“What didn’t work?”
I’m too embarrassed to admit it to him. Me, the mighty Creator, who can’t even freeze time like she did before she even Ascended. Is it because I’m upset? My Magic can be a bit wonky when I’m not thinking straight, but . . .
“I’m going to lead you over to one of the walls,” Kellan is saying. “You can wait there.”
“The Elders,” I begin, but I’m already en route thanks to his hand on my arm.
“Cannot get in from where we just came. You made sure of that.”
If only I could’ve frozen them like before. Why didn’t it work?
Once against the wall, I slide down into a sitting position. He crouches down next to me. “I’m going to go now, okay?”
Before he has the chance to protest, I hand over a flashlight I’ve just whipped up. He flips it on. “Thanks.”
And then he leaves, heading towards a tunnel now visible in the path of the flashlight. I watch the light until it fades and I’m once more immersed in darkness. It’s unbearable, so I make myself a lantern, one large enough to spill light in a wide circle. And yet, the darkness encroaches far too close for my comfort. I try freezing time over and over, but as before, my efforts only last seconds before reverting back to the hell I’ve found myself in.
The screaming outside, nearly deafening, grates on my nerves like a blunted saw. I dig in my pocket for my cell phone and then remember it’s in the bag I left behind. I make myself one, but as Fate would have it, there’s no cell service available in this cave.
I have never felt so alone in my entire life. Or as helpless.
I’m slouched against the hard, bumpy wall, my neck craned to the side at an unnatural angle. The pain is enough to wake me up.
I don’t remember falling asleep.
But when I rub my neck, massaging the tight tendons, I feel Kellan’s presence nearby. He’s sitting a couple feet down the wall from me, arms wrapped around propped up knees.
“How long have you been back?” I have to yell, as the Elders are still at it outside. How I slept through the continued ruckus amazes me.
He clicks his flashlight on and off over and over, despite the light from my lantern. “Awhile now.”
A loud thud sounds against the wall I reinforced, rattling the cave. I jump, even though I know they can’t get in. “How long do you think we’ve been here?”
Click-click. Click-click. “A couple of hours. Maybe longer. I don’t have a watch, so . . .”
“The others. Do you think they’re okay?” I shiver, remembering what we went through out there, even though it feels more like something I’d watched on TV rather than lived through.
Click-click. “Yeah, I do.” But he sounds doubtful.
Images of Earle’s limp body flash through my mind. He has to be okay. They all do. “Earle, too? We didn’t have a Shaman with us. He’s been hurt.”
“He’ll be okay. Nividita and Harou are pretty resourceful.”
I try not to immediately go to the worst-case scenarios, but it’s pretty tough. “Did you find a way out?”
The flashlight drops to the ground so Kellan can rub his eyes. “There’s another tunnel, but it’s pretty small.”
Still! That’s great news! “I’ll blast it,” I offer, ready to stand up and get to work, but he holds up a hand.
“Not a good idea. What if it triggers a cave-in?”
Is he serious? “I’ll make us steel umbrellas.”
“No. You need to save your strength. Just in case.”
Huh? “Meaning?”
“Meaning,” he stresses, meeting my eyes, “we have no food. There’s only a little water—I found a trickle about two hundred feet down the tunnel, but it’s nothing to write home about. How long do you think your craft will work in such conditions?”
My mouth opens and then snaps shut. If he’s saying what I think he’s saying, it’s yet another thing I can be pissed at my parents for not telling me about.
He’s right, Caleb says, his first words to me since entering the cave. If you’re dehydrated or starving, you won’t be able to use your Magic. Best to listen to him.
This is ridiculous, though. “My craft will be fine because we’ll be on our way out of here!”
“And if they’re waiting for us on the other side? What then?” He shakes his head. “Not worth the risk. We’ll wait for a team to extract us.”
Suddenly, it’s like everything crashes down on me. I’m in a cave, trapped, and the rest of the team may be dead, and Kellan has ignored me for eight months, and my parents never told me jack about being a Magical, and I’m still cold and my cuts sting, and I’m still useless as always, so I unleash at the only person I can. I nearly snarl, “I’m sorry you had to get stuck in here with me.”
Okay, yes. That was incredibly petty and completely off-topic. But it had to be said. I mean, eight months.