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There was a small splash, followed by a soft-spoken warning from Ciaran.
“Watch your step.” He stopped, helping me down.
“Ugh,” I muttered when I reached the bottom.
Cold water wicked into my J’s, soaking my socks and the bottom of my sweatpants. The stench of it was potent, mold and mildew. I firmed my grip on Ciaran’s hand and Mel’s, making sure she didn’t fall.
We began to make our way through the dark, using our human chain to ensure none of us got separated or lost. The passageways seemed endless. The only way we knew to turn was when we had no other choice, when the walls curved and made us go right or left. Every so often, there was definitive grinding noise.
The first time we heard it we all froze, waiting for something to happen—nothing did.
It came every few minutes, and after so many turns and times of hearing it I was beginning to wonder if we would ever get out of this place. I wasn’t the only one.
“How ironic would it be to die in here?” Gracelyn asked.
“Don’t put that idea in the air,” Selena snapped.
We took another turn, this passage even narrower than the last. My brain had a lightbulb moment.
“The walls are moving,” I announced.
“Yeah, I noticed that about two turns back,” Maverick replied.
Then why the hell didn’t he say anything? I gritted my teeth, keeping silent. My feet had become so wet I could feel them pruning. The walls shifted again, and this time I physically felt it.
“Let’s pick up the pace,” Ciaran commanded, sloshing forward.
Nearly running, we pushed onward, taking the different twists and turns. With one more right, a small light became visible, but by this point we were practically smashed between two slabs of stone. Fuck. I really didn’t want to die by being squished like a bug.
Going as fast we could, the light began to grow brighter as we drew closer. We emerged from the passage just as the walls shifted again. I would have melted in relief, but I wasn’t going to take a single breath for granted until I was out of whatever the hell this place was.
I put my hands on my knees, taking a second to catch my breath and let my eyes get used to seeing light again.
“There are no doors or windows in here,” Gracelyn huffed, twisting her hair up.
Doing a quick scan of wherever it was we’d wound up; I saw the space we’d emerged into was nothing less than opulent—on the same level the Cerberus Hall and Blight House had been.
The light we’d seen was coming from a chandelier that had been set to low, the gold gleaming as if it’d just been polished.
I didn’t understand any of this shit.
Straightening, I skimmed my eyes over each of the damask walls, gaze bouncing between one that had a backlit sign and the rear wall that was covered entirely by a massive, velvet, black curtain.
“Now what?” Mel questioned, staring down at her pruned feet.
“I’d start with that wall,” Maverick replied, crossing his arms.
“I can see it from where we’re standing and it ain’t a riddle, it’s just names,” Selena pointed out.
“Exactly,” he shot back matter-of-factly.
These fucking assholes. Why could they never come right out with anything?
The girls all began walking towards the sign. I made to follow, but Ciaran stepped in front of me and cut me off. He’d been quiet, more so than usual, but I figured he was still dealing with losing one, now potentially two, of his friends. Maverick seemed just fine, though.
“What is it?” I asked.
He didn’t immediately respond. His eyes blazed into mine with an unsettling degree of what I dared say was affection.
“I missed you,” he finally replied.
“What the hell are you talking about? I never went anywhere.”
He cupped my face with both his hands and kissed my forehead.
“Ciaran?”
“I’ll see you on the other side.” He stepped back and then moved around me, walking towards the curtain.
Maverick gave me a two-finger salute, and then followed behind him.
“What the fuck? Ciaran!”
I went to follow, but Mel’s voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Liliana, no!”
The urgency in her tone had me turning to face the other direction. “What’s wrong?”
“This.” Gracelyn pointed to the list of names on the sign they were standing by.
I took two steps in her direction, pausing at the sound of classical music and an array of voices. It was brief, lasting a few sparse seconds, but I still heard that shit.
“What the entire fuck is going on?” I turned back around and marched towards the curtain, wet shoes squelching across the marble floor.
“Lana, wait,” Grace hissed.
I didn’t listen. I tore back the curtain, spotting a solid metal door. As I slipped behind the hefty barrier to open it, the girls were following right behind me.
None of us—not even one—could have been prepared for what was on the other side.
