Another turn. Right this time. The walls narrowed even further, forcing us to move single file. Rafael went first, with the rosary held high. I followed, one hand trailing along the wall for balance. The stone was rough under my palm, wet in places, and covered in something that made my fingers slip.
I didn't want to know what it was.
The pathway opened into a wider corridor. Rafael stopped to check the map again. "Straight ahead. Should be maybe thirty yards, then another left."
We moved forward. The rosary flame guttered slightly, and my stomach dropped. How much fuel did that thing have? An hour? Less?
Caesar's cry split the air above us, echoing off stone from somewhere to our left.
Rafael's hand crushed mine. We kept moving, our footsteps faster now. The chain clinked louder with our increased pace, announcing our position to anyone listening.
There was another screech, closer this time. Then Constantine's voice drifted through the passages, bouncing off walls until it was impossible to tell where it came from. "I can hear you running, Lorenzo. The chains make such a distinctive sound, don't they?"
We reached the next turn. Rafael checked the map, but his hands were shaking, making the parchment flutter. "Left," he said.
The new passage sloped downward, and my foot came down on empty air.
I pitched forward into black nothingness.
Rafael's hand locked around my wrist before I could scream. The chain between our ankles went taut, yanking Rafael forward. He slammed into the edge of the pit, his body flat against stone, his arm extended over nothing. My weight dragged at him. The rosary clattered against the ground beside him, its flame still burning.
I looked down. Dozens of spikes waited below, their points rust-stained and sharp.
Rafael hauled me up with a grunt. His teeth were gritted, every muscle in his arm straining. I got my feet under me and scrambled back onto solid ground. We collapsed together onto the dusty floor, breathing hard.
"You okay?" Rafael's hands were already running over me, checking for injuries.
"Fine. I'm fine." My heart was trying to punch through my ribs. "Thanks for the quick reflexes."
Rafael grabbed the rosary and held it up. The pit yawned ahead of us, maybe six feet across, cutting straight through the pathway. There was no way around it. The walls on either side were solid stone, and the corridor was too narrow to edge along them.
My stomach dropped into my toes. We had no choice but to jump it. Chained together as we were, that was going to be damn near impossible, especially given my height compared to Rafael's.
"We can't both jump separately," Rafael said, standing and pulling me up with him. "Not with the chain. Your legs are shorter. We'll be off-rhythm and we'll both go in."
"So what do you suggest?"
Caesar screeched somewhere close by, the sound ricocheting off stone.
"I'll carry you." Rafael's arm wrapped around my waist before I could argue, hoisting me into his arms.
Rafael looked past me, studying the jump. His depth perception was still off. The eyepatch had only been on his face for a few days. There was a very good chance he misjudged the distance and put us both into that pit.
But I didn't point that out. I kissed him instead. "You can do this."
He blew out a breath and nodded. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. But the kiss definitely helps."
Rafael took three running steps and launched us into the air.
The world tilted. I clutched his neck and buried my face against his shoulder because I couldn't watch.
Rafael's feet hit stone. His knee buckled from the impact, and we went down hard. Rafael twisted at the last second, taking the fall on his shoulder instead of dropping me. We hit the ground in a tangle of limbs and chain.
The rosary flew from Rafael's hand and skittered across the floor, its flame still burning, and the map fell straight out of Rafael’s pocket on top of it.
"No!" Rafael lunged for it, but he was tangled with me and the chain. The ancient paper caught immediately, brown stains spreading across the surface as fire ate through the dried parchment.
I scrambled forward and stomped on the map, trying to smother the flames. Rafael joined me, and together we managed to put it out before it burned completely. But the damage was done.
