extended about seven feet into the cliff, and the range of my light, while dim, illuminated at least ten feet ahead. I could see the archway and vaguely that it opened out into a larger chamber, though how large, I didn’t know. I slowed. Hopefully, we were alone.
As I came to the opening, I motioned for Angel and Raven to stop. Then, easing my way through the arch, I quickly looked around the room, hoping that it would be small enough to see the other side. That way, if there were something in there, I’d catch it before we entered.
To my relief, we lucked out. The chamber was about seven feet in width, and about eight feet from where I was standing to the back. It was empty, with stalactites hanging from the ceiling. But against the back wall, opposite to me, was another opening. Even from where I was standing, I could see a rough set of steps leading up, into the cliff. With another sweep to make sure that there was nothing in the room, I stepped into the chamber and motioned for Raven and Angel to follow.
The only sounds were the sounds of our breathing. The air smelled just as still and lifeless as it had outside, and once again, I found myself focusing on my breath, forcing myself to acknowledge that yes, I was breathing. Yes, air was flowing into my lungs.
I glanced over at Angel. In the glow of my flashlight, her expression looked stark and worried. This was the first time she had been on a mission this dangerous, and I gave her a thumbs-up, trying to cheer her up. Raven, on the other hand, was glancing around at the walls and ceiling, scanning for something. She suddenly froze, then bolted, shoving me out of the way. As we went tumbling to the ground, a loud crash ricocheted around the room as a stalactite came hurtling down from the ceiling, landing directly where I had been standing.
“Oh crap!” I gasped as I realized I’d shouted aloud. There was a tremor in the air, and then another stalactite broke off and landed nearby. There were sounds now, all around the ceiling, the sound of rock cleaving from rock, and I scrambled to my feet, grabbing Raven’s hand to pull her up. A third stalactite fell near the opening to the tunnel, and then a fourth, and I shoved Raven toward the steps. “Up!”
Angel scrambled, breaking into a sprint toward the steps and I followed. I had no more touched foot on the first step when a large stalactite plummeted to the floor, blocking the entrance to the staircase, barely missing my ass.
Angel and Raven were huddled a few steps up. I leaned my back against the wall, breathing heavily. Our way out was blocked. We had no choice but to follow the steps and hope they led to an opening higher up. Whatever the case, there was no doubt that if there was somebody else around, they knew we were here.
“Okay,” I said, deciding to skip the whispers. The game was already up. “We head up the steps. Let me go first, Raven, you come second. Is your spell still ready?”
She nodded. “Those stalactites had a sentience to them, by the way.”
“What?” I stared at her. “You mean they knew we were there?”
“Yep, I think they did. They’re either some massively brilliant trap, or they’re…alive.”
“I don’t really want to know which.” I motioned for them to let me through. “Are there still spirits around us?”
“There are spirits everywhere,” Angel said, her voice trembling. “I can feel them all over.”
“She’s right,” Raven said. “The very land is riddled with spirit activity.”
“Wonderful. All right, let’s go.” I stepped between them and, as they shakily stood, I began climbing the steps.
We had climbed over two hundred steps and taken ten turns by the time we arrived at the top. The top of the stairwell opened into a small chamber with an exit on the other side that looked like it led into a tunnel. The chamber was no bigger than a large coat closet, and I warily glanced at the ceiling, but there were no stalactites in sight. I paused, glancing at the walls, too, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
But Raven tapped me on the shoulder. “Take a look at the archway. I have a weird feeling about this one.”
I paused, then glanced up, shining the flashlight around the perimeter of the opening. Sure enough, on