Chapter Eight
Clusters of little goblins stared at us, whispering as we passed. I glanced over at Twobble, who looked as if he expected nothing less. I noticed a female goblin, clothed in a beautiful yellow dress, give what sounded like a giggle and a small wave at Twobble. His cheeks immediately flushed.
Everything seemed like it had before when I was in the UnderLoom, with the cute little storefronts, small carts with goblins selling their wares, and tiny homes dotted throughout.
But the one thing that I felt was missing was the judging eyes.
There were no goblins rushing up to Twobble, telling him to get us out of here, and that was different.
I wasn't sure why, but I assumed it had to do with everything on the line.
Keegan reached for my hand and gently squeezed it, but I didn't let go.
There was so much at stake with this meeting. Gideon could have done this in Stonewick Village or at Keegan's Inn, but he chose to leave with the stone.
He'd come to our aid many times recently, and I wanted to believe that it erased all the times he'd caused harm. Or worse.
But it didn't. I couldn’t just forget all the damage he’d caused, not just to my family, but all of Stonewick. He knew a lot was riding on this, and I chose to believe that was why he left Stonewick. As he had said before, he didn't want to make us a target.
Keegan looked down, still holding my hand as we walked. “You doing okay?”
I gave him a faint smile and nodded. “At this point, I don't think I'd know if I was or wasn't.”
We continued walking, following Twobble until the town disappeared behind us, and several sets of tunnels lay before us.
“So we're not going through UnderSoot?” I asked.
Twobble turned around and shook his head. “I think we should avoid anything connected to Shadowick, even though I trust my goblin cousins immensely.”
Keegan nodded his head. “Agreed.”
Twobble puffed out his chest just a little at that, like agreement from Keegan carried a weight he wasn’t about to admit out loud, and then he turned back toward the tunnels with a small, thoughtful hum.
“Well then,” he said, glancing between the three paths in front of us.
Each one curved away from town in its own quiet direction.
He spun around to us and dusted his palms. “We’ll take the middle. It’s less traveled, which means fewer questions and fewer opportunities for anyone to tattle.”
“That sounds reassuring,” Stella said lightly, though her eyes moved carefully over the stone as if she were memorizing every turn already.
Nova stepped a little closer to the entrance, her gaze narrowing just slightly. “It also means we won’t have much warning if something is off.”
“Nothing is ever off in goblin tunnels,” Twobble replied. “Everything is exactly as it is meant to be, even when it isn’t.”
I blinked at him. “That didn’t help.”
“It wasn’t meant to.” He shrugged. “We know what’s what and that’s all that matters.”
Keegan gave a quiet grumble under his breath and squeezed my hand again before we started forward. The group tightened slightly as we moved into the center tunnel.
As we stepped inside, golden veins in the walls thinned out. They were replaced by something softer, nearly translucent, with a brilliance I recognized. It reminded me of goblin gold.
Our footsteps echoed differently here as if the tunnel was listening, but I kept my gaze forward, only stopping briefly when my attention flicked to the small alcoves and shadowed corners. I halfway expected something to crawl out.
“Relax,” Twobble called back without turning around. “If something wanted to jump out at us, it would have done so already.”
“That’s not exactly what I wanted to hear,” I said.
“It’s honest.” He shrugged.
Stella’s lips curved slightly. “He does have a point.”
“That doesn’t make me like it,” I muttered.
The path dipped slightly, the air growing a touch cooler, carrying with it a faint dampness that reminded me of the marshlands I’d seen in the vision.
Keegan’s grip on my hand tightened just a fraction.
“You feel that?” he asked quietly.
“I do.”
Nova glanced back at us. “The closer we get to the wetlands, the more the magic will shift. The ground there holds onto everything. It's as if the bogs soak it up or at least, that’s how it used to be.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Twobble said. “Another way is that it never forgets anything.”
“Interesting,” I said.
We walked quietly for a few moments after that as my mind became crowded with thoughts of my mom, Gideon, and the stone.
But then I saw it.
At first, it looked like part of the wall.
A shimmer.
