36. Matilda
36
MATILDA
“Don’t touch anything,” three voices snap at me as I reach toward the cold spot Luc found.
I freeze, hand hovering inches from the stone floor. “Too late,” I murmur.
My power swells without warning, shooting down my arm like lightning. The symbols in the circle flare with an eerie blue light, like Vex’s runes, and he grunts sharply. Beneath my outstretched fingers, a section of the stone shifts and rises to reveal a small, circular button carved with a spiral pattern.
“Well, shit,” Vex mutters.
“Don’t,” Luc warns, but it’s too late.
My fingers brush the button before anyone can stop me. It depresses with a soft click that echoes far too loudly in the silent library.
For a moment, nothing happens.
Then, the floor disappears.
The massive circle splits into segments that rotate and retract. Then, we’re falling. My stomach lurches as gravity takes hold, and I hear surprised shouts from the guys as we plummet into darkness.
Wind rushes past my ears, and I can’t tell if I’m screaming or laughing. Probably both. Scattered moonlight follows us down, glinting off smooth stone walls that spiral around us like we’re falling down the inside of a massive seashell.
Time slows down, and we fall, less turbulently, like Alice when she fell down the rabbit hole. There are etchings on the walls, symbols that are so old it hurts to look at them.
The air grows thicker and heavier, tasting of age and secrets.
“Anyone else notice their power feeling... weird?” Luc calls out.
“It’s being dampened,” Vex shouts back. “Something down here is?—”
The bottom rushes up to meet us faster than expected. Instead of the bone-crushing impact I’m bracing for, we land in what feels like a pool of thick air that slows our descent until we touch down gently on solid ground.
“Well,” Draven says into the darkness, “that was dramatic.”
“Sounds about right for you,” Luc mutters, but then louder asks, “Everyone alive?” He summons a small flame to his palm. It flickers weakly, casting just enough light to see we’re in some kind of circular chamber. Multiple tunnels branch off in different directions, their entrances marked with more of those ancient symbols.
“Define alive,” I mutter. “Because I’m standing, but it feels like my soul has left the building.”
“Not a good sign,” Vex says, moving in closer to me. “Something down here is interfering with all our abilities.”
“Damn straight. This weak ass flame is lame as fuck,” Luc drawls, his annoyed face flickering in the dim light.
“But at least we can see each other,” I say. “Sort of.”
A low rumble echoes through the chamber, and the tunnel entrances glow with different coloured lights. One blue, one red, one green, and one that seems to swallow all the light entirely.
“Choose,” a voice whispers from all around us, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “But choose wisely.”
I take a step toward the tunnels, but Luc’s hand shoots out to grab my wrist.
“Hold up, my sweet. Let’s think about this.”
“Since when do you think about anything?” I ask, but my voice trembles slightly. Since Vex mentioned it, I can feel my magick has been dampened, like someone’s pressed a pillow over its face.
“Since we fell into what is clearly a very old, very powerful trap,” Luc says dryly.
Draven moves closer to the tunnels, studying each one with narrowed eyes. “These colours aren’t random.”
Vex runs his fingers over the symbols beside each entrance. “They’re elements. Classical elements, if I’m reading this right. But the black one...” He trails off, frowning.
“What about it?” I ask, fighting the urge to step toward that light-consuming darkness. It calls to something in me, something that recognises its nature.
“It’s not an element. It’s something else. The writing is similar to what was in Draven’s book, but older. Much older.”
“How can you tell?” I ask.
He shoots me an annoyed look, but he can see I’m genuinely curious. “They are more basic and yet more complicated because of it.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It does to me and I’m the rune master,” he mutters, returning his gaze to the etchings.
“Fair enough,” I mutter and hear him snicker in response.
The rumbling sound returns, and this time, words form in the vibrations: “Time flows differently here. Choose, or the paths will choose for you.”
“Well, that’s not ominous at all,” I mutter. “Any preferences? Because personally, I vote we avoid the tunnel that looks like a supe-eating void.”
“Agreed,” Luc says firmly, but I notice his eyes keep drifting to the red tunnel. “The fire path feels familiar.”
“It would to you,” Draven responds, moving closer to the blue tunnel. “Just like this one calls to me.”
