“Sailor? You have a connection to the gems. What do you think?” Aziza asks.
I clear my mind and look down each section of tunnel, but nothing jumps out at me. I take my hand from the spear and run my fingers over the gems embedded in my tattoo hoping they’ll give me some clue as to where the next one is. Still nothing.
I try facing one way and touch the gems again. Still nothing. I turn and face the other way and touch them. I think I feel heat from them, but I know it could just be that my touch has warmed them slightly. I take a few tentative steps forward and the gems get warmer. I’m definitely not imagining it.
“This way. I think,” I say.
“Away from the town. That makes sense,” Mel says. She glances at Rye. “Your parents wouldn’t have risked leaving them somewhere where a maintenance crew could accidentally stumble upon one.”
“She’s right,” he says. “Let’s go. Sailor, no running off alone. And I mean it.”
He stalks past me and positions himself in front of me. The others get behind me, covering my rear. I know better than to argue. It would only waste time. Rye sets the pace and we are almost jogging as we move through the tunnels. I can feel the gems in my chest warming up as we move, but it’s not like before. It’s not burning and there are no visions. It’s actually quite a pleasant sensation.
We come to what looks like a dead end, but then I see another ladder leading down. Rye glances back at me and I nod. What else is there to do but go down? He disappears over the edge of the ladder, and for a moment, I am seized by panic as a thought goes through my head: I will never see him again. His scream does nothing to convince me I’m wrong.
“Rye,” I shout, rushing to the edge of the opening.
A hand grabs me, stopping me from throwing myself over the edge.
“I’m okay,” Rye shouts back. “The ladder vanishes halfway down and it took me by surprise. I fell but nothing’s broken. Come down slowly and I’ll warn you when the ladder is running out.”
I start down the ladder, relieved that my premonition turned out to be nothing but paranoia again. Rye’s voice calls up to me.
“Now,” he says. “Let yourself drop. It’s not far and I’ll catch you.”
I do as he says, letting go of the last rung and letting myself fall. I don’t fall far before Rye catches me and pulls me against his chest. I feel warmth spreading through my body, and this time, it’s got nothing to do with the gems. I pull back quickly, afraid to let myself lose concentration. I change my mind and throw myself back at Rye, holding him tightly for a moment.
“I thought something terrible happened to you,” I admit as I release him again.
“Nothing more terrible than a rolling stomach and a bit of embarrassment that I screamed.” He grins. His grin fades as he sees the pain on my face, and he reaches out and caresses my cheek. “Hey, don’t look at me that way. I’m fine. Really.”
I swallow down the feeling, telling myself he’s right. He’s fine. I’m paranoid.
“Come on, guys,” Rye shouts.
I step out of the way as Sunday drops down beside us followed by Ya-Ya, whom Rye catches. Once we’re all down, we start walking again. We haven’t gone far when we start to hear howling sounds in front of us.
“What the fuck is that?” Aziza asks.
No one answers. The rest of the team is as clueless as I am on this one.
“I guess it means we’re getting closer to the gem at least,” Aziza answers herself.
“That’s a good thing because I’m sure I heard footsteps behind us,” Ya-Ya replies. “We’re not the only ones who took advantage of the mess upstairs. The Boundless are right behind us.”
A picture flashes into my mind. The team gathered in a huddle, a giant hell beast on one side of us and Raven on the other. I don’t have long to ponder it because as we follow a curve in the tunnel, we come out into a large clearing and in the center of it is a large wolf. An actual fucking wolf. I come to a stop almost subconsciously.
The wolf looks at us, snarling and showing its teeth. Its eyes are bloodred and its fur is jet black and matted. Before I even have time to wonder how we’re going to defeat the thing, Aziza steps forward and rains fire down on the wolf. Its snarling stops, replaced by an unearthly, pained howl. It drops to the ground and Aziza stops the fire from coming. The wolf still burns, sending up a smell that makes me want to retch.
“Now I know what it is,” Aziza says. “And it’s no normal wolf. It’s a Lago Wolf. They move in packs. And once the pack picks up this scent, they’ll all be on us.”
“I don’t think it matters if you can take them down that easily,” I say.
Aziza shakes her head.
“Don’t be fooled, Sailor. One is an easy kill. A pack is a whole different story. Their packs are usually a minimum of fifty wolves, and they communicate with each other, stalking and tracking until they have their prey surrounded and then they strike. Their bites aren’t venomous or fatal, but they will turn you into a Lago Wolf.”
“I suggest we get moving again then,” Rye says, looking over his shoulder as more howls fill the tunnels.
We start moving, a lot quicker now with both the Lago pack and the Boundless on our tails. I can hear the howls getting closer, and suddenly, the pitch changes, sending shivers down my spine.
“They’ve found their dead pack member,” Aziza says. “Now they really want us.”
We start running, and as we run, my eyes scan
