CHAPTER 26

Lis' feet touched a patch of packed dirt first, and she settled her weight on the tunnel floor. The sharp edged beam of light from the entrance flickered and bounced. Illaise began her descent. Shadows jumped around on the tunnel walls, as a result.

Lis cringed. Though Quatori were completely blind, it was hard to imagine such an obvious announcement that they were there would go unnoticed. Yet, nothing on her level moved. The tunnel floor was uneven and littered with stones and lumps of cloth that she didn't study too closely.

The Shifter that had fallen was already stripped clean. A bulge of shadow with the white gleam of bones protruding. The sight should have likely induced some sympathy within her. It was her fault he had fallen, after all. But she felt little except the weight of their task. She assumed that Illaise and herself shared the same goal: finding and freeing any of those Shifters that were captive and still alive. But her methods were rash and risky.

She reached the bottom without sound and stood there for a moment, frowning upward at the entrance. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking, but Lis hoped she wasn't plotting revenge for the failure of her invention. Dark forms flashed across the opening, followed by a piercing roar.

Funny that the Quatori from the tunnel weren't swarming toward the sound. If her scenting was accurate, they had actually retreated, a bitter note to their odor suggesting...fear? Did Quatori feel fear? It was a revelation to Lis that the Quatori might be more than a vicious moving hunger.

More shadows passed the entrance, wings and claws glimmering.

Lis shuddered. They couldn't reach her, but the sight of the dragons still sparked the urge to run recklessly toward the fleeing Quatori. Licking her lips, she averted her gaze, studying the darkness that lead deeper underground.

After a moment, Illaise joined her, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. Lis couldn't see her expression, but she got the feeling that it was one of disapproval. She lifted her face and inhaled a long breath, scenting. Then a tug propelled Lis away from the entrance and toward total darkness.

The Quatori scent grew stronger. Was she following them? Lis could sense the drafts from various openings and intersecting tunnels, shouldn't they be moving along one of them, avoiding Quatori?

But as they crept farther, it became obvious that they were, indeed, nearing the beasts that fled. Lis tensed when Illaise led her past one of the drafts; they were most certainly other tunnels, a complex of them beneath the surface. This particular tunnel also smelled strongly of a Quatori's recent passage, which meant that, as of that point, her and Illaise were surrounded.

How in the Six Realms would they ever find their way back? Her mind was sharp, but even she would lose track of the passages she memorized if they had to wind around different tunnels to avoid the enemy. When they managed to free Adda, Lis wasn't sure she would be in any better of a position.

This seemed to matter naught to Illaise, who pressed forward with determination. She was nervous, though; she had maintained her grip throughout the tunnels. Less now, to encourage Lis along, and more to keep them together, but the skin beneath her palm was damp and her fingers clenched tighter than necessary.

She stopped suddenly, Lis had expected a continued momentum and nearly slammed into her back before the pressure of the woman's fingers stopped her. They stood in dark silence. Lis could sense the walls around her, a tight, uncomfortable feeling. How much earth lay between her and the open sky? Some of the passages had angled downward. Should they collapse, would they have a chance at digging their way out? Or would they suffocate long before they reached the surface?

Three tugs brought her focus away from such doomed thinking. Illaise released her arm and placed a hand on either side of her head, instead. Gently, she turned Lis' face to the left and then tapped her nose. Obediently, she sniffed. Quatori, just as they had been scenting since they ventured into the darkness. There was less fear now, but having spent the last half-hour trailing them, Lis had a sense that they were the same ones from the entrance. Illaise stepped behind her and turned her head right, this time she tapped Lis' eyes.

What did she expect Lis might see? They had been enveloped in complete darkness for so long that she was beginning to sympathize with her blinded brethren. But then she really looked. Could it be that the tunnel in that direction was slightly visible? A pale, or perhaps very distant, light?

That was intriguing, but it denoted danger, as well. Someone had to manage whatever produced the glow, and it wouldn't be a regular Quatori, which created a problem. It might be possible to sneak around and hide the sound of their passage, but the possessed could both hear and smell with accuracy. Hiding the scent of their presence would be much harder.

Cautiously, Lis opened the link to her sister once more. She did not need Adda distracting her with protests, only a direction, and Lis suspected it would be toward the light.

