Chapter 35
Chapter thirty-five
The Cellars
As a new round of crossbow bolts whizzed by, I slipped through the opening in the door. It was barely wide enough for me, and the buttons of my clothing caught on the frame.
As I dashed down a natural rock passageway, a massive explosion rocked the room I had just left. Small rocks and bits of debris rained down around me. Fire licked out of the doorway with a singeing heat, but I had made it far enough away to avoid the worst of it.
Once the firestorm died down, the cave grew dark. I shook one of my light vials, which emitted a dull green glow, just enough to guide me. The cave was rough and uneven, twisting through bedrock.
My chest ached. The raw finality of what Caldren had done threatened to crack me open. But grief was a luxury I didn’t have time for. Not yet. I wouldn’t let his death be for nothing. I needed to get out of this maze of tunnels alive.
I reached the first fork in the corridors, recalled Caldren’s hastily relayed instructions, and turned left.
Far behind me, muted but still audible, Syra’s voice called out in a bestial roar. “I will get you, Cassian Nightbrook! I will have your head on a stake!”
Apparently, in her shifted state, she had somehow survived the blast. I doubled my pace.
The caves were dank and cold. Water dripped from the ceiling, forming ankle-twisting divots in the ground that were hard to avoid. The smell of moss and earth permeated everything. I tried to move as fast as I could, but the uneven ground and slick rocks made the going much slower than I’d hoped.
I tried to build a mental map as I passed each intersection, following Caldren’s instructions. But soon I approached a twisting knot of tunnels, followed immediately by another. Was this one intersection or two?
I guessed one. But just as I headed toward the tunnel, I felt something in my gut: the subtle clues of how the cave was formed, the way the air flowed. It had to be two.
“I’m coming for you!” Syra’s voice echoed from deep in the tunnels, but closer this time. It was faint, but not faint enough.
I raced down the other path, hoping my instincts were correct.
The tunnel I’d chosen went on for a very long time, longer than any of the previous passages.
If I was wrong and Syra caught up with me here, there’d be no place to run or hide.
To make matters worse, this tunnel seemed to be heading downward.
Before this, everything had sloped up. My gut twisted with worry. But I pressed on.
Finally, after what felt like half a mile or longer, I came to another intersection.
“Okay, left here,” I said to myself. “If I don’t pass a waterfall next, I’m fucked.”
The new passage also went on for a long while, but this one slanted upward. I sucked in heavy breaths as my heart rate increased.
Soon the faint sound of water on stone reached my ears. I smiled, then broke into a run.
Moments later, I entered a large cavern illuminated by moonlight filtering through a hole in the cave’s roof. Through it, water cascaded into a pristine pond in the middle.
I practically sprinted the rest of the way, completing the final turns.
Ahead, I could make out the night sky framed at the end of the tunnel.
It was all I could do not to burst out into the open.
At the exit, I peeked my head out. A light wind ruffled my hair.
The night air was crisp, free of the city’s smog and pollution. All was quiet.
I left the cave and found myself in the northern foothills, well outside the city.
They were dotted with dozens of caves, all exits from the infamous cellars.
To the south, the lights of Analon gleamed against the night sky, and to the east, the edge of the Blackwood Forest loomed.
Behind it, the sky was turning a dark purple as the first hints of dawn licked the horizon.
I had escaped. But I was still a captive of my mind.
Between Darion’s lies, Elena’s capture, and Caldren’s sacrifice, I was a ship lost at sea. I closed my eyes tight. Before, decisions had come easily, but now my mind was a jumble of thoughts. So I grabbed at the one that floated to the surface first: I had to move before Syra tracked me down.
More out of instinct than anything, my feet took me toward Blackwood Forest. By the time I entered the shadow of the trees, the sky had changed from dark purples to warm oranges and reds.
I walked aimlessly, then suddenly looked up in surprise. I knew this place—it was the foraging spot where Darion and I had spent one of the best afternoons of my life. Had that really been only a few weeks ago? It felt like a lifetime. Gods, my heart ached.
It was a good enough spot for a few hours of rest. That was as far as I could reason.
Despite it being early summer, the morning was chilly. I curled up under a tree and used my cloak as a blanket. And moments later, despite the tumult in my mind, I fell into a fitful rest.
I woke with a start to a loud squawk.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes. A familiar whisperhawk came into focus, perched in the tree just above me. Zephyra was the first good thing I’d seen in hours.
Sleepy little Cas is awake, finally.
“It’s good to see you, Zephyra,” I said as she landed softly on my shoulder. “But I’m afraid I don’t have any berries.”
Zephyra finds her own berries in the hills. But that’s not all Zephyra finds. Zephyra went to Garrick. Garrick told Zephyra to look for Elena.
“Did you find her?” I exclaimed.
Zephyra did!
If Garrick had been in front of me at that moment, I’d have kissed him.
“Is she headed north with a group of people?” I asked.
No. She’s with a man with straw for hair. They are on the big road heading to the sunrise.
In an instant, my elation turned to dread. Elena, my Elena, was alone with Kael, not heading north to the rendezvous point but somewhere on the East Road.
Kael had captured her.