as he’d hoped, and Theo had to pull on his arms a few times before he made it through and landed inelegantly on the chalky floor.

“Here’s your staff,” Theo said after he’d dusted off his trousers.

“Thanks,” he answered, then looked around the large cavern where he and Theo had landed. Unlike many of the other tunnels, where he’d had to duck his head to explore, this cavern held plenty of room for him to stand up to his full height. Theo bounced the beam of the torch off the walls, and the pair simply stood there for a few beats, amazed that such a large room existed just belowground.

“Do you think this could be a natural cavern?” Theo asked.

Ian reached forward and guided her hand upward so that the beam shone on the ceiling. There were distinct grooves above their heads. “No,” he said. “See that? This was man-made.”

The beam of the torch moved off the ceiling and onto one of the far walls, revealing what looked like large Greek lettering tattooed on the rock. “I’d say you were right,” Theo answered.

Ian walked over and touched the black letters. “This is fantastic!” he said breathily “Theo, come here and have a look.”

But instead of coming over to him, she said, “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” he asked, turning to look at her.

Theo cocked her head, listening. “I don’t know, exactly. But I swear I heard something down there,” she answered, pointing the beam to the tunnel leading out of the large cavern.

“Well, let’s go have a look, then,” Ian said, his enthusiasm building. Not much caused Ian fear or trepidation.

But Theo held his arm, stopping him. “I don’t like it,” she whispered, and Ian caught sight of goose pimples forming along her arm. “I’ve got an awful feeling about exploring this tunnel.”

“Don’t be silly,” he said gently, giving her hand a pat. “We’re probably the only living creatures to be in this tunnel for centuries. Come on, you can stay behind me if it will make you feel better.” And with that he lifted the torch out of her hand and marched forward into the tunnel.

When he didn’t hear her following him, Ian turned and added resolutely, “If you’re that scared, then you can stay here or aboveground if you like, but I’m going to see where this tunnel leads.”

Theo frowned uneasily, and her eyes drifted up to the hole they’d just come through. Ian waited patiently for her to make up her mind, and after a moment she walked stiffly over to him and said, “Very well.”

“That’s my girl.” He grinned, ruffling her hair before leading the way out from the cavern. The tunnel they moved into was narrow and roughly carved out. It also curved and twisted, and Ian held his torch in one hand as they walked so that he could glance at his compass in the other. At some points the path veered sharply east, then straightened out and turned back west, which he found fascinating, as most of the other tunnels they’d explored in the cliffs were fairly straightforward, with forks or branches where a new direction was chosen.

Theo broke the silence. “This isn’t like the other tunnels. The walls of the others were much smoother and they always took us in a straight line,” she said, as if reading his thoughts.

“Yeah,” said Ian, still staring at his compass. “Which means this one must be older. We could really be in a lost tunnel!”

Just then, Theo stopped abruptly and gave a hard tug on Ian’s shirt. “What’s that smell?”

Ian stopped, but the narrowness of the tunnel prevented him from comfortably turning around to face her. “I don’t smell anything,” he said, taking several whiffs.

Theo hadn’t let go of his shirt, and Ian noticed that her voice was shaky as she said, “I swear I caught the scent of something awful. Ian, I really don’t like this place.”

“Aw, Theo.” Ian tugged himself forward out of her grasp. “You’re just claustrophobic. Take some deep breaths and focus on putting one foot in front of the other. It’ll pass in a bit.”

Slowly, the pair moved ahead and came to a sharp corner. When they rounded it, they stopped short. “Whoa,” Ian breathed. They had arrived in a second large cavern. On the far side of the space was another narrow tunnel, the counter-part to the one they’d just come through.

But Ian wasn’t interested in the opposite tunnel just yet. For now, the cavern captured his full attention. “Gaw