Page 27 of Trapped By Claws
It was horrid.
I'd had to deal with wet feet so much over the years, and it never got any easier. I retrieved my clip from my dress. It stillheld my wooden spoon. I then grabbed a spare sock with a hole in it and found a knife in the main room. Better than nothing, at least.
I then checked out the remaining doors. One was firmly locked, but it didn't seem to have runes on it. The other was set the most firmly into the wall and locked securely. It was also directly across from the water entrance, and if my knowledge of runes was correct, it said something like "cave exists here."
I pried and picked at it for a while before concluding that the entire locking and security mechanism was based on the runes in addition to a heavy deadbolt.
Being on a ship run by dwarves meant I'd seen a number of runes used for various tasks, but that didn't mean I knew how to work them. However, Mik and Hosvir both had shown me an effective way to handle runic locks: break the area around it and apply leverage from the weakest point of the lock, which, thankfully, was on the inside.
I picked up a heavy stone from the floor and started hammering at the door. The solidthwacksresounded through the chamber. Bits of stone chipped away, falling to the floor. After a few minutes of pounding, small fissures had developed, spreading out from around the lock like spiderwebs. I then rummaged around in the cupboards until I found what I needed: a crowbar.
For what felt like hours, I chipped and pried away at the door until the lock snapped and the door cracked open.
A waft of sharp air greeted me.
Swallowing hard, I peered out into the dark passage beyond. There was a fresh, bracing draft coming from somewhere, even if it did smell heavily of salt and algae. That was a good sign. Right? Who knew how far away it was? But something was better than nothing.
A small tremor passed through me. Almost a sensation of guilt. What was that about?
I put my hand to my chest, wincing.
If I didn't know better, it felt like…deep down, something told me not to leave Corvin. Not just something. Like deep down, I didn't want to leave him.
But why?
He was the reason our ship had been destroyed. Even if it was on the king's orders, he had followed those orders. There had been no harm done by our visiting the island. Especially not when the boundary's movement was so arbitrary.
This was strange.
It was almost as if a thread bound me to him. A thread that thrummed with disapproval for the briefest of moments, sending a pang of regret through my core. Warning me that leaving him would take away something precious.
And unlike other encounters I'd had with fae magic, it felt…clear. Pure, even.
Shaking my head, I tried to take in what this meant. That thrumming vibration passed as I focused on it. Almost as if it was too tenuous to exist.
And all I was left with was an awareness of the darkness.
It was so horribly dark and cold down here.
Why did he live down here like this? How could he live like this?
I picked up two orbs. One I deposited in the oversized pocket of the long charcoal robe. The second I gripped in one hand while holding the crowbar in the other.
Time to do this.
With a deep breath, I stepped out into the dark passage. The pale-blue orb cast a small circle of light around me, and my steps echoed in the cavernous expanse. It was even colder out here, but all my hammering and pounding at the door had at leastgotten blood flowing again. Even if my feet were disgustingly damp.
I studied this area. My sense of direction was usually fairly decent. But there were five passages that I could see. It was unlikely any were a straight shot up.
Another twinge passed through me. No. I refused to listen to that. I'd kept my word. I'd fulfilled the bargain and come down here to his home.It was perfectly fine for me to escape now. Why would I owe him anything?
His face flashed back into my mind. His expression the last time we'd spoken.
I cringed inwardly as I recalled how he had flinched at my words. Shaking my head, I tried to brush it off. Why did I feel so bad about that? I owed him nothing. He'd been willing to let everyone on the ship die. And he'd killed others before.
I shook my head. It wasn't as if he was a friend or a family member. He was practically a stranger.
He was worse.
