23. The Portal
"Mena—" Corvin started.
"So help me, if you suggest I leave you behind, I will bite you," I snapped. But inside I was panicking. We had to get him out. But that would mean lowering him down into the tunnel again and then having him drop his shoulder at an awkward angle so that I could drag him up the rest of the way. An idea snapped into my mind.
"Brace yourself. I'm going to let go of you for just a moment," I said.
He nodded weakly. Sweat and salt water poured down his face, plastering his hair to his head. The light in his emerald-green eyes had faded so much, and his fingertips had gone ink-black. But he was still fighting, even as the breaths shuddered from his body.
Dashing forward, I seized my bag and dumped the contents onto the marble floor. They spilled out, a few items rolling. Tagger chased after them, herding them back.
I grabbed the bag and brought it over to him, stretching out the strap. "You're going to lower yourself down and we're going to use this to help you get up again, all right? You're going to have to put both your arms up as straight as possible. But it's going to pinch your shoulders."
Something thudded below him. The vibration pulsed through the floor.
Panic surged through me.
"Clever," he murmured weakly.
"All right. Let's do it. One. Two. Three." I strained as I helped him ease back down.
His face twisted with pain. I helped him maneuver, my heart hammering.
He lowered down as the vibration pulsed louder. We got the strap of the bag around him and he forced his other arm up, though now his body twisted at an awkward angle while the limp arm hung down.
Hoarse laughter echoed up from below him.
I tugged harder.
His body twisted up another inch or so, his claws digging into the stone as I pulled with all my strength.
"Cut him!" one of the deep voices shouted.
"Can you get free, flesh scraps?" another laughed. That sounded like Black Claws.
"Test his strength," another called out among the gurgling and bubbles.
Corvin struggled harder. Sweat rolled down his cheeks. His eyes had lost most of their color. Even his teeth were starting to go grey.
How many of them could fit down there? I clenched my jaw and tugged.
He arched, the inkiness in his fingertips and lips spreading into veins along his mouth and up his arms. The scent of blood blossomed in the air, sickening me.
They were hurting him!
I knotted my hands around the straps and tugged harder.
More laughter followed. They jerked him down and then released him.
Corvin's muscles strained. He jammed his left arm against the marble, the veins in his brow and neck bulging.
I heaved with all my strength, adrenaline granting me more might than I had ever had. Corvin's body grated and twisted through the narrow opening, one shoulder snapping out of its socket.
Angry curses followed from below. Black Claws had gotten wedged in part of the way up. His eyes sparked with rage and hatred. "Filthy human whore!" he spat. "You can't escape us!"
Using his one good arm, Corvin dragged himself across the marble tiles. Several knife and claw wounds had gashed into his legs. His right hand pressed to his chest, the fingers now black all the way to the palm. With a grunt of pain, he snapped the shoulder back into place.
I grabbed one of the fallen rocks and chucked it into the pit. It struck Black Claws in the face. As he yelped, I found another and flung it in. Tagger pushed in gravel and smaller bits of rock. It only took a few minutes to jam up the entrance. And that pinch point was low enough in the mouth of the tunnel to make it difficult for them to just shove the debris out of the way. Especially when I packed it in.
The rageful shouts and bellows below grew more muffled.
This wasn't the only entrance point. I was certain of that. And now that they knew where we were, they'd likely be here soon.
I ran to him, dropping to his side. Blood spilled onto the marble as he struggled to heal. One of the largest wounds in his thigh had barely closed. I tried to rip my skirt to make bandages, but the damp fabric refused to tear.
"No, it's fine. Just a moment." He placed his hand over one of the wounds.
He wasn't healing fast enough. He was barely keeping himself alive.
I pulled out the dagger from his belt and used it to cut the fabric. "It'll help to put pressure on the wound. Then you can heal it. Besides, after we get out of this, I assume you'll want to see my legs, so who cares if my skirt gets shredded a little early?"
He tried to smile. "Your legs are magnificent."
"You haven't even seen them yet," I teased, trying to keep my tone light. I glanced at the pile of stones in the hole. "Do you know where there are other entrances? How fast can they get here?"
He gestured weakly toward the end of the passage beyond us. "There's another entrance there. They'll have to go back down."
I started to bind up the wounds on his leg. He didn't even twitch his right leg. The smell of blood and salt water filled my nostrils. "How long?"
"I—I don't know—" He moistened his lips. His tongue had gone grey too. Almost like charcoal.
"Do you need food? Water?" I grabbed the wrapped oiled fish and the waterskin, thrusting it against him. The packet fell to the floor as the waterskin sloshed.
"If there's any chance of you getting through the portal, you need to start on that," he said, panting. "Don't…don't worry about me."
Don't worry about him? He was half dead already! How could I not worry about him? But what good did worrying do when we had so little time?
We only had the one light source left. I grabbed the oilcloth-wrapped book and removed it. The pages flipped open toward the back. Rifling through the pages, I searched for what I knew would help. Mama had made a map.
There was a map in here. A very bare one. But a map!
I scanned the page, then looked back at him. "Then it should be down this hall if Mama got it right." The map didn't actually show the access point we had taken. What if there were others? No, I needed to just focus.
"Take the light." He continued to press his hand against the wounds on his legs, his breathing ragged.
"I'm coming back for you." I kissed his forehead. His skin held only the barest traces of warmth, but he gripped my arm in response, nodded, then gave me a gentle shove.
"Go."
I staggered forward, steeled myself, then ran. I would come back.
The pale-blue orb nestled cold in my palm. I grabbed the journal and padded down the hall, scanning the doorways. Whole sections of marble had fallen away, some in pieces at the base and others smashed across the floor.
