THIRTEEN

.---- ...--

I waited until Ryon got home to explore the Witch Tunnel. For hours, I paced back and forth, waiting for him to return. Usually, time passed in haste, but that day, the afternoon stretched out like the tunnel before me. A few times, I even considered asking Marietta to explore it with me.

But that wouldn’t be the wisest move.

So I mulled about in my impatient excitement until Ryon arrived home at his usual time. 

He peaked in from the top of the stairs. “Nan? You down here?” 

“Ryon! About time!” I raced over to him. “I’ve been waiting all afternoon!”

“Yeah? I come home at the same time every day, silly.” He leaned in to kiss me.

“Wait.” I held up my hand. “You’ll kiss me harder in a minute.”

Ryon raised his eyebrows but questioned nothing as I led him over to the shelving. Once again, I pried at the hinges.

“Nanette! What are you doing?!”

I didn’t answer, allowing the door to swing open. Ryon gasped.

“Marietta told me about these. Think it will be of use?” I glanced back at Ryon.

“It’s a Witch Tunnel!” Ryon beamed. “I told you about these, right?” 

“I don’t think you did.”

“Or you ignored me,” Ryon said as he stroked the door frame. “I never thought I would see one. I thought it was a myth.”

“It’s amazing.”

“But...where does it go?”

“I don’t know. I was waiting for you to get home to find out.” 

Ryon grinned, that silly cocky grin that made my heart flutter, then leaned in for a kiss again. This time, I allowed it. As I expected, it embellished me with more excitement and passion as he lifted me up and perched me on the counter. Our lips lingered for a moment, yearning for more as our desires flourished.

I nuzzled my nose into his neck. “We should go explore before it gets too dark. We have all night for our fun.”

Ryon grunted, kissed me one more time, then helped me off the counter. 

Before venturing down the tunnel, I grabbed the lantern off the wall and locked the door to the cellar. Just in case, Elodie took a gander downstairs. She’d assume Ryon and I were making love, and in a fluster storm off, only to yell at us later. I’d rather she assume that than discover the truth. 

Then, hands gripped tight, we approached the Witch Tunnel. Where did it go? Would we end up lost?

Or was this just our next great adventure?

Ryon, with his mind filled with architectural facts and nonsense, had an instant hunch.

“I can’t believe I’m about to go into a Witch Tunnel!” He laughed, giddy as we stepped towards it. His fingers remained laced around my wrist. “You know how there isn’t much magic anymore? Like there are parlor tricks and such with the storytellers. But mostly, it’s gone, right? Well, that was the first thing the Order got rid of, about a hundred or something years ago. It’s not a secret or anything. They actually keep it in the history books and everything. What they don’t talk about is how those with magic created these tunnels to escape persecution based on some old legends or something. It’s just so interesting!” Ryon tapped the stone and frowned. “Imagine the stories these tunnels hold, Nanette! We could find out what happened to all the magic and—”

“One miracle at a time.” I smiled at him. “Right now, let’s go save some stories.”

Ryon squeezed me as he continued, “Maybe if the storytellers feel safe, then magic will come out of the shadows too! Imagine what some of them would do if given the opportunity!” 

“Perhaps.” While magic had been far more prominent in Stilette, we had long accepted it as something on the verge of extinction. People lost interest in spells and enchantments. Apothecaries relied more on science, performers relied more on parlor tricks; and even most with magic treated it like a joke. Yes, there were cities far away where magic continued its reign.

But not here.

Right now, we had to focus on saving the stories...before we only knew the state-sanctioned tales and nothing else.

We began our adventure down the Witch Tunnel. My heart hung heavy in my chest. Part of me yearned to tell Elodie the truth. But she wouldn’t understand. 

Besides, this home belonged to Marietta in the end, not Elodie. Marietta gave her blessing.

I wasn’t doing anything wrong! 

I shook away the fear as Ryon and I ventured further. On the surface, there wasn’t anything interesting about the tunnel. Pipes creaked along the side while old gas lamps rocked back and forth above our heads. Rats scurried past us. Water dripped.

