Chapter 13 Briar #2
Vad turned sideways and slipped through first, his wings pressed tight to his back. Stone scraped as he vanished into the dark. “Come on,” he called, voice echoing hollowly from the rock.
I followed, twisting sideways to fit. The passage closed in on me at once, cold and damp. The soft rush of the river sounded far off now, but not far enough. It wouldn’t take much to trap us here.
The floor sloped sharply upward. I braced both hands against the walls as I climbed after Vad. My feet scraped against damp stone, the incline steep and slick. One wrong step, and I’d end up knocking the whole line backward.
“Watch your footing.” Vad slid farther into the passage and offered a hand to me. I caught it and slid my fingers across his bandaged palm. The ceiling hung low enough that I had to duck my head in several spots. The run bag I carried bumped awkwardly against my hip as I climbed.
“This isn’t exactly a comforting tunnel,” I muttered, trying to ignore the growing tightness in my chest as the passage narrowed further.
Behind me, Elara and Silus slipped in next, elbows brushing the walls. Their breathing echoed in the narrow space. Quen followed with the lamp, its glow flickering wildly, casting strange, stretched shadows across the stone.
The rest of our group filed in slowly—Elias, Vyraetos, Thalen, and Myantha. Veralt grunted as he began forcing his way in, the stone scraping his back and shoulders. Rhielle followed him, one hand on his arm.
“Everything all right?” Vad called back.
“Delightful.” Veralt spat. “If you like crawling through rock coffins.”
The passage twisted tighter. At times, I had to duck or press my back to one side, using Vad and my other hand against the stone wall to keep from sliding back.
My breath created small puffs of condensation that clung to the rock.
How much farther? My chest tightened with the thought of getting stuck.
A few hundred feet. He continued forward as discomfort leaked through the bond despite his calm tone. Then it opens up.
I checked on Elara beside me. Sweat beaded her forehead, and her jaw was set tight. Silus stayed close behind her, and I caught a glance from Quen behind them, her focus split between keeping the lamp steady and checking on the others.
Elias moved just behind Quen, his face tight and unreadable, like he was reliving his time in the prison.
Vyraetos followed, his movements controlled, every breath measured to conserve energy in the narrowing space.
Thalen and Myantha came next, whispering quietly to each other as they steadied their steps, hands brushing the rock to stay upright on the slick incline.
A low grunt echoed from the rear as Veralt was wedged in a section so narrow even Vad had struggled. His massive frame pressed against both sides, shoulders scraping stone. Rhielle stayed close, her hand splayed on his back, offering silent reassurance with every step he forced forward.
Above, the path steepened again, and even more rocks bit into my feet.
We climbed hand over foot, shifting sideways when the passage narrowed too much for us to face forward.
Our backs dragged against one wall while our palms searched for holds on the other.
The air grew thinner, the silence heavier.
Only the soft shush of leather boots on stone, ragged breathing, and the occasional scrape of someone’s pack reminded me we weren’t alone.
The line of us inched upward, breathing labored, the tension thick in the still air. No one was talking now. We were all too focused on climbing, squeezing, not slipping.
A sharp yelp rang out, followed by a loud thud and rattling stones. My heart lurched into my throat as I twisted my head around.
"Myantha!" Thalen shouted.
She’d lost her footing and fallen sideways into a tight bend in the wall. It looked like her shoulder and thigh were wedged firmly. Her efforts to free herself shook dust loose from above.
"Don’t move!" Quen called from above. “Everyone hold!”
The entire line went still.
The stone groaned above us, a low grinding echo, like the cave was warning us not to push our luck.
Myantha’s breath came in quick gasps. “I-I’m stuck.”
“I’ve got her.” Thalen braced a shoulder against one side of the rock while reaching for her. “It’s just a bad angle. I’ll get you out.”
“Thalen, be careful.” Vad squeezed my hand more tightly. “You could easily fall and get stuck, too.”
A lump formed in my throat, and I wondered if we were even going to make it out of this cave alive.
