Page 146 of Kingmakers, Year One

“I don’t need any.” Anna tosses her hair back over her shoulder.

“Anna—”

“I’ve got this, Leo!” she says, shaking her head at me. “Just go!”

I feel a strange hesitation to leave her, but I know Anna won’t tolerate me babying her just because we’re dating now. Besides, Johnny and Mikhail are right behind us. I really do need to hurry.

“See you soon.”

With that, I run into the limestone caves, my sneakers splashing in the shallow pools of seawater that quickly deepen the further in I go.

The map gave no indication of what I’d find in here. Even in the middle of the day, the sunlight fades within twenty yards of the entrance. I have to feel my way along, until I notice that the faint light up ahead isn’t sunshine at all, but rather the glow of a lamp.

I follow that light, hearing the pants and splashes of Mikhail right behind me.

We reach the lamp almost at the same time.

There, at the edge of a deep, dark pool, sits two sets of scuba diving equipment.

“Oh, shit,” Mikhail says.

Without answering him, I sit down and start to pull on the fins, weight belt, and tank.

Mikhail looks distinctly nervous, but he follows suit.

“You think we have to go in there?” he says.

“Must be,” I agree.

“Just . . . don’t get grabby,” he says.

“Professor Howell didn’t say anything about fighting for puzzle pieces. You stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours.”

“No problem,” Mikhail agrees with relief.

I hope this puzzle piece isn’t as tiny as a standard jigsaw. Otherwise I don’t know how in the fuck I’ll ever find it down in a pitch-black sea cave, even with a headlamp on.

Pulling my mask down over my face, I drop down into the water.

It’s cold, especially with no wetsuit. My headlamp illuminates only a tiny column of space ahead of me.

The limestone walls of the cave look pale and ghostly, like they’re carved from bone.

I can only guess which direction I’m supposed to go. As I swim along, carefully kicking my fins, I realize this is not a single cave. Instead, I see openings branching off on all sides. It’s ahoneycomb of passages and caverns, all interconnected, and all horribly alike.

Some of the passageways are narrow. I have to squeeze through, fighting the awful sense of claustrophobia, and the knowledge of what will happen to me if I get wedged in a space I can’t escape. I only have one tank of air.

I swim and search, trying to hold onto my sense of direction. This is a labyrinth. If I’m not careful, I’ll search the same caverns over and over, passing right by the place where the puzzle piece is hidden.

I have to assume that it’s not tiny, that it’s something a person could reasonably find with only an hour’s worth of air.

As I kick through one particularly large cavern, I see Mikhail swimming in the opposite direction. He checks my hands to see if I’ve found anything, and I shake my head. He makes an irritated gesture, like he’s already tired of looking, and we pass each other by.

Twice I’m scanning for the puzzle piece and I accidentally hit my head on limestone. The second time I pop up in surprise and my head breaks the surface of the water, though I’m still deep down underground. I realize that some of the caverns have air at the top—just a couple of inches between water and stone. I scan that area too, in case that’s where my prize is hidden, but I suspect it will be deeper down.

The swimming helps to keep my muscles warm. Still, as the minutes pass I’m getting slower and stiffer. I’m a long way from the entrance now. I hope I find the puzzle piece soon, or it’s going to be difficult to swim back.

The caverns are all beginning to blur together. I have to trust the imperfect map in my head that I haven’t seen this one before.

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