I look at Vex, who’s still studying the black tunnel with an unreadable expression. “Please tell me you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking.”
“These tunnels,” he says slowly, “they’re meant to separate us.”
The rumbling grows louder, and dust begins to fall from above.
“No,” I say firmly. “Absolutely not. We are not splitting up. That’s literally rule number one in situations like this.”
“Been in many situations like this?” Luc asks with a smirk.
“Well, not exactly like this,” I snarl, giving him the finger. He chuckles, and it feels easy. Easier with him than it has been. Maybe because neither of us is denying our attraction anymore? Who knows?
“We might not have a choice,” Draven says, as more debris rains down. “The chamber’s collapsing.”
“Then we pick one tunnel, and all go together,” Luc argues, but even as he says it, I can feel a pull toward the green tunnel. It’s like it’s reaching out specifically for me.
The rumbling becomes deafening. Chunks of stone crash down around us now.
An invisible force, like hands made of air, drags us in different directions. I stumble as it pulls me toward the green tunnel, while Luc is yanked toward the red, Draven toward the blue, and Vex toward the black.
“Fight it!” I yell, trying to grab onto someone, anyone. But my fingers pass through them like they’re made of mist.
“We’ll find each other!” Vex’s voice sounds distant already. “Whatever’s down here, it wants us separated. So we play its game, but we find our way back!”
“How?” I scream as the force grows stronger.
“Fate, petal,” Draven calls out. “We will always find you!”
The last thing I hear before the green tunnel swallows me is Luc’s voice shouting, “You’ve got this!”
Then I’m alone, surrounded by ethereal green light, with only my weakened magick and a whole lot of questions.
“Well,” I mutter, straightening my shoulders. “This isn’t scary at all.”
The green light shimmers around me, making me feel a bit ill as I move deeper into the tunnel. My footsteps echo oddly. It’s like walking through memories, each step bringing a flash of something I’ve tried to forget.
A laugh echoes suddenly all around me, and I freeze. It’s the laugh that’s haunted my nightmares for years.
“Tilly-girl,” his voice comes from the shadows. “All grown up and playing with Demons now. But where are they this time? They can’t protect you from me now.”
My blood turns to ice. He isn’t real. He isn’t real. But maybe that’s what this tunnel is about? About facing our darkest fears? A test? A trial of some kind?
Stryker steps into the green light, looking exactly as he always has. Handsome in that conventional way that lets monsters hide in plain sight. My brother’s best friend. My personal nightmare.
“You’re not real,” I say, but my voice shakes.
“Aren’t I?” He smiles. “I’m as real as your guilt, Tilly-girl. As real as your shame. As real as your fear that maybe you wanted me to fuck your mouth, maybe even more.”
“No.” The word comes out stronger this time. “That’s your lie. That’s always been your lie.”
He steps closer, and I force myself not to step back. “Why did you let it happen, then, over and over?”
“Because they didn’t care!” I spit out. “If they did, they would’ve stopped you.”
He snarls, his handsome facade cracking. “So you think playing witch makes you strong? You think aligning yourself with three powerful men who want to use your little cunt and nothing more will change things? They don’t care about you either, Tilly-girl. You know it, and I know it.”
His words hurt. They hit home, and for a moment, I believe them. But the power lurking in my blood kicks me in the arse, and I snap out of it. “No. They are not using me. They care. You don’t know shit.”
The thing wearing Stryker’s face lunges at me, angry that I’ve challenged him and not submitted.
This time, I don’t shut my eyes and pretend it’s not happening. This time, I fight.
I remember how it felt in Physical Combat class to kick Vex’s arse. Even though part of me thinks he let me, I still did it. The professor said I had natural instincts, so I let them take over and I punch Stryker in his handsome, cruel face. He stumbles, and I kick him in the nuts. He howls and doubles over, and I smile. I bring my elbow down on the back of his neck, and he collapses, vanishing into the cold, stone floor.
“Tunnel, zero, Tilly, one,” I pant to whatever’s orchestrating this twisted game.
The tunnel ahead lights up brighter, so I take a deep breath and start walking again. Whatever’s next, I can handle it. I’m not that scared little girl anymore.
I’m something much more dangerous now, and I think this tunnel recognises that.