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“I don’t know where this goes. I don’t think it was on the map.”
“Probably not. What you saw on the blueprints was probably the tunnel as they cut through the ground. They’ve probably expanded the tunnel system over the years.”
“We’re running blind,” she said, panic creeping into her voice.
“It’s all right, Emery,” he purred, sending soothing emotions down the link. “We’re together, and we’re going to get through this, but we’ve got to keep moving.”
Emery ran alongside him, trusting him to guide them as she tried to get her bearings to try and figure the best way out. The last thing she wanted to do was end up on the dock. It would be far too easy for them to be trapped there.
Mason wove them in and out of tunnels but seemed to be instinctively moving towards town.
“Do you know where we are?” she asked.
“Not really, but I’m trying to see if I can’t project my cave lion either ahead of us or better yet above ground to give us some sense of direction.”
He kept them moving, changing directions, never staying in any one tunnel too long and veering away from any sound of pursuit.
“Call him back,” she said urgently.
Mason was flushed, and his temperature was starting to rise—and not just in conjunction with the exertion he was expending running what amounted to a marathon after having spent weeks at the tender mercy of NLGP. Emery could tell trying to project himself was taking a heavy toll on him and was glad to feel his shifted-self reuniting with him.
Mason skidded to a halt, shook himself and then grinned. “This way,” he said, jerking her in a totally different direction that she felt would be doubling back.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Absolutely.”
They ran faster than she thought possible through the dimly lit darkness. It felt as if they had run forever, and that they might never be able to stop. She squelched the desperation that was threatening to rise up and strangle her.
“Easy, Em. Just a little bit longer. We’re almost there.”
Something had changed for Mason; she could feel it. There was a confidence in the turns he took, and little-by-little any evidence of someone catching up to them faded away into nothing. The tunnel got smaller, but they kept running, Mason never seeming to take a wrong step as he made a sharp turn to the left and they ran up an incline. The ground leveled off and they came to a dead end.
“Now what?” she asked, trying desperately to keep any hint of accusation out of her voice.
“Think, Emery,” he said, trying to catch his breath. “You looked at those plans. Any idea how we get out of the tunnel and into the alley?”
Her own heartbeat began to steady and the blood pounding through her system started to settle. As it did, she could hear the sounds of Reykjavik’s old town overhead. She closed her eyes, trying to envision the exit. Without opening them she turned away and reached for a simple pull-down lever that had been hidden in the stonework, turning to grin at him as she pulled it down, and overhead a piece of cobblestoned street slid back just enough to be able to slip a hand through.
Emery wanted to stop and take a moment to listen to try and see if there was danger. Mason grabbed the piece of alleyway and slid it back.
“Mason, wait. We don’t know if it’s safe.”
He hauled himself out and then leaned back in to lift her out of the tunnel before sliding the panel into place, hearing it latch shut.
“But it is.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I didn’t; but he did,” said Mason, pointing to the almost translucent image of a snow leopard standing just ahead. “He came for us. He must have sensed he had one more job to do.” Mason walked toward the great cat whose image was slowly fading. “I owe our lives to you, old friend. You have done far more than anyone could ever have asked. Go find a place by the fire. We will remember you always.”
Mason stretched out his hand and the last thing Emery saw of the creature was an almost invisible head rubbing against his master’s hand. She could hear it purring softly as it faded away into nothing.
Emery’s eyes filled with tears. “I robbed him of his life.”
Mason pulled her into his embrace. “He was dying with me. You did what you had to do to save me… and so did he. We will not dishonor his memory by regretting anything that had to be done.”
She nodded, leaning her cheek into the hand that the snow leopard had last touched. Mason wiped away her tears with his thumb.