A flicker of something that caught the light just enough to stand out if you were paying attention.
I slowed without meaning to, my gaze fixing on it.
“Twobble,” I said softly.
He stopped immediately and turned, following my line of sight.
“Oh,” he said.
That wasn’t reassuring.
Keegan stepped slightly in front of me, his body angling just enough to shield me without making it obvious.
“What is it?” he asked.
Twobble rubbed the back of his neck. “Technically? Nothing to worry about.”
“Technically?” I repeated.
“Well,” he said, squinting at it, “it’s a Goldspinner.”
Nova stepped closer, her expression tightening just slightly. “Those aren’t common this far in.”
The shimmer shifted, then moved just enough to become unmistakably alive.
A spider… larger than I expected, but not something out of a nightmare, yet bigger than anything I wanted to deal with in a tunnel that suddenly felt a little too narrow.
Its body gleamed with that same golden glow as the veins in the wall. Its legs were delicate and precise, and it moved slowly across the stone. It was weaving something fine and nearly invisible behind it.
Twobble held up a hand. “Don’t startle it.”
“I wasn’t planning on it,” I said.
“Good,” he replied. “Because they don’t like being startled.”
Keegan’s voice was low. “What happens if it is?”
Twobble glanced at him. “It gets territorial.”
“That’s not vague at all,” Stella murmured.
The spider paused, and its body angled slightly toward us, and for a moment, everything held.
I didn’t breathe or move, nor did anyone else.
Slowly, the goldspinner turned back to the wall and continued on its path, its delicate thread catching the light as it stretched across the stone.
Twobble let out a quiet breath. “See? Completely fine.”
I exhaled slowly. “You have a very different definition of fine. So this little creature is responsible for the lighting in the tunnel walls?”
“Indeed.” Twobble nodded. “And it didn’t attack us.”
“That’s the bar now?” I laughed.
“It’s a reasonable bar.” His chin lifted.
Keegan didn’t move right away as his gaze stayed on the spider until it disappeared around the bend, and only then did he shift slightly, his body relaxing just enough that I felt it through his hand.
“We keep moving,” Keegan said.
Twobble nodded. “Yes. Let’s not linger. They travel in… well, not packs, but they do like company.”
“That’s so not cool,” I said, shaking the dreaded feeling that something was crawling on me.
“The truth is the truth.”
We started forward again, the tension easing just slightly, though the awareness stayed, tucked just beneath the surface like a reminder that this place had its own rules, and we were very much guests.
The tunnel curved again, opening into a wider stretch where the ceiling rose just enough for the air to feel less compressed.
But I felt it then, stronger this time, that pull…Gideon, the stone.
I slowed again, my breath catching slightly. What did the stone truly want of me?
Keegan noticed immediately. “Maeve.”
“We’re close.”
Twobble glanced back. “Close to what?”
“Where he’s going,” I replied. “Or where he is already at with the stone.”
“So he's not as deep into the wetlands as we assumed,” Nova said.
“Guess not.” I glanced at her. “If this feeling can be trusted.”
“Has it led you astray yet?”
I smiled, even though that wasn’t comforting.
We continued on, the tunnel stretching ahead of us, the air growing heavier, the glow dimming just enough that the shadows felt deeper.
And somewhere beyond it all…
Something waited.
I could feel it.
And this time, it didn’t feel like a possibility.
It felt like certainty.
Keegan looked down at me as we continued walking. “You feel the stone, don't you?”
I didn’t know why I wouldn’t just admit that was the case, but it almost felt as if, by admitting it, the stone truly had some sort of hold on me.
But I never made a habit of lying, so I nodded.
We came to another break, with several tunnels ahead of us. Twobble started heading towards the one on the right.
“I don't think that's the way we should go,” I said softly.
Twobble turned around, and his eyes met mine. There was a seriousness in his expression that I hadn't seen much before. Nova noticed and drew a breath.
“Which tunnel is calling you?” Nova asked.
“The one straight ahead of us,” I said softly.
Twobble grumbled. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”
My brows raised. “Why? What’s wrong with that one?”
