Chapter Nine
The moment we set foot in the tunnel, I could feel the difference. All the tunnels had a bit of a damp, musty feel, but this one felt… chilling.
From all accounts, it looked like any of the other tunnels with the dangling roots and fine-lined glitter etched throughout the dirt. The goldspinners were here, too, judging by the faint, glowing threads throughout. But it felt too connected, too close to Shadowick.
“This doesn't feel fun at all,” Stella said. “I don't think there's a tea in the world that would get rid of this heebie-jeebie feel.”
I chuckled nervously. “Ohhh, come on, Stella, there's a tea for everything.”
“I wish that were the case,” Stella said quietly.
And that was when we heard it. A squeak. Several squeaks. We froze in place. And Keegan slid his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer.
“Nothing like a few uninvited visitors,” Twobble muttered.
“What are those?” I hissed. “An army of mice?”
Twobble spun around. “No such luck. We've got shadow bats on our hands.”
“Please tell me they're not different than regular bats.” I stared at Twobble.
“Maeve, I would never lie to you.” Twobble tipped his chin up.
“Shadow bats are unpleasant, but it's not the end of the world,” Nova explained. “But there is a high possibility they'll go back and report our whereabouts.”
I shook my head. “No.”
Nova lifted her brows, and her green eyes stayed on mine. “No?”
“There has to be a spell to stop that,” I explained.
“Well, there is a No-Tattle tea,” Stella explained. “But I can't imagine getting bats to drink it would be very easy. Not to mention I don't have the ingredients on hand.”
Twobble chuckled and stopped himself when Keegan eyed him.
“I’m sorry. I just thought this would be the most direct way…” I started, but was quickly interrupted.
“No apologies needed,” Nova assured me.
Twobble let out a small, offended grunt. “You’re all missing the very obvious solution.”
I glanced at him. “Which is?”
“We don’t let them leave,” he said, as if that were the simplest thing in the world.
Another round of squeaks echoed through the tunnel, louder this time, closer, and whatever light the thin lines of gold had been offering seemed to dim just slightly as shadows began to shift along the ceiling.
Keegan’s arm tightened around me as his gaze lifted upward, tracking the movement we couldn’t quite see yet.
“That’s not a plan,” he said.
“It’s the beginning of one,” Twobble shot back.
Nova stepped forward just slightly, her attention fixed on the narrowing stretch of tunnel ahead of us. “If they report back, the Priestess will know exactly which path we took.”
“I gathered that,” I said, my voice quieter now, because the sound above us was changing, shifting from scattered squeaks into something more organized.
More intentional.
Stella adjusted the sleeve of her coat, her eyes narrowing just a touch. “Then we keep them busy.”
“That’s not going to work,” Twobble replied. “They’re not distracted by shiny objects or clever insults.”
“That’s unfortunate,” she said.
Another flutter of movement passed overhead, this time enough that I caught a glimpse of it. The wings, dark and fast, cut through the dim light in quick, sharp arcs, and my pulse kicked up.
“Okay,” I said under my breath. “That’s not just a few bats.”
“No,” Twobble agreed. “It’s a gathering.”
“Of course it is.” Keegan shifted slightly, guiding me back a step as the sound grew louder, the air itself beginning to stir with the wings' movement.
“We need to move,” Twobble said.
Nova nodded once. “Forward. Not back, though.” She cleared her throat. “We must press on.”
“But forward leads us deeper into whatever this is,” I pointed out.
“Back leads us to where we’ve already been seen,” she replied. “And farther away from the stone.”
Fine. That settled it.
Twobble clapped his hands once, the sound sharp in the tunnel. “Right. We run. We run straight into danger and out the other side.”
“That’s your plan?” I asked in surprise.
“It’s a very effective plan,” Twobble said. “It involves not getting bitten because we’ll run at the speed of light. There’s nothing like running as if your life depends on it.”
I eyed him. “Well, that’s a silver lining.”
Twobble nodded. “Fear is often a good accelerant.”
Keegan didn’t wait for further discussion. He pulled me forward, and the rest moved with him, our steps quickening as the flutter above turned into a rush.
The bats dropped lower, but it wasn’t all at once.
It was merely enough to make their presence known as dark shapes cut through the air around us, their wings brushing the tunnel's edges, their squeaks sharper now, more focused.
“They’re tracking us,” Nova said.
“I gathered that,” I muttered, trying to keep my footing as the ground dipped slightly beneath us.
