CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR #3
Vesper eyed the crooked tree she pointed to.
The one the bloodlace had eaten alive at the very far end of the field.
It was so distant it appeared as if it were from a miniature model of a landscape.
He turned back to Nef. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to the inn? I can check it out on my own.”
She waved him off. “I told you I’m fine. Let’s at least go look. If there’s nothing, we go back to the inn and come up with another plan.”
Vesper bit back a protest but she was right. What was the harm in looking?
So, they trekked across the field. The cotton swarmed them like a flurry of locusts.
A bad omen, the innkeeper had put it. And he was right.
There had been nothing but terrible news since Vesper had arrived here.
He had hit dead end after dead end and Nef’s health had only grown poorer.
The worst was her refusal to see a healer.
Not that there were any here. They would have to return to Ellynne or seek out Delmira, but Nef just claimed it was unnecessary and the cough would pass like any other ailment though her sallow complexion told him differently.
As they reached the twisted tree, they both stopped to scan the ground, kick up bloodlace, and sift through leaves.
Nothing. Not even footsteps. It was like this woman was a ghost.
And just when they were about to give up, Vesper stepped down on something heavy. Metallic. It clanged beneath his foot.
He crouched and surveyed the disturbed dirt and debris. With his gloved hand he uncovered a slab of iron dulled by smears of mud, likely to hide it from the average eye. As he ran a finger along the surface he realized that tiny dip was a handle.
A hatch.
With an anxious wave of his hand, he called Nef over. Vesper seized the handle and hauled the bloody heavy thing up. It hinged open to reveal a tunnel that stretched down into infinite darkness.
Vesper swallowed hard. Their only choice was to go back to the town or do another sweep of the deserted farmland around Morana. And someone had likely hidden this hatch for good reason. A reason he needed to find out.
He lifted his gaze to Nef. “You stay here. I’ll check it out and come back up for you. Alright?”
Nef snorted and started to say something, but Vesper swung his leg over the edge and began to descend. There was no time to lose. The hours, days, weeks were slipping away. Besides, if there was nothing down there, he would climb back up and move on.
The wooden ladder was impressively sturdy, reinforced into the wall with some of the thickest spikes he’d ever seen.
His feet moved with intense caution, each step measured as he sought purchase with the toes of his boots.
There were so many rungs, in no time his hands ached from his rigid grip.
Should he fall, it would likely be a fatal one. So he held tighter.
As he climbed down, the damp air chilled and reminded him of grave plots. The darkness swallowed him. He really should have snagged a torch or something to light the way but—
Abruptly, his foot hit solid ground with the crunch of gravel beneath his boot.
After both his feet were sturdy, he spun.
He peered through the dark, but couldn’t make out a bloody thing, and not a glimmer of sunlight existed in this tunnel.
So, he ran his hand along the wall and followed it like a guide, knowing he could turn around and retreat the same path back to the ladder.
His breath stuttered and his pulse roared like a rampant beast in his chest. If some creature leapt out of the dark, he would surely piss his pants in the most undignified way. But if there was any other life in this dark cavern, it gave no indication.
When a trace of light sparked ahead his heart threatened to implode. In the unearthly quiet, his breathing sounded too loud and clouded the space. Where did this tunnel lead? Would there be answers? And the light ahead—
As it came into focus, his stomach dropped.
A lantern? What the fuck? Who had left this here?
“That was too easy,” a lyrical voice said from behind him.
He recognized it. The woman from the shop.
Vesper spun. “Who are—”
But he didn’t get to finish his question. The woman wrapped her arms around his neck and constricted his airway. Vesper flailed, but she’d gotten the jump on him and damn it, she was strong, and bloody tall too. He only had about half a head of height on her.
He tried to strike her face, pry her arms from his neck, or reach his weapons, but she slammed his head into the stone. Stars scattered across his vision.
He got one good swing and his fist connected with her thigh.
The woman grunted and hitched a knee into his groin.
If he thought the head wound hurt, he had no idea.
Dull dizzying pain radiated through him and he nearly crumpled.
A rather pathetic whine slipped between his lips.
She took his moment of weakness and pinned his arms between him and the cavern wall.
The scent of blackberries flooded his nostrils.
Vesper’s breath thinned and his world swam as she leaned in and whispered in his ear, “The shopkeeper was right about the woman you asked for all over town.” She let out the tiniest giggle as she deprived his lungs of air. “You should have stopped looking.”