Leads & Lynxes by Rebecca Chastain

Author:Rebecca Chastain [Chastain, Rebecca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-9992385-9-2
Publisher: Mind Your Muse Books

Two of the passageways at the next intersection were blocked by invisible traps Sooth refused to circumnavigate, and we lost another twenty minutes tracking another two to dead ends, but the fifth passageway eventually spat us out in front of a pitch-black cave carved into the side of a cliff. Seradon halted at the bend in the canyon, where we could survey the opening from a safe vantage. Twilight had crept over the labyrinth, deepening the shadows on the canyon floors. The faint rays of the dwindling sunset did nothing to illuminate the interior of the cavern. The jagged hole gaped like the mouth of a giant beast, its breath seething in irregular gusts along the canyon floor.

My imagination scrambled to conjure fresh horrors lurking out of sight within the cavern, but nothing topped the camazotz-turned-chonchon—except a pack of camazotzs. My palms began to sweat.

“It’s about time we found the opening,” Seradon said.

“You were expecting a cave?” I asked, pleased when my voice didn’t quiver.

“Any labyrinth worth the blood it was carved with has to lead somewhere, right? Hopefully that’s a tunnel straight to the heart of Lunacy.”

After a nod from Grant, Seradon and Sooth slunk with equal stealth down one side of the canyon. Seradon held her blade unsheathed at her side. An eagerness lit her face, as if she were gleefully anticipating something jumping out of the darkness at her.

It was possible Seradon was a tad insane.

Quinn and I hunkered down at the bend in the canyon, squeezed behind Grant. He had planted himself between us and whatever might spring out of the cave. Wind gusted through the rock corridor, tugging blond tendrils from my braids and whipping them into my mouth. They tasted of dirt, and I impatiently hooked the grubby strands behind my ears. Unfortunately, the reminder of my filthy condition made my scalp itch, and scratching unleashed a trickle of dirt down the nape of my neck.

Seradon tiptoed to the edge of the cavern and peeked inside before drawing back. Sooth skulked at her feet, her whole body tense and focused on the obscured interior. After a second peek, Seradon and the lynx disappeared inside the dark maw. I craned around Grant for a better view, and his impersonal shove rocked me back a step. Holding my breath, I strained to hear any sounds of distress. Grant held himself equally motionless, though he looked coiled to spring into action. Several long, fraught seconds passed before Seradon reemerged unscathed. I sighed with relief, as did Quinn. Grant made no sound, but he relaxed enough to shift his weight from one foot to the other.

“We found our passage,” Seradon said when she rejoined us. “From the sounds of the echoes and the small flame I chanced, the tunnel goes deep into the mountain.”

“Any sign of people passing this way—ours or whoever opened this place up?” Grant asked.

Seradon shook her head. “There’s not enough dust for footprints at the tunnel opening, but maybe we’ll get lucky once we’re deeper inside.

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