I walked over to test it. I’d never heard of anything like that, but it was plausible, especially since this place existed as an interconnected network. I pressed my palms against the odd material and focused. After a few seconds, tiny vibrations came through the wall. The itch came for me, although it was much softer than usual, and I felt a tug toward the left. There was someone else here… No, multiple people.
"I'm picking up several presences," I told them. Lyra's eyebrows went up. "They’re farther inside this place." I crouched down to place my hands against the ground. The sensations came even stronger. This network pulsed with soft but subtle fluctuations of energy. I hoped we could follow them like veins leading to the heart of the tunnels. "Yes, there's quite a few. Do you think that could be them—Arlonne, Jessica, or even the kids?" We still hadn’t found any sign of the missing Black Rock staff, but it could be a group of Black Rock survivors as well. I didn’t say so, though, not wanting to raise Lyra’s hopes.
"Of course," Bryce pressed excitedly. He truly wanted to find Arlonne, and I was sure he hoped that she’d found the kids and Jessica, explaining the other presences we had felt. Lyra pressed her lips together, watching him cautiously. There was no guarantee we would find Arlonne among this group.
"It's worth exploring, but let's be careful," she urged.
We set out farther into the odd dome, walking close together. Occasionally, one of us vampires would stop to place our hands on the ground to pick up the energy signatures to help guide us. Before, I couldn't get a read on anything inside the dome, but the tunnels felt more alive after Chandry’s discovery.
It was like everything we touched was part of some larger circulatory system, making me wonder what the source might be. Maybe it was the Ghost.
"The presences are going deeper into the tunnels," Chandry said. We had veered to the left side of the bubble. Sike shook his scanner. The screen flickered back on.
"We're near a previous path, but the old tunnel was on a lower level," he explained. This place reminded me of the intricate redbill tunnels we’d traveled through in the Immortal Plane. We pushed onward.
Bryce sniffed. "Maybe if we get close enough, I can use the curse to find Arlonne." Chandry let out a chuckle, although Lyra's glance was sharper. She probably didn't want to risk him passing out. This will only be harder if we have to drag an unconscious Bryce through these tunnels, even if we do discover Arlonne.
We stopped at a section with three tunnel openings. Lyra gestured to them.
"Any guesses?" she asked. "It feels like you guys are game contestants."
Sike used his scanner while Chandry and I stooped down a few yards away to feel the ground. The sensation of presences grew stronger.
"I think it's the left," Sike muttered. "But my scanner is glitching on and off." He let out a defeated sigh. Chandry brushed her hands together and shuddered.
"I feel like it might be the left or the middle."
I was leaning toward the left, as well, and I told them as much. Lyra shrugged.
"It seems left is our best bet, then," she said. Chandry sniffed the air purposefully and wandered to the left tunnel, putting her nose close to the entrance.
"Smells like that perfume the annoying woman was wearing," she said. Oh, it was definitely left then. We went down. Occasionally, a smudgy dark shape would pass by in a nearby tunnel, which we could partially see through the translucent but cloudy walls. I wrinkled my nose as a disturbing sensation sank into my bones. The things outside the tunnels gave off weird vibes. Or was it just my senses being thrown for a loop?
"What was it?" Lyra asked, concerned.
"It felt like a shadow," I answered honestly. "There was not much energy to it. Like a faded soul."
She grimaced. "Creepy. It reminds me of more sinister harvesters."
"Hopefully, they won't hurt us if they don't have dark energy," Chandry said brightly. "I can feel remnants of the monster's aura as we walk down here. Maybe this was one of its preferred routes."
It was possible. The Ghost appeared to have a working knowledge of this place.
"At least the scanner is making a map for most of the way," Sike said hopefully. “It might help us navigate through this place if we get lost. Well… I guess we’re already lost, if we don’t know where we’re going.”
Cam gasped. "Look," he sputtered. In front of us, at the next fork in the tunnels, was a bright red scrap of fabric.
"That's the same color as the material I tore off Jessica's pant leg," Chandry said excitedly. "She might be fraying it and leaving us pieces."
"Or Arlonne," Bryce pointed out with a wicked smirk. "I think she'd very likely take delight in using Jessica's pant legs as a breadcrumb trail." Nobody could argue with that, though there were a few snickers. Regardless, we had a new lead.
We followed the crumbs. Lyra stayed closer to me. Occasionally, our arms brushed as we maneuvered through narrower areas of the tunnel. It was nice to be together, but I hoped we could finish this mission soon. It would be even better if we found Kane. Lyra had told me about her conversation with Roxy, which made me hopeful. Roxy wasn't one to make up stuff like that, and it took real guts to admit she was hearing a voice. It was the same way I’d felt when I had seen Lanzon's image in the Higher Plane. There was nothing like the universe reminding us that we needed to make room for other possibilities in our view of the world.
Kane was strong, though. He worked harder than most people, vampires included. Would we
