Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
Their loud huffing breaths echoed off the walls as they rushed toward their best chance at safety.
Without Kane’s fire, they moved in pure, suffocating darkness.
Fortunately, Erinna would not be impeded by the dark. Her vision still maintained some level of visibility, even in the absence of light. The only part of her Talent that was worth something. It wasn’t perfect, but it would work.
Erinna trained her focus along the walls as they ran. She had to ensure they didn’t miss their turn, or they could be lost in the unsafe caverns for hours at best and, at worst, eaten alive by whatever was after them.
The protruding stone came into view just as she remembered it from three years ago.
Erinna grabbed at the jutting rock and slid open a small latch.
A druidic puzzle snapped into place, a security measure built by Kenneth himself.
The surface was smooth and cool beneath her clammy, shaking fingers as she moved the pattern, hoping her father hadn’t changed the combination.
The faint clicks of gears synced with her pounding heart.
The air hummed with arcanum. The grinding of stone joints echoed off the wall. If the remaining magic of this place had indeed created a construct…they would be as good as dead if it caught them.
“Hurry it up, Yarrow,” Kane growled.
Setting the last of the combination, Erinna pushed, expecting the door to open.
There was a dead thunk, and the cavern wall remained in place.
“Gods damn us,” Kane cursed. “Get the door open. I’ll buy you some time.” He shrugged Inez off his back, drew his blade, and sprinted down the tunnel.
Erinna tried again.
Nothing.
“Dammit!” she seethed through clenched teeth—the cool head she’d been holding slowly unraveled.
Arcanum hummed.
Pressure built.
Heat grew in the cramped space of the tunnel.
The grinding of arcanum-powered stone ceased, but the ground still rumbled from the movement of heavy weight.
A flash of fire in the distance.
Whatever Kane was doing, it surely slowed their demise, but it wouldn’t hold for long. One man, no matter how powerful a conjuror, was a poor match for an arcanum construct. It would rip Kane limb from limb if the pirate made one false move.
Inez gasped. “I know,” was all she said, pushing Erinna aside.
Erinna prayed Inez’s gift was clear enough to get them to safety.
Her hands moved hesitantly over the lock, sliding each stone into place.
Erinna held her breath as the final stone was set.
The door opened, and a puff of damp, musty air swept at their faces.
“Go. Now.” Erinna pushed Inez through the threshold, into the next hall.
If she was fast enough, Erinna could seal the door, leaving Kane stranded in the mines for good. With the construct and ghosts as his only companions.
He was a danger. She had seen the wrecked ships he left in his wake. Witnessed the gurneys of men taken off the boat and laid to rest far from home. Saw how easily he cut and burned through trained military soldiers.
He was a pirate. A killer.
Her hand paused at the lever, one foot past the threshold, ready to close the door behind her, leaving Kane on the other side.
With a begrudging sigh, she cried, “Kane! It’s open!”
The artificial creature finally rounded the corner, its imposing size filling the passage.
Even in the darkness, she watched the frightening silhouette crawl across the cavern floor—stone grinding against stone with each deliberate movement.
Cold blue eyes blazed through the shadows, fixing on her position.
Erinna opened her mouth to scream for Kane, but a warm, callused hand wrapped around hers, pulling her through the doorway, before yanking the door shut behind them.
“Miss me?” Kane quipped through heavy pants.
Erinna couldn’t help it—she laughed. The sound was foreign to her own ears after everything they’d been through. “Only in your wildest dreams, Atwater.”
Kane chuckled and bit his bottom lip, as if he was trying to keep himself from unleashing another retort.
Sure, he was a deadly pirate captain, but Erinna was starting to believe the most dangerous thing about him was how easily he might irritate her to death. Or how easily her guard seemed to be slipping.
She pressed her hand to her chest, willing her rapid heart to steady. They were safe; they could catch their breath. They were almost home.
Erinna held a hand up to a smooth, glass-like surface on the wall, and a track of soft white light illuminated the rest of the cave.
They stood in a stone hallway, the cramped, curved walls of the witchstone vein gave way to constructed walls and rafters for support.
This was the last remaining tunnel that originally extended from palace to sea, built as an emergency escape for the old royal families from generations ago.
The earlier portions had caved in, but the remains gave the Yarrows advantageous access to the sea.
It was the reason they built their shipyard where they did.
Carvings near the ceiling had faded in time, but she could still make out some of the more preserved scenes. Monsters rising from the depths and a warrior brandishing a glaive.
She didn’t like to stare at them for too long. They felt blasphemous somehow.
Kane tapped the witchlight. “Smart. Your father put these in?”
“No, we don’t touch this place. Just make sure it doesn’t cave in on us,” she answered.
Inez’s body finally gave in. She slumped against the wall and slid to the ground with a light thud.
Erinna was at her side in an instant. She tucked the coat around Inez’s shoulders and gave her arm a squeeze. “Thank you,” Erinna whispered. If it hadn’t been for her Talent, Erinna was sure they would have all perished at the hands of the construct.
“We have to keep moving. There isn’t much time,” Kane barked as he strode again, not waiting to see if they followed.
“You don’t know where you’re going, Atwater,” Erinna called. As anxious as he was to keep moving, Inez—the person just who saved both their lives—needed a moment of rest.
“It’s a hallway—there’s only one direction, Yarrow.” His voice echoed off the walls.
“Not the entire way,” Erinna countered. It was a half-truth. Most of the passages were blocked by rubble and cave-ins. While a few could still be traversed, the best route was indeed straight down the hallway.
He was nearly engulfed in shadow. “You’re a terrible liar.”
