Page 71 of Savage Devotion
"These aren't just smugglers." The pieces click together with sickening clarity. "The spy network isn't just gathering information. They're preparing for something larger. Something that requires infrastructure."
"Such as?"
"Weapons storage. Poison gas deployment. Maybe both." I press myself against the tunnel wall, trying to get a better read on the air currents. "The chemical smell—it's not storage residue. It's active compounds."
"Active how?"
"The kind that explode when exposed to flame or spark."
Kaelgor's expression darkens. "Your House wouldn't?—"
"My House would absolutely use chemical weapons if it meant gaining strategic advantage." The admission tastes like ash. "Heldrik's particularly fond of tactics that minimize direct engagement."
"Coward's weapons."
"Effective weapons. Which is what makes them dangerous."
A sound echoes from deeper in the tunnel, metal scraping against stone, followed by a muffled thud. Someone or something moving around in the darkness ahead. Kaelgor tenses, hand closing around his weapon grip.
"Could be smugglers trying to find another way out," he suggests.
"Could be. Or it could be someone setting charges to bring down the rest of the tunnel system."
"With us inside."
"With us inside."
The tactical situation crystallizes with brutal clarity. If there are explosives deeper in the tunnel, moving forward puts us at risk of triggering them. But staying here means eventual suffocation as our air supply dwindles. And if someone is actively working to collapse the entire network, time is a luxury we don't have.
Another sound, definitely human voices this time, though too distant and muffled to make out words. Kaelgor meets my gaze, and I see the same calculation reflected in his eyes. We're trapped between limited options, none of them good.
"How stable are these tunnels?" he asks.
"Depends on how much of the original structure the smugglers modified. Natural caves are usually solid, but if they've been carving new passages or installing support beams..."
"Then bringing down one section could cascade through the entire network."
"Exactly."
The voices grow louder, more urgent. Definitely moving in our direction, though whether they know we're here is unclear. Kaelgor draws his weapon, not the massive war axe he carries for open battle, but a shorter, broader blade designed for close quarters work. The metal gleams dully in the faint light filtering through the collapsed entrance behind us.
"I'm going to scout ahead," he says. "Get a better read on numbers and positioning."
"No."
"Ressa—"
"No. If there are chemical compounds in there, you're walking into a death trap. One spark from metal on stone and the whole tunnel becomes a crematorium."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"I go alone. I know the compound signatures, know what to look for. I can navigate without triggering an explosion."
"Absolutely not."
"This isn't a negotiation, Kaelgor. This is tactical reality. I have the knowledge and experience to?—"
"To walk into an unknown hostile situation without backup." He is someone who's already lost too many people to reckless heroics. "I won't let you?—"
