I used a pinch of Wicker light powder to explode the area into bright light. Thane stalked towards the empty poles and lifted one of the heavy chains. ‘That vampire is lucky he’s already dead,’ he growled, his voice heavy with disgust.
Thomas flinched. Thane dropped the chains and we turned to the entrance of the maze. She Without An Ear was already at the threshold, clearly keen to get inside.
‘We need a plan,’ I said briskly. ‘We don't know how big the maze is or what it might contain, and we can't simply wander around getting lost. Strategy is key and we all need to know what that strategy is so we’re on the same page. Searching for Chester Longchamps’ body and, more importantly, the Clouded Map he was carrying is a good start, but there's no guarantee we’ll find him.’
Thomas cleared his throat awkwardly. ‘I’ve got a spell,’ he said. ‘Beth was a witch before she turned, so she prepared it for me overnight.’ Almost reverently, he withdrew a small vial from his pocket.
I recognised it immediately. ‘A tracking spell?’
He nodded. ‘It’s already attuned to Penelope.’ He looked away. ‘To her body,’ he amended. ‘If any part of her remains, this spell will help us find her.’
That information would have been helpful beforehand but I was still glad of it. It would solve several thorny problems.
‘Excellent,’ I said. ‘We don’t know how complicated thismaze will be so it will give us a good start.’ A very good start; it was a clever move on Thomas’s part.
He uncorked the vial and emptied the contents on the ground. The spell reacted immediately and a spark of violet light appeared and hovered in mid-air. At a leisurely pace, it started snaking its way towards the maze entrance.
She Without An Ear watched its progress. When it drew near, she hunkered down and began to wiggle her furry arse. Uh-oh. ‘No!’ I said sharply. ‘This isn’t a game!’
Her single ear twitched so I knew she’d heard me, but she chose to ignore me. She added a final wiggle for effect then pounced on the tiny light. Her attack had the same effect as it would have had on a laser pointer: it blithely carried on past her and into the maze. The cat unsurprisingly followed.
I clenched my jaw and hurried after her. I might have wanted to delay our entrance but She Without An Ear had other ideas. We were going in whether we wanted to or not.
The moment I passed across the threshold, I felt the atmosphere shift. Suddenly the air felt oppressive and a sense of foreboding settled heavily between my shoulder blades. I didn’t have time to react, though, because She Without An Ear had already spun to her right.
Aware that Thane and Thomas were close behind me, I jogged after her and raised my witchlight. I trod carefully but the ground was smooth, as were the surrounding walls. There was very little to see except a long dark corridor with a high ceiling that somehow added to the oppressive atmosphere rather than detracted from it. I shivered.
‘Be careful, Kit,’ Thane warned in a low whisper. ‘There may be traps.’
I grunted acknowledgement: tell that to She Without An Ear. But he was right. We had no idea of what to expect and we had to be careful.
Although the first maze corridor continued, there was a gap in the wall ahead on our left. The violet light hovered for a moment then zipped through it and She Without An Ear followed. I cursed to myself. Forget Thomas, it was that damned cat who was proving to be a liability. I gritted my teeth.
I’d barely started down the second corridor when I felt odd vibrations beneath my feet. They were quickly followed by a rumbling sound that grew louder with every passing second. Thomas let out a loud expletive and I felt Thane move closer behind me as I stumbled to a halt, wary of what might happen next.
She Without An Ear came bounding back, her hackles raised and her eyes wide. As soon as she reached my feet, I bent down and scooped her up. All three of us waited. We didn’t know what was happening but this most definitely wasn’t normal.
It took several long seconds for the rumbling to subside. I remained on high alert. That sound had signalled something – the question was what.
When no seething monster thundered towards us, some of my tension eased. I turned to Thomas. ‘What was that?’
His red eyes were wide and fearful. ‘I have no idea.’
‘You’ve never felt anything like it before?’ Thane asked. ‘Heard anything like it?’
He shook his head. ‘No,’ he whispered.
‘I don’t think that was our monster,’ I said. ‘It felt like the whole maze was shaking.’
‘Dark magic,’ Thane agreed. He touched the walls on either side with his fingertips. ‘It’s bound into this stone.’
As I placed the palm of my right hand against the cool stone, She Without An Ear miaowed in alarm but I shushed her and concentrated. ‘I can feel it too,’ I said. ‘Powerful enchantments are built into this maze. It might be some sort of early warning system.’
‘You mean the monster might already know we’re coming?’ Thomas asked shakily.
‘Anything is possible.’
He turned a terrifying shade of pale as Thane and I exchanged grim looks.
