Amethysts & Alchemy: A Neurospicy, Rivals-to-lovers, Cozy Romantic Fantasy by Rachel Rener

Author:Rachel Rener [Rener, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lightning Conjurer Books
Published: 2024-07-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

We arrived at the mine less than ten minutes later – not the massive pit that was the primary Tonglushan extraction and smelting site, but a small, cave-like opening located a few hundred meters away. Tucked out of sight and nestled deep in the surrounding forest, the entrance had been drilled into the base of a moss-covered rock outcrop and was well-hidden by vines and branches, which Heath swept away as we approached. The mine looked as though it had been abandoned for years, if not decades; the rusted cart tracks that led inside were overgrown with pink-thistled copperweed, the wooden frame of the adit was sun-bleached and splintering, and a weathered red sign that almost certainly said “Keep Out” had been tacked to the corroded bars blocking the entrance.

I looked around nervously, surveying the area for any indication of activity. Yes, I had broken into my fair share of abandoned mines over the years, but always in the middle of the night and never in a country with an active travel advisory for American citizens. Fortunately, just as Heath had promised, there didn’t appear to be any workers milling around. The flurry of mining activity we’d witnessed the night before was completely halted, and instead of gushing plumes of steam rising into the sky, a single thin coil of vapor rose from one of the nearby smelting vents.

“The night crews will most likely be back around ten o’clock tonight, which means we have about fourteen hours to explore,” Heath said as he rummaged around in his pack.

I glanced at my watch. “Do we really need fourteen hours to find the mineral you were talking about?”

“No, but you never know what else we might find down there.” He smiled as he pulled a pair of bolt-cutters from his bag, though the edges of his eyes didn’t crinkle. “This satellite mine hasn’t been active in over a century, and while it’s been backfilled and ostensibly reinforced, there will almost certainly be false floors and rotting wood. And speaking of which, I don’t know how far down it goes. Depending on the depth and air-tightness, there may be pockets of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, and I doubt either of us thought to pack a canary.”

“No, just a pig,” I agreed. “Luckily, that’s what gas masks and first aid kits are for.”

He chuckled, cheering me somewhat; maybe my screw-up hadn’t been completely irrevocable. “Still, and this hopefully goes without saying, if you’re having second thoughts about any of this—”

“I’m not,” I interjected, fishing my glasses out of my bag to put them on. “We just have to be sure to—”

“Since when do you wear glasses?”

“Since I was a kid.” I frowned at the smudges on the lenses, then took the glasses off and used the hem of my shirt to clean them. “My distance vision is good enough that I don’t have to wear them for most activities, but navigating mines requires twenty-twenty vision.” I replaced the smudge-free glasses on the bridge of my nose, surprised to find Heath staring at me intently.

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