And she was right. But worse was that, Adda's fear had increased to a full out panic. Something big was happening. Something evil. She didn't even acknowledge the reconnection and that frightened Lis the most.

Lis pulled from Illaise's grip and pressed forward toward the glow. She allowed it for a moment, or Lis might have startled her with her impulsivity, but then she caught up, replacing her grip upon Lis' arm. She didn't try to stop her now, or turn back.

It felt as though Lis walked for miles, the tunnel continued on forever, with the light never getting any brighter, or closer, it seemed. At last, they reached a series of bends, each turn allowing more of the light in until the brightness hurt her dark-sensitive eyes.

They rounded a final bend that opened into a massive underground chamber. Torches flickered high up on pillars of wood and stone, many, many feet above her head. The ceiling began low around the edge, most of the walls only a little higher than herself before they curved. It progressed at a steep angle to the center, at which point it rose into the dark well beyond the torchlight. Lis couldn't even calculate the depth. She suppose that answered the question about whether she could survive a cave in. Surprisingly, much of the room's construction was stone, and not the crags and jagged edges one might expect from the material. This stone was smooth, as though a giant river had once flowed through the cavern, hollowing and eroding. There were many places where wooden lattice added extra support, walkways, and ladders. Figures moved along them. Shifters, with that same oozing lurch that Lis had come to expect from the possessed.

A tight band wound around her arms, pressing them firmly to her side, at the same time as something else covered her mouth. Which was good, because her startled scream would likely have brought the enemies of the cavern down upon them. A familiar face appeared in her own, Scet. His large finger pressed against his lips, demanding silence.

Even without looking, Lis knew who held her. Heat pressed into her skin along her back where she sat, snug against his chest. Cillumn. He had found her. She hadn't truly expected such a boon at that late juncture. A new trickle of hope wiggled its way into her. The hand dropped from her mouth, but the arm around her chest did not release.

Illaise noted the arms around Lis, or perhaps it was the expression on her face that caused the Alpha to frown. Lis didn't care. Cillumn had pulled her through plenty of hard places; with him at her side, she felt far more likely to survive. She turned to tell him that, or at least smile at him, and caught her breath.

He was enraged. She had never seen such a firm set upon his face; gone was the gentle, encouraging Cillumn. The muscles along his jaw were jumping, as though he ground his teeth. Amber eyes glowed with the fury of windblown coals. To be fair, he shared his look with both Illaise and herself. He was naked, indicating that he had flown after them, just as Illaise planned. Did he come alone with Scet? The dark circles beneath his eyes and tangled locks suggested that he hadn't had any time to rest since she last saw him.

Lis frowned. Why was he so angry? She expected he would be a little put out to find her gone, but surely he could see the wisdom, or at least what Lis had thought was wisdom, of following Illaise while she was offering her aid. Maybe he was upset that she took the glyph, maybe he even thought Lis had a part in it. She tried to remind herself that she was guilt free, but she had been planning on taking the glyph, Illaise simply beat her to it.

Cillumn released her and pointed to the tunnel, back the way they had come, his meaning clear. They were leaving.

But she couldn't. Adda's fear still echoed through her; she could feel her sister's presence pulling from deeper within the chamber. She needed help now, and Lis could not just abandon her, not after coming so close. She shook her head at Cillumn, causing another flair of his eyes.

Illaise simply ignored him altogether. She crouched low to the smooth worn stone and crept toward a protrusion deeper within the darkness. Scet, too, was slipping off into the shadows, working his way along the wall to the right. Lis watched with amazement, and a little bit of envy, as he seemed to fade into his surroundings so naturally.

Cillumn tugged once more, harder this time, and for a moment, Lis was afraid he might simply pick her up and haul her out without her permission. She shook her head, wishing she could just communicate with him using words. If he only knew that Lis could feel Adda, and that she was in danger...well...more danger, Lis was sure that he wouldn't just abandon her, either. When she had come to have such a high regard for the honor of a Dragon Lord Lis wasn't sure, but Cillumn was honorable.

The piercing screech from deep within the cavern returned, its cry echoing around the chamber. Lis stilled her movement, even her breathing.

The Master was there.