I opened the case and lifted the necklace. The moment my fingers touched it, the crystal warmed and began to glow with a soft silver light. "Cypher," I called. "What is this?"
He looked up from the codex, his eyes widening when he saw what I held. "That's a First Anchor," he said, approaching quickly. "It's supposedly a shard of one of the very first anchor crystals ever used for portal travel. Put it on. Keep it safe. First Anchors are incredibly rare and powerful. It could help us later."
I slipped the chain over my head, and the crystal settled against my chest, its warmth spreading through me like liquid light. I tucked it beneath my shirt just as a tremendous crash echoed from somewhere in the distance.
Tor's voice boomed through the chambers. "Captain! We need to move! NOW!"
We rushed back to the main archive room to find the others already gathering their packs. Cypher handed the codex to Vic, who secured it in a satchel.
"What's happening?" I asked Kora as we hurried back toward the entrance.
"Don't know. Something's coming. Tor said he can sense the vibrations through the stone."
We reached the main corridor just as another crash sounded, closer this time. Then I heard it—a horrible clicking sound, like hundreds of tiny claws scrabbling against stone.
"Run!" Cypher shouted, urging us ahead of him. "Get to the skiff!"
We sprinted through the corridors, retracing our steps through the maze of wards that now parted automatically as we approached. The clicking grew louder, echoing off the walls around us.
"What is that?" I gasped as we emerged onto the platform where the skiff was docked.
"Crawlers," Cypher spat, his eyes full of horror. "Get aboard, now!"
I caught my first glimpse of our pursuers. They poured from the archway, long-bodied insects the size of a person, with hundreds of legs propelling them forward at terrifying speed. Their heads were dominated by massive pincers that clicked and snapped hungrily.
"This place has too many monsters that want to eat us!" Kora shouted as she scrambled aboard.
"I second that!" I agreed, backing toward the skiff as the first of the crawlers reached the platform.
"Their pincers have paralyzing venom like the krell darts," Cypher warned, pushing me ahead of him. "One bite will leave you helpless."
Jask fired up the skiff's engines as we all scrambled aboard. The vessel dipped alarmingly under our combined weight. Tor and Knives took positions at the edges, firing crossbows at the advancing horde.
"We're too heavy!" Zoya shouted as the skiff listed to one side, threatening to tip over completely.
Cypher and I were still at the rear, the last to board. The skiff lurched again, edging away from the platform as the crawlers converged, but tilted too far over, causing us to have no choice but to leap off before it capsized.
"Go!" Cypher shouted to Jask. "Take off now!"
"But you're not—" Kora began.
"GO!" Cypher roared, and Jask had no choice but to comply.
The skiff pulled away, leaving Cypher and me stranded at the edge of the platform. We backed up until our heels met empty air, a vertical drop of hundreds of feet below us. The crawlers advanced, their pincers clicking in hungry anticipation.
"We're dead," I whispered, gripping Cypher's arm.
"Not yet," he said, pointing to the distance.
I followed his gesture and felt a surge of hope. The Night-Piercer was approaching, moving at full speed toward the tower. As it drew closer, I could see ropes dangling from its hull.
"Reckless fool… He could have ripped my ship apart this close to the smaller islands.We need to jump and catch them. It's our only chance."
I stared at him in horror. "Jump? That's insane! We'll miss and fall to our deaths!"
"Better than being paralyzed and eaten alive," he replied dryly.
The crawlers were mere feet away now, their antennae twitching as they sensed our fear. Behind us, the Night-Piercer drew steadily closer, but still not close enough.
