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I blinked at her matter-of-fact tone, realising she had a point.
“What’s the worst that could happen, right?” I answered, laughing at her as she shook her head at me.
“I cannot actually believe you just said that.”
Raising my hand, I flicked my fingers at the stone, sending a spark of power at the rune marking. Saffy leapt back as it lit up with a sudden glow of light, sinking back into the rock as two large cracks split the wall above and below it. Running quickly across the stone, the cracks swept around to form an archway, the centre swinging back with a low scraping sound and leaving us standing open-mouthed before a small doorway.
“What the…” Saffy breathed as old, musty air swept out and sent whisps of hair flying around our faces.
It was impossible to see far beyond the threshold I had unwittingly created, the darkness inside inky and thick. The bright light of the day highlighted only the stone floor of the entranceway, showing the top of a narrow stairway before losing its battle with the blackness.
I glanced at Saffy, sensing how jittery she was. “You ok?”
“Shit, Cor, I’m half-expecting the Crone to leap out and snatch me. Can you close it again?”
I raised a brow at her and she groaned. “No, come on, you are not going in there.”
“Um, yes, yes I am,” I answered, looking back at the dark stairway.
“The guys will kill you if you don’t wait for them,” she reasoned, though I heard the resigned tone in her voice.
I chuckled. “Wow, did you actually think that was going to stop me?”
She shrugged. “Was worth a shot. This is seriously creeping me out.”
“Wait here,” I said placatingly. “I’m only going to look at what’s down there and come straight back up. There’s no point going back without knowing what we found.”
“If it shuts on you, I’m going to kick your ass,” she grumbled as I stepped up to the doorway.
“Deal,” I murmured as I drew power into my hand, casting a shimmering ball of light and holding it up as I stepped through the grimy doorway.
The walls around me looked identical to the smooth rock outside of the stone, no markings or information to tell me what I was walking into. Peering into the darkness, I swallowed hard, pushing down the fear that tried to climb up my throat and the memories of dark dungeons that threatened to surface.
Come on, Cordy, strap those big girl pants on. It’s just a stairway.
With that short mental pep-talk, I breathed in the stale air and raised my light higher before stepping onto the first stair and making my way slowly down, the darkness swallowing me as I descended into the unknown.
Chapter Nineteen
Cordelia
Itooktenslowand tentative steps before I heard Saffy curse loudly.
Spinning around, I peered upwards, but the spiral curve of the stairway had already blocked the top from view.
“Saf?”
“The door started to close. I got it, don’t worry!” she called back. “Just hurry up, ok?”
I nodded, ignoring the fact that she couldn’t see me, and continued making my way down the steps. The stone beneath my feet was smooth and unworn, the thick layer of dust telling me more than anything that this place hadn’t been recently visited.
The light guiding my way suddenly spilled wider, the enclosed space of the stairwell opening out into a bigger chamber. As the floor levelled out I threw my orb up toward the low ceiling, illuminating the small room with a low, dancing light and glancing around with wide eyes.
“Woah,” I breathed as I scanned the huge rune covering the circular stone floor.
It seemed to perfectly match the smaller version on the doorway, though the thick lines here were blood red and showed signs of age. The wall opposite was what really held my attention though.
A tapestry hung across the centre of the wall, roughly half my height but wider than my arm span. Across it lay a map. There was no other word for it. A network of tunnels spread beneath the forest like roots of a giant tree, leading to multiple points across the land. Labyrinth runes marked each entrance to the passageways, with chambers and stopping places between them, but I only recognised one place for sure. Just off-centre sat the Queen’s castle, marked with a red crown symbol and showing a tunnel connecting it to the rest of the system.
