I made a "quiet" motion with my hand as Ilianna said, "I honestly don't know." She hesitated. "The runes shouldn't offer a problem, but as I said, I can't read the script on the pillars so I really have no idea just what might happen or even how to activate them."
"Ris—" Jak intervened again.
"What?" I said, looking up in exasperation.
He waved a hand at the pillars. Light shimmered between them, as if it were a mirror catching the first sickly rays of the day.
"Oh, fuck," I said. "The pillars just activated."
"Then get the hell out of there!"
"Love to, but we're stuck underground in a fucking cavern. Call you back."
"Wait—"
I didn't. I turned the phone off and met Jak's gaze grimly.
"I can't go back into that tunnel," he said. "It's too tight for any sort of speed. Niche?"
"Niche," I agreed. "And let's hope whoever—or whatever—is coming through that gate has neither good sight nor a strong sense of smell."
"Amen to that," Jak muttered, and lunged for the niche.
I squeezed in beside him, and watched as light continued to pulse and swirl between the pillars. Its color was a sickly green—the same color that now glowed within the runes. Amaya screamed, a battle cry that was audible both in my head and in the cavern.
Fuck, flame out and be quiet, I ordered fiercely.
No. Fight what comes.