Page 50 of Innocent Until Proven Witch

Her silence is answer enough. A moment later she mutters something that sounds suspiciously like regret.

The entrance sits hidden beneath an abandoned storage shed near the western docks. Most people walk past it without a second glance. I probably would have too, if my mother hadn't drawn a map.

The hatch creaks as I pull it open, a rush of stale air greeting me immediately. The darkness below looks untouched, forgotten, exactly the sort of place someone would choose. I grab my lantern, then descend.

The ladder groans beneath my weight, and the hatch closes above me, darkness swallowing everything. The lantern's glow pushes it back. Barely.

The tunnel stretches ahead, stone walls, damp earth, ancient supports, the air smelling of salt and old wood. My footsteps echo softly, and the deeper I travel, the more restless the wolf becomes. Something happened here. The certainty settles beneath my skin.

I move slowly, listening, watching, searching. The tunnel twists beneath the harbor, several passages branching away. Most appear unused. One doesn't.

I crouch beside a patch of disturbed dirt. Fresh. Not fresh enough to identify. Fresh enough to matter. The wolf pushes forward, investigating. A scent lingers, faint, unfamiliar. I inhale again.

Wood. Burning wood.

Not smoke, not fire, the lingering scent of charred timber.

My pulse quickens. There. Finally something.

I follow it. The tunnel narrows, then widens, the ceiling rising overhead. Another turn reveals a hidden chamber. I stop. Slowly. The room stretches farther than expected, crates lining one wall, broken shelves occupying another. The place shouldn't be active. Yet everything about it feels wrong.

The hairs along my arms rise. The air vibrates faintly, buzzing, the sensation crawling across my skin. Recent magic. The realization arrives instantly. I felt something similar near the forged signatures, near the damaged wards. The energy isn't visible. It's present. Everywhere.

I move deeper into the chamber, the buzzing growing stronger, my pulse pounding harder. Someone was here recently. Very recently. The scent of burning wood lingers everywhere now, and the trail finally feels real. No planted evidence, no rumors, no assumptions. A genuine trail.

The wolf becomes increasingly alert, the sensation spreading through my chest. Closer. I'm getting closer.

Another corridor branches away from the chamber, and I follow it immediately, the scent strengthening, the magical residue thickening. Every instinct screams the same thing. Keep moving.

I round another corner, then another. The tunnel eventually opens into a second chamber, larger, newer, used. A chair sits near the wall, maps cover a nearby table, and my pulse jumps. Someone is operating from here.

The realization hits hard. I take a step forward, then another, the buzzing becoming almost unbearable, the scent of burning wood hanging heavily in the air.

A voice suddenly cuts through the darkness. "Who's there?"

Every muscle in my body locks. Damn!

The voice came from deeper inside the chamber. Not close. Close enough. Another voice follows immediately. "Someone's here."

My heart slams against my ribs, the wolf surging forward. Run. The instinct arrives so violently that I obey before thinking.

I spin. Sprint. Footsteps explode behind me. "Stop!"

Not happening. I race back through the corridor, the chamber disappearing behind me. Voices echo through the tunnels, multiple voices, more than I expected. Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.

The pursuit grows louder, boots hammering against stone. Someone crashes into a wall. Another curses. The tunnels twist sharply, and I nearly lose my footing. Recover. Keep moving. The wolf guides me through the darkness, faster, faster.

A shout echoes behind me. "There!"

I don't look back. Looking back gets people caught. I learned that years ago.

Another turn, another corridor, the tunnel suddenly splitting. I choose left. A mistake. The passage ends abruptly. Damn. I reverse direction instantly, footsteps growing louder, too loud, too close. The pursuers are gaining.

Adrenaline floods my system, the wolf pushing harder. Move, move, move.

I burst into another tunnel, the scent disappearing, the buzzing fading, the darkness swallowing everything behind me. A moment later I spot the ladder. Relief crashes through me. The exit.

I practically launch myself toward it. Voices echo farther down the passage, still searching, still coming. I climb fast, the ladder rattling beneath me. The hatch appears overhead, and I shove it open.