I hate this. I’m so scared.
The other guys crashed down the stairs. Rowan carried a struggling Obelix in his arms, and Arthur already had his sword strapped around his waist. “They’re broken through the barrier,” Corbin said. “Arthur tells me Aline remembered a secret passage in the cellar that leads out to the forest. Our best shot is to make it there.”
Corbin flung open the door to the secret passage. It would get us downstairs quicker. “Last person through needs to pull this shut,” he said, jabbing the secret door hidden in the panelling. I followed him as he vaulted down the narrow steps and pushed the small door in the pantry open. In front of the pantry was a small square wooden door cut into the flagstones. Corbin pulled it up, revealing a rickety staircase leading down into the gloom. He gripped my hand and led me down the steps, shining the screen of his phone in front of him to illuminate a tiny square of light.
“Meeoorww!” Obelix yowled from behind me. He didn’t want to go into the cellar.That makes two of us, buddy.
A loud bang crackled through the castle. My heart leapt into my throat. Arthur shoved Rowan down the steps after me. “Hurry,” he growled. “They’re ramming the portcullis with that tractor. It won’t take long until they’re inside the castle!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-NINE: MAEVE
“Someone pinched my arse,” Flynn squealed.
“Meeorrw!”
“Shut up, Flynn.” Corbin shot back.
“But it’s such a bloody nice arse,” Blake said. “And Arthur won’t move up and give me more room.”
“My shoulders are stuck,” Arthur groaned, grinding his enormous arms into the rough walls in an attempt to dislodge himself. I winced as my arm scraped against the sharp stone. The passage was too narrow for me to walk straight ahead. I had to shuffle sideways. I couldn’t imagine how uncomfortable it was for Arthur.
“Everyone, quit your bickering,” Corbin said, his voice stern. “I’m shutting the door now. Arthur, we need light. Flynn, we need absolute fucking silence.”
“Aye, Aye, Mussolini,” Flynn shot back.
Corbin pulled the cellar door shut behind him, plunging the tunnel into darkness. “I’m on it,” Arthur said from in front of me. A moment later, a small flame flared to life, casting a flickering glow over the rough walls and Arthur’s strangely calm expression.
“Hold out your hand,” Arthur told me. I complied, and he rolled the tiny fireball onto my fingers. Heat flared in my skin, but the fire hovered an inch above my palm as I moved it back and forth.Cool.
“Pass that back,” he said. “I’ll make you another one.”
I rolled the ball onto Flynn’s palm. The firelight caught Flynn’s features. His usually bright eyes were wide and terrified. His red hair flopped over one side of his face – a complete mess. He turned and passed the fireball to Blake, while Arthur rolled another on to my fingers, and cast a third for himself.
“Three will do,” he stage-whispered.
Arthur started to move along the tunnel, sliding his bulk along the rough walls. I followed him, carefully planting my feet on the uneven ground. Above our heads, the castle groaned and banged.What are they doing to Briarwood?
Tears stung my eyes. I blinked them away. I couldn’t think about it now. We were alive. We were getting out of here. We’d live to fight another day. That was the important thing. Even if they tore down every single stone, Briarwood would live on inside us.
The bangs and bumps above us faded as inch by inch we made our way further from Briarwood and deeper into the dark tunnel. I wondered how far we’d have to run on the other side to make it to Raynard Hall.I bet Flynn will love hiding out in his artistic idol’s house?—
Ahead of me, Arthur groaned – a deep, inhuman sound that made my blood run cold. He stopped dead in his tracks and I crashed into him. My hand slammed into the wall, snuffing out the flame and plunging my section of the tunnel into darkness. Behind me, Flynn’s body slammed into me, his elbow digging between my shoulder blades.
Rowan grunted. Blake yelped. Corbin yelled something, but I couldn’t make it out. Blood pounded in my ears. I settled myhand on Arthur’s shoulder. He trembled – was that rage, or fear? “Arthur, what happened? What’s going on?”
“The tunnel is bricked up,” Arthur growled. “There’s no way out.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
THIRTY: CORBIN
“There’s got to be a way through,” I moaned, standing on my tiptoes so I could see over everyone’s heads to where Arthur stood at the front of the line. “Have you looked for a spring?”
“It’s a solid brick wall.” Arthur held up his fireball and checked every corner. “It’s not fucking springing anywhere.”
“A loose brick then?” I held up my own fireball, scanning the walls on either side of the tunnel. “Maybe there’s a side passage we missed?—”