Twobble didn’t answer right away.
That was the first thing that told me I wasn’t going to like whatever came next.
He shifted his weight and glanced down the tunnel I had pointed to, then back at me, his usual quick confidence replaced with something a little more careful.
“Well,” he said, dragging the word out just enough to make it worse, “it’s not the worst tunnel.”
“That doesn’t sound reassuring,” I replied. “It obviously isn’t the greatest either.”
“It’s not meant to be,” he said quickly. “It’s just… not the best choice if you’re trying to avoid complications.”
Nova stepped a little closer, her gaze moving from Twobble to the tunnel and back again. “What kind of complications?”
Twobble rubbed the back of his neck. “The kind that doesn’t always show up. So no reason to needlessly worry about it.”
“That’s vague,” Stella said, her tone light, but her gaze hardened slightly.
“It’s accurate,” Twobble replied.
I folded my arms slightly. “Twobble.”
He let out a breath. “Alright, fine. That tunnel…” He gestured toward it with a small flick of his hand. “It has a connection point further down. A split that leads toward Shadowick.”
The word settled in the space between us.
Nova’s expression shifted immediately. “You didn’t think that was important to mention before?”
“I was hoping we wouldn’t pick it,” Twobble said.
“That’s not how this works,” she replied.
“I’m aware of that now.”
Keegan’s grip on my hand tightened just slightly. “What does that mean for us?”
Twobble shrugged, but it wasn’t careless. “It means that sometimes things from that side wander through. I mean, not always or constantly. But enough that it’s… noted.”
“Things,” Stella repeated. “Such a charmingly broad term.”
“Like the goldspinner? Or worse…?” I asked.
Twobble glanced at us. “Would you prefer I list them individually?”
“Not particularly,” Stella said. “I just like to know what might try to eat me.”
“That’s fair, but I doubt it would go for you.” He chuckled, which was unsettling.
I looked down the tunnel again, but it didn’t look different from the others.
It had the same stone, dim glow, and quiet thrum that seemed to sit just beneath everything here, but I could feel it.
That pull.
Stronger now.
Clearer.
“Why wouldn’t Gideon go where he could hide more easily?” I asked quietly.
Twobble shook his head. “Well, he didn’t choose it for the scenery.”
Nova exhaled slowly
“That’s the way,” I said, my voice softer now, but steadier than before.
Twobble closed his eyes for a second, then opened them again. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”
“I already did,” I replied.
“Yes, and I was hoping you might reconsider.”
“I’m not. The exit will get us to him quicker, and that’s more important than most things.”
Twobble studied me for a moment, then sighed, his shoulders dropping just slightly. “Alright. Then we go that way.”
Nova looked between us. “You’re sure?”
“No,” I said honestly. “But it’s the only direction that feels like anything right now.”
Silence settled again, but it wasn’t uncertain this time.
It was decided.
Stella let out a small breath. “Well, if we’re going toward Shadowick-adjacent tunnels, I suppose I should have worn something less flammable.”
Twobble blinked at her. “You’re not flammable. You’re a vampire.”
“I choose to believe otherwise.”
Keegan stepped a little closer to me. “Once we go down there, we can’t easily turn back.”
“I know,” I said.
His gaze searched mine for a second longer. “And you’re still choosing it.”
I nodded because it would get us there faster.
Twobble clapped his hands once, though the sound was quieter this time. “Alright then. No sudden movements. No unnecessary noise. And if something does show up—”
“We don’t panic,” I finished.
He gave me a look. “You say that like it’s easy.”
“I didn’t say it was easy.” I smiled.
Nova stepped forward. “We stay together.”
Stella nodded. “And we don’t let curiosity get the better of us.”
Twobble pointed at her. “That one’s mostly for you.”
“I’m offended.” Her lips turned into a mischievous grin.
“You shouldn’t be.”
Keegan didn’t say anything else.
He just kept his hand in mine as we stepped toward the tunnel, and I didn’t pull away.
Because deep down…
I already knew.
This was the path.
And whether I liked it or not…
It was waiting for us.