“Brie, don’t.”
She yanked on the iron ring, and it ripped off, sending her back on her ass. The bowed door burst, releasing a flood of boulders and dirt. Fear and anger rushed through me as I watched Brie scrambling backward like a crab in horror. The rockslide stopped shy of her boots. Thank goodness. The last thing I needed was for her to get more hurt and slow me down. My heart insisted Andrew and William were alive, and I was determined to find my way out of this and find my men. I wanted to hug William, and I needed to feel Andrew’s warmth.
“There, now you know!” I snapped. “It’s a dead end. You can follow me or try to dig your way through that.”
I was expecting her to say something snarky, but instead, she got up and dusted her butt off as if that could make her pants any cleaner. “Fine.”
Our footprints left a trail behind as we followed the cave vein, leaving marks at every turn. Every so often, we passed lanterns, which meant someone had used these tunnels before. Twice, we came through the same intersection. It was our only stopping point to rest before continuing into a different passage. After some time, we came to an open space with trickling water on one side. My mouth turned cotton-dry at the sight. I rushed to it and pressed my hands into the cold wetness, then without thought, I brought my lips to it. Water ran down my chin, neck, and chest, soaking my clothes.
“What if it’s bad?” Brie yanked on my arm. “You can die.”
I didn’t care. This unfiltered, full of earth minerals—and maybe some bacteria—water was the best thing I’d ever tasted, better than the complex Opus One cabernet.
“God, this is good.” I wiped my face. “Drink. This might be your last chance.”
Brie wrinkled her nose and shook her head. I shrugged. Cupping my hands, I washed my face and neck, feeling the earlier pain and fatigue wane. It was like coming home after a long, strenuous day at work and taking a lukewarm shower.
Rejuvenated, I stepped back, not bothering to wipe the water drops off my skin. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”
“Can we continue now?” Brie jerked her chin at the path.
I pulled my flashlight from my back pocket where I’d stuffed it earlier. “Okay.”
The route went straight for a while, and then we rounded four bends. After another turn, we entered a deep passageway with a neck-breaking vaulted ceiling. A foot-wide fissure in the ground divided the path. Neither Brie nor I would fit through to fall to our death, but the issue was the further the pathway went, the wider the crack became, separating the walkway into two paths hugging the rock.
“Look at that,” Brie said, her voice echoed off the surrounding rock.
I turned and looked where she was pointing above my head.
A stone lantern was built into the wall. From it, a chiseled-in half pipe ran along the path on both sides. It was like old-fashioned runway landing lights. I cautiously lifted my hand and touched inside. I rubbed my fingers together, they were covered in a blackish fine powder mixed with grit and dust. This must have been some burning goo they used to light the way.
“This is so cool.” I wiped my hand on my pants. “This has got to be the right way.”
“Can we light it up?”
I arched an eyebrow. “Do you have a lighter?”
I doubted the flaming compound would burn after hundreds of years even if she did.
“No. Do you?”
“I’m not Inspector Gadget. Besides this,” I raised my flashlight, “I’ve got nothing.”
“Why are you so sardonic all the time? Either say nothing or give a valid answer.” Her lips went into a flat line.
“Around you, sarcasm is all I know.” I turned my focus onto which side to pick.
“Which way do you think we should go?” I asked, not sure why.
Brie hummed. “Left.”
I went right.
“Oh my god.” She threw her hands up. “Why ask if you weren’t going to take my advice?”
“I tried to be nice and hoped you’d say right, so you’d think it was your decision.”
First, we walked side by side, but soon Brie shuffled behind me. The gap in the ravine grew the deeper we went, and the path narrower.
