Jinaari looked at Thia, gauging the impact of his words. She was visibly shaken but held her ground. Good, he thought, she’s not going to run. Not without cause, anyway.
“Adam, see if there’s a way to prevent them from coming downstairs. I want to keep them up there as long as we can.” He turned back toward the gap he’d been watching through. The rain was beginning to slow down. The storm was weakening.
“On it.” His friend said as he turned and bounded up the stairs.
Thia’s voice was faint as she asked, “What can I do to help?”
He turned back to her. She hid beneath the voluminous cloak and hood. If it wasn’t for her eyes, she’d pass as human, maybe a half elf. The lilac color, though. That marked her as part Fallen. Hiding was probably so ingrained in her she didn’t know she did it anymore. “How are your magic stores? Used anything today?”
She shook her head. “No. Adam took care of the spider earlier, not me.”
“Stay out of reach if they come close. Your job’s not to fight. It’s to keep the three of us alive. Caelynn and I will do most of it. Adam’s better from a distance. Stay aware of your stores. If you’ve got plenty, and there’s an opening to kill it, then do it. But only if you’ve got the magic to spare. Got it?”
“Yes.”
A staccato sound echoed in the room, and he jerked his head up. They’d been found already.
“What’s that?” Thia asked.
“They’re here. At least the first scouts.” He walked toward her. “Grab the packs, carry as many as you can and keep your hands free. Caelynn and I need to be able to fight.”
“Here, I’ll take Jinaari’s.” Adam ran over to them. “I sealed the door at the top, inscribed a few runes. It won’t hold them long, though. I could hear them breaking through the roof while I worked.”
“Can you do something with the front door? I don’t want it sealed in case we need to retreat that way, but a delay tactic would be good.”
Adam nodded. “There’re a few vials in the case I found that’ll be deadly to the spiders, if we have time to mix them.”
A high-pitched scream came from above them, and Jinaari looked at the stairs. “There’s not enough time. One is already through.”
“Jinaari!” Caelynn called out. His head snapped toward the sound. She stood inside a doorway. “In here. There’s a waste pipe leading to the sewers.”
He gestured to the others and headed over. Above them, wood cracked and split from the weight of the spiders converging on the roof. “Is it big enough?”
She looked him up and down, a teasing smile on her face. “For us, yes. You might get that shiny metal suit you wear scraped a little.” Caelynn grabbed her pack from Thia and slung it across her back. Her face grew serious. “It’s going to be tight for you, Jinaari. How do you want to do this?”
“You first, then Adam. Thia, you’re next.” He motioned toward the door. “Let’s go. The faster we get down there and close the hatch, the less likely they’ll find us.”
He pushed them through the doorway, keeping his gaze on the staircase. Judging from the noise, there could be close to a dozen adults coming after them. That’s too many. A nesting pair, sure, but they wouldn’t swarm like this unless they were being directed to. As soon as Thia was past him, he crossed the threshold after her and closed the door.
The kitchen was dirty. Moldy lumps dotted the counters, covered with dead maggots. Caelynn’s pink head disappeared into the floor, and Adam began to climb after her. “There’s a ladder,” Adam said to Thia, “but watch your step and grip. The wood could be rotten.”
Jinaari saw Thia nod as she adjusted her pack. Adam disappeard down the hold as she knelt next to it. A high-pitched chittering erupted above them. Both of their heads snapped up at the sound. “They’ve got our scent and Adam’s ward won’t keep them at bay much longer,” Jinaari said. “Go!” he commanded as he drew his sword and turned toward the door.
“What about you?”
“I’ll be right behind you,” he scanned the room. A pile of rags sat near what could be an old oil lamp. If he set the place on fire, that’d buy them some extra time. He ran to the table, shoving his weapon back into the scabbard. He took out the cork stopper and grabbed at the closest rag. A dozen bugs ran across the table as he shoved it into the neck of the bottle. “Ignis,” he whispered. Smoke began to rise from the cloth. Jinaari laid the bottle on the rest of the pile, then ran back to the hole.
Caelynn wasn’t joking. It was narrow, and he’d have to work to fit. Hopefully, it opened up as he went down. He found the handle on the bottom of the trap door and closed it as he began his descent.
His armor scraped against the walls of the tunnel. He kept one arm raised, dropping the shoulder on the opposite side, and waited. It was pitch black, and he could barely make out the rung in front of his face. “Adam?” He kept his voice low. “Any chance at some light?”
A soft glow began to illuminate the tunnel. “You’re not getting old on me, are you? I remember when you could see in the dark!” Adam’s voice rose from below.
“Not old, but there’s no stars down here, either,” Jinaari shot back. Glancing down, he saw Thia making her descent. He’d have to wait, let her get farther down before he started. “How far down is it?”
“About fifty feet. Thia’s almost here. It opens up in the last ten feet,” Caelynn answered.
Smoke began to filter through the cracks between the boards above him. Coughing, he twisted his shoulders to try to minimize the damage to his armor as he climbed down the ladder. The crackle and pop of the fire grew louder as it began to gain momentum. He could see the flames eating away at the dried wood above him. He shoved his shoulder down as his feet moved. It was taking too long. “Is everyone clear?”
“Yes. What is it?” Adam said.
“I’m doing this the fast way,” he answered. Leaning back, he found his balance before letting go with his hands. He pulled both arms into his chest, making himself as small as possible. He drew in a deep breath, readying himself for the impact, and pushed his torso forward as he moved his feet off of the ladder. He dropped quickly, landing in a heap at the bottom. Sitting up, he waived off Thia. “I’m fine.”
She studied him before speaking. “You told me my job was to heal you three so that means I decide who’s fine and who isn’t.”
