Chapter 60
CHAPTER SIXTY
Ellery
My shoulders slumped, but energy continued to pulse through me as my fury sought an outlet. There was no outlet here. Instead, there was only disorder, darkness, and a suffocating feeling that had me contemplating the opening of another portal to escape.
We’d all known while taking supplies to our backup encampment that it wasn’t the ideal location and would be miserable, but it would keep us alive… for now.
Taking a deep breath, I turned to face the insanity as amsirah scrambled to control the livestock, establish light, and get the children settled. Lanterns and torches were the only sources of light; they illuminated the cool, rocky walls of the cavern surrounding us.
This vast cave with its circular formation reminded me of the forsaken town full of the dead we’d discovered beneath the earth. However, there was no Heart of Stone pulsating over this place, no ashes of the dead, and no gargoyles.
It was only a massive cavern full of petrified amsirah, animals, and the supplies we’d already stored here. Six tunnels branched off from the main cavern; in each of those tunnels, we established separate stations.
Everyone would sleep in the main cavern, but we’d dug holes and placed shovels in one tunnel to use as the bathroom.
Another tunnel had some water trickling in from above; it would be our source for drinking, baths, and where we’d stored a backup supply of food for everyone here as well as the animals.
Thankfully, we’d also managed to bring more food supplies with us when we fled.
Three of the tunnels were for the animals and their excrement. And the final tunnel was the only way back to the surface.
All of them, except for the one leading out, dead-ended at some point. No monsters lurked in the shadows—or at least they weren’t there the last time we were here—and only one tunnel required guarding.
One of the first things we’d have to do was search those tunnels again to make sure they remained clear. Mr. Fletcher was already doing that as he shouted orders to the dazed and confused amsirah shuffling around the place.
Some amsirah were already setting up blankets near the walls in the main cavern for the children to sleep. My heart ached for those tiny, frightened faces. They’d already lost so much, and they’d just had their safe place ripped away from them.
Not to mention, they’d lost the ability to run freely, breathe fresh air, and feel the sunlight. We couldn’t live down here forever; residing beneath the earth would destroy our spirits and bodies.
We had to stay here long enough to ensure it was safe to return to the surface. Even then, we’d have to spend the rest of the winter here. We’d never be able to rebuild any kind of safe community before the worst of the weather set in.
When a couple of women hurried to the center of the cavern with bundles of wood, I stopped them before they could start a fire. “No fires. The duke’s men are in the forest; if they get close to us, they could catch the scent of the smoke.”
“It’s cold down here. What about the children?” one of the women asked.
“Keep them bundled up, but we can’t risk a fire anytime soon.”
“How will we cook?” another woman asked.
“We have plenty of cooked and salted meat; it will have to do for a few days.”
“They need fresh food.”
“We have canned vegetables and fruits stored in the tunnel with the water. They’ll have fresh milk, and hopefully we’ll be able to hunt and have fires again in a few days.”
“The forest protected us from the duke’s men before,” Ruby said as she strode over to join us. Her son, Billy, walked beside her. “It could do so again.”
I thought back to the black dog and the way it turned and trotted away from me when I told it I had to find Ryker. When I chose him over the woods, I turned my back on the forest, and I suspected it would do the same to me.
“We can’t rely on the forest,” I said.
Ruby’s brow furrowed as she tilted her head to study me. She and Scarlet looked so much alike with their dark red hair and brown eyes. Billy took more after his father, Mr. Fletcher, in terms of facial features and build, but they all shared the same coloring.
“We should be able to light fires tomorrow,” Ianto said. “I agree with keeping them doused for today, but this far below the earth, the smoke probably won’t make it to the surface.”
“And what if it does reach the surface and they’re close enough to detect it?” I asked. “Not to mention the smoke is going to fill this cavern.”
“We can use wind to disperse it,” Ruby suggested. “But we need those fires, Ellery.”
She was right, we did need those fires, and for more than warmth and cooking. We all needed the comfort, familiarity, and light they’d provide.
It wouldn’t take long before being trapped in the shadows started driving everyone mad. I couldn’t let that happen, but what was I supposed to do?
My mind again flashed back to the image of the black dog turning its back on me and trotting away. The message of its ass facing us was clear, but so was what the forest wanted from me.
It had drawn me there for one thing and one thing only… the gargoyles.