“No one else move!” Elias hissed. “We don’t know how stable this area is.”
I hated the thought of Elias reliving his time in prison. This tight space was impacting me, too, but I hadn’t crawled into such small spaces to hide like he had.
Vad turned slightly, voice tight. “Can she be pulled or pushed?”
Thalen grunted. “Only one side’s open. I’ll have to wedge behind and shift her forward.”
A beat of silence passed with only the sound of water dripping as dust settled around us and in our eyes and mouths.
Then a soft scrape of boots, Thalen squeezing into place. “You’re okay, I’ve got you. On three, I’ll shift, and you push with your leg a little.”
He counted down calmly as Myantha closed her eyes. Then they moved together.
Her leg slid free with a pop and a pained gasp, her shoulder following a second later. Another cloud of dust rained from above, but nothing collapsed.
“You’re safe,” Thalen breathed, catching her with one arm as she slumped forward.
My throat dried so much that I needed water quickly.
Vad exhaled. “Keep moving. Slowly. Carefully. Everyone else, watch your footing there.”
The line moved again, quieter than before, the tension building until Veralt made it through the space with a fair amount of grunting and huffing.
We were all too aware now of how narrow this space was, how little room we had if anything went wrong. Every scrape of stone sounded louder. Every heartbeat felt closer to the surface.
Vad’s bandage snagged again on an outcrop of stone, and he winced, pain flashing down the bond. I squeezed his hand gently in response. He didn’t speak—just pressed forward.
From the back, Veralt cursed while forcing his way through a narrow curve. Dust fell from the ceiling as he pressed forward, his shoulders scraping.
We moved hand over foot, the stone cold and unyielding. My muscles ached. My lungs burned. The farther we climbed, the more the closeness of the space pressed in on me. But stopping wasn’t an option. Not when the water was rising behind us. Not when we had no other way forward.
Our breaths echoed off the stone, shallow and strained.
The tunnel walls were slick with condensation.
Beads of moisture dripped from above, pattering against my arms, but the steady gurgle of the river below chilled me more than the air ever could.
Every pause stretched time thin, every breath a reminder we couldn’t afford to stop.
Then the air shifted, and something electric brushed my skin, making me freeze.
A prickling sensation started at my ribs and raced down my legs like a warning. The wall in front of me shuddered just enough to make me doubt my senses as shadows pulsed across it, snaking tendrils like living veins. My stomach dropped.
Red eyes blinked open by my thigh.
“No—” I rasped.
A massive shadow wolf lunged through the wall and clamped its jaws on my skirt.
A scream ripped from my throat as the stone vanished beneath my feet. My hands scrabbled for purchase, nails scraping uselessly across the slick wall.
"Briar!" Vad’s roar hit the tunnel like a shockwave.
My body slammed down, my skull cracking against the rock as the wolf yanked again. My legs slid forward, and the portal swallowed me, inch by inch.
“Let go!” I clawed at the stone, fingers tearing against the unforgiving rock. Blood slicked my palms. My wolf surged inside me, growling and snapping, desperate to fight, but there was nothing to bite.
Vad dove after me, his hand locking around my wrist in an iron grip. Our bond flared hot and frantic, his panic thundering through my chest.
“Hold on!” Elara’s voice cracked as she shoved forward, her small frame wedging into the narrow wall beside me.
Elias dropped flat to the stone, reaching out past her. “Grab her—grab her!”
The wolf snarled and pulled steadily, its red eyes glowing brighter as shadows surged around it. The air warped and twisted as the cold void wrapped around me like a current, dragging me inside.
Vad’s fingers crushed around mine. “I won’t let you go.”
My shoulder socket burned with the strain as Vad held tight, his face contorted with effort. The transition through the portal slammed into me like a physical blow, the air pressure shifting, temperature dropping, and the smell of wet fur and old blood overwhelming my senses.
The wolf released my slip, and I scrambled away, gasping, my back hitting something solid.
No. It couldn’t be.