Chapter 33 #2
“When you open the door, you must be silent. Follow me and do not speak. Do not knock into something or touch anything. Try not to crunch on the slightest pebble.”
Before Erinna could ask more questions, Kane was back with Afton.
“You will be the death of us, Atwater. She was right. You should have taken me first,” Afton growled, straightening his shirt from where Kane grabbed him.
The walls had covered half the distance, and they were closing in quickly.
Afton was already assessing the lock. Erinna could feel the hum of arcanum as the mage got to work.
She didn’t know the intricacies of warding, but even she could see how complicated the spell work was as Afton illuminated the bindings and picked through them, slow and steady.
“Remember this was your fault,” Erinna whispered to Kane from the corner of her mouth. The fear and anxiety were growing to crippling levels as the opposite wall continued to approach.
“When we enter, we have to be silent. No talking, no grumbling, don’t touch anything or scrape the floor too hard.”
Afton cocked his head in intrigue but remained focused on his task at hand. Erinna noted his spellbook, covered in notes and runes she didn’t recognize. Damien had never mentioned the need for spell keeping past the second year.
“How do you know this?” Kane’s question was more a demand.
Raye sent her a sharp look, and his warning echoed in her head, “Be careful who you trust.” Erinna bit her bottom lip. She’d keep it a secret for now, but in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but feel that Kane could be trusted with it.
Porcelain shattered, and wood splintered behind them. The walls were closing in, and soon they would be an arm’s length away.
“Hurry.” Erinna ushered Afton, ignoring Kane’s questions. She couldn’t think of a good lie and wasn’t ready to be berated.
“Yarrow, how do you know this?”
She could feel his stare boring holes in the back of her head.
He took a step closer, turned her around so her head was level with his chest. Erinna peered up, heart pounding as she met his amber gaze.
He raised one eyebrow in question. She pressed her lips into a thin line and could feel him chuckle.
She knew what he meant. This discussion was far from over.
His body enveloped hers as the walls pushed in tighter. They were a reach away.
“Hurry!” Kane and Erinna both cried at the mage. Sweat pooled along his brow as he concentrated.
“I thought you could see arcanum threads, Afton?” Kane growled.
“Not when they’re hidden behind the walls, Kane,” Afton spat back.
Kane pressed in closer. The walls herded them together. Erinna’s back was flattened against the stone, her cheek resting against his hard chest. Kane’s warmth consumed her, chasing away the chill in her veins.
His body was flush against hers, pinning her to the wall as the cement continued to advance. The proximity of it all was suffocating—his breath on her face, the unyielding stone at her spine. His heartbeat against her cheek.
She would be squeezed to death between a wall and a pirate.
They weren’t going to make it.
“Done!”
The door clicked open just in time, and the three slipped through as the wall crushed itself shut behind them.
Erinna’s heart pounded so loudly in her ears she worried it would set off whatever trap the room had in store. Raye flickered before her and held his finger to his lips as a reminder.
Witchlight flickered to life at their entry.
She heard the intake of air next to her from Kane.
Her actions were quicker than her thoughts as she wrapped one arm around him and pressed her free palm against his lips.
Erinna hoped the look in her eye gave him all the information he needed.
Be absolutely silent, she willed the command onto Kane as he raised an amused brow.
The room itself was unassuming. Four large columns lined the sides of the room with chests and crates along the walls. Broken wooden chairs lay in heaps on the side, and the tile had already crumbled and cracked in most places. Dust layered every inch of the place.
She peeled away from him, comfortable that he knew better than to cause more trouble. How he survived this long surprised her. He ran headfirst into everything it seemed.
Something light brushed against her feet, and she looked down at the faintest hint of arcanum.
Afton crept toward the door at the back—the only exit.
Silence swallowed his footsteps. Even his page-turning made no sound.
Erinna chanced a step. Nothing. Not a whisper, not a creak.
The mage’s enchantment wrapped around them like a blanket.
For the first time since entering, the tight coil of anxiety in her gut loosened.
She checked on Raye. The spirit gave an approving nod, then pointed at the ceiling.
Her heart stopped.
Hundreds of blades hung from the rafters above them, each one swaying gently, though no breeze stirred the air.
Their entrance alone had disturbed them.
From the corner of her eye, Erinna saw Kane and Afton tilt their heads back, following her gaze to the deadly swinging pendulums. The realization settled over all three of them at once.
Kane made the first move, leading the charge across the room. Erinna clenched her fists to her sides in worry and followed suit.
Even with the enchantment, their pace felt agonizingly slow.
The silence grew more disorienting the longer it lasted. Erinna could hear her heart and blood rush in her ears as they crept closer to the door.
The fire dimmed in her lamp, and Erinna’s heart jumped into her throat as Raye blinked out of existence. It was a single moment, then the spirit was back, concern etched in every feature. He wouldn’t last very long at this rate, and they had only passed one hurdle.
They finally made it across. Erinna pressed close to the door, silently pleading for safety on the other side.
Afton hesitated, his gaze jumping between the knob, the keyhole, and Erinna’s face.
His unspoken question hung between them—would even the smallest sound send a rain of steel upon their heads?
There was only one way to find out.
Afton lifted his hands to enchant the door—but Kane drove forward, wedging himself into the gap. He swept Erinna behind him with one hand and snapped his gaze to Afton.
Back. Up.
Before either could protest, his palms were already flat against the wood. Fire burned hot and fast as flames licked at its kindling. Heat stung her skin, and the light was near blinding as the door burned away to nothing but ash.
The three stepped through the threshold, still wary of noise until metal rods burst through the doorway, locking in place with a shuddering click. They wouldn’t be leaving the same way they came in.
“I think we passed that test,” Kane beamed like a child who had just won a game of chance.
Erinna and Afton froze in fear. Was it safe enough to speak, yet? They both held a long collective breath, but nothing came.
“I think we are clear as long as you follow me.” Raye fluttered around the small space briefly.
The three stood at the side of a long hallway.
The cement and marble motif turned to wood and stone, more humble in design.
Old tapestries and paintings adorned the wall, faded with time and decay.
Half-broken sconces lined the sides, and light peeked through high windows and holes in the ceiling.
Erinna scanned her surroundings. A hallway, probably hugging the library’s perimeter. The fort seemed designed like a ring—Iprix’s tower of knowledge at its heart.
“I think we’re good for now,” she confirmed.
“Great, so we can chat.” Kane pinned Erinna between him and the wall. One hand on the wood by her head, the other buried in his pocket. They were so close, Erinna could feel the heat from his body, the aftermath of the power he recently wielded.
“How did you come across all this information?” His voice was low but not menacing, more curious than anything else.
“I told you. I found a map at the groundskeeper’s hut.” Even she could tell how poorly she lied.
He raised a questioning brow and scanned her face for any sign of the truth.
“Where’s the map, Erinna? You know how much I love a map.
” He purred her name, warm breath caressing her ear.
The sound shouldn’t have affected her—but her skin prickled, her body went heavy, and she had to clench her jaw against a wave of shivers. Damn him.
He was clearly pleased with himself—resorting to his pestering now that they were safe.
“We’ll ask questions later, once we’re in the library. It’ll give her a chance to come up with a better lie,” Afton chimed, foot tapping against the floor.
Kane pushed off the wall and took a few steps back. The damp, cold air of the building rushed between them in the absence of his warmth. “Lead the way, Yarrow.”