Raven leaned over the hole, her eyes wide and her breath catching. She could make out Marcus’s figure, illuminated by a faint light, as he moved down the tunnel and out of her view. “Sage. What are you doing?” But there was no response.
Landyn joined her at the side of the hole, and together they watched in stunned silence as the torchlight moved farther away, leaving nothing but lingering darkness behind.
Concern washed over Raven. “Sage!”
“It’s well,” Marcus assured from below. “Come down.”
“We can’t see!” Raven called. But the torchlight didn’t return. She cursed quietly and glanced at Landyn. In the blackness, she couldn’t see anything, but she worried about his wound. “Can you do it?” She didn’t hear a response, but Landyn rested his palms on either side of the gaping hole and carefully lowered himself until a soft thud sounded when he landed on the ground.
“I’m down,” he said.
Relief washed over Raven. He had made it even with his wound.
Suddenly, she heard Christian’s voice behind her, shouting desperately, “Come back! It’s closing. The coffin is closing!”
Raven jerked to return but halted. She couldn’t leave Landyn, Sage, and Marcus. She knew if she didn’t act fast, they would be sealed in!
Chapter Twenty-Two
Landyn trailed after Sage and Marcus, the light from the torch leading the way. His annoyance grew as he realized they had continued. He swiped away a spider web hanging from the ceiling as he caught up with them. “You need to wait for the others,” he ordered.
Marcus agreed with a nod. “Let’s go back.”
Sage reluctantly shifted her weight, the torch casting a wavering light in the darkness. She turned, her boots scuffing against the stone floor, her eyes fixed on the opening in the ceiling down the passage.
The corridor stretched out before them. With a slight slouch, Landyn’s head was just high enough to allow him to walk without scraping the ceiling. From the cobwebs hanging in the still air, covering the walls in a soft, gray veil, he guessed that no one had been through this passage in a long time.
“It’s closing!” Raven yelled from above. “The coffin is closing!”
Her shrill warning echoed off the walls, paralyzing Landyn with dread. Unbearable tension filled the corridor until it was almost too thick to breathe.
Raven yelled for her sister. “Willow!”
“This is the way the directions lead,” Sage desperately assured them as they reached the opening where Raven was. “There must be another way out.”
Willow looked at them through the hole. “Or we’re sealed in here forever,” she said, her voice dripping with despair. “Maybe the directions don’t lead anywhere but to death.”
Her words hung in the air like a black cloud, a portent of doom.
A rush of air passed them like a ghost. Landyn knew they were sealed in and not leaving the way they came in.
Raven’s eyes widened with dread as she gazed at him.
He reached his arms up and grasped her waist, helping her down from the ledge. He held her tighter than necessary, and their eyes met—his a mix of determination and concern, hers wide with worry. He released her and stepped back to make room for Christian, who jumped and landed with a light thud. They had no option now but to continue and hope there was a way out.
Raven marched to Sage in anger. “Enough. I know you’re excited to follow your directions, but we’re all locked in here. If you had waited, we could have figured out a way to keep our only exit open. You’re being reckless and impulsive.”
Repentance entered Sage’s usually confident eyes, and the torch she held aloft dipped.
“The directions will wait for us. But how are we going to get out now?” Raven demanded.
Sage lowered her chin. “I’m sorry.”
“We’re coming close to the end,” Marcus defended.
Raven spun around to face him, her voice rising in frustration. “What difference will it make if we can’t get out of here?”
Willow dropped from the opening in the ceiling and landed on the ground, falling into Christian’s arms. “I hate caves,” she murmured, her voice echoing off the stone walls.
