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At that moment, Tanael came running down the stairs. When he saw me, he stood rooted to the spot. The cold had still not left his eyes, and I wondered why he had put this protection around himself.
His gaze slid uncertainly over my outfit, and surprise crossed his otherwise still face. I lifted my chin demonstratively and didn't avoid his piercing gaze. I was strong—stronger than he thought—and I would prove it to him. Did he really think I would forget what I was fighting for because of him? What my goal was?
"Now that we're all here, we can go!" he shouted, taking his eyes off me and hurrying down the last flight of stairs.
"Hecate and Lariel, open your portals. Aspasia and Edward, in my study, you will find all the books I could find on the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant," he instructed, opening a world gate himself.
"I wish us all every success!" His gaze lingered coolly on me involuntarily. "Let's end this quickly so everyone can go their separate ways again, and this whole thing is finally over."
With a grim expression, he disappeared through the portal. The others looked at me uncertainly.
"We know what we're doing this for!" My voice was not loud, yet it had a certain power. "We can't let the Knights of John take everything from us, and we can't let Nash get to his destination. Innocents must be protected, and victims must be found. Let's get out there and fight for those who can't fight for themselves!"
A wave of energy rolled through the room, awakening everyone to new life. Determination was reflected in their previously downcast faces.
"Myrina, I'll follow you and fight by your side!" Stephan shouted and stood next to me. Sam gave me a wink and followed him. Hecate opened a portal and guided Chris, Jordy, and Emma through. Before she disappeared, she smiled at me one last time with pride in her eyes.
Lariel had also formed a glowing gate through which he left the villa with Aza, Maggy, and Rick. Only Aspasia and Edward remained, and they immediately made their way to the study, along with Zuri and Dad. The latter came up to me and took me in his arms.
"Take care of yourself, my darling," he whispered. "Your mother would be so proud of you."
"I love you, Dad. Don't worry about me."
With a final wave in Zuri's direction, I stepped through the portal with Stephan and Sam.
On the other side, it was pitch black, and it smelled musty. As the gate disappeared, my eyes tried to make out something in the blackness.
"Nice that you're finally coming too," Tanael grumbled, seemingly annoyed by the situation.
The anger at his inappropriate behavior came so suddenly I could no longer suppress it.
"Stop acting like a giant baby," I snapped at him. "Pull yourself together, and let's complete this mission."
I heard Sam giggle softly. Tanael was silent, but I didn't need to see his amazement; I could literally feel it.
"Come on, let's enter the tunnels," I told the men. Stephan handed me a small backpack with the necessary utensils. A flashlight, rope, and a few other things.
I strapped it to my back and followed the rest of the troop. Fortunately, we found ourselves in the remains of a clearly uninhabited house.
"Where exactly is the entrance to the underground city supposed to be, Luze?" whispered Sam.
"In the far basement room. I deliberately didn't have the portal created there because I was afraid it might be guarded, but seeing as we are alone."
We went after the God of the First Light. As I could only make out silhouettes, in my case, it was more of a stumble than a walk.
"Here it is," Tanael whispered. "Stay here. I'll check if it's safe." A scraping sound followed his words, hinting that this entrance was not a door but something more like a rabbit hole—just big enough for the god to fit through.
It wasn't long before a soft whistle sounded.
"Okay, it seems safe," Sam interpreted this sound. "Stephan, you go first. We'll take Myrina in our midst. I'll bring up the rear."
"Always stay close to us. Promise me that." Stephan put his hand on my shoulder.
"I will," I replied haltingly, trying to hide how touched I was by the care of these two men.
Then Stephan disappeared through the hole I could now feel. I had to swallow when I discovered it was only wide enough to crawl through lying on my stomach. I felt sick at the thought of the narrowness, the feeling of a grave. Nevertheless, I straightened my shoulders and crawled into the passageway, too. It was even darker here than in the cellar. But this time, I was grateful not to be able to see anything because at least I was spared the sight of this frightening situation.
We crawled on and on in silence. I could feel Sam's presence behind me, and sometimes, I bumped into Stephan's boots in front of me. It felt like half an eternity. Sweat ran down my back, and the thought of the tons of earth above me almost drove me mad. Fear lurked close to my consciousness, waiting for an opportunity to overwhelm me.
