At first, the room was silent, save for their labored breaths. Then the stone groaned, the sound rattled through their bones like the growl of a disturbed slumbering beast. One by one, the walls began to shift inward. The room was closing in on them. Three of the walls scraped against the floor. Their relentless, ancient mechanisms ground into motion after centuries of stillness. Dust plumed from the crevices as centuries-old mortar crumbled.
Her previous frustration with Afton’s grueling, slow approach, trying to target the wards and traps, faltered. Without Raye, she was sure the three of them would have been crushed to death, and still might be. A dozen doors lined the wall tothe right and one in the back. It would have been impossible to guess which door to take, and if the wrong one was chosen…she wondered how many bones had been ground to dust by this protection.
“Listen to me, the door in the middle on the right,” said Raye.
Erinna eyed their target door; it was a good distance from where they stood. “We need to take the middle door on the right,” Erinna relayed. They would need to move fast if they didn’t want to be crushed to death.
“I can take the slowest with me, but the other will have to run.” Kane looked from Afton to Erinna. He was sizing them up, she realized. Determining the slowest. Kane scanned Erinna from head to toe, and then his gaze landed on Afton.
Kane closed the distance to Erinna. “I can get us to the end…”
She pushed at his chest and pointed in the direction Raye told her. “There, we have to get there. If you’ll take anyone, take Afton. He may be needed to open the door.”
Raye interjected again. “He certainly will be. It’s magically sealed.”
Erinna grit her teeth and already regretted her choice in guide.
Kane’s eyes narrowed. “But...”
“No.” She reached out and shoved Afton toward the pirate. “Take him and open that door. I’ll be fine.”
Erinna launched herself forward. Or tried to.
Kane caught her midstride, one arm hooking behind her knees as he swept her up. Before she could snarl a complaint, darkness engulfed them, ripping the air from her lungs. Then she was on her feet, at the door, breathless and furious.
“This will be my last one,” Kane said, then was shrouded in darkness once more.
Raye shimmered into focus. “He still has room to grow, it seems.”
“What else do we need to worry about?” she hissed. If Raye had time to comment on Kane’s ability, he had time to tell her what to expect.
“When you open the door, you must be silent. Follow me and do not speak. Do not knock into something or touch anything. Try not to crunch on the slightest pebble.”
Before Erinna could ask more questions, Kane was back with Afton.
“You will be the death of us, Atwater. She was right. You should have taken me first,” Afton growled, straightening his shirt from where Kane grabbed him.
The walls had covered half the distance, and they were closing in quickly. Afton was already assessing the lock. Erinna could feel the hum of arcanum as the mage got to work. She didn’t know the intricacies of warding, but even she could see how complicated the spell work was as Afton illuminated the bindings and picked through them, slow and steady.
“Remember this was your fault,” Erinna whispered to Kane from the corner of her mouth. The fear and anxiety were growing to crippling levels as the opposite wall continued to approach.
“When we enter, we have to be silent. No talking, no grumbling, don’t touch anything or scrape the floor too hard.”
Afton cocked his head in intrigue but remained focused on his task at hand. Erinna noted his spellbook, covered in notes and runes she didn’t recognize. Damien had never mentioned the need for spell keeping past the second year.
“How do you know this?” Kane’s question was more a demand.
Raye sent her a sharp look, and his warning echoed in her head,“Be careful who you trust.”Erinna bit her bottom lip. She’d keep it a secret for now, but in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but feel that Kane could be trusted with it.
Porcelain shattered, and wood splintered behind them. The walls were closing in, and soon they would be an arm’s length away.
“Hurry.” Erinna ushered Afton, ignoring Kane’s questions. She couldn’t think of a good lie and wasn’t ready to be berated.
“Yarrow, how do you know this?”
She could feel his stare boring holes in the back of her head. He took a step closer, turned her around so her head was level with his chest. Erinna peered up, heart pounding as she met his amber gaze. He raised one eyebrow in question. She pressed her lips into a thin line and could feel him chuckle.
She knew what he meant. This discussion was far from over.
