Page 28 of The Witch & the Tiger

“The cave,” Martin said, pointing unnecessarily at what everyone now saw. Slightly further down the beach, the rocks inverted, revealing a small entrance to a cave.

“I don’t like how narrow that entrance is,” Professor Umber grumbled, eyeing it in great distaste. “With high tide, this will be a beast to squeeze through and not drown.”

“That’s why we have Willow,” Professor Z’Hana said. “I went through four days of training with her. She’s capable.”

No pressure, Willow thought, cold beads of sweat forming on her forehead; none at all.

Her attention went to Martin again, who also had broken out in a cold sweat like an addict coming out of withdrawal or someone consumed by paranoia and anxiety.

The enchantment must be rough on him.

Or maybe the memories were – maybe he was remembering everything that happened in that cave. Maybe he was afraid to go in.

Her hand still throbbed from when he’d squeezed it hard.

Wordlessly, Professor Umber led the way, and Martin ended up in the middle of the line so he’d be easier to keep track of. He accepted that without complaint. Professor Z’Hana was at the rear. Willow followed behind Umber, ready to use her own magic. They descended as they traveled farther within, and their feet sloshed through murky sea water crusted with anemones and limpets. Eventually, the path curved upward, but Willow had a horrible feeling they were still below sea level by the time they’d reached what appeared to be a huge clearing, lit with a soft blue-white light. Also, the tunnel took two or so minutes to walk through; definitely not easy for someone to swim through and reach the outside for air in time.

Her mind prickled, thinking of what possibly happened here, imagining the water rising, filling this space…

Their voices echoed in the cavern as they spoke, and the sound of shuffling feet reverberated all around.

“This is a really big cave,” Professor Umber said, now checking his wristwatch for the time. “And the patterns on the cavern are not done by mortal hands. They’re enchantments, are they not?”

Professor Z’Hana stepped up, approaching one side of the wall, examining the symbols etched into the rock. Then, with a growl, she lifted one finger, which began to glow with an ominous darkness. She raked the finger over the symbols, and it cut a clear indent into the pattern.

“What’re you doing?” Kati asked, eyes wide.

“Breaking the spell written on the wall,” she said. “This one was designed to make people lose track of time. I’ll need to examine every pattern here. This is all Unseelie Court, and it’s intricate.”

A spell to lose track of the time… Willow saw Martin’s stricken expression, and all of them knew, without needing to express it, that this was likely what had happened to Martin and his group of friends. They’d slipped into the cave, and the enchantment on the cave wall had infected them, causing them to lose track of time and reality right until the waters came.

It sounded like a nightmare. The cave itself had an eerie atmosphere, intensified by the echoing sounds they made.

“Are… are all of these enchantments?” Willow asked, and both the professors nodded. Z’Hana’s finger carried that darkness with it as she inspected the other symbols etched throughout the large cavern, which seemed like a single room with an indent on the far side, which led to a dead end.

“Some of it is just language, but a lot of it does appear to be subtle enchantments…” Professor Z’Hana scowled. “Here’s the enchantment that enamored Martin and would enamor all of us, too.” Her finger sliced across it. The tension left Martin’s body at once, and Marlon and Kati also appeared to relax.

“It’s gone,” Martin murmured. “I feel it. It’s gone.”

“Thank goodness for that,” Willow said. “This place is really unnerving me. Also… no offense, and I don’t want to dredge up any bad memories… but shouldn’t Yannick’s body be here?”

“Not if it was carried out on the tide or eaten by fish,” Professor Umber said. “A lot can happen in five months, though I’m not sure how time operates in this place.”

Z’Hana cleared her throat, drawing their attention. “I have news for you. This place isn’t a dead end. There’s an illusion spell that stops us from being able to see everything in the room.” She snaked her finger across another obscure set of symbols, and the room seemed to fizzle before a doorway appeared around the indent at the end. It was silver with glimmering blue runes upon it.

Professor Z’Hana approached it, and they all watched with bated breath, apprehensive of what she might discover.

“This is no normal door,” Professor Z’Hana said after a deep examination. “This is a prison.”

A prison?

“A prison for what?” Marlon gaped, tensed as if ready to cast his own time-travel magic. “Something dangerous?”

“I doubt it’d be a prison for something safe.” Professor Z’Hana studied the silver door while Willow silently understood why Z’Hana was useful. She seemed to know an awful lot about magic, particularly dark magic, but Willow never really understood what the professor’s specific skill set was.

Now she knew. The professor’s magic enabled her to read and break certain spells, though she suspected it had a little more to do with the written ones since, otherwise, how could Z’Hana have lifted Martin’s enchantment?

“I know what you’re thinking,” Z’Hana said while looking in their direction, almost before Willow spoke the question. “No, I couldn’t have lifted Martin’s enchantment.”

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