third route, since three was her lucky number.
The tunnel wound down endlessly. Just when Sora was convinced that it would never end and that the Lake of Nightmares didn’t exist, the tunnel stopped abruptly and spit them out into a colossal cave.
“Good gods,” Sora murmured.
The ceiling was hundreds of feet high, and the other side of the cave was so far away it was almost out of sight. But there were definitely two other tunnel openings over there. That must be why there’d been three emerald paths, because there were three different ways to get here.
And most important: in the center of the cave was a vast pool of glacial water clear as glass.
“Wow,” Sora murmured. “Let that be a lesson in perseverance.”
“It’s not all good news, though,” Broomstick said, pointing.
They could see straight down to an iron trap door at the bottom, likely where Zomuri’s treasure was buried. But the door wasn’t the only thing in the water. There were corpses, about a hundred of them suspended in the water, frozen at various depths and none decomposed. They were mostly men; some must have been centuries old, judging by the ancient robes they wore and their plaited hair, and others drowned perhaps only decades ago. The one unifying feature, however, was their gape-mouthed horror. Sora’s stomach turned.
“Do you think they froze to death?” Broomstick asked.
Sora was staring at the water. “Or they were tortured by the lake,” she said, remembering that those who dared to step foot in the water would be met with visions of horrible imagined futures.
The hallucinations are so vivid, people either drown as they get lost in them or drown themselves out of despair for who they think they’ll become in the future, Mama had said.
And their suffering was preserved for eternity in their underwater grave.
“This is a bad idea,” Broomstick said.
“I know,” Sora said. “But we still have to do it. If we don’t retrieve the Dragon Prince’s soul, we don’t stand a chance. Maybe we’ll die today trying to do this, but if we don’t, then we’ll die for sure.”
“That’s not much of a pep talk,” Broomstick said.
“It’s the truth, and at this point, it’s the best motivator we have. We have a chance at surviving the lake. Remember, I have magic more powerful than what those who came before us had.”
“And what about the snow monster?” He set his bag down on the ice. “We haven’t seen it yet.”
Sora frowned as she picked up some of his waterproof bombs. “You’re right.”
“What should we do?”
She fastened the explosives to her belt with metal clips. “I’ll go in the water. You stay onshore.”
“No way! That’s not what I meant.”
Sora held out her hand to stop his protest. “Hear me out. Suppose the monster doesn’t show up until after we enter the water. What if it’s a trap and that’s how people end up drowning there?”
“Because the snow monster won’t let them onto shore . . . ,” Broomstick said.
“Exactly. And maybe it’s smarter to have you act as the sentry on the shore while I swim to the vault. That way, if the lake is as bad as the legend says it is, only I lose my mind. You’ll be our backup plan to find another way to get into that vault.”
“No. I should be the one to swim,” Broomstick said.
But Sora shook her head. “My ryuu magic is stronger than your taiga magic, though. And Daemon and I have connected before in a similar situation.”
“That was genka related.”
“I know, but still. It has to be me.”
Broomstick sighed. “I don’t like it.”
“I’m not arguing,” Sora said. “You know this is the way it has to be done. One of us has to keep watch onshore for that monster, if it’s real. And if I fail, you have to be here to give the kingdom a second chance.”
He clenched his teeth. But she was right and Broomstick knew it. He sighed and gave in. “I’ll keep watch over you from here; the water is clear, and I’ll be able to see you the whole way down. And I’ll make sure nothing disturbs you.”
“Thank you.” Sora tried to look fearless as she stood on the shore. But there was no way it was going to be as simple as reminding herself that the lake was enchanted. If it were that easy, more people would have survived to tell about it. That’s why she needed Daemon to keep her tied to reality.
She reached out to him through