“Why is that?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t try to get into my head, little brother. It’s a lot like this mine, with a new horror lurking around every corner.” He walked briskly to catch up with Seneser as you fell back beside me.
“How are you doing?” You squeezed my shoulder.
The moaning had grown louder and was now punctuated with sharp, aching cries. It sounded terrible, like people were dying in agony. My arms were still pricked with goosebumps that showed no sign of going away. But they were only spirits, I had to remind myself. Spirits I could deal with.
“I didn’t know Dybukks could make such human noises.”
You nodded. “In Shade Vales, they can also move physical objects, hence the other reason for these.” You tapped my helmet and then squeezed my hand. Ahead of us, our little train had stalled again. My beam scanned the area to find Spooky peering over the edge of what appeared to be a deep, dark pit.
“There’s our next turn,” Seneser said, not even trying to hide his dread.
Beside me, you tensed. I moved closer to inspect it.
The hole was actually a steep trench with an ancient-looking ladder, missing rungs in several places. Our light beams weren’t strong enough to see where it ended, but it looked deep.
“I’ll go first,” I volunteered. I wasn’t being brave. I just didn’t want to chicken out while waiting my turn.
“No,” you said without even considering it.
“It makes sense,” Lucian said. “He’s the lightest, and this way you can support him from above. Make sure he doesn’t fall and crack his pretty little head.”
“I’ll be fine,” I told you. “You won’t let me fall, right?”
You grumbled in agreement. I picked up Spooky and arranged her between my pack and shoulder blades while you tested the harness, then gave the ropes more slack.
“Try not to be alarmed by the noise,” you said. The moans filtered up from the dark and surrounded us on all sides. Spooky’s claws dug through my t-shirt and cut into my skin, but I welcomed the distraction.
“Will do,” I said and tried to calm my thudding heart.
I descended the ladder cautiously while you alerted me to places where there were missing rungs. Soon enough, you, Lucian, and Seneser were just three bobbing lights in the dark. A mist crept up around me like grabby hands and the temperature dropped. There was a mineral tang in the air that made me think there was water nearby, which made sense. Even demons needed water to survive.
The ladder ended and I estimated it to be about a ten-foot drop to the cavern floor. I tugged at the rope and called up for you to lower me down slowly. If I were more adventurous, I might have made the jump, but I didn’t want to break my legs in the process.
When I reached the cave bottom, I unhooked the rope from my harness and tugged for you to raise it back up. The moans had faded somewhat. The area was domed but without any wooden reinforcements. I didn’t know if it was a natural cave or if it had been blasted open by dynamite. I drew my hands along the wall and gathered moisture on my fingertips. The mist made it hard to see past a few feet in front of me.
Seneser joined me next, then Lucian, and finally, you landed with a thud on the rocky ground. The walls vibrated a little, and I was on the lookout for falling rock. I glanced up to the bottom of the ladder and wondered briefly how we’d get back out. A problem for later.
“Henri,” Lucian said, knocking off my hard hat and yanking me by my shoulders to face him. “What is that?”
I glanced between the two of you. Did I have some huge spider crawling across my face?
“That isnotin our bloodline,” Lucian declared. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“What’s going on?” I asked while you traced my cheekbones, my jaw, and the slope of my nose. “Do I look hideous or what?”
“No, my darling,” you said with a smile. “But you do look very much like a cat.”
I glanced down to Spooky who seemed to have doubled in size.
“What kind of cat?”
“A lion?” you said cautiously.
“An Atlas lion,” Lucian said, “All but extinct today.”
“That’s cool.” Your hair appeared to float just like Mater’s snakes. I reached out and curled a lock of it around my finger. It felt the same—silky smooth—but seemed to have the ability to pull back. I glanced at Lucian, and his shorter hair was undulating in a similar way.