“I won’t lie to you, Thia. That’s not who I am.”
Her lilac eyes softened slightly. “You’ll live,” she said as she moved away from him.
Was that a hint of trust in her eyes? He shook off the thought. Gaining her trust would make keeping her safe easier, but it wasn’t the biggest issue right now. Rising, he looked around. “Where’s the tunnel go?” he asked, pointing down a dark archway.
“That’s the thing, I’m not certain. It should be the city sewers, but that’s not what this is.” Caelynn was quiet. She turned to one of the walls of the chamber. In the dim light, Jinaari made out the outline of a bricked off tunnel. “They closed it off. Recently, too.” She pointed to the wall. “See? The mortar’s not that old. It’s not crumbling like the archway.”
“Adam? What do you see?”
“It’s warded. If we’d come through on the other side, we wouldn’t have known this passage existed. We got lucky.”
“Looks like we found the way to Drogon’s hiding place. Let’s go pay him a visit.”
“You don’t think he’ll just let us walk up and say hello, do you?” Thia asked.
Jinaari smiled. “I’m counting on him doing his best to keep us from getting to him. We still don’t know what he’s doing down here, so we’ll want to look for anything that’s out of place or unnatural.”
“Like giant spiders?” she shot back.
“Actually, those aren’t that odd. The amount that came after us, though . . . they normally stay in small groups. A mated pair and the younglings. Once they leave the web, the female either eats the male or they mate again. I’ve never seen that many adults swarm onto one location before. Even when food was scarce. They’re just as likely to eat each other.” He kept his tone casual as he took his pack from Adam. No point in scaring Thia any more than she already was. Taking a closer look at the area, he frowned. Something wasn’t right. This was too obvious. “Caelynn, did you actually touch that wall?”
“You’re not thinking it’s an illusion, are you?”
“I’m thinking,” he gestured down the opening, “that it’s way too obvious which way we’re supposed to go.” A charred piece of wood, flames still eating away at it, dropped from the tunnel they’d come through. The fire was growing. They couldn’t stay here all day, debating. He walked over to the wall, removing one of his steel gauntlets, and placed his hand against the bricks. “Everyone, take a section,” he told them. “Let’s make sure there’s no levers or hidden doors.”
As they began to examine the wall, he glanced back. The fire would have engulfed the building by now. Going up wasn’t an option but going the wrong way could prove more dangerous than the fire.
“I think I found something,” Thia said. Jinaari turned to look at her. She knelt near the base of the wall. Her hand hovered over one brick. “This one’s loose.”
“Wait, Thia, don’t—” he said, stopping as the floor beneath her gave way. Dropping to the ground, he grabbed for her as she fell, screaming. His hand closed around a fist full of cloth. I have to calm her down. “I’ve got you,” he told her. “Can you reach my arm?”
“I think so,” she replied. She reached above her head. He saw her hands slip off the metal bracer encasing his forearm.
The unmistakable sound of tearing cloth reached his ears. If they didn’t hurry, the weight of her body would slide her right out of her chain mail, tunic, and cloak. “Thia, don’t move.” He kept his sights on her. She looked up at him, the hood of her cloak falling back, terror all over her face. “Cross your arms and grab your upper arm with each hand. Don’t move them until I tell you to.” The sound of hundreds of creatures moving echoed up from the inky blackness. “Adam, I need your staff.”
“On your left,” he said.
Jinaari reached out, his hand searching. “Thia, when you see the staff, grab it. Don’t look down. Just keep your eyes on me or the staff.” Slowly, he lowered it down past her head. The light from the crystal illuminated the space. The floor was covered with scorpions, some of which were starting to form a tower to get to her. “Get a good grip.”
She wrapped both of her arms around the wood. “Got it. Please hurry.” Her voice waivered on the edge of panic. “They’re coming closer.”
“Hey, look at me. Not down there,” he commanded. Her head snapped back up. “Adam, Caelynn, I need you to keep me steady while I pull her up.” He waited until he felt them grab his legs and waist. “Okay, Thia. This is the hard part. I’m going to let go of you so I can put both hands on the staff and pull you out.” Her eyes widened in terror. “Trust me,” he said calmly, trying to mask his own fears for her sake.
She nodded, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. His arms and back hurt, but he wasn’t about to drop her. Not now. Quickly, he released his grip on her cloak and grasped the staff with both hands. “Hold on.” Gritting his teeth, he began to pull the staff, and Thia, out of reach of the scorpions.
When she was level with him, he glanced back at the others. “Pull us out.” His body scraped against the floor, the chest plate of his armor absorbing the damage, but it got her close enough to the edge. Caelynn appeared next to him and helped her onto solid ground.
Rolling over, he stared at the ceiling. “Let’s try the open tunnel.”
He pushed himself off the ground, taking another look down into the pit. The scorpions were swarming. Not enough to reach the lip, but more than he’d ever seen at once. First, the giant spiders. Now, scorpions. What was going on? He looked at Thia as she leaned against a wall, catching her breath. “Adam, anything in that case you found that you can drop down there?”
“There should be.”
He waited while Adam and Caelynn took care of the scorpions. Potions weren’t his specialty. He looked back at Thia. Her eyes were still wide, but her body wasn’t shaking any more. The only person he knew of that was powerful enough to command both spiders and scorpions was Lolc Aon. Did Drogon make a deal with the Scorpion Queen? If so, what could he have offered that she’d be interested in? The Goddess was known to keep a watch on all the Fallen. But Thia was also part human and devoted her life to Keroys.
Gods, what’s really going on? Am I here to stop a mage gone mad? Or protect a priestess from something even worse?