We arrived at a fork in the path. Not wanting to let go of each other, we ventured to the right, following along in silence. I tried to keep my paranoia at bay. But what if the tunnels collapsed? What if the guard were waiting for us? What if we didn't find our way back? 

I clutched Ryon’s arm for reassurance.

When the second tunnel branched off, we stuck to our gut and headed right again. If we stayed to the right, it would be easier to get back. After all, we had all the time in the world to explore other paths! This was an entire network, filled with hidden nooks and crannies beyond our wildest dreams! It was amazing no one else was down here! Did the Guard close off these tunnels? Or did people just stop using them? 

My worries continued. What if all the tunnels exited in private residences? What if we ended up walking into someone’s bedroom?

“The thing is, if we keep going right, in theory, we should end up in the countryside,” Ryon muttered, almost seeming to read my thoughts. “There’s gotta be an exit by some train tracks or road or something that they would have used to get outta here...”

“But there are so many tunnels. It’s like a maze...” I replied.

“To confuse the Guard.”

We walked for a bit longer, ducking under cobwebs and coughing at the scent of sewage. Ryon walked undeterred, the smell nothing worse than his time on the farm. He offered me his coat to cover my nose, and after gagging, I accepted.

I don’t know how long we walked, but the tunnel eventually ended in a cylindrical room. No door or stairwell waited for us. 

Only stone.

“Well shit... there’s no ladder.” Ryon pointed to the door on the ceiling. 

I tilted the lantern towards the ceiling. A doorway to the surface cackled back at us.

“I bet the Order took it. Wanted no one to escape or something...” Ryon crossed his arms and sighed. “Guess we better turn back. We can check the other passages.”

Ryon babbled onwards, but my attention drifted from the doorway to the wall. Curiosity struck me as I circled the room, holding up the lamps, illuminating the odd-shaped grooves on the wall. They formed a pattern of some sort, composed of different lines and dots.

“Ryon, wait,” I murmured. “This looks like the tap-code I used at work for telegraphs and such...” 

I pointed out the pattern. He stared at it for a moment, furrowed his brow, then smiled. “You can translate it then?”

I nodded.

“What does it say, though?” 

“Let’s see…”

... .--. . .- -.- . .- ... -.--

I squinted at the pattern. “That’s an ‘S’... ‘P’...” I continued mumbling to myself, catching each letter, before saying the word aloud, “Speakeasy.” 

As if triggered by the word, magic unraveled. The grooves shifted and pulled outwards.

And around us, the wall transformed into a spiral staircase leading up towards the ceiling. Magic might have gone into hiding, but hints remained. If you found the right words, the right stories, then even magic might flourish again.

Ryon laughed, “Nanette! You’re brilliant!”

“Well, maybe we should discover where this goes before we celebrate.” I held out my hand to Ryon. Together, we ascended the stairs, taking each step with care to make sure we didn’t fall.

To our relief, the door unlocked from inside the tunnel. We turned the knob, and with a tad bit of elbow grease, it creaked open.

The brisk evening air stroked our faces as we crawled out into a vacant field. The Capitol glistened in the distance, lights permeating across the landscape, a constant beacon of discontent. But, out here, there were no guards. Only a quiet road, hidden by trees. 

“This is perfect.” Ryon smiled at me. “We found a way to get them in without being seen!”

I nodded. “It’s a bit far from the city, though.” 

“I’m sure there are a few more entrances. We’ll have to see where they lead, but at least this means at least no one will witness the coming and going from our tavern. No one will really know where it is or anything if it’s all underground!

“Including Elodie.”

“Especially Elodie.”

Another pang of guilt hit me in the stomach upon speaking my sister’s name. I should tell her, I thought. But I couldn’t trust her. It put too much at risk.

I pulled Ryon’s coat tighter around my shoulders, my heart racing with excitement, while my head pounded with thoughts and plans. There was so much to get done. 

But we figured out one step.

The next part required more stealth, though: we needed patrons.