generally inhospitable Abyss.
“Just a feeling.” He shakes his head. “Let’s go.”
Parnon climbs into the wagon and starts it moving, and the other freed slaves fan out, guiding their unicorns up the stone road. The way is smoother here, the lane covered in black sand from countless caravans rolling along, their wheels shattering the obsidian, the slaves inside likewise reduced to almost nothing. Maybe it will be a relief when it all falls into the mind-numbing depths below.
Chastain drops back. “There’s an outpost ahead, and it will be guarded much like the entrance. I’ve sent scouts to try and get an idea of what sort of force awaits us. But just be aware that the fighting will be pretty thick once we near the surface.”
“Good.” I roll my shoulders. “This place—for being so large—bears down and hems you in.”
“I feel it, too. Maybe the tales of magic and alchemy are true, because it seems like some of that darkness lingers here. An unnatural sort of presence. It’s almost as if it’s … hungry.”
“The creature that took Beth—it was the same. Void of any trace of emotion or true thought. It hungered.” I’d like to kill it all over again for daring to touch her. “The spiders as well. I’ve dealt with spiders of that size before, but none like these. They kept trailing us even after I destroyed a host of them.”
“Can we go faster?” Iridiel prances, his hooves thumping against the black sand.
Only slightly grudgingly, I reach down and pat his shoulder. “We’re all right.”
He doesn’t nip me, so that’s progress. “I don’t like it.”
“We’ll be out soon. At the mines.” I stop patting him. “Out of the cauldron and into the flames. But there’ll be a sky and room to breathe.”
I don’t say it, but I want to see the sky, too. The inky mist that swirls above the Abyss blocks even the sun’s rays. Nothing bright or alive can penetrate here, and the unease that Iridiel feels infects me as well.
Chastain doesn’t seem quite as affected as Iridiel. “Based on the layout of the outpost—and the assumption that Cenet has already alerted them to our presence—we might do well to simply make a run at it. There’s no surprise available, not when this is the only road that gets us there. They know we’re coming. All we can do is hit them as hard as we can.”
“We may as well.” There’s no way around bloodshed, not when we’re challenging everything the slavers stand for. Then again, I haven’t agreed to join this part of the rebellion. Beth and I are only here for Clotty, no matter how clever Beth may be. Her safety will always be my first priority.
“Faster.” Iridiel rides close to the wagon, his snout practically in Beth’s lap.
“Calm down.” I grit my teeth and stroke his neck.
He doesn’t even crack a joke, just keeps doing his damndest to somehow make the wagon go faster.
The other unicorns are crowding ahead, their gaits increasing.
“Something’s wrong.” Parnon leans over and peers back at us. “Bad.”
My hackles rise, and I feel it, too. Something’s coming. Something big.
“Faster, everyone!” I yell.
Beth rouses, her sleepy eyes questioning. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I say too quickly.
She frowns.
“There may be something after us,” I amend.
“Big surprise there.” She smiles wanly.
“Just rest, my beloved. I’ll protect you.”
“I know.” She snuggles into the burlap even more, exhaustion weighing her down.
Her words from earlier resurface. She’s human. She’ll tire, wither, and die. Already, the difference between us is marked. But I can’t think about that now. Surviving the Abyss and the mines is enough of a threat to our longevity. I’ll worry about the rest of it later.