“For godssake, Kane, let her rest,”
Inez remained slumped against the wall, her breath jagged, and Erinna wondered if the exertion was mostly due to using untrained Talent. Practice was key to success as a mage. Like a muscle, Talent could atrophy from lack of use. It increased the risk of burnout as well, she heard.
Finally, he prowled back to them with a look of indignation.
“How kind of you.” Erinna gave him a mocking bow.
“Not like I have much of a choice,” he grumbled. His words were a harsh reminder of her circumstances. The curse. Her father’s bargain.
“About that,” Erinna started. “Why in all the heavens and hells would the infamous Captain Atwater be traveling with us?”
“Oh, so you’ve heard of me?” He smirked. “I was starting to worry my reputation would fall apart while I was imprisoned.”
“Cut the shit, Atwater. You know what I mean.” Erinna didn’t have the patience to entertain him.
Kane leaned against a wall, arms crossed over his chest. His silhouette was imposing even in the dim light.
“I’ve told you already.”
“To keep me safe? How much safer could I be with a wanted pirate?” She immediately regretted her words as Inez shifted uncomfortably in her periphery. Inez was also wanted and, unlike the pirate, could feel empathy and guilt.
Kane pushed off the wall and strolled closer, loose stone crunching beneath his boots.
“Believe me, Yarrow, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t need to be. You think I enjoy babysitting?”
“Babysitting?” she repeated, her voice rising. “I’m not some helpless cabin boy. I can take care of myself.”
“Sure, you can.” Kane’s tone dripped with mockery. “And, yet you would have died back there in the arms of that guard without my help.”
The truth of his words quelled her rising fury. “You’re right.” Erinna pinched the bridge of her nose, mustering sincerity. “Thank you.”
For the first time, Kane looked surprised, as if he half expected another caustic retort.
“Your father made me promise to keep you safe.” Kane hesitated for a moment, the smirk fading away. “I…owed him a favor.”
“What kind of favor?”
“That’s not important.”
“It’s my life, Atwater. I deserve to know what’s threatening it.”
He scratched at his neck, looking at everything but her. “Look, I can’t tell you, all right? It’s complicated.”
“Complicated?” she scoffed. “That’s rich, coming from a man who’s made a career out of lying and scheming.”
His gaze snapped to hers, and something raw flickered in his eyes. Anger? Guilt? She couldn’t tell.
“You don’t know the half of it.” He gave her another unreadable look. Likely some sick amusement at her predicament. Or pity. Erinna soured at the thought.
Inez lifted herself off the floor, the shaking in her body subsided, and her breath finally fell into a slow, easy rhythm.
“It’s time to go.” Erinna turned and started down the corridor.
They were over halfway to the exit now, the one that would take them within reach of Yarrow Yard.
Inez’s voice was barely audible. “It will still be hard after this.” Erinna and Kane exchanged uneasy glances, but their concern shifted when she swayed lightly on her feet. Kane reached out to steady her, but she shook her head, waving him off.
With the construct locked behind them, and the inching feeling of safety as they neared the end, Erinna finally began to wonder.
What in all the hells was happening? To her. To everyone above. She pushed up her sleeve and touched the mark on her forearm as they continued.
“You said it was a curse. What kind?” Erinna kept her eyes fixed on the five-star constellation that decorated her skin, bracing herself for whatever cryptic answer was about to come her way.
“My guess is that it’s a bloodline curse. An old one.”
Erinna stumbled, catching herself against the wall to keep her upright. Her pulse beat loudly in her ears. “That’s not possible. I don’t know a curse-maker—” The words died in her throat as panic rose in her chest.
Why? Who? To what ends? She rifled through her memories, searching for some connection, for some possible enemy in her family’s past.
Curses were outlawed, and those who performed them were sentenced to death by pyre. It was the worst kind of witchcraft.
“It probably wasn’t for you. Most likely some ancestor that pissed off a witch.” Kane’s stare traveled from Erinna’s face downward, landing on the constellation. “A powerful one at that.”
So the family that she saw. They were somehow distant cousins—very, very distant.
“How do you know?” Erinna pushed her sleeve down to her wrist. If she kept looking at the constellation, she was sure to lose her breakfast on the floor in distress. Every answer created more questions that fogged her mind like clouds from a raging storm.
Kane shrugged. “I’m only vaguely familiar with curses. Comes in handy for a pirate. If you want to know more, I suggest you find yourself a witch or a very, very old mage.”
All Erinna could do was nod. She appreciated his sincerity, and whatever information he could give about her newfound affliction.
Maybe she, herself, should consider a trip to Iprix’s prized library of secrets. It may be her best option for answers. It certainly seemed safer than waltzing into the academy and asking for help.
Bloodline.
The word echoed in her head.
Her father. First, she needed to ensure he was safe. Then they were going to have a very long talk about his secrets—one where she refused to let him brush her off with half-truths and omissions.
They made it to the large iron door that signified their escape from the caverns.
The image of a long-lost royal family had faded over time, and splotches of rust decorated the once-smooth surface. Erinna reached for the lever. She was close enough to smell the salt water from the harbor and hear the lapping of waves against rocky shores.
She gripped Kane’s arm to keep him from opening the door in his haste.
“It’s high tide,” she warned. The only thing that kept them from drowning was an iron door.
Erinna paused to consider her options, feet pacing the short distance from wall to wall. She wondered if it were even possible to wait long enough for the tide to recede. “We can head back and take the path that leads beneath the bakery. We’d have to move above ground but—”
“Yarrow.” Kane broke her train of thought, his hand resting on the lever.
Erinna’s eyes widened, her gaze darting between his face and the grip he had on the jutting iron rod. Inez, wide-eyed and near trembling, gripped the pirate’s coat.
“You can swim.” He grinned and pulled the lever.
Erinna barely had time to take a breath before water flooded the space and submerged them in cold darkness.