All she could do was act on the information she had. No inventing new fears. Maybe there was evil in the cave—she’d seen the shapes in the shadows—but it still craved a body. She had to hope it wouldn’t leave the one it had until a new vessel was in its grasp.
She heard a scraping sound. That was him, the dead man, dragging his broken leg over the cave. Any second he’d be caught on a snare... She just had to wait. A little longer.
She thought of Mariana and of Reyva, waiting for her, worrying about her, and depending on her. She wasn’t going to let them down. She was going to get out of here, rejoin them, and they were going to get off this island together.
She clung to that hope, knowing it was unlike her, but still, she seized that shining bit of optimism and held it close.
And she heard the moment that he was caught in a snare. A grunt. A thud. “What have you done?” His voice curled out of the darkness.
Claire flew into motion, dancing through the spiral by memory, knowing where she’d laid the traps. He’d have come straight for her, so she circled around the edges, skipping over the rocks. She didn’t speak. She didn’t scream. She kept her feet light, landing on her toes. She counted her steps and knew the moment she’d reached the rock face.
Without hesitating, she began to climb.
“What have you done?” he howled.
“Come on, Claire!” Mariana called from above.
Climbing faster, Claire yelled back, “Are you okay? Is Reyva there?” She imagined everything that could have gone wrong on the surface—
“Save your breath,” Reyva called. “Climb!”
She heard scuffling behind her. He couldn’t be free already! She climbed faster, reaching for higher and higher handholds. Her feet scrambled behind her. She heard a howl and pebbles below her.
Hewasfree.
And he was climbing too.
It should have worked! She’d littered the cave with snares! He should have been tangled in multiple wires by now.
She felt as though his howls were rising up to grab her. Gritting her teeth, she moved as fast as she could. Hand over hand, foot pushing, propelling herself upward.
The sliver of sun seemed impossibly far.
She was aware that the dead man was climbing behind her. Her mind displayed all the things that could go wrong: she could lose her grip, she could climb too slowly, he could catch her, he could possess her and stop Reyva and Mariana from escaping. He’d use the cage, keep them as spares for when her body failed.
“You can do this, Claire,” Mariana called.
“Just a little farther,” Reyva said.
She listened to their voices, and they drowned out the spiral of doubt as they urged her upward. Focusing on them, she concentrated on one hand after another.
She felt a brush of wind on her ankle.
She screamed. He was close! He’d almost touched her. Another inch, and he would have had her. Tears filled her eyes. No, no, no!
I’m not going to make it, she thought.
He was too close.
“Start the engine!” Claire called.
They had to blow the motor. He had to be trapped down here. If he escaped... There was no other plan. This was it. It wouldn’t work twice. They’d never trick him into the cave again. She didn’t know of any other way to stop him. Arthur had never escaped, and the spirit had no intention of letting the three of them go. They had to trap him now.
“But you’re not clear!” Mariana said.
“Just start it!”
She’d been willing to be possessed to save them; of course she was willing to be blown up. So long as it stopped him. So long as the others went free. She’d do it. If she had to. Only if she had to. Until then, she was climbing—toward them.