My footsteps and breaths echoed in the cold of this place. It seemed to stretch on and on without end.
There! The runes in the arched doorway matched the ones in the book.
I stepped inside, heart pounding. The doors had been shoved open and now sagged against the wall. Some great fight had happened here long ago. Dark streaks like dried blood stained the stone. Four corpses lay on the ground, their clothing tattered and rotted. Burnt-out torches lay by two. Chunks of rock and a shattered column littered the floor.
The staircase with its intricate carvings dominated the back of the room. Urns and braziers, long since empty, stood at intervals, with an especially large one at the top of the staircase before a broad platform.
The air now held a bite to it. Something like death and dust and lightning mixed together as one.
But it was here.
We had a chance. I shoved the book back into my pocket and ran.
Corvin was already struggling in my direction. He hugged the wall, dragging himself along. His right leg barely supported him, and he had to be moving simply on will. Blood dripped from the wounds. With hardly any light left in his eyes and his hair flat against his skull, he was unrecognizable.
Tagger squeaked and circled him. But even the otter's voice was softer now, as if he too was nearing despair.
Running to Corvin, I slid under his right arm and helped lift him up. His weight almost dropped me.
Just a little farther. The light from the orb cast flickering shadows on the wall, slashed by my fingers as I gripped it and struggled forward.
So close.
His ragged breaths barely warmed my skin as his head sagged against mine. His body was like ice, his pulse thready. Black veins raced up his neck and over his temples.
"You—you don't look good."
He shook his head. His attempt at a smile failed, his panting making it all the worse. "Looks worse than it is."
I scoffed. How much worse could it get before he died? "Yeah, well…" I gestured toward the archway, indicating where we were going to go. "You really—you look bad." My gaze dropped once more to his right hand. His whole hand had gone black, and dark liquid dripped from his claws. Could he even survive the last claw punching into his wrist?
"Just—think of it like going to sleep and restoring. If I get through, I'll be—I'll be reborn," he said, his voice shaking.
"What happens if it's too much for you?" I staggered a little as another muscle tremor nearly took him down.
"Well…I guess I don't wake up." His voice broke as his gaze dropped to my bloodied arms where my sleeve was riding up. "Was this me? Did I do this?"
"No. It's fine. I'm fine." I tugged him forward, struggling under his weight. "You'll be fine."
There was still one more venom-dripped claw. The mate bond between us had supported and strengthened me, but it wasn't enough for him yet. How could he survive yet another dose with all this blood loss?
We had to get him through the portal.
This temple was so much smaller and less impressive than what I'd expected. But I was glad that we didn't have far to stagger before we reached the chamber with the staircase and the portal.
Setting Corvin down, I placed the orb beside him. Tagger sniffed Corvin and curled up against him, squeaking more.
The doors.
I had to get the doors shut.
The king's warriors would be here soon. And when they arrived, well—we really weren't in any condition to fight. I'd fought off bandits before, but not in situations like this. The sagging doors resisted at first, but I pushed each one shut, then twisted the warped lock as far into place as I could.
Corvin gestured toward the staircase. "I'll shore up the doors." He motioned toward some of the urns and furniture as well as the cracked columns and stones that had fallen near the doors.
I ran to the top of the staircase, my footsteps echoing around me as Corvin grunted and huffed. He struggled to push the broken stone against the doors. Pebbles and rubble crunched beneath his feet. It looked like he might pass out against it.
But I had to focus on this stage. If we didn't get the portal working, we were dead anyway. There was nowhere else for us to go.
A fine layer of dust filled the wide-mouthed basin at the top of the staircase. My nerves tingling, I set the bag down and the orb down and squinted at the page. It took only a few minutes to grab the materials and combine them. The wood had only gotten a little wet on one end. And the blood—well, I was already bleeding from his claws in my arm.
I made the fire and dropped the flames into the basin, then dipped my fingers in my own blood and mixed it with the ash to mark out the runes on the archway and sides of the staircase on the platform as the book instructed.
The runes in the staircase lit up with pale-blue light, similar to the orb. The entire room was bathed in its peaceful glow. That lightning-like scent intensified, sharp and bright. The light built and grew at the end of the platform before the staircase, and the air crackled before a mirror-like opening appeared.
My heart leaped.
Yes!
It was working!
The portal looked out into a sandy-soiled forest during what looked like the afternoon. A camp had been set up around the staircase. And there—a familiar form huddled on the stairs, her moss-green shawl wrapped tight around her shoulders. A small broken mug and a bit of fish sat on a leaf on the lower step. As the portal hissed into existence, Mama sat up, her eyes widening. She jumped up and raced to the platform, her voice sounding like it came from the end of a tunnel. "Philomena!"
"Mama!" My breath caught in my throat, and tears filled my eyes. I smiled even though I was scared because I was so happy to see her. All I wanted to do was hug her. "Mama, it worked! The portal worked!"
"It did!" Her eyes widened, and her hand clapped over her mouth. "It's working. It worked! All you have to do is walk through." She gestured for me to come through. "Hurry, darling. Hurry!"
"Corvin, get up here. Tagger!" I gestured for them wildly. Tagger bolted up the stairs, squeaking and chirring. He halted at my feet, rising up on his hindquarters as he sniffed the air.
Mama's face fell, her hand covering her mouth. "It's not just you?"
My heart sank. The soft way she said that. Dread nipped at my mind. "No. Corvin is with me. He's the reason I'm here. And Tagger." I brushed my fingers over the otter's head.
Mama pressed her hand to her mouth, seeming to almost shrink inward as her brow creased. "Oh, sweetheart, this portal—it's only strong enough to transport one."