Water rushes nearby. A stream, maybe, or a waterfall, though the source is unclear. A natural spring? Unless the ocean has carved its way through the island. The grass gets taller the further we go. It’s up to our waists before we crest the hill.
And stop.
The ground sweeps down before disappearing completely. Between the stones, there’s a gaping hole twice the length of the ship that drops into darkness. Elio whistles as he and Tavi come up behind us. Bear bobs up, settling behind me to peek over my shoulder.
“This in your riddle, Odi?” he says.
“It is,” Rune says seriously, and there’s no reason for me to miss the playful side of him, even if the sturdiness is remarkably grounding. “We’re scouting ahead. Everyone else should stay.”
No one argues. The five of us move down the rapidly steepening slope, though my heart starts to gallop in protest. With the grass so tall, it’s impossible to see where each step lands, what might be lurking to turn the ankle of those distracted.
In reality, it’s safe, but the emptiness that stretches beyond us seems to have its own gravity, like one slip will send me tumbling into the pit. The rushing water grows louder. It falls from cracks in the walls, emptying into crystal-blue water that hardly ripples. The flooded cavern extends beneath the shelf of rock, and the realisation has fear spearing white hot through my chest. I fight the urge to turn back, and push away the knowledge that six inches of stone may be all that’s under our feet.
“It’s a cenote,” Tavi says, kneeling at the edge like a stiff breeze wouldn’t send her plummeting down.
“It’s a maw,” Rune says, looking at me, his eyebrows raised. I nod. But I don’t know where to go from here. The towering stones bookend the cenote, pieces of chipped rock falling from the twisted side and bouncing into the cavern below. The water swallows the offering, not even deigning to move. “Come on, little doe. I know you’ve got some idea of what we should do.”
He’s only half serious, I’m sure, but even that amount of confidence is staggering. One idea does loop in my head, but it’s a death wish. How could anyone complete the map if they died in the process? Surely there was another solution. Still—
More rock tumbles from the obelisk, the clattering of impact audible evenover the waterfall.
I squint against the setting sun, peering up at the stone. If it collapses while we’re here, it might just be a sign I should take Rune’s advice. Find a job in a small town and hope Nisse stays in the past where she belongs, give up the map and the sea in one fell blow.
Instead, the column starts to move.
It unfurls, the spiral design corkscrewing down, a thousand legs scratching and skittering over the solid surface.
“Run.” The word is a whisper.
Rune is still peering into the cenote. “What?”
The creature’s front reaches the ground, the other half of it still unwinding, and the ground starts to rumble.
“Run!” My legs turn on their own, my knees burning with the uphill fight against the grass. Rune’s long stride eats up the ground beside me, and Tavi keeps pace with Elio behind, though being a fae means she could easily push ahead. The rumbling grows, then muffles, and the vibration in the ground shifts, increases.
“It’s gone underground,” Bear says as we make it to the group.
“You need to go, Otto.” Rune’s chest heaves. He’s drawn his sword, the bone wicked sharp on both sides.
“Aren’t we all going?” My voice cracks. The fear in me feeds on itself now that my feet have stopped moving. The need to keep running hums just under my skin, smothering any other thought.
“No. We’re staying here. It may move to the outer parts of the island.” The earth's growing tremble and the way he holdshis sword tells me how confident he is that will happen. “And if it attacks, it’ll be the last thing it does.”
My attention narrows on him, my fingers itching for a blade. “If that’s your plan, then I’ll need a weapon.”
His jaw hardens. “No. Go find somewhere to hide with Otto—”
I’ve wrapped my fingers in the front of his shirt before he can finish and pull his face inches from mine. My heart trips over itself when his attention moves to my lips, then drags back up to my eyes, bringing to mind the burn of his hands on my waist and the scent of salt and oranges in a darkened room. His gaze flickers with something, there and gone again, and ill-timed heat pools low in my belly, only irritating me more.
“If you want the second half of this map,” I growl, “you need me to stay alive.”
“Exactly.” His breath spirits over my cheek. “So go with—”
Rock shatters.
Bits of broken stone pelt us as the creature erupts from the ground, a few of its wicked-sharp legs splayed wide before it lands and begins to wrench itself out of the earth.
“Scatter!” Rune shouts, and the crew splits, staying in their pairs.
