He held the door for me so I could step out first, then closed it and made a subtle hand motion. I heard the lock click shut.
“You’ll have to trust me on this,” Ethan said, taking my hand and leading me down the stairs to the courtyard.
The feel of his hand on mine was enough to strike me speechless, and I barely heard what he said. Of course, he was just holding my hand because he was leading me. It wasn’t an intimate gesture, and it was wishful thinking for me to read anything into it. At least, that’s what I told myself.
His words didn’t register until we stopped right by the section of flagstones that covered the opening into the tunnels.
“Oh, hell no!” I said, and tried to yank my hand out of his.
Of course, he didn’t let go. “We’re not going back to the cave,” he assured me. He mumbled something under his breath, and the flagstones moved aside.
I glanced up at the windows all around us. There were lights on in many of them, since it wasn’t the dead of night like it was the last time we’d gone into the tunnels. “How many people do you suppose are watching us right now?” I asked, giving my hand another experimental tug, but he held on.
“It doesn’t matter. The tunnels are something of an open secret. They’re also vast, so if someone tells Grace we’ve gone into the tunnels, it won’t be enough to go on.”
“What about the Spriggans?” I asked.
“We took care of the problem last night,” he assured me. “They may not have as much trouble sneaking into Avalon as humans do, but I seriously doubt someone would send them in two nights in a row. Now come on! Unless you want us still to be standing here arguing when Kimber and her tail come back.”
To say I didn’t like it was an understatement, but I had to admit I was feeling awfully vulnerable standing out here in the open. Gritting my teeth, I nodded, and Ethan finally let go of my hand so I could climb down the ladder.
The flagstones had sealed off the opening above us by the time my feet hit the floor of the tunnel. It was pitch dark, except for the thin beam coming from the flashlight Ethan held in one hand. I moved out of the way, and Ethan jumped from about halfway down the ladder, landing lightly. A human probably would have at least sprained an ankle trying a maneuver like that.
I had a sudden flash to today’s magic lesson with Kimber, and it didn’t add up with what I’d just seen.
“Last night, you didn’t say any kind of spell to open the hatch,” I said. “Why did you have to tonight?”
“I’m still working on doing nonverbal spells,” he said. “It’s a lot harder, and it takes a lot out of me.” He looked uncommonly serious. “That’s why I couldn’t do a better job of healing last night. If I’d just opened the hatch the easy way…” He shrugged, not finishing his sentence.
I think I was supposed to say something to let him off the hook, but I remembered how he’d rubbed Kimber’s face in it when he was showboating last night, and I figured he deserved to stew a bit. No matter how hot he was.
When I didn’t say anything, there was an awkward silence, but Ethan broke the awkwardness soon enough by leading the way into the heart of the mountain once more.
Yesterday, we’d gone straight for a long way before we’d veered off toward the cave. Today, we took a side tunnel almost immediately, then took another, and another, until I was so thoroughly turned around I didn’t have a clue where I was. I couldn’t help wondering if that was by design. Was Ethan trying to make sure I couldn’t get out of here without help?
So far, the only sign I’d seen that the tunnels weren’t completely deserted had been the Underground’s cave, but Ethan’s and my path tonight led to a very different part of the tunnel system. We rounded a corner, and suddenly the tunnel widened significantly and was illuminated by electric lights. A broad stairway led up to what I presumed was the surface, and a steady stream of people went up and down that stairway. Their voices echoed in the enclosed space, but I could hear the muffled sound of loud music over those voices, and I