I stopped there and stood, waiting for them to come for me. When nothing happened, I let the lightning dancing around my fingers grow until it illuminated almost the entire walkway.
Though no breeze stirred the air, the trees creaked above me. Some of the branches slithered through the canopy, but none came any closer to me.
“I’m going to set the gargoyles free,” I called to them. “I should have done it before, but we were scared about what would happen.” I didn’t like admitting this, even if it was to trees, but I had to give them the truth. “I have no choice now. We need their help… if they’re willing to give it.”
The bare branches scraped against one another as they slithered together like a nest of worms. I couldn’t prove it, but I sensed the trees were communicating with each other. I didn’t know what they would decide.
“I’m sorry I didn’t do what you asked of me earlier, but I had to try to find Ryker. I couldn’t free the gargoyles without knowing what happened to him. They’ve taken him, and they’re taking our children. Ihaveto get them back.
“Let me free the gargoyles. If they decide not to help us, I won’t blame them, and I won’t try to cage them again, but if theydodecide to help us, then together, we can hopefully fix the wrongs ravaging Tempest. I need your help for that.”
I could try entering the cavern through the Temple, but that involved a huge risk of exposure. Plus, I wasn’t sure I could move the slab blocking the entrance to the gargoyles. It fit perfectly into the floor and weighed alot.
I might be able to hammer through the stone with my lightning, but that was a last resort. There was no way I could keep that quiet, and I’d expose the gargoyles if I did, but I’d do whatever it took to free Ryker.
Unsure of what else to say, I waited, unmoving beneath the trees. I wouldn’t leave until they gave me what I sought.
The trees creaked again before I glimpsed some movement from the corner of my eyes. It looked as if a massive worm hadrolled over beneath the earth, but instead it was a root shifting beneath the dirt.
It rotated the earth again before a tip poked out. It was only a tree root, but there was something repulsive about the way it moved as if it were tasting the air… or perhaps trying to tasteme.
These things had taken me twice now, and it wasn’t getting any easier to stand here to let it happen. The tip weaved its way through the air toward me before stopping to hover a few feet away.
It seemed to debate whether it would come any closer while bobbing up and down. I kept expecting something to flicker out and touch me, but it remained where it was as it weaved back and forth.
If the thing hadn’t been so unnerving and different in its reaction to me this time, I wouldn’t have been so disconcerted by it, but I didn’t know what to make of this. Would it take me to the gargoyles or tear off my head?
Then, having made its decision, it moved closer to encircle my ankle before rising to my calf. I held my breath as it rose higher.
Everything in me screamed against staying docile for this, especially when I didn’t know if the trees meant to help or harm, but I had to trust them. Just like when it came to releasing the gargoyles, I was out of choices.
The root slid around my waist as more of them broke free of the earth. They rolled beneath the ground, creating an opening as the one encircling me began to pull downward.
When it dragged me lower, I closed my eyes and prayed to survive this before taking a deep breath and holding it. Dirt filled my nose and pressed against my closed eyelids as the earth swallowed me.
CHAPTER SEVENTY
Ellery
I hitthe ground with a thud that knocked the air from my lungs and sent a little wave of panic through me as I tried to get air back into my body. It took longer than I would have liked, but eventually, I could breathe again.
Sitting up, I wiped away the dirt clogging my nostrils and clinging to my face. I choked, coughed, and spit until I cleared the debris that was shoved into my orifices by the tree roots pulling me through the ground.
I would give anything to sit and relax for a few minutes; I was exhausted, physically and emotionally, but I didn’t have the time it would take to sit and lick my wounds. Ryker and so many others needed help.
With a groan, I pushed myself to my feet and let my lightning intensify until I could take in more of the dirt walls surrounding me. The tunnel was twenty feet on the sides and thirty feet over my head. It only grew slightly smaller or larger in certain areas.
Rocks and tree roots jutted out in some spots, but this section was mostly carved through dirt. That also changed throughoutthe tunnel, with more roots or rocks appearing in certain sections. The temperature in this area wasn’t too bad, but some parts were freezing while others were more temperate.
Twisting, I looked around as I tried to get my bearings before my gaze settled on the arrow I’d left during my first trip down here. Then, it was just Mouse and me; Ryker later joined us, but we had no idea what this tunnel was or what it would reveal.
Concern for Mouse trickled through me. Now that we’d left our old encampment, he didn’t know where we’d gone.
If the duke’s men came across him, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill him or shove him into the army. It would be impossible to tame the boy, and he wouldn’t do well if they conscripted him.
When this was over, I’d have to find him. Farley and the other poltergeists would help me do so.
My first trip down here seemed like a lifetime ago. I felt like someone completely different now as I’d battled through so much, yet war loomed ahead of me—and it would be bloody.
