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"No vermin either." Latika sounded relieved at that, if surprised.
"Be careful," I warned. "I suspect there's power here. It may mask the presence of other paranormals." Or the gods knew what else.
Kerina nodded. Her posture stiffened just slightly, eyes shifted back and forth.
"What is it?" I asked, my voice low to avoid echoes.
We moved into a small cavern. The walls looked unnaturally smooth.
"I see lies," she replied softly.
"Yes." My brow wrinkled. I waited for her to continue.
"No, I mean I see them here. It's like—" She hesitated for so long I thought she stopped talking altogether. Finally, she said, "It's like a gauze curtain. I think… those soldiers were searching for something, but they didn't find it. It's hidden by power."
"Where?" I peered into the gloom.
She favoured me with a look through narrowed eyes. "If you could see it, it wouldn't be hidden. Besides, it's deeper in."
I waved at her impatiently. "Lead the way then, but be careful. Just because you can see through their veil, doesn't mean it won't kill you."
"I can't see through it," she explained patiently. "I just know it's there. Hades only knows what might be on the other side."
"Then like I said, be careful," I instructed. I almost wished I had an army with me. I could send in a dozen scouts, while another dozen guarded their backs.
"When am I not careful?" she asked.
"Do you really want an answer to that?" I asked.
"Later, over beer." She gave me a curt nod, turned her back and resumed the slow walk through the tunnels.
I waved Latika in front of me and took the rear. I kept my mind open, but felt nothing but the two women who walked ahead of me.
No, not precisely nothing, but the feeling we weren't alone might be straight from my imagination. Between my vision of the lift collapse and seeing the small woman and the rats, I wouldn't assume a thing.
"It just got colder," Latika said.
A step later, I felt the same thing. A sudden but significant drop in temperature.
"This is a cave," I said. They weren't known for being warm and cosy, especially up this high.
"Thank you, I had forgotten," Kerina said sarcastically.
"Anytime," I muttered.
Latika shot me a funny look over her shoulder, but stayed silent. She might think our banter was annoying, or badly timed. A deep, dark cave in the Onyx Mountains might be a strange place for humour, but it helped to ease the tension. For me it did anyway.
"Power," Kerina whispered. She drew to a stop, hand out in front of her. "The gauze is thicker here, like cotton."
I put out a hand and touched the air beside her. "It's even colder, but I don't see anything." I expected to be thrown off my feet, but nothing happened that I could tell.
"Can you see through it?" Latika asked. "Or push it aside?"
"It's not an actual curtain," Kerina said. "It's an illusion, like all the other things we've seen. Or heard."
"Can you hear any music?" I strained, but all I heard was silence so profound my ears rang.
"Just what's been playing since we entered the cave." Kerina paused. "You can't hear that, can you?"
