Chapter 24 #2
"Or hijack existing ones," Milo added grimly. "Including yours."
I reached out, my fingers hovering over one particular symbol that matched a marking on my arm. As I drew closer, the blue lines on my skin began to pulse more rapidly, responding to the energy in the chamber.
"Winter, don't touch anything," Zane warned, but it was too late.
The moment my fingers brushed the carved symbol, every marking in the room flared with light. The sigil on the floor began to glow, lines of power racing through the inlaid stone. I stumbled back, but the damage was done.
"What's happening?" I gasped as the chamber trembled around us.
"It's a trap," Zane grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the tunnel entrance. "We need to get out now!"
We turned to flee, but the entrance collapsed in a shower of rock and dust, sealing us in. At the same instant, a shimmering barrier sprang up around the perimeter of the chamber, a mirrored ward that reflected our frightened faces back at us.
"Magic dampening field," Zane cursed, pressing his hand against the barrier. "Teleportation is blocked. We're contained."
"Contained for what?" I coughed through the settling dust.
The answer came in the form of a low rumble as the sigil on the floor began to rotate, the stone patterns grinding against each other like massive gears. The air grew heavy, charged with potential, and I felt pressure building in my ears like descending too quickly in an airplane.
"The ward is contracting," Milo observed, his face unnaturally pale in the magical light. "It's designed to compress inward over time."
"How much time?" I was already dreading the answer.
"Hours, maybe?" He shrugged helplessly. "Hard to tell with this type of magic. But eventually…"
"Eventually the walls crush us," Zane finished flatly. "Charming."
Horrace unwound himself from my shoulders, dropping to the floor to investigate the barrier. His tentacles pressed against it experimentally, twelve eyes blinking in sequence as he processed what he was sensing.
"Can you break it?" I asked him.
He made a negative sound, tentacles waving in frustration. Through our connection, I felt his assessment, the barrier was specifically designed to contain magical energy, including his inter-dimensional abilities.
"Great," I slumped against the wall, trying to ignore the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped. "So we walked right into a cultist trap, and now we're stuck until they come back to do whatever creepy ritual they have planned."
"Or until the ward crushes us," Milo added helpfully. "Whichever comes first."
"Thanks for that clarification," Zane's voice dripped sarcasm.
Despite the gravity of our situation, I found myself fighting a completely inappropriate urge to laugh. Here we were, trapped in a magical death chamber, and we were still sniping at each other like roommates arguing over whose turn it was to do the dishes.
"So what's the plan?" I looked to Zane, who was methodically examining every inch of the barrier.
"Working on it," his forehead beaded with sweat from the chamber's increasing humidity. He shrugged off his jacket, revealing the lean muscles of his arms as he continued his inspection. "It's too hot in here."
Mmm. Maybe this trap wasn't all that bad.
I noticed Milo watching Zane, his eyes lingering perhaps a second too long on the exposed skin. When he caught me noticing, he blushed furiously and busied himself with his skeleton crew, sending them to search for weaknesses in the ward.
"You know," Milo broke the tense silence after several minutes, "if this were a horror movie, this is the part where we'd start sharing deep dark secrets to pass the time before our inevitable demise."
"We're not dying here," Zane's voice was firm. "But feel free to share your deep dark secrets if it helps you cope."
"I once accidentally reanimated my foster mom's prize-winning roses," Milo offered immediately. "They tried to strangle the mailman."
Despite everything, I laughed, the sound echoing strangely in the enclosed space. "That explains your thing for plants."
"Plants are less complicated than people," Milo grinned. "And they rarely complain when you reanimate them."
I leaned back against the wall, feeling the cool stone against my overheated skin. The chamber was definitely getting warmer, the air thick and humid. "How long do you think before someone notices we're missing?"
"Fenric checks in every four hours like clockwork," Zane replied absently, still focused on the barrier. "When we don't respond, he'll send Rook."
"So we just need to not die for four hours," I summarized. "Piece of cake."
"Speaking of cake," Milo chimed in, "did I ever tell you about the time I tried to reanimate a wedding cake? The bride was not happy when her three-tier vanilla buttercream started doing the waltz."
I smiled despite myself, grateful for Milo's attempts to lighten the mood. Horrace had returned to my side, draping himself across my lap in a comforting weight. Through our connection, I felt his concern, but also his determination. He wasn't giving up, and neither should we.
As the minutes stretched into an hour, the chamber grew increasingly uncomfortable.
The humidity had risen to sauna-like levels, causing our clothes to stick to our skin.
Zane had given up on his inspection of the barrier and was now sitting cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed in concentration as he attempted to sense any weaknesses in the magical construct.
"No luck?" I looked at him when he finally opened his eyes.
"It's old magic," he shook his head. "Layered and complex. Whoever designed this knew what they were doing."
"So we're back to waiting for rescue," I sighed.
"Or finding another solution," his tone determined. He stood, stretching muscles that had stiffened from sitting. His t-shirt was now damp with sweat, clinging to his torso in a way that made it hard not to stare.
"It's like a sauna in here," he pulled his shirt away from his skin with a grimace. Without warning, he grabbed the hem and pulled it over his head entirely, revealing a lean, muscled torso marked with the scars of his demon-hunting days.
Milo made a small, strangled sound beside me. I glanced over to find him staring openly, his cheeks flushed with more than just heat.
"If you're going to make this a strip search, at least buy me dinner first," Milo quipped, his voice slightly higher than normal.
Zane raised an eyebrow, a slow smile spreading across his face. "I'm just trying to avoid heat stroke. But if the view's distracting you."
"I've seen muscles before," Milo protested, though his eyes didn't leave Zane's torso. "Jeffrey has excellent biceps for a skeleton."
"I'm sure they're very impressive," Zane's smile turned teasing. "Though probably not as impressive as mine."
"I don't know," Milo crossed his arms, his own smile growing bolder. "Jeffrey can remove his arms entirely. Can you do that?"
"Thankfully, no," Zane laughed. "But I've got other talents that make up for it."
The tension in the chamber shifted, no longer just about our precarious situation. I watched the exchange with growing fascination, the heat in my cheeks having nothing to do with the rising temperature.
"You want to cop a feel?" Zane offered, flexing playfully. "Strictly for warmth, of course."
Milo's eyes widened, his blush deepening. "I... that's... I mean..."
"You good over there, Shortstack?" Zane turned to me, his mismatched eyes dancing with mischief.
I smirked, unable to resist. "I'll be better when someone actually makes out in front of me."
Zane laughed, the sound rich and warm in the enclosed space. Even Horrace seemed amused, making a musical trill that sounded suspiciously like laughter.
The banter had broken some of the tension, giving us a momentary respite from our dire circumstances. But reality quickly reasserted itself as the ward pulsed, contracting slightly. The chamber shuddered, dust raining down from the ceiling.
"We need to find a way out," Zane's expression turned serious again. "There has to be a weakness in the magical structure."
"Maybe we're overthinking this," Milo suggested, his face still flushed. "What if we combine our abilities? My necromantic energy, Winter's prophetic power, and your fae magic?"
"It's worth a try," I agreed, looking down at the blue markings on my arm. They had been pulsing steadily since we entered the chamber, responding to the magical energies around us. "How would we do it?"
"Focus on a single point," Milo theorized, moving to examine the barrier more closely. "If we all direct our energy at the same spot, we might be able to create a temporary breach."
"Or we might cause a magical backlash that knocks us all unconscious," Zane pointed out.
"Always the optimist," I teased.
"Realist," he corrected with a half-smile. "But I'm out of better ideas, so let's try it."