The Rise of Fortune and Fury (Chronicles of the Stone Veil #5) - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,49
shield, which I get up in plenty of time before his magic hits me, but this time I take control of the ricochet and drive the magic back on him.
He merely waves his hand in front of his face before the blue light strikes, and it disappears.
“You’ve got great instincts, and your mind works fast,” Caiden praises. “I think you’ll do just fine.”
Turning, I face Carrick. He steps into me, puts a hand behind my neck, and pulls me in for a quick one-handed hug and a swift kiss on top of my head. “You got this, Finley.”
I tip my head back. “You sure?”
“The surest,” he says with a nod. “Trust your instincts. Remember your abilities are only limited by your imagination. And—”
“—and if I die, you’ll wait for me to come back,” I finish for him.
Carrick laughs. “That was not what I was going to say. I was going to say if you get into real trouble, scream your ass off and I’ll come running.”
“Oh.” I give him a sheepish grin. “Okay. That’s nice to know, but I won’t call. You know I’m too stubborn for that.”
“Then I suggest you don’t die,” Carrick replies. This time, he pulls me in for a long kiss, still just holding me by the back of my neck.
When he releases me, I’m a little weak and dizzy but that’s merely the power of Carrick and has nothing to do with the tinge of fear sweeping through me.
I wave to Carrick before following Caiden into the jungle along the footpath. He’s quiet for a few minutes before asking, “You really can’t die? I mean… you told Carrick you’d come back.”
“Oh, I can die,” I assure him. “But I’m under a curse to reincarnate and Carrick is under a curse to find me, fall in love all over again, and one day watch me die again.”
“Okay, that’s a story I need to hear in more detail over a beer after you finish the gauntlet,” he cracks with a laugh.
“Deal,” I say, but then my mouth snaps shut as we round a bend and come to a cave shrouded in jungle vines. The opening is barely big enough for Caiden to squeeze through.
“That’s the start of your gauntlet,” Caiden says, sweeping his hand toward the cave. “Just keep pushing forward, and Carrick and I will be waiting for you on the other end.”
“And you can’t tell me what exactly to expect in there?” I press, already knowing the answer.
Caiden just winks at me before giving me a tiny push toward the cave. “Good luck.”
“You mean good skill,” I murmur. “Luck won’t have anything to do with it.”
I glance over my shoulder, but blink in surprise. Caiden is gone, and I’m on my own.
“You can do this, Finley,” I murmur as I step into the opening of the cave.
At first, it’s so dark I can’t see anything, so I put my hands in front of me until they press against a cold, slimy stone wall. I follow it along for a few feet before it opens into a chamber that’s lit with torches attached to the wall at various intervals. The lighting isn’t great—just enough to get an idea as to the dimension of the chamber I’m in as well as the hard-packed dirt beneath my tennis shoes, but there are far too many shadows in between the torches. I’m already on high alert.
The chamber is roundish and maybe thirty feet across. I move to the middle and slowly turn, eyeballing every inch of the wall and any details the light provides.
And there… I see an opening.
I glance around again, make sure I’m not missing anything that perhaps I should be taking with me a weapon or something, but the chamber appears barren except for the torches.
I might need a torch, so I step to the one near the opening in the cave wall and pull it out of its holder. The flame is vigorous and hot, so I hold it as far away from me as I can to light the way and not singe my eyebrows. I thrust it into the dark opening, but I see it’s nothing but a short passage that leads into another room, and that one is aglow so I assume there are more torches on the wall.
I don’t drop the one I have just yet as there’s no telling what the lighting situation will be the further I move.
The inside of the cave is cool, but I don’t feel any