Twobble darted ahead, weaving through the uneven path like he’d run it a hundred times before. “Keep up!”
“I am keeping up,” I said, though my breath had already started to shorten.
Stella moved beside Nova, her pace steady, her expression far calmer than I felt. “If we survive this, I’m adding something new to my menu. Something to light the fire under us that will provide a proper recovery.”
“Let’s focus on surviving it first,” Nova replied.
Another swoop came closer this time, a whoosh of air brushing past my cheek as one of the bats cut low, its presence cold and wicked before it disappeared back into the shadows above.
I flinched and nearly tripped.
“I’ve got you,” Keegan said, his voice low and steady.
I nodded as the tunnel curved ahead, opening just slightly before narrowing again.
Nova’s footsteps behind me slowed just enough, and I turned to see her hand lifting as she glanced at all of us.
“Keep moving,” she said. “I’ll handle this.”
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Buying us time.”
Twobble skidded to a stop just long enough to look back. “Make it quick.”
“I’m aware,” she said.
The air shifted, and Nova stepped to the side of the tunnel, her hand brushing along the wall as she whispered something too soft for me to catch, her voice blending into the hum of the space itself.
The gold lines in the stone flickered before steadying…but then a slow and deliberate stone behind us began to lower, and it looked like the tunnel itself was closing off a section of its path.
The bats immediately reacted with a more frantic race.
They dove toward the closing space, their wings striking against the forming wall in quick, angry bursts.
“Move,” Nova said, her voice firm now.
We didn’t need to be told twice.
Keegan pulled me forward again, and we ran, the sound of wings and sharp squeaks echoing behind us as the wall continued to lower, sealing off the path we’d just come from.
Twobble glanced back, his expression caught somewhere between impressed and concerned. “They’re not going to like that.”
“Neither will the goblins,” Stella added.
Nova didn’t look back. “It’s not permanent.”
“That’s supposed to make it better?” I asked.
“It will give us time,” she said.
“How much?”
“Enough.”
The sound behind us shifted again, dulling as the wall fully sealed, the frantic flutter of wings now trapped on the other side, their noise muffled but still there.
I slowed just slightly, my breath catching as I glanced back, even though I knew I wouldn’t see anything now.
“They’re stuck,” I said.
“For now,” Nova replied.
Twobble nodded, though his mouth tightened just a bit. “Goblins are going to have opinions about that tunnel being closed.”
“I’ll deal with it,” Nova said.
“You can’t always have all the fun,” he replied.
Keegan’s grip on my hand eased just slightly as the immediate danger faded, though his attention didn’t drop; his gaze still scanned the tunnel ahead.
“You okay?” he asked.
I let out a breath, my chest rising and falling as I tried to steady it. “I will be.”
“That’s not the same as okay.”
“It’s close enough.”
Stella brushed a bit of dust from her sleeve. “Well, that was invigorating.”
“That’s one word for it,” I said.
Nova finally stopped, turning back toward us, her expression focused but calm. “We keep moving. They won’t stay contained forever.”
“The wall?” I asked.
“It will hold long enough for us to lose them,” she said.
Twobble gave a small nod. “Timed, then.”
“Yes.”
“Good,” he said. “Because I’d rather not be here when it decides to stop working.”
“That makes two of us,” I muttered.
Keegan looked at me again, his expression softer now, though the tension hadn’t left it entirely. “Still with me?”
I nodded, tightening my grip on his hand just slightly. “Still with you.”
Because I was…Because despite everything, despite the bats and the tunnels and the way the air still felt too close to something I didn’t want to name…
We were still moving forward, and there was no turning back now.
We moved quickly down the tunnel with Twobble right next to me and Stella behind us, next to Nova. The mud walls blurred by with each step closer, and the pull of the stone led me forward. We came to a Y in the tunnel, and I knew I needed to go left.
“Not again,” Twobble muttered.
Stella chuckled as we all barreled through the opening, but there was a brightness in the distance. Large glistening trails of water ran along the walls, and big drips fell from the ceiling. One landed smack on my forehead.
“We must be close to the marshlands,” Stella said.
“I'd say more like directly underneath them.” Nova seconded.
As we got closer, I saw a tiny opening, and my heart rate started to slow. We were close.
“Once we get out in the open, we need to be as expeditious as possible,” Nova said.
“I couldn't have said it better myself,” Stella seconded.
“You all need to stay behind while I meet with Gideon.”
I saw the unrest settle behind Keegan’s gaze, and his jaw tightened, but he gave me a quick nod.