We need to move faster.
I glance down at my watch. It’s been nearly five hours since we left Italy. Five freaking long hours.
Blake does the same, shaking his head in what I can only imagine is disgust.
“Anything coming through on if the girls are close—or still alive?” he asks, his voice cracking slightly.
I shake my head.
“No. Ever since we arrived, everything has gone dark. Almost as silent as when I try to read you.”
“That can’t be good.”
I cast my gaze to him. Silence is definitely a mixed bag.
“I’m hoping once we get to the cavern, things will click into place. Sometimes I need to come into contact with items, or the location before things makes sense. There’s probably a lot of interference, energy wise—”
“Alright, let’s keep moving, then,” he says, reaching out and taking my hand.
I grab hold of his and take another big step forward.
The terrain is rocky, and the elevation is much higher than back home—making it harder to breathe as we forge on.
Avoiding the tourist groups and their occasional stopping points, it still takes us another twenty minutes before we finally reach the mouth of the cave.
“Wow—there’s a lot of people here,” Blake mutters, placing his hands on his hips as he takes in the scene.
I walk up, eyeing the massive mouth of the cave. He’s right. It’s a hub of tourists interested in learning more about Delphi, Greece, and the ancient ways people honored Apollo and Pan. Clusters of people huddle around tour guides who are all giving their own variations of the stories. Some speak in Greek—others in English or Italian.
I shake my head—this isn’t what I saw in my vision. There was no bustle of people and the cavern mouth wasn’t as wide and open as it looks in person. Yet, I know it was this cavern. I can feel it.
“They must have taken the girls deeper,” I say, leaning in to Blake.
“Could they do that without being noticed?”
“Sure, if they did it in the middle of the night or something. Hell, anything is possible. In my vision, there wasn’t anyone around when they all came through. They may have taken a different entrance or something. It wasn’t this wide.”
“Are you absolutely certain it was this cave?” Blake says, his eyes narrowing.
“I’m sure,” I say, staring him in the eyes.
But now that I’m standing here defending myself, I’m totally not sure.
What if the weird sense of connection—the fact this place was where I began my journey—has been clouding my judgment? Could I have let it all get in the way and taken us off course? It wouldn’t be the first time.
I shake away the memory of the ritual with Demetri and the way the Violet Flame transmuted more than it should have—all because of me.
“Then, c’mon—we need to look around the cave a bit,” he says, walking beyond a small group of tourists and heading deeper into the cavern.
When no one comes running after us, Blake takes his flashlight out of his pocket, switching it on as we go beyond the mouth of the cave and into the rear cavern opening. I stand back, trying to pull a read off of the energy in the space—the rocky walls, the unique way the stones and stalactites have turned green, before following him though the narrowed opening.
Small flashes of from the vision seem to mesh with where we are, but I’m not sure—things are in flux and shifting around. I shake away the confusion, pushing myself to go forward.
“Does anything look familiar?” Blake says, cautiously shining his light around the space.
“Everything—and nothing,” I mutter.
Blake turns around, the flashlight blinding me as he shines it my direction.
“Are you okay?” he asks, concern suddenly surfacing.
“Yeah—I don’t know. Something’s not right. I—think I’m going to need to you to leave.”
“Excuse me? I don’t fuckin’ think so,” Blake says, snorting indignantly.
My eyes widen at his cuss. It’s the first time I’ve heard him swear like that.
“Please. We both know there isn’t much time and if I can’t get a read on the girls—” my voice drops off, “well, you know. I need to eliminate the feeling it’s you muddying up the water.”
Blake’s left hand raises as he presses his thumb and middle finger to his forehead.
“Okay, look—I’ll give you ten minutes. That’s it. I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone. Especially not here—not with these men on the loose.”
“Ten minutes should be more than enough to know if it’s you or not.”
I take a seat on one of the nearby rock outcroppings.
Sighing heavily, he drops his hand and rubs his mouth. “Alright. I’ll be just outside the cavern entrance. Will that be far enough?”
I shrug, “I would think so, but I honestly don’t know how this shit works anymore. It’s all new territory. Sometimes I read stuff just fine with you nearby—but other times, it’s like the messages get scattered when I’m near you. Let’s just give it a try.”
He nods. “Ten minutes—but stay put. Okay? Right here so I can find you.”
“Oh, believe me—I’m going nowhere. Getting lost in this cavern is the last thing I wanna do.”
I shudder away my very first memories of stumbling out of this cave—lost, starving, and totally dehydrated.
Blake nods again, stepping forward to hand me his flashlight.
“Keep it,” I say, waving it away. “I have one, too.”
Tugging the tiny flashlight from my pocket, I tap the button and the LED springs to life.
Giving me a final glance, Blake’s lips form a thin line, but he puffs up his chest and walks out.
The moment he leaves my immediate vicinity, it’s like a breath of fresh air wafts through the cavern. My mind clears as the strange fog subsides.
Licking my lips and shaking away my daze, I pull my legs in to sit cross-legged against the rocky wall. I flip off the flashlight, allowing the darkness to settle around me. People’s voices bounce around the cavern walls, mixing with the slow drips of water as it continues to form more stalactites and stalagmites, as
